AP file Photo: Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash throws during batting practice before an interleague baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
by Jerry Feitelberg
The Oakland A’s start a four-game series with the Tampa Bat Rays Friday night at Tropicana Field. The A’s record is 26-33 and the club is in last place in the American League West. The Rays, managed by Kevin Cash own a record of 30-31 and are playing the Chicago White Sox Thursday night. The Rays are in fourth place in the tough American League East.
Andrew Triggs will start for Oakland on Friday night. Triggs, who started the season 5-1, is now 5-5 with an ERA of 3.36. The Rays will counter with Alex Cobb. Cobb is 4-4 and his ERA is 4.52. Sonny Gray and Sean Manaea will pitch in Saturday’s doubleheader. The Rays have not announced their starters yet. However, they did say that the A’s will face Chris Archer on Sunday.
The Rays, like the A’s, strikeout a lot. The Rays strikeout rate is 26.2% which is the highest in the league. Their offense is led by the third baseman Evan Longoria. Logan Morrison is their first baseman and has 16 dingers and 37 RBIs to his credit. Michael Martinez at second and Tim Beckham at shortstop round out the infield. The outfielders are Colby Rasmus in left, Kirk Kiermaier in center field, and Steven Souza, Jr. in right. Souza has some power as he has 10 homers and 33 RBIs so far. Other starters in the Rays rotation include Jake Odorizzi, Erasmo Ramirez, and Jacob Faria. The closer for the Rays is Alex Colome. Other relievers include Tommy Hunter, Danny Farquhar, Chase Whitley, Jose Alvarado, Austin Pruitt, and Ryan Stanek. The catching chores are handled by Jesus Sucre and former Athletic Derek Norris. Norris, however, may not be available as he is being investigated for a domestic abuse incident.
After the A’s conclude the series with the Rays, they have an off-day on Monday. They travel across the state of Florida to play the Miami Marlins Tuesday and Wednesday in Miami before returning home to face the New York Yankees on Thursday, June 15th.
Oakland Athletics’ Trevor Plouffe hits a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, June 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
On the A’s Podcast with Jerry: The A’s really played well in this series against the Toronto Blue Jays with two wins to start the series and a third game that saw neither team budging after the A’s tied up the game at 4-4 in the last of the fifth inning. On Sunday they concluded a series with the Washington Nationals and making a valiant comeback in the bottom of the ninth with six runs scored the most runs scored by an A’s team since 1952.
Sonny Gray started that game on Friday and the A’s got him off the hook in the sixth inning and the Nats came in in first place in the NL East and their one of the best teams in the NL. The Nats had that lead in the Sunday’s game 11-4 but the A’s scored six runs in the ninth to cut Washington’s lead to one run and narrowly lost the game 11-10.
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Ryan Goins, from left, celebrates with first baseman Justin Smoak (14) and Josh Donaldson after a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, June 7, 2017. The Blue Jays won 7-5 in ten innings. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
by Jerry Feitelberg
OAKLAND– The Toronto Blue Jays hit four home runs Wednesday afternoon as they salvaged a win by beating the A’s 7-5 in ten innings. The A’s starter, Jharel Cotton, did not have a bad afternoon. He did, however, have one bad inning. The Jays scored four times in the second inning to take a 4-1 lead.Cotton settled down and did not allow a hit over the next four innings. The A’s came to his rescue as the were able to score single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to tie the game. Toronto’s starter, Francisco Liriano left after the fifth inning.
Neither pitcher figured in the decision. Both bullpens were also very effective. John Axford and Liam Hendriks did not allow a hit in three innings of work. The Toronto bullpen did not allow the A’s a hit after the fifth. Then came the fateful tenth inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Frankie Montas to pitch. Montas had a terrible outing Sunday against the Washington Nationals and was hoping to redeem himself with a good outing.
