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Matsui, Jackson Lead A’s Past Toronto, 10-3

vadwaynesmiths3 — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:41:51 +0000

Hideki Matsui #55 and Josh Willingham #16 of the Oakland Athletics run home for 2-run RBI by Conor Jackson during MLB action against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre August 11, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Abelimages/Getty Images)

TORONTO (CBS/AP) — Conor Jackson drove in three runs, Hideki Matsui had four hits and the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3 on Thursday.

Oakland failed to hit a home run for the first time in nine games but still finished with its most runs since scoring 13 against Tampa Bay on July 27. Oakland’s season-high is 14 runs, set May 17 against the Angels.

Matsui had a 15-game hitting streak snapped Tuesday and was hitless in 10 at bats before hitting an RBI single in the third. He grounded out in the fourth but singled again in the sixth, seventh and ninth to finish 4 for 6. Matsui, who was hitting .209 at the All Star break, has raised his average to .268.

Oakland right-hander Guillermo Moscoso (5-6) allowed two runs, one earned, in six innings to earn the win. He walked two and struck out six.

Fautino De Los Santos and Brian Fuentes each worked one inning before Craig Breslow finished for the A’s.

J.P. Arencibia hit his 19th home run for Toronto, a solo drive to center in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough for the Blue Jays.

Oakland chased Toronto starter Brad Mills with a six-run third. Cliff Pennington hit a two-run double, Matsui followed with an RBI single and, after Josh Willingham was hit by a pitch, Jackson hit a two-run triple and scored on a wild pitch.

Mills (1-2) allowed six runs and five hits in three innings, his shortest career start. The left-hander walked two and struck out five.

Moscoso was perfect through the first three innings before walking Yunel Escobar to begin the fourth. One out later, Jose Bautista walked to put runners at first and second for Adam Lind, who grounded to shortstop. Trying for the double play, Pennington’s relay to second base sailed into right field for an error, allowing Escobar to score and sending Bautista to third. Bautista came home one batter later on Edwin Encarnacion’s infield single.

The Athletics padded their lead with a four-run sixth against reliever Luis Perez. Sizemore reached on a throwing error by third baseman Brett Lawrie, Pennington walked and Matsui lined an RBI single to right, taking second when the relay throw went to the plate. Willingham walked to load the bases and Jackson hit a sacrifice fly.

After David DeJesus struck out looking, Kurt Suzuki walked to load the bases again before Ryan Sweeney hit an infield single, with a second run scoring on Perez’s throwing error.

NOTES: Oakland has won four of its past five series. … Athletics OF Coco Crisp (right calf) missed his fourth straight game and is expected to sit out the upcoming three-game series against Texas. … Oakland RHP Michael Wuertz (right thumb) will not resume throwing until Aug. 15 and is unlikely to return before the end of the month. Wuertz was placed on the 15-day DL July 30. … Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion has started taking fly balls in left field, manager John Farrell said, and could see some time in the outfield before the end of the season.

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Hideki Matsui has 4 hits as Athletics beat Blue…

Vosepoows — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:34:55 +0000

TORONTO – Conor Jackson drove in three runs, Hideki Matsui had four hits and the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3 on Thursday.

Oakland right-hander Guillermo Moscoso (5-6) allowed two runs, one earned, in six innings to earn the win. He walked two and struck out six.

Fautino De Los Santos and Brian Fuentes each worked one inning before Craig Breslow finished for the A’s.

J.P. Arencibia hit his 19th home run for Toronto, a solo drive to center in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough for the Blue Jays.

Mills (1-2) allowed six runs and five hits in three innings, his shortest career start. The left-hander walked two and struck out five.

After David DeJesus struck out looking, Kurt Suzuki walked to load the bases again before Ryan Sweeney hit an infield single, with a second run scoring on Perez’s throwing error.

NOTES: Oakland has won four of its past five series. … Athletics OF Coco Crisp [stats] (right calf) missed his fourth straight game and is expected to sit out the upcoming three-game series against Texas. … Oakland RHP Michael Wuertz (right thumb) will not resume throwing until Aug. 15 and is unlikely to return before the end of the month. Wuertz was placed on the 15-day DL July 30. … Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion has started taking fly balls in left field, manager John Farrell said, and could see some time in the outfield before the end of the season.

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Oakland’s Crisp out of lineup with calf injury

EslamShawkbp — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:27:29 +0000

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Oakland Athletics center fielder Coco Crisp was out of the starting lineup with a right calf injury one day after stealing a career-high four bases.

