Athletics:  8  Indians:  4

Well, it wasn’t a shutout, but it was another win.

Cleveland struck first tonight, ending their 30 inning scoreless streak against the A’s.  Jason Donald lead off the third with a home run and the following batter, Ezequiel Carrera, tripled and scored on an RBI ground out.  Those would be the only two runs allowed by Travis Blackley.

The A’s immediately took the lead in the fourth, when Josh Donaldson hit a 3-run home run scoring Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Carter and himself.  They scored again in the sixth inning on an RBI ground out by Derek Norris.  They scored two more in the seventh, after Coco Crisp lead off the inning with a double, Stephen Drew and Yoenis Cespedes both struck out swinging, but Seth Smith came through with a double, which scored Crisp.  Chris Carter would follow up with a single, scoring Smith and Josh Donaldson struck out to end the inning.

The Indians would scored two more runs of their own against Sean Doolittle, both unearned, in the eighth.  Doolittle walked Shin-Soo Choo to lead off the inning, then allowed a single to Lou Marson and a fielding error by Josh Donaldson would load the bases.  Brent Lillibridge hit a sacrifice fly to score Choo and Jerry Blevins came in to replace Doolittle.  Blevins got Casey Kotchman to ground out, but Marson scored on the play.  Ryan Cook then came in to replace Blevins and got Jason Donald to ground out to end the inning.

The A’s scored two more in the ninth inning after Stephen Drew lead off the inning with a double and Yoenis Cespedes singled him in.  After Seth Smith grounded out and Chris Carter hit a pop up, Josh Reddick doubled and scored Cespedes.  The inning ended with Josh Donaldson striking out.

Ryan Cook would finish the game and record his 13th save of the season, he allowed a lead off double to Ezequiel Carrera and then struck out Jason Kipnis and Jack Hannahan and got Shin-Soo Choo to ground out to end the game.

Lines of the Day:

• Josh Donaldson: 5 AB, 2 H, 3 RBI.  Donaldson had the biggest hit tonight for the A’s, giving the A’s the lead in the fourth.  He has been quite the productive hitter since his return to Oakland hitting .351/.403/.561 since his call up.
• Josh Reddick: 5 AB, 3 H, 1 RBI, 1 2B.  Reddick was back in the six spot tonight and although it’s a small sample size, he seems to be comfortable hitting in this spot.

A’s Extras:

• Yoenis Cespedes also had a good night, going 3-5 with a double and 1 RBI.
• Travis Blackley pitched 5.2 innings tonight, he allowed 3 hits, 2 runs, walked 2 and struck out 5.  This will most likely be his last start for now as AJ Griffin and Dan Straily will both be available to pitch for Oakland on Monday.
• The A’s combined for fifteen hits today and the only player to not collect a hit was Cliff Pennington, who went 0-4 with a strikeout.
• Graham Godfrey cleared waivers earlier today and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento.

With the acquisition of Stephen Drew, the A’s had to make some pretty interesting moves today.

The A’s have activated OF/DH Seth Smith from the DL and placed LHP Jordan Norberto on the 15-day DL with shoulder tendinitis.

In surprising news, the A’s have optioned 2B Jemile Weeks to Triple-A Sacramento to make room for Stephen Drew.  Weeks has had a pretty poor season only batting .220/.305/.302 with a .276 wOBA and 73 wRC+ over 504 plate appearances.  He also has 15 stolen bases, 14 doubles and 8 triples.

In order to make room for Stephen Drew on the 40-man, RHP Graham Godfrey has been designated for assignment.  Godfrey was in the starting rotation on opening day and has pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the Oakland A’s this season.  Over 21 innings he had a 0-4 record with a 6.43 ERA, .310 BABIP and 6.48 FIP.  He has pitched in 20 games (17 starts) for the Rivercats this season and has a 3.29 ERA, .280 BABIP and 4.06 FIP over 104 innings.  I’d be shocked if he didn’t make it through waivers.

Both Seth Smith (DH) and Stephen Drew (SS) are in the lineup tonight for the A’s.

After a dreadful weekend filled of Interleague play, the A’s are back at home to play real baseball!  The A’s will be facing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-24) for the third time this season, but it’s the first time they will play their division rivals at home.  It’s been less than a week since the A’s last saw the Angels, since then the Angels have split a 2-game series with the Chicago White Sox and lost 2 out of 3 against the San Diego Padres.

Monday 7:05 PM PST: (RHP) Jerome Williams (4-1) Vs (LHP) Tom Milone (5-3)

• Jerome Williams collected his 4th win of the season in his last start against the Chicago White Sox.  He threw 8 innings, allowed 10 hits, 2 runs, struck out 5 and walked 1.  Williams is the only Angels pitcher the A’s have not faced this season.
• Tom Milone had one of his better starts on the road in his last start, which was against the Texas Rangers.  Over 7 innings he allowed 9 hits, 4 earned runs, struck out 4 and walked 1.  In his one start against the Angels this season, Milone allowed 2 earned runs over 5 innings.

