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A's stay hot, blank Tigers in Anderson's return
By Morris Phillips May 29, 2010 |
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This week, the A’s aren’t allowing trying circumstances affect their play on the field. Instead, the Athletics are surging, regaining first place in the AL West right after spending the majority of May just trying to keep their noses above water. With wins in nine of their last 12, the A’s are healthier, consistent with their defense and pitching, and in a dramatic turnaround, competitive on the road. The surge reached a crescendo in Detroit on Saturday when Brett Anderson made an impressive return—after a month of inactivity—shutting down the Tigers, 6-0, in concert with two relievers. Anderson figured to ease his way back into things, but pitched efficiently, needing just 70 pitches to get into the sixth inning. The 22-year old lefty threw strikes, pitched ahead in the count and was equally adept at getting hitters to hit harmless fly balls or ground out meekly. Anderson’s impressive sophomore campaign continues--even after a month of dealing with forearm and elbow strain--as if he was never gone. “In Ben Sheets and now Anderson, we’ve seen two pretty nasty pitchers in two nights, and didn’t do much with them,” Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland said. The A’s backed Anderson with some eye-catching defense, including Gabe Gross’ leaping stab of Gerald Laird’s drive beyond the left field fence in the third inning. Anderson departed with two runners on in the sixth, but Kevin Kouzmanoff sparkled with a reaction grab of Magglio Ordonez’ liner to end the inning. Mark Ellis took the lead offensively, with a solo homer leading off the fourth, and then added a bases clearing double in the eighth that put the A’s up comfortably, 5-0. Ellis came off the disabled list May 21 and started slowly, but appears to be hitting his stride in the last couple of games. And nothing says his balky hamstring is finally healthy better than a 400-foot home run in the Tigers’ spacious Comerica Park. Despite poor attendance at Coliseum, and small market syndrome forcing the A’s to mix youngsters with veterans saddled with question marks along with the constant, maddening presence of the disabled list, the A’s are proving quite competitive. And in a division that may be baseball’s least impressive in 2010, Oakland is quite viable, as their recent surge has vaulted them back into first place. And the pattern of success started at the end of 2009, when the A’s stopped a streak of eight consecutive losing months with a 17-10 September. The winning has continued this year with a 12-12 April and now a winning May. The A’s rotation, with Sheets pitching much better of late, is rounding into form, and now looks capable of leading the team as expected. The offense has performed much better with the return of Suzuki, Ellis and Jack Cust along with the base-stealing presence of Rajai Davis. And the improved play has taken hold on a road trip with the A’s winning four of their first five on this 10-game trip, following losses in 12 of their previous 14 contests outside of Oakland. Just two weeks ago, the A’s were dreadful on the road, looking listless as if they were a Triple A outfit being outclassed on the major league-level. Now, the A’s are putting tremendous pressure on the opposition with their pitching and defense without the need of a high-scoring offense. The A's look to continue their surge on Sunday, as Dallas Braden takes the mound for Oakland. Braden will be opposed by Detroit's Max Scherzer. The first 50 games of 2010 for the A's have been a rollercoaster ride: 9-4 start: A’s take advantage of struggling AL West foes to open the season in first place. 9-16 middle: Suzuki goes on the DL, Sheets struggles, Duchscherer and Chavez find their seasons in doubt, and the A’s fall apart on the road: Oakland 2-10 away from home during this stretch. 9-3 finish: 12-game stretch defined by quality pitching, solid defense, timely hitting and a renewed emphasis on the running game. |
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