Crisp was replaced by Ryan Sweeney in Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin said Crisp should return for the start of a three-game series at Toronto on Tuesday night.

The four steals by Crisp in Saturday night’s 8-0 win over the Rays was one off the Oakland record held by Bert Campaneris (1976) and Rickey Henderson (1989).

Also, first baseman Conor Jackson didn’t start for the second consecutive game because of back spasms.

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Newcomer Furbush Helps Mariners Beat A’s 7-4

darkfantxt — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 06:35:26 +0000

SEATTLE — Newly acquired Charlie Furbush retired the first 13 batters in five strong innings and the Seattle Mariners swept past the Oakland Athletics 7-4 on Wednesday. Furbush (2-3), acquired Saturday in a four-player deal with Detroit, kept the damage minimal within his pitch-count framework. He had a perfect game through 4 1-3 innings before Conor Jackson ended it with a fifth-inning double off the left-field wall that was inches away from being a home run and needed a video review.Furbush matched his longest career outing and allowed one run and two hits with three strikeouts and no walks. It was his second big-league win, his first as a starter. Brandon League got the last two outs for his 26th save. Josh Bard had the biggest of the Mariners 14 hits, a 2-run single in the fourth off Gio Gonzalez (9-9), who is 1-4 with a 6.26 ERA in his last five starts. It was the third series sweep for the Mariners this season, the first since taking three from San Diego May 20-22. It also was their first sweep over Oakland since Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2009. Trailing 7-1, the A’s rallied with Josh Willingham’s 3-run home run off Jeff Gray. Dan Cortes came in to get one out, but walked Scott Sizemore and League came in to get Adam Rosales on a pop up and Ryan Sweeney to ground out.Ichiro Suzuki had three singles, giving him 274 career hits against Oakland, second most ever by an opponent. He trails only Rod Carew (282). Suzuki is a .333 career hitter against the A’s.Casper Wells, who came along with Furbush from the Tigers, had a pair of hits and two RBI. Mike Carp had three hits and a pair of RBI. He’s now hitting .367 with six extra-base hits and 14 RBI in 14 games since being recalled on July 19. It was scoreless until Bard lashed his RBI single to center. The line shot barely averted Gonzalez’ glove wave. He punched the air after missing it. The Mariners added a couple more in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Carp and Wells’ single to score Dustin Ackley.Wells added a RBI single in the seventh and Carp drove in the final run in the eighth with a RBI single.A’s DH Hideki Matsui had a single in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

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Rays rally to beat A’s 10-8

KepfrarfAsype — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:07:49 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif. —
Rays 10, Athletics 8

Desmond Jennings hit his first career home run and later added a two-run double in a seven-run seventh inning and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied from five runs down to stun the Oakland Athletics 10-8 Thursday.

B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria also homered, helping make a winner out of right-hander Wade Davis (8-7), who struggled early before settling down to retire 17 straight batters. Upton, the subject of ongoing trade rumors, hit his team-leading 16th home run after sitting out one game.

Conor Jackson had a two-run home run in the first inning when the A’s hit for the cycle with four consecutive batters, but Oakland’s bullpen imploded and wasted a solid outing by starter Rich Harden.

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A’s Pound Tampa Bay Rays, 13-4

