(Photo: Keith Allison/Flickr)

The A’s have announced that they received catcher John Jaso from the Seattle Mariners in a three-way deal that sent pitching prospect A.J. Cole and RHP Blake Treinen to the Nationals and Michael Morse to the M’s.

Jaso played in 108 games for the Mariners last season and over 361 plate appearances he had a .276/.394/.456 slash line with a .372 wOBA, a 143 wRC+ and a 2.7 fWAR. He also hit 10 HR and had an .850 OPS.

The team hasn’t said yet, but many have speculated that the left-hander will platoon with Derek Norris. Over his three year career (and 897 plate appearances) he has a .270/.368/.421 slash line against right-handed pitching with a .350 wOBA and 125 wRC+. Against left-handed pitching he has a .164/.302/.230 slash line over 151 career plate appearances.  Derek Norris, on the other hand, had a .209/.269/.349 slash line against left-handed pitching last season over 93 plate appearances.

Jaso will be under team control for the next three years and is in his first year of arbitration. In a corresponding move, the A’s have designated catcher George Kottaras for assignment to make room for Jaso on the 40-man roster.

Personally, I am not overwhelmed by this move for the A’s (nor am I underwhelmed). I do understand that they are in the “win now” mode, but I still feel it came at an expensive price. Cole, who was acquired from the Washington Nationals in the Gio Gonzalez trade, struggled in Single-A Sacramento last season. He posted a 0-7 record with a 7.82 ERA over 38 innings, but his 4.99 FIP & .405 BABIP indicate he had ran into some bad luck. When he was demoted to Burlington, Cole posted a 6-3 record over 95.2 innings with a 2.07 ERA, a 2.74 FIP & 2.91 BABIP.

Blake Treinen was drafted by the A’s in the 2011 draft and spent the entire 2012 season in Single-A Stockton last season. He pitched in 24 games (15 started) and posted a 7-7 record over 103 innings with a 4.37 ERA, a 3.59 FIP and a .330 BABIP.

Athletics:  5  Mariners:  2

This game was very similar to yesterday’s game, just without the walk-off part.  The A’s struggled against starting pitcher Erasmo Ramirez, only collecting three hits over 6.2 innings, they did take four walks, but struck out six times.  The two runs they scored off of Ramirez came in the first inning, Stephen Drew took a one out walk and Yoenis Cespedes tripled and Drew scored from first. Yoenis Cespedes then scored off of a sacrifice fly by Brandon Moss.

In his last start of the season, Tom Milone had his troubles.  He allowed a lead off double to Franklin Gutierrez, but he was stranded after he retired the following three batters.  In the second inning he allowed three singles, but again, escaped the inning unharmed.  In the third inning he was not so lucky.  Milone allowed another lead off double to Gutierrez, Casper Wells singled and Kyle Seager singled, scoring Gutierrez. He then got Jesus Montero to ground out into a double play, but a two out single by Justin Smoak scored Wells.

Milone pitched a clean fourth, but allowed a one out triple to Casper Wells in the fifth.  He was able to strike out Kyle Seager before Pat Neshek came in to replace him. Neshek faced one batter, Jesus Montero, who he walked, before he was replaced by Jerry Blevins.  Blevins got Justin Smoak to ground out to end the inning. Tom Milone’s final totals on the day were nine hits, two runs, no walks and three strikeouts over 4.2 innings.  He threw 85 pitches and 51 were for strikes.

Jerry Blevins pitched a clean sixth inning, recording two fly outs and one ground out.  Ryan Cook pitched in the seventh inning, allowing a double and a single to lead off the inning.  Then with runners on first and third he struck out the next three batters, stranding both runners.  Sean Doolittle pitched the eighth inning and he did not allow a baserunner and also struck out one.

After six scoreless innings, the A’s bats found life in the eighth inning. Stephen Drew flew out to lead off the inning, but with one out Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo home run breaking up the tie. Brandon Moss singled and Josh Reddick followed up with a home run of his own, putting the A’s up 5-2. Grant Balfour came in to close the game, retiring all three batters he faced and recording his 22nd save of the season.

