A's Beat Felix Hernandez as AJ Griffin Deals

The A's found a way to beat Felix Hernandez and the Mariners tonight and end their three game losing streak. Beating the Mariners in the second half of the season has not been the easiest tasks for most ball clubs let alone beating Felix Hernandez. AJ Griffin, the A's bullpen and George Kottaras provided all the fire power they needed.

The A's scored early on a error by Eric Thames that was pretty inexcusable especially with two outs. He let a single get by him allowing Seth Smith to score from first.

Seattle would tie it in the second on a Brendan Ryan single to Josh Reddick,  which would be the only run allowed by Griffin tonight. Griffin did a great job giving the A's another solid start. His ability to mix pitches and keep batters guessing will keep him in the majors for a long time to come. I'm guessing he will sleep easy tonight knowing he beat Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez.

The big turning point in the game came on a three run home run by George Kottaras. He's making a great push to be the everyday catcher just based on his ability to be the power catcher the A's have lacked for a few years. The A's would add a few more runs on a Josh Donaldson double and Stephen Drew single in the fifth.

A shout out to Cliff Pennington (4-4) and Stephen Drew (2-4) who are continuing to play like their career numbers say they should.

The A's played like the better team and this is something they will need to do the rest of the season in order to make it to the Playoffs.

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Dan Straily Called Up From Triple A

Update: Susan Sussler is reporting that the A's have called up Dan Straily to the team. It is likely that he will be in their starting rotation.


As an update to our earlier story on replacing Brandon McCarthy. According to Joe Stiglich, Dan Straily has been removed from his next AAA playoff start.

Dan Straily flew with #Athletics to Seattle, I'm told. Don't have it confirmed he'll replace McCarthy in rotation, but obvious candidate.
— Joe Stiglich (@joestiglich) September 7, 2012

All signs are pointing towards Straily starting five days from tomorrow against the Angels. That would pin him against Dan Haren. Now the only question is whether or not the A's will score more than one run.

Straily's stats in three starts for the A's this year:
1-0 W-L; 17 IP; 3.18 ERA;  17SO

Win or lose its nice to know the A's are willing to bring up another key prospect in a pivotal part of the season.

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How Does the A's Pitching Staff Deal With the Loss of Brandon McCarthy?

First and foremost all of our thoughts are with Brandon McCarthy and his family. Based on a statement released by Billy Beane and the Athletics, it appears McCarthy is in stable condition.

In the past thirty days the A's have lost their two most veteran pitchers on the staff. After losing Bartolo Colon, it was easy to say things were okay as Brett Anderson stepped up and took on the role as the ace of the staff. Now that McCarthy appears to be out as well, the big question is who will step up and provide the depth that McCarthy added to our staff?

The current staff looks like this:

- Brett Anderson
- Jarrod Parker
- Tommy Milone
- AJ Griffin

The easy choice is to convert Travis Blackley back to a starter and have him make four starts in September. Based on the current schedule, he is likely to face the Angels, Orioles, Yankees and Rangers, respectively.

While he's pitched well this year, I'm not thrilled on throwing him out against teams with extremely potent offenses.

One other possibility to fill the void is the "king of strikeouts", Dan Straily. People are clamoring over the fact they want to see him pitch, but we must realize that he is a rookie pitcher that will exceed his innings pitched in a season. The Dan Straily from three months ago might not be the Dan Straily of September.

In short, while the pitching staff has fallen on hard times there's enough viable replacements to make 4 starts in September and help carry the Oakland Athletics back to the playoffs.

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Brandon McCarthy Recovering From Surgery

A's starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy underwent surgery last night after being struck in the head by a line drive in a game vs. the Angels.

The A's released more information in a press release:

After the incident occurred in the fourth inning yesterday, the A’s pitcher was taken to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, where a CT Scan revealed an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture. Later in the evening, he was transferred to a nearby hospital, where a neurosurgeon performed a second CT scan and clinical examination, and surgery was recommended to relieve pressure from McCarthy’s head.