hazardinokleusowx — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:15:55 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif. — Hideki Matsui and Ryan Sweeney both homered as part of a nine-run fourth inning and the suddenly resurgent Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 13-4 on Wednesday night. Matsui was 3 for 5 with five RBIs, Jemile Weeks had three hits, three RBIs and three runs scored, and Scott Sizemore added two hits and two RBIs to lead the A’s to their third straight win over the Rays. Trevor Cahill went 7 1-3 innings with six strikeouts for his first win in more than a month, benefiting from Oakland’s best offensive output of the season. The Rays, who broke one of baseball’s oldest records when they played their 705th consecutive game with a starting pitcher younger than 30 years old, lost for the 11th time in 15 games and dropped a season-high 11 1/2 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East.Every Oakland starter had at least one hit while seven scored.The A’s had a season-high 17 hits. Sweeney had three hits and scored twice — both times in the fourth when Oakland broke the game open. Conor Jackson also scored twice in the inning when the A’s, who lead the majors in batting since the All-Star break, sent 12 men to the plate in the inning to chase starter James Shields (9-9). Matsui, who went 5 for 5 in a 7-5 loss to the Yankees on Sunday, hit an RBI double in the third, homered in the fourth and had a run-scoring single in the fifth.Matsui’s ninth homer of the season highlighted the A’s highest-scoring inning of the season. The five RBIs are the most by Matsui since he had five against Baltimore on Sept. 13, 2009.Sweeney had two hits in the fourth, including his first home run since May 4, 2010 that gave the A’s a 10-0 lead. Cahill (9-9) gave up four hits and walked four but stayed out of trouble all game. The right-hander, 0-4 in his previous five starts, only allowed one runner past second while earning his first win since beating Philadelphia on June 25. Oakland, which has won seven of its last eight games at home, improved to 8-4 since the All-Star break after beating the Rays’ top three pitchers — rookie Jeremy Hellickson, David Price and Shields. It could have been worse for Tampa Bay. The A’s made it 13-0 on Weeks’ bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the sixth but missed a chance for more when Cliff Pennington was doubled off second base on the play. It was the only mistake Oakland made.Outside of breaking the Washington Senators’ 94-year-old record for young pitchers, not much went right for Tampa Bay. Shields, the All-Star right-hander who pitched the first game of the Rays’ record-breaking streak when it began on May 25, 2007, allowed 12 hits and 10 earned runs — the third time in his career he has given up 10 runs in a game. Tampa Bay, which has been outscored 26-10 through the first three games of this four-game series, scored four times in the ninth to avoid its 11th shutout of the season. Matt Joyce hit his 15th home run of the season, while Desmond Jennings and Johnny Damon also drove in runs.The Rays played without slugging outfielder B.J. Upton, who has been the subject of trade rumors. Manager Joe Maddon said the decision to sit Upton had more to do with his 3-for-38 slump than the trade talk.”I’ve just been looking for moments to give B.J. a rest,” Maddon said before the game. “I know all these different things that are being swirled about has got to have some kind of an impact on him, too. I wouldn’t think it would be easy to read that stuff all the time.”

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Pennington Keeps Hitting Streak, A’s Beat Rays 6-1

Cydendorzhi — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:05:04 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif. — Cliff Pennington had three hits to remain the hottest hitter in the major leagues since the All-Star break, Brandon McCarthy pitched eight innings and the Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Tuesday night. Conor Jackson went 3 for 4 and Hideki Matsui added an RBI double as Oakland won for the third time in four games. The A’s are 7-4 since the break.Ben Zobrist homered and Johnny Damon hit his 506th double to tie Babe Ruth for 47th on baseball’s all-time list but the Rays continued to struggle with men on base and lost for the 10th time in 14 games.Pennington singled twice and had an RBI double in the sixth, extending his career-high hitting streak to 10 games. He raised his average to .500 (18 for 36) since the All-Star break.That’s been a big factor in the A’s recent success. Oakland has scored four or more runs in each of its last six games — the club’s longest such streak of the season.McCarthy hadn’t made it out of the sixth inning in his previous three starts and was knocked around by Detroit in his most recent outing on July 20.The lanky right-hander, who missed more than six weeks while on the disabled list with a stress reaction in his right scapula, rebounded nicely against Tampa Bay. McCarthy (3-5) pitched with runners on base in each of the first six innings but worked out of trouble each time to win for only the second time in his last 12 starts. McCarthy, who struck out three and walked two, lost his shutout bid with one out in the seventh when Zobrist homered for the second straight game, but retired the next two batters. Grant Balfour pitched the ninth to complete the seven-hitter. Tampa Bay starter David Price (9-9) allowed four runs over six innings and walked four — two of which scored. The left-hander is 1-3 with two no-decisions over his last six starts.Scott Sizemore scored on Jemile Weeks’ sacrifice fly in the third, while David DeJesus drove in Josh Willingham with a sacrifice fly against Price in the fourth.Pennington made it 3-0 when he singled leading off the fifth and scored on Matsui’s double to right-center, then doubled in Sizemore in the sixth.Kurt Suzuki added a two-run double in the eighth.The Rays stranded eight runners and are 1 for 20 with runners in scoring position during the first two games of this four-game series.Zobrist walked his first two at-bats and flied out to right before homering in the eighth. It was the fourth home run allowed by McCarthy this season.

