Photo: Flickr/Keith Allison

The A’s aren’t giving me much to work with this offseason so far. Not even a rumor for me to speculate about.

Oakland did make a small move earlier today; one that sent Infielder Brandon Hicks to the New York Mets for cash considerations. With this move the A’s have now lost three Brandon’s off their roster since the season ended. Brandon Hicks played in 22 games last season for the A’s at shortstop and over 70 plate appearances he had 11 hits, 6 walks and 3 HR. Hicks played in 90 games for the Sacramento Rivercats this past season and over 383 plate appearances he had a .244/.350/.506 slash line with a .372 wOBA & 119 wRC+.

I almost 99.9% sure that Hicks was not going to be the A’s opening day shortstop in 2013, so this move really has not effect on the shortstop search (or lack thereof).

Thanks for everything, Inge!

Athletics:  7  Red Sox:  1

The A’s began September exactly the same way the ended August; with a win.

It was a bitter sweet night for A’s fans, we began by celebrating the Bernie and ended by saying good-bye to the man who brought the Bernie to the Oakland Coliseum.

To begin with the good news, the A’s looked good again tonight at the plate.  They combined for 11 hits, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 5 walks.  Coco Crisp had a huge night for the team, going 3-4 with a walk, a double and a home run (his 10th of the season).  Chris Carter, who went 1-4 tonight, hit his 13th home run of the season and Derek Norris went 2-4 tonight with 2 RBI.

The pitching was just as impressive as the offense, A.J. Griffin, who made his first start for Oakland since August 4, lasted 7 innings tonight and only allowed 3 hits, 1 run, walked none and struck out 5.  Pat Neshek pitched a clean eighth and the ninth and allowed only one hit while striking out 2.

Unfortunately, Brandon Inge, who returned from the DL today, had to leave the game in the fourth inning after he re-injured his shoulder.  Inge is expected to have surgery next week to repair his shoulder and is expected to miss the rest of the season.  Before leaving the game today Inge went 1-2 with a 2 run double in the third.  It’s sad to see Brandon Inge’s time end in Oakland, he played a big part in this run and he will definitely be missed by the A’s players and the fans.

A’s Extras:

• The A’s recalled OF Collin Cowgill and INF Brandon Hicks from Sacramento today.  Hicks was in the lineup tonight and played at shortstop, he was 0-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
• Cliff Pennington replaced Brandon Inge tonight in the lineup and went 2-2 with a run.

Many of us wondered when Dan Straily was going to make his Major League debut and we now have an answer.  Straily will be making his Oakland debut tomorrow against Brett Cecil and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Dan Straily, a right-handed pitcher, has had a stellar year between both Double-A Midland and Triple-A Sacramento, putting together an 8-6 record over 22 games.  Between the 2 teams he has a a 2.60 ERA, leads in all of baseball with 175 strikeouts and has a 11.4 SO/9 rate over 138.1 innings and a very impressive 4.73 SO/BB ratio.

Before the season started John Sickels had Straily ranked as the A’s number 18th best prospect in the A’s organization calling him an “Under-the-radar prospect will need to prove that he can duplicate this at higher levels, but a sleeper.”.

With this move Travis Blackley, who was supposed to pitch tomorrow, is expected to be placed into the bullpen.  The A’s have not made an announcement as to who will be sent down, but many speculate that Jim Miller will be optioned back to Sacramento to make room for Straily.

Also on the move is utility player, Adam Rosales, who was promoted earlier today and is in the starting lineup tonight.  To make room for Rosales, Brandon Hicks has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Athletics:  4  Rays:  3

The A’s pulled off their 12th walk-off of the season tonight, defeating the Rays in 15 innings.

It was a pretty uneventful game, the A’s scored their first 2 runs in the the second when Chris Carter doubled in Yoenis Cespedes and Kurt Suzuki doubled in Chris Carter.  The Rays took the lead in the sixth when Matt Joyce homered off of A.J. Griffin.  The A’s tied the game back up in the seventh when Brandon Hicks hit a home run of his own.

The score remained the same for 8 more innings.  In the bottom of the 15th with Kyle Farnsworth on the mound, Brandon Inge led the inning off with a single and Kurt Suzuki sacrificed him over to second in the following at bat.  Farnsworth then intentionally walked Seth Smith and then unintentionally walked Eric Sogard to load the bases.  Jemile Weeks then hit a fly ball to center and Brandon Inge scored from third to end the game.

A’s Extras:

• This was A.J. Griffin’s longest outing of the season thus far, over 7 innings he allowed 5 hits, 3 runs, walked 2 and struck out 6.
• The A’s set a franchise record tonight, striking out 21 times in the game.  Each player in the starting lineup struck out at least once, with Josh Reddick and Brandon Inge both wearing the Golden Sombrero.
• Jemile Weeks and Josh Reddick both went 0-7 tonight.
• Yoenis Cespedes went 3-7 tonight with 1 run and 1 strike out.

For more on the Tampa Bay Rays, vist Cowbell Clankers. 

Athletics:  14  Orioles:  9

There was a pitcher’s duel tonight in Baltimore.  That was sarcasm for those of you who didn’t catch it.

The A’s struck first when Josh Reddick tripled in Jonny Gomes in the first inning.  They would then go on to score 3 more runs in the same inning, when Yoenis Cepedes scored on a wild pitch and Chris Carter hit a 2-run home run.  Brandon Hicks hit a solo home run in the second and put the A’s up 5-0.

The Orioles scored their first run in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by Chris Davis.  They then went on to score in the 3rd on a double by J.J. Hardy when score 2 more runs.  They then took the lead in the 5th after Adam Jones hit a 3-run home run that put them up 6-5.

The A’s regained their lead in the sixth when Seth Smith hit a bases clearing double, scoring Brandon Hicks, Jemile Weeks and Coco Crisp.

The game was pretty quite until the bottom of the eighth inning, Sean Doolittle lead off the inning with a walk to Mark Reynolds, recorded two outs, but then allowed a single to Nick Markakis.  Ryan Cook came into the game to record a 4 out save, but immediately allowed a single to J.J. Hardy which scored the first run in the inning.  He then allowed another single to Jim Thome and the game was tied 8-8.  After hitting Adam Jones with a pitch, Cook allowed a single to Chris Davis which scored J.J. Hardy and the Orioles had the lead back.

Up 9-8 in the ninth, Jim Johnson came in to close the game.  Yoenis Cespedes led the inning off with a ground out, but then Chris Carter and Brandon Inge both singled.  With 2 on and 1 out, Derek Norris singled and tied the game.  Brandon Moss then walked and with the bases loaded Jemile Weeks hit a single that scored Brandon Inge and the A’s had the lead back.  Coco Crisp then followed with a single of his own and the A’s scored 2 more runs.  Seth Smith then doubled and 2 more runs scored and the A’s were up by 5.

Jerry Blevins pitched the bottom of the ninth, he did allow 2 singles, but no runs scored.

» Continue reading “A’s Win Wild One In Baltimore”

Athletics:  7  Blue Jays:  2

The A’s begin their 6-game road trip with a win.  They have now won 6 straight, making it this their longest winning streak this season.

The A’s scored first when Derek Norris launched a 2-run home run in the second, it was his 3rd home run of the season.  The A’s bats were pretty silent until the 7th inning, when they scored 5 runs with 2 outs.  The rally began with Jemile Weeks hitting a triple that scored Brandon Hicks from second.  Coco Crisp then doubled in Weeks and put the A’s up 4-1.  Next Jonny Gomes and Josh Reddick would both walk and Yoenis Cespedes added 3 more runs when he cleared the bases with a single.

Lines of the Day:

• Travis Blackey: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 SO.  The one run Blackley allowed was a lead off home run by Travis Snider in the 3rd.  It took him only 97 pitches to get through 7 innings and he struck out a season high of 8.
• Jemile Weeks:  4 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 1 RBI.  Weeks was moved down to the 9th spot today and it paid off.  He was the only player in today’s lineup to collect 2 hits, one of which was a triple.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Chris Carter:  3 AB, 0 H, 1 BB.  Chris Carter was the only player in the A’s lineup to not record a hit tonight, but he did reach base in the 4th when he walked.

A’s Extras:

• Evan Scribner and Jim Miller each threw an inning of relief tonight, Scribner allowed a hit and struck out two while Miller allowed 2 hits, including a solo home run and struck out 1.
• A’s top prospect, Michael Choice, has been shut down for the season due to a broken hand.  He had .287/.356/.423 slash line in Double-A Midland over 91 games with 10 HR.

