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 Hammel walked off the mound to a standing ovation at the O.co
Coliseum after pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 3-0 A's victory
against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In a word, those cheers sounded "awesome," Hammel said after earning
his first win as an Athletic. "Obviously I wanted to come in and
make an immediate impact. It didn't work out that way. But it goes
to show you how good of baseball fans we have here. Obviously not
the start that I wanted, but to know that they're still for me
there, even when I'm not at my best, very appreciative. It only
boosts my confidence."
In his fifth start for the A's, Hammel finally showed some signs of
being the pitcher who went 8-5 with a 2.98 ERA in 17 outings for the
Cubs.
"I think that could get that monkey off his back a little bit," A's
closer Sean Doolittle said. "Because when he was with Chicago, we
all saw the kind of numbers he was putting up, the kind of pitcher
that he was. He showed that tonight, staying poised in some of those
situations with men on base, getting the ground double plays and
some strikeouts. You could see him pitching with a lot of confidence
out there. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come moving
forward."
Hammel allowed seven hits, all singles, and consistently pitched his
way out of trouble, mixing in more curves and changeups than he had
recently, to go with his sinking fastball and slider. He struck out
two, walked four, and came away with a huge sense of relief.
"Oh yeah," Hammel said, smiling. "Get the first one out of the way,
definitely. The ovation, they care. It's nice that they know I care,
too. I'm looking forward to the next one."
Hammel outdueled left-hander Drew Smyly, who had a solid performance
in his debut for the Rays, five days after coming to Tampa Bay from
Detroit as part of a three-team trade that sent ace David Price to
the Tigers. Smyly gave up three runs on seven hits over 5 1/3
innings, striking out six and walking two. His night ended when he
gave up an RBI double to A's first baseman Nate Freiman during a
two-run A's rally in the sixth.
"I fought pretty good," Smyly said. "My pitch count got up there. I
had a couple of deep counts. I missed my pitch against Freiman.
Other than that I thought I pitched well."
The A's (69-43) moved two games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels in
the American League West and retained sole possession of first place
for the 96th straight day. The Rays (54-59) lost their third
straight game and second to the A's, who clinched the three-game
series.
The A's scored a run in the fifth and extended their lead to 3-0
with two runs in the sixth. Catcher Derek Norris lined a one-out
single and scored on Freiman's double down the left-field line.
Freiman advanced to third on an error, and right fielder Josh
Reddick greeted reliever Jeff Beliveau with an RBI single to left.
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A's left-hander Eric O'Flaherty struck out the only batter he faced
in the sixth, stranding a runner on first. Ryan Cook pitched a
one-two-three seventh, Luke Gregerson threw a perfect eighth and
Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save.
The A's snapped a scoreless tie with a run in the fifth inning off Smyly.
Second baseman Alberto Callaspo lined a leadoff single and advanced to
second on shortstop Eric Sogard's sacrifice bunt. Designated hitter Coco
Crisp poked an opposite field single to right field, scoring Callaspo.
Crisp raced all the way to third as right fielder Kevin Kiermaier
airmailed his throw home for an error. But Smyly retired the next two
batters, stranding Crisp.
Hammel pitched his way out of trouble in the second, third, fourth and
fifth innings.
"We had base runners all over the place," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
"We just have to get a few knocks. Our biggest issue is guys ability to
drive in runs. We're getting runners."
With the bases loaded and two outs in the second, Hammel retired
Kiermaier on a ground ball to second base. Then with runners on first
and second and one out in the third, Hammel got third baseman Evan
Longoria to hit into a double play.
Hammel allowed three singles in the fourth, but shortstop Yunel Escobar
hit into a double play, and Kiermaier hit a fly ball to shallow center
field for the third out, stranding two runners. In the fifth, Hammel got
first baseman James Loney on a pop fly for the third out, stranding
runners on first and third.
NOTES: A's CF Coco Crisp (sore neck) started Tuesday night against Tampa
Bay for the first time since July 26, serving as Oakland's designated
hitter. Crisp had missed seven straight games before pinch hitting
Monday night and playing the final three innings in center field. ...
A's SS Jed Lowrie was out of the lineup with a sore right index finger.
Lowrie took a ground ball off his finger during Monday's game. X-rays
were negative. ... Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson will make his fourth start
of the season Wednesday against the A's, but he has yet to last longer
than 4 2/3 innings. He underwent surgery on his pitching elbow in late
January to remove loose bodies.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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