Oakland's Overpowering, Outstanding Outman

Josh Outman won his fourth game and St. Paul native, Jack Hannahan hit a key clutch three-run double to give the Oakland A’s their seventh straight win. The A’s bested the Twins behind another young pitcher and are now a team on the rise after a few good wins. The seductive Outman had a strangle-hold on Minnesota’s top hitters in the 4-3 Monday night shutdown. A’s starters have the longest winning streak since a stretch of eight victories in June of 2006. Their prim pitchers are boasting a 1.55 ERA through seven starts. It’s been a wacky and wonderful week for last place Oakland. Last night, it continued with the pitching of the 25 year old with a 3.17 ERA.
Outman went 1-2 in 25.2 innings for the gold and green last year during only 6 games. This season, he is undefeated in five appearances and has emerged as the most reliable starter on the A’s staff. His 4-0 record comes packaged with 49 strikeouts, 24 walks and 46 hits allowed in 59 innings pitched. Outman held the Twins to three runs over six innings in the A’s 4-3 melting of Minnesota. The St. Louis pitcher smeared seven and outside a hiccup with two outs in the fourth, shut down the Twins. Outman has seven quality starts for Oakland since returning from a bullpen stint. The rookie improved to 3-0 on June 4th by holding the Chicago White Sox to three runs over 6 2/3 innings. He was excellent in diversifying his pitches and scattering seven hits. The young southpaw fanned nine on May 29th against archrival, Texas. He followed a two-run first inning by only allowing one more hit over six innings during the contest. Prior to his Rangers start, Outman outlasted the Diamondbacks. He limited Arizona to two ones, one earned, in an inter-league clash. The hurler tossed 7 2/3 strong inning to record his second win of the year that Sunday. Outman is effective in pitching out of jams despite walking batters. He only had one pass in a no-decision Athletics victory on May 20th over the Rays. Through six innings, Outman blanked Tampa but left the game after a scoreless sixth. The A’s went on to win in extra-innings and Outman finished by whiffing six Rays. Josh held the Royals to one run over six innings for his very first 2009 win in mid-May. Outman gave up three hits, all in the second inning, to Kansas City. The A’s are counting on their young staff to rework the pitching and rejuvenate the club. So far, they have stepped up to right the wrongs in Oakland.
Ok now that I’ve brought you up to date on Mr. Outman, here is how last night played out in Oakland Coliseum. The Twinkies were in town for the first of a four game series against their West Coast foes from the Golden State. The A’s turned back the Twins, rallying from an early 3-0 deficit. The Twins had a lead and gave it right back during this American League inter-divisional affair. The game seemed up for grabs, and it was Oakland snagging the W. Minnesota scored three runs in the top of the fourth off Outman on odd combinations. Two singles were sandwiched around a walk to fill the bases. Carlos Gomez walked with the bases loaded, and slumping slugger, Matt Tolbert, tallied a two run single. Tolbert was 0 for his last 12 and in a funk at the plate. The Minnesota lead was short-lived. The Athletics countered in the bottom half of the fourth with three of their own runs. Matt Holiday and Jason Giambi walked back-to-back. Hannahan hammered a double to centerfield, scoring Giambi, Kurt Suzuki and Aaron Cunningham. One hit, three runs. Very productive and efficient for the Oakland offense.
The Twins pitching wasn’t as effective as the A’s. In his fourth Minnesota audition, Anthony Swarzak was untouchable as he faced the Oakland lineup the first time. Swarzak did not survive after the erratic fourth inning where the A’s squandered Minnesota’s three run lead. He lost his control completely and was throwing the ball all over the place. The left-hander issued three walks and threw nine consecutive balls to open the frame. Next was a plunking pitch. Swarzak unintentionally beaned Cunningham with a fastball off the left side of the helmet. The rookie stayed in the game long enough to score but was removed in the fifth and sent to the hospital. Oakland was dealt a blow when they learned Cunningham suffered a concussion on the 91 mph drilling. The A’s are short on outfielders but used Adam Kennedy to replace Cunningham defensively. Gregorio Petit substituted for him in the Oakland batting order.
Minnesota’s bullpen faired better than starter Swarzak. They held the A’s to only two more hits. One of those blasts was a towering and explosive crush by Jack Cust. Cust’s 10th homerun of the season came off right-handed reliever, Luis Ayala. The bottom of the fifth bullet was off the first pitch Ayala threw to Cust. It seems like Cust just keeps hitting go-ahead homeruns for about-face scores. The three all tie was retracted with the solo shot and Outman sustained the one run lead the rest of the way. He seemed to get stronger as the game went on. After the blip in the fourth inning, Outman set down the final seven Twins who stepped to the plate. Delmon Young was punched out in the sixth as Outman’s last victim.
The lefty maintained his approach and set the pace to keep the A’s clicking in the wins department. Outman had Oakland swimming above water with devastating deliveries. He was a splash after a slight sinking. The sweeping slider tumbled away from left-handers, who are batting just .128 against the rookie. Justin Morneau, one of the Twins leading hitters, struck out three times. No single pitcher has done that to Morneau since 2004. Joe Mauer was able to get to Oakland pitching. He singled twice for Minnesota to raise his batting average to a startling .413.
The Athletics used four relievers after Outman left the game. Combined, they threw three scoreless innings to deny the Twins any more scoring opportunities. Michael Wuertz struck out two Twins to bring his total to 27 on the year. The 28 year old former Twin, Craig Breslow, allowed the only hit. Brad Ziegler, the second year reliever, faced two batters, throwing five of his seven pitches for strikes. Andrew Bailey drew his fifth save in eight chances after pitching the ninth for Oakland. The A’s seven game streak is the longest current run in the majors and the team has outscored opponents 42-11 during the span.
I am not sure whether the A’s can recuperate in time to capture a division title. They may just be playing for next season by July. But, I am smitten with their starters and hope they hassle the competition into the All-star break and second half of the season. You might remember I predicted the A’s to make it to the World Series. They have a very, very high hill to climb before they even sniff the playoffs, let alone the Fall Classic. But I am encouraged by the pitching and the way they were able to lift themselves over the Twins last night. The starters that currently occupy the rotation are resilient at worst. The low-key bullpen with Wuertz, Breslow, Ziegler and Bailey is brilliant too. Even Kennedy made a sliding game-ending grab as a fill-in for the injured rookie Cunningham. The A’s pinched out a win during a game they were down.
The best part about Outman’s outing is he wasn’t even as sharp as his colleagues were in the past week. Vin Mazzaro, Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill are pitching more like formidable starters than inexperienced amateurs. They are attacking the strike zone and putting hitters away. Mazzaro was money on the mound again for the A’s against the Orioles on Sunday. The 22 year old righty made his major league debut last week. He earned the win against the White Sox, leaving with a standing ovation in the eighth inning. The results are revealing for these rookies. During a four-game streak, Oakland starters had not walked a batter. Outman’s passes changed that last night and one of them resulted in a run. But, he overcame the mishap to maneuver and exercise an excellent excursion. Pitching produces the plot for ball clubs, and the Athletics’ aces are acknowledged anecdotes.


Parting points: It’s a great sports night. NBA Finals Game 3, NHL Finals Game 6, Yankees-Red Sox, and Mets-Phillies. Brad Lidge to the DL, Scottie Reynolds to return to Villanova, Tiger tuning up, the MLB draft toning up and Favre doing who knows what next.

I’m already excited about the upcoming college football season. Check out this cool Ohio State player database: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/buckeyextra/database/index.html