With the A’s loss to the Brewers tonight the A’s have now lost 6 games out of their last 25, but they still have the third best record in the American League, and with a Rangers’ loss to the Red Sox, they are still only 1.5 games out of first place.  I know that it’s June, but it’s nice to see the A’s be successful early in the season, as this team is normally known as a second-half team.

There is no question that when your favorite team is performing well, without a bunch of high-paid, well known players, fans of opposing teams are going to call the success a “fluke”.  This all started last July, when the A’s went on to win 19 of their 24 games, setting themselves up to eventually win the AL West on the last day of the season.  Now I know we aren’t “supposed to live in the past”, so let’s focus on this season.

Do I think think this team has been a fluke since July 2012?  Yes, most of the 19 wins in their last 25 games and some of these wins have been against teams with losing records (10 out of the 19 to be exact), but isn’t that what good teams are supposed to do?  Beat teams who are, supposedly, “beatable”?  Would wins matter more if the team was winning against teams with winning records, than with teams with losing records?  Now, I know it is still early in the season, but it is encouraging for me to see the team winning games they might have not won last season at this time.

Now, what exactly is a fluke?  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a fluke is “a stroke of luck”.  So to say the A’s are a flukey team, you would be saying the A’s are winning purely on luck.  Are the A’s getting lucky?  It’s quite possible.  They have had a relatively “easy” schedule over the past three weeks, but they aren’t winning on balls that should have been caught, but were dropped.  They aren’t winning by bad calls by umpires, or by fans interfering in plays.  To state the obvious, the A’s are pitching well and scoring runs when they need to, to win games.  I would not call that luck, I would call that, playing good baseball.

There’s been a few changes since early to mid-May, mainly, the pitching staff has really turned it around for the team, especially Jarrod Parker and Dan Straily.  In his first seven starts, Jarrod Parker allowed 28 earned runs over 34.1 innings (7.34 ERA), while walking 18 batters and striking out 25, also posting a .372 BABIP.  In his last five starts he has allowed just 9 runs over 34.1 innings, while walking 10 and striking out 26, also posting a .200 BABIP.  His .200 BABIP over his last five games does actually show he’s running into a bit of luck, but his .372 BABIP also shows he was under-preforming earlier in the season.

Dan Straily is a bit different than Jarrod Parker since his sample sizes are a bit smaller, but definitely worth the mention.  Straily was called up on April 29th after Brett Anderson landed on the DL with a ankle injury, through his first four starts he allowed 19 earned runs over 19 innings, walked 12, struck out 16 and allowed 3 home runs, which was good for a .310 BABIP.  Through his last three games he has allowed 2 runs over 19 innings, walked one and struck out 14, while posting a .222 BABIP.

The most consistent pitcher has been Bartolo Colon, who was the biggest question coming into this season.  He has pitched in 11 games for the A’s this season and over 70.1 innings has a 3.33 ERA, a 3.34 FIP and a .286 BABIP.  He has only walked 4 batters and struck out 42, good for a 5.37 SO/BB ratio.

It’s not only the pitching that is helping the team win, their offense has also been decent, around league average, and are currently 5th in the league with runs scored (281).  They have a combined .251/.336/.404 slash line this season, this comes a season after spending the entire season in the cellar in most offensive categories.

Josh Donaldson has been the MVP of the team so far this season, posting a .321/.392/.526 slash line in 245 plate appearances and has a .393 wOBA and 151 wRC+, good for a 2.6 fWAR. Jed Lowrie has also had a good season up to this point, posting a .317/.397/.447 slash line with a .371 wOBA and 137 wRC+.

I think most underrated is Coco Crisp’s return, who, since returning to the team on May 15th,  has a .328/.421/.443 slash line over 76 plate appearances.  He has walked 12 times, scored 14 times and driven in 10.  It’s amazing what can happen to a team when their lead off hitter reaches base.

I don’t think it’s always going to be this easy for the team, they will hit bumps in the road, as most teams do. But, I think it’s time for people to realize this team is not winning games because they have magical powers where special winning elves come and prevent them from losing.  This team is doing everything right, right now, just like they did in the second half of the season.  Numbers do not lie; the A’s have hitters they didn’t have in the past, they are getting quality starts out of their five starting pitchers and the bullpen is preserving leads for the most part (26-2 when leading after the 7th inning).  Add in team health and the Athletics are in a position to contend for the AL West title once again in 2013.