With today’s win and tonight’s Angels loss the A’s are now one win away from clinching a playoff spot. The A’s will face the Texas Rangers for the final three games of the season, giving them a chance to overtake the division with a sweep.

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.

Athletics:  6  Mariners:  1

For the second night in a row, the A’s have defeated the Mariners 6-1.  Just like last night’s game, the A’s scored in the first inning.  Again it was an error that put them ahead early in the game, this time Josh Reddick scored off an error by third baseman Kyle Seager.

The Mariners tied up the game in the second inning, taking advantage of a throwing error by shortstop Stephen Drew.

The fourth inning was the biggest inning in the game for the A’s.  Yoenis Cespedes lead off the inning with a double, Chris Carter grounded out and failed to move him over, but with Stephen Drew batting, Cespedes stole third.  Stephen Drew singled and Cespedes scored.  Josh Donaldson grounded out into a force out and then, for the second night in a row, George Kottaras hit a 2-run home run to put the A’s up 4-1.  Cliff Pennington continued the inning by hitting a single and Coco Crisp followed with a double and Pennington scored.  Seth Smith walked, Coco Crisp stole his 33rd base off the season, but Josh Reddick struck out swinging to end the inning.

The rest of the game was pretty uneventful for the A’s (and the Mariners) until the ninth inning.  With one out Seth Smith and Josh Reddick hit back-to-back singles and Yoenis Cespedes followed with a sacrifice fly, which scored Smith.

Brett Anderson was solid once again, only allowing 1 unearned run over 6 innings.  He allowed 6 hits, walked none and struck out 4, throwing 108 pitches with 71 for strikes.  Pat Neshek came in relief for Anderson in the seventh inning, he lead off the inning by walking Brendon Ryan, but recorded the next two outs before he was replaced by Sean Doolittle.  Doolittle pitched 1.1 innings, allowed a hit and struck out one.  Evan Scribner pitched a clean ninth inning, he did not allow a baserunner and struck out 1.

Athletics: 6  Mariners:  1

The A’s continue to surprise us and tonight was no different.  Not only did they beat Felix Hernandez, but they knocked him around for 4.2 innings, combing 11 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), 1 walk and only struck out 4 times against the right-hander.

The A’s scored first in the first after Seth Smith scored on an error by Eric Thames.  The Mariners tied up the game in the second inning off of an RBI single by Brendan Ryan.  That run would be the last run they scored in the game.

The A’s scored three more runs in the fourth inning off of a 3-run home run by George Kottaras.  They scored their last 2 runs in the fifth off of an RBI double by Josh Donaldson and an RBI single by Stephen Drew.

A.J. Griffin was not exactly sharp tonight, needing 108 pitches to make it through 5.1 innings, he allowed 6 hits and walked 1 but struck out 7.  Jerry Blevins came in as relief for Griffin in the sixth and pitched 1.2 innings, allowing no hits and a walk.  Ryan Cook replaced Blevins in the eighth and allowed a hit and a walk, but escaped the inning without allowing a run.  Sean Doolittle pitched a clean ninth, did not allow a baserunner and struck out 2.

Offensively, Cliff Pennington had a great night, going 4-4 with a double.  Both Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp went 0-5 and each collected a strike out.  The A’s did not hit well tonight with runners in scoring position, only going 2-9 and leaving 8 on base.

Athletics: 2  Mariners:  1

The A’s ended the first half of the season almost identical to the way they entered the season; a game against the Mariners, facing King Felix that ends up going into extras.  Only this time, the A’s were on the winning side of things.

If you could sum up the entire 2012 season so far in one game, this was the one.  It started off in the A’s favor, Coco Crisp and Jemile Weeks lead off the first inning with singles, Josh Reddick grounded out and Yoenis Cespedes singled in Crisp.  It would take the A’s 11 more innings before they scored again.

