| SEASON | CAREER |
| W0 | 0 |
| L5 | 7 |
| G8 | 12 |
| IP38.1 | 61.0 |
| BB10 | 16 |
| SO23 | 39 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W9 | 10 |
| L9 | 9 |
| G23 | 28 |
| IP145.1 | 171.0 |
| BB29 | 33 |
| SO107 | 122 |
For a team undergoing plenty of change, the Oakland Athletics don't seem too bothered.
A different result from Tommy Milone wouldn't hurt matters, either.
The left-hander seeks his first victory in more than a month while looking to help Oakland win for the sixth time in seven games as it hosts the Minnesota Twins in the finale of a three-game set Wednesday.
The Athletics have been busy the past couple days, acquiring infielder Stephen Drew from Arizona on Monday before sending the struggling Jemile Weeks to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday.
Oakland also activated Brett Anderson and Seth Smith from the disabled list, and both contributed in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Minnesota. Anderson pitched seven strong innings to earn the victory in his first start in nearly 15 months, and Smith went 2 for 2 with a pair of walks and two runs scored.
Drew, mired in a 0-for-19 slump, went hitless in his debut for the A's (66-56), who have won five of six and are one-half game behind Baltimore for the AL's second wild-card spot.
Oakland also turned its first triple play since 2000 in the fifth inning.
"I've never seen a triple play in person, let alone be on the mound for it, so it's pretty awesome," Anderson said. "It kind of propelled me for the last two innings."
The A's hope to get another solid pitching performance with Milone (9-9, 4.03 ERA), though he hasn't had much success of late. His last victory came July 14 when he gave up two runs in six innings to beat Minnesota 9-3 despite allowing a career-worst 10 hits.
Milone is 0-3 with a 7.50 ERA in his last four outings after allowing a fourth-inning grand slam over five innings of the Athletics' 6-4 win over Cleveland on Friday.
"Overall, it went all right," Milone told the team's official website. "I felt good out there, ... but I think just that one pitch was really the only mistake I made all game."
Milone started 5-1 with a 0.91 ERA while allowing six earned runs through his first eight home outings, but he's 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA while surrendering 15 over his last three.
He'll face another struggling starter in Liam Hendriks , who begins his third stint with the Twins this season.
Hendriks (0-5, 7.04) was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to replace Nick Blackburn , who was sent to Rochester on Monday after going 4-9 with a 7.39 ERA in 19 starts.
It remains to be seen if the Twins are better off with Hendriks, who has never faced Oakland and is still searching for his first major league win. He's 9-3 with a 2.20 ERA in 16 starts in the minors in 2012, but he's allowed at least four runs in six of his eight big league outings this season.
The right-hander gave up four runs in four innings of Minnesota's 6-4 win over Detroit on July 2 in his last start for the Twins (51-71), who have lost 10 of 12 while scoring two or fewer runs in six of those contests.
"Anderson really didn't give us much of a chance," manager Ron Gardenhire said after Tuesday's loss.The A's and Twins have split eight meetings.
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS Minnesota Twins |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 12, 2012 | Denard Span | Day-to-Day | Left game - right shoulder injury |
| July 25, 2012 | Anthony Swarzak | 15-Day DL | Mild right rotator cuff strain |
| July 25, 2012 | Anthony Swarzak | 15-Day DL | Mild right rotator cuff strain |
| July 21, 2012 | Trevor Plouffe | 15-Day DL | Bruised right thumb |
| July 21, 2012 | Trevor Plouffe | 15-Day DL | Bruised right thumb |
| July 17, 2012 | Matt Capps | 15-Day DL | Right rotator cuff irritation |
 Oakland Athletics |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 18, 2012 | Jordan Norberto | 15-Day DL | Left shoulder tendinitis |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | Day-to-Day | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 07, 2012 | Eric Sogard | 15-Day DL | Strained back |
| August 05, 2012 | A.J. Griffin | 15-Day DL | Strained right shoulder |
| August 04, 2012 | A.J. Griffin | Day-to-Day | Sore right shoulder |
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Coco Crisp has been tinkering with his batting stance to finally find something that works. Now that he's feeling it again at the plate, Crisp refuses to offer any details in fear of jinxing a good thing.
