A's Try For 4th Straight Win Against Toronto
TORONTO (AP) -- After dropping the first four games of a nine-game road trip, the Oakland Athletics have bounced back behind some solid pitching and an offense that's developed a penchant for big hits.
Productive at-bats may not be easy to come by as their series with the Toronto Blue Jays continues.
Five days after calling up third baseman Brett Lawrie, the Blue Jays will debut another star prospect Wednesday night when Henderson Alvarez takes the hill trying to deny the A's a fourth consecutive victory.
Oakland (52-63) was outscored 27-14 and failed to record a quality start in losing its first four games in August, but it's received three straight quality outings since.
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It appeared Rich Harden's strong performance in Tuesday's opener in Toronto may go to waste, but the A's - slugging a major league-best .468 since the All-Star break - came through at the plate. Down 1-0 in the sixth inning, Oakland took the lead on Josh Willingham's two-run homer off Brett Cecil, then got a solo shot from Kurt Suzuki in the seventh en route to a 4-1 victory.
"(Cecil) did well, we just happened to hit a couple of balls out of the yard on him," said Willingham, who has five homers and an AL-high 14 RBIs since July 29.
Winning a fourth straight road game for the first time all season likely won't be easy, however. The Blue Jays (58-57) will hand the ball to Alvarez, who makes his major league debut after going 8-4 with a 2.86 ERA at Double-A New Hampshire this season.
The right-hander has made two appearances in the Futures Game, and he's been especially good with the Fisher Cats since returning from his latest. The Venezuelan native is 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA over his last five starts, but it may have been the development of a third pitch to go with an upper-90s fastball and a strong changeup that earned him the promotion.
"His slider has come along," manager John Farrell told the Blue Jays' official website. "... We've got a young, very good looking pitching prospect. (We) felt like it was time to get his feet wet up here."
Alvarez would love to get the same type of welcome from the Rogers Centre crowd that Lawrie did Tuesday. Toronto's Canadian-born prospect received a standing ovation before his first at-bat in his home debut, though he finished 0 for 3.
Two days after Alvarez pitched in the Futures Game, Gio Gonzalez (9-9, 3.10) took the mound for the AL in the All-Star game.
Unfortunately for Oakland, the left-hander hasn't looked like much of an ace lately. After throwing seven scoreless innings in his first appearance following the Midsummer Classic, Gonzalez is 0-3 with an 8.82 ERA.
He gave up six runs, four walks and tied a career high by allowing 10 hits to light-hitting Seattle in a 7-4 loss last Wednesday.
"I was putting people on base that shouldn't be on base. That is an easy way to give up runs," said Gonzalez, who fell to 2-6 with a 4.27 ERA in 10 road starts. "I've got to continue to pound the strike zone and let them swing the bat and put it in play."
Gonzalez is 1-1 with a 3.20 ERA in three starts versus Toronto, holding the Blue Jays to a .130 average.
Jose Bautista is 1 for 5 against Gonzalez, but he's never really had any luck against Oakland. After going 0 for 4 Tuesday, Bautista is 8 for 57 with 19 strikeouts lifetime versus the A's.
