Oakland Athletics Takeaways From the First Spring Training Game
By Jason Burke
The games may not count, but the competition for making the opening day roster has officially begun. The first spring training game for the Oakland Athletics was against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Yes, that hurts to type–again. However, if one game into camp is any indication, it’s certainly an odd year on the calendar, as the A’s beat the Giants 9-4 in yesterday’s contest.
By now, you know the score and that Marcus Semien was the standout performer in his first real game as a member of the Oakland Athletics. Semien went 3-for-3 with two home runs (one was a two-run shot off of Madison Bumgarner as the second batter of the game) and four rbi.
Craig Gentry was in the starting lineup as the leadoff hitter, and went 2-for 3 on the afternoon, also swiping a bag. His speed was on full display on Tuesday, a feature many A’s fans are hoping to see more of in 2015.
Let’s just keep going down the starting lineup. The number three hitter Tuesday, Ben Zobrist, followed Semien’s two-run shot in the first with a triple, and added a double later in the game before completing his 2-for-2 day. Billy Butler went 0-for-1 but did record a sac-fly, which is something that manager Bob Melvin had the team working on late last week. Again, something we’d like to see more of in 2015 is an improvement in the club’s situational hitting.
Free agent signee, Jason Pridie, belted a two-run shot in the eighth off of Hunter Strickland, but really, who hasn’t done that? The 31-year old Pridie is hoping to throw his name into the outfield mix with a strong spring, but would have to force his way onto the roster by (presumably) forcing Sam Fuld off.
Susan Slusser’s favorite player, Pat Venditte came in and recorded two outs out of the bullpen. In case you haven’t heard of Venditte, he’s an ambidextrous pitcher, and recorded an out as both a left-hander and a righty in the game. With Sean Doolitle out, Venditte could be a dark horse candidate to grab the open bullpen spot when camp breaks.
Brad Mills continued to show the value of a dollar, allowing just one walk in one inning pitched. Mills pitched decently in three starts for the Oakland Athletics last season before being placed on waivers in July. The Blue Jays snatched Mills up, but he was largely ineffective with Toronto, compiling an ERA of 27.00 in two outings. Oakland signed Mills as a free agent, giving the A’s even more pitching depth than the ten projected players competing for a spot in the starting rotation.
Joe Wendle, Mark Canha and Josh Phegley all received some playing time, but none could muster a hit. Phegley struck out twice in two at-bats, while Canha added one of his own. Wendle was able to draw a walk, and getting on base has been a strong suit for the offseason acquisition (Brandon Moss trade) in his minor league career.
All in all, it’s just the first game of many this spring for the Oakland Athletics, but that won’t stop us from being excited about the rest of the games, and the spring training battles that are to come.
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