Bay Area Baseball tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2012-02-27:/bay-area-baseball//79 2013-05-23T01:51:16Z Follow the latest news and notes on the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics Movable Type 4.38 A return to familiarity for Giants despite loss; Harper shines tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.69981 2013-05-23T01:45:23Z 2013-05-23T01:51:16Z SAN FRANCISCO -- More than taking two out of three from the Washington Nationals, or seeing Bryce Harper flash his all-around game to help the Nationals salvage the finale 2-1 in extra innings today, the takeaway from this series for Giants manager Bruce Bochy was simply how the games were played. The Giants pitched. They played tight defense. Twice, including today's loss, they trailed in the eighth inning or later and tied the game. After the 1-5 road trip on which the Giants did very little of the first two things and got the one win by out-slugging the Rockies at Coors Field, it qualified as something of a return to normalcy. "They've had a history of doing that, the pitchers and the players," Bochy said. "They got on track here, which we needed. This is more of our baseball. Sure it's a tough loss today, but you have to be encouraged with how we did play." That starts with... Matt Kawahara SAN FRANCISCO -- More than taking two out of three from the Washington Nationals, or seeing Bryce Harper flash his all-around game to help the Nationals salvage the finale 2-1 in extra innings today, the takeaway from this series for Giants manager Bruce Bochy was simply how the games were played.

The Giants pitched. They played tight defense. Twice, including today's loss, they trailed in the eighth inning or later and tied the game. After the 1-5 road trip on which the Giants did very little of the first two things and got the one win by out-slugging the Rockies at Coors Field, it qualified as something of a return to normalcy.

"They've had a history of doing that, the pitchers and the players," Bochy said. "They got on track here, which we needed. This is more of our baseball. Sure it's a tough loss today, but you have to be encouraged with how we did play."

That starts with the starters. Ryan Vogelsong, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner totaled 19 innings in the series and allowed three runs. That was after the rotation posted a 9.82 ERA on the six-game trip, with even Bumgarner getting tagged in Colorado for a season-high seven earned runs.

]]> Questions about Vogelsong, of course, have now shifted from the cause of his awful start to who will replace him in the rotation for the next two months. But with Cain, any hand-wringing over his winless April must now consider the fact he has gone at least seven innings and allowed two or fewer runs in three of four starts in May. And for Bumgarner, in light of his overall consistency in 2013, today's outing went a ways toward making his last start look like more of an aberration.

"We're only going to go as far as our starting pitching's going to take us really," reliever Jeremy Affeldt said. "So the way that they're pitching games right now and giving us opportunities to win is huge, and we almost got out of that one with another win."

Bumgarner allowed four hits in seven innings, the big one a solo home run by Harper in the sixth that broke a scoreless tie. Bumgarner said he was trying to go down and away with a fastball and didn't miss by much, but it was a little up and Harper went the other way with it for his 12th home run.

The Giants, handcuffed by Gio Gonzalez for seven innings, tied it in the eighth on Buster Posey's RBI single off Drew Storen to score Angel Pagan. The Nationals broke the tie in the 10th when Harper doubled off Affeldt and scored on a single by Ian Desmond.

Ironically, Vogelsong was the only starting pitcher in the series to earn a win -- he went five scoreless innings before fracturing his hand on a swing. But there was definitely a sense after today's game that this series put a lot more distance between the Giants and their road trip than just a flight from Denver.

"We're going to have some struggles here and there," Bumgarner said. "I don't think anybody was too worried about it. It's never fun to go out there and give it up like that, but I think everybody's going to be fine."

* Harper reportedly took Tuesday night's loss hard, saying he should have made a play on Gregor Blanco's game-tying triple in the ninth but the memory of his collision with the wall at Dodger Stadium last week was in the back of his mind.

If that's the case, then perhaps even more impressive than the opposite-field homer off Bumgarner or the double in the 10th off Affeldt was Harper's catch of Hunter Pence's drive into the same right-center field gap to end the sixth, which Harper gloved on a run while approaching the wall.

Harper robbed Pence again in the eighth after Posey's game tying hit with a sliding catch coming in on a sinking liner. That he later scored the winning run felt like an encore.

"I know he was frustrated with what happened last night," Bochy said. "The good ones, the good athletes, they're able to put that behind them, and he did."

Harper is now tied for second in the league with the 12 home runs. It's sometimes hard to remember he's just 20 -- 20 years and 218 days, to be exact, which according to the post-game notes makes him the second-youngest player ever to homer at AT&T Park (Miguel Cabrera was 20 years and 128 days old when he did so in 2003).

"I think he's made it pretty clear he's going to play as hard as he can every day," said Bumgarner. "It's fun to play against guys like that. Most everybody plays that way. ... But he's the kind of player that'll bring out the best in you."

Affeldt said he was initially grateful his 1-1 pitch to Harper, which missed over the inner half, wasn't "hit a lot further than that." Affeldt too praised Harper's all-out playing style, which combined with Harper's precociousness has made the Nationals outfielder a polarizing figure for some.

"I think he's a great player," Affeldt said. "He's a hard-nosed player and he can do those kinds of things late in the ballgame, he can make a difference in those games. ... I think he's a good player for that team over there and he's a little sparkplug, obviously."

* After Harper's catch on Pence's liner in the eighth, the Giants still had runners on first and second with two outs. Brandon Belt pinch-hit for Brett Pill and hit a sharp grounder that first baseman Adam LaRoche snared on a dive and, after realizing Storen was late breaking for first base, calmly threw to second base for the out.

Belt said in that situation, you simply have to tip your cap to the Nationals' defense. "Get up there in that situation, you have a plan in mind, you get a good pitch to hit and hit it, and they make a play," Belt said. "There's nothing more you can do."

Belt was held out of the lineup with back tightness. He said afterward it didn't bother him swinging -- the issue would have been standing and crouching on defense. But he said it's "getting better" and he should be OK to play Friday.

* Marco Scutaro's 19-game hitting streak came to an end as he went 0-for-3 with two walks, but the end was infused with some drama. Scutaro drove a pitch to the warning track in left with two outs in the 10th, but not quite well enough to clear the wall, even with the ball carrying fairly well on a warm afternoon.

"I hit it good, but it was kind of too high. And you know this park," Scutaro said. "For me to hit it out I have to really hit it. And I didn't feel like I hit it."

Before the game went to extras, it looked like Scutaro's last chance at extending the streak had come in the eighth, when he walked on a full-count pitch ahead of Posey's RBI single. He said the hitting streak wasn't on his mind at all.

As for whether he was sad to see it end? "I feel worse because we lost the game."

* Bochy didn't have an update after the game on reliever Santiago Casilla, who was put on the DL on Tuesday and went to get a second opinion on his troublesome knee today. A team spokesman said Casilla saw doctors at Stanford but the Giants likely wouldn't have an update -- such as whether Casilla might require surgery -- before Friday.

* In case you missed it, Ryan Vogelsong talked to reporters this morning about the procedure on his pitching hand and his hope to return to "contribute down the stretch."

* The Giants are off tomorrow before the Rockies come to town for a three-game series starting Friday. The projected pitching matchups:

Friday: RHP Tyler Chatwood (2-0, 2.55) vs. RHP Tim Lincecum (3-3, 4.70)
Saturday: RHP Juan Nicasio (4-1, 4.47) vs. LHP Barry Zito (3-3, 3.91)
Sunday: RHP Jon Garland (3-5, 5.19) vs. RHP Matt Cain (3-2, 5.12)

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Vogelsong starts road to recovery, plus Wednesday lineups tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.69751 2013-05-22T19:30:43Z 2013-05-22T19:31:38Z SAN FRANCISCO -- Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong was in the Giants' clubhouse this morning, wearing a cast and sling on his right arm a day after having surgery on his fractured pitching hand. Vogelsong said he hasn't had much pain in the hand and the sling is "more for comfort -- and so people don't run into me." Vogelsong said the concern right now is more with making sure he doesn't develop an infection -- he had five pins inserted in his pinky finger during the surgery. Vogelsong suffered a dislocated knuckle and two fractures when he was hit on the hand swinging at an inside pitch Monday night. Vogelsong said that even the initial hit wasn't too painful. The fact that it will likely keep him out of the rotation for at least six to eight weeks, he said, still hasn't really sunk in. "I think once I start missing starts," Vogelsong said. "I think the thing that can help... Matt Kawahara SAN FRANCISCO -- Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong was in the Giants' clubhouse this morning, wearing a cast and sling on his right arm a day after having surgery on his fractured pitching hand. Vogelsong said he hasn't had much pain in the hand and the sling is "more for comfort -- and so people don't run into me."

