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After losing a series against the Yankees, the A’s traveled across the bay where they completed a sweep of the Giants. The A’s were able to combine good pitching with timely hitting to start another winning streak. Lets begin with Friday nights game which featured throw back jerseys worn by the Giants.

Greg Smith started for the A’s against former A’s ace and former Cy Young award winner Barry Zito. Smith had a shaky start but picked up the win for the A’s as he pitched 5 innings and gave up one earned run, which was scored by Omar Visquel on a steal home. Zito lasted 5 and 2/3 innings and gave up 4 earned runs. Daric Barton had a nice game at the plate going 2-3 with an RBI. Jack Cust also tallied 2 RBI, while Chavez and Ryan Sweeney each had an RBI as the A’s beat the Giants 5-1. Fans were also treated to a moment of comic relief as the sprinklers went off in the infield during the bottom of the 9th inning. That would be the only laughs the Giants fans had during the weekend.

On Saturday the A’s beat the Giants once again this time by a 4-0 margin. Rich Harden had another strong outing for the A’s pitching 6 innings and not giving up a run. Matt Cain started for the Giants and lasted 7 innings while giving up three earned runs. The A’s scored two earned runs with the help of Jack Cust and Daric Barton who each had an RBI. The A’s scored their additional two runs on wild pitches to complete a 4-0 shutout. 

The A’s completed the sweep of the Giants on sunday with a 5-3 win. Dana Eveland started for the A’s and picked up the win after throwing 6 2/3 innings and giving up one earned run. Kevin Correia started for the Giants and took the loss after a 5 1/3 inning 5 earned run outing. Eric Chavez had a great game going 3-4 with 2 RBI, and Carlos Gonzalez, Bobby Crosby, and Daric Barton all had one RBI for the A’s. Randy Winn, Brian Bowker, and Benji Molina supplied the runs for the Giants in a losing effort. Street came in and picked up another save for the A’s, his 13th of the season. With the series sweep over the Giants the A’s now head to the desert for a three game series against the D-Backs.

Tuesday night Justin Duchscherer(6-4, 2.20 ERA) will start for the A’s against Brandon Webb(11-2, 2.73). On Wednesday, Joe Blanton(3-9, 4.23 ERA) will oppose former A’s ace Dan Haren(6-4, 3.41 ERA). The series will conclude on Thursday with Greg Smith(4-5, 3.62) facing fellow lefty and Cancer survivor Doug Davis( 2-3, 3.99 ERA). Make sure to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also have your voice heard by posting a message to this blog. Go A’s! Have a great week and remember to live smooth.

Hey what’s up A’s fans this is Charles here with another series recap. This weekend the A’s traveled to Texas where they lost yet another series against the Rangers. With a new look group of A’s, the downward spiral continued beginning on Friday night.

On friday the A’s lost 3-1 after Kevin Millwood went 6 innings and gave up one earned run to pick up the win. Justin Duchshcerer picked up the loss after pitching 6 innings and giving up two earned runs. Carlos Gonzalez made his major league debut for the A’s starting in center field and went 2 for 3 with the lone A’s RBI. Bobby Crosby also had a nice day by going 2-4 in the losing effort. Brandon Boggs had a big day for Texas by going 2 for 3, with 3 RBI.

Saturday brought another losing effort as the A’s lost to Texas 8-4. Sidney Ponson picked up the win for the Rangers, pitching 7 innings and relinquishing 4 earned runs. Joe Blanton picked up the loss after tossing 6 innings and giving up 6 earned runs. Josh Hamilton had another strong performance hitting a three run big boy. Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, and Frank Catalanotto each had four hits. Eric Chavez had a good day at the plate going 3 for 4, Travis Buck also had a nice day going 2-4 with 2 RBI. Jack Hannahan added the other two RBI for the A’s but it paled in comparison to Texas’ eight runs. 

It looked as if the A’s would be swept in Texas after a rough start, but a 9 run 7th inning for the A’s helped them to a 13-8 win. Greg Smith struggled for the green and gold lasting 5 innings and surrendering 7 earned runs. With the A’s down 7-4 in the top of the seventh, the A’s bats took it to the next level. In the inning Carlos Gonzalez had an RBI double, Kurt Suzuki then had a walk that brought home a run. Following the walk Hannahan hit a two run double, Crosby had a 2 run single, Cust hit a two run home run and Mark Ellis hit a solo home run to cap off the nine run seventh. Chad Gaudin picked up the run after an inning of relief as the A’s salvaged one game in the series.