The two-hour surgery was performed at approximately 9 p.m., with the procedure including the evacuation of an epidural hemorrhage and stabilization of the skull fracture. Another CT Scan taken at 12:30 p.m. today demonstrated improvement from his previous scan, and the epidural hemorrhage had subsided. McCarthy is currently resting in the critical care unit of the hospital.

“Our first concern is Brandon’s health, and we are heartened to learn he has shown progress in his recovery after surgery,” said Billy Beane, the A’s vice president and general manager. “We are glad to report he is stable, awake and alert. The team will provide further updates as they become available in the coming days. We would ask members of the media to respect the privacy of Brandon and his family during this time. As we travel to Seattle today, Brandon remains in everyone’s thoughts as we wish him a speedy recovery.”

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A's Release Statement on McCarthy

The A's released a statement on pitcher Brandon McCarthy, who was hit in the head by a line drive from Erick Aybar in the fourth inning of Wednesday afternoon's game against the Angels:

Brandon McCarthy is conscious and doing well.  Doctors at Summit Hospital want him to stay overnight for further observation. He will not accompany the team on the charter flight to Seattle tomorrow afternoon.

All of us certainly hope that McCarthy can make a speedy and full recovery.  

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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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A's Look to Salvage a Game Against the Angels

The last two games have been a revelation for the A's in a negative way. After a nine game win streak, the team has dropped the first two games of the series against the Angels, and will look to avoid the sweep this afternoon.

Brandon McCarthy (8-5, 3.10 ERA) will pitch for the A's. He has allowed no more than two runs in three of his five starts since being reinstated from the disabled list. 

He will be opposed by former A's pitcher Danny Haren (9-10, 4.58 ERA). 

Lineup - A's vs. Angels, 12:35 PM

Crisp CF
Smith LF
Reddick RF
Cespedes DH
Carter 1B
Donaldson 3B
Drew SS
Norris C
Pennington 2B

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A's Fall to Angels 6-1 as Greinke Goes Seven Strong Innings

After winning nine in a row, the A's have now dropped the first two games of a three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels.

Tonight, it was superb pitching by Zack Greinke coupled with some clutch two-out hitting by the Angels' offense.

Greinke allowed just a run on four hits in seven innings pitched to earn the win.

Jarrod Parker pitched reasonably for the A's, allowing two runs in seven innings, but the bullpen could not come through and keep Oakland in the game.

With the A's down 2-0 in the seventh, Brandon Moss launched a monster shot to left field to spoil the shutout, and instill a glimmer of hope that a comeback was possible.

But the Angels would have none of it. They would score twice in the eighth on RBI hits by Erick Aybar and Alberto Callaspo off Sean Doolittle, and twice more in the ninth on a double by Kendrys Morales that was misjudged by Stephen Drew.

With their loss, the A's have fallen into a dead tie for the lead in the AL Wild Card with the Baltimore Orioles.

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A's Battle Zack Greinke at the Coliseum: Preview, Lineups

The A's will look to start another win streak after their nine-game streak was snapped by the Angels yesterday.

Jarrod Parker (9-7, 3.72 ERA) will battle Zack Greinke (3-2. 4.82 ERA), who has really struggled since coming to the Angels - a 7.20 ERA.

Parker is also looking for a solid performance after a shaky start against the Indians last week.

Roster Moves

Reliever Jim Miller was called up today from Stockton. He is 2-1 with a 2.02 ERA this season.

Miscellaneous 

Josh Reddick is the AL Player of the Week. Reddick hit .387 with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and six runs scored in seven games.

Lineup - A's vs. Angels. 7:05 PM

1. Crisp CF
2. Smith DH
3. Reddick RF
4. Cespedes LF
5. Moss 1B
6. Donaldson 3B
7. Drew SS
8. Kottaras C
9. Pennington 2B

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A's Win Streak Snapped at Nine with 8-3 Loss to Angels

It was a good run, but the A's could not have expected to win twenty in a row.

Behind CJ Wilson and a hot offense, the Angels snapped Oakland's win-streak at nine on Monday afternoon. Tommy Milone went just three innings, allowing five runs on ten hits.

The Angels had a 5-0 lead by the fourth inning, as Milone was getting hit hard. The A's would battle back to make it a 5-2 deficit, but Chris Iannetta spoiled any hopes of a comeback with a two run homer in the sixth. Iannetta would record three RBIs on the day, and was a triple shy of the cycle.

