Athletics vs. Orioles: Josh Outman Solid, A's Offense Not, Wash, Rinse, Repeat

The Oakland Athletics struggles continued as their losing streak increased to nine games with a 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night. The game did feature Jemile Weeks getting his first two career hits and scoring his first career run. Unfortunately it was not enough as Zach Britton and the Orioles bullpen once again contained the A’s to secure the victory.

The Orioles were able to jump on top early behind a J.J. Hardy RBI single and a Mark Reynolds two-run homer in the fifth inning. The A’s snapped a 19-inning scoreless streak in the top of the sixth in what might be an expected fashion. Jemile Weeks opened the inning with a single, his second hit of the game, and that was followed by a Coco Crisp single that moved Weeks to third. Daric Barton followed that up with a 4-6-3 double play that scored Weeks but ended any chance of a further threat.

The A’s added a second run in the eighth inning. Weeks reached base on an error by left fielder by Nolan Reimold. The fielding error allowed him to get all the way to third and he scored on a Coco Crisp sacrifice fly. Oakland went down in order in the ninth inning to fall 3-2.

This ninth straight loss leaves them one short of a ten game losing streak in 2008. The A’s head to Chicago for a four game series against the White Sox starting tomorrow. Given the quick turn around time, it will be interesting to see if the A’s have any sort of jet lag in the series opener on Thursday.

Athletics vs. Orioles: Oakland Looks To Avoid Third Straight Series Sweep

The Oakland Athletics square off for one more game with the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night hoping to avoid a third straight series sweep. The A’s have lost eight straight games and are in danger of completely falling out of the AL West race before the All Star Break. The game airs at 4:05pm pacific and will be on CSN California.

The A’s will send out Josh Outman to face Zach Britton as Outman looks to bounce back from a tough outing against the Boston Red Sox. Outman lasted 2 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on five hits and a walk before being pulled. His limited pitch count is allowing him to swing back through the rotation again on three days rest.

The A’s are giving Jemile Weeks a second straight start as he’ll play second base and hit at the bottom of the order. Coco Crisp returns to the top of the batting order as the A’s look for some semblance of a spark. Really some semblance of life. The Orioles pitching staff has shut down the A’s in the first two games, while getting just enough run support to get the victories. The A’s are digging themselves a big hole

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Daric Barton 1B
3. Conor Jackson LF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Kurt Suzuki C
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Adam Rosales 3B
8. Cliff Pennington SS
9. Jemile Weeks 2B

Baltimore Orioles
1. Robert Andino 2B
2. Nick Markakis RF
3. Adam Jones CF
4. Vladimir Guerrero DH
5. Derrek Lee 1B
6. Matt Wieters C
7. J.J. Hardy SS
8. Mark Reynolds 3B
9. Nolan Reimold LF

Brett Anderson visiting Dr. James Andrews For Second Opinions: A's Fans Cringe

The news appears to only be getting worse for Brett Anderson and Oakland Athletics fans. Anderson flew back to Oakland to get an MRI on his sore left elbow and results have yet to be announced. Instead, Anderson is flying to Birmingham, Alabama to visit with noted orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews.

No sports fan likes to hear the name of Dr. Andrews connected with their favorite athlete. Andrews does great work in the world of sports medicine, but generally visits to Dr. Andrews result in extended stays on the disabled list. Given Brett Anderson’s elbow troubles, it’s safe to be concerned about that at this point.

Anderson has dealt with elbow issues in the past, with a stint on the disabled list due to elbow tightness last year (following a forearm injury earlier in the year). One reason to not be completely depressed about the situation is that June 4 last year an A’s source told Mychael Urban that Anderson was done for the year. Anderson was out two more months, returning July 30 and finishing out the season. We’re still waiting to hear further word on his current injury, but hopefully rest will be the difference-maker.

Athletics vs. Orioles: Losing Streak Reaches Eight

The Oakland Athletics ran their losing streak to eight games as they managed to lose their second straight to the Baltimore Orioles. The O’s got a strong pitching performance from Chris Jakubauskas and just enough offense to secure a 4-0 victory. The eighth straight losses is their longest such losing streak of the season. The Rangers are losing big as we speak so the only upside to this is that the A’s won’t drop further behind.