Go study some video to see for yourself, he says.
Crisp homered, hit an RBI double, and scored three runs, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 on Wednesday for their second straight winning series.
"I felt like Cal Ripken over there with so many batting stances," Crisp said.
Yoenis Cespedes hit a go-ahead two-run single in the third inning that held up for Tommy Milone , and Crisp also singled and stole his 28th base to give the A's a much-needed boost only a couple of hours after right-hander Bartolo Colon received a 50-game suspension for a positive testosterone test. The ban came one day before he had been scheduled to start the opener of a series at Tampa Bay.
Milone (10-9) allowed one run and two hits, struck out five and walked one in eight impressive innings to end a five-start winless stretch in which he had gone 0-3 since his last victory, a 9-3 decision at Minnesota on July 14. He lowered his ERA to 3.87 from 4.03 and became Oakland's second 10-game winner after Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner while with the Angels.
The A's won despite four errors behind Milone.
"Typically, you don't win games making four errors," manager Bob Melvin said. "The reason we did come back is Milone."
Josh Reddick added an RBI single for the A's (67-56), who moved a season-high 11 games over .500 - their best since finishing the 2006 season at 93-69. That's the last year Oakland reached the playoffs, getting swept in four games of the AL championship series by the Detroit Tigers .
Oakland began the day a half-game out in the AL wild-card race.
"When Coco plays well, we win," Melvin said.
Minnesota starter Liam Hendriks (0-6) is still searching for his first major league win after 13 career starts, and nine this season. The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits in five innings - and he didn't get much help from the Twins' stagnant offense, which managed only three hits. Matt Carson had two of them.
"I wasn't given a lead and trying to blow it," Hendriks said. "We had some good at bats against Milone. It was just one of those days where I had to keep us in the game. It's unfortunate I only went five."
Not even the steady Josh Willingham had a hit in him this time as Minnesota lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Willingham, who hit 29 home runs in 2011 during his lone season with the A's, went 0 for 4 after he had hit safely in each of his first eight games against his former club this year.
"Milone did the rest. He shut us down and went deep into the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
A day after the A's turned a triple play, and Minnesota didn't leave a single runner on base in Oakland's 4-1 win, things weren't much better for the Twins. Two batters after Crisp's solo homer in the seventh against reliever Tyler Robertson , Reddick reached second when shortstop Pedro Florimon 's wild throw trying for a double play sailed past first and into the visiting dugout. Then he successfully turned one in the eighth.
Drew Butera had an RBI groundout in the second for Minnesota, which has lost five of the first six on its 10-game trip and now heads to Texas for a four-game series against the two-time reigning AL champion Rangers. The Twins scored nine runs in the series, seven in Monday's 7-2 win, and still must play 10 of their next 14 games away from home.
The A's won the season series with the Twins 5-4 - just the second season-series victory for Oakland in seven years and first since 2009.
Milone dazzled with his change-up and followed a stellar outing by Brett Anderson in the left-hander's return Tuesday night following a 14-month absence for his recovery from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery.
"Obviously Bartolo's going to be missed," Milone said. "We move on from now."
Oakland's Josh Donaldson doubled and scored in the fourth on Crisp's hit. Donaldson has a career-best, six-game hitting streak and is batting .429 (15 for 35) in nine games since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Aug. 14.
New A's shortstop Stephen Drew is 0 for 6 through his first two games since being traded from Arizona on Monday. He is mired in an 0-for-21 stretch overall.
Notes: Milone passed Colon for the team lead in innings pitched, 153 1-3 to 152 1-3. ... RHP Tyson Ross will be called up from Sacramento to start Thursday in place of Colon for the first game of a three-game series with the Rays. ... Hendriks was one of three Australian pitchers in the ballpark - joining Oakland's Travis Blackley and Grant Balfour . ... Milone improved to 5-1 in seven starts against American League Central teams. ... Cespedes is second among AL rookies in the Triple Crown categories - average (.303), home runs (16) and RBIs (62) - to the Angels' Mike Trout . ... Oakland last committed four errors in a game June 23 vs. the Giants, a 9-8 loss.
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Minnesota Twins