The A’s took 2 out of 3 from the San Diego Padres this weekend.  Before losing today they had a season high 5-game winning streak and are now 31-36 on the season.

Game 1:  Athletics:  10  Padres:  2

The A’s scored 5 runs in the 1st inning which alone was enough to win the entire game.  Every single player reached base either via hit or walk, except Seth Smith who went 0-4 with 1 strike out.

Travis Blackley was the story of the night, he wasn’t dominant by any means, lasting 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, but he it was enough for him to collect his first major league win in almost 8 years.

Star of the game:  Cliff Pennington, who was celebrating his 28th birthday that day, was perfect at the plate going 3-3 with 2 RBI, a 2B and 1 walk.

» Continue reading “A’s Take Series From Padres, Streak Ends At 5″

Athletics: 11   Rangers: 7

Another come back win for the A’s this Spring!  Down by 1, the A’s came back and scored 5 runs in the ninth inning, which included a grand slam from top prospect Derek Norris.

Lines of The Day:

• Jemile Weeks: 4 AB, 3 H, 2 HR, 3 Runs, 2 RBI, 1 BB.  Yes, you’re reading that right, Weeks had two home runs today.  The non-power hitter now leads the A’s in home runs (with 3) this Spring.
• Cliff Pennington: 4 AB, 4 H, 1 Run, 2 RBI, 1 BB.  Between Weeks and Pennington, they combined for half the A’s hits, it would great to see them team up like this in the real season. (Please!)

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Brad Peacock: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R (5 earned), 3 BB.  In his three appearances this Spring, Peacock now has a 12.86 ERA and has allowed 12 hits, 10 earned runs and 4 walks over 7 innings of work.  I know it’s “only” Spring Training, but I think it’s safe to say that Brad Peacock will not be winning any rotation spots come opening day.
• Josh Donaldson: 5 AB, 0 H, 1 strikeout.  Donaldson was the only player in the starting lineup to not reach base.

Worth Mentioning:

• Yoenis Cespedes, who played center field in today’s game, went 1-4 with 1 strikeout.
• Bullpen hopeful, Ryan Cook (RHP), had another clean inning for the A’s.  He now has a 3.60 ERA this spring in 4 games,  he’s allowed 1 hit, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts over 5 innings.
• Another bullpen hopeful, Pedro Figueroa (LHP) had one clean inning, he has pitched in 5 games this spring, has allowed 3 hits, no runs, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.
• No errors today, which means A’s errorless streak back up to 1 game!
• Pitcher Joey Devine has been sidelined for a week due to right bicep soreness.

Tomorrow the A’s face the Mariners at a 7:05 PST start, probable pitchers are (RHP) Graham Godfrey Vs. (RHP) Hisashi Iwakuma.

You can see the Rangers game recap here. 

De Los Santos was the only A's pitcher to retire Albert Pujols

Angels: 9  Athletics: 1

The first 4 innings of this game were not pretty, but the second half of the game gives us some hope.  I guess.

Lines of the Day:

• Fautino De Los Santos:  1/3 IP, 0 H.  DLS makes the list for being the first pitcher to retire Albert Pujols.
• A’s bullpen (innings 5-9): After giving up 9 runs in the first four innings, the A’s bullpen (who consisted of Blake Treinen, Pedro Figueroa, Evan Scribner and Josh Bowman) threw 5 innings, they allowed 0 H, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts and 2 BB.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Brad Peacock: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 runs (4 earned), 1 BB.  Peacock got knocked around a bit in his first outing with the A’s, shortly after he was pulled he referred to the game as a learning experience.
• Grant Balfour: 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 Runs (2 earned), 3 BB.  It was another ugly outing for Balfour, who’s ERA is now up to 27.00 this Spring » Continue reading “The A’s win! Oh And They Lose Too…”