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In the top of the 2nd inning, the A's batted around. For the 22nd time this season. That means on average, Oakland bats around about once every 5 games. That'll do, pig. That'll do.
Facing Miles Mikolas for the first time, the A's apparently needed just one inning to gauge him. Actually, all they really needed to do for a while is let him implode. With one out in the 2nd, Mikolas set out to self-destruct as he issued walks to Jed Lowrie and Eric Sogard. Craig Gentry then hit a dribbler back to the mound and inexplicably Mikolas decided to try to get the force at 2B. It would have been a close play, but with the throw, SS Elvis Andrus, and the runner Sogard all arriving to about the same place at about the same time, the ball scooted on through into CF allowing Lowrie to score.
John Jaso then delivered a bloop single to score Sogard and give the A's a 2-0 lead. Stephen Vogt's double into the RF the corner plated Gentry before Yoenis Cespedes put the finishing touches on a 5-spot with a double down the LF line.
No shutdown inning: Adam Rosales picked on a Kazmir changeup and lofted a 2-run HR to cut the A's lead to 5-2 and it stayed that way until Oakland broke the game back open, and chased Mikolas, in the 5th. Josh Donaldson singled, and wound up scoring on a Sogard double. Gentry walked to chase Mikolas, and Jaso solved LHP reliever Ryan Feierabend with a double over the head of Alex Rios. Sogard scored and next thing you know, FLYING KITTENS!!!!! here comes Gentry around 3B to score. 8-2 A's.
Reddick's RBI single in the 6th gave Oakland a 9-2 cushion and was one of 3 hits on the day for Reddick. Jaso, Vogt, and Cespedes, otherwise known as today's 1-2-3 hitters, added 2 hits a piece.
Kazmir lasted just 5 IP, thanks to the combination of 94 pitches and 100 degree weather. The quartet of Eric O'Flaherty (1⅓) IP, Ryan Cook (⅔ IP), Evan Scribner (1 IP) and Fernando Abad (1 IP) handled things with little drama, with Scribner surrendering a monstrous, but solo, HR in the 8th to Adrian Beltre.
With the win the A's maintain their 2 game lead over the relentless Angels. However, the Angels will not win tomorrow, I promise. They don't play. The A's do, at Houston with Jesse Chavez matched up against Brett Oberholtzer. Hopefully if the Astros ever have a jersey giveaway, they won't leave out the 't'.