Vogelsong said the concern right now is more with making sure he doesn't develop an infection -- he had five pins inserted in his pinky finger during the surgery. Vogelsong suffered a dislocated knuckle and two fractures when he was hit on the hand swinging at an inside pitch Monday night.

Vogelsong said that even the initial hit wasn't too painful. The fact that it will likely keep him out of the rotation for at least six to eight weeks, he said, still hasn't really sunk in.

"I think once I start missing starts," Vogelsong said. "I think the thing that can help the most is if the team keeps playing well. ... You've got to try to look at positive sides of things -- get this thing right, get healthy and come back when it's crunch time and hopefully be able to contribute down the stretch."

]]> Monday night, Vogelsong had said if he had to injure one finger on his pitching hand, the pinky might be best because it factors the least into gripping his pitches. He admitted today that was kind of a guess -- "You don't really think much about what the pinky's doing -- and said he'll have to wait until he can start throwing again to gauge the effect.

One encouraging factor is that he doesn't think the injured hand will keep him from doing rotator cuff and scapula exercises to keep up strength in his throwing shoulder.

"I think that's going to be a big thing, keeping my shoulder strong in that sense," he said. "Just get back to throwing when I can."

As for when that will be, Vogelsong hasn't yet started setting timetables for himself. He said he'll concentrate first on letting the bone heal up, then start thinking about recovery time after he gets the cast off. He said he plans to remain with the team in the meantime, including on road trips.

"Yeah, I'm staying with these guys," he said. "I can bring some things to the table even though I'm not on the field."

One of those things is support for his rotation mates as they try to dig themselves out of an early-season rut. Vogelsong himself looked to be turning a corner Monday night with five scoreless innings before the injury. His 8.06 ERA before that start was a major factor in the Giants' rotation having one of the higher ERAs in the National League, but nobody aside from Madison Bumgarner has been particularly consistent for the first month and a half.

"We're going to be fine," Vogelsong said. "These guys are really good. They'll be fine. We had spots last year like this and it worked out pretty good last year.

"I think it stands out a little more when your starting pitching's struggling," he went on. "Everybody's going to go through their struggles during the season, but when everybody's doing it at the same time it sticks out a little bit more."

No doubt it will kill Vogelsong, a notorious competitor, not being able to try to help the rotation turn things around over the next two months. But he said he knows it's important not to try to rush his recovery and give the finger a chance to heal properly.

"I work hard in there as it is, so that's not going to be a problem," he said. "Knowing what I went through with Tommy John and stuff, it's probably going to be more them trying to back me off.

"It's just my nature, that I always want to do a little bit more than I should at times. So it's probably going to be the other way where they'll need to back me off. And I'm just going to have to be smart."

* Here's the Giants' lineup today as they go for a sweep of the Nationals:

CF Pagan
2B Scutaro
C Posey
RF Pence
1B Pill
3B Arias
LF Torres
SS Crawford
P Bumgarner

And the Nationals' lineup against Bumgarner:

CF Span
RF Harper
3B Zimmerman
SS Desmond
1B LaRoche
LF Moore
2B Espinosa
C Suzuki
P Gonzalez

* Pablo Sandoval gets the day off as he tries to shake the sickness he has been battling the past couple days. Sandoval got an IV before last night's game, but was clearly still under the weather even after his walk-off home run in the 10th inning.

Brandon Belt has some back tightness. Manager Bruce Bochy said Belt could probably play today, but with the Giants facing a tough left-hander in Gio Gonzalez, and with Brett Pill around, it made sense to give Belt a rest as well.

* According to the Giants' game notes, ESPN measured Sandoval's monster walk-off homer last night at 464 feet -- the longest of his career. That's pretty good for a healthy man. For a sick one? "Even more amazing," Bochy said.

* If Marco Scutaro gets a hit today he'll match his career-long hitting streak of 20 games, which he set with the Giants in the second half of last season. Gonzalez has been tough on him in the past -- Scutaro is 2-for-17 against the Nationals' starter in his career with a walk and two strikeouts.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Sandoval fights a bug, Cain rises to occasion in Giants' 4-2 win tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.69501 2013-05-22T08:20:53Z 2013-05-22T08:22:58Z SAN FRANCISCO -- Pablo Sandoval has been battling a flu for the past couple days and was still feeling bad enough Tuesday to get an IV before the Giants played the Nationals. He then played 10 innings on a night when it was 57 degrees at first pitch at AT&T Park. And he ended the game with his second career walk-off homer, a moon shot that bounced into the bleachers in the deepest part of the park in right-center field, right near the shield commemorating Barry Bonds' 756 career home runs. "He got all of that one," manager Bruce Bochy said. Sandoval definitely looked under the weather after the Giants' 4-2 win and was asked about being able to deliver that kind of swing under those circumstances against a pitcher he'd never faced, Nationals reliever Yunesky Maya. "I don't know, man," Sandoval said. "Effort. You have to give 100 percent out there no matter what. This is your job. You... Matt Kawahara SAN FRANCISCO -- Pablo Sandoval has been battling a flu for the past couple days and was still feeling bad enough Tuesday to get an IV before the Giants played the Nationals. He then played 10 innings on a night when it was 57 degrees at first pitch at AT&T Park. And he ended the game with his second career walk-off homer, a moon shot that bounced into the bleachers in the deepest part of the park in right-center field, right near the shield commemorating Barry Bonds' 756 career home runs.

"He got all of that one," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Sandoval definitely looked under the weather after the Giants' 4-2 win and was asked about being able to deliver that kind of swing under those circumstances against a pitcher he'd never faced, Nationals reliever Yunesky Maya.

"I don't know, man," Sandoval said. "Effort. You have to give 100 percent out there no matter what. This is your job. You have to fight through it."

]]> An appropriate response, perhaps, given the past couple days for the Giants as a whole. First there was the 1-5 road trip on which the starting rotation posted a 9.82 ERA. Then they lost Ryan Vogelsong to a fractured pitching hand Monday night that will likely keep him out six to eight weeks. Tuesday, the Giants were held down for seven innings by Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg and down to their last strike in the ninth before Gregor Blanco sent the game into extra innings with a game-tying RBI triple off Rafael Soriano.

Before stepping in against Maya, Sandoval said he had gotten only a brief scouting report that the right-hander "throws a lot of strikes." Maya missed with a first-pitch fastball and then threw a changeup that Sandoval crushed to give the Giants their 13th comeback win of the season and sixth in their final at-bat.

Sandoval is notorious for being one of the more aggressive Giants when it comes to congratulating teammates in the traditional on-field mob after walk-offs. So naturally, he said, "I got it pretty good. I tried to get out of there, but they got me good."

Who did?

"Everybody."

Bochy said that coming off "just a horrible road trip," the nature of the comeback "has to do a lot for our club." If nothing else, it gave Tuesday a feeling of familiarity.

"We love pressure," Sandoval said. "It's our favorite part."

* Nobody was under more pressure Monday than Blanco in the ninth, down 0-2 against Soriano with two outs. Blanco fouled off the first two-strike pitch, then hit a low slider over the head of Bryce Harper in right-center to score Andres Torres easily from first. Torres was pinch running for Buster Posey, who singled off Soriano to start the inning.

"When I got two strikes I said just hit a double," Blanco said. "Torres is fast and something in the gap, he's going to score."

Blanco said he "knew I hit it hard," but figured the Nationals' outfielders were playing deep to guard against extra bases. Having played right field at AT&T Park, though, he also knows it can be tough to gauge how close you are to the jutting wall in right-center, particularly for visiting outfielders. Harper leapt short of the wall as the ball cleared him.

It was Blanco's third hit of the night. He also singled twice off Strasburg and scored the Giants' first run in the second inning on Angel Pagan's two-out single. Blanco can be counted on for defense and is batting .293. It's a big reason why left field hasn't seemed like the question mark the Giants thought it might be coming out of spring training.

"He's kind of that guy that is quietly doing a lot of things for us," said starter Matt Cain. "He does a lot of things to keep rallies going or just keep the bats going. Might not get hits every time, but he's usually working counts and messing with the pitcher. He's a good teammate and a good guy to have on your side."

* The Giants were within striking distance in the ninth thanks to Cain, who shook off a couple mistake pitches in the first inning to match Strasburg for the rest of seven innings. Cain allowed RBI doubles in the first inning to Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond, but said he "knew I felt fine and just kind of felt I needed to bear down a little bit."

Cain allowed just one more hit while striking out seven. He and Strasburg combined for 14 strikeouts in 14 innings. The Nationals did load the bases against him with one out in the fourth, but Cain fielded Kurt Suzuki's comebacker and flipped home to Buster Posey for a force out before striking out Strasburg to end the inning.