That did not happen. Things went south immediately when he hit Kevin Pillar with a pitch to put the leadoff man on first with no out. The next hitter, former A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson, took Montas deep to give Toronto a 6-4 lead. Montas gave up another homer to Justin Smoak. It was Smoak’s second home run of the game, and the Jays led 7-4. Montas was finished, and he may be heading for Triple-A as he has not been doing the job. The A’s tallied a run in the bottom of the tenth, Rajai Davis doubled with two out and scored on a Matt Joyce single to make it 7-5. Toronto closer Roberto Osuna struck out Jed Lowrie to end the gameThe A’s took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Rajai Davis doubled over Kevin Pillar’s head in center field. With two out, Khris Davis, serving as the designated hitter, doubled to left to drive in Rajai.
The A’s took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Rajai Davis doubled over Kevin Pillar’s head in center field. With two out, Khris Davis, serving as the designated hitter, doubled to left to drive in Rajai.
The lead didn’t last long as the Blue Jays plated four runs in the second inning. Justin Smoak smoked (pun intended0 his sixteenth homer of the run to tie the game. Former Athletic Chris Coghlan reached as did Ryan Goins to put two men on. Kevin Pillar blasted his eighth of the year to give Toronto a 4-1 lead. The A’s tallied a run in the bottom of the third. Rajai Davis singled to lead off the inning. He went to second on an error by Troy Tulowitzki. Jed Lowrie hit into a fielder’s choice and Davis advanced to third. Davis scored when Khris Davis also hit into a fielder’s choice. The A’s trail 4-2 after three complete.
In the bottom of the fourth, Trevor Plouffe, mired in a 0-for-25 slump, blasted a solo home run about six rows deep in the left-field bleachers. The A’s tied the game in the fifth. Rajai Davis led off the inning with a triple to left. the Jays’ left-fielder, Chris Coghlan had trouble finding the ball and it looked for a moment that Rajai was going to try for n inside-the-park home run. He was running full at full speed but A’s third base coach wisely held him up at third. It was Rajai’s third hit of the game. So far, he has a single, double, and triple. He needs a home run to complete the cycle. The score is 4-4 after five innings of play.
There was no more scoring until the tenth innings. The Jays outscored the A’s 3-1 in the inning to win the game.
Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s fall to 25-33 and after the game they are flying to Tampa to face the Rays for a four-game series starting Friday night. Saturday will feature a rare double-header and then the A’s finish on Sunday before heading to Miami for two more games with the Marlins.
Rajai Davis had his first four-hit game of the year. Davis had two doubles, a single, and a triple. He scored three times. Trevor Plouffe snapped a 0-for-25 slump with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Montas took the loss and is now 1-1.
Toronto slammed four homers in the game. Two were off Cotton, and two were off Montas. Justin Smoak, who is having a career-year, had to dingers and has seventeen so far this season.
Andrew Triggs pitched for Oakland Friday night, and he will be opposed by the Rays’ Alex Cobb. Sonny Gray and Sean Manaea will pitch Saturday. The Rays have not announced who will start for them.
Time of game was three hours and twenty minutes and a crowd of 15,076 watched the A’s fail to sweep the Jays.
Oakland Athletics pitcher Jesse Hahn works against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
by Jerry Feitelberg
OAKLAND- Jesse Hahn, making his first start since coming off the 10-day DL, was in top-notch form as he held the hard-hitting Blue Jays in check and the A’s went on to win 4-1. Hahn had it all going for him Wednesday night. He had his sinker working and had command of his fastball as he reached 95 miles per hour on the speed gun. Hahn went six innings and allowed just 7 hits, and the run the Jays scored was unearned.
The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Rajai Davis led off with a double. Jed Lowrie singled to advance Rajai to third. Khris Davis hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Rajai. The Jays tied the game in the top of the fourth, Joey Bautista aka Joey Bats reached on a Ryon Healy throwing error. Bautista made it to third on a very hard single off the bat of Kendrys Morales. Justin Smoak hit into what appeared to be a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Smoak was called out at first but the Jays challenged the call, and it was overturned. Bautista scored on the play. The Jays loaded the bases, but Hahn got Ryan Goins to hit into a double play to end the threat.
