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		Moscoso appears to be A's pleasant surprise By Morris Phillips September 8, 2011

	In a nine-year professional baseball career, Guillermo Moscoso has made just 18 starts at the major league level, so he’s no overnight sensation. But make no mistake, Moscoso is a sensation. The 27-year old Venezuelan who got his shot only because two A’s starting pitchers suffered season-ending injuries, pitched no hit ball on Wednesday into the eighth inning, and set an Oakland A’s franchise record by recording 30 consecutive batters over two appearances. Moscoso retired the last 13 batters he faced in a start against Seattle last week, and then the first 17 batters he faced on Wednesday. But after walking Alcides Escobar with two outs in the sixth, Moscoso was still working on a no-hitter. That bid ended in the eighth when with two outs, rookie Salvador Perez lined a single to right field. With the consecutive outs streak and the no-hit bid ended, manager Bob Melvin agonized over pulling Moscoso early with the pitcher attempting to record his first career complete-game shutout. “The ninth inning was painful for me,” Melvin said. “I just couldn’t stomach the fact he would throw 130 pitches. He wouldn’t give me the ball. It was actually a wrestling match for a little while.” “You always want to go deep in the games,” Moscoso said. “I just tried to finish strong, and that’s what I did.” For Moscoso, the wrestling match described by Melvin could serve as a metaphor for his tough-luck career. Finally displaying the consistency to go with his talent, Moscoso’s unlikely to easily let go of the opportunity. Just last year, Moscoso was awful at AAA Oklahoma City in the Texas Rangers’ organization where he posted an ERA above five in each of the final three months of the season. The A’s acquired Moscoso in the off-season in a trade of minor leaguers (remember A’s farmhand Ryan Kelly?) despite the fact the right hander hadn’t distinguished himself in a handful of major league relief appearances in 2009 and 2010 with the Rangers. A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki remembers facing Moscoso in those brief stints with the Rangers. Suzuki says Moscoso had good stuff, but couldn’t find a niche as a starter or a reliever. It’s always been Moscoso’s wish to be a starter, but he had to prove he belonged. “It’s a credit to him and believing in himself. You get sent down and, all of a sudden, if you’re in the bullpen or not (in the majors), there’s a lot of things that you’re fighting through, and you have to keep your belief that, ‘I’m a starting pitcher, I’m a big league pitcher, and that’s where I’m going to end up.’ He holds onto that every day.” Moscoso’s gem on Wednesday evened his record at 9-9 on the season, and wins in his last two starts come on the heels of an awful, rain-soaked start in Boston, where he allowed eight runs and nine hits, both career-lows. No matter how crowded the A’s starting rotation could be in 2012 when Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden are expected to return, Moscoso figures to fit. The quality pitches Moscoso threw on Wednesday play a big part of that forecast for last season. But the journeyman’s reluctance to give up the baseball in the ninth inning may paint a more vivid picture of the pitcher’s promise.