(Photo: Keith Allison/Flickr)

Athletics:  2  Rangers:  0

The A’s offense was pretty quiet last night, but even quieter were the Rangers.  Bartolo Colon and Brian Fuentes dealt the Rangers their first shut out of the season while the A’s mustered out 2 runs to at least guarantee a split in the 4-game series.

Lines of the Day:

• Bartolo Colon:  8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO.  Colon was dealing last night, he threw exactly 100 pitches and 77 were for strikes.  Of those 100 pitches, 93 were fastballs.
• Yoenis Cespedes:  3 AB, 3 H, 1 R, 1 RBI.  Cespedes was not only responsible for half of the A’s hits and runs, but he was also a home run away from hitting for the cycle last night.

A’s Extras:

• Andrew Carignan was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday, called up in his place was (RHP) Evan Scribner.  Scribner was 3-0 in 23 games of relief with the River Cats, he had a 3.31 ERA and 9.6 SO/9 ratio.  Carignan has elected to have Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season.
• Bradon Moss was called up from Triple-A Sacramento yesterday, over 51 games he had a .286/.371/.582 slash line, a .952 OPS with 15 HR.  To make room for Moss, first baseman Kila Ka’aihue was DFA’d.
• Brian Fuentes pitched a clean inning in the 9th yesterday for the A’s, he collected his 5th save of the season.

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

Athletics:  12  Rangers: 1

No offense to the A’s, but they were not themselves tonight.  The A’s got to Scott Feldman early tonight, so early that he was knocked out of the game after he’d only thrown 1.2 innings.  The second inning began with a lead off walk from Yoenis Cespedes, a single from Seth Smith and a 3-run home run from Brandon Inge.  Feldman would then go on to face 4 more batters and allow 3 more runs before retiring the first batter of the inning.  The A’s would score 8 runs in that one inning, which was more than enough to win the game.  The A’s would eventually go on to score 4 more runs (which also included a 2-run home run by Kila Ka’aihue), but the 3-run home run by Brandon Inge was all they really needed to win the game.

Surprisingly, the offense was not the story of the night. Jarrod Parker pitched a phenomenal game tonight, taking a no-hitter into the 8th and pitching 8 shut out innings against the offensively skilled, Texas Rangers.  The only hit Parker allowed was to Michael Young, who lead off the 8th with a single.  He then was immediately able to get Nelson Cruz to pop up and David Murphy to ground out into a double play.

Lines of the Day:

• Jarrod Parker:  8 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 SO.  Parker’s pitch count was up early, he threw 111 pitches (69 for strikes), but had his best outing this season by far.  He has now allowed 2 runs or less in 7 of his 8 starts this season.
• Seth Smith:  5 AB, 4 H, 2 R, 1 RBI.  Great night for Seth Smith, who was a home run short of the cycle.
• Honorable Mention to the A’s offense, who had 15 hits total tonight with every player in the starting line up recording a hit.

Yankees:  6  Athletics:  3

The A’s have now lost 7 straight games to the Yankees at the Coliseum.  Seven.

The good news is the A’s had 7 hits and 3 runs in tonight’s loss, that’s 2 runs and 3 hits more than their previous 2 games.

Lines of the Day:

• A’s Bullpen:  The A’s bullpen consisted of Jerry Blevins and Jim Miller tonight, they combined for 4.2 innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 6.

Athletics:  5  Rangers:  4

The A’s did the impossible, they beat the Texas Rangers in extras at Rangers Ballpark!  Okay, maybe “impossible” is a little dramatic, but it feels like the A’s are always struggling to get wins in Arlington, especially when the game goes into extras.

The game started off in the A’s favor,  Jemile Weeks leaded off the game with a walk, he was almost immediately picked off when he tried to steal second, but 2 singles and 2 doubles later the A’s had the 3-0 lead.

The A’s would see their 3 run lead shrink in the 4th when Mitch Moreland hit a 2-run homer off Brandon McCarthy.  It was pretty quiet from both sides until the dreaded sixth inning.  Mitch Moreland hit his second home run of the game, this time a solo, off of Brandon McCarthy to tie it.  Craig Gentry then hit a double and Elvis Andrus bunted into a double play.  Oh wait… scratch that.  The home plate umpire, Laz Diaz, called the catch by Brandon McCarthy a trapped ball and the Rangers took the lead.   Bob Melvin had things to get off his mind, so he was tossed for arguing with the umpire.

Josh Reddick showed his middle finger to the umpire by hitting a solo home run in the next inning to re-tie the game, it was his 10th of the season.  The A’s would go on to win in the 10th on an RBI single by Kila Ka’aihue.