Dan Straily made his season debut tonight, facing the Houston Astros for the first time in his Major League career. This was the first time the A’s have faced the Houston Astros since they joined the AL West (obviously) and they walk away with the win by a final score of 8-3. Straily pitched 6.2 innings tonight, allowed five hits, two earned runs, walked none and struck out a career high of eleven.

Pat Neshek came in the seventh to relieve Straily, but struggled to get the last batter out. He allowed two hits, a walk and a run (charged to Straily) before he was relieved by Chris Resop, who recorded the final out by getting Brett Wallace to fly out to center with the bases loaded. Evan Scribner pitched the final two innings of the game, allowing two hits, a double, one run, no walks and struck out one.

Coco Crisp lead the game off with home run, but the bats stayed pretty quiet after that until the fifth inning. The A’s scored seven runs in the fifth on four hits (two doubles), four walks, one error and one hit by pitch. The only player to not reach base in that inning was Nate Freiman. In fact, Nate Freiman was the only player to not reach base the entire night.

Lines of the Day:

• Dan Straily was probably the hero in tonight’s game, striking out eleven and only allowing those two runs. Although I hear it’s easy to strike out Astros’ hitters this season, it was still fun to watch him. Unfortunately for Straily, Bartolo Colon returns from his suspension tomorrow and will be making his first start, which means Straily will be on his way to Sacramento.
• Coco Crisp had a big night going 3-5 with two doubles, a home run, one walk and three RBI.
• Also having a good night was John Jaso, who went 2-3 with a walk and one RBI.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• There really wasn’t a lot of bad tonight, but there were a few players that stood out to me. Yoenis Cespedes looked a little lost at the plate tonight he went 0-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts. He did reach base on an error in the seventh inning.
• Nate Freiman also went 0-5 tonight, but to be fair, there were two balls he hit that could have dropped for hits, especially when Rick Ankiel made a nice play to rob him from a hit.
• Pat Neshek seemed to be all over the place tonight, I don’t really need to repeat his numbers, but he just didn’t have it.

Photo: Keith Allison

With today’s 13-5 win over the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim the A’s are sitting on a 5-5 record this spring. This is the first time since game two that the A’s are at .500 and they have also won three in a row for the first time in ten games. These numbers don’t really mean a lot until the real season starts, but a win is always nice even when it’s “only” spring training.

The five runs scored by the Angels today were only allowed by two pitchers; with Dan Straily allowing two and Ryan Cook allowing the other three. Straily started today’s game and went 2.1 innings while allowing four hits, two earned runs, no walks and striking out two. Over 3.2 innings this spring he has allowed six hits, four runs, one walk and struck out three. Chris Resop relieved Straily in the third and struck out both batters he faced. Sean Doolittle pitched a clean fourth inning while striking out the side. Ryan Cook allowed his three runs in one inning, allowing four hits and a walk while also striking out one. Jordan Norberto also pitched in today’s game and allowed only a hit.

The offense was what really won the game for the team today. They combined for fifteen hits, five walks, four doubles and two triples while going 9-14 with runners in scoring position. The biggest hit came from John Jaso in the fourth when he hit a bases clearing triple. He finished the game going 1-2 with a walk and three RBI.

• Adam Rosales started at second base today and went 0-2 with a walk. He is 4-11 this spring with four walks and two RBI.
• Josh Reddick started in right field today and went 1-3 with a double and an RBI.
• Yoenis Cespedes collected his first hit of the spring today and finished the day going 1-2 with a walk and two runs scored.
• Jed Lowrie was the starting shortstop today and went 1-3 with an RBI. He is now 4-14 with three walks and three RBI this spring.
• Josh Donaldson was the starting third baseman in today’s game and he went 0-2 with a walk. This spring he is 1-17 with four walks.
• Michael Choice stated in center today and went 0-2 with a strikeout. Shane Peterson replaced him in the sixth and he went 1-2 with a triple and an RBI.

Tomorrow is the first split-squad for the team; Bartolo Colon will face the undefeated Kansas City Royals while Brett Anderson takes on team Italy.

The funny thing about Spring Training, or baseball in general, is how quickly things turn around for a team. Yesterday my biggest concern was the lack of offense from the A’s and today that’s exactly what won them the game. The A’s defeated the San Diego Padres by a final score of 11-6, combing for fourteen hits, eight walks, four doubles and two home runs. Maybe the A’s weren’t facing the Padres best lineup or pitching, but a win is a win and the overreacting fans really needed it.

