Oakland A's Ball Boy Makes Great Play In Front Of Tigers Bullpen [VIDEO]
JANIE McCAULEY, AP Baseball Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes returned to the old familiar ballpark where his career began, and received a warm welcome and standing ovation every time he came to bat.
He went without a hit against his former team, and the rest of the Detroit lineup had its share of problems in a 4-0 loss to Jesse Hahn and the Athletics on Monday.
"When you don't score you don't win," manager Brad Ausmus said. "We didn't mount much of an attack at all."
Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera got the afternoon off. Ausmus considered going to Cabrera as a pinch hitter from the seventh inning on but only if there were multiple runners on base.
But Detroit only had one person in scoring position all day against Hahn, who pitched a four-hitter for his first career complete game, helping the A's to their first three-game winning streak of the season.
"I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins in the ninth," Hahn said. "The ninth inning's been foreign to me. So it's good to actually feel it."
Hahn (2-4) struck out five and walked one in his stellar 112-pitch performance, commanding his fastball and keeping the Tigers off balance with a nasty sinker. The right-hander pitched around three errors.
Max Muncy and Sam Fuld hit RBI doubles in the decisive four-run sixth inning.
The four runs allowed by Shane Greene (4-3) in the sixth were one more than he had given up in the previous 42 2/3 innings. He struck out four in 5 2/3 innings in his first career start against the A's.
The Tigers kicked off a seven-game road trip against the AL West with only their eighth loss in 30 games away from Comerica Park.
It was fine with Oakland that Cabrera missed the first meeting of the season for the recent playoff foes. Detroit eliminated the A's in five games in the AL division series in 2012 and '13.
Cespedes, the two-time reigning Home Run Derby champion, stepped into the batter's box to a warm ovation — many fans standing — leading off the second inning. He is back this week for the first time since being traded to the Boston Red Sox last July 31. He joined the Tigers in another trade Dec. 11.
A sprinkling of Cespedes' No. 52 Oakland jerseys were featured in the Memorial Day crowd of 25,380 at the Coliseum.
The A's ran their major league-worst total to 49 errors, with Muncy making two miscues at third and shortstop Marcus Semien picking up his 17th this season.
Oakland squandered Josh Reddick's one-out triple in the fourth but did enough in the sixth for Hahn.
The pitcher was unfazed by any defensive troubles.
"He was some kind of disgusting with his sinker," catcher Stephen Vogt said. "He was calm, cool and collected all day."
Dixon Machado made a couple of nice stops for Detroit and an error in his major league debut. He played shortstop and batted ninth for the Tigers a day after being promoted from Triple-A.
In the sixth, he made a diving stop on Billy Butler's soft grounder but couldn't throw out Reddick at second. Had the ball been sharp, Detroit might have had a chance at a double play and escaped further trouble.
"I was trying to throw to second but the guy was too quick," Machado said. "I feel I can make that play every time. This time I didn't."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: SS Jose Iglesias missed his second straight game with a bruised left knee.
Athletics: INF/OF Ben Zobrist returned from the 15-day disabled after undergoing left knee surgery April 28. OF Craig Gentry was optioned to Triple-A Nashville. ... LHP reliever Sean Doolittle (shoulder) is set to come off the disabled list Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP David Price is 2-2 with 3.69 ERA lifetime against the A's, and is 0-0 with a 4.12 ERA over his last three starts. ... RHP Buck Farmer will replace injured Kyle Lobstein in the rotation Thursday at the Angels, making his season debut.
Athletics: RHP Jesse Chavez (2-3, 3.09 ERA) looks for his first win in four starts after losing his last two decisions. He is 0-3 with a 9.90 ERA in nine career appearances and two starts vs. the Tigers.
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