The AL West is pretty crazy so far. The A’s sit at 9-9, yet they’re tied for first place with the Angels. Not that long ago, the Mariners were first and now they’re in last, but they’re just two games back of first. Got it? To sum it up, things are tight and so far, nobody has broken away.
The A’s got some serious offense on Friday. Travis Buck, Shannon Stewart and Nick Swisher all went yard with Buck driving in five runs and Stewart drove home four. Milton Bradley picked up just one hit in the 16-4 win but he walked four times and scored three runs. Joe Blanton picked up the win and he improved to 2-0 on the season. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six innings.
Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. On Saturday, the Rangers shut out the A’s on just three hits. All three hits were singles and Nick Swisher reached base three times with a hit and two walks. Joe Kennedy took the loss despite five solid innings. He gave up one run on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five innings of work.
Then yesterday, Justin Duchscherer blew a 3-1 lead and gave up three runs to make it a 4-3 loss. Chad Gaudin gave up just one run in six innings and for his troubles, he didn’t get a decision. Shannon Stewart was the hitting star. He went two for five with a homerun and two RBIs.
Next up is two against the Orioles in Baltimore. Normally I’d be optimistic but the Orioles have played some good ball lately. Danny Haren will take on Erik Bedard in tonight’s matchup.