The Angels would tack on three more runs and take the first game of the series by the score of 8-3.

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A's Look for Number Ten as Angels Come to Town: Preview, Lineups

Ten straight wins...how does that sound?

The Anaheim Angels visit the O.Co Coliseum to begin a three-game set starting this afternoon. 

Tommy Milone (11-9, 3.73 ERA) takes the hill for the A's, while CJ Wilson (10-9, 3.86 ERA) looks to redeem himself at the Coliseum.

Lineups - A's vs. Angels 1:05 PM

A's

1) Coco Crisp (CF)

2) Jonny Gomes (DH)

3) Josh Reddick (RF)

4) Yoenis Cespedes (LF)

5) Chris Carter (1B)

6) Josh Donaldson (3B)

7) Derek Norris (C)

8) Stephen Drew (SS)

9) Adam Rosales (2B)

Angels

1) Mike Trout

2) Torii Hunter

3) Albert Pujols

4) Mark Trumbo

5) Howard Kendrick

6) Erick Aybar

7) Alberto Callaspo 

8) Vernon Wells

9) Chris Iannetta

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A's Sweep Red Sox, Win Ninth Straight Game

How about those A's?

Two consecutive series sweeps (granted against two weak opponents in the Indians and Red Sox), but nine straight wins and an impressive second half nonetheless.

The A's grabbed the lead early and would never relinquish it. Seth Smith, the second batter of the game, homered into right center to put the A's up 2-0 in the first.

Stephen Drew continued the homer parade with a solo shot in the second, his first as an Athletic. Oakland would go on to score the game's first six runs.

Brett Anderson was impressive in his third start of the season, allowing just one run in six innings.

The Red Sox would rally to avoid being shutout with two runs in the late innings, and the final score would be 6-2 in favor of the A's.

God knows how long this ride will continue, but as long as the wins keep pouring in, everybody's happy.

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A's Look to Finish Off Red Sox: Preview, Lineups

The Boston Red Sox are really struggling, and the A's are taking advantage of them at the right time.

Oakland has won the first two games of this series by a combined score of 27-3, and will look for the sweep on Sunday afternoon. 

Brett Anderson (2-0, 0.64 ERA) has been superb since his return from Tommy John surgery. He will face Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-3, 5.10 ERA) of Boston.

Lineup - A's vs Red Sox, 1:05 PM

Red Sox
1) Pedro Ciriaco
2) Scott Podsednik
3) Dustin Pedroia
4) Cody Ross
5) Mauro Gomez
6) Ryan Lavarnway
7) Mike Aviles
8) James Loney
9) Jose Iglesias

A's
1) Coco Crisp
2) Seth Smith
3) Josh Reddick
4) Yoenis Cespedes
5) Brandon Moss
6) Josh Donaldson
7) Stephen Drew
8) Derek Norris
9) Cliff Pennington

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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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A's Look to Keep Rolling Against the Red Sox: Preview, Lineups

The A's will look to maintain their momentum from last night's 20-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox at the O.Co Coliseum.

A.J. Griffin (3-0, 2.42 ERA) will come off the DL and start for the A's, in order to give Brett Anderson some rest. He will face Felix Doubront (10-6, 4.79 ERA) of the Red Sox.

Roster Moves - September Callups

With the MLB roster expanding from 25 to 40 players today, the A's reinstated infielder Brandon Inge and called up Griffin. They also called up shortstop Brandon Hicks and outfielder Colin Cowgill from Triple A Sacramento.

Surprisingly, Jemile Weeks was not called up from Triple A.

Lineup - A's (74-57) vs. Red Sox (62-71), 6:05 PM

1) Coco Crisp (CF)
2) Jonny Gomes (DH)
3) Josh Reddick (RF)
4) Yoenis Cespedes (LF)
5) Chris Carter (1B)
6) Brandon Inge (3B)
7) Derek Norris (C)
8) Brandon Hicks (SS)
9) Adam Rosales (2B)

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A's Annihilate Red Sox 20-2 to Open the Series

Yes, you read that right. A's: 20, Red Sox: 2

The final score from the O.Co Coliseum on Friday night was 20-2 in favor of the A's, an absolute spanking.

