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.

Athletics:  20  Red Sox:  2

I think the score speaks for itself tonight.

The A’s combined for 19 hits, 20 runs, 5 home runs, 4 doubles,  2 walks, and 4 strikeouts tonight.  They faced seven Red Sox pitchers and only one of the seven did not give up a run to them (Junichi Tazawa).

Every player reached base tonight via walk or hit.  The only player to not collect a hit was Coco Crisp, but he walked and scored in the seventh.

It was a big night for Brandon Moss, who went 4-5 with a home run, 2 doubles and 4 RBI against his former team. Josh Reddick, also a former Red Sox, went 2-5 with a double and a grand slam, his first of his career.  Keeping up with the former Red Sox theme, George Kottaras went 3-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.

Josh Donaldson also had a home run in tonight’s game.  He was 1-4 with a home run before he was pulled from the game with a strained right hip flexor.  The injury does not sound serious and he is considered day-to-day.  Brandon Inge is expected to be called up tomorrow and should take his place at third base for now.

Brandon McCarthy lasted 6.1 inning tonight, he allowed 8 hits, 1 home run, 2 runs, no walks and struck out 1.  McCarthy seemed to struggle a bit tonight, needing 107 pitches to make it through a little over six innings.  Pedro Figueroa, who was recalled from Sacramento earlier today for Jim Miller, finished the seventh inning and also pitched the eighth inning, he allowed a hit and a walk.  Evan Scribner closed out the game and he did not allow a baserunner.

White Sox: 7  Athletics: 3

There is not a lot to say about this afternoon’s game except it was ugly.

Bartolo Colon was strong through the first five innings, only allowing one unearned run off of a bad throw by Cliff Pennington.  Jonny Gomes tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth when he hit his fourteenth home run of the season.

Colon retired the first batter in the sixth, but allowed a single to Alex Rios and the following batter, A.J. Pierzynski, hit a 2-run home run off of him and the White Sox regained the lead.  He then got Alexei Ramirez to ground out, but with two outs the White Sox rallied to score 3 more runs off of Colon.  The last time Bartolo Colon allowed five runs or more was June 12th against the Colorado Rockies.  This is also the first time he has allowed an earned run since July 22nd against the New York Yankees.

The A’s would go on to score two more runs in the game, both off of solo home runs, but it wasn’t enough to rally back and win.

There were three errors committed in today’s game, two by Cliff Pennington and one by Yoenis Cespedes, but technically, only one of of those errors cost the A’s a run.

Line of the Day:

• Adam Rosales: 4 AB, 2 H, 1 RBI, 1 HR.  Adam Rosales was one of the two players who had a multi-hit game, one of those hits was a home run (his second of the season).

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Bartolo Colon: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 Earned), 2 BB, 2 SO.  Colon has been good for the A’s this season, so it’s hard to be mad about today’s game.  A pitcher is bound to have a bad day eventually, today was his.
• A’s Offense: 35 AB, 8 H, 3 RBI, 13 SO.  The only three runs that the A’s scored were off of solo home runs.  To be fair, Chris Sale is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game right now, so again, hard to be mad.

A’s Extras:

• Derek Norris hit his fifth home run of the season in the ninth.
• After having a big day yesterday, Chris Carter went 0-4 today with two strikeouts.
• Brandon Inge was not in the lineup today after dislocating his shoulder in last night’s game.  The injury is more serious than originally thought and he will head to Oakland tomorrow for a MRI and a DL trip is possible.

 For more on the Chicago White Sox, visit South Side Hit Girl. 

I can even play with a dislocated shoulder!

Athletics:  9  White Sox: 7

This was not a pretty game by any means, but a win is a win and I’ll take it.

After struggling twice against Francisco Lirano earlier this season, the A’s finally found a way to score runs off of the left-hander.  The first inning did not look good for the Green and Gold as the first three batters that faced Lirano struck out.  In the second he struck out two more Athletics.