As this historical week in politics comes, the A’s return home to face Detroit in a three game series. The A’s killer and former Oakland pitcher Kenny Rogers will oppose Rich Harden on Monday night. On Tuesday the “D-Train” Dontrelle Willis will make his return to his hometown to face Dana Eveland, and Justin Duchscherer will face off against Nate Robinson to complete the three game series. Make sure to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also have your voice heard by posting a message to this blog. Go A’s! Have a great week and remember to live smooth.

Hello again A’s fans, it’s Jordan here, and wanted to mention the fact that the A’s have made a whole lot of roster moves before the series in Arlington. Eric Chavez is back (and played in yesterday’s 12-0 blowout loss against Toronto), as is Travis Buck, who will bat leadoff tonight, Kiko Calero is back in the bullpen, where he will be joined by Brad Ziegler, and we will all get to see the Major League debut for Carlos Gonzalez, (doubled in the third inning in his first career at-bat) who is batting eighth tonight. Hopefully the new blood will help the team stay above water. With these moves, Frank Thomas, Mike Sweeney, Ryan Sweeney, and Joey Devine are all placed on the DL. Also, Lenny Dinardo and Kevin Melillo were designated for assignment.

Let’s go Oakland!!!

Hey A’s fans, I would like to apologize for the fact that there is a slight delay on the blog entry, and this week’s episodes. This is finals week for both Charles and I, and it is pretty stressful. I’d also like to congratulate Charles on graduating this week. As soon as we get some time, which will be at some point this week, we will get an episode and blog up. Thank you for understanding, and go A’s! It has been a tough stretch, as the A’s have lost nine of their last eleven, but hopefully they can turn it back around.

  Hey what’s up A’s fans, this is Charles here with another series recap. This week the A’s faced the wrath of a poised Cleveland Indians team that did not allow an RBI in the entire series. The A’s went on to be swept in the “mistake by the lake,” as their bad play continued.

On Tuesday night, the A’s were shutout 4-0 by Paul Byrd who pitched 7 1/3 innings, while giving up five hits. Justin Duchscherer pitched 6 2/3 while surrendering four hits and one earned run. In the top of the first Travis Hafner hit an RBI single to score David Dellucci and gave the Indians a 1-0 lead. They would increase that lead to 4-0 after a three run home run by Ryan Garko.

Wednesday night provided another Cleveland shutout of the A’s, this time by a margin of 2-0. C.C. Sabathia started for Cleveland and threw a complete game shutout while striking out 11. For the A’s, Joe Blanton pitched 7 innings and gave up two earned runs. Mike Sweeney was the lone bright spot for the A’s with a modest 2-4 day at the plate. Cleveland scored their two runs on solo home runs by Grady Sizemore and Ryan Garko.

The A’s were again defeated 4-2 on Thursday afternoon as Cleveland completed the sweep. Aaron Laffey started for Cleveland and pitched seven innings while not surrendering an earned run and only five hits. Greg Smith started for the A’s and pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up seven hits and three earned runs. Jhonny Peralta hit a home run off of Santiago Casilla who was forced to leave the game with an arm injury. Ryan Garko, Travis Hafner and Ben Francisco each had an RBI. No A’s player had an RBI the entire series. The two runs scored in this game were the result of a throwing error by Laffey and a wild pitch in the 9th, as the A’s lost 4-2 and were swept. 

From here the A’s head to Atlanta to face the Braves in a three game series. On Friday night Dana Eveland will face Jair Jurrjens, and Saturday Rich harden will face off against Tim Hudson. On Sunday Justin Duchscherer will face Jo-Jo Reyes to conclude the three game series. 

Make sure to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also have your voice heard by posting a message to this blog. Go A’s! Have a great weekend and remember to live smooth.

