Oakland Athletics Turn Luck Around As Rich Hill Shines

All is well in Oaktown these days. The Warriors returned to form. Even better, the Oakland Athletics swept the Texas Rangers at the Coliseum behind the team’s new found ace, Rich Hill.

About a week ago, the A’s were heading to Tampa Bay after being crushed by the Orioles and the Red Sox. The starters were only lasting around three innings, and the A’s had given up eleven or more runs in four consecutive games. The A’s had also been swept by the Mariners at home.

Ah…what a difference a week makes!

Rich Hill was magnificent on Wednesday. A’s fans had seen Hill pitch well on the road, but this was his best home start. (I had to give final exams all day, but I listened to the game through headphones…I sure hope no one cheated, because I was totally distracted.) His curve ball was pretty much unhittable. On the radio side, Ray Fosse offered kudos to the home plate ump for sticking with the pitch. It sounded like Barry Zito in his prime was on the mound.

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The Ranger hitters were utterly befuddled. When they laid off the curve and waited for the fastball, they got a steady diet of “Uncle Charlie.” When they were trying to time the breaking pitches, they got fastballs on the inside corner. Even when they knew it was coming, they still couldn’t hit Hill’s curve.

In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect from Rich Hill. Some A’s fans had doubts about signing a guy to a $6 million dollar contract when he had only four good games for the Red Sox. If he can keep pitching this well, Hill is going to be a Billy Beane special bargain.

Rich Hill’s only drawback is that he throws a lot of pitches. Manager Bob Melvin can count on using his bullpen whenever Hill starts. Wednesday was no exception. Fernando Rodriguez came in for the seventh and eighth innings, and he was throwing hard. He had only one strikeout, but his pitches were 95 mph or faster. He threw just19 pitches in two innings of work, and 15 were strikes.

A four-run uprising in the bottom of the eighth meant there would be no save. Andrew Triggs came in to nail down the win with three quick outs in the ninth.

Khris Davis cracked another home run. The corner infielders, Danny Valencia and Billy Butler, both flashed some leather to make some nice defensive plays. After a frigid start to the month of May, the A’s are pretty hot these days.

A four-game win streak is very nice. It is especially gratifying when two of those wins came by way of ninth-inning home runs. A word of caution to A’s fans… a team is never as bad as they appear when they are slumping, and a team is never a good as they appear when they are on a hot streak. (I heard that on sports talk radio, so it must be true.) The word is that Davis can be a very streaky hitter, and it has been a while since Sonny Gray was dominating in a game. Henderson Alvarez has suffered something of a setback, and even with the win, the A’s are still three games under .500. There are still concerns for the Oakland Athletics.

Next: Mark Canha To Miss Rest of Season

But be that as it may, A’s fans enjoyed a sun soaked afternoon of terrific pitching, timely hitting, and smooth defense. By the time the sun set, it was all good in Oaktown!

Next up, the New York Yankees are coming to Oakland. Be sure to tune in at 7:05 PST on Thursday night to see if the A’s can keep their hot streak alive!