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		A’s stun Royals, 7-0 By George Devine, Sr. September 7, 2011

	The Athletics pounded the Kansas City Royals with seven runs, and almost no-hit them, to the delight of 13,132 midday fans in a sun-drenched Coliseum. Oakland starter Guillermo Moscoso was perfect through 5.2 innings, surrendering a walk to shortstop Alcides Escobar. He gave up his first hit of the day to Salvador Perez, to right field, with two out in the eighth, and his second to Alex Gordon – also to right -- in the last frame. He was relieved by Fautino de los Santos after a grounder which should have ended the game resulted in a two-error play in which Scott Sizemore failed to pick up Billy Butler’s knock past third and then made a wild throw to Adam Rosales at first. Combining this outing with his last start against the Mariners, the 27-year-old righty retired thirty consecutive opposing batters. The record previously was 29, shared by Dallas Braden and Jim “Catfish” Hunter. The tour de force took 129 pitches. Moscoso’s win puts him at 8-8, with an ERA of 3.36 (8.2 ip, 2 h, 1 w, 4 k). The loser is KC’s southpaw Bruce Chen (10-7, 4.30; 5.1 ip, 8 h, 6 r, 5 er, 3 w, 2 k, 1 wp). The A’s scoring began immediately as leadoff batter Jemile Weeks got the first of his four hits, this one to right center. Coco Crisp doubled to right and Weeks made for home, to be put out in a collision at the plate with catcher Salvador Perez who picked up Jeff Francouer’s throw by way of second baseman Johnny Giavotella . At that time Crisp barely stole third, then scored on Josh Willingham’s sacrifice fly to left. It was the only run the Elephants would need. In the next inning A’s rookie Michael Taylor hit a line drive to right, which Francouer fired to first for the second 9-3 putout in Oakland Athletics history. But in the fourth Taylor’s fly to left escaped Gordon’s glove and Kurt Suzuki —who had singled --scoreed on the error. The midday Oakland sun again played havoc with the visiting fielders, in the fifth, as Gordon lost Sizemore’s fly and the result was a two-run double. In the sixth, singles by Suzuki and Taylor, combined with Rosales’ sacrifice fly, led to another run and the exit of Chen. Reliever Tim Collins surrendered an rbi double to Weeks and an rbi-single to DH Hideki Matsui. On Friday, September 9, the A’s visit the Texas Rangers, with Brandon McCarthy (8-7, 3.41) facing fellow RHP Colby Lewis (11-10, 4.32) at 5:05 p.m. PDT. The game was preceded by a special ceremony in which A’s outfielder Josh Willingham was honored as the recipient of the 2011 Dave Stewart Community Service Award, which is given annually to an A’s player in recognition of charitable contributions throughout Northern California and across the nation. Stewart presented Willingham with the award in an on-field ceremony at 12:20 p.m. Willingham, and his wife Ginger, raised more than $100,000 to aid relief efforts in Alabama after the devastating tornadoes ripped through northern part of the state in April. The Willinghams, who make their home in Florence, Ala., raised funds through a silent auction of gift baskets filled with different A’s players’ autographed and favorite items, donations by the A’s Community Fund, Major League Baseball Players Association and players from around the league, and contributions made online through the Josh Willingham Foundation’s website. In May and June, Ginger led over 200 volunteers in a cleanup effort in various Alabama towns, distributing clothing, toys and other items to needy families. During the All-Star Break, both Josh and Ginger returned to Alabama to visit with those directly affected by the tornado and assist in the cleanup. During the visit, the Willingham family presented a personal check to two high schools from the hardest hit areas to repair the baseball fields that were destroyed. Josh also signed autographs and took photos with students from both high schools. The couple is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State of Alabama to plan on building at least nine tornado protection shelters throughout the northwest region of the state. This off-season, the Willinghams plan to assist Habitat for Humanity in the rebuilding process. The Josh Willingham Foundation was started in 2009 to provide once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and experiences to underprivileged children from the Florence community. The couple has hosted numerous charity golf tournaments and dinners to raise funds for deserving non-profit organizations such as the Cerebral Palsy Center, Head Start, Safe Place, Christian Children’s Home and Children’s Miracle Network. It wasn’t until the treacherous tornadoes touched down that they decided to dedicate their foundation solely to the relief efforts. The Dave Stewart Community Service Award originated in 1996 in honor of Stewart’s many years of community service in the Bay Area. Throughout the years, Stewart has been involved in many non-profit organizations including the Oakland Boys & Girls Club and Team-Up for Youth, a program that supports healthy development for young people living in low income communities through after-school sports and physical activity programs. Previous Dave Stewart Community Service Award Winners: 1996 Ernie Young 1997 Scott Spiezio 1998 Tom Candiotti 1999 Art Howe 2000 Jason Giambi 2001 Terrence Long 2002 Tim Hudson 2003 Scott Hatteberg 2004 Eric Chavez 2005 Barry Zito 2006 Mark Kotsay 2007 Mark Ellis 2008 Dana Eveland 2009 Dallas Braden Kurt Suzuki 2010 Craig Breslow