Tuesday 7:05 PM PST: (LHP) C.J. Wilson (4-4) Vs TBA

• C.J. Wilson, shockingly, struggled with his control in his last start against the Chicago White Sox.  He walked 6 batters over 3.2 innings, allowed 4 runs (1 earned) and struck out 3.   Wilson has pitched in 16 games (3 started) at the O.co, in those games he has a 3.30 ERA, a 1.93 SO/BB ratio and an 8.7 SO/9 rate.  He also really hates the mound.
• There has been no official announcement yet, but it sounds as though Graham Godfrey will be starting for the A’s this day.  Godfrey had 3 starts in the majors this season, he went 0-3 with a 5.06 ERA and a .245 BABIP.

Wednesday 12:35 PM PST: (RHP) Jered Weaver (6-1) Vs (RHP) Jarrod Parker (1-2)

• Jered Weaver was very…Jered Weaver in his last start.  To be more clear, he lasted 7 innings against the San Diego Padres allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, walking 3 and striking out 4.  He also collected his 6th win of the season.
• Jarrod Parker had his shortest outing of the season in his last start.  Over 2-plus innings of work he allowed 6 earned runs on 4 hits and 6 walks.  His biggest issue has been his control, having only put up a 1.06 SO/BB ratio and a 5.20 BB/9 rate so far this season.

(Photo: John From Canberra/Flickr)

The A’s finally found a way to beat the Giants in San Francisco.  A 4 run rally in the 4th was all the A’s needed to defeat the Giants  in their own ballpark for the first time since June 2008.

Josh Reddick added on 2 runs in the 6th after hitting his 11th home run of his season.

Now it’s time to get back to real baseball…until June 8th at least.

A’s Extras:

• Brandon McCarthy has landed on the DL due to a strained shoulder, retroactive May 18th.  An MRI showed he did not have any structural damage so his injury is not considered serious at this point.  Jim Miller was recalled from Triple-A, but Graham Godfrey is expected to take his spot in the rotation.
• Manny Ramirez made his first start for the River Cats yesterday, he went 0-4 with 3 strike outs.  Manny was scratched from the lineup today due to a sore wrist, but expects to be back in the lineup tomorrow night.

Starting tonight the A’s will begin a 4-game series with the Detroit Tigers (15-15) who are 5-5 in their last 10 games and whose lineup is bolstered with the power of Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera.

Thursday 7:05 PM PST (RHP) Max Scherzer (1-3) Vs (RHP) Bartolo Colon (3-2)

• In his last outing against the White Sox, Max Scherzer pitched his best game of the season having only allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits over 7 innings, he also stuck out 9 and walked none.
• Bartolo Colon only lasted 5 innings in his last start against the Rays, he allowed 8 hits, 3 earned runs, struck out 2 and walked 2.

Friday 7:05 PM PST (RHP) Rick Porcello (3-2) Vs (LHP) Tom Milone (4-2)

• In his last start Rick Porcello pitched pretty well , he lasted 6.1 innings, allowed 4 hits and only 1 earned run, while striking out 5 and walking 2.  After having 2 poor starts against the Rangers and Mariners, he has came back and won his last 2 outings.
• Although he struggled in his last start against the Rays, Tom Milone was credited with the win.  He allowed 5 earned runs, 5 hits, walked 4 and struck out 1 over 5 innings.

Saturday 5:05 PM PST (RHP) Doug Fister (0-0) Vs TBA

• After being sidelined most of the season with a rib-cage strain, Doug Fister made his first start back against the Mariners.  He pitched 7 shut out innings, only allowed 4 hits, walked no one and struck out 3.  In 10.2 innings this season Fister has yet to allow a run.  In his 10 starts against Oakland, Fister has a 5-3 record with a 2.55 ERA and a 2.77 SO/BB ratio.
• If all goes well with Brandon McCarthy today we should see him pitch on Saturday, if things don’t go well we should expect to see Graham Godfrey again or perhaps Brad Peacock will be making his Oakland debut.

Sunday 1:05 PM PST (RHP) Justin Verlander (3-1) Vs (RHP) Jarrod Parker (1-0)

• Justin Verlander’s last start was against the Seattle Mariners, over 6 innings he allowed 3 earned runs, walked 2 and struck out 6.  In his 11 starts against the A’s he has a 5-5 record with a 2.68 ERA and 8.4 SO/9.
• Jarrod Parker had some control issues in his last start against the Blue Jays, he only allowed 2 earned runs over 7 innings, but walked 5 and only struck out 3.

Keys to Success: 

In their series against the Blue Jays the A’s got on base, but struggled to drive in runners who were in scoring position.  They really need to capitalize in situations when runners are in scoring position, especially facing pitchers like Doug Fister and Justin Verlander.

