Final Score: Giants 8, A's 4.
Trevor Cahill hung one knuckle-curve and Travis Ishikawa parked it over the wall for a HR. That was the only blemish on Cahill's record as the right-hander fired 5 impressive innings of 4-hit, one-run baseball, walking none, striking out 2, keeping the ball in the strike zone and on the ground (10 ground ball outs) as the first 5 innings belonged to Oakland.
However, it was Ishikawa who stole the show, slamming his second HR of the game, a 3-run bomb off of Michael Wuertz in the 6th inning that gave the Giants a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish. Russ Springer (1 IP, 3 hits) and Chris Schroder (2 IP, 5 hits) surrendered 2 runs each, offering more reasons the A's will welcome Devine and Ziegler back with open arms.
The A's started fast, building a 3-0 lead with two in the 2nd and another in the 3rd off of Giants prospect Kevin Pucetas. The highlight was Nomar Garciaparra's RBI single on a 3-0 pitch, but Bobby Crosby was instrumental in the A's early success with a single and double, far better outcomes than the triple play he grounded into later. Oops.
Other notables: Buster Posey (Giants) and Danny Putnum HRed, and in the A's-Mariners game Jack Cust went 3 for 4 with a SB and 2 RBI, while Jerry Blevins struggled big time: 1 IP, 6 hits, 3 ER. Blevins' ERA now stands at 11.74. Gak.
Is Trevor Cahill simply one of the A's best five starting pitchers in camp among those who will be healthy enough to pitch on April 6th? He's making a strong case.