"I had to think back to high school when I played second base," Cain said. "That was the way they used to teach us to turn double plays."

Bochy said Cain's performance, coming off a start in Colorado where he allowed six runs -- but still got the win -- was "critical."

"(Strasburg) was throwing great, and you're hoping your guy puts up zeroes and keeps you in the game," Bochy said. "You keep it close and anything can happen, as you saw."

That the outing and subsequent comeback came in the wake of the Giants losing their No. 5 starter for the near future was not lost on Cain.

"It's a hard thing to see Vogey go down, especially the way that it happened, but we're glad things look like they should be OK, he'll be all right, " Cain said. "That's the hard thing with baseball is you have to kind of move on really fast. And the guys did a good job of that."

* The Giants also got an encouraging appearance from Jean Machi on the same day they put Santiago Casilla on the DL for his troublesome knee. Machi relieved Javier Lopez with runners on first and third in the eighth and two outs and retired Ian Desmond on a chopper in front of the mound. Machi made a pretty athletic play on the ball, too, calmly fielding it and making a strong throw to first.

"Since Casilla's gone down we'll use some other guys in that role, and (Machi has) the equipment to pitch there and he's got the poise," Bochy said. "A lot of times you see a pitcher panic a little bit, but he made a good throw and got us back in the dugout."

* Marco Scutaro extended his hitting streak to 19 games with an eighth-inning double. He also singled in the 10th and was standing on first when Sandoval homered. For the streak, he's hitting .481 (38-for-79).

"It's kind of laughable at times," Cain said.

* So, after all that, the Giants are in position to go for the sweep tomorrow behind left-hander Madison Bumgarner. The Nationals counter with lefty Gio Gonzalez, and the 12:45 p.m. first pitch will be here before you know it.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Vogelsong has five pins inserted in pinky, likely out 6-8 weeks tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.69441 2013-05-22T00:35:26Z 2013-05-22T00:39:04Z SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Ryan Vogelsong had surgery to insert five pins into his fractured right pinky finger today and that the procedure "went well." Bochy said he's hopeful Vogelsong will be able to return to pitching off a mound in six to eight weeks. Vogelsong was injured swinging at an inside pitch in the fifth inning of the Giants' 8-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night. He suffered a dislocated knuckle and two fractures, one each above and below, on the pinky finger of his throwing hand. As of now, the Giants have not decided on what to do with Vogelsong's next turn in the rotation, which they can push back to next Tuesday because of an off-day Thursday. Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner will be moved up in the rotation to pitch on regular rest.... Matt Kawahara SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Ryan Vogelsong had surgery to insert five pins into his fractured right pinky finger today and that the procedure "went well." Bochy said he's hopeful Vogelsong will be able to return to pitching off a mound in six to eight weeks.

Vogelsong was injured swinging at an inside pitch in the fifth inning of the Giants' 8-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night. He suffered a dislocated knuckle and two fractures, one each above and below, on the pinky finger of his throwing hand.

As of now, the Giants have not decided on what to do with Vogelsong's next turn in the rotation, which they can push back to next Tuesday because of an off-day Thursday. Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner will be moved up in the rotation to pitch on regular rest.

]]> Long reliever Chad Gaudin is an option Tuesday as are Mike Kickham and Shane Loux, who are both pitching at Triple-A Fresno. Asked about the possibility of looking outside for help, Bochy said the Giants are "weighing all the options right now" but are focusing on their internal options.

How Bochy has to use his bullpen over the next few games could have an effect -- he said he wouldn't hold Gaudin out of a winnable game in the interest of saving him to make a start Tuesday. He also said as far as he knows Kickham and Loux will make their next scheduled starts for Fresno.

The bullpen also has a different look now after the Giants placed right-hander Santiago Casilla on the disabled list Tuesday along with Vogelsong. Casilla has been nursing a sore knee and felt more discomfort after pitching in the Giants' win Monday night. He had been wearing a brace, but it apparently didn't have much of an effect.

Bochy said Casilla will see a specialist tomorrow to get another opinion on the knee and didn't rule out surgery as an option. "I think once he gets another opinion tomorrow we'll see what's the best way to go with him," Bochy said. "That's always a possibility."

The Giants called up Brett Pill to fill Vogelsong's roster spot Tuesday and right-hander Sandy Rosario for bullpen depth.

Bochy said Vogelsong stopped by AT&T Park today briefly after the surgery and was "in a pretty good frame of mind."

"He was glad to get the surgery out of the way and hopefully get this clock moving to getting back on the mound," Bochy said.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Posey thinks Vogelsong will return sooner rather than later tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.69111 2013-05-21T08:00:27Z 2013-05-21T08:05:44Z SAN FRANCISCO -- Ryan Vogelsong had just completed his first season as a full-time major-league starting pitcher when he went to Venezuela in late 2004 to play winter ball. The season had not gone particularly well. In 31 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 26 of them starts, Vogelsong had gone 6-13 with a 6.50 ERA. It was in the wake of these struggles that Guillermo Quiroz met Vogelsong in Venezuela and formed a "concept of him" that the Giants' backup catcher said still holds true about Vogelsong nearly nine years later. "He just wanted to work," Quiroz said Monday. "He wanted to get better." It took years, but Vogelsong did just that, becoming an All-Star for the Giants in 2011 in his age 33 season and a key part of their World Series run last year. Now, facing another type of recovery after fracturing his pitching hand in two places in the Giants' 8-0 win over the Nationals on Monday... Matt Kawahara SAN FRANCISCO -- Ryan Vogelsong had just completed his first season as a full-time major-league starting pitcher when he went to Venezuela in late 2004 to play winter ball. The season had not gone particularly well. In 31 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 26 of them starts, Vogelsong had gone 6-13 with a 6.50 ERA.

It was in the wake of these struggles that Guillermo Quiroz met Vogelsong in Venezuela and formed a "concept of him" that the Giants' backup catcher said still holds true about Vogelsong nearly nine years later.

"He just wanted to work," Quiroz said Monday. "He wanted to get better."

It took years, but Vogelsong did just that, becoming an All-Star for the Giants in 2011 in his age 33 season and a key part of their World Series run last year. Now, facing another type of recovery after fracturing his pitching hand in two places in the Giants' 8-0 win over the Nationals on Monday night, it's that drive that figures to serve Vogelsong well as he navigates a healing and recovery process that manager Bruce Bochy estimated will be at least four to six weeks.

The details of Vogelsong's injury and immediate reaction can be found here on the blog. Vogelsong probably didn't have to talk to reporters after the latest setback in what has already been a frustrating season for him, but he did, wearing a cast that covered most of his right forearm and vowing to return to the mound as soon as possible.

]]> Bochy said Vogelsong was waiting to congratulate the rest of the team in the clubhouse after the game, in which the Giants rapped out a season-high 17 hits while holding the Nationals to three -- and none after Vogelsong departed in the fifth. Catcher Buster Posey said that was an encouraging sign.

"You don't know how a guy's going to take something like that," Posey said. "He seems to be handling it pretty well. It's unfortunate. Vogey is a horse for us and probably had his best start of the year (Monday).

"He'll be all right. It'll take some time, but he's such a hard worker, I think his recovery time will be pretty good."

First baseman Brandon Belt said it was pretty apparent as soon as Vogelsong had to leave the game with trainer Dave Groeschner attending to his hand that the diagnosis wouldn't be good. "But this team seems to have people step up at the right times," he said.

"It was tough to see him go down," Belt said. "But he'll be back strong and ready to go."

* In terms of stepping up at the right time, that process started Monday night with the Giants' bullpen, which was pressed into action suddenly following Vogelsong's injury and didn't allow a hit in four innings.

Vogelsong came out of the game with two outs in the fifth and pinch hitter Nick Noonan grounded out, meaning Javier Lopez, the first man up, had very little time to warm up. Lopez, though, struck out the first batter he faced and three of four overall, including Nationals cleanup hitter Ryan Zimmerman to end the sixth.

Jean Machi, Santiago Casilla and Jeremy Affeldt combined to finish the game, protecting a comfortable lead for a change. The Giants, who were outscored on their 1-5 road trip by a combined total of 52-30 and were shut out at Coors Field on Sunday, had six players with multiple hits, including four by Belt and three from Andres Torres.

"Really happy for Andres, who's struggling lately and goes out there and throws out a good game," Bochy said. "Brandon threw out some great at-bats. Really we got contributions from everybody.

"They're all a little down with what happened with Vogey. But it was a good win."

