Kazmir, A's beat Red Sox 4-2

Kazmir, A's beat Red Sox 4-2
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
June 19, 2014


OAKLAND–Thursday night, the Oakland A’s defended their title as the team with the best record in the majors as they beat the defending champion Boston Red Sox by a 4-2 score in the first of four games at the O.co Coliseum between the two.

Stephen Vogt and Yoenis Cespedes were the offensive stars for the A’s. Vogt was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and Cespedes’ third inning home run gave the A’s a 3-0 lead through the first four innings.

Scott Kazmir (9-2, 2.07 ERA) was excellent once again, going seven strong innings–the only runs allowed coming off a two-run Dustin Pedroia home run in the sixth inning. That made the game 3-2, but the A’s tacked on a run in the seventh on a John Jaso RBI single that scored Eric Sogard from second base. Coco Crisp was thrown out trying to advance to third.

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A’s beat Angels 7-1 with timely hitting, clutch defense

A’s beat Angels 7-1 with timely hitting, clutch defense
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
June 11, 2014


ANAHEIM, Calif.–Though they were unable to extend their American League West divisional lead over the second-place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after dropping the first two games of the series in Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics came away from Wednesday night’s game with a number of positives after securing a 7-1 victory.

The A’s ended the nine-game road trip against the Yankees, Orioles, and Angels with a winning record going 5-4 as they return to Oakland for ten games against the Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox.

A’s manager Bob Melvin stressed the difference in ending a road trip with a winning record after the game.

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A's win 6-3 as Moss, Cespedes go yard

A's win 6-3 as Moss, Cespedes go yard
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
April 6, 2014

OAKLAND–Just like on Opening Day, 24-year old Oakland Athletics phenom Sonny Gray didn’t begin with his best stuff on Sunday afternoon. By the end of his outing, Gray showcased the kind of repertoire that earned him that honor as he retired the last seven batters he faced in the A’s 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Gray (1-0, 0.75 ERA) walked two in the first inning and threw two wild pitches over the course of the first three innings. A Daric Barton error in the second allowed two unearned runs to come in, ending Gray’s career-high scoreless streak at 14 2/3 innings. Gray gave up his first earned run of the season in the third, as Robinson Cano scored on a Justin Smoak single up the middle.

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