Hello again A’s fans, it’s Jordan here with you again. The A’s began their road trip in Arlington, Texas, where they met the red-hot Texas rangers for the second time in the last week. Unfortunately for the A’s, they do not match up favorably with the Rangers, and it shows. They dropped two of three last week in Oakland and repeated that performance when they visited Arlington. The A’s are still in first place, but these divisional games are very important, and it hurts when you lose them.

In the series opener on Friday evening, Greg Smith took the mound for Oakland, and was opposed by Scott Feldman for Texas. The Rangers opened the score sheet with an RBI groundout for American League RBI leader Josh Hamilton in the bottom of the first inning. Brandon Boggs doubled the Rangers advantage with his second homerun of the season off of Greg Smith. Scott Feldman was phenomenal for Texas, as he shut the A’s offense down for six innings, where they only managed two hits. In the bottom of that sixth inning, Brandon Boggs hurt Oakland again, with a two-run double into the left-center field gap, as he concluded his evening with a 3-4 performance and three RBI. The A’s did not fare much better against the Rangers’ bullpen, as they scratched out just two more hits the rest of the way, and were shutout. Jack Cust was the lone bright spot offensively for the A’s, as he had two of those hits. On a positive note from a pitching standpoint, Chad Gaudin embraced his new role out of the bullpen, and pitched two solid scoreless innings in relief. The A’s dropped this one 4-0.

On Saturday evening, the A’s tried to even up the series, but were outdone yet again by the Rangers. Texas won this one, 6-4. They jumped out in the first inning to take the lead for the second straight day, as former Athletic Milton Bradley continued to hurt the A’s, as he drove in the first run as he doubled in a run off of A’s starter Dana Eveland. Rangers’ starter Kevin Millwood was forced to leave the game after facing just two batters, and then entered Jason Rupe, who earned the win with three innings pitched, where he gave up two runs, one of which was earned. Oakland tied the game at one in the third inning, as Emil Brown, the RBI machine knocked in another with a single that scored Jack Cust. That tie did not last long, as Milton Bradley flexed his muscle again with a two-run blast to straightaway center field. Oakland pulled within one in the fourth as Ryan Sweeney hit a sacrifice fly, but they would get no closer. Texas gave themselves all the insurance they needed with a Josh Hamilton RBI single in the seventh inning, and two more two-out runs in the eighth, as German Duran and Ian Kinsler drove in runs off of A’s reliever Keith Foulke, who just returned from the disabled list. The A’s tried to rally in the ninth, as Frank Thomas drove in two runs on a two-out double, but four runs were all the A’s could get, and they dropped the series to Texas again. Dana Eveland had another quality start as he went six innings, allowing just three runs on six hits, and struck out five. Both Emil Brown and Bobby Crosby had two hits each.

In a wild series finale, that gave the scoreboard a workout, the A’s muscled their way to a 12-6 win. This marked the return of Rich Harden from the disabled list. He did struggle, however, as he gave up five earned runs on eight hits in just three and two-thirds innings, walking four and striking out five. Oakland jumped in front in the top of the first inning, as Frank Thomas singled in a run, and then Emil Brown crushed a three-run jack into the A’s bullpen to put the A’s comfortably ahead 4-0, or so they thought. Texas hipped away at the lead, by scoring one in the bottom of the first on a Milton Bradley RBI double, and then got another run in the second on an Ian Kinsler single. Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled in two more runs to tie the game in the third, and Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI triple that scored Kinsler. In the top of the sixth, Oakland tied it up on a bases loaded walk to Jack Cust, and then took the lead back with a Frank Thomas sacrifice fly. In the bottom of that same inning, Texas tied it up yet again, on a Michael Young RBI single. In the seventh, with Mark Ellis at first and Bobby Crosby at third, Ellis broke for second. The Rangers’ pitcher tried to pick off Ellis, and that is when Crosby broke for the plate. He slid past Saltalamacchia to score what turned out to be the winning run on a stolen base, and Ellis took second. Ryan Sweeney provided some insurance with a sacrifice fly of his own. Emil Brown (2-5) drove in his fourth run of the game on a single in the eighth, and then Oakland scored three more times in the ninth. An error gave them their tenth run, and Daric Barton hit his second homer of the year into the right field porch in a pinch hit appearance. When all was said and done, the A’s won it 12-6, and pounded out thirteen hits. Mark Ellis went 3-5, Jack Hannahan was 2-2, and the win was credited to Santiago Casilla, who went one and a third inning of scoreless work.

