Twins:  3  Athletics:  2

The A’s were only one out away from breaking their losing streak.  I’d like to blame this loss on Brian Fuentes, he is the one who gave up the walk off home run to Josh Willingham, but the A’s as a whole played some ugly baseball tonight.

The A’s had a lead off hitter reach base 6 out of the 9 innings tonight and only 2 of those 6 players crossed home plate.  The A’s took 9 walks tonight, they also loaded the bases twice and failed to score both times.  They were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 base runners.

It wasn’t all bad tonight, Jarrod Parker pitched 6 shut out innings tonight, he allowed 4 hits, walked 4 and struck out 4.

The A’s are only one loss away from being a last place team now.  Maybe things aren’t going their way, or maybe they’re just finally living up to everyone’s expectations.  Either way, A’s baseball isn’t easy to watch right now.

Tomorrow the A’s will send (RHP) Tyson Ross to the mound to try and avoid the sweep, he will face off against (LHP) Francisco Liriano who will be making his first start since May 7th.

Hello? Anyone? (Photo: Spitzgogo_CHEN (Nokia 6230i)/Flickr)

Angels:  3  Athletics:  1

There really isn’t a lot to say about today’s loss.  The offense has been pretty poor this entire season, but it has now gone from being pretty poor to repulsive.   The A’s have only scored 1 run in the past 25 innings, they only have 4 hits in their last 4 games and they have only had 1 extra base hit in their last 26 innings.

There was a bright spot in today’s game, Jarrod Parker had a nice bounce back start going 7 innings while only allowing 5 hits and 1 run.  He also threw 95 pitches (66 for strikes), only walked 1 and struck out a career high of 8.

Maybe they can use tomorrow’s off day to relocate their ability to score runs.

A’s Extras:

• Bob Melvin says Yoenis Cespedes took swings in the batting cage today and everything went well.  Cespedes was due to come off the disabled list yesterday, but was unable to swing the bat until today.  There is still no time table for his return.

Angels:  4  Athletics:  0

It was a role reversal today in Anaheim, the A’s only managed to collect 5 hits over 9 innings while striking out 11 times.  Ervin Santana continued to dominate the A’s, like he usually does, striking out 9 and only allowing 4 hits over 7.2 innings.

Lines of the Day:

• Cliff Pennington:  3 AB, 1 H, 1 BB.  This was tough, because no one was really that impressive in today’s game, Cliff Pennington wins for having a double and taking a walk.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s Offense:  32 AB, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 SO.   The A’s were also 0-9 with runners in scoring position today, it was pretty ugly.

A’s Extras:

• Bartolo Colon wasn’t great today, but he was a lot better than his previous start.  He allowed 4 earned runs on 12 hits over 6.2 innings while striking out 3.
• Jemile Weeks stole his 10th base of the season, he also went 1-4 today.

Tigers:  3  Athletics:  1

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling good about this game when I saw the lineup and the tweet from Susan Slusser that said “Melvin’s bench today is … No one”.

She was not kidding.  Kila Ka’aihue was out of the line up again because of his hamstring injury, Kurt Suzuki was out of lineup today because of a hand injury, Brandon Inge was out of the lineup because of groin soreness and Jemile Weeks was out of the line up because of the ankle injury he suffered from yesterday.

I can’t even be mad about today’s loss, Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in baseball and the A’s lineup was pretty… subpar.

The A’s combined for 2 hits in 28 at bats, walked twice and struck out 11 times.

Lines of the Day:

• Seth Smith: 2 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR.  Seth Smith hit his 3rd home run of the season off of pitcher Justin Verlander, he single handily prevented the A’s from being shut out today, so for that he is the player of the day.  Honorable mention to Josh Reddick for being the only other player to get a hit today, which was also the first hit for the A’s.
• Jordan Norberto:  1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 SO.  Norberto was the only A’s pitcher today to not allow a base runner.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s offense:  28 AB, 2 H, 1 R.  Two hits says it all.

A’s Extras:

• Jarrod Parker wasn’t terrible today, but he wasn’t great either.  He continues to struggle with his control having walked 4 and it took him 112 pitches (61 for strikes) to get through 5.2 innings.  Parker was charged with 2 earned runs today, but to be fair to him he left the game having only allowed 1 as Grant Balfour walked in the 2nd run when he came in to relieve him in the 6th.
• Overall, I am happy with how this team finished the home stand, splitting a 2-game series with the Blue Jays and a 4-game series with the Tigers. Frankly, I am tired of hearing about how “terrible” this team is and how they are going to start losing “any day now” especially from other A’s fans.  Just be happy that the A’s are finding ways to win and enjoy this run while it lasts.

For more on the Detroit Tigers please visit Motown Lowdown.