But first, what will be forgotten from this night was Brandon McCarthy's fantastic performance, scattering eight hits for two runs in six and a third innings. The Red Sox actually threatened to score first, as they had runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings, but McCarthy was able to get out of the jams unscathed,

Now, the fun part. How did the A's score their twenty runs?

It was a four run second inning that kick-started it all; an RBI each by Brandon Moss and Jonny Gomes, followed by a two-run shot off the bat of Josh Donaldson, who has homered in each of his last three games.

Moss and Gomes would deliver again with a pair of RBIs to make it 6-0. Moss would continue his huge night with a blast deep into right in the fifth, a two-run shot that made it 8-1 A's.

But we're not even close to done yet. Backup catcher George Kottaras smacked a solo shot in the sixth, a prelude to the nine-run seventh inning that was to come.

In the seventh, the A's would string together a long series of hits to make it 14-2. Then, Josh Reddick launched his first career grand slam, breaking the wide-open game even wider-open: 18-2 Athletics.

George Kottaras would put the cherry on top of the sundae in the eighth, with his second home run of the night.

The A's scored a season-high twenty runs on Friday night, and they will look to continue their success tomorrow night against these same Red Sox.

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Red Sox Visit the Coliseum: Preview, Lineups

The A's have won six games in a row, including a sweep of the Cleveland Indians, and return home to face the Boston Red Sox, who essentially traded half their team away to the Dodgers earlier this week.

Brandon McCarthy (7-5, 3.12 ERA) takes the hill coming off a strong performance in Tampa Bay, when he allowed just two runs in seven innings. 

He will opposed by the veteran Aaron Cook (3-7, 4.76 ERA), who has struggled in the month of August.

Roster Moves

The A's recalled reliever Pedro Figueroa and have optioned right-handed pitcher Jim Miller back to Triple A Sacramento. Figueora has a 1.20 ERA in 11 appearances for the A's this season.

Lineup - A's (73-57) vs. Red Sox (62-70)

1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Stephen Drew (L) SS
3. Josh Reddick (L) RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF
5. Brandon Moss (L) 1B
6. Jonny Gomes (R) DH
7. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B
8. George Kottaras (L) C
9. Cliff Pennington (S) 2B

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A's Complete Sweep of Indians with 12-7 Pounding

The Oakland A's did what all good teams should do: beat up on the weaker ones.

There was a strong possibility that the A's could sweep the Indians in their four-game set this week, and they did, finished off with a Thursday afternoon 12-7 beating.

It was the long ball that won the game for the A's today, as four different players smacked it out of Jacobs Field. Coco Crisp tied the game at 1-1 in the third with a solo shot.

They would take the lead in the fourth with a five-run inning. George Kottaras cleared the bases with a double, then Cliff Pennington drove him in with a two-run homer to make it 6-1 A's.

But they weren't done just yet. Josh Reddick, who hit third in the lineup , hit his 27th homer of the year in the fifth - another two-run shot. 

They would score twice more in the sixth, once in the seventh, and Josh Donaldson capped it off with a solo homer in the ninth. 

The Indians did score enough runs to make it a contest, and the final score was 12-7 Oakland.

Despite not pitching particularly well, Jarrod Parker (9-7) got the win. He gave up five runs in five innings, but the offense was able to pick him up on this afternoon. 

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A's Look to Sweep Indians in Cleveland: Game Preview

There's nothing like some early morning baseball to start off your day.

The A's will look to sweep the Indians on the road after decisive wins in the first three games of the series.

Jarrod Parker (8-7, 3.52 ERA) will toe the rubber for the A's, and he will take on Justin Masterson (10-11, 4.60 ERA) of the Indians.

Parker has followed up a three-game slide with consecutive quality starts. After tossing eight scoreless frames vs. Cleveland on Aug. 19, the righty didn't factor into the decision on Friday in Tampa Bay, where he allowed three runs in six innings. (h/t MLB.com)

A's vs. Indians, 9:05 PT

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