kahlilnajar7

A’s Beat Fiesty Orioles 4-3 In 11 Innings

Published on June 7, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

Baltimore Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson, second from right, backs Manny Machado (13) away from Oakland Athletics second baseman Nick Punto, second from left, and third baseman Josh Donaldson after Donaldson tagged him out in the third inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 6, 2014, in Baltimore. Also pictured is umpire Gabe Morales, left. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By Kahlil Najar

BALTIMORE – The A’s received homers from Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss and clutch hitting from Yoenis Cespedes and Stephen Vogt to beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in 11 innings. The win continues Oakland domination in the American League by giving them the best record in the league. Tommy Milone went six innings for the A’s and received the no decision while Francisco Abad earned his first win of the season and Sean Doolittle grabbed his eighth save of the year. Milone gave up 8 hits over those six inning and all three runs to the Orioles including homers to Machado and Davis.

In the third inning things got interesting when Donaldson went to tag Machado for the third out of the inning but as soon as the tag was applied Machado went tumbling down to the ground and threw his helmet in the direction of Donaldson. Machado got up quickly and started yelling at Donaldson, presumably because he thought the tag was harder than it should have been.

Donaldson said, “I just tried to tag the guy. I was walking over there to go pick his helmet up for him, then he jumps up and starts yelling at me. I don’t know what happened on his end, but I’m just trying to do my job and play the game of baseball.”

On the play Machado said, “Right play, he made the right play, but I just didn’t agree on the tag that he made on me and I just had to get up and confront him. You get in the heat of the moment and things start flying.”

The Orioles weren’t about to let the A’s get away with Donaldson appearing to make an aggressive tag on Machado. In the top of the 6th, Donaldson was beaned by Wei-Yin Chen.

“I understand them pitching in. That’s fine,” said Donaldson. “It was just on my hand. Nellie Cruz took one on the hand just the other day, and he doesn’t seem too fond of that either.”

Donaldson gave the A’s a 1-0 in the first with his 17th home run, and Derek Norris connected leading off the second to give the A’s a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning after three straight singles, Jonathan Schoop was able to knock in Hardy and make it a 2-1 Oakland lead. Chris Davis tied the game in the fourth and Manny Machado homered in the fifth for a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the 11th, pitch hitting Stephen Vogt singled in John Jaso with a ground ball that he placed between second and third and close the scoring at 4-3.

Both these teams head back at it tomorrow when Baltimore sends up Kevin Gausman and the A’s will put up right-hander Sonny Gray, game time 4:15pm PST.

Brandon Moss Homer In Extras Sparks A’s 5-2 Victory Over Yankees

Published on June 4, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

New York –

“That’s typical Oakland A’s baseball.”

This sentiment said by A’s reliever Sean Doolittle after the A’s defeated the Yankees 5-2 in 10 innings is something most Oakland fans are used too. The A’s always seem to find a way to squeeze out a win even in the most hostile of territories like Yankee Stadium. “The way the guys were swinging in the 10th inning, it was like they could smell the victory and found a way to get it done,” continues Doolittle. Brandon Moss belted his second homer of the game and Jed Lowrie and Kyle Blanks each earned a RBI in the top of the 10th to give the A’s the victory in extra innings.

Starting pitch Scott Kazmir went 6 1/3 and struck out 10 batters and only walked a pair of batters but didn’t last long enough to land the victory. Dan Otero (5-1) came in the ninth and only surrendered one hit and earned his fifth victory of the year. Sean Doolittle only needed 13 pitches to earn his sixth save of the year.

“I had been swinging the bat well tonight, so I knew they’d probably be careful, and it’s just one of those at-bats you’re battling, trying to get a good pitch to hit or get on base, and I ended up getting a hanging slider on a 3-2 count,” said Brandon Moss on hit night tonight. “Obviously any home run feels good, but in an extra-inning game, 2-2, it feels really good.”