Bartolo Colon retired the first 2 batters in the 6th, but after allowing 3 consecutive singles to Dustin Ackley, Ichiro Suzuki and Michael Saunders, the Mariners were able to tie the game at one a piece.

The pitching duel continued on until the 13th inning.  With Oliver Perez pitching in relief for the Mariners, Jemile Weeks lead off the inning with a single and Josh Reddick came in, swung at the first pitch he saw and doubled in the winning run.

With this walk-off win today the A’s now have 8 walk-off wins, which leads the majors.  The A’s will enter the All-Star break with a .500 record, the last time they had a winning record going into the second half was in 2008.

Lines of the Day:

• Bartolo Colon:  8.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 SO.  Colon only needed 93 pitches to get through 8.2 innings and of those 93 pitches, 79 of them were for strikes.
• A’s Bullpen:  4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO.  It was Ryan Cook, Sean Doolittle, Grant Balfour and Jordan Norberto again who shut down the Mariners.  Jordan Norberto was credited with the win in tonight’s game, his second in 3 days.
• Jemile Weeks:  4 AB, 2 H, 2 BB.  Weeks reached base 4 times today, the most by any player in the game.  He also had a stolen base in the 10th inning, it was his 12th of the season.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s Offense: 43 AB, 9 H, 5 BB, 12 SO.  The A’s offense struggled again today, they were 1-12 with runners in scoring postion and left 10 players on base.

A’s Extras:

• Yoenis Cespedes had to leave the game after he sprained his thumb stealing 2nd.  The injury does not sound serious and he should be back in the lineup on Friday.
• The A’s 17-game home run streak ended today when the team failed to score any runs on the long ball.
• Impressively, Bartolo Colon and the bullpen did not allow a walk over all 13 innings today.

 For more on the Mariners, visit Needle Ball. 

Athletics:  4  Mariners:  1

This was a typical 2012 A’s/Mariners game.  The Mariners scored first, a couple of singles off Milone in the first and Seattle was on the board.  Milone calmed down and only allowed 3 more hits and 1 walk over the next 6 innings.  It wasn’t until the 8th inning when the next run would score.

It was the 11th inning that really mattered today, Josh Reddick lead off the inning with a single and then Yoenis Cespedes flew out after him.  Seth Smith then singled to keep the rally going and then came Chris Carter who was pinch hitting for Brandon Moss.  On a 0-1 count Carter crushed…er..,slaughtered, the ball to left field and won the game for the A’s.  It was his first major league career walk-off and the A’s 7th walk-off of the season.

Just like that the A’s are back to .500.  To quote myself I said this on June 13th:

Unless the A’s go on some sort of tear, it’s not likely the A’s will take the division this season, nor does it seem likely they will ever see .500 again.

That’s exactly what this team has done over the past 3 weeks.  Even looking at their losses there are at least a handful they could have won.

Lines of the Day:

• Tom Milone:  7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 SO.  Milone continues to be brilliant at home.  In 7 games at the O.co Milone has only allowed more than 1 run one time.  Milone also had a career high 9 strikeout outs tonight and now has 20 over his last 3 games pitched (19 innings).
• A’s Bullpen:  4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 SO.  The bullpen was practically flawless tonight.  Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook, Grant Balfour and Jordan Norberto threw and inning each.  Jordan Norberto, who struck out the side in the top of the 11th, was credited with his first major league win.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s Offense:  36 AB, 8 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 7 SO.  Although they won tonight, the A’s offense was not great.  Josh Reddick, Jemile Weeks and Seth Smith all had 2 hits and combined for three-fourths of the hits collected over 11 innings.  The A’s left 7 players on base tonight and were 2-6 with runners in scoring position.

 For more on the Seattle Mariners, visit Needle Ball. 

The A’s are closing out the first half of the season the same way they started it, by facing the Seattle Mariners (35-49).  This is the 5th time the A’s will face the Mariners this season and will only see their division rival for 2 more series after the All-Star break.

Not a lot has changed since the A’s last faced the Mariners a little over a week ago, the A’s still are leading the Mariners in the division, but it’s a bit more comfortable now at 6 1/2 games.

