First Impressions in Cactus League, A’s Drop Game 1 to Brewers 2-1

It started off well, Jemile Weeks led off the game with a double, and Hiro Nakajima and Seth Smith drew walks in the top of the first inning against Milwaukee Brewers starter Mike Fiers.  But they let him off the hook and failed to score.  Jesse Chavez, making the first start of 2013 for the Athletics surrendered a long opposite field home run to Ryan Braun in the bottom of the inning.  Chavez would settle in for a scoreless second inning, allowing just that one hit and walking two.  Considering how his 2012 went, this line was pretty good for him.

September 20, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Jemile Weeks (19) in the dugout during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The A’s wouldn’t get another baserunner until Brandon Moss led off the 4th with a single.  The Brewers would add another run on an RBI groundout off the bat of Jean Segura in the bottom of the 4th.  The A’s would score their only run on an RBI single by Michael Choice to drive in Shane Peterson in the top of the 7th.  It was a rather uneventful beginning to the 2013 Cactus League schedule, but buried inside all the outs made by the A’s and Brewers hitters (Only 8 hits between the two teams) were some definite positives.

First off, the pitching staff the A’s laid out today was far from major league caliber, so the fact that they held down a potent offense like the Brewers, even in it’s Spring Training form is a good thing.  Justin Thomas struggled with his control, walking 4 in his 1.1 innings and surrendering the decisive run.  Newly acquired Fernando Rodriguez announced his presence with authority with a very wild pitch that set up the Segura RBI groundout.

From that point on, the A’s pitchers only allowed 1 hit and 1 walk by the trio of Bruce Billings, Mike Ekstrom, and Arnold Leon.  Overall a very nice day for the A’s pitchers as a whole.  The hitters on the other hand weren’t so fortunate.

Conventional wisdom is that normally the pitchers are ahead of the hitters at this point in the Spring, and it showed today.  Weeks, Moss, Peterson, Choice, and Scott Sizemore accounted for the A’s 5 hits.

The Athletics travel to Tempe Sunday to get their first look at the once again heavily fortified Los Angeles Angels.  Travis Blackley will take the mound to start things off, and other regulars will see their first action as well.  Coco Crisp, Yoenis Cespedes, Jed Lowrie, Derek Norris, Adam Rosales, and Daric Barton will make their first starts.  Seth Smith and Scott Sizemore will be the lone holdovers from the first starting lineup.  Game time is at 12:05, but the game can be seen on tape delay at 1PM on the MLB Network.