* Belt matched a career high with the four hits, including a solo home run in the fifth off Nationals reliever Craig Stammen, and scored four times. One came on a safety squeeze by Vogelsong in the fourth that gave the Giants a 3-0 lead.

"He made it easy on me," Belt said. "Sometimes as a runner on third base it's tough to kind of see the angle of the ball. He put it right where he needed to put it."

Belt hit a deep fly ball to center in his fifth at-bat but Denard Span tracked it down near the warning track. He received a standing ovation as he jogged back to the dugout.

* Marco Scutaro had a pair of singles and is now batting .480 (36-for-75) during his 18-game hitting streak. It's the longest active streak in the majors this season and it has the Giants' second baseman at .333 for the year. A month ago today, he was hitting .227.

* Matt Cain vs. Stephen Strasburg may have looked a lot better on a billboard last year, when Cain was 16-5 and Strasburg 15-6 before famously being shut down for precaution toward the end of the season.

Both aces are struggling so far in 2013 (Cain has a 5.43 ERA, Strasburg's is 2.83 but accompanies a 2-5 record), but this matchup still has star appeal, and the Giants could surely use an encouraging outing from Cain after seeing another of their rotation stalwarts lost for the next month and a half. First pitch at 7:15 p.m.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> UPDATED: Giants' Vogelsong suffers fracture on pitching hand tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.69091 2013-05-21T05:00:24Z 2013-05-21T06:59:36Z SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong suffered a fractured right (pitching) hand Monday night when he was hit by pitch on a swing in the fifth inning of the Giants' 8-0 win over the Washington Nationals. Vogelsong grimaced as the ball appeared to catch him squarely on the top of the hand. He bent over clutching the hand and left the field accompanied by trainer Dave Groeschner and manager Bruce Bochy. The Giants announced the fracture several innings later. Vogelsong said he suffered a dislocated joint on the knuckle of his right pinky finger and two fractures, one each above and below the knuckle. He will undergo surgery Tuesday at Stanford. Manager Bruce Bochy said Vogelsong is probably looking at a recovery time of four to six weeks. Vogelsong, who had pitched five scoreless innings in his best start of the season, said he immediately thought the hand was broken. "It stinks," Vogelsong said. "It stinks, especially because it's... Matt Kawahara SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong suffered a fractured right (pitching) hand Monday night when he was hit by pitch on a swing in the fifth inning of the Giants' 8-0 win over the Washington Nationals.

Vogelsong grimaced as the ball appeared to catch him squarely on the top of the hand. He bent over clutching the hand and left the field accompanied by trainer Dave Groeschner and manager Bruce Bochy. The Giants announced the fracture several innings later.

Vogelsong said he suffered a dislocated joint on the knuckle of his right pinky finger and two fractures, one each above and below the knuckle. He will undergo surgery Tuesday at Stanford. Manager Bruce Bochy said Vogelsong is probably looking at a recovery time of four to six weeks.

Vogelsong, who had pitched five scoreless innings in his best start of the season, said he immediately thought the hand was broken.

"It stinks," Vogelsong said. "It stinks, especially because it's been so rough. To go out there and feel like my old self again, be throwing like that, it's tough."

Vogelsong, who came in with an 8.06 ERA in eight starts, retired the first eight hitters he faced. He stranded runners on first and second in both the third and fifth innings -- a mark of his success last year, when opposing hitters batted just .227 against him with runners in scoring position. By completing five innings, he earned his second win of the year.

"It's really a shame because tonight was the Vogey that we know, it's the way he threw all of last year," Bochy said. "It's a tough one."

Bochy said the Giants had not yet discussed what to do with Vogelsong's rotation spot. He said long reliever Chad Gaudin is a candidate, but the Giants feel Gaudin is "pretty valuable in the bullpen."

Bochy said the Giants will know more about recovery time for Vogelsong following the surgery. Vogelsong said he thinks he'll be able to keep up with range of motion and arm strength exercises while the finger heals.

"I haven't really had it sink in yet," he said. "But I'll be back. No question about it."

Vogelsong said if there's a silver lining in this, it's that the injured finger is the one used least to grip and apply pressure to the ball while pitching.

"We're not talking about Tommy John or anything," he said. "So basically as fast as I can get it to heal so I can start throwing again."

Making it all the more frustrating was that Vogelsong said he had worked with the Giants' staff to address a host of mechanical issues recently and Monday's start was "the best I've felt in a long time, from a mental aspect and physical aspect."

"It's a good place to start, I guess, when I come back," he said.

Bochy said Vogelsong was "down," but was still waiting to congratulate the team in the clubhouse when they came in after the game.

"This is going to be a little while, but these things happen unfortunately," Bochy said. "You hate to see them happen. But he'll be back, hopefully in a couple months."

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Giants, Nationals lineups: Pagan could be game-time call tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.69061 2013-05-21T00:35:02Z 2013-05-21T00:35:52Z SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy said center fielder Angel Pagan is feeling better after leaving Sunday's game in the fifth inning with the flu, but could still be a game-time decision tonight depending on how he feels after batting practice. Pagan is in the lineup right now. If he can't go, it'll be Andres Torres in center. Here's the Giants' lineup tonight for their series opener against the Nationals: CF Pagan 2B Scutaro 3B Sandoval C Posey RF Pence 1B Belt LF Torres SS Crawford P Vogelsong And the Nationals' lineup against Vogelsong: CF Span 2B Lombardozzi RF Harper 3B Zimmerman 1B LaRoche SS Desmond LF Bernadina C Solano P Duke... Matt Kawahara SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy said center fielder Angel Pagan is feeling better after leaving Sunday's game in the fifth inning with the flu, but could still be a game-time decision tonight depending on how he feels after batting practice. Pagan is in the lineup right now. If he can't go, it'll be Andres Torres in center.

Here's the Giants' lineup tonight for their series opener against the Nationals:

CF Pagan
2B Scutaro
3B Sandoval
C Posey
RF Pence
1B Belt
LF Torres
SS Crawford
P Vogelsong

And the Nationals' lineup against Vogelsong:

CF Span
2B Lombardozzi
RF Harper
3B Zimmerman
1B LaRoche
SS Desmond
LF Bernadina
C Solano
P Duke

]]> * Bochy said he and third baseman Pablo Sandoval are also feeling a little under the weather. That's the last thing the Giants need after their 1-5 road trip is to bring the flu home with them, but Bochy said as far as he knows nobody else is feeling it. Also, Sandoval bounded into the clubhouse with what can really only be described as a whoop while it was open to media, so if he is sick it hasn't dampened his spirits any.

* Bochy said Nick Noonan is still "pretty sore" in the collarbone area after taking a knee to the face covering second base on a pickoff play yesterday, but that he thinks Noonan loosened up after some treatment.

* The Giants' starting pitching struggles on their trip were well-documented -- the rotation allowed 42 runs in six games to see its ERA rise a full half of a run from 3.71 to 4.21 -- and Bochy said the issues have mostly been with command.

"We're just making too many mistakes," Bochy said. "They know it. It's pretty evident, you look at the numbers -- the mistakes that we're not accustomed to making as a staff.

"It's a long season and you're going to have (tough stretches). Now it's up to us to hopefully get on track."

* That starts tonight with Ryan Vogelsong, who comes in with an 8.06 ERA in his eight starts, the highest among qualifying major-league pitchers. Duke, the Nationals lefty, has pitched just 15 innings all in relief this season -- otherwise his 8.40 ERA would trump Vogelsong.

According to Elias, this will be the first game in which both starting pitchers have an ERA above 8.00 since Sept. 5, 2010, when the Nationals' Jason Marquis (8.13) dueled the Pirates' Charlie Morton (10.03).

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Even in slump, Cespedes maintains flair for dramatic in A's win tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68601 2013-05-20T02:20:21Z 2013-05-20T02:22:24Z OAKLAND -- It's safe to say the level of concern over Yoenis Cespedes' recent slump -- he came into Sunday's game with four hits in his last 38 at-bats -- was not high. Not from manager Bob Melvin, who kept pointing out Cespedes was having better at-bats recently and making hard contact. Not from catcher Derek Norris, who flat-out said: "I don't think anybody's too concerned with him." And certainly not from Cespedes himself, who said of his track record in Cuba: "The way that I work, I believe everything's going to be fine." So after his tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning of Sunday's 4-3 A's win over the Royals, Cespedes said there were no sighs of relief as he rounded the bases -- just thoughts of securing the sweep in the ninth. "He's a very confident guy," Melvin said. "It's never really a lack of confidence with him." Cespedes, who also singled in the fourth Sunday to... Matt Kawahara OAKLAND -- It's safe to say the level of concern over Yoenis Cespedes' recent slump -- he came into Sunday's game with four hits in his last 38 at-bats -- was not high. Not from manager Bob Melvin, who kept pointing out Cespedes was having better at-bats recently and making hard contact. Not from catcher Derek Norris, who flat-out said: "I don't think anybody's too concerned with him."