It was nice to see the A’s get at least one here, after the tough start to the series, and they now travel to Cleveland to take on the Indians. Tuesday night, the A’s fell 4-0, but I will leave the recap to Charles on his next entry. Later today, Joe Blanton (2-5 3.82 ERA) takes on C.C. Sabathia (2-5, 6.55 ERA). The young man originally from the Oakland area, Sabathia has really struggled against the A’s, and Oakland hopes to continue to haunt C.C. The series wraps at 9:05 AM Pacific time on Thursday morning, as Greg Smith (2-2, 3.00 ERA) takes on Aaron Laffey (1-2, 1.83 ERA). The A’s offense has been inconsistent as of late, so we shall see what they can do. I expect them to win one of the next two, and if I had to guess, I would say it comes against Sabathia today.

I would like to reiterate that we love to hear your feelings, thoughts, opinions, or questions regarding the team and our show. We want this to be as interactive as possible, so we really encourage you to get in touch with us, and here are some ways how; you can reach us by email at hosts@athleticscast.com, by phone at 415-691-6185, by posting on our Myspace or Facebook, or by posting your comments below this blog entry. Thanks to everyone who does contact us and those who listen to our show, we really appreciate it. Take care everyone, and enjoy the rest of your week.

That’s How I See It…Let’s Go Oakland!!!

Hey what’s up A’s fans this is Charles here with another series recap. This week we saw Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon get married, Barack Obama strengthen his chances for the Democratic nomination, and the A’s sweep the O’s. The series provided many thrills with two extra inning wins, including Monday nights game. 

On Monday night, Dana Eveland got the start for the A’s going seven innings and giving up three hits and no earned runs. He was opposed by Garret Olson who pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and one earned run. The A’s took a 1-0 lead into the 9th inning thanks to an RBI single by Rajai Davis in the seventh inning. In the ninth, Huston Street came in and blew the save after allowing a leadoff double by Melvin Mora. Mora would later score in the inning on a Ramon Hernandez groundout. In the bottom of the tenth,  Mr. Clutch Emil Brown hit an RBI single to score Daric Barton and gave the A’s the 2-1 win.

Tuesday night the A’s kept up the winning with a 4-2 victory. Justin Duscherer pitched seven innings and gave up two earned runs to pace the A’s. Brian Burres started for the Orioles and lasted only 5 1/3 innings while surrendering eight hits and three earned runs. Emil Brown continued his stellar play by going 2-4 with an RBI. Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis and Rajai Davis all added an RBI each for the A’s in their win. Santiago Casilla came in for the 9th to record the save, his first of the season.

In a wild game on Wednesday afternoon the A’s defeated the O’s 6-5 in extra innings. Joe Blanton got the start for the A’s and pitched 5 2/3 innings while giving up two earned runs. For Baltimore, Jeremy Guthrie pitched 5 2/3 innings while surrendering five hits and four earned runs. The A’s took a 4-2 lead into the eight inning thanks to a two run home run by Kurt Suzuki, and an RBI for both Jack Hannahan and Emil Brown. Andrew Brown had a tough outing lasting 2/3 of an innings and squandering 3 earned runs. The key play of the game came in the bottom of the eight when Jack Hannahan broke up a potential double play off the bat of Frank Thomas that allowed the tying run to score. Mark Ellis would later go on to send the hometown fans home with a win after he hit a walk off big boy in the 10th inning to complete the sweep of the O’s. With this series in hand the A’s now head to my “second state” of Texas, where the A’s will play a three game series in the Dallas area suburb of Arlington. 

On Friday night Greg Smith will oppose Scott Feldman at 5 pm pacific time. On Saturday night the A’s are scheduled to send Dana Eveland to face Kevin Millwood. The series will conclude on Sunday, and the A’s are scheduled to welcome Rich Harden back to the rotation to face Sidney Ponson. To make room in the rotation for Harden, Chad Gaudin will move back to the bullpen. Make sure to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also have your voice heard by posting a message to this blog. Go A’s! Have a great weekend and remember to live smooth.

