The A's took the first game against Kansas City ace Zack Greinke, and they'll counter with their top pitcher Saturday at Kauffman Stadium.
Trevor Cahill will take the hill for Oakland against Bruce Chen, who'll make his first start since a sickness-shortened outing on July 9. Cahill is 8-1 with a 2.93 ERA in his last 11 starts, and he's held opponents to a .193 batting average in that time.
The 22-year-old right-hander was selected to the All-Star Game, but couldn't pitch because he started on the previous Sunday, and he's one of the keys to the A's hopes of mounting a comeback in the American League West, where they're eight games behind the first-place Rangers.
The Royals are 11 out in the AL Central, but that's no deterrent for manager Ned Yost.
"My experience is we've been 10 games out before on teams I've been with at the All-Star break and have won," Yost said. "So in terms of that: 1, it can happen, and 2, my mindset is that if you don't think you're in it, you're not in it.
"So even up to where you're mathematically eliminated, you better think you're in it. That's got to be your mindset. If you do not think you're in it, then you're not and there ain't no sense in playing."
A's: Cahill eyeing A's history
Cahill will be aiming for his 10th win of the year, which would make him the second pitcher in franchise history to notch double-digit wins in each of his first two seasons. Tim Hudson was the first (1999-2000).
Royals: Chen has experience vs. A's
Greinke's loss Friday was his first against the A's. Previously, he was 4-0 with a 2.88 ERA in seven starts and four relief appearances. Chen is 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA in nine outings (five starts) against Oakland. The lone win came in 2005.
Worth noting
Saturday's game will include a salute to a common thread shared by Kansas City and Oakland. Throughout the night, a video tribute to the Kansas City Athletics will be aired at Kauffman Stadium. The A's played in Missouri from 1955-67 before moving west.
Sat, 7/17 7:10 PM ET
| HITTER | AVG | AB | HR | RBI |
|---|
| HITTER | AVG | AB | HR | RBI |
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A's all-around in win over KC
Adam Rosales hit a two-out single to score Kurt Suzuki with the eventual winning run in the top of the ninth. Rosales had two RBIs in the win as Oakland claimed the first two in the three-game set with KC.
Athletics Beat
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| Oakland | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crisp, CF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .253 |
| Barton, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .274 |
| Suzuki, K, C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .256 |
| Kouzmanoff, 3B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .271 |
| Rosales, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .284 |
| Ellis, DH | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .280 |
| Carson, RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .188 |
| a-Gross, PH-RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .256 |
| Davis, R, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .265 |
| Pennington, SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .265 |
| Totals | 41 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 16 | .263 |
| Kansas City | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Podsednik, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .299 |
| Kendall, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .269 |
| DeJesus, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .318 |
| Butler, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .318 |
| Guillen, J, DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .273 |
| Callaspo, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .279 |
| Maier, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .251 |
| Aviles, 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .300 |
| Betancourt, Y, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .263 |
| Totals | 31 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | .281 |
2B: Barton 2 (22, Chen, Wood, Bl), Kouzmanoff (18, Chen), Carson (1, Chen), Suzuki, K (8, Soria).
TB: Barton 5; Suzuki, K 3; Kouzmanoff 3; Rosales 3; Ellis; Carson 2; Pennington 2.
RBI: Kouzmanoff 3 (45), Rosales 2 (29), Pennington (28).
2-out RBI: Pennington; Rosales.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Davis, R 2; Crisp 2; Ellis.
GIDP: Crisp.
Team RISP: 6-for-12.
Team LOB: 9.
BASERUNNING
SB: Pennington (14, 2nd base off Wood, Bl/Kendall), Barton (1, 3rd base off Wood, Bl/Kendall).
FIELDING
E: Crisp (2, fielding).
DP: (Kouzmanoff-Rosales-Barton).
2B: Betancourt, Y (21, Cahill).
3B: Podsednik (5, Cahill).
HR: Betancourt, Y (7, 2nd inning off Cahill, 3 on, 1 out).
TB: Podsednik 3; Callaspo 2; Maier; Aviles; Betancourt, Y 6.
RBI: Betancourt, Y 4 (40), Kendall (31).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Butler; DeJesus 2; Kendall.
SAC: Betancourt, Y.
SF: Kendall.
GIDP: Guillen, J.
Team RISP: 1-for-5.
Team LOB: 6.
BASERUNNING
SB: Kendall (6, 2nd base off Cahill/Suzuki, K).
FIELDING
E: Betancourt, Y (12, throw).
DP: (Betancourt, Y-Aviles-Butler).
| Oakland | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cahill | 6.2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3.19 |
| Blevins | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.73 |
| Breslow(W, 4-2) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.16 |
| Bailey, A(S, 19) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.66 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3.83 |
| Kansas City | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chen | 5.2 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.06 |
| Wood, Bl(BS, 3) | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.21 |
| Farnsworth | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Soria(L, 0-2) | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.43 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4.74 |
Pitches-strikes: Cahill 108-63, Blevins 5-3, Breslow 13-6, Bailey, A 16-11, Chen 83-56, Wood, Bl 9-7, Farnsworth 25-14, Soria 23-16.
Groundouts-flyouts: Cahill 11-4, Blevins 0-0, Breslow 1-0, Bailey, A 2-0, Chen 4-7, Wood, Bl 0-1, Farnsworth 2-2, Soria 0-0.
Batters faced: Cahill 29, Blevins 1, Breslow 4, Bailey, A 4, Chen 27, Wood, Bl 4, Farnsworth 6, Soria 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Blevins 3-0, Wood, Bl 2-0, Farnsworth 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Larry Vanover. 1B: Jeff Kellogg. 2B: Jeff Nelson. 3B: Mark Carlson.
Weather: 92 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, R to L.
T: 2:52.
Att: 26,634.
Compiled by MLB Advanced Media
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