Friday: Diamondbacks 2-1 A’s

Saturday: Diamondbacks 8-7 A’s

Sunday: Diamondbacks 2-6 A’s

In the battle of two supposedly dormant offenses, the Diamondbacks came out on top in the first of the year’s interleague series. The first game went as expected; a low scoring affair in which Arizona managed to overcome a solo homerun from Matt Holliday (his sixth of the year) thanks to a run each batted in from Montero and Young. What is more encouraging for the A’s was that Trevor Cahill was able to pitch into the eighth inning, going 7 1/3 and giving up just the two runs on six hits, and most importantly managing to give the bullpen a rest.

If that was a disappointing loss, however, Saturday’s was a lot more painful. The A’s took an early lead thanks to a two run homer in the bottom of the first inning from Jack Cust (he’d later lay down a successful bunt, too – I think it’s fair to say he’s the best to ever play. Nearly), and they added on in the forth with a home run from Jason Giambi. This was his fourth of the season, but more significantly, it’s his four hundredth in his career. It has seemed at times he’s been reaching for the ball a little, perhaps in an attempt to get to this landmark. Hopefully, now that this is out of the way, he’ll be able to relax a little and the flood gates may open. He hit another one out in Sunday’s victory; we can put hope!

Edgar Gonzalez, who came up to spot start for the A’s, worked five slightly unconvincing innings, but still managed to hand off a four to one lead to the bullpen, which was extended in the sixth inning by a Nomar Garciaparra solo shot. It’s incredible to think that Danny Haren (who got a good reception by A’s fans when he took the mound) had only given up four home runs this season prior to this game; the Athletics, having hit the fewest in the major leagues, managed to double this. And yet, this still managed to find a way to lose, as Russ Springer was charged with three earned runs in the eighth, and Andrew Bailey another, with the Diamondbacks tying it up at five each. Springer clearly doesn’t look 100% at the moment, and it’s a bit of a mystery as to why he’s coming in to pitch at the moment. In extras, Arizona scored three in the top of the eleventh inning; the A’s managed to get two at the bottom of the inning, before Jack Hannahan grounded out into a double play with the tying run at third.

The final game was a lot more pleasant; Josh Outman walked five over 7 2/3rds inning, and didn’t look as sharp as his last outing, but he was able to get a number of double plays at opportune times. A little bit of luck is always appreciated. Until the bottom of the sixth, it looked as if it were going to be another anemic offensive performance from Oakland, but they finally broke through thanks to Landon Powell’s first home run of the season. It capped a great return from injury for the backup catcher, who was 1-2 with two walks. There were to be no mistakes from the bullpen, this time, with Wuertz and Ziegler closing out the game.

So, the A’s again showed some encouraging signs, but lost the series. They’re currently playing sub four hundred ball, and are on pace to lose a hundred games this year. The Mariners are in town today and the A’s will be desperate to win a series in front of their own fans. I’m looking forward to seeing Brett Anderson pitch; hopefully he can continue his progress, as he looks as if he’s going to be pretty special.