Athletics vs. Royals: A's Win Rubber Match 5-2

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Athletics vs. Royals, Indians Series Recaps: A's Back Where They Started

The Oakland Athletics wrapped up a week of baseball that saw them go 3-3 and end up right back where they started. The A’s wrapped up a four game series with the Rangers last Monday and were 15-14 and now find themselves 18-17 after this six game split.

As has been par for the course this season, the A’s offense was inconsistent over the week. They didn’t have serious offensive explosions in their victories, but they did manage the kind of timely hits that have often evaded them this season. Offensively, Ryan Sweeney had the best week, hitting 8-for-15. David DeJesus made arguably the bigger impact however, as he put up a line of .273/.360/.636 thanks to a pair of home runs and a triple. If he is starting to awaken from his hitting slump, the A’s offense could be in good shape moving forward.

Amongst the pitchers, arguments could be made for each pitcher’s week. Gio Gonzalez and Brandon McCarthy were the only pitchers with two starts and they put together similar lines for the week. However, it just goes to show how useless wins can be as a statistic as Gonzalez was 2-0 on the week and McCarthy was 0-1. One got some decent run support, the other had to scrap for everything he could get.

Upcoming Schedule: The upcoming week will have the A’s traveling to face the Texas Rangers for three games and then coming home for three games with the Chicago White Sox. The A’s split their previous four game home series with Texas and took two of three from the White Sox in Chicago.

Series Results
Tuesday: Indians 4 – A’s 1
WP: Fausto Carmona (3-3)
LP: Brian Fuentes (1-3)
Sv: Chris Perez (8)

Wednesday: A’s 3 – Indians 1
WP: Trevor Cahill (5-0)
LP: Josh Tomlin (4-1)
Sv: Grant Balfour (1)

Thursday: Indians 4 – A’s 3 F/12
WP: Chad Durbin (2-1)
LP: Craig Breslow (0-2)
Sv: Chris Perez (9)

Friday: A’s 3 – Royals 2
WP: Gio Gonzalez (4-2)
LP: Sean O’Sullivan (1-2)
Sv: Brian Fuentes (8)

Saturday: Royals 4 – A’s 3
WP: Joakim Soria (2-0)
LP: Brandon McCarthy (1-3)

Friday: A’s 5 – Royals 2
WP: Tyson Ross (2-2)
LP: Jeff Francis (0-4)
Sv: Brian Fuentes (9)

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Athletics vs. Royals, Starting Lineup Preview: David DeJesus Dropped To Sixth In The Lineup

The Oakland Athletics wrap up their three game set against the Kansas City Royals with an 11:10am pacific Sunday matchup. The A’s dropped a tough one on Saturday as the Royals knocked home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a sac fly. The loss dropped the A’s back to .500.

The A’s will send out Tyson Ross to face Jeff Francis. Ross has yet to win a start, but he has put together very strong outings his last two times through the rotation. After struggling in his first start in place of Dallas Braden, Ross has given up one run on twelve hits and one walk in 13 innings pitched. Jeff Francis on the other side has struggled after a strong start to 2011. He’s given up 15 earned runs over 12 2/3 innings pitched in his last three starts.

The A’s have made one slight lineup change as they are bumping David DeJesus down to sixth in the batting order. DeJesus has struggled in his first year with the A’s. He has a line of .232/.310/.330 and has been unable to put any sort of consistency together. If the A’s are going to make any sort of run at some point they’ll need DeJesus to get things going.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Daric Barton (L) 1B
3. Conor Jackson® LF
4. Josh Willingham® DH
5. Kurt Suzuki® C
6. David DeJesus (L) RF
7. Mark Ellis® 2B
8. Kevin Kouzmanoff® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS

Kansas City Royals
1. Chris Getz (L) 2B
2. Melky Cabrera (S) DH
3. Alex Gordon (L) LF
4. Jeff Francoeur® RF
5. Eric Hosmer (L) 1B
6. Wilson Betemit (S) 3B
7. Mitch Maier (L) CF
8. Brayan Pena (S) C
9. Alcides Escobar® SS

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Athletics vs. Royals, Starting Lineup Preview: Conor Jackson Sits Out After Ugly Collision

The Oakland Athletics send out Brandon McCarthy as they look to take the second game of their three game series against the Kansas City Royals. McCarthy is coming off an outing in which he gave up four runs, all of which were unearned. Of course, the runs were unearned because of McCarthy’s errors, so it’s hard to describe this as a completely successful performance. The A’s won the game in extra innings and McCarthy did keep things close, so that should probably be considered solid enough.

McCarthy will face Luke Hochevar who has been a bit inconsistent lately. Hochevar is 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA, but he’s mixed in some solid outings with his poor performances. In his last appearance he gave up three runs over 6 1/3 innings against Minnesota. On April 15 he gave up one run on one hit and two walks over seven innings against Seattle. It’s safe to say he’s performed well against some struggling offenses.

Which brings us to the Oakland A’s. The Athletics’ offense continues to struggle to gain any measure of consistency. It would not be shocking at all to see the A’s win or lose this game 3-1. The only changes in today’s lineup has Andy LaRoche playing second to give Mark Ellis a day off. Conor Jackson is out of the lineup after his rather scary collision with Matt Treanor, who is back in the lineup.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Daric Barton (L) 1B
3. David DeJesus (L) RF
4. Josh Willingham® LF
5. Hideki Matsui (L) DH
6. Kurt Suzuki® C
7. Andy LaRoche® 2B
8. Kevin Kouzmanoff® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS

Kansas City Royals
1. Chris Getz (L) 2B
2. Melky Cabrera (S) CF
3. Alex Gordon (L) LF
4. Billy Butler® DH
5. Jeff Francoeur® RF
6. Eric Hosmer (L) 1B
7. Mike Aviles® 3B
8. Matt Treanor® C
9. Alcides Escobar® SS

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Athletics vs. Royals, MLB Scores: A's Back Up Over .500....Again

Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) – Coco Crisp, Andy LaRoche and Kevin Kouzmanoff each drove in the run as the Oakland Athletics held on to defeat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2, to open a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. Gio Gonzalez (4-2) was stellar in a seven-inning start for the Athletics, who have won six of their last nine contests. The lefty allowed two runs on four hits while striking out six batters.

Alex Gordon had a solo home run for the Royals, who have dropped two of their last three games. Sean O’Sullivan (1-2) was the hard-luck loser, allowing three runs on five hits in eight innings.

The Royals welcomed super prospect Eric Hosmer to the lineup for the first time. The Florida native was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts but walked twice and had a steal.

“I was a little excited,” Hosmer said of his debut. “It was normal for anybody on their debut, but seeing all those people out there, it was an unbelievable feeling. I’m glad I can get my feet wet and move on from the first day and start helping this team win games.”

After failing to score in the first four innings, the A’s started to solve O’Sullivan. Kurt Suzuki singled to lead off the fifth and scored on a LaRoche single. The bases were then loaded with no outs after Mark Ellis singled into left. Oakland took advantage of the situation and grabbed a 3-2 lead on back-to-back RBI groundouts by Kouzmanoff and Crisp.

“I don’t know what it was,” LaRoche said of the three-run inning. “He (O’Sullivan) pitched a great game. That one inning was big for us. Obviously, you’d like your hits to come in bunches.”

After allowing a run in the third, Gonzalez twirled four shutout innings, and Grant Balfour came into the eighth to put another egg on Kansas City’s side of the scoreboard. Brian Fuentes, though, came into the ninth and made things interesting. He got two quick outs, but Wilson Betemit singled and pinch runner Jarrod Dyson stole second to put the tying run in scoring position. Matt Treanor then ended the game with a groundout to third.

