In his second start of the 2010 season, Justin Duchscherer looked more like his old self. He held the Seattle Mariners to two hits over 7.1 innings and led the A’s to their sixth win of the season. The A’s (6-2) spoiled Seattle’s homecoming, and now lead the season series against the Mariners, four games to one. Seattle, a team that had a stellar offseason, is off to a rather miserable start. Offensively, Seattle has just one player hitting above .300, Franklin Gutierrez (.419 through eight games). The player with the next highest batting average is Ichiro Suzuki, who is hitting .250 through the first eight games of the season.
Oakland, however, continues to drive the ball. The A’s have scored 44 runs through the first eight games, which is incredible considering the lack of power they have in their lineup. The only real power threat, Eric Chavez, is still adjusting to the daily strain of baseball activities after missing nearly two and a half years thanks to various injuries. 1B Daric Barton, who has been particularly good through the first eight games, is a big part of Oakland’s early success. Monday, Barton collected two walks, which brings his season total to 10 through eight games. Barton’s ability to get on base is proving extremely helpful for the seemingly aggressive Athletics so far. Another player off to a hot start is SS, Cliff Pennington, who connected for his second homer of the season on Monday. Through the first eight games, Pennington is hitting .269 with 2 HR and 6 RBIs. Rajai Davis also collected his fifth stolen base of the season on Monday.
The A’s are performing extremely well on offense right now, and as a result the pitching is cruising through opposing offenses. Justin Duchscherer won his first game since 2008, where he went 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA. Tomorrow, the A’s will counter Seattle’s Doug Fister with Brett Anderson. Anderson, who made his season debut against the Mariners in Oakland, will look to build upon his strong outing. If Anderson can put the clamps on Seattle tomorrow, Oakland will be in a very nice position in this early season. The A’s have taken their first two series, and taking a third would say a lot about this young, talented team.