After an hour long rain delay, the Yankees struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Mark Teixeira singled to right field and scored Brett Gardner who was already on second and made it 1-0 game. The A’s waited until the fifth inning to join in the scoring when Moss hit his first homer of the evening and tied the game at 1-1. The Yankees got the lead back in the sixth inning on a Teixeira homer to left center field and made it a 2-1 game with three innings left.

Pinch-hitter Stephen Vogt hit a game tying double in the eighth off of Yankees pitcher Dellin Betances with two outs in the eighth inning to push the game into extra innings.

In the 10th, Moss hit his second homer of the night and Lowrie and Banks drove in runs to make it a 5-2 victory for the A’s.

The A’s and Yankees head back at it tomorrow when Jesse Chavez (4-3) goes up against Vidal Nuno (1-2), game time 4:05 PM PST.

Rattlers Clip The Cats 51-42

Published on June 1, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

Phoenix – The San Jose SaberCats (7-4) lost for the first time in five games to the last team to defeat them, the Arizona Rattlers (11-0), 51-42. With the win, the Rattlers were able to secure their fourth straight National Conference West Division championship. Starting Quarterback Nathan Stanley went 11 for 23 with 146 yards passing and three touchdowns. Dominique Curry led the team with two touchdowns tonight and Rod Harpe rand Jason Willis scored a touchdown each.

The SaberCats turned the ball over on downs on their first possession and the Rattlers quarterback Jason Murrieta capitalized on that and was able to get the ball to wide receiver Rod Windsor to give the Rattlers a 7-0 lead. The Cats responded back on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Stanley to Curry to make it a 7-7 game after one quarter.

A Clevan Thomas interception gave the ball back to San Jose in the top of the second and Stanley was able to connect with Curry again for a 14-7 lead. After a San Jose turnover on down, the Rattlers sacked Stanley and forced a fumble, and it was recovered by Rattlers defensive back Arkeith Brown for a touchdown to tie the game at 14.Then with 3.1 seconds left in the first half Murrieta found Kerry Red in the end zone and gave the Rattlers a 21-14 lead going into the half.

After an interception by Simeon Castille on Murrieta tied the game at 21 to start the second half, the Rattlers scored 16 unanswered points including touchdowns to Miller and Windsor and a safety that was award as Arizona defensive lineman Cliff Dukes got to Stanley and sacked him in the end zone to make it a 37 – 21 game. The Cats shrunk the lead to nine points on a Stanley 1 yard tun to bring the score to 37-18 after three quarters.

In the fourth Stanley connected with Wilis and Harper for 14 points but Nick Davila, who came in for relief of Murrieta gave the Rattlers a pair of touchdowns to Windsor and Reed and kept the lead at nine points, 51-42.

The Cats come back home on June 7th to take on the LA Kiss on their very first trip to the SAP Center.

Moss and Donaldson Knock The Halo Off The Angels, A’s Win 9-5

Published on May 31, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 30: Brandon Moss #37 of the Oakand Athletics is congratulated by Coco Crisp #4 and Josh Donaldson #20 after Moss hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at O.co Coliseum on May 30, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) — OAKLAND, CA – MAY 30: Brandon Moss #37 of the Oakland Athletics is congratulated by Coco Crisp #4 and Josh Donaldson #20 after Moss hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at O.co Coliseum on May 30, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Brandon Moss hit his first grand slam of his career and Josh Donaldson launched two deep home runs in the first game of this critical home series against the Angels (30-24) and propelled the A’s (33-22) to a 9-5 victory. The A’s ran through the entire lineup in the bottom of the first inning and scored five runs to knock out Angels starter Garret Richards in only 2/3 of an inning pitched. Donaldson went 3 for 4 with four RBI and Moss went 1 for 2 with four RBI to contribute a majority of the Athletics offense tonight. On the mound, Drew Pomeranz (5-2) went 5 1/3 innings and struck out five for his fifth win of the year.

“We had good energy right out of the gate,” said Athletics head coach Bob Melvin. “It didn’t feel like it was going to be one of those nights where you’d see too many balls leave the ballpark but there were strong guys. It doesn’t surprise me when they hit homers (Donaldson, Moss).”