And certainly not from Cespedes himself, who said of his track record in Cuba: "The way that I work, I believe everything's going to be fine." So after his tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning of Sunday's 4-3 A's win over the Royals, Cespedes said there were no sighs of relief as he rounded the bases -- just thoughts of securing the sweep in the ninth.

"He's a very confident guy," Melvin said. "It's never really a lack of confidence with him."

Cespedes, who also singled in the fourth Sunday to make it his first multi-hit game since May 4, said he has gotten off to slow starts before when playing in Cuba and always hit his way out of them over the course of the season. "I don't know if it's going to start right now or later, but the way I've been working ... I know it's going to be good," he said.

]]> Cespedes said he went up in the eighth against Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera knowing Herrera relies heavily on a mid-90s fastball, and that "the only thing I was looking for was try to find a good pitch, make hard contact." Herrera threw him two fastballs -- both at 96 mph -- one that he watched for ball one, and one that he crushed over the wall in left-center field for his eighth homer of the season.

It was also the seventh of Cespedes' 31 career home runs with the A's that has either tied the game or put the A's ahead in the seventh inning or later. "He has a flair for that," said Melvin. "There's no question."

Norris said the A's dugout was tuned into Cespedes' at-bat, conscious of the fact that "he may be struggling as far as batting average, but the power is still there."

"Personally I think the harder the guy throws, the better chance (Cespedes) has," Norris said. "The guys that throw harder usually rely on their fastball more because it is so explosive, and I think that's one of his strengths is being able to hit power pitching.

"So I think that's just going right into his hands."

* There'll be more on Cespedes in tomorrow's print story, including a piece of advice he received in Cuba that led him to tweak his approach Sunday after popping out behind the plate in his first at-bat. As for the bigger picture, the A's managed to sweep this series from the Royals despite falling behind in all three games and scoring a total of eight runs.

That, of course, means they pitched. A.J. Griffin on Sunday was not as sharp as Jarrod Parker on Friday night or as elusive as Tommy Milone on Saturday. Griffin walked three Royals -- as many as in his previous three starts combined -- and allowed two of them to score. But in a theme of the series, he went six innings and kept the A's close while they chipped away at the early deficit.

"It's really frustrating, man," Griffin said of the walks. "When you don't even make a guy earn his way on base it's tough, and then to let them capitalize on it and score, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

"But guys kept battling at the plate and they found a way to get it done. And it's a huge testament to the mental toughness we have on this team."

* The A's also got an encouraging performance from an undermanned bullpen. Both Sean Doolittle and Grant Balfour were unavailable except in emergency after pitching the past two nights. So Melvin said the eighth and ninth were going to go to Jerry Blevins and Ryan Cook, respectively, with the rest of the bullpen left to fill in the remainder.

As it turned out, the A's needed only Hideki Okajima in his Oakland debut -- and first appearance in a major-league game since 2011 with the Red Sox. Okajima allowed two runners in the seventh -- one on a check-swing double by Alex Gordon and the second when he intentionally walked Billy Butler -- but got Mike Moustakas to pop out and Jeff Francoeur to ground out to end the inning.

"To come in and have a strong performance with some baserunners out there, make some big pitches against a big part of their lineup, makes you feel more comfortable as a teammate," Melvin said of Okajima. "And on top of it, it was paramount in the game."

Okajima, who returned to Japan to pitch in 2012 and said he used the time to regroup, appeared for the first time in something other than a Boston uniform. He mixed pitches and arm angles and said of returning to a major-league mound: "There was a lot going through my mind, but it felt really good to be on the mound again."

* Cook also allowed two runners in the ninth, on a pair of two-out singles, before getting Moustakas to ground out to end the game. It was the first save of the year for Cook, who had 14 as a rookie last year.

Cook also scored a mini-victory by striking out Royals left fielder Alex Gordon for the second out. Gordon had hits in his first four at-bats Sunday, but struck out against Cook on three pitches, swinging over a changeup on the third.

"I think the key for Cook the past couple nights has been the changeup, a pitch he doesn't use very often," Melvin said. "When a guy's 4-for-4 and seeing the ball like a beach ball, to take a swing like that means it's a very effective pitch that he's not looking for."

Melvin said that while Cook doesn't often employ the changeup, Norris "makes him use it." Norris said his tendency to call for more changeups from Cook "depends on the day."

"Some days it's just like a traditional changeup where it's just got velocity change, and some days it really dives down like a split finger," Norris said. "Today was one of those."

Cook said he has never felt uncomfortable throwing the changeup, but last season catcher Kurt Suzuki saw Cook getting hitters out primarily with a fastball-slider combination and opted "to roll as far into the season as he could without using the changeup unless we had to in big situations or to key guys."

* After not seeing the division-leading Rangers until the 40th game of the season, the A's now travel to Texas to play them for the second time in three series. The pitching match-ups project like this:

Monday: Bartolo Colon (3-2, 4.56) vs. Josh Lindblom (2013 debut)
Tuesday: Dan Straily (1-2, 7.27) vs. Yu Darvish (7-1, 2.97)
Wednesday: Jarrod Parker (2-5, 6.04) vs. Nick Tepesch (3-4, 3.98)

With the three right-handed starters for Texas, matchups would suggest John Jaso getting some starts at catcher. But Jaso is still nursing a sore right shin from getting hit by a pitch there Wednesday, and Norris was behind the plate for all three well-pitched games in this series, so it will be interesting to watch how Melvin handles that situation.

As for going into the series on the heels of a sweep, Melvin said he thinks "it does create some momentum," if only because the A's finally had a stretch -- albeit short -- of putting together a few complete games. If this series showed one thing -- even with Crisp getting back into the lineup and Cespedes potentially shaking off his slump -- it was that success for the A's starts with their starting pitching keeping them in games.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> A's, Royals lineups: Waiting for Crisp, Cespedes to get on track tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68591 2013-05-19T19:30:57Z 2013-05-19T19:33:21Z OAKLAND -- Coco Crisp has been back with the A's for three games but hasn't really been back. The A's center fielder is hitless in 10 at-bats with a walk since coming back from the disabled list, and manager Bob Melvin acknowledged that Crisp is "still feeling his way back a little bit" after missing two weeks with a hamstring injury. "The urgency of getting him back was important for us, what he does not just production-wise," Melvin said. "Just having him in the lineup makes everyone feel that much better. "It's kind of like the effect of (Yoenis) Cespedes. You feel good when those guys are in the lineup. Coco is our igniter and Cespedes, even when he's not swinging well, in the middle of the order -- we just feel better as a team when he's in the lineup." Cespedes too is struggling at the plate -- 4 for his last 38 -- and Melvin said he thinks... Matt Kawahara OAKLAND -- Coco Crisp has been back with the A's for three games but hasn't really been back. The A's center fielder is hitless in 10 at-bats with a walk since coming back from the disabled list, and manager Bob Melvin acknowledged that Crisp is "still feeling his way back a little bit" after missing two weeks with a hamstring injury.

"The urgency of getting him back was important for us, what he does not just production-wise," Melvin said. "Just having him in the lineup makes everyone feel that much better.

"It's kind of like the effect of (Yoenis) Cespedes. You feel good when those guys are in the lineup. Coco is our igniter and Cespedes, even when he's not swinging well, in the middle of the order -- we just feel better as a team when he's in the lineup."

Cespedes too is struggling at the plate -- 4 for his last 38 -- and Melvin said he thinks the left fielder is trying to do a little too much at the plate. An indication is that Cespedes has not drawn a walk since May 3, a span of 14 games.

"He's trying to be aggressive and fight his way out with aggressiveness," Melvin said.

Here's the full A's lineup today as they go for a series sweep against the Royals and right-hander Luis Mendoza:

DH Crisp
SS Lowrie
LF Cespedes
1B Moss
3B Donaldson
RF Smith
CF Young
C Norris
2B Sogard

And the Royals' lineup against A's right-hander A.J. Griffin:

]]> CF Lough
SS Escobar
LF Gordon
DH Butler
1B Hosmer
3B Moustakas
RF Francoeur
C Kottaras
2B Getz

* Norris gets the start at catcher against a right-hander with John Jaso still nursing a sore shin from being hit by a pitch Wednesday. Jaso said the shin still bothers him when he's moving around in a catcher's squat and he's day-to-day. Melvin said Jaso could pinch-hit today and that his "guess is the next couple days he'll be able to catch."