The third inning was much different.  Jemile Weeks lead off the inning with a fly out, Coco Crisp then singled and then Jonny Gomes walked.  Josh Reddick then grounded out into a force out and Jonny Gomes was thrown out at second.  Yoenis Cespedes was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Chris Carter, who singled and drove in two runs.  Brandon Inge then walked and with the bases loaded and two outs Derek Norris hit a ground-rule double and both Cespedes and Carter scored.  Adam Rosales then singled in the final run before Jemile Weeks flew out, again, to end the inning.

Travis Blackley, having allowed two runs the previous inning, now had a 5-2 lead.  The A’s would add on another run in the fouth when Josh Reddick singled in Coco Crisp.  Blackley saw his lead shrink when he allowed a RBI single to Tyler Flowers in the 4th and then a 2-run home run to Kevin Youkilis in the fifth.

Jordan Norberto replaced Blackley in the sixth inning and after retiring the first two batters on strikeouts he gave up a home run to Tyler Flowers and the game was tied.  Norberto would start the seventh inning as well, allowing a lead off single to Kevin Youkilis and striking out Adam Dunn before Ryan Cook came in to replace him.

Bob Melvin had announced earlier in the day that Ryan Cook was being removed from the closer spot for a couple of days and will only be put into games with less high-pressure situations.  So I question why Ryan Cook was placed into a tied game in the seventh.  That being said, Ryan Cook immediately allowed back-to-back singles to Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynsky and the White Sox took the lead.  He then got Alexei Ramirez to ground out into a double play to end the inning.

» Continue reading “A’s Fight Hard to Even Up Series”

Thanks for showing up, Cespedes!

Rays:  4  Athletics:  1

The A’s have lost back-to-back games for the first time since June 30th.  The A’s are coming off a great July, going 19-5 on the month, which set a franchise record for the month, so is losing the first game in August mean it’s time to panic?

I’d say “yes” and “no”.  Okay, maybe not “panic”, but it’s a bit concerning.  The A’s looked absolutely terrible at the plate in this series, they scored only 5 runs over the 3 games, struck out 39 times total and in the last 2 games only combined for 8 hits and 1 run.  It was ugly, to say the least, and looked a lot like the A’s from earlier in the season.

On the other hand, the A’s have not had a day off since they began their 6-game east coast road trip and the first game in this series was 15 innings long.  It’s a silly excuse, but may also be a legitimate reason why the A’s looked so defeated over the past couple of games.  Most importantly, it’s only 2 games.  There are 7 more games in this homestand, and I think those 7 games will determine whether or not the July A’s are the real thing or not.

Lines of the Day:

• Brandon Inge: 4 AB, 1 H, 1 RBI.  Brandon Inge is responsible for the only run scored for the A’s over the past 18 innings, he also holds a season high 11-game hitting streak.
• Yoenis Cespedes:  4 AB, 2 H.  Cespedes was the only player to collect 2 hits today, he was 5-14 in the series.

A’s Extras:

• Josh Reddick went 0-4 today and is now hitless in his last 21 at-bats with 8 strikeouts.
• Jarrod Parker was okay today, lasting 6 innings, allowing 8 hits, 3 runs, walking 3 and striking out 2.
• Jordan Norberto pitched 2 innings of relief today, he allowed 1 hit (a solo home run to Carlos Pena) and struck out 1.

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

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”

Blue Jays:  10  Athletics:  4

The A’s 7-game winning streak has come to an end after the Blue Jays knocked around the pitching staff this afternoon.  Tom Milone looked like his normal road self, allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits, including 2 home runs, with no walks and striking out 7.

The A’s took an early 3-0 lead on a solo home run by Josh Reddick (his 22nd of the season) and a 2-run shot by Brandon Inge (his 11th of the season).  That lead was soon erased in the bottom of the 4th when Milone allowed a 3-run home run to Edwin Encarnacion.

The A’s regained the lead again the following inning on an RBI ground out by Josh Reddick, but that would be the last run they would score in the game.  Milone lost the lead in the 6th inning when Travis Snider laid down a safety squeeze bunt, allowing Colby Rasmus to score from third and a throwing error by Milone himself allowed for the 2nd run to score.  Milone’s last run allowed was a solo home run by Kelly Johnson in the 7th.