Tonight was Donaldson’s second ever multi-homer game of his career and Melvin said, “He’s playing really well right now, across the board. He has great focus. He knows how he’s going to get pitched and his defense comes with him.”

Moss, who ended up leaving the game early because of calf stiffness spoke on his first grand slam and said, “I’ve never come close to one. I came close-ish once last year when I flied out to the wall. It was on my mind, not that I was trying to hit one. I just thought it would be cool to do it. And it felt good, for sure.”

Putting up five runs in the first made the entire O.Co Coliseum crowd feel good especially when going up against a team like the Angels.

The A’s added to their lead in the second and third inning when Donaldson hit his first of two homers in the game to right field over the out of town scoreboard. In the third, Donaldson received his second RBI of the night when he singled home Crisp and gave the A’s a 7-0 lead after three.

The Angels won the fourth inning when Mike Trout hit his eleventh homer of the year and Howie Kendrick hit his third of the year and gave the Angels three run and brought the lead to only four runs.

However in the bottom of the fifth, Donaldson launched a line drive home run to center field off of a two seam fastball that catapulted the A’s to 9 runs to the Angels 3.

The Angels C.J. Cron doubled in a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth but then the A’s relief squad of Otero, Gregerson and Dolittle came in for 3 2/3 scoreless innings and gave the A’s their 33rd win of the year.

The Angels send Tyler Skaggs (4-2, 3.97 ERA) to the mound against Tommy Milone (3-3, 3.50) who is 3-0 and has an ERA a little over one in his last four starts.

Gray Gives Up Season High Four Runs and Relievers Give Up A Pair, A’s Lose 6-5

Published on May 28, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 27: Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detoit Tigers trots around the bases after hitting a solo home run off of Sonny Gray #54 of the Oakland Athletics in the top of the third inning at O.co Coliseum on May 27, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) — OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers trots around the bases after hitting a solo home run off of Sonny Gray #54 of the Oakland Athletics in the top of the third inning at O.co Coliseum on May 27, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Sonny Gray gave up a season high four runs on eight hits and Luke Gregerson gave up the game winning run in the top of the 8th and the A’s (31-21) lost to the Tigers (29-19) 6-5. John Jaso hit his fifth homer of the year in the fourth and Jed Lowrie and Albert Callaspo contributed with a double each in the second to provide the majority of the A’s offense tonight. The A’s have now lost five of their last six games.

“I felt really good. That’s why it’s a little bit frustrating,” said Sonny Gray on his performance tonight. “You felt like you have good stuff, and then you just get hit around a little bit.”

Jaso echoed the frustrations of his pitcher, “It just seemed like his two-seamer wasn’t moving like it normally does and that’s where he ran into trouble.”

The first inning proved rough for Gray as he gave up a single, two doubles and a walk to the Tigers who took advantage and took a 2-0 lead on a single by Miguel Cabrera and a double by J.D. Martinez. The A’s got a pair of runs in the bottom of the second off of a double from Jaso and a double from Callaspo to tie the game at two. In the top of the third Cabreba hit his 8th homer of the year deep to left field and in the fourth Avila hit a double to drive in Jackson to give the Tigers a two run lead again and brought the score to 4-2.

In the bottom of the fourth, Josh Reddick scored on a balk from Scherzer and Jaso hit a two-run homer to give the A’s their first lead of the game 5-4.

Torri Hunter ruined the party in the top of the 7th as he hit a deep shot to center field that Coco Crisp wasn’t able to corral and tied the game at 5.

Detroit took the lead for good in the top of the eighth when after a walk to J.D. Martinez, former Athletic Rajai Davis came in to pinch run. Davis advanced to second after a passed ball from Abad and then later on in the same at bat, Abad wasn’t paying attention to Davis and Davis stole third that surprised everybody.After Castellanos walked, Austin Jackson hit a ground ball to Lowrie who got the ball to second for one out but Jackson beat out the throw at first and was able to bring Davis home to secure the 6-5 Detroit win.

