Oakland Athletics Rebound Against Rockies

After experiencing some “Royal Pains” over the weekend, Josh Reddick, Ike Davis and Billy Butler battled a [David] Hale storm, swarming seagulls, and a 10-game deficit as they attempted to string their way back to the .500 mark. Ultimately, they came out on top tonight. Having been held to just seven runs over a three game series against a solid Kansas City pitching staff, the Athletics’ 4-5-6 hitters took advantage of Hale and the Colorado Rockies. Finding their way back to the win column, the Oakland Athletics improved to 10-5 in their last 15 games.

Highlights

Concluding a two-out base knock from Stephen Vogt to left field, Reddick broke the ice by launching a first-pitch fastball into the right field bleachers that left Hale and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez stunned. However, this was only the beginning. Butler followed with a bloop-single to center, setting the stage for Davis, who patiently connected on a 2-2 hanging curveball off of Hale that gave the green and gold a 4-0 lead.

Oakland would tack on another run in the fourth courtesy of Butler and the long ball. After working a 3-1 count against Hale, Country Breakfast feasted on a curveball that hung out over the plate – resembling that of Davis’ in the first. However, this home run was a mammoth shot to straight-away center that almost left Mount Davis in shambles and the entire Coliseum rocking. With a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Athletics scored two more runs in the frame thanks to an RBI double from Butler and a triple from Brett Lawrie.

The Rockies’ offense, who leads the National League in batting average, slugging percentage, RBI and runs scored, couldn’t muster anything against the 24-year old rookie from Alexander City, Alabama. On the mound, Kendall Graveman froze Colorado at the plate. He successfully mixed his fastballs and sliders while recording his fifth quality start in five games of tossing seven exceptional frames or more. Despite surrendering five hits over seven innings, the ground ball was Graveman’s best friend, inducing key double plays in the fourth and fifth innings that kept Colorado in check. This game had everything – solid pitching, clean defense and clutch hitting. Once they got the ball rolling, Oakland never looked back. With a mindset such as this one, who is to say the A’s couldn’t climb back in the American League West?

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The Good

• Butler broke out the boomstick in the series opener against Colorado going 3-for-4 on the night and ultimately a triple shy of the cycle. In his last 17 games, Butler has struggled immensely in the box and recorded only 10 hits in his recent 56 plate appearances.

The Bad

• Evan Scribner has had his ups-and-downs on the mound this season and tonight was no different. With a 5-0 lead heading into the eighth inning, Scribner surrendered a solo blast to Charlie Blackmon, putting the Rockies on the board. In his last 15 appearances, Scribner has coughed up seven runs and 13 hits in 14 innings. With an inexperienced bullpen such as the Athletics, it might be easy to single out Scribner for his performance. However, when he’s called upon as much as he’s been over the course of the season, it would be ideal to receive some consistency.

The Notable

• Oakland sports a 10-5 record in their last 15 games and remains just nine wins away from getting back to the .500 mark. The A’s will take on Colorado, the Seattle Mariners, the New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Indians before the All-Star break; three of the four teams possess a losing record.

Colorado’s third baseman

was named National League Player of the Week. He is posting a .391 batting average with seven homers and 14 RBIs as well as a 1.348 slugging percentage. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Arenado has had three multi-homer games this past week on top of two four-RBI performances.

• Billy Burns’ 16-game hitting streak was snapped tonight, going 0-for-4.

Up Next

• Sonny Gray (9-3, 2.09 ERA) will look to take game two against Jorge De La Rosa (4-3, 5.15 ERA). The A’s have obviously secured their first winning month of the 2015 season (15-11) and push to add on one more as the calendar turns to July. The second game of the three-game set begins at 7:05 PM PT.

Next: Billy Beane's Year Of Miscalculated Trades And Acquisitions