Lines of the Day:

• Adam Rosales:  1 AB, 3 BB.  Rosales was called up today after Brandon Inge was placed on the DL for groin strain.  He played at 1st today and  celebrated his promotion by reaching base in all 4 of his plate appearances today.
• Ryan Cook:  2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO.  Another 2 clean innings for Ryan Cook, who also collected his first major league win today.  There was a scare with Cook in the 8th when he winced in pain after throwing a pitch, but we learned after the game he had tore a nail and there should be no trips to the DL for the reliever.  Knock on wood.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Josh Donaldson:  4 AB, 0 H, 1 E.  Donaldson was not the only play to not reach base today, but his defense almost cost the A’s the game in the bottom of the 9th.

A’s Extras:

• Brandon McCarthy pitched 5.1 innings today, he allowed 8 hits, 4* runs, walked 3 and struck out 4.
• As I said earlier, Brandon Inge has been placed on the DL retroactive May 13th.
• Brian Fuentes recorded his 3rd save of the season today, he allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

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

Athletics:  5  Angels:  0

The A’s got on the board early with a solo home run from Josh Reddick (his 9th of the season) in the first inning and although they scored 4 more times, that was the only run they needed to win the game.

Lines of the Day:

• Tyson Ross:  6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO.  This is exactly the kind of outing Ross and the A’s needed, he threw 94 pitches, 60 for strikes and 10 of his 18 outs were ground balls.
• Seth Smith: 5 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 2 RBI.  Seth Smith and Kurt Suzuki were the only 2 players to have a multi-hit night. Both of Smith’s hits were doubles one which included 2 RBI.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Jemile Weeks:  4 AB, 0 H.  Weeks was the only player in the starting lineup to not reach base tonight.  I was hoping he would never fall below the Mendoza Line again, but he is now batting .198 on the season.

A’s Extras:

• Brandon Inge and Kila Ka’aihue both sat out of the lineup again due to their injuries, both are not considered to be serious and Ka’aihue could be back in the lineup as early as tomorrow.
• The A’s now lead the majors with 5 shut outs, the Angels also lead the majors being shut out 8 times.
• Josh Donaldson went 1-3 today, he had a double, scored a run and hit a sac fly.
• Ryan Cook threw another clean inning tonight in the 9th, he allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

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.

Athletics:  3  Tigers:  1

There was no offensive explosion in Oakland today, but the A’s didn’t need 11 runs to win (not that they did yesterday either) because Brandon McCarthy was on tonight.  The team has now at least guaranteed they split the 4-game series and will finish this home stand at least 1 game over .500.

Lines of the Day:

• Brandon McCarthy:  7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 SO. Apparently Brandon McCarthy was not kidding when he said he was feeling better because he had his best game of the season tonight.  After going 0-3 in his first 5 starts of the season he has now won 3 straight in his last 3 starts and has only allowed 3 earned runs in his last 20.2 innings pitched.
• Jemile Weeks:  2 AB, 2 H, 1 R.  There was really no offensive stand outs today, but Weeks was the only player to have a multi-hit day.  Weeks did have to be pulled from the game after he rolled his ankle running out of the batters box and right now not a lot is known about his injury.

I am skipping the “Ugly Lines of the Day” because the only thing ugly going on in Oakland right now is the injury bug.

• Yoenis Cespedes has been placed on the DL retroactive May, 7th.  Cespedes was expected to be back in the lineup today, but during batting practice he was still experiencing pain in his hand.  Josh Donaldson has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to replace him.
• Before tonight’s game Bob Melvin announced that Kurt Suzuki was dropped to the 9th spot because he also is dealing with a sore left hand and he would like for Kurt to see as little at bats as possible.  (Suzuki was eventually moved up because of the late scratch of Cespedes and Ka’aihue)
• Kila Ka’aihue was a last minute scratch from the lineup because of a hamstring injury that apparently happened last night while he was running the bases.  As of right now the injury is not thought to be serious.
• Although he was pulled from the game with an ankle injury in the 4th, Jemile Weeks tells Susan Slusser he believes he will be able to play tomorrow.  I personally don’t see this happening, nor would I really want it to, but at least it sounds like this is an injury that won’t land him on the DL.

A’s Extras:

• Ryan Cook pitched another clean inning tonight for Oakland, he allowed 1 walk and struck out 1.
• Brian Fuentes collected his 2nd save of the season tonight.  It wasn’t a clean save for him as he allowed a double, a wild pitch and a run, but after the game Bob Melvin announced him as the new closer.
• Brandon Inge did not hit a home run today nor did he have 4 RBI, but he did go 0-3 with a walk.

