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A's Drop G-Men Again But Standings Remain Unchanged
Well, those rabble-rousers from across the SF Bay in Oakland have done it again. They beat my Giants for the second straight day today by a score of 4-2. Once again, anemic offense by SF was the primary cause of defeat. Both teams managed seven hits but the Giants stranded more runners and couldn't even capitalize on two Oakland errors.
Giants' starter Johnathan Sanchez lost for the third time in four starts, dropping his season record to 7-6. After a strong early start, he started leaving the ball high in the zone and the A's hitters, exhibiting unusual patience for the second straight game, out-waited him.
The loss didn't hurt the Giants in the standings as the NL West race stayed about the same, with the Giants clinging to a half-game lead over the Diamondbacks. Colorado picked up a win and moved within 3-1/2 games of the lead in what is quickly becoming a three-team race with 10 games left to the mid-season point.
Hopefully the Giants can escape Oakland tomorrow with a win before coming home to face the lowly Minnesota Twins and the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians. After that, they travel to Chicago to take on the lowly and perennially disappointing Cubs. The end of that three-game series marks the mid-point of the season.
A Cross-Town Rival to Growl and Grimace At: Oakland Tops Giants
Interleague play tonight saw the Giants lose to Oakland at the A's Coliseum, by a score of 5-2. It was a 3-2 contest much of the night but the G-Men played some sloppy defense and the A's played classic AL small ball to eke out the runs they managed off Tim Lincecum, who dropped to 5-6. Thing is, this was Lincecum's first-ever loss to a team he has flat dominated every other time he's faced them.
The loss stung a bit more because the A's came into the game with the second-worst record in the American League. But the A's have shown some savvy in the last few days as they made this their third straight win, a rarity for a team now being handled by an interim manager.
It also gave the Diamondbacks a chance to move within 1/2 game of the Giants' lead, which they did.
I've observed for many years that the teams who make it to the playoffs are very often those who avoid having too many stretches of three or more losses. The Giants go into tomorrow afternoon's game needing a win to stop their current skid at 2.
