Final Score: White Sox 12, A's 10
At the end of one inning it was 4-2, but the game didn't end 36-18; close, but not quite. On a day when the wind was blowing out to all fields, Vin Mazzaro's bid to sneak into the big league rotation likely came to a crashing thud. A good sinker is a great weapon against the long ball, but not only was Mazzaro unable to keep the ball on the ground, the hits off of him weren't cheap.
After walking the leadoff hitter, Mazzaro was lit up for 5 hits and 4 runs in the 1st, then for 3 more in the 2nd courtesy of a Carlos Quentin 3-run HR. Mazzaro's line for the day: 2 IP, 6 hits, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.
Braden pitched the next 5.1 IP for the A's and was generally good, except for 3 solo HRs (Betemit, Thome, Fields) that comprised the 3 runs on his ledger. Meanwhile, the wind was blowing so hard the players were dropping, like, flies. (Isn't grammar fun?) The White Sox were charged with 4 errors in the game, Oakland for 2 more.
How did Oakland put 10 runs on the board? Kurt Suzuki had a 4 for 4 day, including a triple, Ryan Sweeney (.432) continued his assault on the Cactus League with 2 hits, Daric Barton blasted his first HR of the Spring and went 3 for 5, and Cliff Pennington's went 3 for 4 with a pair of SBs, as the A's fought back from an 8-2 deficit to put the tying runs in scoring position before Rajai Davis popped up with runners at second and third to end it.
With Duchscherer and Gio shelved, Jerome Williams already optioned, and Mazzaro now having been lit up twice in a row, it now appears as if Braden, Gallagher, Eveland, E. Gonzalez, Outman, Cahill, and Anderson are the last seven men standing for five spots in the A's April rotation. Should be a fascinating couple of weeks.
Upcoming AN Events:
Saturday, April 4th: AN's first Community Service Day, followed
by the A's-Giants game!
Saturday, May 2nd: Chez Nico: BYODA (Bring Your Own Dead Animal) BBQ &
A's-Mariners game at 6:10pm. Sign-ups are coming soon -
keep an eye out!