Tigers closer Joe Nathan said, “I think he caught the whole stadium by surprise. I know I missed it.”

A’s coach Bob Melvin said “That was the difference. He timed it perfectly. As soon as Norris let go of the ball he took off. I haven’t seen the replay yet if he had a chance to get it and throw him out, but that’s a big chance he took and it paid off.”

The A’s send Scott Kazmir (5-2) to the mound on Wednesday night with his 3.99 ERA in 13 career starts against Detroit against the Tigers Anibal Sanchez (2-2).

Comeback Falls Short, A’s Lose To Blue Jays 3-2

Published on May 24, 2014May 24, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 23: Brett Lawrie #13 of the Toronto Blue Jays is thrown out at second base trying to strecth a single into a double in the fourth inning during MLB game action as Nick Punto #1 of the Oakland Athletics tags him out on May 23, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) — TORONTO, CANADA – MAY 23: Brett Lawrie #13 of the Toronto Blue Jays is thrown out at second base trying to strecth a single into a double in the fourth inning during MLB game action as Nick Punto #1 of the Oakland Athletics tags him out on May 23, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

TORONTO – After winning the 11 of the past 13 games, the Athletics rallied in the eighth but were unable to secure the victory and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2. Brandon Moss hit his 11th homer of the year in the fifth and Alberto Callaspo scored two in the eighth for the A’s total offense on the night. Scott Kazmir (5-2) earned his second loss of the year as he gave up five hits in seven innings including a two run home run to Steve Tolleson.

Toronto’s starting pitcher Liam Hendricks earned his first victory of the year and went 5 2/3 innings and only surrendered one run and three hits.

Jed Lowrie, who went 1 for 4 on the day had this to say about Hendricks,”He was able to move his fastball around and elevate it. It looked like he kept guys just a little bit off balance.”

Toronto took the lead in the second when Steve Tolleson took a 3-1 fastball deep to left field, his first of the year. The bottom of the third saw Toronto get their game winning run. After Kevin Pillar hit his second double of the year, Kazmir threw a ball to second base trying to pick off Pillar but no one was home and Pillar moved to third. Jose Reyes came up next and hit a ground ball to second base that scored Pillar and gave Toronto a 3-0 lead.

“I should have held on to it,” Kazmir said. “It ended up being the difference-maker in the game.”

Brandon Moss put the A’s on the board when he took a change up from Hendriks deep to right field and made it a 3-1 game. Callaspo gave the A’s a pair of runs in the top of the eighth but it was already too late and the A’s lost 3-2.

Saturday’s game isn’t any easier as Toronto sends R.A. Dickey (4-4) to the mound against Jesse Chavez (4-1).

A’s Shutout the Rays 3-0, Pomeranz Wins His Third Straight

Published on May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - MAY 20: Drew Pomeranz #13 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the second inning of a game on May 20, 2014 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) — ST. PETERSBURG, FL – MAY 20: Drew Pomeranz #13 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the second inning of a game on May 20, 2014 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

ST. PETERSBURG – Drew Pomeranz tossed five straight scoreless innings and three other A’s relievers shut out the Tampa Bay Ray’s 3-0. Pomeranz struck out three and only walked a pair of batters. His ERA for May dropped to 0.73 and his ERA on the year is an amazing 0.94.

On his starts Pomeranz said, “my three starts have been a great team effort. We scored a lot of runs and the bullpen shut them down.

A’s reliever Sean Doolittle, who earned the save tonight said, “He’s done an incredible job for us. The numbers speak for themselves, but he pitched out of a couple of jams today and seemed to be in control for the most part, mixing his pitches and changing speeds. He’s looking real comfortable and like he’s pitching with a lot of confidence.”

Speaking of confidence, head coach Bob Melvin alluded to the fact that with his third save of the year, Doolittle may have earned his spot as the closer for the team.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Doolittle.

