Chavez Goes Deep In A’s Wild Win

Finally. We all knew Eric Chavez was bound to hit a homer this season, we just didn’t know when he would. Well, in the A’s win over the Texas Rangers, Chavez went 2-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs. In his first at-bat, Chavez struck out, but redeemed himself with a homer in his second at-bat against Texas starter Colby Lewis. It was a nice to see Chavez swing the bat well for once, and by the look of the A’s dugout after Chavy’s homer, the A’s were excited to see Chavez go deep for the first time since 2008.

Daric Barton also went deep in the top of the 11th inning, and the rest of the A’s offense played exceptionally well. The A’s victory tonight, moves the team in a tie for first-place with the Rangers. The wild game taxed the A’s bullpen as they brought in relief after just 5.2 innings. Trevor Cahill, Oakland’s starter, walked two and struck out one in his 3rd start of the season. Jerry Blevins, Brad Ziegler, Craig Breslow, Andrew Bailey, Michael Wuertz and Tyson Ross all made appearances in the game. Ross also made a trip to the plate, which is the first time an A’s pitcher hit in a non-Inter-League game since 1995. Chavez was removed in the ninth after reaching base on an error and was replaced by pinch-runner Gabe Gross.

Tyson Ross ended up with the victory, however. The A’s improved to 18-15, and will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow in game two of the series.

Side Notes: Bob Geren left Brad Ziegler in the game once again for too long. Ziegler gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth. Luckily for Oakland, however, the team was able to battle back in the ninth inning. Geren’s managerial style is questionable, and I have got to know how big of a leash Geren has in Oakland. The game featured three blown saves. Feliz blew a save, Bailey blew a save and Tyson Ross blew a save on Tuesday night.

The A’s will continue their series against the Rangers tomorrow in Texas. Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 3.53 ERA) will face off against Derek Holland.

Eric Chavez, who has been the subject of criticism from many A’s fans, certainly showed glimpses of his former-self in tonights game. With his 2-for-4 performance, he raised his average to .250. So far this season, Chavez has driven in 9 runs and has one homer.

Kurt Suzuki and Mark Ellis should be back within the next few weeks. Suzuki played earlier today in a minor-league rehab assignment. OF Coco Crisp is also on his way back from an injury.

Game one of the Rangers series was definitely a wild game for the A’s. The rest of the series should be excited.