The A’s regained the lead in the fifth. Stephen Vogt worked Marco Estrada for a walk. Estrada had retired the previous 12 A’s hitters in a row. Mark Canha doubled to left and went Carrera bobbled the ball, A’s third base coach, Chip Hale, sent Vogt home. Carrera hit the cutoff man, Troy Tulowitzki, and Tulo made a strong throw home to nail Vogt. Canha ended up on third and scored on a single by Adam Rosales. The A’s plated two more in the sixth. With one out, Jed Lowrie singled. Khris Davis hit a blast that went over Toronto’s center fielder Kevin Pillar for a double. Lowrie scored on the play. Ryon Healy hit a line shot to left that got by Ezequiel Carrera who lost the ball in the lights. Estrada’s night was over, and he left the game trailing 4-1.
The A’s bullpen allowed just one hit the rest of the way. Lefty Daniel Coulombe got the first two out in the seventh. Ryan Madson got the third out and then pitched a flawless eighth inning. A’s closer Santiago Casilla allowed a single to Troy Tulowitzki to start the ninth but retired Chris Coghlan on a grounder to Yonder Alonso at first and then struck out Goins and Maile to end the game to earn his tenth save of the year.
Game notes and stats- The A’s are now 26-32 for the season, and the Jays drop to 28-31. Jays pitcher Marco Estrada went 5 and 2/3rd innings and allowed four runs and 7 hits and saw his record drop to 4-4. The A’s Jesse Hahn improved to 2-4. A’s manager Bob Melvin had this to say about Hahn’s effort:” he gave us six innings. For a guy coming back from the DL and no rehab, he did very well.” Melvin remarked when he saw that Hahn was getting “balls on the ground, (he knew that Hahn) got the good sink.” Melvin also said he was pleased with the clutch hitting of his players:”(they) got some big hits when we needed to.”
The A’s conclude the three-game series with they Jays Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time will be at 12:35 pm Jharel Cotton will go for Oakland while lefty Francisco Liriano handles the pitching chores for Toronto.
Time of game was two hours and forty-five minutes and 16,643 fans watched the A’s down the Jays.
Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt, right, tags out Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryan Goins at home plate in the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:
1) Why is .500 a magic number for the A’s
2) Is the A’s MASH unit about to get another patient?
3) What’s up with Ryon Healy?
4) The A’s got off to the right start vs the Blue Jays did they?
5) Was that series with the Nats nuts or what?
6) What’s coming up on the schedule for the green & gold?
Oakland- The A’s won the first game of the three-game series with the Blue JaysMonday night by a score of 5-3. The A’s Sean Manaea continued to pitch well. Manaea won his fourth consecutive game, and he went six innings and allowed just four hits and two runs. The offense was supplied by Ryon Healy. Healy drove in all five runs on the strength of a three-run homer in the second and a two-run blast in the fourth. The A’s bullpen did the job although Toronto did score a run in the eighThe visiting Toronto Blue Jays plated a run in the very first inning. Sean Manaea walked leadoff hitter Kevin Pillar. The next hitter, former A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson, rifled the first pitch from Manaea into the left field for a double. Pillar, who has a lot of speed, was able to score all the way from first. Toronto leads 1-0 with the A’s coming up to hit in the bottom of the first.
The A’s took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Khris Davis walked to start the rally going. Yonder Alonso followed with a sharp single to right to put men on at first and second with no out. The designated hitter Ryon Healy hit a 0-1 pitch deep into the left-center field bleachers for his 12th dinger of the year. Oakland leads 3-1 after two complete.
In the bottom of the fourth, Ryon Healy did it again. With a man on first, Healy sent J.A. Happ’s 2-2 pitch into the exact same spot as his first homer. For Healy, it was his second multi-homer game of his career. His first came against Washington this past weekend. The five RBIs in a game is a career-high for Healy. The A’s lead 5-1.