A’s Extras:

• The A’s only had 5 hits today, they also had 3 walks and struck out 9 times.  Not one player in the lineup had a multi-hit day.
• Sean Doolittle did not have a good day, allowing 3 hits and 4 runs over 2/3 of an inning.
• The A’s released (RHP) Chris Ray earlier today after he requested his release.  He pitched in 6 games for the Rivercats he allowed 7 hits and 4 runs over 6 innings.

Athletics:  5  Yankees: 4

You are reading that correctly, the Oakland A’s have swept the New York Yankees.  This is the first time in Oakland A’s history that the A’s have swept the Bronx Bombers in a 4-game series at the Coliseum.

The game was not easy for the A’s as they had to come back from a 4-0 deficit after Bartolo Colon allowed  3 runs in the 3rd and another run in the 4th.  Brandon Inge was the first to get the A’s on the board when he hit a solo home run in the 5th (his 10th of the season).  Kurt Suzuki followed with his own, which also happened to be his first of the season.  The  A’s would score again in the 6th after an RBI groundout by Brandon Inge.

The A’s were down 1 in the ninth when Rafael Soriano came in to close the game. He got Brandon Inge to pop up to record the first out of the inning, but Seth Smith was the next batter and he took Soriano deep to tie the game at 4.

The 10th and the 11th were quiet for the A’s, as they did not even get a base runner on in either of the two innings.  With 1 out in the 12th Derek Norris singled to break his 30 at bat hitless streak and Jemile Weeks sacrificed him over to second in the next at bat.  Coco Crisp was the next batter and he singled in Norris, for his 2nd walk-off of the season and making it the team’s 11th walk-off overall.

 Lines of the Day:

• Coco Crisp:  3 AB, 2 H, 1 RBI, SB.  No one really had a big day as far as offense goes, but after coming in to pinch hit for Gomes in the 8th, Crisp collected a couple hits, including the one that won the game.
• A’s Bullpen:  Jordan Norberto, Grant Balfour and Jerry Blevins were fantastic today, they combined for 5.1 innings, allowed 3 hits, no runs, walked one and struck out 7.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Jemile Weeks:  5 AB, 0 H, 1 SO.  With Crisp not in the starting lineup today, Weeks hit lead off and went O-fer at the plate.  The only time he reached base was on a fielding error by Jayson Nix.
• Yoenis Cespedes: 5 AB, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 SO.  Cespedes struggled a bit at the plate today, only reaching base on a fielder’s choice in the 4th.

A’s Extras:

• After witnessing 3 spectacular pitching performances in the first 3 games, Bartolo Colon was just okay today.  He lasted 6.2 innings, allowing 8 hits, 4 runs and a walk while striking out 5.

For more on the New York Yankees, visit Second Place Is Not An Option.

Athletics:  2  Yankees:  1

It was another pitcher’s duel tonight in Oakland and despite Phil Hughes only allowing 4 hits the A’s they were able to win their third straight against the Yankees and secure the series win.

The A’s two runs both came from home runs, Yoenis Cespedes hit his 13th home run of the season in the 4th and Brandon Inge hit his 9th of the season in the 8th.

Lines of the Day:

• Jarrod Parker: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO.  Parker was fantastic tonight, his only mistake was allowing a 2 out RBI single to Raul Ibanez in the top of the 4th.
• Yoenis Cespedes:  2 AB, 1 H, 1 BB.  Cespedes was the only hitter to reach base twice tonight.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s Offense:  26 AB, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 SO.  The A’s did not do a lot at the plate tonight, but lucky for them 2 of their 4 hits were home runs which was enough to defeat a usually offensively adept team.

A’s Extras:

• Sean Doolittle recorded his first save of his career.  Alex Rodriguez lead off the inning with a single, but Doolittle was able to strike out Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Andruw Jones to end the threat.
• Brett Anderson made his first rehab start in Stockton tonight, he threw 35 pitches (20 strikes) over 2 innings, allowed 2 hits, 2 runs, hit a batter, walk none and struck out none.

For more on the Yankees, visit Second Place Is Not An Option.