Jerry Blevins was one of the few bright spots tonight (Photo: Kimberly*/Flickr)

Rays:  7  Athletics:  2

It might not be fair to blame this loss entirely on Tyson Ross, however the A’s would have had to have scored at least 8 runs to beat the Rays today and the A’s have failed to score more than 6 runs in a game this season.

Lines of the Day:

• A’s Bullpen:  4.1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 SO.  The bullpen, which consisted of Pedro Figueroa, Jerry Blevins and Jim Miller, was stellar tonight only allowing 1 base runner over the last 4 plus innings of the game.
• Jonny Gomes:  3 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 1 HBP*.  Jonny Gomes wins by default for being the only player to have a multi-hit game tonight.  *Doesn’t it feel like at least 1 player on the team gets hit by a pitch every single game??

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Tyson Ross:  3.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.  Tyson Ross has now allowed 20 H, 16 ER and 3 BB over his last 2 starts, all over 7.1 innings pitched.
• A’s Offense:  32 AB, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 13 SO.  Another anemic day for the A’s bats.

A’s Extras:

• Cliff Pennington hit his first home run of the season tonight, it came off of relief pitcher Brandon Gomes in the 9th inning.
• As expected Coco Crisp has landed on the 15-day DL with an inner ear infection, Michael Taylor started in left field for him today and batted in 9th spot, he went 0-3 with 1 SO.

 For more on the Tampa Bay Rays please visit Cowbell Clankers. 

(Photo: gr33nt4u/Flickr)

In order to get back to a .500 the A’s will have to at least take the series from the Boston Red Sox (10-11) who are coming off a 6-1 record in the past week.  The 3-game series starts today and the pitching match-ups for the A’s will include 2 rookie starters and the ace of their rotation.

Monday 4:10 PST: (LHP) Tom Milone (3-1) Vs (RHP) Clay Buchholz (2-1)

• Milone’s last start against the Chicago White Sox was his best start of the season,  having only allowed 3 hits in 8 shut out innings, walked 0 batters and struck out 5.
• Buchholz has been pretty mediocre so far this season, but like we always say, if you want to get out of a pitching slump all you have to do is face the A’s lineup.  I kid..I kid.  His last start was against the Minnesota Twins and over 5.1 innings he allowed 10 hits, 5 ER, 3 walks and struck out 2.  Although he allowed 5 runs, he was credited with his 2nd win as his teammates scored 7 runs for him.

Tuesday 4:10 PST: (RHP) Jarrod Parker (0-0) Vs (LHP) Felix Doubront (1-0)

• Jarrod Parker’s debut for the A’s was a good one, having only allowed 1 run on 7 hits in 6.1 innings, he also allowed 1 walk and struck out 5.  Unfortunately, due to Grant Balfour’s 1st blown save of the season, Parker was issued a no decision.
• Doubront has made 4 starts for the Red Sox this season, his last start was his first win of the season and came against the White Sox.  Over 6 innings he only allowed 5 hits, gave up 3 runs, walked 3 and struck out 2.

Wednesday 4:10 PST: (RHP) Brandon McCarthy (1-3)  Vs  (RHP) Daniel Bard (2-2)

• Brandon McCarthy also recorded his first win of the season last week in a victory against the Baltimore Orioles, he pitched 7 innings, allowed 5 hits, 2 runs, walked 3 and struck out 4.
• Daniel Bard had a strong last outing against the Chicago White Sox, having pitched 7 innings and allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits, he walked 2 and struck out 6.

Keys to Success:

Do I really have to remind you?  Need offense please.

This will also be the series where we find out how Milone and Parker will handle themselves against an offensively talented team and in the confines of hitter friendly Fenway.

In Case you Missed it: 

• Brandon Inge will make his debut for the A’s tonight, he is batting 8th and starting at 3rd.  The A’s DFA’d newly aquired Luke Hughes to make room for him.

 For more on the Boston Red Sox please visit Fenway Fatales. 

Lots of curse words for this guy today.

Orioles:  5  Athletics:  2

Bartolo Colon had entered the 9th inning with a 2-0 lead, he gave up a lead off single to JJ Hardy, struck out Nick Markakis and that’s when the whole game began to fall apart.   The very next batter singled and a throwing error by Colon put runners at 1st and 3rd, after that he was pulled and Grant Balfour entered the game.

Balfour immediately gave up a double to Matt Wieters that tied the ball game.  Chris Davis was intentionally walked, which brought Wilson Betemit to the plate and on a 3-1 count he hit the 3-run home run that ended the game.

This was a hard loss, instead of taking their 2nd series in a row and being 1 game over .500, they are now on a 2-game losing streak and back to a losing record.

