A’s Bats Come to Life in 11-6 Win Over Friars

The top of the first inning started off rather ugly for Dan Straily as he made his first appearance of 2013.  Straily allowed 2 hits and walked 1 as former A’s Mark Kotsay and Travis Buck fueled a 2 run rally against the young righty.  But the A’s would storm back in the bottom of the frame, sparked by a Jemile Weeks leadoff home run.  Adam Rosales and Seth Smith followed with singles, and Yoenis Cespedes walked which set the table for Jed Lowrie, who drove in Rosales and Smith with a 2 run single.  John Jaso would add another run on a sacrifice fly.

The A’s offense continued as another former Athletics Fautino De Los Santos, he of the recent inclusion in the Biogenesis reports, as Jemile Weeks walked, was driven in by an Adam Rosales double, then the exclamation point was added by Seth Smith in the form of a 2 run home run to make it a 7-2 game.  The Padres would get two runs back in the 3rd, and the A’s would add another to their total on a Jemile Weeks sacrifice fly.

Mar 2, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Jemile Weeks (19) doubles during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Jemile Weeks, Adam Rosales, Seth Smith, Jed Lowrie, and David Freitas each had 2 hits as part of the A’s 14 hit attack this afternoon.  The offensive outburst was certainly nice to see after the generally luke warm start to the Cactus League.

Straily’s struggle wasn’t encouraging, but at this point in the season it shouldn’t be a big deal.  Bruce Billings gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in his 1.2 innings of work on 3 hits, and Justin Thomas allowed 2 runs on 2 hits in his 2 innings of work, but other than that the A’s bullpen was solid.  Pat Neshek and Chris Resop pitched very nice innings each, with just 1 hit allowed by Resop in his inning.  The surprise of the day came in the latter innings as Jesse Chavez of all people posted 2 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts to close things out for today.

The A’s improve to 2-3 so far in the Cactus League and will travel to their future home, Ho Ho Kam Park in Mesa to face the Chicago Cubs.  Presumed Opening Day starter Brett Anderson will make his 2013 debut in the game.  Chris Young was supposed to return to the lineup today but Manager Bob Melvin decided he could use an extra day of rest, we’ll see if he returns Thursday.  Bartolo Colon is also scheduled to make his debut so it will certainly be an interesting game to keep tabs on.