Cleveland 7, A's 6
Obviously the big--and concerning--story of the day is the possible injury to Brett Anderson, as he exited the game after pitching two great innings, allowing only a perfect bunt and a walk. Anderson complained of a “tight forearm”, an injury he has apparently had in the past.
The A’s jumped on the board early in support of Anderson, as Pennington cleared the bases with a triple in the second, and was driven in by Rajai Davis, who was 3 for 5 in the leadoff spot with a stolen base. Davis is probably flirting with a .400 batting average during this spring contest.
Anderson was replaced by James Simmons, who was awful. His line read like a football score; 2.2 IP, 7H, 6 ER. The Indians had nearly the same scoring pattern as the A’s, as they cleared the bases with a triple of their own from Asdrubal Cabrera (you know I just like saying his name).
The A’s jumped back on top with a double-changed-to-a-homerun by Aaron Cunningham (the correct call, unlike a later dropped catch that was ruled an out against Hannahan) who had a perfect day; 2 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 RBI’s, but Cleveland would tie the game at 6, and after Wuertz and Bailey kept them off the board in the sixth and seventh innings, Jay Marshall gave up the eventual winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
It is worth noting that Landon Powell had another good start, racking up a long double, and throwing out a would-be base-stealer in his outing. Bobby Crosby was also 1-2 with a walk and a double.
Injury Update
- Billy Beane had surgery on his knee, said Geren. He is fine.
- Eric Chavez is taking ‘simulated swinging practice’, whatever that is.
Look for your Spring Training action all weekend, and WBC action continues with Korea/Venezuela on Saturday and USA/Japan on Sunday.