Hello again A’s fans, It’s Jordan here a little later than I would like to have been, so I apologize for the tardiness on this entry. The A’s entertained the Texas Rangers this past weekend in Oakland, and came out on the wrong end of a two out of three series. These divisional games are obviously the most important of all the games, and if the A’s intend to remain in any sort of divisional race, they must win their home games against the teams of less quality.

Friday night, I was in attendance with our good friend Jack and sat a few rows behind the Texas dugout. It was a nice evening weather wise, but unfortunately the A’s struggled and could not make it a perfect night. The A’s dropped the series opener 4-3, thanks largely in part to some very poor defense. They made 4 errors, and Joe Blanton was tagged for four runs, as only two were earned. The A’s have the second most errors as a team this season, only behind the very same Rangers who were in town.

The visitors opened the scoring in the top of the first inning as Ian Kinsler came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Michael Young. Kinsler, the leadoff man reached on an Emil Brown error, as he just flat out dropped a fly ball, and Kinsler made it all the way to third base. Former Athletic Milton Bradley returned to the Coliseum and had a great day going 3-4, and scored the second run after singling in the top of the fourth. He was driven home by a Brandon Boggs sacrifice fly. The A’s stormed back in the bottom half of that same inning by scoring three times. Jack Cust opened the Athletics’ scoring with a one-out solo blast to the left-center bleachers. After Texas committed an error of their own and Rob Bowen reached base, Bobby Crosby doubled home Emil Brown and Bowen. The 3-2 lead, however, did not last long. In the top of the fifth inning, Ian Kinsler tied it up with an RBI groundout. With one out in the inning and Ramon Vazquez on second, Michael Young grounded to third. Jack Hannahan briefly looked Vazquez back at second and threw across the diamond to get Young at first. Vazquez broke for third on the throw, and Daric Barton took a chance to try and peg him there. Unfortunately for Barton and the A’s, his throw was wide to the left field side of the bag, and Vazquez scored what turned out to be the game-winning run. The A’s threatened in the bottom of the sixth when they loaded the bases with two outs, but Donnie Murphy was uncharacteristically aggressive at the plate, swinging at a 2-0 fastball and grounding out to end the inning. Although it did not work out, I appreciate the fact that Donnie was aggressive. He looked for his pitch and just happened to miss it. With Daric Barton on first in the bottom of the seventh, Jack Cust hammered a ball into right-center which looked like a certain RBI double, but Josh Hamilton turned in the play of the day, making a running catch that took him into the wall, and then doubled off Barton at first. Vicente Padilla turned in a quality start for Texas, as he went five and two-thirds innings, allowing 3 runs, 1 of which was earned on 5 hits while striking out 6 A’s hitters. This was a frustrating loss, and again, Joe Blanton was on the wrong end of it. This marks the third time this season he has given up 2 earned runs and lost. He is now 2-5 with a pretty solid 3.88 ERA.

Saturday evening the A’s were in action again, trying to even their series. Unfortunately for them, they could not. They fell behind early and never recovered, losing 6-3. This marked the first series that the A’s have lost since April 17 against the Mariners. Chad Gaudin was on the hill against youngster A.J. Murray.

The Rangers jumped out again in the first inning, as David Murphy smoked a 1-2 fastball that stayed up for a three-run shot to right-center field. This blow came with two outs as well, so that was definitely a pitch that Chad wanted back. The A’s fell behind by even more in the top of the fifth, as Michael Young doubled home a run and then scored in the next at-bat on a Josh Hamilton single. Oakland pulled two back in the bottom half of that inning, as Mike Sweeney doubled a deep fly ball to right-center that scored both Kurt Suzuki and Mark Ellis. The A’s looked like they may be mounting a comeback as they scored once more in the following inning on a Bobby Crosby RBI single that plated Emil Brown. A.J. Murray stymied the Oakland hitters, as they mustered just the three runs, two of which were earned on a scattered six hits over five and one-thirds innings. The Texas bullpen shut the door on Oakland as they combined to no-hit the A’s the rest of the way, allowing just two base runners the last three and two-thirds innings. Texas added an insurance run in the ninth as well, on a Chris Shelton home run. This was his first hit of 2008, and I was surprised to be part of a Chris Shelton sighting. Gaudin had a rough outing, surrendering five earned runs on eight hits, and was saddled with the loss, his second on the young season. Mike Sweeney was the only Athletic with multiple hits, going 2-4 with his 2 RBI.

