Anderson and Triple Play Help Propel Athletics Past Twins

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Brett Anderson made his season debut Tuesday evening against the Twins. (Thearon W. Henderson)

As the Oakland Athletics strive to maintain their push for a playoff berth, each game seems to become more and more important. Starting pitching has been somewhat up in their air as of late for the young ball club. The Athletics received great news a few weeks ago when they found out starting pitcher Brett Anderson would be able to make his season debut soon. Anderson had missed nearly 15 months while recovering from elbow surgery. He got his opportunity to start Tuesday evening against the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins got off to an early lead. Center fielder Ben Revere led the game off with an infield single. He then stole second base and reached third on a wild pitch. Left fielder Josh Willingham singled home Revere to put the Twins up 1-0. Anderson caught Willingham sleeping and picked him off to end the inning. From there, he seemed to settle into the groove. Anderson retired his next nine batters before surrendering singles to first baseman Justin Morneau and catcher Ryan Doumit.

With two men on and no outs in the fifth, Anderson looked to induce a ground ball out of Twins utility man Trever Plouffe. Sure enough, Plouffe hit a hard ground ball down the line to Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson. Donaldson tagged the bag and threw it to second baseman Adam Rosales. Rosales held his ground to tag second base and get the throw off in time to get it to first baseman Chris Carter to complete the 5-4-3 triple play. It's the Athletics 21st triple play in franchise history, but their first since May 29, 2000 against the New York Yankees.

The Athletics offense came alive to give Anderson the 4-1 lead. Donaldson and Carter had RBI doubles and catcher Derek Norris and right fielder Josh Reddick added RBI singles. Anderson finished seven solid innings of work before being pulled from the game. He gave up four hits and just the one run. Anderson struck out six and faced only one batter over the minimum. Athletics reliever Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect eighth inning for his seventh hold of the season. Closer Grant Balfour came in and closed the door in the ninth for his twelfth save of the season.

The Athletics remain one-half game behind the Baltimore Orioles for the second wild-card spot in the American League. If Anderson can pitch close to this form every time out, his addition is going to be huge for the Athletics pitching staff. The Athletics also recently acquired shortstop Stephen Drew from the Arizona Diamondbacks. They hope he can add a spark to their lineup on a daily basis. The Athletics have been one of the more intriguing and surprising teams to watch this season. It will be interesting to see how they do as things heat up as the playoffs approach.

Fellaini Helps Everton Stun Manchester United

Everton's Marouane Fellaini celebrates his goal that turned out to be the winner against Manchester United. (Peter Powell)

One of the biggest storylines coming into this Premier League season was Dutch scoring machine Robin van Persie's 24 million pound transfer from Arsenal to Manchester United. United was already among the favorites to win the Premier League. With the addition of van Persie, the United faithful were already salivating about the possibilities. Manchester United got their first chance to prove themselves at Everton on Monday evening.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson made the interesting choice to leave van Persie on the bench to begin the game. Injuries also led to changes in the United starting lineup. The only regulars in the back four were Antonio Valencia at right back and Nemanja Vidic in the center. The defensive uncertainty was evident from the very beginning. Everton got a number of good opportunites in the first half, but all were denied by Machester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

Marouane Fellaini was an attacking machine for Everton throughout the game. The midfielder from Belgium created his own shots, set up others with opportunities, and wreaked havoc on the United defense. Fellaini's efforts were finally rewarded in the 57th minute. On the Everton corner kick, midfielder Darron Gibson sent a cross into the box. Fellaini rose up and headed it inside the near post for the goal. Just like that, Everton was suddenly up 1-0.

In the 68th minute, van Persie got his first opportunity with Manchester United as he came on as a substitute. As Everton began to sit back defensively, United gained more possession and scoring opportunities. Their best chance to level the score probably came in the 79th minute. Van Persie worked the ball down the right side and managed to find a charging Shinji Kagawa. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard came out and made the save though to protect his lead. Manchester United had a few more opportunities, but came up empty.

As the final whistle blew, the Everton crowd cheered their side's hard fought victory. The win was only Everton's fourth home victory over Manchester United in 21 Premier League matches. The win is huge for the home boys, Everton. Wins this big don't come around that often, especially this early in the season. Fellaini was the definite man of the match. His play was clearly the difference in jump starting the Everton offense and testing the United defense.

The opening match loss is very disappointing for Manchester United. The team seemed to have definite rust, and their inexperience playing together was evident. United will have to work hard to get everyone healthy and van Persie integrated into the scheme in order to begin playing better. It will be interesting to see how they rebound from this disappointing loss.

Kuroda and Ichiro Come Up Huge During Homestand

New York Yankees starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda threw a pair of gems during this seven-game homestand. (Jason Szenes)

The New York Yankees keep finding ways to win baseball games, despite not having some of their best players due to injuries. One of the main reasons why is that other players have stepped up to help pick up the slack. During their seven game homestand that ended tonight, the Yankees went 5-2 against the Texas Rangers and rival Boston Red Sox. Two of the players that made probably the biggest difference during the homestand were starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.

When CC Sabathia returned to the disabled list with an elbow injury, the Yankees lost their clear ace and number one starter. Someone needed to step up and take control of the number two spot in the rotation. That someone appears to have become Kuroda. On last Tuesday, he faced off against one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball, the Texas Rangers. Kuroda dominated that Rangers offense from start to finish while throwing a complete game. He limited the Rangers to two hits and two walks while striking out five batters.

Kuroda returned to the mound for a second time during the homestand to face the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball. He retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced and then six of the next seven. Kuroda's only mistake was throwing a hanging slider to Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who turned into into a solo shot into the right field bleachers. Other than that, he was dominant in eight innings of work, giving up just four hits and the one run in eight innings of work.

Even though Ichiro Suzuki's numbers were down this season, the Yankees decided to take a chance on those improving by acquiring him from the Seattle Mariners. Sure enough, Suzuki has found his groove and seems to greatly enjoy playing with the Yankees. He particularly saw his numbers take off during this seven-game homestand. Tonight, Suzuki capped it all off with a rare display of his power. He cranked out two solo shots to help provide all the help Kuroda needed on the mound. During the entire homestand, Suzuki hit .526 with four runs, a double, a triple,  and two home runs. As a Yankee, Ichiro has a .301 average and has hit safely in 21 of 23 starts.

Even after other players return from injuries, the Yankees are going to need players to step up and make the crucial plays needed. Hiroki Kuroda and Ichiro Suzuki have done exactly that so far. If Kuroda continues to pitch like he has in his last two starts, he will be nearly impossible to hit. Suzuki has been a spark plug at times to his new ball club. The Yankees are reaping the benefits of these players and others making the differences needed. It will be interesting to watch Kuroda and Suzuki the rest of the season and into the postseason.