A's Swept by Angels in 7-1 Loss, Brandon McCarthy Exits Game

 It was a disappointing loss for Oakland today, for a few reasons.  Not only did they score just 1 run in today’s game, but were stifled to just 5 runs through the whole series with the L.A. Angels.  Another concerning factor was Brandon McCarthy leaving the game in the top of the 4th inning after being struck in the head off a line drive.  Another sad fact is that they were swept

But hey, teams are going to get swept, right?  Oakland certainly knows about this, as they came into this series with the Angels after completing two series sweeps in a row against Cleveland and Boston (whom they accumulated the most wins they ever have in a season against the BoSox), respectively, and were standing tall.


Unfortunately for Oakland, Angels co-ace Dan Haren pitched a 6 innings gem, allowing only 1 run off of 3 hits.  He did walk 3, giving Oakland a few chances to score, but also had a healthy 7 punch-outs.

It was the top of the 3rd, and after a leadoff single by Alberto Callaspo, McCarthy was able to get the next two outs via sacrifice, moving Callaspo to third in the process.  Torii Hunter would get the first run on the board by knocking Callaspo in.  Pujols doubles to left sending Hunter to third base.  Kendrys Morales steps to the plate and takes an intentional walk, bases now loaded.  It was a bad move, as Howie Kendrick would knock a single in to right field to score Pujols and Hunter.  More damage could have been done, but Morales was thrown out at third, getting greedy.

In the bottom of the same inning, it was looking as though Oakland would answer right back after getting two walks and a throwing error, but had to settle for a lone run thanks to Seth Smith bringing Derek Norris home.  3-1 Angels.

The next few innings were pretty evenly matched, as both teams went down just about in order until the bottom of the 7th inning when Oakland was able to put two men on with only one out.  It would be for naught, as reliever Nick Morande proceeded to strike out the next two batters to end the inning.

Jump ahead to the top of the 9th, when things got completely out of control for the A’s.  With the bases loaded, thanks to Grant Balfour, reliever Jim Miller would walk Maicer Izturis to score Peter Bourjos, 4-1 Angels.  Aybar and Callspo came in to score off a single to center from Torii Hunter.  Izturis would then steal home to put the score where it would stand at the end, 7-1 Angels.

So it was a bad day for Oakland.  They failed to hit with bases loaded multiple times throughout the series, and, as fate would have it, failed to score first in any of the games against the Angels. 

Brandon McCarthy going down right now is not something the team can afford to gut, as this stretch run will be very important, especially with the Rangers really picking it up.  Brandon Inge going down for the rest of the season was also a tough blow, but not one the A’s can’t overcome, as this is a very special and talented team.

The Athletics now stand 4.5 games behind Texas in their division, and are now a half game out in the AL Wild Card standings.

A.J. Griffin (4-0 with a 2.26 ERA), who was phenomenal in his last outing, will take the mound on Friday at 7:10PM against the Seattle Mariners.

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Breaking News: Brandon Inge to Have Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

A bit of breaking news on this Saturday night.

Oakland A's third baseman Brandon Inge will have surgery on his right shoulder and will be out for the rest of the season.

Inge aggravated his shoulder in the third inning against the Red Sox when throwing out Pedro Ciriaco on a ground ball. 

However, he still took his at bat in the bottom half of the inning, and heroically smacked a two-run double to right field. He was promptly replaced by Cliff Pennington after the inning was over. 

Inge told CSN California after the game that he would need surgery, and that it would "probably won't be for another week or two".

"I gave everything I had to offer to this team," Inge said. "When I get the surgery, I want to get back right away. I feel like in this clubhouse, I can still make an impact."

Inge is hitting .216 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI this season, splitting time between the Detroit Tigers and the A's. 

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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.

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Inge to DL, Donaldson Called Up

Update, 8/14: The A's have called up third baseman Josh Donaldson and appear to have sent Brandon Inge to the DL, according to the Chronicle. Donaldson is batting just .153 with a home run in 100 games this season.
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Oakland A's third baseman Brandon Inge dislocated his shoulder during Saturday night's win against the White Sox, and will fly back to Oakland for an MRI.

Inge claims that he popped his shoulder back into place by tugging his arm, which hurts just thinking about it.

A's manager Bob Melvin told the media today that "it may be a bit longer than we first expected".

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A's Beat White Sox 9-7 In Slugfest

Travis Blackley continued to struggle. However, the Athletics' offense continued to produce.

The result? Another wild victory for the Oakland Athletics.

Jonny Gomes homered, Chris Carter had three hits and the A's beat the White Sox 9-7 in a slugfest. Grant Balfour kicked off the "closer by committee" era by recording his eighth save of the season, as he  got A.J Pierzynski to line out to end the game.

Gomes, Carter and Derek Norris all knocked in two runs for Oakland, and Brandon Inge plated the go-ahead run for Oakland. Inge ripped an outside fastball down the right field line to plate Yoenis Cespedes and give Oakland the lead.

In the third inning, Norris hit a low fastball from Francisco Liriano down the left field line for a ground-rule double. Two runs scored, and the A's took a 4-2 lead. Earlier in the inning, Carter ripped a 93 mph fastball into left field for a two-run single.

Oakland led 6-2 in the fourth, but the White Sox battled back. Kevin Youkilis and Tyler Flowers each homered, and after the 7th inning, Chicago led 7-6. However, setup man Matt Thornton came in, and he failed to stop Oakland's offense.

Thornton gave Gomes a curveball right down the middle, and he crushed it into the left-field bleachers. The game was tied, and Oakland wasn't done. They scored on Inge's single and on another hit from Gomes in the ninth, and the A's led 9-7 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Balfour came on for the save, and he did a nice job after hitting Kevin Youkilis. Balfour didn't give Adam Dunn a good pitch to hit, and he got Dunn to fly out to left. Alex Rios struck out on a great pitch to get another out, and Pierzynski lined out to end the game.

With the win, the A's are now tied with three other teams for first place in the AL Wild Card standings. The White Sox are a half-game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for first place in the AL Central.

Tomorrow, Chris Sale (13-3, 2.59 ERA) will take the hill for the White Sox, while Bartolo Colon (9-8, 3.38 ERA) will pitch for Oakland.

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