Lowrie Assault! A's Outlast Diamondbacks 7-5...But Lose Anderson

The good news? Jed Lowrie HRed, doubled, and drove in 3 runs as the A's evened up their Cactus League record at 7-7. The bad news? Before the game's first out, Brett Anderson found the Diamondbacks to be a complete pain in the neck.

Following the single to open the game by Adam Eaton, Alfredo Marte lined one to 3B that was clanked by Josh Donaldson for an E-5. The speedy Eaton went 1B to 3B as the ball rolled behind Donaldson, and, while covering 3B, Anderson found himself on the wrong side of a collision that left him dazed and confused. Anderson exited the game with a strained right trapezius muscle. Ruh-roh. "He's not injury prone, he's just injured a lot!" It is not believed to be serious, however, and all signs currently point towards Anderson still being on track to start Opening Night.

Speaking of guys who are injured a lot, Lowrie broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 3rd with a 2-run HR, then added an RBI double in the 5th. With the A's leading 5-3 in the bottom of the 8th, Seth Smith's RBI single, and a wild pitch, plated 2 runs, and those insurance runs proved to be the difference when Hideki Okajima surrendered a booming 2-run HR to Chris Owings -- arguably only the second best hitter named Owings in the big leagues.

Highlights on the mound? Mike Ekstrom allowed an inherited run to score, but tossed 2 shutout innings thereafter. Bartolo Colon's 3 IP featured 4 Ks and just one run. And then of course there was Sean Doolittle's customary 1-2-3 inning, this one pathetically featuring just one K.

Stay tuned for two additional recaps to be submitted in the Fanposts as part of our ongoing "be discovered!" contest: one by "weenmAN," and one by "whaxed." Vote for your favorite one and look for it on the front page later tonight.