* Outfielder Josh Reddick took swings off a tee yesterday and "felt good" in his sprained wrist, Melvin said. Reddick is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday, but Melvin acknowledged Reddick probably won't be ready by then. Reddick will not swing a bat today, and after the A's are comfortable with him facing live pitching he'll likely need some at-bats in a rehab stint.

"I think once he starts taking batting practice we'll want to take a look and see how he's swinging," Melvin said. "My guess is (he needs to get) a few at-bats just to make sure you're comfortable letting him go."

* Reliever Hideki Okajima, selected from Triple-A on Friday, has yet to pitch for the A's. Melvin said Okajima could well see his first action today with a couple Oakland relievers not available for the series finale. Melvin didn't say who is not available, but both Sean Doolittle and Grant Balfour pitched innings in each of the last two games.

"He could be pitching in a prominent role, whether we're ahead of behind," Melvin said of Okajima.

* One fairly astounding note from the A's game notes today -- with their consecutive 2-1 wins over the Royals the past two nights, the A's have won back-to-back games scoring two or fewer runs for the first time since May 14-15, 1993. Today's starter, Griffin, was five years old.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Milone pulls an escape act, A's wait out Santana in 2-1 win tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68571 2013-05-19T06:05:31Z 2013-05-19T06:08:32Z OAKLAND -- A's manager Bob Melvin summed up left-hander Tommy Milone's outing Saturday night against the Royals this way: "That was Houdini." Milone needed 63 pitches to get through two innings. He loaded the bases with nobody out in the second on a single and two walks. The Royals put their leadoff hitter on base against him in four of six innings. The A's already their bullpen working in the second. When Milone finally did leave the 2-1 win over the Royals, though, he had completed six innings, thrown 111 pitches and stayed in long enough for the A's to scratch out two runs against Ervin Santana, making Milone a winner for the first time in six starts. "It was gutsy," reliever Sean Doolittle said. "I don't know if it was fun to watch -- it was a little nerve-wracking at first. He really had to dig deep." "Kid's a fighter," said second baseman Eric Sogard.... Matt Kawahara OAKLAND -- A's manager Bob Melvin summed up left-hander Tommy Milone's outing Saturday night against the Royals this way:

"That was Houdini."

Milone needed 63 pitches to get through two innings. He loaded the bases with nobody out in the second on a single and two walks. The Royals put their leadoff hitter on base against him in four of six innings. The A's already their bullpen working in the second.

When Milone finally did leave the 2-1 win over the Royals, though, he had completed six innings, thrown 111 pitches and stayed in long enough for the A's to scratch out two runs against Ervin Santana, making Milone a winner for the first time in six starts.

"It was gutsy," reliever Sean Doolittle said. "I don't know if it was fun to watch -- it was a little nerve-wracking at first. He really had to dig deep."

"Kid's a fighter," said second baseman Eric Sogard.

]]> Milone's greatest escape act came in the second. After Salvador Perez led off with a base hit, Milone walked Mike Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur on close pitches, both after nine-pitch at-bats. But with the Royals already leading 1-0, Milone got Elliot Johnson to pop out to first baseman Brandon Moss in foul territory, struck out leadoff man Lorenzo Cain looking at a fastball (ending an eight-pitch at-bat) and got Alcides Escobar to swing at a high fastball for the third out.

"To do that you have to be a pretty clear thinker out there, a guy that just backs it up and worries about the moment, worries about that particular pitch," Melvin said. "I've been impressed with a lot of his outings before, but I don't know any more than that one."

Milone said he didn't have any doubts about making it out of the second inning. He said his command was in and out, but he wasn't missing by much and just had to "bear down a little bit more."

"I always feel like I'm going to make it out of every inning," Milone said. "Feel like you have to have that confidence in yourself to execute pitches."

Milone issued a leadoff walk in the third but erased it on a double play. He gave up a leadoff double to Perez in the fourth but left Perez standing on third by striking out Francoeur and Johnson. He made it through his final four innings on 48 pitches, giving Melvin a chance to deploy his usual three-man bullpen combo of Cook, Doolittle and Balfour at the end of the game.

"I definitely didn't make it easy on myself," Milone said. "But being able to come back and get out of those situations -- definitely it feels good at the end of the day."

* Like Jarrod Parker on Friday night, Milone helped the A's hang around until they could eke out a couple runs against a tough Royals starter. Saturday it was Santana, who came in with a career 2.03 ERA in 26 games against the A's -- though as Melvin pointed out, the current Oakland lineup wasn't around for most of those outings -- and held the A's scoreless for the first five innings.

Sogard led off the sixth with a double to right-center and moved to third on a wild pitch. After Coco Crisp drew a walk, Jed Lowrie drove in Sogard with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Brandon Moss tripled over the head of Cain in center for what turned out to be the game-winning RBI.

"That has a lot to do with our starting pitcher," Melvin said of the consecutive 2-1 wins. "It's one thing when you're fighting back from four runs down. It's another thing when it's one or run or an even game."

Moss had struck out in his first at-bat against Santana, but said he got a look at Santana's off-speed pitches in the at-bat and was able to "kind of get a feeling for what I couldn't hit and what I could hit." The triple came on an 0-2 slider that "started out (over the plate) enough to where it came back and I was able to get behind it a little bit."

One perk for Moss -- the game-winning hit came with his family in attendance and meant his 3-year-old son could join him in the clubhouse after the game.

"That's my rule," Moss said. "Have to win if you're going to come in the clubhouse."

* Sogard had lined a hit to left off Santana in his first at-bat but was thrown out at second base by Alex Gordon trying to stretch it into a double. Sogard came up arguing the call.

"I didn't feel anything, so I thought I got in," he said afterward.

It was the second night in a row an A's hitter was thrown out trying to leg out a double. Moss was the victim Friday, courtesy of right fielder David Lough. On his rally-starting double, Sogard hit a pitch that one-hopped the wall in right-center and cruised into the base without a slide.

"Made it easy for him on that one," Sogard said with a smile.

* Grant Balfour was not feeling well before the game and said afterward he his stomach was "feeling a bit woozy." He threw six of his first seven pitches for balls after entering for his second save opportunity is as many nights. But Balfour recovered to retire three hitters in a row and has now converted his last 26 save opportunities, the third-longest streak in Oakland history.

"Still kind of feel (sick) but it's one of those things," he said. "Got to get out there and do your job. It's all good."

Balfour has pitched in 17 games this season but had only eight save opportunities. He said those chances tend to "come in bunches."

"Just got to take advantage of it when you can, you know?" he said.

* Like Friday, Doolittle got the game to Balfour with a scoreless eighth. Unlike Friday, Doolittle put his full arsenal on display. Doolittle is the subject of tomorrow's print story, part of which touches on his ability to throw his off-speed pitches in high-leverage counts this season, whereas last year -- as Melvin put it -- they were mostly "for show" to keep hitters off his fastball.

Friday night, Doolittle got three outs on 13 pitches -- 12 fastballs and one curveball. On Saturday, he got ahead of Gordon 0-2 by throwing two sliders for called strikes, then came inside with a 95 mph fastball that Gordon grounded weakly to Josh Donaldson. Doolittle then threw a changeup to cleanup hitter Billy Butler in an 0-1 count and got Butler to swing through it.

"Last year he wasn't capable of doing that," Melvin said. "He used all his pitches in an inning for the first time that I can remember, and not only used them but used them effectively with intent and purpose."

* Yoenis Cespedes singled in the eighth on a line drive to left. He had been 3 for his previous 37.

* The A's go for the sweep Sunday behind A.J. Griffin (4-3, 3.48). Kansas City sends Luis Mendoza (1-2, 6.00) to the mound.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> A's, Royals lineups: Young returns; Reddick, Nakajima updates tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68501 2013-05-18T23:00:17Z 2013-05-18T23:04:40Z OAKLAND -- The A's welcome another of their previously injured outfielders back into the fold tonight against the Royals in Chris Young, who was reinstated from the disabled list today and will start in right field. The A's designated first baseman Daric Barton for assignment to clear a roster spot for Young. Barton, who was 3-for-21 in eight games after being called up from Triple-A, will have to clear waivers to remain in the A's organization. Melvin said the A's would like to see Barton clear, "but I'm not sure that'll be the case." He said Barton's average wasn't a good indication of the at-bats and defense Barton put together on this latest call-up. Melvin said one factor in Barton being designated was that John Jaso isn't available to catch right now after being hit by a pitch on the shin Wednesday. Jaso is in the lineup tonight at DH, but Melvin said that made the A's more inclined to... Matt Kawahara OAKLAND -- The A's welcome another of their previously injured outfielders back into the fold tonight against the Royals in Chris Young, who was reinstated from the disabled list today and will start in right field. The A's designated first baseman Daric Barton for assignment to clear a roster spot for Young.