It’s important for Tom Milone to have a bounce back start, not only in order for the team to win, but for himself.  Hopefully being in the confines of the O.co will turn him back into the pitcher we had seen earlier in the season.

The game to watch in this series will be game 4!   It will be very interesting to see how rookie Jarrod Parker will fair against the reigning AL Cy Young winner, Justin Verlander.

For more on the Detroit Tigers please visit Motown Lowdown. 

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.

The A's need Cespedes to stay hot if they want to start winnning

The Kansas City Royals (2-1) are coming to Oakland for the 3-game series that starts tomorrow and here’s what the pitching match ups will look like:

Monday: (RHP) Luis Mendoza Vs. (LHP) Tom Milone

• Mendoza had a strong spring for the Royals, going 4-0 over 19.1 innings, he allowed 15 hits, 4 runs (only 1 earned) while striking out 21 batters.
• Milone will be making his debut for the A’s tomorrow, his last spring start was an exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants, he pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 hits, 1 earned run and struck out 3.  If you read my blog consistently you would know how impressed I am with Milone’s control, having only walked 1 batter 25.2 innings this spring.

Tuesday: (LHP) Danny Duffy Vs. (RHP) Graham Godfrey

• Duffy went 1-2 this spring and had a 6.75 ERA, over 16 innings he allowed 21 hits, 14 runs (12 earned), 4 walks and had 20 strikeouts.
• Godfrey’s last start against the Giants was his best this spring, he pitched 5 innings, allowed 4 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and struck out 3.

Wednesday: (LHP) Bruce Chen Vs. (RHP) Brandon McCarthy

• Chen is coming off a strong start against the Angels, he pitched 6 innings and only allowed 3 hits, struck out 3 and did not issue a walk.
• McCarthy had a poor second start against the Mariners, he pitched 5 innings and allowed 7 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), 2 walks and struck out 3.

A's finish with the best record in the Cactus League

Athletics:  8  Giants: 1

They must have heard my cries for offense because the A’s hit the ball today, in fact they hit it several times (12 to be exact).  They even scored more runs than the Giants which lead to them winning their final game of the spring.

Lines of the Day:

• Josh Donaldson: 5 AB, 4 H, 3 R, 5 RBI.  It was a huge day for Donaldson, who not only went 4-5 but also had two home runs in the game.
• Kila Ka’aihue: 3 AB, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB.  Ka’aihue reached base 4 times in the game, he also had a double.

• Tom Milone pitched 2 innings today, he allowed 2 hits, 1 run and had 3 strikeouts.  Tom Milone finishes this spring having only walked 1 batter through 14.2 innings (25.2 if you include his starts in Japan and against the River Cats).
• The A’s optioned  Tyson Ross down to Triple-A this morning finalizing the 25-man roster.   The A’s will not need a fifth starter until the middle of the month, but Ross is excepted to fill the role when needed.  This move also finalizes the fourth spot, which will go to Graham Godfrey.
• The A’s traded outfielder Cedric Hunter, who was claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres in October, to the Cardinals for cash considerations.
• The A’s finished the Spring going 15-7, which also happens to be the best record in the Cactus League…CHAMPIONS!

It’s an off day for the A’s tomorrow, but on Friday we have REAL BASEBALL again!   The kind of baseball we don’t have to stay up until 5 AM in the morning to watch!  The A’s will face the Seattle Mariners (again) and the probable pitchers are (RHP) Brandon McCarthy and (LHP) Jason Vargas, game time is 7:05 (PST).

Thanks for showing up today, Eric!

Giants: 4   Athletics:  2

Lines of the Day: 

• Graham Godfrey: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO.  Graham Godfrey had his best outing of the spring against the Giants tonight, I would love for this Godfrey to show up during the regular season.
• Eric Sogard: 3 AB, 1 H, 1R, 2 RBI.  Eric Sogard drove in the only runs of the night, they came off a 2-run home run.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s Offense:  4….hits….
• Fautino De Los Santos: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R (3 earned), 2 BB.  Fautino continues to struggle with his control.  He walked the first batter on four pitches, which was the beginning of a 3-run rally for the Giants in the 7th.

A’s Extras: 

• Earlier today, the A’s optioned infielder Adam Rosales to Triple-A Sacramento.  The A’s roster now sits at 27 and they have until after Wednesday’s game to set their 25-man roster.
• Joey Devine has complained of elbow pain and he has been shut down for now and he plans on seeing a doctor in the next couple of days.  Devine underwent Tommy John surgery in June, 2009 and last season was the first season he had pitched since the surgery.
• Cliff Pennington left the game today with groin soreness, Bob Melvin is likely to hold him out of tomorrow’s game, but believe’s he will be ready to play by Wednesday.