Athletics:  4  Rangers:  3

The A’s offense was pretty quiet today until the bottom of the 7th inning.  Colby Lewis held them to 1 run on 3 hits through the first 5 innings, his only mistake was allowing a solo home run to Brandon Inge in the 5th.

Going into the 7th the Rangers were up 3-1, but a 2-run double by Josh Reddick tied the game.  The bottom of the ninth Brandon Hicks, who came in the game to substitute for Cliff Pennington, lead off the ninth, and on a 1-1 count hit his first major league home run and won the game for the A’s.

Lines of the Day:

• Josh Reddick: 4 AB, 2 H, 2 RBI.  Reddick was one of the 2 players to have a multi-hit game for the A’s today.  He had a single in the 4th inning and the game tying double in the 7th.
• Brandon Inge:  4 AB, 2 H, 1 RBI.  Inge had a productive day, his two hits coming in the form as a solo home run and a double.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s offense: 31 AB, 7 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 SO.  There has definitely been worse days as far as the offense is concerned, but the A’s were 1-10 today with runners and scoring position and they left 8 runners on.

A’s Extras:

• Travis Blackey pitched in his first game today since July 1st, he went 5.1 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4.
• Ryan Cook was credited with today’s win.  He pitched a clean inning in the 9th, he allowed a hit and a walk and struck out 1.
• Coco Crisp returned to the lineup today, he went 1-3 with 1 walk and 2 stolen bases.
• Yoenis Cespedes returned to the outfield today after DH’ing in the previous 4 games.  He went 1-3 today.
• Brandon McCarthy threw a 25 pitch bullpen session today with no problems.  There is still no timetable for his return.
• Today’s walk-off makes 9 for the A’s this season, which leads the majors.

For more on the Texas Rangers, visit Big Game Claws.

Athletics:  6  Twins:  3

Well it wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a win.  The A’s had trouble at the plate tonight, striking out 15 times over the first 8 innings in the game.  The only player to not strike out tonight was the free swinging Yoenis Cespedes.

Lines of the Day:

• Jonny Gomes:  4 AB, 2 H, 5 RBI.  Jonny Gomes first got the A’s on the board in the 4th when he hit a grand slam off of Francisco Liriano.  He then later singled in Yoenis Cespedes in the top of the 9th to collect his 5th RBI of the night.
• Yoenis Cespedes: 4 AB, 2 H, 2 R.  After leaving the game last Sunday with a thumb injury it was nice to see Cespedes have a multi-hit game.  He did DH tonight, but could return to the outfield as early as tomorrow.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Brandon Hicks:  4 AB, 0 H, 4 SO.  Not only did Hicks wear the golden sombrero tonight, he also committed his 2nd error of the season in the 4th inning.
• Coco Crisp:  4 AB, 0 H, 3 SO.  There were quite a few O-fers tonight in the lineup, but Crisp and Hicks almost combined for half the strikeouts alone.

A’s Extras:

• A.J. Griffin collected his first major league win tonight.  He did have his “poorest” outing of the season allowing 3 earned runs on 8 hits and 1 walk over 6 innings.  His only 2 mistakes were 2 home runs to Josh Willingham, a solo in the second and a 2-run shot in the 4th.
• Jemile Weeks went 2-4 today with a double.
• Sean Doolittle pitched 1.2 innings of relief today, he allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 2.  He has only allowed 2 runs over his last 10 appearances (14.1 innings) and has struck out 22.
• Ryan Cook collected his 9th save of the season tonight.  He pitched a clean 9th and did not allow a hit or a walk and struck out 2.
• The A’s placed (RHP) Jim Miller on the paternity leave list earlier today and recalled (LHP) Pedro Figueroa from Triple-A Sacramento to replace him.
• The A’s also signed (RHP) Chris Ray today.  Ray was let go by the Indians last week after he requested to be released.  He pitched in 33 games of relief for the Indian’s Triple-A affiliate this season and during that time he had a 2-4 record with a 2.75 ERA, a 3.02 ERA and a 7.50 K/SO rate.

Athletics:  4  Mariners:  1

This was a typical 2012 A’s/Mariners game.  The Mariners scored first, a couple of singles off Milone in the first and Seattle was on the board.  Milone calmed down and only allowed 3 more hits and 1 walk over the next 6 innings.  It wasn’t until the 8th inning when the next run would score.

