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Athletics Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Mon, 12 May 2008 03:38:35 PDT

Rich Harden didn't appear particularly sharp in his first appearance after missing five weeks with a muscle strain under his right arm, but the right-hander was healthy and his fastball was hitting 96-97 mph on Sunday at Texas.

Considering how much time the talented starter has missed in the past two years—he made 16 starts combined in 2006 and 2007—Harden's health is the main thing. He missed a few spots on Sunday, but that's to be expected after a long layoff, and he didn't help himself with four walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Harden also allowed eight hits, his highest total since Aug. 9, 2005, against the Angels, and the five runs he gave up were his most since his final start in 2006.

Brown leads Oakland past Texas (AP)

Sun, 11 May 2008 17:16:02 PDT

Emil Brown and the Oakland Athletics used an aggressive approach to jump-start their offense. Brown hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to help the Athletics beat Texas 12-6, ending the Rangers' season-best five-game winning streak Sunday. "I'm not a walk guy," Brown said. "I'm just ready to hack." Frank Thomas drove in two runs to give him 1,695 RBIs, tying him with Cal Ripken for 21st...

A's activate Harden from disabled list (AP)

Sun, 11 May 2008 11:15:59 PDT

The Oakland Athletics reinstated right-hander Rich Harden from the 15-day disabled list to make Sunday's start against the Texas Rangers, his first since April 2. Harden was placed on the disabled list on April 10, retroactive to April 3, with a strained right shoulder, his sixth trip to the DL over the last four years.

A's activate Harden for Sunday start (PA SportsTicker)

Sun, 11 May 2008 08:47:15 PDT

Rich Harden is back from his latest stint on the disabled list.

Bullpen leads Texas past Oakland (AP)

Sat, 10 May 2008 21:44:04 PDT

No shutout this time. The Texas Rangers still got the victory after a lengthy outing from their bullpen. Five Texas relievers pitched 8 1-3 innings after Kevin Millwood left with an injury as the Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 6-4 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win, despite having their shutout streak end at 33 innings.

Buck activated, optioned to minors (PA SportsTicker)

Sat, 10 May 2008 16:37:25 PDT

The Oakland Athletics activated outfielder Travis Buck from the 15-day disabled list and optioned him to Class AAA Sacramento on Saturday.

Buck optioned to Sacramento (AP)

Sat, 10 May 2008 16:31:51 PDT

The Oakland Athletics activated outfielder Travis Buck and optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento prior to Saturday night's game against the Texas Rangers. Buck, who was batting .154 in 15 games before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 24 due to shin splints, was 5-for-21 in six rehab starts for Sacramento.

Tragedy, struggles don't stop Astros' Tejada (Yahoo! Sports)

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:38:00 PDT

Despite the death of his brother, steroids accusations and the age discrepancy, Miguel Tejada excels.

Texas Rangers post third straight shutout (AP)

Fri, 09 May 2008 21:02:36 PDT

Texas Rangers pitchers keep posting zeros -- 31 in a row, to be exact. "It's a contagious thing," reliever Jamey Wright said. "You want to come in and keep the momentum going. You really want to be in there right now." The surging Rangers got their third consecutive shutout, and extended the second-longest scoreless streak in team history to 31 straight innings, when Scott Feldman, Wright and two...

Foulke off DL, Chavez taking grounders for As (AP)

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:27:29 PDT

Oakland reliever Keith Foulke was reinstated Friday from the 15-day disabled list, giving Athletics manager Bob Geren another option in his bullpen. "All those guys are interchangeable right now," Geren said when asked Foulke's role. "Huston (Street) is the closer but (Andrew) Brown, (Santiago) Casilla, Foulke, (Alan) Embree, they can all be used at any time.

A's activate P Foulke from DL (PA SportsTicker)

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:45:10 PDT

The Oakland Athletics activated veteran reliever Keith Foulke from the 15-day disabled list prior to Friday's game against the Texas Rangers.

A's rebuilding process not limiting success (PA SportsTicker)

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:04:49 PDT

A minimal payroll, injuries and lack of star power hasn't stopped the Oakland Athletics from surging to the top of the standings in the early stages of the 2008 season.

A's GM Billy Bean is best at selling high (SportingNews.com)

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:46:31 PDT

Oakland seems to have a knack for letting its superstar pitchers go at exactly the right time ... or maybe it's by design.

Athletics option LHP Braden to minors (PA SportsTicker)

Thu, 08 May 2008 17:54:03 PDT

The Oakland Athletics on Thursday optioned lefthander Dallas Braden to Class AAA Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League.