The pitching was not great again for the team, but keep in mind, most of the runs allowed today were not from pitchers we should expect to be on the opening day roster. Dan Straily, who may or may not be in the rotation, started today’s game and only lasted 1.1 innings. He allowed two hits, two runs, walked one and struck out one. The other four runs allowed came from Bruce Billings and Justin Thomas, each allowing two runs a piece.

On a side note, Chris Young was scheduled to play today, but was scratched from the lineup because Melvin wanted to give him an extra day off. Here’s what some of the players who did play did today:

• Bullpen hopeful, Pat Neshek, pitched one inning today. He allowed no hits, no runs and walked none. Also hoping to get into the bullpen is Chris Resop, who also pitched one inning and allowed one hit, no runs and no walks.
• Jemile Weeks started at second base today and went 2-2 with a home run (his first of spring), with a walk and 2 RBI.
• Seth Smith also hit his first home run of spring today, he went 2-3 with 2 RBI.
• Jed Lowrie made his debut at third base today and went 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI.
• John Jaso went 1-1 with a walk.
• Daric Barton started at first base today and went 1-3 with a double. He is now 4-7 this spring with two walks.
• Everyone’s favorite pitcher they love to hate, Jesse Chavez, pitched two clean innings; allowed no hits, no walks and struck out two.

Tomorrow the A’s will face the Chicago Cubs and Brett Anderson will be the starting pitcher. Along with Anderson, Bartolo Colon will also be making his spring debut.

About two weeks ago I talked about the A’s rotation and who might fill in the fifth spot, eliminating Brad Peacock from the equation. My opinion, which means nothing to the front office, still stands. I believe the A’s should be looking to sign an inexpensive, experienced starter and let the younger pitchers continue to develop. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll be listening to me any time soon.

We’re now left with three (maybe four) options; A.J. Griffin, Travis Blackley, Dan Straily and Andrew Werner.

This time last year not many baseball fans knew the name Dan Straily, in fact, most A’s fans had no idea who he was. In 2012 Baseball America did not name him as one of the Athletics top prospects (this year he was named by them the sixth best in the system). I believe, correct me if I am wrong, John Sickels was the only person who named him as one of the A’s top prospects before the start of last season. Sickels ranked him as the A’s 18th best prospect and referred to him as an ” Under-the-radar prospect will need to prove that he can duplicate this at higher levels, but a sleeper.”

You all know the story of Dan Straily by now, he was drafted by the A’s in the 24th round of the 2009 draft, before last season the highest level he’d played in was High-A ball and he struck out the entire Texas League to make it to the majors. Maybe I exaggerated a little bit in that last part, but you get the idea.

Straily began the season in Double-A Midland last season, starting in 14 games and posting a 3.38 ERA, 2.57 FIP, and a .312 BABIP over 85.1 innings pitched. Most impressive was his 108 strikeouts and 11.39 SO/9 rate. He had two stints in Triple-A Sacramento and over 66.2 innings (11 starts) he had a 6-3 record with a 2.03 ERA, a 2.23 FIP and .247 BABIP while striking out 82 (11.07 SO/9 rate).

After breezing through the minors, Straily was called up in August, but his numbers in the minors did not transfer over to the majors. Straily made 7 starts for the A’s and over 39.1 innings he posted a 2-1 record with a 3.89 ERA, a 6.48 FIP, .225 BABIP and a -0.5 fWAR. Despite a “low” ERA, his FIP was horrendous (his 4.72 SIERA was better, but still not terrific).  So exactly what happened when he came up? His strikeout rate dropped to 7.32 SO/9 (which is still okay) and his walk rate increased to 3.66 BB/9, but most concerning was the 11 home runs he allowed which was good for a 2.52 HR/9 rate.

While his numbers we not exceptional, keep in mind this is a very small sample size and there is absolutely no reason to panic. That being said, I do not see him starting right away in Oakland, as there are some things that need to be worked on (i.e. keeping his fastball away from the middle of the plate). If his numbers are even close to what they were last season in Triple-A, we should expect to see him back in Oakland mid-season.

Athletics: 7   Mariners: 4

I am not sure what is the bigger surprise of the season, the fact that the A’s have 14 walk-off wins this season or that they won their 90th game today.