In the finale, a Sunday matinee, Oakland came out in front of 31, 673 and won 3-1 to avoid the sweep. It was Campy Campineras jersey giveaway day, and the Plaza Level seats were only $4 due to the 20 hit outburst Thursday night in Anaheim, so the fans came out in droves, which was nice to see for a change. The A’s wore those ‘68 jerseys which were really nice in my opinion, and wish they would wear them more often. Also, Texas participated in the throwback style of the Washington Senators. The weird thing was that they wore the same hats as the Washington nationals do, so I had to do a double take when watching the game.

Oakland fell behind first for the third consecutive day as German Duran homered in the top of the third off of Greg Smith. Smith, aside from this mistake was flawless. He unfortunately had a no-decision, but was great as he fanned ten over six innings, allowing just the one run on three hits. Another young pitcher, Scott Feldman of the Rangers pitched well also, allowing three runs over six and a third on six hits and striking out five. Oakland got those three runs in the bottom of the seventh, as Frank Thomas reached on a fly bal to center that was lost in the sun by Josh Hamilton, and was credited with a double. Jack Cust then followed with a two-run blast to left-center. This marked Jack Cust’s seventh consecutive game with at least one hit, which tied his career high, as he finished his day at 2-3. The Big Hurt also went 2-3 in this one. The A’s added a third run in the same inning, as Ryan Sweeney lined an RBI single into left-center that scored Bobby Crosby. Santiago Casilla came on for the seventh inning in relief of Greg Smith and earned the win with one perfect inning. Alan Embree logged his fifth hold of the year with a hitless, scoreless inning, and Huston Street earned his ninth save on the season with a scoreless ninth in which he had two strikeouts.

The A’s fought hard in this last game, and it was nice to see them salvage at least one in the series. This put the A’s at 19-14. Hats off to Jack Cust, who was named the American League Player of the Week, and he did a wonderful job with two home runs in the series. Word has also come in that Eric Chavez may not be ready for activation at the 60 day mark as originally expected, so that still hangs over the A’s at this point. On a more positive injury note, Rich Harden and Keith Foulke are each working their way back through their rehab starts.

The A’s opened up another home series last night, as they beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 in ten innings, but I will save the details for our Wednesday show and Charles’ next blog entry. As for later tonight, the probable pitching match-up pits Justin Duchscherer (2-1 with a 2.40 ERA) against Brian Burres (3-2 with a 2.87 ERA). Wednesday, the A’s will send Joe Blanton (2-5 with a 3.88 ERA) to oppose Jeremy Guthrie (1-3 with a 4.06 ERA). The A’s have the better team here and should win at least one of the next two games, as I see them taking two of three overall. I do hope that Joe Blanton gets the win on Wednesday afternoon, as I feel he has earned it, with quality start after quality start.

Make sure you guys remain a key component to our show by making your voice heard. You can e-mail us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also get a hold of us by posting a comment or message on our Myspace or Facebook pages. We love to keep A’s fans involved and have our show and website be as interactive as possible. You can post on our website here right under this blog entry by clicking on add my comment. Share your thoughts or ideas on our latest episodes, share your ideas on what the A’s should do, submit topics for discussion, or just drop by to tell us why the A’s are your team of choice. Hopefully everyone has a great week, and we will be back with a new episode for Wednesday.

That’s How I See It…Let’s Go Oakland!!!

Hey what’s up A’s fans this is Charles here with another series recap. This time we will recap the first rivalry series between the A’s and the Angels. Let’s begin with game one on Monday night.

On Monday the A’s brought their big boy sticks as they annihilated the Angels 14-2 in Anaheim. Chad Gaudin started for the A’s and lasted six innings while surrendering five hits and only one earned run. For the Angels, Jon Garland pitched six innings while being brandished with seven earned runs. Daric Barton had a big day for the A’s as he went 2-6 with a three run big boy. The “Big Hurt” Frank Thomas had a perfect day going 3-3 with a single double and his first triple since 2002, he also had 2 RBI. Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney each tacked on 2 RBI, and Jack Hannahan and Emil Brown each hit home runs, Brown’s being a 3-run home run. 

