After bouncing back and forth between .500 and one game over .500, the Oakland Athletics finally climbed to two games over .500 for the first time this season. The A’s defeated the Texas Rangers 7-2 Monday night behind a strong pitching performance from Trevor Cahill and a big offensive spark from recently suspended outfielder Josh Willingham.
Willingham was handed a one-game suspension by Major League Baseball prior to the game for bumping home plate umpire Bill Miller on Saturday. Willingham immediately appealed the suspension, thus allowing him to continue playing. He took full advantage of this reprieve going 2-for-4 with five RBIs on a three-run home run and an RBI single.
Trevor Cahill made the runs stand up as he improved to 6-0, giving up one run on five hits and one walk. Cahill is even with Jered Weaver and Max Scherzer with six wins and leads the American League with a 1.72 ERA. While we’re only six weeks into the season, Trevor Cahill is doing his best to prove last season was not a fluke.
The A’s and Rangers return Tuesday night at 5:05pm on CSN California. Brett Anderson will face off with Colby Lewis as the A’s look to gain more ground on the Angels. LA lost 8-0 to the White Sox and now leads Oakland by one game.