A’s Notes: Cahill Torched, Crisp Goes Deep, & More!

The Athletics got their first taste of spring training, as they took out the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, 15-9. Starter Trevor Cahill, who represented the A’s in last year’s All-Star Game, recorded just one out in his first official spring appearance, and allowed four runs on five hits.

Cahill, however, did not seem too upset about the bad outing. It is, after all, very early in the year.

Oakland’s offense did some damage, as Coco Crisp belted a grand-slam, and the rest of the bats came alive on Sunday. Newcomer Josh Willingham also drove in a run for the A’s. Altogether, the A’s tallied 15 runs on 18 hits against the Cubs.

Josh Outman and Joey Devine both made it through their first official spring training game as well. Outman, who was part of Oakland’s rotation in 2009 before getting injured, threw two scoreless innings on Sunday. Outman is figured to be in the running for the vacant spot in Oakland’s highly talented rotation, but he’ll likely have to compete against the likes of Rich Harden, Brandon McCarthy, Tyson Ross, and Bobby Cramer.

Devine, meanwhile, picked up the win for Oakland, as he put in an inning of work on Sunday. Devine, who is also coming back from injury, is vying for a spot in the A’s upgraded bullpen.

With Spring Training in full-swing, the A’s will look to have a productive and hopefully healthy (fingers crossed) spring.