Either one you choose, neither came easy today.  The A’s offense did not show up until the eighth inning today as their struggles against Jason Vargas this season continued.  Vargas held the team to only 5 hits and 1 run over the first seven innings of the game, he also walked no one and struck out 7.  The one run he did allow was an RBI single by Brandon Moss, in which Yoenis Cespedes scored from first base. Yes, you’re reading that right.

Dan Straily looked good in the first inning, but struggled throughout the rest of his start.  He only lasted 4.1 innings today and allowed 4 runs (only 3 earned).  The first run scored by Seattle was off of two throwing errors in the same play, one by Brandon Moss and the other by Yoenis Cespedes. He allowed 3 more runs in the fourth inning, allowing a solo home run to Kyle Seager to start the inning and a 2-run home run to Michael Saunders.  He has now allowed 11 home runs over 39.1 innings this season.  Along with giving up a couple of long balls, Straily walked 4 and struck out 3.

Pedro Figueroa came in to finish the fifth inning, with runners on first and third and no outs, he struck out the two batters he faced. He also pitched a clean sixth inning. Pat Neshek replaced Figueroa in the seventh inning, retiring all three batters he faced.  Evan Scribner replaced Neshek in the eigth inning, he allowed a single with two outs, but got Justin Smoak to ground out to end the inning.

With Vargas finally out of the game in the eighth, the A’s were able to make some noise. Cliff Pennington lead of the inning by striking out. Coco Crisp then singled and Stephen Drew walked. Yoenis Cespedes popped up to record the second out of the inning.  Brandon Moss doubled and Coco Crisp scored, but Stephen Drew was thrown out at home to end the inning.

Evan Scribner came in to start the ninth inning, but was replaced by Ryan Cook after he allowed a double to Miguel Olivo with only one out.  Cook struck out Casper Wells and got Miguel Montero to line out. In the bottom of the ninth Seth Smith, who came in to replace Jonny Gomes, struck out to start the inning. Josh Reddick took a four pitch walk and then Josh Donaldson took an 0-1 pitch and hit it over the center field wall to tie the game. Derek Norris and Cliff Pennington both struck out and the game went on to the tenth.

Grant Balfour pitched the top of the tenth inning and did not allow a baserunner and struck out one. Coco Crisp lead off the inning with a single and after Stephen Drew lined out Yoenis Cespedes walked.  Then with two on and one out Brandon Moss hit a 3-run home run to win the A’s their 14th walk-off of the season and their 90th game of the year.

After a disappointing loss today and a 4-6 road trip, the A’s head home to finish up their final home stand of the season.  The A’s are still very much in the playoff race, still two games ahead of the Anaheim Angels for the second wildcard and one game behind the Baltimore Orioles.  The A’s will begin their final six of games of the season tomorrow, starting with a 3-game series against the Seattle Mariners (73-83).

Friday 7:05 PM PST: (RHP) Blake Beavan (10-10) Vs (RHP) A.J. Griffin (6-1)

• Blake Beavan is coming off of a very strong start against the Texas Rangers.  Over 7 innings he allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and stuck out 2. He faced the A’s once this season (back on April 15) and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and no walks while striking out 4.
• A.J. Griffin is looking to bounce back from two back-to-back poor starts. In his last outing against the New York Yankees he only lasted 4.1 innings allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 1. Over his last two starts he has allowed 4 home runs, in his previous 11 starts he allowed 5 total. Griffin faced the Mariners earlier this month and lasted  5.1 innings and allowed 6 hits, 1 run, walked 1 and struck out 7.

Saturday 1:05 PM PST: (LHP) Jason Vargas (14-11) Vs (RHP) Dan Straily (2-1)

• Jason Vargas faced the Texas Rangers in his start and allowed 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks and struck out 3 over six innings.  When he last pitched in Oakland (July 7) he threw a complete game, allowing only 1 run on 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6.
• Dan Straily did well in his last start against the New York Yankees.  He allowed only 2 runs (1 earned) over 6.2 innings while only allowing 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8.  This will be his first career start against the Seattle Mariners.

Sunday 1:05 PM PST: (RHP) Erasmo Ramirez (1-3) Vs (LHP) Tom Milone (13-10)

• In his last start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Erasmo Ramirez lasted 6 innings and allowed 5 runs (3 earned), walked none and struck out 3.  He last started against the A’s in June and threw 8 innings, only allowed 3 hits and 1 run, walked 1 and struck out 10.
• Tom Milone pitched 6 innings against the Texas Rangers in his last start and only allowed 6 hits and 2 runs while walking none and striking out 3. He faced the Mariners earlier this month and allowed 8 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and struck out 10 over 6 innings.