The A’s scored all their runs in the second inning when after a Norris walk and a Sogard single, Coco Crisp hit his sixth double of the year ans scored both runners and made it 2-0. John Jaso then smacked a single to left field and scored Crisp to make it 3-0.

The A’s forced five Rays pitchers into the game and made it a long night for their pitching crew.

“That’s when we’re at our best. There will be games where we have 11, 12 guys left on base like we did today, and it will feel kind of frustrating, but then there’s other games we’ll get them in and score 10 runs. Either way, the way we work, the starter is significant in scoring the runs and winning the game,” said Melvin.

The Rays and A’s head back at it tomorrow night when Oakland sends Tommy Milone to the mound against Erik Bedard, 4:10pm PST.

Reddick’s 6 RBI Night Propels A’s Victory Over Cleveland 11-1

Published on May 17, 2014May 17, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 16: Jed Lowrie #8 Derek Norris #36 Yoenis Cespedes #52 and Josh Reddick #16 of the Oakland Athletics celebrate after all scored on a grand slam by Reddick during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 16, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) — CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 16: Jed Lowrie #8 Derek Norris #36 Yoenis Cespedes #52 and Josh Reddick #16 of the Oakland Athletics celebrate after all scored on a grand slam by Reddick during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 16, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

CLEVELAND – Josh Reddick blasted a grand slam in the second and a two run shot in the seventh to provide the A’s six of their eleven runs. Josh Donaldson hit his tenth homer of the year in the second when he drove in three runs to provide the other big contribution to the A’s offense tonight.

“I was getting some pitches to handle and not missing them,” said Reddick. “That’s how you keep a hot streak going, you don’t miss pitches.”

Bob Melvin said, “It’s nice to see him drive some balls. The first one obviously puts four runs on the board and opens it up in a hurry. The second one was one of the more aggressive swings I’ve seen him have in a while.”

On his three run shot, Donaldson said, “That’s probably one of the best swings I’ve had this year.”

Some how lost in the mix is Sonny Gray’s great performance as he went for six innings and only gave up two hits and the lone run of the game. He also tied a career high in strikeouts with nine.

Cleveland actually had the lead in the bottom of the first after a home run from former Oakland Athletic Nick Swicher went over the right field fences and gave the Indians a 1-0 lead. The A’s then went to work in the second. Brandon Moss started the inning with his seventh double of the year to right field and then he was moved to third on a Yoenis Cesepedes single to left field. Jed Lowrie then hit a sharp grounder to center field that scored Moss and moved Cesepedes to second. Derek Norris walked to load the bases and Reddick came up and blasted his first homer of the game and gave the A’s a 5-1 lead. After a Sogard ground out and a Crisp walk, Josh Reddick hit his team leading 10th homer of the year to left field and made it 8-1. Lowrie hit his third home run of the year in the top of the third and Reddick hit a two run shot in th top of the 7th to give the game a 11-1 final score.

Fun fact of the game is that the A’s hit for the “cycle” on homers – Lowrie hit his solo shot, Reddick’s homer in the 7th brought in two, Donaldson has a 3 run homer in the second and of course Reddick has his grand slam that brought in four runs.

Oakland and Cleveland head back at it tomorrow night as the A’s send up Scott Kazmir (5-1, 2.28 ERA) against Josh Tomlin (2-0, 2.13), game time 4:05pm PST.

Pomeraz and the A’s Hitting On All Cylinders Destroy White Sox 11-0

Published on May 13, 2014May 13, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

Oakland Athletics' Josh Reddick, right, is congratulated by Derek Norris (36) after Reddick hit a two -un home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher Scott Carroll in the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo) — Oakland Athletics’ Josh Reddick, right, is congratulated by Derek Norris (36) after Reddick hit a two -un home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher Scott Carroll in the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Drew Pomeraz (3-1) threw five scoreless innings and struck out a career high eight batters and gave the A’s (25-15) an 11-0 win over the Chicago White Sox (19-22) and extended the A’s win streak to six. The A’s offense was also impressive as they sprayed 17 hits over eight innings with Brandon Moss providing a big push as he hit two deep home runs tonight and drove in five runs. John Jaso had three hits on the night and Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes and Craig Gentry each had a pair of hits to round out the A’s hitting.

