Here Kitty, Kitty: Cahill Tames Tigers to Give A's Series Split

I think it was pam5981 who said that Sundays suit me.  Well they suit the A's just fine, too, as they ran their day-of-rest record to an unblemished 3-0 for the season with a series-splitting 5-1 victory over the Tigers.  And make that five wins without a defeat for Oakland in series-closing affairs.

Trevor Cahill did his part, which probably won't raise too many eyebrows on this site.  The surprise, perhaps, is that his stirring effort- 8IP, 4H, 1ER, 9K, 0BB- did not go for naught, as Cahill received ample support to coast to his second win of 2011.

The only pimple on an otherwise clear face was the solo homerun he allowed to Casper Wells in the sixth.  Cahill even demonstrated good timing: the lone Tiger run came with the A's already leading 4-0.

Oakland's bats weren't exactly tearing the cover off the ball, managing only five hits, two of them doubles from Mr. Ellis.  But the A's were also recipients of a hit-by-pitch and six walks, including one with the bases loaded that led to their second run.

The A's didn't get their first hit until the fourth, which also happened to be the inning in which they scored their first run (on a Hideki Matsui groundout).  They put the game away one frame later with three more scores, the last two on a bases-loaded knock by Josh Willingham, and added a fifth run for good measure in the sixth on the ever-popular productive out (sac fly by Cliff Pennington).

But the day belonged to Cahill.  And when he wasn't sending batters muttering to themselves to the dugout, his co-workers provided some nifty glovework, most notably a leaping catch by Conor Jackson in right to rob Miguel Cabrera of a hit, and a diving stop by Andy LaRoche at the hot corner.

The boys are back at the .500 mark, and the schedule-makers have awarded them with a day off before Boston comes to town Tuesday for a two-game showdown.