Chris Young points to his family after his game winning 3-run homer in the top of the 9th. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

The story of this game was very much the same as the previous games in Arlington, many opportunities to score  runs, many opportunities missed.  The Athletics had Erik Bedard on the ropes in the top of the 1st inning, loading the bases with nobody out, but they would only be able to deliver two runs.  Bedard would allow just those two runs in his 5 innings of work.

Meanwhile, Tommy Milone would cruise through the first four innings of the game, allowing a hit here and there, but suffering no damage.  The 5th inning would be an entirely different story.  After getting the first two outs without incident, the Astros got on the board when Matt Dominguez homered to left to make it a 2-1 game.  Ronny Cedeno hit a well placed pop up that neither Eric Sogard or Chris Young were able to get to, and the inning began to snowball from there.  An infield single and an RBI single by Jose Altuve would tie the game at 2.  The big blow came off the bat J.D. Martinez in the form of a 3-run home run to put some distance between the Astros and the A’s at 5-2.  Other than that inning Milone was very good tonight, and a couple of well placed balls go the other way and this inning never happens.  Milone would last 7 innings, and his line of 8 hits, 5 ER, 0 walks, and 6 strikeouts doesn’t do justice to how well he really did pitch overall.  He would get a no decision.

The A’s would inch closer when Seth Smith deposited a home run into the left field bleachers to the opposite field to make it a 5-3 game.  Pat Neshek would give the A’s a scoreless 8th inning and get the win tonight.  The real activity would come in the 9th inning.

John Jaso pinch hit for Adam Rosales to lead off the 9th inning, and he would draw a walk against Veras, Coco Crisp followed suit with a walk of his own, bringing up Chris Young with 2 runners on.  Young’s home run was a surprise within the game, but it really should not have been considering Young’s past at Minute Maid Park.  Young is hitting .418 for his career with 7 home runs and 27 RBI in 19 games there.  Each time he plays there are somewhere around 50 friends and family members in the stands to cheer him on, and they could be heard.  Without a doubt he loves playing for them.

With the pinch hitting of Jaso for Rosales in the top of the inning, the A’s were forced to do some rather unorthodox shuffling defensively in the bottom half.  Jaso had to play first base, Brandon Moss moved to third, and Josh Donaldson shifted over to shortstop.  For Moss and Donaldson, it was their first career appearances at those positions.  The A’s are pushing the limits of the term versatility to say the least.

This marks the fourth straight series in which the A’s have won the first game, and they have won the previous two after taking game 1.  The A’s will send out A.J. Griffin (4-3, 3.59 ERA) against Lucas Harrell (3-5, 4.63 ERA).  Griffin has been strong this year overall, and this will be his first ever start in Houston.

This group of players is often overlooked, but they are essential to any team’s success.  They spend most of their time finding ways to past the time during the games, but when they’re called upon they have to snap into game form in a matter of minutes and enter in some very dicey situations.  They’re expected to bail out starters, and walk the tightrope constantly, and if they’re good at it the team will have great success holding onto leads.  The bullpen for the Athletics really came together in 2012 and became a strength down the stretch.  A mix of firepower and deception, with an adrenaline pumping emotion undercurrent made the Athletics bullpen a force to be reckoned with.

August 2, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics bullpen dance to “call me maybe” during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The likes of Grant Balfour and Ryan Cook, along with Sean Doolittle get the bulk of the spotlight for the manner in which they dominate hitters in the late innings, but the middle relievers led by Jerry Blevins, Pat Neshek, Jordan Norberto, Evan Scribner, Travis Blackley, Pedro Figueroa and new addition Chris Resop will bridge the gap between the starters and the late inning guys.  So the question is whether or not they will continue to be a strength in 2013.

ZiPs Projections

Grant Balfour: 61 games, 57.1 innings, 3.14 ERA, 57 K, 3.23 FIP

Ryan Cook: 67 games, 68.1 innings, 3.42 ERA, 66 K, 3.52 FIP

Sean Doolittle: 61 games, 71.1 innings, 3.15 ERA, 83 K, 3.04 FIP

Jerry Blevins: 59 games, 57 innings, 3.79 ERA, 51 K, 3.83 FIP

Pat Neshek: 57 games, 56.2 innings, 3.49 ERA, 48 K, 3.32 FIP

Jordan Norberto: 48 games, 55.1 innings, 3.90 ERA, 53 K, 3.98 FIP

Evan Scribner: 52 games, 59 innings, 4.27 ERA, 50 K, 4.16 FIP

Travis Blackley: 26 games (13 starts), 88 innings, 4.40 ERA, 61 K, 4.30 FIP

Chris Resop: 55 games, 58.2 innings, 4.30 ERA, 49 K, 3.83 FIP

Pedro Figueroa: 52 games, 4.82 ERA, 61.2 innings, 40 K, 5.10 FIP

There are many other relievers who may find themselves riding the pine down the left field line in 2013, like Mike Ekstrom, Jesse Chavez, Andrew Werner, and perhaps even a youngster like Arnold Leon.  Time will tell as the guys in the back end of the bullpen begin to go through the revolving door.

Balfour, Cook, and Doolittle are all expected to build on their strong 2012 seasons, and ZiPs thinks two of them will do just that.  Balfour became a truly dominant pitcher when he took charge of the closers role late in the 2012 season, and there is very little doubt that he’ll let that go.  I expect Balfour to lead the charge in 2013, and his numbers may look even better than ZiPs thinkgs.  Cook walked a bit of a tight rope when he struggled with his control, and it caught up with him at times, and it may do so once again for the 2012 All Star.  Sean Doolittle has the talent to continue to dominate hitters, and will take his stuff to a whole new level this year.