During the close play, Treanor collided with first baseman Conor Jackson, who laid on the ground in pain after the game.

Gordon drew blood first for the Royals in the opening frame with a solo shot that went into the left-field seats. Hosmer found himself down 1-2 during his much-anticipated first at-bat, but worked the count for a walk. Betemit, though, hit into the double play to end the second inning.

During the third, KC tacked on another run on Mike Aviles’s RBI triple that one-bounced off the right field wall. Hosmer walked again in the fourth and stole second for his first steal, but was left on base following Betemit’s strikeout.

Hosmer, a first baseman, had been hitting .439 with three homers and 15 RBI in 26 games at Triple-A Omaha. To make room for him the Royals optioned Kila Ka’aihue, who had been batting a mere .195…Oakland won six of its nine meetings with the Royals last season…Kansas City was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position…It was Fuentes’ eighth save of the season.

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Athletics vs. Indians, MLB Scores: Craig Breslow, A's Offense Struggle In 4-3 Loss

The Oakland Athletics dropped back to .500 Thursday afternoon as they lost 4-3 to the Cleveland Indians in twelve innings. Craig Breslow took the loss for the A’s as he gave up three hits and a walk in the twelfth inning, allowing the Indians to score two runs. The A’s grabbed a run in the bottom of the inning but couldn’t get the second run home from third.

Brett Anderson made the start for Oakland and put together a solid performance. He gave up two runs through nine innings, bouncing back from a tough outing against the Rangers last weekend in which he gave up seven runs over five innings. Indians starter Jeanmar Gomez lasted 5 1/3 innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks.

The A’s offense couldn’t get runs across in spite of repeatedly getting men to second and third. Ryan Sweeney was the A’s offensive highlight of the game as he went 5-for-6 with two RBIs.

The A’s will head off to Kansas City for three games followed by three games against the Rangers in Arlington.

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Athletics vs. Indians, Starting Lineup Preview: A's Look To Take Rubber Match

The Oakland Athletics wrap up a three game set with the Cleveland Indians at 12:35 pacific on Thursday. The A’s send out Brett Anderson to face Jeanmar Gomez in the rubber match as the A’s look to get two games over .500 for the first time this season.

The A’s are giving Coco Crisp and Hideki Matsui the day off as they roll out Ryan Sweeney in center and Josh Willingham at designated hitter. Andy LaRoche is once again starting at third base as Kevin Kouzmanoff may very well have lost his starting third base job. Of course, Bob Geren has struggled to figure out exactly is going on at third base. Andy LaRoche got playing time all around the infield early in the season, but then sat for a week. Now Kouzmanoff will have sat five straight games to start the month of May.

The A’s have some talented bats at the AAA level, but the team does not have much in the way of a corner infielder. Their best hitter at AAA is Adrian Cardenas who is turning into a full-time designated hitter. Their best infielder is Jemile Weeks who is the second baseman of the future.

Oakland Athletics
1. David DeJesus (L) RF
2. Daric Barton (L) 1B
3. Conor Jackson® LF
4. Josh Willingham® DH
5. Ryan Sweeney (L) CF
6. Kurt Suzuki® C
7. Mark Ellis® 2B
8. Andy LaRoche® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS

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Athletics vs. Indians, MLB Scores: David DeJesus Powers A's To 3-1 Victory

The Oakland Athletics evened up their three game series with the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night thanks to David DeJesus’ first career multi-homer game and another solid outing from Trevor Cahill. The win moved the A’s back over the .500 mark as they are now 16-15. The two teams will square off in a get-away day rubber match at 12:35pm on Thursday.

David DeJesus was the story of the game as he was almost all of the A’s offense. Through 7 2/3 innings, DeJesus’ two home runs were the only base runners of any sort. The A’s scratched across an insurance run in the eighth after Mark Ellis reached on an error, advanced to third on a Cliff Pennington single, and scored on a Coco Crisp single.

