Final
A's send Gonzalez to hill in Bronx finale
Jul 24, 2011 - 2:32 PMVideo
Gio Gonzalez will try to forget all that on Sunday when he takes the ball for the A's in the rubber match of their three-game series with the Yankees.
Gonzalez was hit hard by New York back on June 1 when he surrendered four runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. That loss, which dropped him to 1-3 lifetime versus the Yankees, triggered the start of a three-game losing streak for the 25-year-old left-hander
"You let them know right off the bat, you are going to give them everything you got," Gonzalez said after that earlier outing. "You can't cruise when you think you have them down. They always seem quick to be able to get a little rally going. When it's going their way, it's going their way."
However, the first-time All-Star has started to pick it up again and heads into Sunday's matchup with wins in four of his last five decisions. Last Sunday, in his first start after the break, Gonzalez was magnificent while scattering four hits and striking out eight over seven scoreless innings to beat the Angels.
Gonzalez, who upped his record to 9-6 while lowering his earned run average to 2.33, was helped along by an eight-run first inning from the A's offense.
"If I get a lead like that, I don't want to give it up to them -- especially with this team, it's a good hitting team," Gonzalez said. "Show them any life and they come back and score a couple runs on you."
Scoring runs was a problem all season for the A's, but they have turned it around in that regard over the past week or so. They have scored 41 runs in eight games since the break after totaling just 43 in the 18 games before it.
The last runs came in Saturday's 4-3 victory, which was sparked by homers from Josh Willingham and Hideki Matsui and 5 2/3 innings from Harden, who got the win.
Indeed, for the first time in a long time, Yankee Stadium wasn't a house of horrors for the A's. They snapped an historic 11-game losing streak to the Yankees and won for only the second time in their last 15 games in the Bronx.
On Sunday, the Yankees will rely on the resurgent right arm of Bartolo Colon, who has lost his last three starts. Colon pitched well, though, his last time out against Tampa Bay, allowing three runs (one earned) and five hits with nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Some defensive miscues late did him in, as he fell to 6-6 on the year to go along with a 3.34 ERA.
Colon had his finest outing since his AL Cy Young Award-winning season in 2005 back on May 30 against the A's when he tossed a four-hit shutout. He is 7-5 in his career against the A's with a 3.36 ERA in 17 games (16 starts).
- OAKLAND: 5
NEW YORK: 7
Final
Jul 24 4:26 PM - Josh Willingham single to left scored Jemile Weeks with one out. On the play, Hideki Matsui advances to second and Coco Crisp advances to third. Bases loaded and David DeJesus due up.
Athletics 5, Yankees 7 Top 9, 1 OutJul 24 4:25 PM - Derek Jeter ground out short to first scored Eduardo Nunez with two outs. None on and Curtis Granderson due up.
Athletics 4, Yankees 7 Bot 8, 2 OutsJul 24 4:12 PM - Kurt Suzuki double to right center scored Hideki Matsui with two outs. On the play, Josh Willingham advances to third. Runners on second and third and Cliff Pennington due up.
Athletics 4, Yankees 6 Top 8, 2 OutsJul 24 3:59 PM - Hideki Matsui double to left center scored Coco Crisp with none out. Runner on second and Josh Willingham due up.
Athletics 3, Yankees 6 Top 8, 0 OutsJul 24 3:46 PM - Andruw Jones single to short scored Mark Teixeira with two outs. On the play, Russell Martin advances to second. Runners on first and second and Eduardo Nunez due up.
Athletics 2, Yankees 6 Bot 5, 2 OutsJul 24 2:53 PM - Curtis Granderson none-out, two-run Home Run (27) to right scored Derek Jeter. Mark Teixeira due up.
Athletics 2, Yankees 5 Bot 5, 0 OutsJul 24 2:42 PM - Andruw Jones single to center scored Russell Martin with two outs. Runner on first and Eduardo Nunez due up.
Athletics 2, Yankees 1 Bot 2, 2 OutsJul 24 1:44 PM - Eric Sogard double to right center scored Cliff Pennington with two outs. Runner on second and Jemile Weeks due up.
Athletics 2, Yankees 0 Top 2, 2 OutsJul 24 1:33 PM - Cliff Pennington single to right scored Kurt Suzuki with two outs. Runner on second and Eric Sogard due up.
Athletics 1, Yankees 0 Top 2, 2 OutsJul 24 1:32 PM - OAKLAND: 0
NEW YORK: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Jul 24 1:09 PM
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