This is the formula that could make the A's a sneaky team in 2012. Brandon McCarthy went seven strong innings and the A's used a three-run second inning to propel them to a 5-2 victory.Eric Sogard's two-run home run in the second was the big moment in the rally, which helped the A's take a lead they would not relinquish in moving over .500 for the first time in 2012. Josh Reddick added his third home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning, and an RBI single in the eighth. McCarthy may have had his best start of the young ...
Last winter, the Oakland Athletics had themselves a huge fire sale as they unloaded seasoned top-level talent for a slew of minor league prospects—future talent. One of those prospects was right-hander Jarrod Parker, who came to Oakland in the trade that sent All-Star pitcher Trevor Cahill to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Obviously, there was some pressure to fill those shoes vacated by Cahill, especially for a player like Parker. The 23-year-old righty had a somewhat unspectacular minor-league career, compiling a 28-19 record and 3.69 ERA at three different levels in the D-Backs minor league system. Additionally, Parker missed the entire 2010 ...
With four shutouts thrown against them, the Oakland A's are 10-10 and in second place in the American League West.With a day off today, and a crucial nine game East Coast swing looming, the A's have managed to take the good with the bad and hang tough.Pitching has been the good, while hitting (or lack there of) has been the bad. I know, nothing new here. But this team has a new wrinkle. This A's club has shown the ability to get up off the mat when things are bad. Yesterday's extra inning comeback against the Chicago White Sox was ...
Many were worried that Yoenis Cespedes was not going to hit enough to negate all of the strikeouts that he piles up. After Wednesday night, that should no longer be a concern.The Oakland A's benefited from a bloop and a blast in the 14th inning against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. Trailing 4-2, Cespedes came to the plate with Josh Reddick on base. Cespedes connected for his third hit of the game, a game-tying home run.The A's received three singles in a row after the home run, the last of which was a bloop hit by Kila Ka'aihue that resulted ...
When Yoenis Cespedes signed a four-year, $36 million contract with the A's this offseason, he brought more than just his game to Oakland, he brought huge expectations. From day one the A's made it clear that Cespedes was going to be a major part of their team this season, immediately thrusting Cespedes into the middle of their lineup. Further confirming his importance to the team's future, the A's asked Coco Crisp to shift over to left field so Cespedes can take over in center. As of now, Cespedes is living up to the A's expectations. He isn't dominating, but the ...
Yoenis Cespedes hit a game-tying, two-run home run, and it was Kila Ka'aihue's game-winning single that gave the A's a comeback 5-4 victory over Chicago at the Coliseum.Alexei Ramirez hit a two run-double in the top of the 14th inning to give Chicago a 4-2 lead. Jim Miller got the win for Oakland in his A's debut, retiring one batter in the top of the 14th.The score was tied 2-2, when Paul Konerko crushed the first pitch from A's closer Grant Balfour onto the left field steps leading off the ninth inning. From there, the A's never really threatened to ...
The Grant Balfour sweepstakes? It’s a contest that could heat up as the MLB season inches closer to the trade deadline. The Oakland Athletics aren’t expected to contend in the AL West this season and don’t show solid promise of being a surprise team, having been shut out four times but also recording four shutout wins.Balfour, who was made the Oakland closer after Andrew Bailey was traded to Boston over the winter, boasts a 0.82 ERA and has recorded five saves almost a month into regular season. ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney said via Twitter on Monday that Balfour would be ...
Tom Milone gave the Oakland A's another fantastic start. This time, the offense provided just enough support to give him a win as the A's evened the three-game series against Chicago with a 2-0 victory at the Coliseum.Milone went eight fantastic innings, allowing just three hits and striking out five. He was matched nearly pitch for pitch by Chicago's Gavin Floyd, who allowed only two hits in 7 1/3 innings. His only charged run came off the arm of White Sox reliever Matt Thornton, who allowed a left field double by pinch hitter Kurt Suzuki to break the deadlock. Eric ...
The Oakland A's have not been in the playoffs since the 2006 season. This could have been the year to make it back had they not traded away Gio Gonzalez.Gonzalez was the ace for the A's before the offseason trade to the Washington Nationals. Now he is the Nationals' second ace, behind Stephen Strasburg, and will pitch his fourth game for Washington on Tuesday night. Gonzalez has started the season with a 2.04 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP and he has struck out 21 and only walked five. Gonzalez has been a major contributor to the NL East-leading Nationals, and he could have had the same effect on ...
The role of the leadoff hitter can be one of the toughest in baseball. After all, it is typically the leadoff man’s responsibility to jump-start the offense of the team, proverbially setting the table for the brunt of the batting order hitting behind him.That onus can be quite heavy, however, because the performance of the entire offense is often attributed to how well or poorly the leadoff hitter is doing. He's tagged with credit and blame depending on if the team is scoring runs or not.Oakland Athletics leadoff man Jemile Weeks is no different. The second-year second baseman came into the 2012 campaign with high expectations, ...