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Athletics vs. Rays: Brandon McCarthy Faces Tough…

JamesDelon — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 06:26:09 +0000

Read More: Desmond Jennings (CF – TAM), David Price (P – TAM), James Shields (P – TAM), Brandon McCarthy (P – OAK)

The Oakland Athletics look to win their second straight contest against the Tampa Bay Rays as they send out Brandon McCarthy to face David Price. The Rays will actually tie a fairly epic record Tuesday night. Starting Price will mark the 704th consecutive game in which the Rays have sent out a pitcher under the age of 30. This ties the mark set by the Washington Senators from 1913-1917 and the Rays will likely break the record on Wednesday when James Shields makes his start.

The highlight of this series continues to be the young, athletic speedsters Jemile Weeks and Desmond Jennings. Weeks got off to a strong start when he was called up in early June and is currently leading the A’s with a line of .307/.341/.405 with 10 steals. Jennings has been up for three games and has a nice little line of .545/.667/1.000 with three steals. It’s an incredibly small sample size but it’s easy to see why the Rays are excited about the youngster.

Oakland Athletics
1. Jemile Weeks 2B
2. Coco Crisp CF
3. Hideki Matsui LF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Conor Jackson 1B
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Scott Sizemore 3B
8. Kurt Suzuki C
9. Cliff Pennington SS

Tampa Bay Rays
1. Desmond Jennings LF
2. Johnny Damon DH
3. Ben Zobrist 2B
4. Evan Longoria 3B
5. Casey Kotchman 1B
6. B.J. Upton CF
7. Matt Joyce RF
8. Robinson Chirinos C
9. Sean Rodriguez SS

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Athletics seek another win over Rays

Exadautinia — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:46:50 +0000

The Oakland Athletics try to string back-to-back wins
together this evening when they continue their four-game series against the
Tampa Bay Rays at the Coliseum.

Oakland drew first blood in this series on Monday, as Conor Jackson hit the
go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning, boosting the A’s to a 7-5 win.
Coco Crisp added an insurance RBI double in the eighth for Oakland, which
bounced back from losing two of three games to the Yankees over the weekend.

Guillermo Moscoso gave up eight hits and five runs over five-plus innings
before the A’s came to the rescue by rallying from a 5-2 deficit. Michael
Wuertz, Brian Fuentes (2-8), Grant Balfour and Andrew Bailey combined to shut
down the Rays the rest of the way. Bailey escaped a jam in the ninth to get
his 12th save.

Cliff Pennington smacked a two-run homer in the second inning for the A’s.

“It can be contagious when you’re not swinging well and it can be contagious
when you’re swinging well,” A’s interim manager Bob Melvin said. “If you get
one or two guys going, sometimes guys follow suit.”

Ben Zobrist and Kelly Shoppach homered for the Rays, who lost for the seventh
time in 10 contests.

Jeremy Hellickson was charged with four hits and three runs in the start for
Tampa Bay. J.P. Howell (2-2) suffered the loss.

Getting the call for the Rays tonight will be lefty David Price, who has lost
two of his last three decisions. Price absorbed the loss on Wednesday against
the Yankees, as he surrendered two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 frames to fall
to 9-8 on the year to go along with a 3.67 ERA.

Price has faced the A’s twice and is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA.

The Rays will tie a major league record tonight when they start a pitcher
under the age of 30 for the 704th consecutive game. The 1913-1917 Washington
Senators, led by Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, set the record.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Price. “It’s pretty special and good to be a part
of something like that.”

Oakland, meanwhile, will hand the ball to righty Brandon McCarthy, who is 2-5
with a 3.74 ERA. McCarthy did not get a decision on Wednesday in Detroit, as
he allowed four runs and six hits in five innings of his team’s 7-5 win.

McCarthy is 1-2 in seven games (six starts) against the Rays with a 4.18 ERA.

The Rays took five of nine from the A’s last season, but have dropped seven of
their last 11 in Oakland.

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MLB: Oakland 7, Tampa Bay 5

Nakaltos — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:55:59 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif., July 26 (UPI) — Conor Jackson delivered a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning Monday and the Oakland Athletics rallied for a 7-5 win over Tampa Bay.

Trailing 5-3 entering the seventh, the A’s started a comeback when Hideki Matsui hit a one-out single off J.P. Howell (2-2), Josh Willigham walked and David DeJesus singled in a run to make it 5-4.

Joel Peralta took the mound and Jackson greeted him by drilling a pitch off the left-center field wall, handing the A’s the lead.

Cliff Pennington added a two-run homer for Oakland, which took the opener of a four-game series against the Rays.

Brian Fuentes (2-8) collected the win after getting the final two outs of the seventh and Andrew Bailey racked up his 12th save.