Tuesday night the Angels shutout the A’s 2-0 as Joe Saunders dominated the A’s through 8 innings. A’s starter Greg Smith pitched well for 8 innings only giving up 2 earned runs, but took the loss in this game. A wild pitched proved to be enough as the Angels scored the first of two runs in the 3rd. Francisco Rodriguez picked up the save for the Angels. Kurt Suzuki, Mark Ellis, Mike Sweeney and Donnie Murphy were the only A’s to pick up hits in the loss.

On Wednesday the A’s were again defeated, this time by a score of 6-1. Ervin Santana set the pace for the Angels going 6 2/3 and surrendering no earned runs. For the A’s Dana Eveland outing lasted 5 1/3 innings and got tagged for 6 earned runs. Casey Kotchman started the scoring with a two run double in the second to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. In the third Torii Hunter added an RBI single, to increase the lead to 3-0. The A’s got their only run in the 5th with a Ryan Sweeney RBI single. Kotchman would finish with 3 RBI while Chone Figgins and Jeff Mathis each had an RBI.

On Thursday the A’s collected another lopsided win against the Angels with a 15-8 beat down. Justin Duscherer collected the win going 5 innings and giving up 1 earned run. For the Halos Nick Adenhart made his major league debut and struggle to find his command as he pitched 2 innings and gave up 5 earned runs. Jack Cust made himself look like an idiot in the field by botching an easy pop fly but finished the game 4-4 with a home run. Kurt Suzuki, Daric Barton, Frank Thomas, Ryan Sweeney and Bobby Crosby all had two RBI. Emil Brown and Jack Hannahan each had an RBI as the A’s picked up the series split.

This weekend the A’s return home to face the Texas Rangers. Vicente Padilla will start against Joe Blanton on friday night. AJ Murray is scheduled to face Chad Gauidn saturday night, and Scott Feldman will face off against Greg Smith to conclude the three game series.

Make sure to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com or call us at 415-691-6185. You can also have your voice heard by posting a message to this blog. Go A’s! Have a great weekend and remember to live smooth.  

Hello again A’s fans, its Jordan here and it sure is nice to be reporting on a first place team. That is just what we have here with your Oakland Athletics, who ended today with a 16-10 record, and they have won seven of their last nine games. The Seattle Mariners gave the A’s fits last season, and opened 2008 by taking two of three in Oakland earlier this month. This weekend, however, the Athletics returned the favor, by taking two of three up in the emerald city.

Friday night, the A’s came in from consecutive series victories against the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins. Dana Eveland took the mound for Oakland against the poet/author/pitcher Miguel Batista for game one. Eveland earned his third win on the young season, as he went five and one third innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and striking out three in the A’s 4-3 win. Batista lasted just one inning as he was lifted due to injury. The A’s got to him early in the first, opening up a 3-0 lead out of the gates.

Kurt Suzuki led off with a single and then Daric Barton walked to put two on with two outs. After Mark Ellis was retired, new addition Frank Thomas came through with an RBI single to left field. The bases were then loaded and Emil Brown drew a walk that scored Barton for the second run. The final run of the first inning came in the form of a wild pitch. The Mariners pulled one run back in the bottom half of their first inning on a Raul Ibanez sacrifice fly. Ryan Sweeney hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the third off of Mariners’ reliever Cha Seung Baek to bring the lead back to three runs. Baek was excellent in relief, as he logged six innings allowing just one run on one hit. It was not enough however, as the Mariners were unable to finish their comeback, as they mustered two runs the rest of the way and fell 4-3. Offensively for the A’s, it was a rather quiet day, as they put up their four runs on just three hits. Those hits belonged to Kurt Suzuki, the Big Hurt, and Emil Brown. The bullpen was fantastic, as it has been for so much of this early season. Santiago Casilla logged one and one thirds innings of scoreless work, surrendering just one hit. Alan Embree gave up no runs on one hit in a third of an inning, Andrew Brown pitched a scoreless inning, and Huston Street earned the save with a scoreless, hitless ninth inning.