Rangers:  5  Athletics:  4

Another day, another walk-off.  From a fan’s point of view, this has been extremely frustrating trip for the team.  We knew it wasn’t going to come easy, but I don’t think we expected this.

Dan Straily pitched a great game tonight in Arlington, over 6.2 innings he allowed 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) walked two and struck out a career high of 8.  His only real mistake was a one out home run to Josh Hamilton in the fifth inning. The fifth was really the only inning he struggled in, after allowing a home run to Hamilton he allowed a double to Adrian Beltre, but he was picked off by Derek Norris when he tried to moved to third on a ball that dropped a foot in front of Norris.  He then allowed a double to Nelson Cruz, but the threat ended when he got Michael Young to pop up.

The A’s scored first tonight off of a 2-run home run from Josh Donaldson in the second inning.  They scored again in the third inning off of a solo home run by Yoenis Cespedes.  Their final run scored was in the sixth off of a two out RBI single by Cliff Pennington.

They knocked Derek Holland out of the game after only 3 innings, they only collected 4 hits off of him, but two of those hits were home runs.  He also walked 2 and struck out 4. The A’s could not do much against the Rangers bullpen after Holland was pulled, only combining for 4 hits, 2 walks and 1 run over the next 6 innings of the game.

When Dan Straily left the game in the seventh inning he left with the bases empty and was in line for the win.  Jerry Blevins came in to record the final out of the inning, but walked Josh Hamilton.  Pat Neshek came in to relieve Blevins, he did record the last out, but not before giving up a 2-run home run to Adrian Beltre.

The A’s did not do much in the eighth or the ninth.  Josh Reddick walked in the eighth, but was stranded and Stephen Drew walked with 1 out in the 9th, but was stranded after he was caught stealing to end the inning.

Ryan Cook came in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, he was able to retire all three batters he faced.  Unfortunately, Tyson Ross, who came in to pitch in the ninth, did not have the same success.  Ross allowed two singles to Mitch Moreland and Ian Kinsler to lead off the inning.  Elvis Andrus then sacrificed both runners over to second and third with a bunt.  Ross then intentionally walked Josh Hamilton.  With the bases loaded Adrian Beltre (yes, again) came up to the plate and smacked a single up the middle and the ballgame was over.

It’s easy to put the blame on one individual, but, in my opinion, it was another group effort.  You could say that it was poor management of the bullpen, but there was another costly error in the second inning which lead to an unearned run.  The team struggled again offensively, only going 2-8 tonight with runners in scoring position and leaving 7 on.

Is it panic time for the A’s?  Probably so.  I have tried to remain optimistic through this entire road trip, but they are now only 2-4 over their last six games with 3 left to play in Texas before heading home.  They have 9 games left, 6 of which are against the Rangers.  They are now 5 games out of first place, 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the first wild card and only hold a 2 game lead over the Angels for the second wild card.  I don’t necessarily think it’s time to give up on them, but they are going to have to make a tremendous turnaround if they want to hold onto the second wildcard spot.

Orioles:  9  Athletics:  5

I want to be happy that the A’s took two out of three against the Orioles, but it’s hard to feel optimistic when today’s game was absolutely ugly.

I felt good about the A’s in the first, Dan Straily had an easy inning getting the first two batters to pop up and then striking out the final to end the inning.  Collin Cowgill lead off the bottom half of the inning with a double and two batters later Josh Reddick hit his 29th home run of the season putting the A’s up 2-0. Yoenis Cespedes then doubled, Chris Carter then walked, but both were stranded after Josh Donaldson hit into a double play.

The A’s lead was then cut in half after Straily allowed a solo home run to Matt Wieters in the second.  The Orioles then tied it in the third inning off of an RBI single from JJ Hardy.  The Orioles then took the lead in the fourth inning when Matt Wieters hit his second home run of the game to lead off the inning.  The A’s would never see the lead again after that.

Dan Straily was not good today, only lasting 4.2 innings while allowing 5 hits, 4 runs, 2 home runs and walking 5.  Home runs have been one of his biggest issues in the majors, having allowed 8 over 28.1 innings since his call up.  His next scheduled start is in Yankee Stadium, so it will be interesting to see if his start is skipped or if he gets another shot in the home run friendly stadium.