At this point the story remains the same for the A’s. The pitching is facing zero margin for error and as pitchers continue to drop out of the rotation, the talent level is growing more and more depleted. The dominant pitching staff of May now has 60% of its members on the disabled list.

The “upside” of the game was that Jemile Weeks was able to make his major league debut. Of course, he went 0-for-4 so we can’t get too excited about even that. The A’s collected five singles from five players with Kurt Suzuki’s double being the only extra base hit.

At this point, it’s hard to really find many positives in this Oakland A’s squad. After all, as danmerqury put it at Athletics Nation, if the offense is getting shutout by Chris Jakubauskas, there’s really no hope for the rest of the game.

Athletics Place Brett Anderson On DL, Recall Bobby Cramer: Wash, Rinse, Repeat

The Oakland Athletics attempts to climb out of the AL West cellar took a significant hit as they placed starting pitcher Brett Anderson the disabled list with soreness in his left elbow. Anderson has seen his velocity drop in recent starts and after sending Anderson back to Oakland to get his elbow checked out, the team decided the DL was the place. There is no word on the extent of his injury at this point.

To fill Anderson’s spot in the rotation, the A’s are calling up Bobby Cramer from Sacramento. Cramer battled for the fifth starter spot in spring training but lost out to Brandon McCarthy. Cramer made four starts for the A’s in 2010, finishing 2-1 with a 3.04 ERA. In six starts at Sacramento this season, Cramer is 0-0 with a 4.03 ERA as the team has worked to stretch him out from a long reliever role.

This now marks the fourth starting pitcher to go down for the A’s. Dallas Braden was the first to go down, landing on the DL in April with a sore left shoulder. He was followed in short order by Tyson Ross and Brandon McCarthy who were both hurt within one day of each other.

Now Anderson is added to the list and the A’s find themselves wondering what else can go wrong at this point. They have a long road ahead of them if they want to climb back into the AL West race. While seven games back isn’t a huge deficit, the A’s are playing at a level that makes it appear more difficult.

Athletics vs. Orioles: Jemile Weeks Hitting Leadoff In MLB Debut

After Mark Ellis injured his hamstring in Monday night’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Oakland Athletics called up hot prospect Jemile Weeks from Sacramento. I was a bit concerned he would find himself sitting on the bench for much of this initial big league stint, but the A’s seem set to give him some playing time.

The A’s released their lineup for Tuesday’s game and they have slotted Jemile Weeks into the leadoff spot. It’s my understanding the team basically doesn’t want Adam Rosales playing back to back games quite yet, so getting Weeks in with Sizemore makes sense.

Over the last season and a half, Weeks has shown an increase in steals and will hopefully work as a leadoff hitter when Coco Crisp is sitting. If Weeks can develop into a solid bat for the A’s, I could see him settling in at the number two spot where the team has tried to insert Mark Ellis and Daric Barton at different times. Given Barton’s recent small measure of success in the six spot, maybe a strong Weeks performance in the next couple weeks can force the issue.

Oakland Athletics
1. Jemile Weeks 2B
2. Daric Barton 1B
3. David DeJesus RF
4. Josh Willingham LF
5. Ryan Sweeney CF
6. Kurt Suzuki C
7. Hideki Matsui DH
8. Scott Sizemore 3B
9. Cliff Pennington SS

Baltimore Orioles
1. J.J. Hardy SS
2. Nick Markakis RF
3. Adam Jones CF
4. Vladimir Guerrero DH
5. Derrek Lee 1B
6. Matt Wieters C
7. Luke Scott LF
8. Mark Reynolds 3B
9. Ryan Adams 2B

Oakland Athletics Recall Infielder Jemile Weeks From AAA-Sacramento

Athletics vs. Orioles, MLB Scores: Baltimore Jumps On Gio Gonzalez Early, Holds On For Victory

The Oakland Athletics losing streak climbed to seven games as the Baltimore Orioles beat them Monday night 4-2 at Camden Yards. Gio Gonzalez was roughed up for four runs in the first two innings and the Orioles bullpen put together a strong effort to hold on to victory. The A’s remain seven games out of first, but this losing streak is starting to get out of hand.

The Orioles jumped on top in the first on a Vladimir Guerrero single to left field. The A’s minimized the damage as Guerrero was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double. However, the Orioles added three more runs in the second inning on two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly.