Ben Zobrist went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and Kelly Shoppach added a bases-empty shot for Tampa Bay.

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Athletics vs. Tigers: Jemile Weeks Out Of Lineup…

Outfismmefs — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:03:23 +0000

Read More: Eric Sogard (2B – OAK), Duane Below (P – DET), Brandon McCarthy (P – OAK), Detroit Tigers

The Oakland Athletics look to split their two-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday without their most explosive player. Jemile Weeks fouled a pitch off his right foot on Tuesday and is still feeling a bit sore. However, he did state he would be available off the bench if needed. Eric Sogard will get the start at second base in place of Weeks. This is the first game Weeks will have missed since he was called up in early June.

The A’s will send out Brandon McCarthy to face recently recalled Duane Below who is making his major league debut. Below underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 shortly after his promotion to Double-A and has finally worked his way back. In 18 starts at Triple-A Toledo, Below was 9-4 with a 3.13 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 115 innings. The A’s will look to figure out a way to get some offense going against the new starter.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Cliff Pennington SS
3. Josh Willingham LF
4. Hideki Matsui DH
5. Conor Jackson 3B
6. Kurt Suzuki C
7. David DeJesus RF
8. Landon Powell 1B
9. Eric Sogard 2B

Detroit Tigers
1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch LF
3. Magglio Ordonez RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Carlos Guillen 2B
7. Alex Avila C
8. Don Kelly 3B
9. Ramon Santiago SS

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Athletics vs. Tigers: Josh Willingham Out Of…

Trusiarkitrut — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:18:23 +0000

Read More: Ryan Sweeney (RF – OAK), Coco Crisp (CF – OAK), Josh Willingham (LF – OAK), Guillermo Moscoso (P – OAK), Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers

The Oakland Athletics will face off with the Detroit Tigers Tuesday afternoon at 4:00pm pacific looking to build on the momentum of their series victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The matchup features Guillermo Moscoso taking on Rick Porcello as the Tigers will look to hang steady behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians.

In an interesting twist, the A’s have sat outfielder Josh Willingham for the series opener, instead going with Ryan Sweeney in left field and placing Coco Crisp in the three spot in the lineup. More than likely this is simply the A’s looking to get some quality matchups given Sweeney’s success against right handed batters. At the same time, it’s an interesting decision if the team is in fact shopping Willingham in advance of the trade deadline. One would think the A’s would want to showcase the outfielder, but there is also the idea of actually trying to win games.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm pacific on CSN California.

Oakland Athletics
1. Jemile Weeks 2B
2. Ryan Sweeney LF
3. Coco Crisp CF
4. Hideki Matsui DH
5. Scott Sizemore 3B
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Conor Jackson 1B
8. Kurt Suzuki C
9. Cliff Pennington SS

Detroit Tigers
1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch LF
3. Magglio Ordonez RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Carlos Guillen 2B
8. Alex Avila C
9. Brandon Inge 3B

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Athletics vs. Tigers: A’s Take Post-All Star…

suinono — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:03:37 +0000

The Oakland Athletics dropped an 8-3 decision to the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night as Guillermo Moscoso was unable to recapture his pre-All Star break dominance. Moscoso kept things close through four innings and actually held a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. However, he struggled mightily with location as a Miguel Cabrera two-run home run gave the Tigers a lead on they would not surrender.

Moscoso and Tigers starter Rick Porcello were able to work their around some jams early on. After the two teams exchanged zeros through the first three innings, the A’s were able to load the bases on Porcello with nobody out in the top of the fourth. Unfortunately the A’s could not convert any runs from the situation. David DeJesus grounded into a fielder’s choice at first in which Coco Crisp was forced out at home. That was followed by Conor Jackson hitting into an inning ending 5-4-3 double play.

The Tigers grabbed a run in the bottom of the fourth following a Conor Jackson error that allowed Victor Martinez to score from first. Martinez slid around A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki to score the run. The A’s bounced back in the fifth with three runs thanks to three straight two-out hits. Kurt Suzuki led off the inning with a double before Cliff Pennington grounded out and Jemile Weeks flew out. Ryan Sweeney then singled to score Suzuki, followed by a Coco Crisp double put men on second and third, and concluded by a Hideki Matsui single scored Sweeney and Crisp.

