Parker Stifles Yanks, A's Win 2 - 1

The A's have now won 8 of their last 9 games and with a 2 - 1 win tonight, they have guaranteed a 4 game series-win against the best team in baseball with one more game left to play.

Jarrod Parker rebounded spectacularly from his last two starts against the Mariners and Twins by 8 innings of 1-run ball against one of the best offensive teams in the game. He scattered 5 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts while the lone run given up was in the 4th inning on an RBI single from Raul Ibanez. The Yankees went into the bottom of the 4th inning with the 1 - 0 lead, but Yoenis Cespedes would have none of that as he launched a solo home run to deep left field, his 13th of the season, to tie the game at 1 - 1.

Neither team would amount to much offensively, as both Jarrod Parker and Phil Hughes were pitching very well, but in the bottom of the 8th inning, Brandon Inge led-off the inning with a home run to center field to give the A's the 2 - 1 lead for good.

With Ryan Cook having pitched the last 3 game in a row and not being very sharp as well, rookie Sean Doolittle came in to save the game. Alex Rodriguez singled to center field to lead off the inning, but followed up by striking out Robinson Cano, effectively ending his 23 game hit-streak, just a night after the A's pitching staff ended the Yankees 43-game streak of 33 or more runs scored. With 1 out, 1 runner on base and Mark Teixeira batting, Doolittle struck out Teixeira as Rodriguez stole second base. With Raul Ibanez coming up to bat, Yankees manager Joe Girardi pinch-hit for him and went with right-handed hitter Andruw Jones to bat. Doolittle didn't have much trouble ending the game with a beautiful strikeout to lead the A's to another entertaining night of winning baseball!

We do it all again tomorrow as Bartolo Colon takes on CC Sabathia as the A's attempt to sweep the Yankees in four games!