Barton, who was 3-for-21 in eight games after being called up from Triple-A, will have to clear waivers to remain in the A's organization. Melvin said the A's would like to see Barton clear, "but I'm not sure that'll be the case." He said Barton's average wasn't a good indication of the at-bats and defense Barton put together on this latest call-up.

Melvin said one factor in Barton being designated was that John Jaso isn't available to catch right now after being hit by a pitch on the shin Wednesday. Jaso is in the lineup tonight at DH, but Melvin said that made the A's more inclined to keep Luke Montz on the roster for now.

Regarding the other injured outfielder -- Josh Reddick said he started swinging a bat yesterday and hasn't felt any pain in his injured wrist. Reddick hasn't hit pitching yet -- and said he doesn't know when that will happen -- but was encouraged.

]]> "It feels great to actually pick up a bat and not be able to feel anything," Reddick said. "I haven't had that feeling since April 6. It feels good just to be able to swing freely with nothing in there for now."

Young's return means Brandon Moss moves back to first base. Here's the full A's lineup tonight against Royals right-hander Ervin Santana, who had a lot of success against the A's in his career pitching for the Angels:

CF Crisp
SS Lowrie
LF Cespedes
1B Moss
3B Donaldson
DH Jaso
RF Young
C Norris
2B Sogard

And the Royals' lineup against lefty Tommy MIlone, who's looking for his first win since April 15:

CF Cain
SS Escobar
LF Gordon
DH Butler
1B Hosmer
C Perez
3B Moustakas
RF Francoeur
2B Johnson

* Cespedes is batting .196, but hit several balls on the screws yesterday that were caught. Melvin said Cespedes' at-bats "have been getting better," and the outfielder doesn't seem to be getting down about the lackluster numbers.

* The A's have an interesting decision coming up when Hiroyuki Nakajima's rehab stint at Triple-A Sacramento ends, and Melvin made it sounds like a distinct possibility that Nakajima could remain the minors beyond that time if he doesn't show progress at the plate. Nakajima is hitting .229 (8-for-35) with three doubles in nine rehab games.

Melvin did say it seems like Nakajima, who started the season on the DL with a strained left hamstring, is "past the injury portion of it where he's not thinking about it." Melvin said reports are Nakajima is running at 100 percent and looks "much more comfortable defensively."

"With all the things that he's had to deal with, including the injury, it's getting him comfortable and getting him just playing baseball, and we're finally getting to that point with him," Melvin said. "But again I don't know what the decision will be once his day comes up, or leading up to it or whatever."

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Rosales makes this one count, Parker goes seven in 2-1 A's win tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68441 2013-05-18T06:40:00Z 2013-05-18T06:40:34Z OAKLAND -- The irrepressible Adam Rosales still wore a big grin in the A's clubhouse Friday night, well after his eighth-inning home run off Royals right-hander James Shields -- and customary home-run sprint around the bases -- lifted Oakland to a 2-1 win. The last time Rosales thought he had a home run, umpires in Cleveland ruled after video review the ball had not cleared the wall. Major League Baseball later acknowledged that was an "improper call." That was last Wednesday, and Rosales said he hadn't stopped hearing about it since. "Every ball field I went too, they're all saying, 'Oh, it was a homer.' Or talk to family and friends, they're like, 'Oh it was a homer.' So now they'll be talking about something else. They'll be talking about a real homer."... Matt Kawahara OAKLAND -- The irrepressible Adam Rosales still wore a big grin in the A's clubhouse Friday night, well after his eighth-inning home run off Royals right-hander James Shields -- and customary home-run sprint around the bases -- lifted Oakland to a 2-1 win.

The last time Rosales thought he had a home run, umpires in Cleveland ruled after video review the ball had not cleared the wall. Major League Baseball later acknowledged that was an "improper call." That was last Wednesday, and Rosales said he hadn't stopped hearing about it since.

"Every ball field I went too, they're all saying, 'Oh, it was a homer.' Or talk to family and friends, they're like, 'Oh it was a homer.' So now they'll be talking about something else. They'll be talking about a real homer."

]]> This one was the difference in a legitimate pitcher's duel between Shields and A's right-hander Jarrod Parker, who had his best start of the season, allowing the one run in seven innings, but left the mound in the seventh trailing in a 1-0 game. Josh Donaldson got him off the hook for what would have been a hard-luck loss with a solo homer off Shields in the bottom of the seventh, and Rosales hammered a 1-1 cutter to left field to break the tie an inning later.

Shields had allowed four singles over the first six innings. He finished eight, struck out nine and had his own string of hard luck continue in May -- in three starts, he's allowed four earned runs in 24 innings and is 0-2.

"The only two balls I saw that looked like they were in the middle of the plate (from Shields) were the one to Donaldson and the one to Rosie," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Both put good swings on them."

Aside from the home runs, the A's had one runner in scoring position the entire night -- in the second inning, when Donaldson led off with a single and moved to second when Derek Norris drew a walk. Daric Barton grounded into a fielder's choice that left A's on first and third with two outs for Rosales, who grounded into a fielder's choice himself.

"I think it was the same pitch, actually," Rosales said. "I missed the first one. So it was good to come back and get that pitch again."

* Parker wouldn't quite acknowledge that this was the start he's been looking for during his rocky start, but it was a flashback to his 2012 form. It was his first start this season in which Parker went at least seven innings and allowed no more than one earned run. Last year as a rookie, he did it eight times.

"It just seemed like there was a calm to him today," Melvin said. "It looked like he was more confident. Right away in the game he was throwing strikes, had a good slider with the changeup and fastball today.

"We've seen him pitch that type of game quite a few times. Hopefully that's kind of a springboard for him to get rolling because it seemed like everything was in sync for him."

Parker, who entered with a 6.86 ERA, said the difference Friday began with his fastball command. Parker pitches off the fastball and said he had good feel of his two-seamer and was able to move the pitch effectively to both sides of the plate.

"For me everything kind of goes off of that," he said. "Just attack and be in the zone and be out of the zone when I want to. I think that was big for me today."

Even the lone run Parker allowed came on a ball that was not well-hit -- David Lough's two-out flare into shallow center in the third, which scored Salvador Perez from second.

Donaldson made an interesting comparison afterward, saying Parker is "a similar version to the guy (the Royals) threw tonight," Shields.

"They both have pretty good changeups, pretty good fastballs," Donaldson said. "For him to go out there and keep us in the game for that long, it was nice to get the win."

* Parker's outing and Donaldson's homer in the seventh allowed Melvin to manage the late innings in a comfortable way. Sean Doolittle got up immediately to warm up for the eighth after the A's tied it. Rosales' home run made it a save situation in the ninth for Grant Balfour -- just his seventh of the season. The A's came into the game with six saves, tied for the second-fewest in baseball.

"That's what we're used to around here," Donaldson said. "We're used to guys going out there on the mound and keeping us in games long enough for the offense to get rolling."

Doolittle gave up a one-out single to Lough but ended the inning with a double play. He hasn't allowed a run in his last nine outings, a span of 8 1/3 innings, and is unscored upon in 17 of 19 appearances this year overall. Melvin said it seems like it's "tough to even get a good swing off him" right now, and Doolittle said he's taking a lot of confidence with him to the mound.

"I think for a slot man, closer, somebody in the late innings, you have to have that streak in you," he said. "You've got confidence, but you've got to have an edge where you're a little bit invincible, and if you execute your pitches, the odds are so far in your favor that nobody's going to be able to put some hits together and get to you."

* Donaldson had two more hits Friday night, making him 11-for-23 on his current six-game hitting streak. He is hitting .384 with four homers and 18 RBIs over his last 24 games and is developing a reputation as one of the team's best hitters in the clutch.

Melvin said that started toward the end of last year, when Donaldson, who had struggled at the plate earlier in the season and weathered several demotions to Triple-A, "ended up getting some of the biggest hits of the year down the stretch.

"The more big hits and opportunities he gets, the more confidence he has," Melvin said. "But I think last year went a long way to giving him the confidence this year."

Donaldson said he was sitting fastball in a 3-1 count against Shields and got one over the middle. His .323 average ranks fourth among American League third baseman, and his 26 RBIs are tied for fifth.