It was all the A’s pitchers needed in spite of an occasionally up and down performance by Trevor Cahill. Cahill lasted seven innings and escaped danger a couple times as he gave up five hits and three walks. He had throw 105 pitches through six innings, but a taxed bullpen forced Geren to let him go another inning. Cahill finished the seventh and turned it over to David Purcey, Brad Ziegler and Grant Balfour. It got interesting in the eighth, but the bullpen did enough to nail it down. Cahill improved to 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA as he continues to lead the A’s pitching staff.

The two teams play their rubber match in a lunch-time affair on Thursday. Brett Anderson faces Jeanmar Gomez at 12:35pm as the A’s look to move to two games over .500 for the first time this season.

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Athletics vs. Indians, Starting Lineup Preview: Can A's Score More Than One Run?

The Oakland Athletics send out Trevor Cahill to face Josh Tomlin and the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night in what could turn into another low-scoring affair for the A’s. Through one month, Tomlin appears to be making “the leap” as he has been quite solid through five starts. It might be too soon for that, but there’s o doubting Tomlin’s line thus far. He’s gone at least six innings in every start and the three earned runs he gave up in his second start on April 10 are the most for him this season. It’s safe to say he’s in the zone.

He is countered by Trevor Cahill who has settled into a bit of a groove himself. Since going 4 2/3 innings and giving up four runs on April 12, Cahill has given up two runs over 21 total innings pitched and is now 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA. The Indians lineup has been playing a bit above their heads as they’ve jumped out to a 20-8 start, so we’ll see how Cahill handles them.

The A’s continue in their efforts to get Conor Jackson into the lineup on a consistent basis. Jackson has shuffled between four positions, getting time primarily in left field, right field and at first base. Additionally he’s been an extra innings replacement at third base once. Andy LaRoche is getting time at third base in place of Kouzmanoff, but if he also starts to struggle, one wonders if Jackson might get some time there as well.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. David DeJesus (L) RF
3. Conor Jackson® 1B
4. Josh Willingham® LF
5. Hideki Matsui (L) DH
6. Landon Powell (S) C
7. Mark Ellis® 2B
8. Andy LaRoche® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS

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Oakland Athletics Starting Pitcher Power Rankings Through April

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Oakland Athletics At Cleveland Indians: Three Run Ninth Inning Propels Indians To Seventh Straight Win

We’re still not yet through even one fifth of the 2011 Major League Baseball season, so needless to say, there’s plenty of time for teams to play up or down to their expected levels. But suffice it to say, the expectations surrounding the Cleveland Indians’ season have dramatically changed following their impressive 20-8 start to the new year.

Thanks to a three-run ninth inning on Tuesday night, Cleveland extended its winning streak to seven games with a 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. After defeating the divisional rival Texas Rangers in dramatic fashion on Monday, the A’s offense looked out of sorts and dormant in the opener of a three-game set with the American League’s leading team. Oakland mustered just one run on five hits in the 4-1 defeat, as Indians starter Fausto Carmona pitched eight masterful innings for his third win of the year.

As punchless as the A’s offense was, Oakland still had a chance to win an ugly game on Tuesday thanks to the non-spectacular but effective outing by Tyson Ross. Filling in for the injured Dallas Braden, Ross again picked up a no-decision despite pitching well enough to win. In his last start, Ross threw seven shutout innings against the Angels but was not credited with a win. On Tuesday, he wasn’t quite as effective, allowing one run on eight hits over six innings. He walked none and struck out three.

With the score knotted at 1-1 in the ninth, Orlando Cabrera broke the tie with an RBI single against Brian Fuentes in his one at-bat of the evening. Fuentes (1-3) gave up four hits and three earned runs before being yanked in favor of David Purcey who recorded the final two outs of the decisive frame. It was the fourth straight win for the Tribe in their final at-bat. Impressive.

