A’s Stop Losing Streak, Back In Win Column

Bob Melvin’s second game as A’s manager was better than his first, as the A’s beat the Chicago White Sox on Friday night, 7-5. With the win, the A’s snapped a 10-game losing streak, and new skipper Melvin recorded his first win as Oakland’s manager.

A ninth-inning comeback sparked the A’s win on Friday, as Oakland scored four runs in the top of ninth against White Sox reliever Sergio Santos. Offensively, the Athletics did quite well on Friday. Hideki Matsui, who has had a lot of trouble this season finding his groove, went 2-for-4 with an RBI-single, raising his average to .222 on the season. Cliff Pennington, who hit in the No.2 spot, drove in a run, as did three other Athletics including Josh Willingham, Connor Jackson, and Scott Sizemore.

Altogether, the A’s offense generated seven runs on 13 hits. A good offensively showing is exactly what Oakland needed on Friday night to stop the season-long losing streak.

On the flip side of things, the A’s recorded yet another error. Defensively, the A’s have had trouble fielding the ball this season. After Friday’s contest, the A’s 46 errors (.981 FPCT) is 5th most in baseball this season.

Recently called-up Graham Godfrey went 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on 9 hits. He struck out two and also walked a pair. Oakland’s rotation has taken quite a beating this year, but the team’s deep bullpen helped keep the team in the game long enough to capture a win on Friday.

Grant Balfour received the win on Friday, after tossing an inning of work, while Andrew Bailey recorded his first save of the season. Oakland’s bullpen will need to continue to step up on a daily basis now that Oakland’s starting rotation is still trying to recover from the loses of Dallas Braden, Tyson Ross, Brandon McCarthy, and Brett Anderson.

The A’s still have a long way to go if they wish to catch up with the Rangers in the AL West, but Friday’s team effort was a step in the right direction.