* Lough, who also made a nice defensive play for the Royals in the fourth throwing out Brandon Moss at second base on a potential double, was just recalled from Triple-A on Friday after the Royals put outfielder Jarrod Dyson on the DL with an ankle sprain. It's the first time the Royals have used the DL during the season -- something the A's must look upon with envy.

The A's have used the DL nine times already -- nearly halfway to last year's total of 21 -- and just learned they'll be without opening day starter Brett Anderson for the near future due to a stress fracture in his right foot. Even with Anderson's contributions this season, the rotation began Friday with a 14-21 record (tied for the most losses in the A.L.) and a 5.09 ERA.

A turnaround from Parker would help, though the right-hander said knowing the A's will be pushing forth without Anderson doesn't put added pressure on the remaining rotation members.

"It's something we went through last year and it's not going to be the last time we go through it as a group in our careers," Parker said. "It's obviously a big blow for us, but we just have to do our thing and keep pitching and stay within ourselves."

* The A's do hope to get outfielder Chris Young back from the DL tomorrow. That's a 6:05 p.m. start with Tommy Milone (3-5, 3.71) opposing Ervin Santana (3-2, 2.79).

One current trend I wouldn't mind seeing continue -- Friday's two-hour, 35-minute game was the sixth of the A's last 10 games to come in under 2:45. That's for an A's team that is averaging 3:12. Your move, Tommy.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> Anderson frustrated by new injury, hopes to pitch again in 2013 tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68391 2013-05-18T00:30:15Z 2013-05-18T00:33:54Z OAKLAND -- Brett Anderson made his way into the A's clubhouse today on crutches with a protective boot on his right foot, and said while the diagnosis of a stress fracture in the foot is "frustrating and disappointing and all the other similar adjectives," he expects to pitch again this season. The injury came as a surprise to Anderson. Although it's the same foot as the sprained ankle that landed him on the disabled list May 1, he said the area of the fracture didn't begin to bother him until Monday, when he was doing some running in the outfield. He had made a rehab start at Double-A San Antonio on Sunday and said he felt good then. While running Monday, he said, "the other side of my foot started hurting." That led to his having CT and bone scans that revealed the fracture. Oddly, Anderson said, pitching off a mound bothers him less than running and walking -- likely... Matt Kawahara OAKLAND -- Brett Anderson made his way into the A's clubhouse today on crutches with a protective boot on his right foot, and said while the diagnosis of a stress fracture in the foot is "frustrating and disappointing and all the other similar adjectives," he expects to pitch again this season.

The injury came as a surprise to Anderson. Although it's the same foot as the sprained ankle that landed him on the disabled list May 1, he said the area of the fracture didn't begin to bother him until Monday, when he was doing some running in the outfield. He had made a rehab start at Double-A San Antonio on Sunday and said he felt good then.

While running Monday, he said, "the other side of my foot started hurting." That led to his having CT and bone scans that revealed the fracture. Oddly, Anderson said, pitching off a mound bothers him less than running and walking -- likely because of the downhill slope of the mound, he said.

"It wasn't like it was a pop," Anderson said. "Came in one day and the soreness was gone on one side, then came in the next day and it was sore on the other side."

]]> Anderson has spent much of the past three seasons on the disabled list. What's especially frustrating about the timing of this injury, he said, is that it comes after he put in a lot of work recovering from Tommy John surgery last year -- he returned to make six starts in the regular season before straining his oblique -- and that his arm "hasn't felt this good in a long time."

Anderson said he doesn't know what kind of work he'll be able to do to keep his arm in shape. He's supposed to keep weight off the foot, so throwing off a mound is out. He said he might have to "play darts or something" to maintain his arm. He hadn't yet talked with team trainers about what kind of rehab he'll be able to do.

"It's all kind of new and kind of fresh, and I'm still processing it, but you can't feel sorry for yourself," Anderson said. "There could be worse things I could be doing. I'm still 25, I'm still young. Never like to be injury-prone, but maybe I can get all this stuff out of the way now and eventually be healthy and make consecutive starts and pitch like I know I can in this league.

"It's probably most disappointing for myself, because like I said, I have high expectations for myself. I think I'm one of the best pitchers in the game when I'm healthy. I just need to be healthy."

Right-hander Dan Straily will remain in the A's rotation for now, manager Bob Melvin said. Melvin said of Anderson: "You really feel bad for him. Us on top of that, but him in particular, having to go through another thing like this is difficult."

* In other injury news, Melvin said the A's hope to activate outfielder Chris Young from the DL before tomorrow's game against the Royals. Young played in a rehab game at Triple-A Sacramento last night and chased down several fly balls and stole a base before leaving the game early with leg cramps.

Young said the cramps weren't in his quad -- the area he had injured -- and he thinks they were just a product of constantly moving around during the game trying to stay loose. Young said he was going to do some "explosive running" on the field this afternoon and also hopes to return tomorrow.

"The main thing is that the sooner you come back the better," Young said. "But the last thing you want to do is come back and re-aggravate something.

"Part of my effectiveness is my legs, being able to run and steal bases and run down balls in the outfield as well. ... If you're an outfielder your legs have to be right, so I think the team just wants to make sure I'm ready."

* Melvin said the decision to call up Hideki Okajima was largely to have another left-hander in the bullpen, with the A's wanting to be careful with how much they use Sean Doolittle and having deployed Jerry Blevins 19 times already through 42 games.

"He's been throwing the ball really well, and against left-handed hitters in particular," Melvin said of Okajima, who was 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 14 games in Sacramento.

Chris Resop, who was designated for assignment, was one of the A's more reliable relievers in early April but had allowed nine runs in his last seven outings, including two home runs in the 10th inning of Oakland's 6-5 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday. Melvin said Resop has simply "gone through a difficult time."

"Whether or not he clears (waivers) and we're able to keep him, we'll see, but I have no bad things to say about him," Melvin said. "He struggled here recently, but nothing bad to say about him."

* Here's the A's lineup for tonight's opener against the Royals:

CF Crisp
2B Lowrie
LF Cespedes
RF Moss
3B Donaldson
DH Smith
C Norris
1B Barton
SS Rosales
P Parker

And the Royals against the A's and Parker:

RF Lough
SS Escobar
LF Gordon
DH Butler
1B Hosmer
CF Cain
3B Moustakas
C Perez
2B Johnson
P Shields

* Finally, John Jaso said he's still feeling the effects of taking a pitch off his right shin in the series finale against the Rangers on Wednesday. Jaso said he was having trouble walking yesterday, and Melvin said if there had been a game yesterday Jaso wouldn't have been available. Melvin said Jaso might be available to pinch-hit tonight, and the A's hope he'll be able to play Saturday.

-- Matt Kawahara

]]> A's announce Anderson has stress fracture in right foot tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68321 2013-05-17T22:10:27Z 2013-05-17T22:22:45Z OAKLAND - The A's announced today that left-hander Brett Anderson has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot, meaning the team likely will be without their Opening Day starter for at least another month. Anderson (pictured) on Thursday underwent CT and bone scans that revealed the navicular stress fracture, the A's announced in a release. Anderson, who has been on the disabled list since May 1 with a sprained right ankle, will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Anderson was 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA in six games this season before going on the DL. His last outing was a relief appearance in the A's 19-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels on April 29. The A's hoped that Anderson, by skipping a turn in the rotation, would have enough time to recover from the sprained ankle. The ankle continued to bother him in the relief outing, but he said he didn't think he had worsened the injury.... Matt Kawahara OAKLAND - The A's announced today that left-hander Brett Anderson has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot, meaning the team likely will be without their Opening Day starter for at least another month.

Anderson (pictured) BRETT.jpegon Thursday underwent CT and bone scans that revealed the navicular stress fracture, the A's announced in a release. Anderson, who has been on the disabled list since May 1 with a sprained right ankle, will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Anderson was 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA in six games this season before going on the DL. His last outing was a relief appearance in the A's 19-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels on April 29.

The A's hoped that Anderson, by skipping a turn in the rotation, would have enough time to recover from the sprained ankle. The ankle continued to bother him in the relief outing, but he said he didn't think he had worsened the injury. Melvin said that Anderson's continued discomfort during the outing made the A's realize they needed to place him on the DL for more recovery time.

The A's also announced a bullpen move today, selecting left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima from Triple-A Sacramento and designating right-hander Chris Resop for assignment.

]]> Report: Affeldt, overpaid $500,000, returns money - and team says keep it tag:blogs.sacbee.com,2013:/bay-area-baseball//79.68271 2013-05-17T20:20:51Z 2013-05-17T20:22:09Z David Caraccio ]]>