Six runs in three games isn’t going to cut it and it’s probably fortunate that the A’s walked away with one of their three games against the White Sox. The pitching was mostly there, this team just has to get the hitting going.
Monday was the worst game at the plate. The A’s racked up just a single run on five hits in the 4-1 loss. Travis Buck doubled home Nick Swisher for the lone run and a solid start by Rich Harden went to waste. Harden gave up two runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in six innings of work and despite the solid outing, he took the loss.
Yesterday was almost a disappointment but the A’s finally got things going in the ninth. Chad Gaudin and the pen combined for a one run, three hit game but up through the top of the ninth, the A’s were losing 1-0. Then in the ninth, Todd Walker singled home a run to tie it and Mark Ellis singled home Marco Scutaro for the walk off RBI in the 2-1 win.
Today was a drag because the A’s matched their run total from the previous two games in the first inning alone. They rang up three runs on three hits and they finished the game with three runs on four hits as they were completely shut down the rest of the way. In the meantime, Justin Duchscherer gave up a two run shot in the eighth to tie the game and Huston Street was tagged for three runs in the ninth as he took the loss. Mike Piazza was the hitting star in the 6-3 loss. He doubled and drove in two runs.
It doesn’t get any easier as the Yankees roll into Oakland for a three game series beginning Friday. Dan Haren will throw in the series opener.