The Blue Jays scored their second run of the game in the fifth. A walk to Carrera was followed by a Kevin Pillar double that allowed Carrera to score from first. Manaea retired the side with no further damage.
The Jays cut the deficit to two in the top of the eighth. With two out, Jays’ first baseman Justin Smoak took Liam Hendriks deep to make it a 5-3 game. Hendriks closed out the inning with no further damage.
Santiago Casilla closed out the ninth for Oakland to preserve the win for Oakland. The A’s win 5-3.
Game Notes- Sean Manaea improved his record to 5-3 and Toronto starter J.A. Happ dropped to 0-4. Happ had never lost to the A’s in seven previous starts and never allowed more than 3 earned runs in any including five quality starts. Santiago Casilla recorded his ninth save of the year. The A’s did not commit an error and Trevor Plouffe made three outstanding fielding plays at third base.
The A’s are now 25-32 for the year, and Toronto drops to 28-30. Game Two of the series will be Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Jesse Hahn returns from the 10-day DL to pitch for Oakland. Marco Estrada will go for Toronto. Game time is at 7:05 pm
Time of game was three hours and five minutes and 12,890 fans were on hand to see the A’s win.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after scoring next to Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James during the second half of Game 2 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, June 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
On That’s Amaury’s Podcast:
OAKLAND–Last time we recorded our podcast I said that Golden State would take these finals in five games but after watching the first two blow outs of this series of scores of 113-91 and 132-113 I have second thoughts and that starts with the performance of Kevin Durant the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to figure out how to win at least one game from the Warriors.
The way the Cavaliers have looked thus far they look little tired, I can see a sweep very easy. For the Cavs LeBron makes everybody better and is still the best but I heard on the NBA Network on Sunday night that Kevin Durant is a better player than LeBron. That kind of thinking is controversial because LeBron is number one in playoff history he passed Michael Jordan and he’s a great player and he’s gone to the championship six years in row.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for the Angels, the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Sonny Gray did not earn his third win of the year on Sunday versus the Nationals Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports
“That’s American League baseball. A lead is never safe because they’re used to coming back and having big innings because the offensive clubs hit the ball out of the ballpark. We didn’t walk guys to get to that situation, they hit us,” opined Nationals manager Dusty Baker after the game.
I have the greatest of respect for Dusty Baker who I have covered as a manager since he was the skipper of the San Francisco Giants, but I have to disagree with him on his analysis of the game in Oakland on Sunday.
What the Nationals saw as they escaped with an 11-10 win in the third and final game of this interleague series match up was not American League baseball, it was Oakland Athletics’ baseball at home on Rickey Henderson Field. This 2017 A’s team loves to play at home in Oakland. At home they are tenacious, fierce and tough to beat which is why they are 16-12 in Oakland (on the road they are a different team, 8-20).
The second thing that Dusty Baker saw was a Nationals team that is now 35-20 on the season that had an 11-4 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning against the last place team in the American League West lose its focus as they were looking ahead to a series with the Dodgers that begins in L.A. on Monday. Not to take anything away from the A’s, but that comeback should have never happened.
This was really a tale of two different games:
The Pitching Duel
Both starting pitchers were strong in this game. Which may surprise you when you look at the score.
Sonny Gray worked seven strong innings. He finished giving up three runs (all earned) on four hits. He walked three while striking out six National hitters. Gray threw 103 pitches (63 strikes). Sonny Gray wound up with a no-decision despite the fact that he pitched well enough to get a win.
Tanner Roark recorded his sixth win of the year against the A’s on Sunday Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports
Washington starter Tanner Roark looked like he might wind up with a “CG” (complete game) with the way he was pitching. Roark was strong through seven innings but ran into trouble in the eighth. He finished going 7.2 innings giving up 4 runs (all earned) on five hits. He walked just one and struck out four A’s. Roark also pitched well enough to win but his bullpen really let him down, but he still wound up with his sixth win of the season.
