Justin Craig Duchscherer...name is pronounced DUKE-sher...graduated from Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas in 1996 where he played baseball, basketball, and tennis...also played Little League, Pony League, and Colt League baseball...was originally signed by Boston scout Luke Wrenn...his uncle, Baxter McAlister, played minor league baseball in the Houston Astros organization...hosted the "Battle of the Bay" Video game challenge during Spring Training in 2006 and 2007 which raised funds for The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Arizona Chapter... his first child, Evan Jacob, was born the day he made his A's debut, September 9, 2003.

Was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year after posting a 14-2 record and a 3.25 ERA in 24 games, 23 starts, at Triple-A Sacramento...led the PCL in wins and ranked fourth in ERA...made one postseason start for the River Cats before he was recalled to Oakland on September 8...was placed in the A's starting rotation and went 1-1 with a 3.31 ERA in four games, three starts...made his A's debut on September 9, the same day his wife Michele gave birth to the couple's first child in Trenton, New Jersey...tossed a career high seven shutout innings and allowed just four hits while walking two and striking out a career high six...picked up the win in the A's 8-1 victory over Anaheim...left prior to the end of the game to join his wife in New Jersey and returned to the A's for a start in Texas on September 14, a no decision...spent the entire regular season at Sacramento and led the River Cats in wins and ERA while ranking second in games started (23), innings (155.0) and strikeouts (117)...ranked second in the A's farm system in wins and was seventh in ERA...walked just 18 batters in 155.0 innings for an average of 1.05 per nine innings...struck out 117 for a strikeout to walk ratio of 6.5 to 1...finished the regular season with an 11-game winning streak, posting a 3.97 ERA over a 14-start stretch dating back to June 13...then made one postseason start for the River Cats on September 3 in Game 1 of the PCL Semi-Finals at Edmonton...was the winning pitcher in Sacramento's 16-2 win (6.0 ip, 1 h, 1 bb, 4 so)...was named to the PCL squad for the Triple-A All-Star Game and was the starting pitcher...had a no decision in a 13-9 loss to the International League, allowing two runs and two hits in 2.0 innings...the River Cats were 5-3 in his no decisions and 18-5 in his starting assignments...tossed seven or more innings in 10 of his 23 starts, allowed three runs or fewer 18 times and never walked more than two batters in a game...had nine starts without a walk and 12 others with just one...was a perfect 10-0 with a 3.20 ERA in 14 games, 13 starts at Sacramento's home ballpark, Raley Field...allowed a .254 opponents batting average which broke down to .246 (69 for 280) against lefthanders and .261 (82 for 314) against right-handers...was named PCL Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 28 to May 4 after defeating Memphis on May 2 (8.0 ip, 2 h, 3 so)...was on the disabled list from May 21 to 29 with a sprained left ankle...posted a 4-0 record in the month of August but had a 4.71 ERA, his highest for any month of the season...his best ERA came in April when he was 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA in four games...pitched for the USA Olympic Qualifying Team following the season and was 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA in four games, three starts, during an exhibition schedule in the Arizona Fall League...did not pitch during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Panama.