The A's managed just five hits tonight, or two less than their first two pitchers allowed in four innings, and fell to San Francisco, 6-3. Jason Jennings struggled with his control in third, walking three batters in that one fateful frame, as the Giants jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Brad Ziegler was touched for another pair of runs in the fourth, and the A's played catch-up the rest of the night.
On a more positive note, Ben Sheets looked sharp against the Giants' Triple-A Fresno team earlier today. Says Slusser:
Sheets gave up three runs, nine hits and a walk in six innings, and he also struck out three. Afterward, Sheets said his changeup wasn't very good; he thought five of the hits had come on it. Nevertheless, Sheets accomplished what he wanted to, getting in a lot of innings and 85 pitches. His fastball hit 92 mph, according to A's minor-league pitcher Matt Wright, manning the radar gun and charting pitches today. Sheets will make his final start before the regular season on Tuesday, and he's not concerned about his mediocre to occasionally disastrous spring results. Since he hasn't pitched in more than a year, the main thing is that he's healthy and that he gets in his work.
Good stuff.
A's back at it again tomorrow against Texas, 1:05 start.
