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A’s whip Giants, 6-1
By George Devine, Sr. May 21, 2010 |
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After losing a two-game series to the Detroit Tigers, the A’s hosted the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the regular season “Bay Bridge Series” of interleague play. Barry Zito, LHP (6-1, 2.15) challenged RHP Trevor Cahill (1-2, 4.37). The crossbay rivalry drew a near-sellout crowd of 33,369 which is the largest so far for the Coliseum in 2010. The two kept the game scoreless until the home third when Adam Rosales lined a single to center field. Cliff Pennington followed with a bloop single to right that became a double when it took a bad hop and Andres Torres could not pick it up in time for the relay. Rajai Davis then hit to the same spot, again for a two-bagger, scoring Rosales. When Coco Crisp came up for his first regular season at bat as an Athletic, he showed bunt and Davis stole third; then Crisp flied out to left, scoring Pennington and Davis to make it 3-0. In the sixth Oakland added another run as Daric Barton led off with a standup double to right and scored when Ryan Sweeney hit a grounder to center. John Bowker came to the plate in the next frame, with two out, and got his first hit of the game, a single to third that began as a bunt but which Kevin Kouzmanoff at third could not field and relay in time for the out. Bowker came home when the next batter, Andres Torres, doubled to right. That brought Brad Ziegler in to relieve Cahill. In the A’s seventh, Jack Cust drew a leadoff base on balls. Eric Patterson, pinch-running for him, was put out at second on what could have been the first half of a 5-4-3 (Sandoval-Sanchez-Huff) double play, but the Giants’ infield was not quite fast enough and the following batter, Rosales, reached first. Cliff Pennington singled to right center, bringing Rosales to third; he came home when Davis flied out to left, racking up his third RBI of the night. Crisp then doubled off the fence in left, bringing Pennington home to make it 6-1 and bringing former Athletic Santiago Casilla from the bullpen in relief of fellow former Athletic Zito. Cahill has won against the Giants for the second time now ( 6.2 ip, 6 h, 1 er, 1 w, 4 k), and Zito (6.2 ip, 9 h, 6 er, 1 w, 3 k)has lost four consecutive games to his old team. The two teams meet again at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday, May 22 with RHP Matt Cain (2-3, 3.33 ERA) facing southpaw Gio Gonzalez (4-3, 4.05 ERA). The A’s reinstated outfielder Coco Crisp from the 15-day disabled list and optioned catcher Landon Powell to Triple-A Sacramento, the club announced today. Crisp was placed on the disabled list April 3 with a fractured left pinky, an injury suffered in the third inning April 2 in an exhibition game at San Francisco in a caught stealing at second base. He began a rehab assignment with Single-A Stockton on Tuesday and went 5 for 6 (.833) with a triple, a home run, three RBI and a walk in two games, both starts in center field at Lake Elsinore. The 30-year old switch-hitter signed with the A’s as a free agent on December 23, 2009 after batting .228 with 29 walks and 13 stolen bases in 49 games with Kansas City last year. This was Crisp’s fourth career stint on the DL as he also missed the final three and one-half months of last season after having surgeries on both of his shoulders. Powell batted .231 with three RBI in 13 games with Oakland. He had a brief two-day stint with the A’s from April 21-23 and did not appear in a game before returning to Oakland April 27. Powell started 12 games with the A’s, including 11 at catcher. He was hitting .222 with a home run and two RBI in eight games with Sacramento. In another roster move, the A’s outrighted right-handed pitcher Edwar Ramirez to Triple-A Sacramento and released right-handed pitcher Chad Gaudin, the club announced earlier today . Ramirez was designated for assignment May 15 after posting a 1-0 record and a 4.91 ERA in seven relief appearances over two stints with the A’s. He issued 10 walks in 11.0 innings and allowed a .220 opponents batting average. Ramirez was on the A’s Opening Day roster and compiled a 4.50 ERA in six appearances before he was optioned to Sacramento April 27. He returned for a second stint May 7 and pitched once, May 12 at Texas, before he was designated for assignment. Gaudin was designated for assignment May 16 after posting an 8.83 ERA while allowing a .360 opponents batting average in 12 relief appearances. His ERA was the highest among American League relievers at the time, but he was also tied for seventh with 20 strikeouts. Gaudin was signed as a free agent on March 29 and was on the A’s Opening Day roster. |
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