Sonny Gray left the game with score tied 3-3 after seven complete innings.
Tanner Roark exited the game with two out in the bottom of the eighth with a 6-4 lead.
The relief pitching was a little scary
The A’s brought in Ryan Madson for the top of the eighth inning. Madson gave up three runs on just two hits including a three-run home run to Ryan Zimmerman (16). After the Zimmerman round-tripper, Madson induced Daniel Murphy to ground out. He was then replaced by Frankie Montas who caused Anthony Rendon to pop out to end the inning. Madson would take the loss in the game.
The 100+ mph throwing Montas came back for the ninth inning and got shelled by the Nats. Montas gave up five runs (all earned) on five hits including back-to-back home runs to Matt Wieters and Michael Taylor. Josh Smith had to be brought in to close out the ninth for Montas.
Shawn Kelley picked up his fourth save of 2017 on Sunday in the win over the A’s Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports
Koda Glover who was able to get Tanner Roark out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth inning returned in the bottom of the ninth. Glover gave up five runs (all earned) on four hits. Shawn Kelley was brought to replace Glover and he gave up a grand slam home run to Matt Joyce while also earning his fourth save of the season.
Yes, it was a weird game.
Stars on offense
Both teams had stars on offense. The A’s scored 10 runs on 10 hits while leaving two runners on base. The Nationals scored 11 runs on 11 hits leaving four runners on base. There were a total of five home runs hit in the game. There were also three doubles and one triple hit in the contest.
The Nationals were led on offense by designated hitter Ryan Zimmerman who went 3-for-5 on Sunday with three RBI and scoring two runs to go with his 16th home run of the season.
Washington shortstop Trea Turner had a 2-for-4 day with two runs scored and two RBI. Turner hit his third triple of the year off Sonny Gray.
Nationals catcher Matt Wieters hit a home run on Sunday Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports
Catcher Matt Wieters went 2-for-3 scoring two runs and posting two RBI. Wieters hit his fifth homer of the year off Montas in the ninth inning.
The Nats number nine hitter – Michael Taylor – had a day every number nine batter would like to have any day. Taylor recorded a 2-for-4 day with two runs scored and one RBI. Taylor also hit his sixth home run of the season off Montas in the ninth inning of the game.
Khris Davis hit his 17th home run of the season on Sunday Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports
The Athletics Khris Davis had a day he would have liked to have had on Saturday – his bobblehead day. Davis went 3-for-4 scoring three runs with two RBI that included his 17th home run of the year and his sixth double.
Outfielder Matt Joyce posted four RBI and scored two runs while going 2-for-4 against the Nationals on Sunday. Joyce hit his seventh home run of the season in the A’s six-run ninth inning.
Up next
The A’s have three more games at home this week with the Toronto Blue Jays. The series begins on Monday night. The Blue Jays will send J.A. Happ to the hill in the first game of the series. He is 0-3 on the year with 4.50 ERA. The A’s will counter with lefty Sean Manaea who is 4-3 with a 3.91 ERA. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Mired in a funk, stuck in last place, and headed nowhere fast, the A’s came out swinging on Saturday.
And this time, all that swinging had the desired effect on the outcome of the game, as the A’s rolled to a 10-4 win over the Nationals that ended a rough week of six losses in seven games.
With one-third of the season in the books, the A’s have firmly established themselves among the AL’s best home run hitting clubs with 82 homers in 55 games. But hitting home runs has not translated into winning games: after Saturday’s victory, the A’s are just 23-21 when they hit at least one home run.
In fact, not hitting home runs is a truer indicator for these A’s: only once in 55 games have they won without a home run. Oakland’s 1-10 when hitting no home runs.
When you don’t catch the ball, pitch consistently, or hit for average, yeah, even the game’s most powerful act can get obscured. That just wasn’t the case on Saturday: Ryon Healy and Jed Lowrie homered in the first inning off former Athletic Tyson Ross’ younger brother, Joe Ross, and the A’s cruised past the NL East leaders.
