Sports Radio Service


		A’s beat Orioles, 4-2 By George Devine, Sr. April 16, 2010

	The A’s hoped to win a second in their four-game homestand against the Baltimore Orioles, throwing southpaw Dallas Braden (1-0, 2.77 ERA) against righthander Kevin Millwood (0-1, 2.13 ERA). That’s just how it turned out, with a 4-2 score, a win for Braden (2-0, 7 ip, 3 h, 2 er, 1 w, 4 k, 1 hr) and a loss for Millwood (0-2, 6 ip, 9 h, 4 r, 3 er, 9 k). Oakland scored in the second on a sacrifice fly by Jake Fox – who made Millwood throw him eleven pitches -- to score Kevin Kouzmanoff. In the next frame Rajai Davis singled, quickly stole second and advanced to third on an error by catcher Matt Wieters in the putout attempt. He came home on Ryan Sweeney’s groundout sacrifice. In the fourth Jake Fox singled to short left, then Gabe Gross to cednter. After Adam Rosales struck out swinging, Cliff Pennington lined a seeing-eye triple to right, bringing home Fox and Gross. The silver lining for Baltimore was a 2-run homer to left by Ty Wigginton to left in the fifth, after Garrett Atkins had walked. The two clubs meet again tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. with two righties facing off: Jeremy Guthrie (0-2, 4.05) and Justin Duchscherer (1-0, 3.46). Before the game, the A’s will honor longtime A's public address announcer, Roy Steele. Steele will throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the game and handle some of the announcing duties during the game. In addition, 10,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive a Roy Steele bobblehead, courtesy of NetSuite. Steele is the first public address announcer in Major League Baseball to have a bobblehead giveaway item. The 76-year-old was born in Missouri and moved to the Bay Area in 1941, where he worked as an Oakland Tribune paperboy. After traveling around the Southwest as a minister for 17 years, Steele returned back to California where he worked as a disc jockey. In 1968, he moved his family back to the Bay Area and joined the A’s as their public address announcer. Steele worked 1,093 consecutive games (including postseason) from June 24, 1990 to April 22, 2004. He missed only five games in 38 years, prior to sitting out the 2006 season because of health reasons. Steele’s health has allowed him to announce only a handful of games over the last few years, keeping him out of the booth the entire 2009 campaign The A’s Community Fund Haitian Relief efforts raised $42,000 to aid Haitian earthquake victims. A’s fans raised $22,000 and the Oakland Athletics contributed another $20,000. UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders, two agencies that are playing a vital role in on-the-ground relief efforts in Haiti, received approximately $21,000 each from the A’s Community Fund. Before tonight’s game versus the Baltimore Orioles, the A’s honored Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School of Berkeley as the largest fundraising contributor with a donation of $4,416.76. Hundreds of MLK students will be attending tonight’s game. The Oakland Zoo has also recognized the school by donating 950 family “4-pack” zoo passes to the students. Seventh-grader Molly Wampler, who joined student council leaders and volunteers as part of the school’s initiative, “Be The Change,” threw out the ceremonial first pitch. She was selected by the faculty and staff of MLK Jr. Middle School as an outstanding student who oversaw the donations on behalf of the school. Four students, Maya Wong, Sophia Olaya-Hermes, Hope Amador, and Maria MacArdle, were invited as guests of the A’s to attend batting practice this evening. Immediately after the first earthquake occurred, MLK Jr. Middle School Principal Jason Lustig called an all-school assembly where he asked students to each donate $2, which is the average daily subsistence level for Haitians. The students took the principal’s challenge and, in fact, felt that they could do better. As part of the “Be The Change” initiative, they challenged students to double their donations to $4 per person. Students raised money through unique methods: recording a donation request message for the school’s phone blast list to call every student home; holding garage and bake sales at their homes; babysitting; and using their personal allowances to contribute more money to the fundraiser. Students also made and displayed posters around campus and created stickers with the BTC logo and the Haitian flag, which were distributed to students who donated. “The Oakland A’s would like to thank all fans who donated their hard-earned money to help support a greater cause,” said Detra Paige, A’s Director of Community Relations. “The A’s are proud to be a part of the Haitian Earthquake Relief Effort and are honored to be able to recognize the students of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School for their commitment to the fundraiser and going above and beyond the call of duty to help others. The A’s are thankful to all fans, and especially these students, for their dedication to community service.” For those seeking more information on UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders, here are links to both non-profit organizations: www.unicef.org www.doctorswithoutborders.org