Gio Gonzalez settled down but the A’s offense could not get enough runs on the board to make up the difference. One notable performance was Adam Rosales hitting a home run in his first major league game since last August. His two-run homer in the fourth put the A’s in a position to come back, but they couldn’t capitalize. The A’s have to be pleased by Rosales effort nonetheless.

Brian Matusz put together 5 1/3 innings of work before the O’s bullpen slammed the door. Jim Johnson, Koji Uehara, and Kevin Gregg combined to throw 3 2/3 innings of perfect ball to secure the win.

The two teams square off Tuesday afternoon at 4:05pm pacific with Guillermo Moscoso battling Chris Jakubauskas. The game will be broadcast on CSN California.

Athletics vs. Orioles Starting Lineup Preview: The Return Of Adam Rosales

The Oakland Atheltics welcome back Adam Rosales to their lineup against the Baltimore Orioles following an absence that dates back to mid-August. Rosales suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle that eventually required surgery and knocked him out for the first two months of the season. Rosales made three rehab starts with the Sacramento Rivercats before being recalled earlier today.

The A’s actually made a couple of moves to try and shake things up on the offensive side of the ball. In addition to recalling Adam Rosales, the A’s recalled recently acquired infielder Scott Sizemore. To make room for the two infielders, the A’s optioned Kevin Kouzmanoff and Fautino De Los Santos to AAA. The Kouzmanoff is not all that surprising given his offensive struggles the last season and a half. Third base has been a black hole for the A’s and they’ve now got two new third basemen following the optioning of Kouzmanoff and designating Andy LaRoche for assignment.

It remains to be seen if Rosales or Sizemore can provide some punch, but most would agree they can’t be any worse than the Kouzmanoff/LaRoche duo. Rosales had a fairly solid .271/.321/.400 line in 2010 and will get a fair shake to steal some playing time somewhere, whether it be third base or second base behind Mark Ellis.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Daric Barton 1B
3. Conor Jackson LF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Kurt Suzuki C
6. Mark Ellis 2B
7. Adam Rosales 3B
8. Ryan Sweeney RF
9. Cliff Pennington SS

Baltimore Orioles
1. Robert Andino 2B
2. Nick Markakis RF
3. Adam Jones CF
4. Vladimir Guerrero DH
5. Derrek Lee 1B
6. Matt Wieters C
7. J.J. Hardy SS
8. Mark Reynolds 3B
9. Nolan Reimold LF

MLB Standings Update 2011: Oakland Athletics Sinking Like A Rock In AL West

The Oakland Athletics season has taken a wrong turn down a dark alley as they are now sitting seven games back of first in the American League West. The A's have lost six straight games while the first place Texas Rangers have won five straight. While it may only be June and seven games is a manageable deficit, the A's are not playing event remotely well.

They've played fairly against bad teams (Baltimore Orioles), but over the long haul they'll need to figure out ways to beat the good teams. When you've got a multi-year losing streak against a team like the Yankees, you're not going to get over the hump, or even really approach the hump, without figuring out ways to beat them. Playoff teams find ways to beat good teams and the A's are more frequently finding ways to lose to good teams. Part of it is a lack of a serious hitting threat, and part of it is what seems to be a general malaise at times. Of course, more quality offensive talent might be what is needed to actually overcome that malaise.

Athletics vs. Orioles: A's Travel To Camden Yards Hoping To Snap Losing Streak

The Oakland Athletics continue their ten game road trip with three games against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. The A's are in the midst of a six game losing streak, and if you don't include their three game sweep of the equally woeful Orioles, Oakland has now lost 13 of their last 15 games. It's safe to say things are not good right now for the A's. They have struggled against the perennial powers in the American League and seem to lack a certain fire needed to turn things around.

The A's had their chances this past weekend to get some kind of spark but blew several big chances against the Red Sox. They came back from a big four run deficit in the ninth inning but lost in extra innings in a game that could have been a "game-changer" for the team. Instead they continue along, now sitting six games under .500. They have shown some signs of life at times, but when you lack a ton of big time talent on offense, what are you supposed to do?

So now the A's will look to get things going against their fellow cellar-dwelling team, the Baltimore Orioles. While a strong performance this week doesn't guarantee any long term success, a sign of life would be huge for the fans and give the A's something to build on moving forward.