Healy would go on to homer a second time in the seventh, and smash a pair of doubles, all part of the best all-around day of his career. Afterwards, manager Bob Melvin said the performance shows why he so bullish on his young infielder: Healy’s passionate, plenty emotional, but resilient and a authentic student of the game.
“It’s been a little bit of a tough time for him, especially defensively,” Melvin said. “But then (Healy) ends up making a great tag on what ends up being a big out at third on the replay. He’s a tough-minded kid, got a lot of ability, but still kind of new at the big league level, still developing, but boy, he can really hit.”
Healy’s feat of four extra bases in one game hadn’t been accomplished by an Oakland player since July 2009 by Matt Holliday. And he was on everything: he took advantage of hitters’ counts on three of his hits, but he also rapped reliever Jacob Turner’s 0-2, 96 mph fastball for a double in the fifth. In the seventh, with Turner laboring through a fourth inning of relief, Healy sent his batting practice fastball careening off the center field camera platform.
“You can’t miss good pitches to hit,” Healy said.
In the seventh, Daniel Murphy doubled off Daniel Coulombe, and was initially ruled safe at third, ahead of a bang-bang tag by Healy. But the review revealed the opposite, and Murphy was ruled out, short circuiting a Nats’ rally, with them trailing by three runs at that point.
The A’s registered a season-high ten runs, one day after losing by ten to red-hot Washington. Starter Daniel Mengden benefited by Bryce Harper’s final game of suspension, and a day off for hard-hitting Anthony Rendon, which weakened the lineup of baseball’s highest-scoring team. Still, Mengden ran into trouble in the fifth, when he was lifted with a pair of runners aboard, and Adam Lind–who had connected for a three-run homer earlier–coming up.
With reliever Liam Hendricks on the mound, Lind walked to load the bases, but Michael Taylor struck out to end the inning. Hendricks pitched the sixth as well, and picked up the win.
On Sunday, the A’s have Sonny Gray on the mound in a matchup with the Nats’ Tanner Roark at 1:05pm.
Oakland Athletics’ Jed Lowrie celebrates after hitting a two run home run off Washington Nationals’ Joe Ross in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 3, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
On the MLB The Show Podcast with Matt:
The Washington Nationals Bryce Harper said today that he would be interested in taking his talents to the Windy City. Harper who is serving a three game suspension for fighting after getting beaned in the hip last Monday from San Francisco Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland. Harper said he would be interested in going to Chicago. The problem is the Cubs have a crowed outfield already. Harper has one more year on his $21.64 contract for 2018 and is looking for a $400 million contract when if he could sign with the Cubs. Besides the Cubs love the idea of a Harper and Kris Bryant line up but cost and a crowded outfield could hold the deal up. The Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets have also expressed interest in Harper.
The Oakland A’s who were struck down for two straight Thursday 8-0 to Cleveland and back in Oakland to Washington in a 13-3 laugher Friday night. The A’s lost Friday to the Nats even with Washington star Bryce Harper out of the line up. The Nats touched up A’s starter Andrew Triggs for nine hits, six earned runs, and three strikeouts. The Athletics just simply couldn’t figure out Nats starter Stephen Strasburg who went seven and gave up two runs and four hits.
Saturday it was a different story former Oakland O’Dowd High School student Joe Ross who started Saturday’s contest against the A’s for the Nats. It was not the kind of introduction he was expecting in his second start for Washington. In the bottom of the first inning he was tattooed for two two run homers the first was from Jed Lowrie who hammered one to right with Chad Pinder on base with a full count to put the A’s on top 2-0 and then came up Ryon Healy who went deep center for a two run blast scoring Yonder Alfonso in front of him putting the A’s up 4-0.
The A’s who wound up winning the contest Saturday 10-4 thanks to some key hitting and a great start of the game also got some pitching from starter Daniel Mengden who improved his ERA to 10.13 he pitched 4.2 innings, six hits, four runs. He didn’t get the decision but A’s get the win.