Moscoso got the first out in the bottom of the fifth, but then ran into trouble as he put men on second and third after an Austin Jackson single and Brennan Boesch double. Magglio Ordonez sacrified in one run to cut the lead to 3-2, bringing up Miguel Cabrera. Although Moscoso was able to get two strikes on Cabrera, his location was off as he was missing down and away. Cabrera was just missing on pitches and it looked like Moscoso might escape the Tigers MVP candidate. However, he went to the well once too often and Cabrera made him pay with a two-run home run.

The inning quickly fell apart from there as Jhonny Peralta later hit an RBI single and Carlos Guillen added a two-run home run. By the time Moscoso left he had given up seven runs, six of them earned, on nine pitches and one walk over 4 2/3 innings.

Given the A’s general offensive struggles their chances of a comeback were slim. They managed four singles (two of which were infield singles) and not much else, falling quietly 8-3.

The teams wrap up the brief two-game series with a 4:05pm start time on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on CSN California and features Brandon McCarthy vs. Jacob Turner.

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Athletics vs. Rangers: Josh Hamilton Returns To…

LefErypefrevy — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:42:30 +0000

Read More: Josh Hamilton (LF – TEX), Texas Rangers

The Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers return to the field a day after tragedy struck in Arlington. On Thursday night, Josh Hamilton threw a ball into the stands and fan Shannon Stone tumbled twenty feet to the ground below while trying to catch the ball. The fan appeared to survive the fall at the time, but died en route to the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.

Hamilton was understandably distraught after the game and there were questions as to whether he would play in Friday night’s game. Hamilton told manager Ron Washington that he wanted to be in the lineup for the game and so he is in the starting lineup. The A’s and Rangers will wear black ribbons for the rest of the series in memory of Stone and will fly flags at the stadium at half-staff.

Gio Gonzalez and C.J. Wilson in the second game of the series. Here are the starting lineups for each team:

Oakland Athletics
1. Jemile Weeks 2B
2. David DeJesus RF
3. Coco Crisp CF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Scott Sizemore 3B
6. Conor Jackson 1B
7. Ryan Sweeney LF
8. Kurt Suzuki C
9. Adam Rosales SS

Texas Rangers
1. Ian Kinsler 2B
2. Elvis Andrus SS
3. Josh Hamilton LF
4. Adrian Beltre DH
5. Michael Young 3B
6. Nelson Cruz RF
7. Mike Napoli 1B
8. Yorvit Torrealba C
9. Craig Gentry CF

That’s all for today.

Athletics vs. White Sox: Graham Godfrey Makes Major League Debute As A’s Look To Snap Ten-Game Losing Streak

smusiageaps — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:29:03 +0000

Read More: Graham Godfrey (P – OAK), Daric Barton (1B – OAK), Ryan Sweeney (RF – OAK), Kristian Bell (P – OAK), Marco Scutaro (SS – BOS), Cliff Pennington (SS – OAK), Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics send out rookie starter Graham Godfrey to face the Chicago White Sox in an attempt to snap the team’s ten-game losing streak. The streak is Oakland’s longest losing streak since 2008 and has dropped them to eight games back of first place.

The A’s acquired Godfrey along with RHP Kristian Bell in the deal that sent Marco Scutaro to the Toronto Blue Jays in late 2007. Godfrey split his first Oakland season between single-A Stockton and AAA Sacramento. He settled in at AA Midland in 2009 and then moved up to AAA Sacramento in 2010. In 2011, Godfrey made nine starts at Sacramento and was 7-1 with a 2.50 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He gets to make his major league debut against a White Sox lineup that has been inconsistent but can still do some serious damage.

On the other side, the A’s send out a lineup with some changes from Thursday. Cliff Pennington continues to hit in the second spot, but Ryan Sweeney replaces Conor Jackson in the third spot and Daric Barton is back at first base and hitting sixth. Barton has struggled for much of this year but found success in limited at bats in the sixth spot. Jemile Weeks gets another start in the ninth spot where he is 4-for-7 over the last two games.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Cliff Pennington SS
3. Ryan Sweeney RF
4. Josh Willingham LF
5. Hideki Matsui DH
6. Daric Barton 1B
7. Kurt Suzuki C
8. Scott Sizemore 3B
9. Jemile Weeks 2B

Chicago White Sox
1. Juan Pierre LF
2. Alexei Ramirez SS
3. Carlos Quentin RF
4. Paul Konerko 1B
5. A.J. Pierzynski C
6. Alex Rios CF
7. Adam Dunn DH
8. Gordon Beckham 2B
9. Brent Morel 3B

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