Friday 7:05 PM PST: (RHP) Kevin Millwood (3-6) Vs (LHP) Tom Milone (8-6)

• Millwood’s last start was skipped due to groin soreness, but the last time Millwood pitched was against Oakland on June, 27th.  Millwood only lasted 2.2 innings after being pulled because of his injury.  He allowed 1 run on 1 hit (a solo home run) and struck out 3.
• Tom Milone’s road woes continued in Arlington in his last outing, although the defense was not much of a help to him.  In 5 innings he allowed 6 hits, 6 runs (1 earned), walked none and matched his career high of 6 strikeouts.  Milone last faced the Mariners on June 25th, throwing 7 shut out innings while allowing 7 hits and striking out 5.

Saturday 7:10 PM PST: (LHP) Jason Vargas (7-7) Vs (RHP) Jarrod Parker (5-3)

• Despite a strong start against the Boston Red Sox, Jason Vargas was tagged with a no-decision in his last outing.  He lasted 7 innings and only allowed 5 hits, 1 run, walked 2 and struck out 6.  Vargas has been very successful against the A’s this season so far.  In 3 starts against Oakland he has a 1-0 record and has only allowed 5 runs over 18.1 innings (2.45 ERA).  He also has 16 SO and 5 walks against them which is good for a 3.20 SO/BB ratio.
• Jarrod Parker had another strong start against the Boston Red Sox in his last outing.  Parker lasted 6.1 innings and only allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.  Parker has faced the Mariners once in his short career and that was in their last series.  Parker lasted 7 innings, allowed 3 hits, 1 run, walked 4 and struck out a career high of 9.

Sunday 1:05 PM PST:  (RHP) Felix Hernandez (6-5) Vs Bartolo Colon (6-7)

• Unfortunately the A’s won’t miss King Felix in this upcoming series.  Felix last faced the Orioles and he lasted 5.1 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, walked none and struck out 8.  He has faced the A’s 3 times this season and has a 1-1 record, has allowed 9 runs over 21.1 innings (3.80 ERA), walked 4 and struck out 19.
• In his first game back from the DL, Bartolo Colon had a nice outing against the boston Red Sox.  Over 6 innings he allowed 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), walked 1 and struck out 3.  Colon has faced the Mariners 3 times this season and has a 2-1 record against them.  He has allowed 8 runs over 19.1 innings (3.72 ERA), walked 2 and struck out 14.

Keys to Success:

If you remember, the last series against the Mariners was pretty ugly offensively.  The A’s won 2 out of the 3 games, but only combined for 10 hits and 5 runs in the entire 3-game series.  It would be nice if the A’s scored a little bit more this time around.  I would also love if the bullpen was as good as they were in the last series against the Red Sox.

 For more on the Seattle Mariners, visit Needle Ball. 

Athletics:  2  Mariners:  1

I don’t know how they did it, but the A’s managed to take 2 out of 3 from the Seattle Mariners by only scoring 5 runs on 10 hits in the entire 3-game series.  Even more bizarre is they won today’s game on 2 hits, which just happened to both be solo home runs.

There isn’t really a lot to say about the past 3 games, clearly the A’s bats were asleep while the pitching did all the work.

Lines of the Day:

• Jarrod Parker:  7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 SO.  Another strong outing for Parker who struck out a career high 9 batters.  Parker experienced some control problems, but the only damage done was a solo home run from Jon Jason in the 2nd inning. With today’s game he has now allowed 2 runs or less in 10 of his 12 starts on the season.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• A’s Offense:  28 AB, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 SO.  The only 2 hits the A’s had today were both solo home runs by Coco Crisp and Yoenis Cespedes.  The good news is the A’s were able to keep the strike outs under double digits today.

A’s Extras:

• Ryan Cook recorded his 6th save of the season, 2 batters made it on base after a Brandon Inge error and a HBP, but Cook was able to escape the inning by striking out Ichiro.
• Grant Balfour also had a clean inning in the 8th, he allowed 1 hit (a double).