A's score early, lose late, continuing their slump

When it's going bad there's no margin for error, no room for mistakes, and the breaks often don't go your way. Such was the case again tonight.

A quick start by the Cardinals, thanks to a 2-run homer by Matt Holliday, put Vin Mazzaro and the A's in an early hole. It wouldn't last long as they got to Chris Carpenter for a 4-spot in the second, punctuated by a double by Conor Jackson that brought in a pair.

That was all the scoring the A's would do in this one.  They got Carpenter over 50 pitches in those first two innings, yet he'd last seven and throw 103. Meanwhile, Mazzaro allowed a pair in the fifth to tie it up. Brad Ziegler had a quick 1-2-3 sixth but as good as he was there, he was the opposite of it when he went back out for the seventh.

Brendan Ryan, leading off in the 9th spot in the order, opened the inning with a double he reached out and dropped down the line in left with Jackson positioned toward left-center. Skip Schumaker promptly doubled him home and by the time Bob Geren came out with the hook Ryan Ludwick had brought another run home for the final tally of 6-4.

Rajai Davis had a 4-hit night but when the A's had a chance at a rally later in the game with Daric Barton at the plate, they gambled and lost as Davis was easily gunned down on a pitch out. Schumaker and Holliday both collected 3 hits each at the top of the order for the Cardinals. After the second, St. Louis pitchers faced just two batters over the minimum the rest of the way to help send the A's to their sixth loss in seven games on their current road trip. It gets no easier tomorrow against Adam Wainwright.

Baseballgirl was at the game and will probably have a summary of her own sometime soon.