With a weary bullpen on his hands, Athletics manager Bob Geren
needed a long outing from Trevor Cahill on Sunday.
”
I was joking with him, ‘You gotta be the starter, middle guy,
setup guy and closer,”’ Geren said. Cahill proved up to the task,
shackling the Detroit Tigers in eight innings in a 5-1 A’s victory
before 16,460 fans at the Oakland Coliseum.
OAKLAND
With a weary bullpen on his hands, Athletics manager Bob Geren needed a long outing from Trevor Cahill on Sunday.
“I was joking with him, ‘You gotta be the starter, middle guy, setup guy and closer,”’ Geren said.
Cahill proved up to the task, shackling the Detroit Tigers in eight innings in a 5-1 A’s victory before 16,460 fans at the Oakland Coliseum.
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The right-hander failed to make it out of the fifth in two of his first three starts, but he was dialed in Sunday. He allowed four hits, struck out a season-high nine and walked none.
Cahill’s only blemish_Casper Wells’ leadoff homer in the sixth. It was the only runner the Tigers advanced past first base.
“He was throwing all three pitches for strikes. It’s tough to hit a guy when he’s doing that,” said Detroit’s Ryan Raburn, who struck out three times.
Cahill went just 4 2/3 innings Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox, a 10-inning defeat that was taxing on the A’s bullpen.
With relievers Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes unavailable Sunday because of their heavy use, Cahill (2-0) knew his challenge.
“After Chicago, I wanted to go deeper in the game,” Cahill said. “That was tough on the bullpen. They got worn out, so I tried to help them today.”
Having dropped the first two to Detroit, the A’s managed a split of the four-game series and evened their record at 8-8. They have Monday off before hosting the Boston Red Sox for two games.
Cahill benefited from the breathing room provided by his teammates. Josh Willingham’s two-run single off Brad Penny (0-2) highlighted a three-run fifth as the A’s opened a 4-0 lead.
After being held to four runs combined Thursday and Friday, the A’s scored 11 in their two victories_welcome support for a rotation that has excelled.
In four games against Detroit, Oakland’s starters allowed just one earned run in 25 2/3 innings. A’s starters lead the majors with a 2.16 ERA and 104 innings pitched.
“They’re going deep in the game and putting us in position to win the ballgame,” A’s third baseman Andy LaRoche said. “We’re trying to score as many as we can but knowing it may only take a run or two.”
Cahill signed a five-year, $30.5 million contract the day before his start in Chicago, then watched his fastball command desert him against the White Sox.
On Sunday, he spotted his fastball better and got the Tigers to chase his hard-breaking curve.
“I was a little bit off” against Chicago, Cahill said. “It might have been more adrenaline, just trying to prove myself. I was more relaxed (Sunday), just trying to throw strikes.”
The A’s got on the board in the fourth. With runners on the corners and one out, Hideki Matsui hit a dribbler down the first-base line headed for foul territory.
Penny did the A’s a favor, picking the ball up off the chalk and throwing to first for the out as Daric Barton scored.
Penny hurt himself again in the fifth after getting two outs. With a man on second, he hit David DeJesus and walked Barton and Jackson, forcing in a run.
Willingham jumped on the first pitch and lined a two-run single to left for a 4-0 lead.
Wells’ homer, on an 0-2 curve, made it 4-1. But the A’s answered in the bottom of the sixth, as Mark Ellis doubled and eventually scored on Cliff Pennington’s sacrifice fly.
— Story by Joe Stiglich, Contra Costa Times