For more on the Detroit Tigers please visit Motown Lowdown.

Athletics:  11  Tigers:  4

It was an offensive explosion for the A’s tonight, who scored a season high 11 runs on a season high 13 hits.  Almost everyone in the lineup contributed to the win, but Josh Reddick and Brandon Inge were responsible for 9 of the 11 runs scored.

Lines of the Day:

• Tom Milone:  7 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 Earned), 1 BB, 6 SO.  Milone had a nice bounce back after his 2 previous poor starts.  He started off the game by allowing a double to Austin Jackson who eventually scored on a double-play ball, but found his groove and eventually would retire the last 11 batters he faced.
• Josh Reddick: 4 AB, 4 H, 4 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 2 HR.  When you’re hot, you’re hot and Reddick is right now.  He had a career high 5 RBI, it was the first time he hit 2 home runs in 1 game and he now has a career high 8 home runs.
• Brandon Inge:  5 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 4 RBI.  Brandon Inge now has 4 home runs and 16 RBI in his last 5 games.  Oh and there’s this too:

• Seth Smith:  4 AB, 3 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB.  Lost in all the home runs and 4 RBI games is Seth Smith who has been quietly having a productive year for the A’s.  After tonight’s game he now has a .402 OBP in 30 games and hitting .385 in his last 10.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Andrew Carignan: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB.  Carignan was called up today to replace Jim Miller who threw 3 innings in lasts game, his ugly line didn’t hurt the A’s today, but he proved exactly why he was pitching mop-up duty.
• Daric Barton:  5 AB, 0 H, 2 SO.  Barton was the only player in the lineup who did not reach base tonight.  His first base counter part, Kila Ka’aihue, went 2-5 with 2 runs and 1 RBI and both hits were doubles.

A’s Extras:

• Along with the Andrew Carignan call up, Collin Cowgill was also called up while Michael Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.  Cowgill played center tonight for the A’s and went 1-5.
• According to Jane Lee, every thing went well today for Yoenis Cespedes during batting practice and if everything goes well tomorrow he should be back in the lineup tomorrow night.

For more on the Detroit Tigers please visit Motown Lowdown.

More stem cells please (Photo: Keith Allison/Flickr)

Tigers:  10  Athletics:  6

Bartolo Colon lasted only 2.1 innings tonight, he allowed 8 runs (7 earned) on 9 hits.

The A’s scored 6 runs on 2 home runs, Kila Ka’aihue hit his first home run of the season, a 2-run shot in the 2nd and Brandon Inge hit his 2nd grand slam in 3 games in the 8th.

Not much else to say except it was an ugly loss.

There is a piece of good news coming out of Oakland, Brandon McCarthy had a successful bullpen session today and should be ready to start on Saturday.

Athletics:  4  Red Sox:  2

For those of you keeping track, this is the third day in a row of me not complaining about the A’s lack of offense.  So maybe you think 9 hits and 4 runs is not offense to brag about, but when you’re an A’s fan anything more than 4 hits and 2 runs is something to get excited about.

Lines of the Day: 

• Brandon McCarthy:  6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 SO.  After going winless in his first 5 games (not entirely his fault), McCarthy has now recorded back-to-back wins.  It’s amazing what a little run support can do for a guy!
• Seth Smith:  4 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 2RBI.  After going 0-4 and wearing the golden sombrero in his last game, Smith had a nice bounce back game.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Coco Crisp:  4 AB, 0 H, 1 SO, 3 LOB.  I was wondering if Coco starting in the lead off spot today might help him offensive, but apparently the answer is no.
• Eric Sogard:  4 AB, 1 SO, 3 LOB.  Sogard was the only other player in the starting lineup tonight to not collect a hit.

A’s Extras:

• Brandon Inge collected his first RBI as an Oakland Athletic, he went 1-3 and his 1 hit was a double.
• Kila Ka’aihue also had a double (his 4th of the season) in today’s game, he went 1-3 had 1 run, 1 RBI and a walk.  I think it’s safe to assume that if he continues to hit like this, he will be the every day first baseman…if he isn’t already.
• Jemile Weeks did not play today due to groin tightness and is expected to be back in the lineup for the series opener against the Rays on Friday.  Speaking of injuries, Coco Crisp left the game tonight because his is still experiencing problems with his ear.
• Brian Fuentes collected his first save of the season, he did allow 2 hits (1 single, 1 double) and 1 run, but was able to finish the game by getting Adrian Gonzalez to ground out.  It was Fuentes’ 200th career save, making him just the 6th left hander to reach that milestone.

For more on the Red Sox please visit Fenway Fatales.