The Oakland Athletics headed into Monday night looking to get back in the win column after two losses against the Seattle Mariners. They kicked off a series against the visiting Kansas City Royals and hung in for the 1-0 win.
The game was a low-impact, low-scoring affair, with A's lefty starter Tom Milone strutting his stuff in his first start of the year. Oakland scored a run in the bottom of the second inning when Josh Donaldson singled home Seth Smith. That's where the scoring would stand for the duration of the game. The A's had plenty of chances to extend their lead, but ended up stranding 10 runners on base.
Milone went eight strong innings, allowing three hits and three walks, becoming just the second Oakland pitcher to throw eight or more shutout innings in his A's debut. Grant Balfour pitched the ninth inning and picked up the save.
Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki went 3-for-3 with a walk, while rookie slugger Yoenis Cespedes was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
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