A’s Beat Diamondbacks 5-2

The A’s got back in the win column on Monday evening in Arizona, beating the Diamondbacks 5-2 behind a solid performance from tonight’s starting pitcher, . On offense it was death by 13 singles plus a pair of home runs. Just how we all expected it to go.

It was left-hander Jeffrey Springs on the bump for the road team this evening. His first half wasn’t what he or the team had hoped for but with the All-Star Break comes a chance to reset. Springs certainly looked like he needed it after his great

performance tonight.

The lefty was on fire early in Arizona, allowing just two singles, a double, and one walk through the first five innings, relying on weak contact to keep Arizona from getting anything going for much of the game. This was the guy that showed up for the first couple weeks of the season before disappearing for a few months.

He got a little bit of run support early as well. After an uneventful top of the first against D-backs rookie starter Mitch Bratt, rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer led things off in the second with his first career home run, a booming shot to left-center field to give the A’s a 1-0 lead:

Get that man that ball! That’s certainly the first of many for the 23-year-old, who would finish the day 2-for-3 and is now hitting .417/.435/.583 through his first 60 at bats. Unfortunately he would later depart tonight’s game after taking a hit to a… rather sensitive area. He momentarily stayed in but was eventually replaced by Donovan Walton in the top of the sixth. Outfielder Colby Thomas also departed tonight’s game after getting hit by a pitch on the wrist in the third inning. Hopefully they’ll both be back in the starting lineup tomorrow.

After a couple more quiet innings of work from Springs he would get more help a bit later in the form of another solo shot, this one coming off the bat of shortstop Jacob Wilson:

That was just his sixth of the year but his second in the past three games. He’s never going to be a huge power threat but these blasts every now and then are good for keeping pitchers on their toes with him.

Springs would finish the fifth up 2-0 and that probably should have been it for him in this one. Instead manager Mark Kotsay wanted to squeeze one more inning of work out of the veteran left-hander and it backfired. Springs faced three batters in the sixth and it went: double, 2-run home run, single. Only then did Kotsay decide to come get his starter, who would depart this one responsible for the runner on first.

• Jeffrey Springs: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 78 pitches

All of his work undone in the final five minutes, A tough end to an otherwise solid and encouraging start for Springs here in the second half. While the club is nearly out of contention there might be interested suitors for a lefty such as Springs and tonight’s strong outing certainly could have boosted interest in his services. He’ll likely have a few more starts in the Green & Gold and his next start is lined up to be this weekend in Minnesota against the Twins.

Kotsay decided to switch things up on the Diamondbacks and went from the lefty Springs to right-hander Luis Medina. He walked a tightrope thanks to a throwing error by Langeliers on a stolen base but he managed to get himself out of the jam with a lineout to center. This game would be up to the bullpens.

The A’s offense didn’t wait around. With the game now tied the bats rallied. Back-to-back singles started things off but then a bunt pop out and strikeout had the A’s on the verge of wasting those hits. Tommy White stepped to the plate with two outs and (thanks to some hustle and replay assistance) collected the third single on a comebacker to the pitcher. Kotsay decided to pinch-hit Jeff McNeil for Alika Williams in this bases-loaded, two-out situation. It was the right button to press as McNeil rewarded him with a two-run single to retake the lead for the Athletics:

Doesn’t get much more clutch than that! An absolutely massive hit off the veteran infielder’s bat for the squad. The A’s managed to plate one more after that as well thanks to a wild pinch that let White come in to score. 5-2 A’s with nine outs to go.

Medina stayed in the game and handled a second inning of work for the seventh, lefty Jose Suarez had a quick 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth. Hogan Harris came on for the save opportunity and ran into some trouble by letting the tying run come to the plate, but managed to get a strikeout looking to end the game and secure his seventh save of the year.

A quality win all-around for the guys, and a much needed one. The squad has their second win of the second half. A strong start from Springs, paired with the bats waking up for 15 hits (13 of which were singles) was enough to get the job done in this one. A couple of the rookies had big games as Kuroda-Grauer had his first big fly and White went 4-for-5. The club now sits at 43-57 a hundred games into the season. The playoffs may be too far but there’s always fun playing spoiler for a team like Arizona who are fighting and clawing to keep playing in October.

The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. Right-hander Jack Perkins is set to get the ball for the first time in the second half, hoping for better results post-Break. The former well-regarded prospect has struggled immensely in his time in the rotation this season, posting a 8.10 ERA in his six starts after beginning the year in the bullpen. With the playoffs slipping away though the club can afford to let Perk work through his struggles at the big league level. Who knows, maybe he’ll figure it out in the second half and build himself into a legitimate option for next year’s starting rotation.

Arizona meanwhile has yet to announce their starter for tomorrow evening so we’ll have to keep an eye on how they want to tackle the A’s tomorrow. Stay tuned.