It's a good day for a rookie pitcher when he can go five innings, give up three runs, and still get the easy win, as his offense exploded for ten runs--something the A's don't do very often. The big blow in this game was the fifth inning, two-out grand slam by Landon Powell to break open the game, and lead the A's to another series win.
The A's made short work of Brian Bannister, who would leave the game with an injury in the second inning, but they hit his replacement harder--Yabuta was the proud owner of five earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.
The A's didn't waste a moment getting on the board. After Cahill made it through the first inning with the help of a caught-stealing, the offense turned it on. Kennedy walked to start the game, then Rajai Davis--in his bid for .300--doubled him to third. Sweeney singled them both in, then stole second. Cust singled him to third, and Ellis knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 3-0.Cahill shut the Royals down in the second (after another leadoff walk), and the A's put the game out of reach in the bottom of the inning. After Bannister left the game, Patterson doubled, Kennedy singled, Davis knocked in a run with a sac fly, Sweeney singled, Cust walked to load the bases, bringing up Landon Powell. Spoiler: He hit a grand slam.
With the 8-0 lead, there wasn't much left for Cahill to do except get through five. He struggled in the third, allowing a couple of doubles, a single, and a homerun, but the thee runs hardly made a dent in anything but his ERA. The A's would answer back with a couple of walks, a single, and an RBI-HBP (Davis, who would end up 2-3 with 2 RBIs).
Aside from a token run in the ninth by the Royals, the scoring was finished. The 10-3 lead allowed some of the expanded roster callups to be showcased; Kilby for 2 (1 H, 2 K), Blevins for 1, (0 H, 2 K), and Eveland for 1 (2 H, 1 R).
All in all, a solid win for the green and gold, as the Royals leave town, and the Mariners are ushered back in. Tomorrow's game is at 7:05, Snell vs. Tomko. We'll see you right here!
