Oakland Athletics Take First Half of Series Against Padres
The Oakland Athletics secured a sweep of the San Diego portion of this week’s inter-league series, with a dramatic ninth-inning win against the Padres on Tuesday afternoon. Lefty Scott Kazmir went five innings, allowing three runs – two earned – on five hits and a walk. He also struck out six. Padres starter Andrew Cashner also went five innings, but he gave up five runs on three walks and five hits while striking out just three batters.
Highlights
Catcher Austin Hedges hit a one-out solo home run in the third inning to give the Padres an early lead. San Diego score again in the fourth inning, when Justin Upton and Will Middlebrooks singled to put runners on the corner for shortstop Clint Barmes. Barmes hit an RBI single to left field.
The fifth inning was when it all came crashing down on the Padres. Max Muncy doubled to center field and Sam Fuld walked, before Kazmir came to the plate with two down. The pitcher hit a sharp single to left field to score the A’s first run of the game. Billy Burns followed with an RBI triple to score two more runs and give Oakland a 3-2 lead. The Padres tied it up in the bottom of the inning, when Melvin Upton Jr. reached on a throwing error by Kazmir, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out, and then scored on a balk.
After Josh Reddick led off the sixth inning with single, Ben Zobrist took the lead back with a two-run home run to right field. The A’s again lost the lead, but this time they managed to hang on to it until the eighth inning, when a pair of singles by Upton and Yonder Alonso set up a run-scoring double play off of the bat of Justin Upton. Evan Scribner, who had entered the game before the double play, gave up a solo home run to Matt Kemp to tie the game at 5-5.
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The A’s battled back in the ninth, when Fuld and Burns walked. Fuld was thrown out at second during Burns at-bat, despite a replay challenge that seemed to show evidence that he was safe, but it did clear the bases for the speedy Burns. Eric Sogard smacked a single up the middle to center field to score the game-winning run.
The Good
Fernando Rodriguez pitched a perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts, and closer Tyler Clippard struck out the side to end the game. Offensively, Burns was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and two RBIs. It wasn’t a great game for the A’s, but they kept fighting no matter what the score was, which is especially heartening given their place in the standings.
The Bad
Billy Butler is batting just .249, and Fuld’s average has dropped to .204. At some point, these two players need to step it up at the plate. Fuld is a key part of the team due to his defense in the outfield and his speed. Butler is being paid a lot of money to perform much better than he has this season. The A’s can’t become competitive without their bats.
Take Note
– On Wednesday, the two teams will head north to continue their series in the Bay Area. Jesse Chavez will try for his third win of the year, with a 2-6 record and a 2.64 ERA. The Padres will send Odrisamer Despaigne to the plate, with a 4.38 ERA and a 3-4 record. Despaigne has just 33 strikeouts in 61.2 innings, while Chavez has 59 in 71.2 innings.
– Chavez has the eighth-best ERA in the American League, and is in the top 15 in all of baseball. That’s pretty impressive for a pitcher who was a reliever in the not-so-distant past.