Not so impressive -- at least in the minds of most A's fans -- was the decision to have Fuentes pitch for the third straight night. Manager Bob Geren opted to give the ball to Fuentes yet again on Tuesday despite the fact that Funetes had pitched in three of the four games against Texas -- two of which were pressure-packed situations that had to have taken something out of Fuentes.

For more A’s analysis and fan discussion, be sure to check out Athletics Nation.

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Athletics vs. Indians, Starting Lineup Preview: Kevin Kouzmanoff Running Out Of Time?

The 15-14 Oakland Athletics open up a three game set Tuesday night with the 19-8 Cleveland Indians, who hold the best record in Major League Baseball. The A’s will send out temporary fifth starter Tyson Ross to do battle with Indians starter Fausto Carmona. Ross is coming off a strong previous start for the A’s, while Carmona seems to be working his way back into form. Carmona is 2-3 with a 5.15 ERA but is basically working off two bad starts in six appearances. Carmona was absolutely lit up in his opening start, giving up ten earned runs in three innings. Since then he has gone at least seven innings in four of his five starts, giving up six runs over 5 1/3 innings two starts ago, but otherwise dealing.

The A’s offense continues to try and find its way after a solid weekend against the Texas Rangers. Kevin Kouzmanoff will sit for his third straight game as he is struggling quite mightily. In 77 at bats he has a line of .208/.247/.338. His primary replacement has been Andy LaRoche, who has a line of .341/.400/.463 over 41 at bats. Over the last three games, LaRoche is 6-for-11.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Daric Barton (L) 1B
3. David DeJesus (L) RF
4. Hideki Matsui (L) DH
5. Kurt Suzuki® C
6. Ryan Sweeney (L) LF
7. Mark Ellis® 2B
8. Andy LaRoche® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS

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2011 MLB Standings: Oakland Athletics One Game Back Of Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels

The Oakland Athletics head into their three game series with the Cleveland Indians looking to make a statement in the AL West. The A's wrapped up a three series divisional stretch in which they went 6-5 against their three divisional opponents. Entering that three series stretch the A's were 9-9, three games back LA and two games back of Texas.

Eleven games later the A's are 15-14, sitting one game back of Texas and LA, who are tied for first in the AL West. It's interesting to note that after 29 games last season, the A's were also 15-14, but were actually in first place, a half game ahead of Texas and three games ahead of the Angels and Mariners. It sort of goes to show that May record's don't mean a whole heck of a lot. It is important to start well, but there is a whole lot of baseball to be played.

Even still, the A's actually find themselves in the midst of an important stretch of games. After these three with the Indians, Oakland heads on the road for three games at Kansas City and another three at Texas. The Indians have the best record in baseball, we know about the Rangers, and the Royals are hanging around in the Central and the wild card for the moment.

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Oakland Athletics vs. Cleveland Indians: A's Welcome Best Team In Baseball

The Oakland Athletics welcome the top team in MLB this week as they host the Cleveland Indians for three games at the Oakland/Overstock.com Coliseum. We're working on the title. Maybe just the Big O for now? Either way, the A's wrap up a short seven game homestand.

The A's are coming off a strong series victory over the first place Texas Rangers in which they took three of four games. In the three wins, the A's put together arguably their most complete performances of the year. They got solid to good starting pitching, solid work from their bullpen, and some needed timely hitting. The three wins moved the A's back over .500 as they now sit at 15-14. It might not seem like a huge deal a month into the season, but if the A's can get consistently above .500, it could make the end of the season a little less stressful. Of course, the amount of stress is all relative.

The A's will send out Tyson Ross, Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson this series. Ross is making his third start as Dallas Braden had a setback while playing catch. Braden will make a second visit to Dr. Lewis Yocum as he attempts to figure out if the issue is bigger than initially diagnosed. Ross is coming off a strong start and if he can build on that, it will make it a lot easier to bring Braden back all the more conservatively.