Jerry Blevins was still prone to the long ball, despite his success otherwise.  If he can cut those down, he can easily beat his projections, but if he doesn’t then his good fortune that kept his numbers down in 2012 will likely run out.  Pat Neshek absolutely needs to face right handed hitters unless there is literally nobody left to pitch to a lefty, his wild deception and nasty movement will give hitters fits, a 3.49 ERA seems like it very well could be a bit high.

Jordan Norberto and Evan Scribner will be mostly in lower leverage situations unless they prove too dominant to ignore, they’ll both take their lumps, but will provide the A’s with many valuable innings throughout the season.  Travis Blackley will be the long man when he’s in the bullpen, but as ZiPs projects will likely grab a few starts here and there, I don’t know if he’ll get up to 13 starts, but 6-8 seems more than reasonable.  He won’t blow anyone away necessarily, but he’ll get the job done when he’s needed, his projections seem about right.  Besides, his midseason hashtags on Twitter are top notch (#canwin #ourbad).

Then there’s Chris Resop, the new guy in the mix.  He’ll be in a similar role to that of Scribner and Norberto, pitching in mostly low leverage situations.  A 4.30 ERA seems about right for him.  Pedro Figueroa will likely ride the I-80 corridor numerous times between Oakland and Sacramento, his projections will probably be about right if that’s the case.

With that, I officially conclude the evaluation of the ZiPs projections for 2013.  These projections are often a bit on the conservative side, as evidenced by many of the numbers expected from various members of the Athletics roster.  The fact remains no matter what though, this is the team to beat in the AL West in 2013, and they seek to defend that title and build on the success of 2012.

Sep 11, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics reliever Jerry Blevins (13) delivers a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in the ninth inning at Angel Stadium. The Athletics defeated the Angels 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

In the AL West, the guys who occupy the not very glamorous part of the pitching staffs may decide how this division ultimately plays out.

For the sake of this list, I’ll exclude guys who are listed in the set up role, and will include those in long relief roles.  Thanks again to MLBDepthCharts.com for helping on the bullpen projections.

1. Kevin Jepsen, Scott Downs, David Carpenter, Jerome Williams – Los Angeles Angels

Over the years a glaring weakness of Angels bullpens has been the lack of effective left handers.  Now that they signed Sean Burnett to be a set up guy, Scott Downs can move into more of a middle relief role which will help during the middle innings for sure.  Kevin Jepsen throws extremely hard, very much in the same vein as the departed Jordan Walden, and has developed into a solid relief pitcher who can blow hitters away with his fastball.  David Carpenter is the young one in the pen, and he’ll likely be used primarily in low pressure situations until he proves his effectiveness.  If Jerome Williams is in the game, then either it’s a blowout in favor of their opponents or the starter got injured, the Angels won’t want to see him on the mound.

2. Jordan Norberto, Pat Neshek, Jerry Blevins, Chris Resop – Oakland Athletics

This is a group that could really fluctuate throughout the season to include Evan Scribner and Travis Blackley.  Jerry Blevins though is the top dog of this group, he came through numerous times in big situations (Think double play to avert a walk off in Anaheim, ownage of Josh Hamilton), he’s one of the most trusted arms on the A’s.  Jordan Norberto was very effective at times, but his propensity for walking hitters has hindered his progress other times.  Pat Neshek is as effective against right handed hitters as he is ineffective against lefties, as long as he sticks to his role he’ll continue to be a valuable part of the bullpen.  Chris Resop could be this year’s Evan Scribner, he won’t be the first one called out of the pen, but he’ll provide solid innings without a doubt.

3. Josh Lindblom, Tanner Scheppers, Coty Woods, Michael Kirkman – Texas Rangers

Perhaps the highest ceiling, highest potential bullpen in the division resides in Arlington.  Tanner Scheppers throws absolute gas, and as he continues to get comfortable in the Major Leagues his effectiveness will skyrocket.  Michael Kirkman and Josh Lindblom are solid relief pitchers, although rather unspectacular (Lindblom if you may recall gave up Yoenis Cespedes‘ walk off home run against the Dodgers last year).  Coty Woods is the true unknown of this staff, and if he isn’t effective in Spring Training he may have to be returned to the Colorado Rockies since he’s a Rule 5 draftee.

4. Charlie Furbush, Shawn Kelley, Oliver Perez, Josh Kinney – Seattle Mariners

It’s not that these guys are bad, they’re just overwhelmingly mediocre.  The Mariners may be able to creep towards the .500 mark in 2013, and that being considered it seems fitting that their bullpen would consist of this caliber of pitcher.

5. Xavier Cedeno, Francisco Rodriguez (No, not THAT Fernando Rodriguez), Josh Fields, John Ely – Houston Astros

I don’t mean to pile on the Astros by placing them 5th in every category so far, but that’s the reality of their situation.  Their bullpen is full of no names and also rans, they’ll take their lumps without a doubt.

It’s highly doubtful anyone on this list today will ever become household names, but they will absolutely play an integral part in the 2013 season and how it plays out.  Next up, I’ll highlight the new faces on each team in the division and how that should impact the race for the AL West title.