A’s blow out Guardians 11-2

Strong day all around from the Green & Gold

For the second consecutive day, the A’s bats helped the club get the win as the team throttled the Cleveland Guardians by a final of 11-2.

Bats continue waking up

Things started out well enough as the A’s put two runners on in the first thanks to a pair of Cleveland errors. The club wouldn’t cash in quite yet though but it was a preview of things to come. They didn’t wait much longer as the club got on the board in the second inning after a Nick Allen triple and Darrel Hernaiz sac fly got the scoring started. Allen is fighting off Hernaiz for the shortstop gig and he had a big day at the plate, but more on Allen later.

The club really blew this game wide open in the fifth inning as the A’s put up a 6-spot. Hernaiz led off with a single and immediately came around to score as the next batter, catcher Yohel Pozo, deposited a 2-run homer over the left field fence. Not satisfied with a 2-run lead, a Zack Gelof walk was followed by 3 consecutive 2-out singles that brought in another run and loaded the bases for Allen. And for the second time today, Allen smacked a triple, this one a liner to right field that cleared the bases and busted this contest wide open. Allen has Hernaiz breathing down his neck and it seems he knows he needs a big spring with the bat. He’s gotten off to a strong start and if he keeps it up has the Opening Day shortstop job on lockdown.

Pitching looks good all day

While the bats were getting to work, the pitching was doing its job. Left-hander JP Sears got his first start of the spring today and looked crisp in his two innings off work. Sears didn’t allow a hit or a walk while collecting a pair of strikeouts. His outing couldn’t have gone much better frankly. We’re all hoping Sears can build off his successful rookie campaign and provide some more quality innings for a club desperate for it. And maybe even see if there’s another level for Sears to get to.

Sears was followed by Osvaldo Bido, who provided a scoreless inning in his second outing of the spring. Next was righty Michael Kelly. A leadoff walk was followed by a stolen base and throwing error by the catcher that put the runner on third with no outs. A single brought in Cleveland’s first run, though it was unearned. Kelly ended his day on a high note though as he picked off Jose Ramirez trying to steal second base.

And from there it was mostly smooth sailing for the pitchers. Hogan Harris threw two scoreless frames, his first two of the season. Right-handers Stevie Emanuels and Tyler Ferguson both threw scoreless frames of their own while Shohei Tomioka got tagged for a solo home run in the eighth. Overall a great day from the pitching staff.

More runs, just in case

Though they had a 7-1 lead, the offense didn’t let up on the Cleveland pitchers. Last year’s All-Star Brent Rooker mashed his first home run of the spring in the sixth, a 2-run blast to left center field that made it 9-1.

Crazy how much difference a year makes for someone like Rooker, who went from fringe roster candidate to now batting in the heart of the batting order.

The A’s finished off their scoring for the day the next inning. Third base prospect Brett Harris, who is a serious candidate to get the call sometime this season, mashed the third triple of the day for Oakland and scored on a Max Schuemann 2-run home run that made it 11-2.

So all in all a great day all around for the club. It took them a couple days but the bats are officially awake, having scored 20 runs over the past two days. And the pitching is encouraging, especially seeing guys who are expected to be major contributors like Sears looking solid.

The club will hope to make it three in a row tomorrow when they host the San Francisco Giants at home. Right-hander Luis Medina will be getting the ball to start and like all others before him can be expected to get just a couple frames in. Let’s beat the Giants, please?