A.J. Griffin Sensational in A's 7-1 Series Win Vs. Boston

Well, for a team that was written off before the season even started, the Athletics are doing a tremendous job in breaking expectations and continuing to win games, in commanding fashion.  Tonight, they won 7-1 behind a strong starter, and an offense that just continues to click.

The city of Oakland continues to celebrate.  The A’s are on an offensive tear, scoring 27 runs in their last two games, 20 of them alone coming from last night’s series opener against Boston.  They took the series, and added on to their winning streak, now at 8. 

Rookie sensation A.J. Griffin was very impressive in his first start since missing most of August with a shoulder injury, actually taking a perfect game into the last two outs of the 5th inning, when he gave up a fast-rolling bunt towards third base from Jarrod Saltalamacchia (who would be stranded to end the inning).  Things started to turn around in the top of the 6th, however, as some lucky breaks on the base-paths for Boston and a controversial call at home plate ended up being the only run Griffin would give up.   3 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, and 5 strikeouts later, Griffin would go 7 strong innings to earn his 4th victory of the season, still without a loss.

It was the bottom of the first inning, and Coco Crisp wasted no time in getting Oakland on the board, blasting a solo shot to left field.

In the bottom 3rd, Red Sox starter Felix Dubront would get hit hard to allow 4 earned runs:  After getting the first two outs with two men on, Yoenis Cespedes got it going with a single to left scoring Jonny Gomes, 2-0 Oakland.  Cespedes would then steal second, and third, and eventually be driven in with Chris Carter off a double to deep right from newly activated Brandon Inge.  4-0 Oakland.  It wouldn’t stop there, as catcher Derek Norris slices a single into center field to score Inge, making it 5-0.  Still Oakland.

The A’s were threatening to score in the 4th, after new pitcher Alfredo Aceves made a terrible decision to back-up his catcher and 1st baseman by dropping the ball after running into them.  Luckily for him, he would get out of the inning with no runs scoring.

In the bottom of the 5th, a single and a steal later, Cliff Pennington get’s driven in by Norris, making it 6-0 Oakland.

Jump ahead to the bottom 7th, 1st baseman Chris Carter leads off the inning by blasting a solo homer into left center field.  7-1 Oakland.  Cliff Pennington then gets his second hit of the night to follow the leadoff homerun, but would be left stranded.

Pat Neshek came in in the 8th, and pitched the rest of the game to an Oakland victory, no save necessary.

Brandon Inge left the game in the top 4th with a shoulder injury.  Hopefully it is nothing serious, but according to skipper Bob Melvin, Inge has re-aggravated the injury.  

Let’s see who did what tonight:
Coco Crisp: 3-for-4 with an RBI, a homerun, a walk, and two stolen bases.  He was a triple shy of the cycle.

Derek Norris: 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Brandon Inge: 1-for-2 with 2 RBI and a run scored.

Chris Carter: 1-for-3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored (one from a leadoff homerun in the 7th).

Yoenis Cespedes: 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base.

Cliff Pennington: 2-for-2 with a run scored, and 2 stolen bases.

The Athletics are now only 3 and a half games back in their division, and 1 and a half games up in the AL Wild Card standings.  Needless to say, it’s been an exciting time for Oakland fans, and September will surely continue to fire up the A’s in their drive for the post-season.

Tomorrow, Brett Anderson (2-0 with a 0.64 ERA) will make his 3rd start of the season, and look to sweep an utterly floundering Boston team.  Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-3 with a 5.10 ERA), who was dominant in his last start, will take the hill for his Red Sox at 1:05 PM in Oakland.

Posted in: A.J. Griffin,Boston Red Sox,Brandon Inge,Brett Anderson,Chris Carter,cliff pennington,coco crisp,Daisuke Matsuzaka,derek norris,Oakland Athletics,Pat Neshek,Yoenis Cespedes