“The offense was terrific across the board,” said head coach Bob Melvin. “Moss is really hitting the ball well. Cespedes has a big hit. Norris had a big hit. Reddick and his music. A lot of good performers.”

Melvin is referring to how Josh Reddick changed his walk up music to 80’s Icons Wham’s hit single Careless Whisper.

“I thought it was great. And the fans got a little upset at his last at bat and they didn’t play it. They started booing a bit. You know our fans are always paying attention.”

“It takes everything in my body to hold back a smile. When it didn’t happen in the 8th and everyone booed it was pretty funny,” said Reddick. Apparently the song came on in the clubhouse a few days and it just stuck.

Pomeranz who has now pitched 10 scoreless innings in his last two starts is now a solid man in the rotation with Strailey now optioned to Sacramento.

“He was able to navigate through all right handed hitters (tonight). All guys with power. He strikes out the first three hitters of the game and set the tone,” said Melvin.

“That’s that mentality, I’m kind of just trying to go right after people. That’s what I was doing out of the bullpen and I had success doing that. I don’t see any reason to change that,” said Pomeranz on his execution tonight.

The A’s got the scoring started in the first when Brandon Moss hit his sixth double of the year to left field and scored Cespedes who was on base after a single of his own. The A’s made it a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a Gentry single to center field scored Reddick who was standing on second base. In the fifth and sixth inning the A’s scored seven runs on four doubles and two home runs. Reddick hit a two run homer to center field that bounced off the top part of the wall to give the A’s a 6-0 lead. Then in the bottom of the sixth Moss hit a deep home run to right field that brought the lead to 9-0.

In the bottom of the eighth, Moss added some more insurance runs as he hit another towering shot to right center field with a man on base and brought the score to its final of 11-0.

The White Sox send Andre Rienzo (3-0) to the mound tomorrow against Tommy Milone, game time 12:35pm.

Press conference audio:

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 09: John Jaso #5 of the Oakland Athletics is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals during the third inning at O.co Coliseum on May 9, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

A Masterpiece By Milone & Three Homers Propel A’s Over Nats 8-0

Published on May 9, 2014 by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment

By Kahlil Najar

Oakland – Tommy Milone (1-3) grabbed his first win of the year after he pitched eight scoreless innings and only giving up two hits. Milone also struck out seven different batters in the Nationals lineup. John Jaso, Brandon Moss and Yoenis Cespedes all hit homers tonight which contributed for five of the seven runs the A’s put up tonight.

On his performance tonight Milone said “I think just the energy level, I felt lifted. Just grab the ball, get on the mound and throw it.”

“He was awesome. That’s pretty much all I got,” said Moss. “We’ve definitely seen that all before from him.”

The A’s got on the board in the bottom of the first when Josh Donaldson was driven home on a shard ground ball single to right field from Brandon Moss. In the bottom of the third, Jaso hit his second homer of the year to center field and gave the A’s a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, the A’s added a pair of runs after Doug Fister threw a wild pitch and scored Cespedes who was waiting on third. The second run came on a single from Eric Sogard who scored Josh Reddick and made it a 4-0 lead.

The A’s continued their scoring in the bottom of the fifth when Moss hit a two run homer to center field and Cespedes followed up right behind him with his seventh dinger of the year. Derek Norris added one more run in the bottom of the seventh and gave the A’s the 8-0 victory. Fernando Rodriguez came in for relief of Milone and pitched on inning and only surrendered one hit.

The A’s had a whopping 12 hits while the Nationals had a game to forget as they had as many errors as they did hits tonight.

The A’s send Sonny Gray to the mound tomorrow against Tanner Roark, game time 6:05 pm PST.