Oakland Athletics Win: News, Notes, Reactions
The Oakland Athletics opened up 2015 doing something they struggled with in 2014, and something they haven’t done since 2004. With clutch hitting and dominant pitching they shut down the visiting Texas Rangers early, eventually winning 8-0, their first Opening Day victory since 2004.
Oakland ace Sonny Gray took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, but lost that bid when Rangers rookie left fielder Ryan Rua lined a single. In the first inning Oakland centerfielder Sam Fuld smacked a triple off the left-centerfield wall setting up Ben Zobrist for his first at-bat as an Athletic. In great dramatic fashion Zobrist hit a deep home run, opening up a 2-0 lead, and proved to be the eventual winning runs.
Chipping in throughout the game the A’s added a pair of runs in the fourth inning and a single run in the eighth. Sandwiched between those two innings was a three run home run from catcher Stephen Vogt.
Evan Scribner closed out the win with a clean, two-strikeout inning.
Apr 6, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) smiles in the dugout against the Texas Rangers during the seventh inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
News, Notes Reactions:
- Zobrist joins Frank Thomas and Josh Willingham as recent Athletics to hit a home run in their first at-bat as an A.
- Zobrist added a double in his second at-bat, but also committed an error in left field. Ideally Zobrist will not need to play in the outfield much. Although he is a quality defender overall, he is better suited for middle infield.
- Every Athletic had a hit, except for Ike Davis and Craig Gentry. Davis, however, added two walks.
- Davis played exceptional defense. He showed soft hands when he scooped a couple short-hop throws to first and added a diving stop late in the game. When Rua singled in the eighth Davis caught a line drive from the next batter and quickly doubled-off Rua.
- Gray looked very sharp in his no-hit bid. Pitch location was a struggle for him in 2014, but last night he had great fastball command which set up his curveball and other off-speed offerings. His command will be one of the keys to the team’s success this season.
- Despite striking out five times and walking just once off of Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo, the Athletics worked several 3-ball counts and drove his pitch count to 89 in the fifth inning. He didn’t get one out in the fifth before being chased from the game.
- Despite much of team’s power being traded this past winter the Athletics still showed great pop. Collectively the group hit six extra base hits. This team posted the second best OPS in baseball in spring training at .804.
- The Athletics are looking to add a veteran outfielder, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The recently designated-for-assignment Carlos Quentin or recently released Cody Ross may make sense.