It was the 11th inning that really mattered today, Josh Reddick lead off the inning with a single and then Yoenis Cespedes flew out after him.  Seth Smith then singled to keep the rally going and then came Chris Carter who was pinch hitting for Brandon Moss.  On a 0-1 count Carter crushed…er..,slaughtered, the ball to left field and won the game for the A’s.  It was his first major league career walk-off and the A’s 7th walk-off of the season.

Just like that the A’s are back to .500.  To quote myself I said this on June 13th:

Unless the A’s go on some sort of tear, it’s not likely the A’s will take the division this season, nor does it seem likely they will ever see .500 again.

That’s exactly what this team has done over the past 3 weeks.  Even looking at their losses there are at least a handful they could have won.

Lines of the Day:

• Tom Milone:  7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 SO.  Milone continues to be brilliant at home.  In 7 games at the O.co Milone has only allowed more than 1 run one time.  Milone also had a career high 9 strikeout outs tonight and now has 20 over his last 3 games pitched (19 innings).
• A’s Bullpen:  4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 SO.  The bullpen was practically flawless tonight.  Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook, Grant Balfour and Jordan Norberto threw and inning each.  Jordan Norberto, who struck out the side in the top of the 11th, was credited with his first major league win.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s Offense:  36 AB, 8 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 7 SO.  Although they won tonight, the A’s offense was not great.  Josh Reddick, Jemile Weeks and Seth Smith all had 2 hits and combined for three-fourths of the hits collected over 11 innings.  The A’s left 7 players on base tonight and were 2-6 with runners in scoring position.

 For more on the Seattle Mariners, visit Needle Ball. 

Athletics:  3  Red Sox:  2

The A’s struck first tonight, scoring in the first inning off a lead off home run by Coco Crisp.  Unfortunately, the A’s weren’t able to do much after that.  Jon Lester only allowed 2 hits and 1 walk after the first inning.

The Red Sox tied the game on a solo home run in the 2nd and then took the lead in the 4th after a fielding error by Chris Carter.

It was pretty quiet until the A’s and Red Sox both threatened in the 8th, but both were unable to capitalize after getting 2 men on to lead off the top and bottom of the inning.

The Red Sox threatened again in the top of the 9th after Ryan Kalish singled to lead off the inning and Mike Aviles walked immediately after.  A would have been sacrifice bunt by Nick Punto turned into a double play and Ryan Kalish was caught stealing 3rd to end the threat.

Chris Carter lead off the 9th inning with a single.  Brandon Inge popped out to foul territory and it was beginning to look like the 8th all over again.  A single by Cliff Pennington kept the inning going and then Brandon Moss singled in Chris Carter to tie the game.  With a runner on second and third Coco Crisp hit a sac fly to win the game for the green and gold.

I am not going to lie, from the 2nd inning to the 8th inning this game felt hopeless for the A’s.  This A’s walk-off was their 6th of the season, last season they only had 3 in the entire year.

Lines of the Day:

• Coco Crisp:  4 AB, 2 H, 2 RBI.  It was a multi-hit game for Coco today, who was responsible for 2 of the 3 runs the A’s scored today.
• Chris Carter: 4 AB, 2 H.  Carter’s error in the 4th could have lost the game for the A’s, but it didn’t so he makes the cut.  It’s nice to see Carter collect a couple of hits for the team tonight, he has now played in 3 games for the A’s since being called up and has a hit in all of them.

Ugly lines of the Day:

• Yoenis Cespedes: 4 AB, 0 H, 3 SO.  That’s 2 days in a row Yoenis has gone o-fer.  Yesterday I commented on the fact he did not have a single strike out and today he was one short of wearing the golden sombrero.
• Brandon Inge:  4 AB, 0 H, 2 SO.  Brandon Inge has not looked great recently, in his last 10 games he only has 5 hits in 36 ABs, has only walked once and struck out 13 times.

Lines of the Day:

• Bartolo Colon, who returned from the DL today, did well tonight.  He pitched 6 innings and allowed 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), walked 1 and struck out 3.  He threw 87 pitches, 55 which were strikes.
• Brandon Hicks started at short tonight for the A’s, he went 0-2 before Seth Smith came in to pinch hit for him in the 7th.
• Travis Blackey is having his start pushed back due to back soreness.  Blackley was supposed to pitch on Saturday, but is now not expected to start until after the All-Star break.

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