Healy Extends Streak But A's Fall To Cardinals
ST. LOUIS (CBS/AP) -- Ryon Healy showed a little moxie in spring training. Now it's showing up in his play on the field.
"From the moment he got here, there's a tenacity about him," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said after Oakland's 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. "Now he's very respectful of his teammates and the game, but he's pretty tenacious. Since he got here he's been pretty hungry, wants to prove himself and wants to stay."
Healy singled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, the longest active stretch in the majors.
"It's been nice that they've been giving me the at-bats that I've had so far and giving me the chance to struggle," Healy said. "It's been a nice 120-bat learning curve and with the work and preparation I've put in, hopefully I'll get better."
Healy is hitting .281 with six homers and 17 RBI. During the hitting streak, the 24-year-old infielder is hitting .400.
The streak ties Coco Crisp for the longest by an A's player this season.
"He's got a good approach right now," Melvin said. "The more he's here, the more confident he is. He's playing every day. He's seeing every type of pitcher and he's making the adjustments."
Yonder Alonso's solo homer in the second inning was the A's only run as they fell to 11-2 in their last 13 road games.
Ross Detwiler (1-3) gave up three runs and six hits while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings.
"I think he mixed the pitches a little better," Melvin said. "I think his breaking balls were a little better and he was getting ahead more so."
It was a better effort than Detwiler's last two starts, where he gave up 11 runs in 8 2/3 innings.
"Results weren't there, but I felt it was better than I've done in the past few," Detwiler said. "Got to keep going out there and the results will turn."
Jedd Gyorko's 423-foot shot in the first extended the Cardinals' home run streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in the majors, and made it 2-0 after just two batters.
"I got a pitch that I was kind of looking for, a change-up, and put a good swing on that," Gyorko said. ", "Other than that we didn't really do a whole lot against him. He had three pitches he was executing all three and he threw a good game."
Luke Weaver (1-1) earned his first major league victory, giving up one run and four hits in a career-high six innings in his home debut for the Cardinals. Five of his seven strikeouts were looking.
Weaver lowered his ERA from 5.00 to 3.60.
Cardinals center fielder Randal Grichuk made a diving catch on a sinking drive by Stephen Vogt to end the fifth, and Jhonny Peralta made a sprawling stop at third base and threw out Khris Davis to start the sixth.
Seung Hwan Oh got the last three outs for his 13th save helping the Cardinals get their first interleague win at home in eight tries this season.
HOMECOMING
Detwiler went to Holt Senior High in Wentzville, Missouri, 40 miles west of Busch Stadium. He fell to 0-3 with a 4.67 ERA against his hometown team.
"It's nice to be at home when we're away from the field, but it's another game once you're here," Detwiler said. "Whatever city it doesn't make much of a difference. It's all who you're playing."
ROSTER MOVE
The Cardinals recalled RHP Miguel Socolovich and optioned RHP Sam Tuivailala to Triple-A Memphis.
TRAINERS ROOM
A's: INF Billy Butler (concussion) made the road trip and might be cleared to play early next week.
Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (shingles) will not make his scheduled start Saturday, the club announced after the game. He will be replaced by RHP Alex Reyes.
UP NEXT
A's: RHP Zach Neal (2-3, 5.49 ERA) will make his first career appearance against St. Louis. He has walked two in 39 1/3 innings and his .046 walks per nine inning average is the lowest in the majors among pitchers with at least 25 innings.
© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed