The Oakland Athletics ran into a tough Tampa Bay Rays team on Monday night as they were shutout 4-0.  This was not the way the Athletics wanted to start there weekday series with the Rays.  I suppose this is why the Rays are at the top of the East Division and playing well.

Dana Eveland took the loss and is now 7-7 after throwing five innings and givng up seven hits and four runs.  It wasn’t a quality start for Eveland as he was hoping for.  He just didn’t have his pitches working for him on Monday night.  Eveland also gave up two solo home runs in the game.

Andrew Brown threw two scoreless innings before Santiago Casilla threw a scoreless inning in the 8th inning.

Ryan Sweeney and Jack Cust both had one hit each and that was all the A’s could get at the plate.  Not a whole lot to blog about as the A’s were shutdown by Scott Kazmir and the Rays.

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The Oakland Athletics lost to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night by the score of 6-4.  The A’s gave up five runs in the fifth inning and didn’t have an answer as they were held scoreless after the fifth inning.

Joe Blanton continues to struggle and is now 5-12 after taking the loss.  Blanton tossed six innings as he gave up nine hits and six runs.  Blanton now has a 4.96 era and is not stepping up his game when it is his turn.  I just have to think where the A’s would be if Blanton was throwing the ball like he is capable of.

Jerry Blevins, Santiago Casilla. and Andrew Brown all threw one inning each out of the bullpen and did not allow any runs to score.  Great job by the three relief pitchers who atleast gave the offense the chance to come back in the late innings.

The A’s offense really didn’t do to much in the game.  Jack Cust had a solo home run in the 2nd inning to get the A’s scoring started and then Donnie Murphy had a three run triple that cleared the bases in the fourth inning.  That was all the scoring that the A’s would do in the game as they were held scoreless for the last five innings of the game.

The A’s and Mariners will now play an afternoon game.  With a win Thursday, the A’s will have won the series three games to one so lets all hope they can pull out a victory!  Athletics Blog

Well that is a game that the A’s will need to quickly just forget about.  Wednesday night sure wasn’t the Athletics night as they were limited to only four hits and were shut out 4-0 by the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.  The first four batters of the lineup struggled as they went a combined 0-15 with one walk.

Greg Smith pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up seven hits and four runs.  Smith dropped to 4-6 on the season.  Smith could have tossed a one hitter and gave up one run and he still wouldn’t have came away with a victory in this game though.  That is how bad the offense was.

Chad Gaudin, Santiago Casilla, and Andrew Brown all finished things up after Smith left the game.  All three relief pitchers did a good job and held the Phillies to four runs.

The A’s better gett he bats going on Thursday afternoon or they will find themselves losing two of three to the Phillies.

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Jack Cust led the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night as he had three rbi and the A’s defeated the New York Yankees 8-4.  It was actually a blow out until  the ninth inning when the Yankees were able score three runs off the A’s bullpen.  Great win for the A’s as the improved to 35-30 on the season.

Cust went 2-2 with three walks and the three rbi.  He had a two run single in the third inning and then a rbi single in the fourth inning.  The A’s got two rbi from Carlos Gonzalez who had a two run double in the third inning.  Not to be left out, Mark Ellis, Bobby Crosby, and Kurt Suzuki all had one rbi in the game as well.

Justin Duchscherer pitched the first seven inning for the A’s and gave up five hits and one run.  Duschscherer picked up the win and is now 6-4 with a 2.20 era.  Great job Justin!

Andrew Brown pitched a scoreless eighth inning before the Yankees scored two runs which were charged to Kiko Calero in the ninth inning.  Alan Embree came in for Calero and gave up both runs as he didn’t pick up his teammate.  The ninth inning was the only downside in the game as Calero and Embree struggled.

The A’s and Yankees will play another late night game on Thursday as they finish up the series.  It will be the rubber game of the series.  Will the A’s come out on top?  Leave us a comment and let us know!

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Emil Brown attempted to make a sliding catch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning but he came up short and the ball got behind him in the outfield and the Tampa Bay Rays scored three runs as they went onto beat the Athletics 3-2.

Definaly not the way you want to lose a game.  Hopefully Brown will bounce back and have a good couple of games here soon.  All he can do is forget about it and go out there and play baseball.

Frank Thomas tried to rally the A’s back with a solo home run in the ninth inning but the A’s couldn’t push across another run to atleast tie the game.  Rajai Davis had the others A’s rbi as he had a rbi single in the fifth inning.

Greg Smith tossed seven innings while giving up five hits and two runs to take the loss.  Smith is now 2-4 even though he pitched well enough to ge a win on Tuesday night.  Tough break for Smith.

One run was charged to Joey Devine in the eighth inning as he pitched in relief of Smith.  Dallas Braden tossed a scoreless ninth inning after Devine exited the game.

A’s RHP reliever Andrew Brown underwent an appendectomy and was placed on the 15-day disabled list to recover from the surgery. The move was retroactive to May 14, one day after Brown last pitched. Oakland recalled LHP Lenny DiNardo from Triple-A Sacramento to fill Brown’s spot.

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Not the way the Oakland Athletics wanted to start their series with the Cleveland Indians as they lost 4-0.  The A’s were in the game until the bottom of the eighth inning when it was only a 1-0 game, but then Ryan Garko hit a three run home run to extend the Indians lead to 4-0.

Justin Duchscherer tossed 6 2/3 innings to take the loss even though he only gave up four hits and one run.  He pitched well enough to get the win, there was just no run support behind him.  Alan Embree pitched one inning of relief and gave up two runs.  Andrew Brown gave up the big three run home run to Garko in the game and was charged with that one run while the other two runners were charged to Embree.  That isn’t how you want to pick up your teammates.

Ryan Sweeney was the only Athletics hitter to have two hits.  They struck out seven times in the game as they couldn’t ever get a good rally going and come up with a big hit to drive in a run or two.

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Mark Ellis finally came out of his long slump with two hits including a walk off home run in the tenth inning to beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5.  Ellis who is now batting .232 on the season hit his third home run of the season off of Lance Cormier.  The ball bounced off the foul pole down the left field line but of course every knows if the ball hits the pole it is a home run!

Kurt Suzuki had a big two run home run in the to have two RBI.  Emil Brown, Jack Hannahan, Frank Thomas, and Ellis all had one RBI in the game for the Athletics.

Dallas Braden picked up the win as he pitched the 2 1/3 innings of relief.  It was only the second career victory for Braden.  Braden’s first victory also came against the Orioles.

Starting pitcher Joe Blanton didn’t have his best stuff but did keep the A’s in the game and that is what you ask for by your starting pitcher.  Blanton only pitched 5 2/3 innings as he gave up eight hits and two runs.  Andrew Brown had the worst performance by a Athletics pitchers as he only pitched 2/3 of an inning and he allowed four hits and three runs.

With the sweep of the Orioles, the Athletics record is now 22-14 on the season.  Athletics Blog

Jack Cust had a error in the second inning that accounted for five unearned runs but he made up for it throughout the game as the he went 4-4 and two walks while hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning to give the A’s the lead for good.  The A’s went onto beat the Angels 15-8 in the game.

The A’s pounded out twenty hits as the put up fifteen runs on the scoreboard.  Kurt Suzuki, Daric Barton, Frank Thomas, and Bobby Crosby all had two RBI each.  Emil Brown, Jack Hannahan, and Cust all had one RBI in the game as well.  That is production up and down the lineup for the A’s!

Justin Duchscherer didn’t have his best stuff but managed to pitch five innings to pick up the win.  Duchscherer gave up six hits and six runs in his five innings of action.  Andrew Brown and Santiago Casilla pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings before Dallas Braden gave up four hits and two runs in the final two innings.

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The Oakland Athletics scored eighth runs in the seventh inning to extend there lead and pretty much put the nail in the coffin for the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.  The Athletics went on to beat the Angels 14-2 as the A’s improved their record to 17-10 on the season.

The A’s pounded out sixteen hits and three home runs in the game. Daric Barton, Jack Hannahan, and Emil Brown all went deep in the game.  Barton and Brown both had three RBI in the game while Frank Thomas, Rajai Davis, and Ryan Sweeney all had two RBI each.  Chris Denorfia and Hannahan chipped in with one RBI as well.

Chad Gaudin pitched six innings and allowed five hits and two runs as he picked up his third win of the season.  Gaudin is now 3-1 on the season and  has been throwing the ball pretty good.    Andrew Brown and Dallas Braden pitched the final two inning and only allowed one hit.

How long can the A’s keep up the good play do you think?

Frank Thomas was back with the Oakland Athletics on Thursday as they pounded the Minnesota Twins 11-2.  As the A’s put up 11 runs and 15 hits, Thomas went 0-3 with two walks.  The A’s chased Twins starter Francisco Liriano out of the game before the end of the first inning as they put up six quick runs on the Twins starter.

Donnie Murphy led the A’s by going 3-5 and picking up four RBI.  Murphy had solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings.  Kurt Suzuki, Emil Brown, and Mike Sweeney all had two RBI each in the game.  Chris Denorfia chipped in with one RBI.

Greg Smith picked up his second in of the season as he tossed seven innings for the A’s.  Smith gave up seven hits but only two runs in the game.  A very good quality start for Smith as he pitched great.  Andrew Brown and Joey Devine pitched the last two innings and gave up one hit each.

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