On Saturday evening, the A’s looked to clinch a series win for the third straight time. This would have to wait however, as Seattle held on for a 5-3 victory behind a stellar effort by starter Erik Bedard. Bedard went six and two thirds strong and shutout the A’s, allowing just two hits. Ichiro helped open the scoring for the M’s as he singled in Yuniesky Betancourt in the bottom of the third off of A’s starter Justin Duchschererer, who made his first start since his recent DL stint. A Brad Wilkerson infield single gave the Mariners their second run in the bottom of the fourth to give them a two run advantage. Greg Norton supplied the third run for Seattle with a sixth inning run scoring single, and the way Bedard was dealing, it looked hopeless for Oakland. hey pulled one back once the bullpen got in to make the score 3-1, when Mike Sweeney crushed a line drive homer over the left field fence. The A’s bullpen, however, was unable to keep it close enough, as they gave up two runs on a two-run double by Greg Norton in the bottom of the eighth. The Athletics certainly made it interesting in the ninth though against mariners’ loser J.J. Putz. They loaded the bases with one out, and Daric barton came up with a pinch-hit two-run single. A’s runners then moved into scoring position on a passed ball by catcher Jamie Burke. Kurt Suzuki was at the plate with an opportunity to tie the game with a base-hit, but on a full count, he popped out to second base. Mark Ellis walked to load the bases, and Mike Sweeney grounded out to first to end the game, and put the series win on hold, for now, anyway. The A’s put together just five hits in this one, and Emil Brown was the only member of the team who had a multi-hit game, at 2-4.

In the finale, a matinee on Sunday afternoon that sent both team’s aces to the mound, Oakland came out with a scrappy 4-2 win. Joe Blanton was wonderful again, and out-dueled King Felix in this one as he went seven innings, allowing just two runs on eight scattered hits, and striking out three. Oakland gave up the lead in this one early, as Adrian Beltre singled in a run with two outs in the bottom of the first. Seattle doubled their lead off Blanton in the fourth with a solo home run by Yuniesky Betancourt to left field. Felix Hernandez was cruising until he hit the top of the eighth inning, as he had given up only four hits until that inning. The eighth was a different story though, as he was charged with all four runs in the A’s rally. It started with a two-run single by Emil Brown to tie it at two. Jack Cust singled in a run with the bases loaded to break the tie, and then some insurance was added with a Ryan Sweney RBI single. Santiago Casilla came on for a perfect eighth inning, and Huston Street nailed down his second save of the series, as Oakland won their third straight series.

This three game set really impressed me, as Charles and I discussed on our last show, these are the games that mean the most. It was very nice to see the A’s win some divisional games on the road, and continue their hot trend, winning seven of nine. Oakland also got Justin Duchscherer back, and even though they lost in his start, he looked pretty good, allowing just two runs in five innings of work. Going forward, having a healthier rotation will be key, as the A’s continue on into the summer.

The A’s will be in Anaheim to take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team that they share first place with. Oakland brings their 8-3 road record into southern California for this rivalry series. It is always a fun one, and I have no doubt that the A’s fans will be out in full effect and that the Athletics will bring their best out on the field. The probable pitching match-ups for the four game series pit Chad Gaudin (2-1 with a 3.38 ERA) against John Garland (3-2 with a 5.04 ERA) on Monday evening, Greg Smith (2-0 with a 2.88 ERA) against Joe Saunders (4-0 with a 2.55 ERA) on Tuesday night, Dana Eveland (3-1 with a 2.48 ERA) against Ervin Santana (4-0 with a 2.97 ERA) on Wednesday, and Justin Duchscherer (1-1 with a 2.70 ERA) versus Dustin Moseley(1-2 with a 7.30 ERA) in the finale on Thursday night. These should be good match-ups, and I look forward to watching the games, as the A’s gun for their fourth consecutive series win. I see a split here, however, as both teams are playing well. As always, I hope for a better result, and I believe it is possible, so we shall see what shakes down in Anaheim.

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Thats How I See It…Let’s Go Oakland!