MLB

A’s set to clash with equally hot Tigers

By: The Sports Xchange 10/04/12 7:58 PM

No one saw this coming but the A’s themselves. On Wednesday, Oakland became the first team to come from five or more games back to win a division or a pennant with fewer than 10 games to play, topping the Rangers 12-5 to complete a three-game sweep and take the AL West crown. The A’s never held sole possession of first place this season until they recorded the final out of game No. 162. Read More

Plenty of obstacles stood in way of A's making playoffs

By: Paul Gackle 10/04/12 7:16 PM

It only took the A’s 162 games to grab sole possession of first place in the AL West. The A’s completed one of the most incredible turnarounds in the history of Major League Baseball when they nabbed the division crown from the Texas Rangers earlier this week. In doing so, the A’s became only the third division winner since the advent of the World Series 109 years ago to spend just a single day in first place. Read More

Despite poor season, Giants will lean on Lincecum

By: Ben Martin 10/04/12 7:13 PM

Tim Lincecum’s struggles during 2012 are well-documented. Statistically, he just completed the worst season of his six-year Giants career and isn’t exactly ending on a high note, getting battered for 11 earned runs in 10 innings over his last two regular-season starts. He finished the season with a 10-15 record and a 5.18 ERA. None of that has stopped manager Bruce Bochy from putting the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner in the playoff rotation, however. Read More

Individuals key to Giants’ success, not chemistry

By: Glenn Dickey 10/04/12 7:11 PM

Despite multiple local examples to the contrary, some writers insist that team chemistry was essential to the Giants success this year. Read More

This year’s Giants rely on moving runners instead of home run

By: Ben Martin 10/04/12 7:09 PM

The 2012 Giants have little in common with the 2010 team that stole the hearts of San Francisco on The City’s first World Series championship since moving from New York. Read More

A’s complete sweep of Rangers to steal away AL West title

By: Janie McCauley 10/03/12 6:11 PM

The A’s captured the AL West with another improbable rally in a season full of them, coming back from four runs down and a 13-game division deficit to stun the two-time defending league champion Texas Rangers 12-5 on Wednesday. Josh Hamilton dropped a fly ball in center field for a two-run error that put the A’s (94-68) ahead 7-5 in a six-run fourth inning. Read More

A's beat Texas, tie for first place in American League

By: Josh Dubow 10/02/12 10:20 PM

Travis Blackley allowed one run over six innings in a strong bounce-back performance that helped the A’s move into a first-place tie in the AL West with Texas and set up a one-game showdown for the division title with a 3-1 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday night. Read More

Zito making case for spot in playoff rotation

By: The Sports Xchange 09/24/12 6:57 PM

Based on numbers alone, especially September numbers, manager Bruce Bochy would be hard-pressed to leave Barry Zito out of the playoff rotation. Presumably, we know the top three: Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum. Then comes the tougher choice: the left-handed Zito or the right-handed Ryan Vogelsong. Bochy already said all five starters would likely make the roster. That doesn’t mean it’ll be a five-man rotation. That simply means one will be in the bullpen. Read More

Belt pushed past slump to become a key cog for Giants

By: Paul Gackle 09/24/12 5:30 PM

Brandon Belt hit “rock bottom” July 22 during a 4-3 extra-inning loss in Philadelphia. He struck out in the top of the 12th with no outs and a runner on second base, dropping his July batting average to .171 (12-for-70, 25 strikeouts). After the game, Belt acknowledged that he was struggling mentally and manager Bruce Bochy replaced him with Pablo Sandoval at first base the following day. Read More

A's the ultimate underdog story, no matter how it ends

By: Mychael Urban 09/20/12 9:38 PM

It’s already been one of the most remarkable baseball stories in Bay Area history. If it ends with a World Series, so ends the debate. Win or lose, if the A’s reach the Fall Classic now, after having suffered the loss of their three most proven, veteran starting pitchers in a disheartening span of less than a month, they will represent the most amazing story not just in the history of Bay Area baseball, but in Bay Area sports history. Read More

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MLB