A's option Braden to minors (AP)

Thu, 08 May 2008 17:27:25 PDT

The Oakland Athletics optioned left-hander Dallas Braden to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday. Braden was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in five relief appearances with the A's after being recalled from the minors on April 22. The A's were expected to announce a corresponding roster move before Friday's series opener in Texas.

Ellis homers to lift A's (AP)

Wed, 07 May 2008 17:05:41 PDT

Mark Ellis watched his ball nick the foul pole and thought back to a game-winning homer Marco Scutaro hit last year off Mariano Rivera that went nearly to the same spot. He hit the first game-winning homer of his career Wednesday with two outs in the 10th inning, lifting the Oakland Athletics to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game sweep and their fourth straight victory.

Gaudin moving to A's bullpen (AP)

Wed, 07 May 2008 16:23:14 PDT

Chad Gaudin is moving from the Oakland Athletics' rotation to the bullpen, where he's spent most of his previous five major league seasons. The A's need to make room for the return of right-handed starter Rich Harden, who is scheduled to come off the 15-day disabled list to start Sunday's series finale at Texas.

Duchscherer delivers for A's (AP)

Tue, 06 May 2008 22:45:50 PDT

Justin Duchscherer is showing he's healthy again. Now, he wants to start working deeper into games. Duchscherer won his second straight start in his third outing since coming off the disabled list and the Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 on Tuesday night for their third straight victory.

Brown's 10th-inning single drives in winning run for Oakland (AP)

Mon, 05 May 2008 23:22:05 PDT

Emil Brown has nearly as many hits in 28 at-bats with runners in scoring position as he has in 68 at-bats with the bases empty. No wonder Oakland manager Bob Geren was confident in the 10th inning Monday night. Brown singled home the winning run in the 10th to give the Athletics a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Cust named AL Player of the Week (PA SportsTicker)

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:07:04 PDT

Oakland Athletics designated hitter Jack Cust on Monday was named American League Player of the Week.

Baseball Power Poll: D-backs tops even before Scherzer (SportingNews.com)

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:26:26 PDT

The Diamondbacks already have Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Randy Johnson and Micah Owings in their rotation. Add in phenom Max Scherzer and it's not hard to see why they are No. 1.

Cust delivers big home run (AP)

Sun, 04 May 2008 17:21:46 PDT

Jack Cust is particular about his bats, and the first shipment just wasn't working. He received another shipment just in time to start a hitting streak last week. The new bats are keepers. "They sent me four bats while we were in Seattle and they felt harder," Cust said. "You can ask any one, I'm probably the pickiest when it comes to bats.

Minor league callup Murray helps Rangers beat Athletics 6-3 (AP)

Sat, 03 May 2008 21:53:52 PDT

When the Texas Rangers were struggling out of the gate this season, A.J. Murray was back in the minors trying to add a new pitch to his repertoire. Murray showed that all that work paid off in his first appearance of the season in the majors. Murray gave Texas its third straight solid starting pitching performance, allowing two earned runs in 5 1-3 innings a day after being called up from the minors...

Rangers hold off sloppy A's (AP)

Fri, 02 May 2008 22:38:41 PDT

Ron Washington watched his old team make repeated, uncharacteristic mistakes and his current club take advantage each time. Milton Bradley had three hits with a double and run scored against his former team, and the Texas Rangers capitalized on four errors by the Oakland Athletics in a 4-3 victory Friday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Morning Juice: Jack Cust is lucky he owns a big bat (Yahoo! Sports)

Fri, 02 May 2008 05:39:28 PDT

This and every weekday a.m., let's rise and shine together with the most recent and decent major league...

Cust's homer starts 8-run fifth, A's beat Angels 15-8 (AP)

Thu, 01 May 2008 23:53:00 PDT

Jack Cust committed a brutal error during the second inning, leading to five unearned runs after his team had just taken a four-run lead in the top half. He spent the rest of the game trying to undo that gaffe. Cust went 4-for-4 with a pair of walks and hit a go-ahead homer that triggered an eight-run fifth inning for the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night in a 15-8 victory, which salvaged a split...

A's and Rays head April honors (Yahoo! Sports)

Thu, 01 May 2008 15:59:00 PDT

One month into the season, surprises are plentiful and individual awards start and end with Cliff Lee.

Angels beat A's 6-1 behind Santana's fifth straight win (AP)

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:10:45 PDT

When the Los Angeles Angels assembled for spring training, they probably felt their pitching staff featured the best one-two punch in the American League in John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar. Now that the first month of the season is over, they do have the best one-two combination -- only it's Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders, both of whom are 5-0 in six starts.