Six pitchers came out of the bullpen today, Travis Blackley pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and no runs.  Evan Scribner replaced Blackley in the fifth, faced one batter, allowed a hit and then was replaced by Pedro Figueroa.  Figueroa threw one pitch, getting Chris Davis to pop up, before being replaced by Tyson Ross.  Ross struck the last batter out to end the inning.

Tyson Ross came out in the seventh and walked the first two batters before he coughed up an RBI double to Manny Machado and a two run single to Endy Chavez. Jim Miller then came in to replace Ross, allowed a single to Robert Andino, but then struck out the next three batters.  Miller then pitched a clean 8th inning, walking 1 and striking out 1.

The A’s scored two more runs in the eighth off of a 2-run home run by Stephen Drew, their first runs scored since the first inning.  Jesse Chavez came in to replace Jim Miller in the ninth and allowed back-to-back doubles and a run to start of the inning. He then recorded two outs, but allowed an RBI single to Chris Davis.

The A’s tried to make a come back in the ninth, but fell short.  With one out Brandon Moss walked and Seth Smith struck out swinging.  Josh Reddick singled and Brandon Moss scored.  Yoenis Cespedes then kept the rally going by also hitting a single.  Jim Johnson then came in and got Chris Carter to ground out to end the game.

The pitching was not great today, having combined for 13 hits, 9 earned runs and 9 walks.  Those 9 walks were the worst to me, there is no way you can win a game by allowing 9 walks.  The offense was just as poor as the pitching, although the combined for 11 hits and 5 runs, they also struck out 12 times and were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left 9 on.

Thanks, Jerry!!

Athletics:  6  Angels:  5

I’d say that last night’s game was the scariest of the season so far.  I’d say most of these games are “must” wins at this point, but last night was a MUST win for the A’s.  The A’s needed to gain ground on their division rival before the next two games, as they have to face two pitchers they have struggled with in the past.

The A’s got on the board first again, this time a Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo home run to give them the lead in the second.  The Angels took the lead immediately after when Vernon Wells hit a 2-run home run to put the Angels up 2-1.  The A’s retook the lead in the fourth on Brandon Moss’ 2-run home run (his second home run in two days).  In the same inning, Josh Donaldson and George Kottaras followed with back-to-back singles and Stephen Drew hit a sacrifice fly, putting the A’s up by 2.

The Angels cut their lead down to one after a Torii Hunter home run in the seventh.  The A’s scored two more runs in the top of the ninth, which ended up being the most important of the game.  Cliff Pennington singled with two outs and Coco Crisp came up and drove a ball to right field, thanks to bit of fumbling by Hunter, both Pennington and Coco himself scored.  The play would later be ruled as a triple and an E9.

With a 3-run cushion Grant Balfour came in to save the game.  Balfour has been good for the A’s since he took over at the closer spot, having only allowed 3 runs over the last 10 outings (and no blown saves).  Last night he was not at his best, to say the least.

Grant Balfour walked Chris Iannetta to lead off the inning.  He then walked Mike Trout. Torii Hunter came up and singled and Iannetta scored, cutting the lead to only 2 runs.  Balfour then gave up a single to Albert Pujols and Trout scored and the A’s saw their lead cut to just 1 run.  Then with runners on first and third and no outs Jerry Blevins came in to replace Grant Balfour.

Blevins was put in a tight spot, he needed to record three outs without letting the runner on third cross the plate to tie the game.  That’s exactly what Blevins did.  The first batter he faced was Kendrys Morales and he got him to strike out swinging.  The following batter, Howard Kendrick, hit a 2-1 sinker right to Josh Donaldson who threw out Peter Bourjos (who was pinch running for Pujols) at second and then Cliff Pennington threw out Kendrick at first.  It was Jerry Blevins second career save and the first of this season.

Dan Straily, who made his first start since August 16, did pretty well tonight.  The last time he faced the Angels he allowed four home runs to them, tonight his only two hiccups were the two home runs he allowed to Wells and Hunter.  Through 6.2 he allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 8.  Pat Neshek tried to record the final out of the seventh, but an error by Stephen Drew put the runner on first and Sean Doolittle came in and relieved Neshek.  Doolittle did record the final out and pitched a clean eighth.

In other good A’s news, Brandon McCarthy was released from the hospital yesterday after having surgery 6 days prior.  Hopefully he will be able to resume baseball activities within a few months.