Lines of the Day:

• Bartolo Colon:  8.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO.  Despite falling apart a bit in the end, Colon threw another solid game for the A’s, he threw 106 pitches and 72 of those pitches were for strikes.
• Seth Smith:  3 AB, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 HR.  Nice day for Seth Smith today who reached base 3 times and had a solo home run (his 2nd of the season) in the 7th.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Kurt Suzuki:  4 AB, 0 H, 0 BB.  Suzuki now has a .221/.228/.299 slash line on the season.  Along with Suzuki, Eric Sogard also went 0-4 today.
• Grant Balfour:  0 IP, 2 H,  3 ER.  Balfour blew his 2nd save of the season and also gave my fantasy baseball team a big fat “INF” under ERA & WHIP today.

• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again until it improves, but the offense is what is losing games for this team, yes Colon and Balfour fell apart in the 9th, but you can’t win games only scoring 1 or 2 runs per game.   This team is now last in the entire league in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage and 28th in runs.
• Jemile Weeks was not in the lineup today, but according to Melvin it was just a routine day off (his first of the season).

 For more on the Baltimore Orioles please check out Charm City Yakyuu.

This ship is sinking (photo: Rob Hayes./Flickr)

Angels:  6  Athletics:  0

The A’s are now on an 11 game streak without recording at least 10 hits or more.  They were also shut out for the 3rd time in 11 games.

There’s one piece of good news, Josh Reddick went 2-4.  That’s all I’ve got for you.

This is how the A's make me feel (photo: Daniel*1977/Flickr)

Mariners:   5  Athletics:  3

New day, same A’s.  The A’s still have failed to record at least 10 hits in a game this season bringing their streak to 10 games.

Lines of the Day:

• Eric Sogard: 4 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 3 RBI.  The only runs for the A’s are credited to Sogard, who hit a 3-run home run in the 5th, which came off of (RHP) Blake Beavan.
• Kila Ka’aihue: 4 AB, 3 H, 1 R.  It was a good day for Ka’aihue, who was responsible for 3 of the 7 hits the A’s had today.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Graham Godfrey:  5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO.  Yes 2 of the 5 runs Godfrey allowed were unearned, but it took Godfrey 95 pitches to get through 5 innings and he allowed 2 home runs.
• A’s Offense:  The only players outside of Eric Sogard and Kila Ka’aihue to record a hit today were Jemile Weeks and Yoenis Cespedes.

A’s Extras:

• Jordan Norberto pitched 2 clean innings of relief today, he did not allow a hit or a walk.
• (Update) Tyson Ross has been named the 5th starter for the A’s, he will be recalled from Triple-A Sacramento tomorrow and is expected to start Tuesday against the Angels.  It is not known who will be sent down to make room for the right-hander.

For more on the Mariners please visit Needle Ball.

(Photo: The West End/Flickr)

The A’s are off to Seattle to face the Mariners (4-4) for the third time this season.  The good news for the A’s is they won’t be facing Jason Vargas this time, but here’s who they will face:

Friday 7:10 PM PST:  (RHP) Bartolo Colon (1-1)  Vs. (RHP) Felix Hernandez (1-0)

• Colon’s only two starts this season were both against the Mariners, his last start was horrible, having only lasted 4.1 innings while allowing 10 hits, 7 earned runs and striking out 3.
• Hernandez was not much better than Colon in his last start against the A’s, he lasted 6.1 innings, but allowed 8 hits, 6 earned runs and struck out 7.  The 6 earned runs were the most he has ever allowed against the A’s.

Saturday 6:10 PM PST: (LHP) Tom Milone (1-0) Vs. (RHP) Hector Noesi (0-1)

• Milone had a great debut for Oakland, he pitched 8 shut out innings against the Kansas City Royals, only allowed 3 hits (all doubles), walked 3 and struck out 0.  His command was a bit off (having posted a 1.5 BB/9 in 4 seasons in the minors), but I expect that should be something he gets under control the more comfortable he gets in the majors.
• Noesi also made his debut for the Mariners, he only last 3 innings, he allowed 6 hits, 7 earned runs, walked 3 and struck out 3.  I expect him to bounce back at least a little since his first start was against the Texas Rangers.

Sunday 1:10 PM PST: (RHP) Graham Godfrey (0-1) Vs. (RHP) Blake Beavan (0-1)

• In his first start of the season Godfrey wasn’t great against the Royals, but he wasn’t terrible either, he allowed 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk and struck out 1 over 6 innings.
• Despite taking the loss the the Rangers in his first start, Beavan only allowed 1 earned run in 6.1 innings, he also allowed 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.

Keys to Success:

The A’s did win the series against the Royals, but it wasn’t pretty as they continued to struggle at the plate, the team as a whole only combined for 14 hits and 6 runs in the last 3 games.  They are 26th in the league in BA (.195), 26th in OBP (.270) and 25th in SLG % (.325).

It’s clear that if they want to start winning they are going to have to start hitting more.