Yeager forces Padres to knuckle under

A's center fielder turns crafty closer to help preserve 17-10 victory

AL Rookie of the Year Clinton Yeager earned his reputation on speed, but it was a matter of how slow he threw a seldom seen knuckle ball that allowed the A's to hang onto a 17-10 victory Sunday.

"I called on Clinton because I figured he could throw strikes because he pitches so much batting practice to the youth team he coaches, but I had no idea he had that up his sleeve,:" A's manager Ryan Metcalfe said.

Yeager needed the knuckler in eighth to get out of a bases loaded situation with 2 outs and a 2-2 count against the Padres toughest hitter, player/manager Jason Masciorini, who flailed and failed to hit and slow knuckler that wiggled and dipped down and away.

"That ball really broke," A's catcher Brodie Nissen said. "I didn't know he could do that, but that was a good knuckle ball at a good time."

Yeager got a little wild, hitting 3 batters in the ninth, but got out of another bases loaded jam, allowing two runs on a couple of softly hit balls, to close out the A's (5-2) win with 3 strikeouts and one walk in two innings.

Yeager also played a more typical role in the A's offense, speeding around the bases to score 3 runs, reaching on a pair of RBI singles and picking up a critical run in the second by reaching on a two-out strikeout dropped by the catcher. He end up stealing home to tie the score a 3-3. Shawn Purcell (2-for-4, 4 runs, 4 RBI), whose arm fatigue kept him from pitching, but not hitting, singled in Kevin Metcalfe then helped Yeager score with a double steal. He scored on an RBI double by Billy Dodson, who finished the game 4-for-6 with 5 RBI including a three-run double in the 9th to finally give the A's breathing room in what would be a tighter game than expected against the Padres (3-4).

"The Padres have really gotten better under J-Mash," Metcalfe said. "It was tough being an expansion team last year, but J-Mash identified the weaknesses and found the guys to fill those holes to make them legitimate team that could go from last place (1-17) to the playoffs"

Metcalfe needed to go to Yeager after the A's ran out of arms with a 12-8 lead after seven innings. Steve Nojima gave the A's five tough innings, his longest start of the season, but it was his fifth and final inning where sloppy defense hurt him. The Padres used two infield singles -- on balls the A's normally get -- and a two-run error on a fly to right to score four unearned runs in the fifth and cut the lead to 12-7 against Nojima, who allowed two earned runs over 7 innings, scattering 8 hits and one walk to pick up the victory.

Billy Dodson also had a gritty, gutsy effort, pitching two solid innings of relief and going 4-for-6 at the plate with 5 RBI. Dodson twisted his ankle rounding second in the first and needed a courtesy runner the rest of the way, but it didn't effect his hitting. Dodson had an RBI doubles in the second and 9th. He also had an RBI single in the A's 6-run fourth that gave the A's an 11-3 lead.

Matt Wolfe also had a solid day at the plate with plenty of hustle on the bases. He went 3-for-6 with two runs, reaching first base in five out of 6 plate appearances. Wolfe hustled around first trying for a leadoff double, but was gunned down by the center fielder, who outraced Wolfe to the open bag in the second. Wolfe made up for that misjudgment, by cutting down a Padre trying to stretch a single to left into a double in the 3rd.

Like Wolfe, Kevin Metcalfe reach first in 5 of his 6 appearances with two hits and two walks to set himself up to score three times. Mike Mastro also had two hits, part of the A's season-best 19-hit effort.

"It was nice to see our offense come out and shine, but I'm a little worried about our defense and teamwork," Ryan Metcalfe said. "If we play defense like we are capable, we might have held them to 2 runs and been able to relax most of the day. The Padres were scrappy and we were sloppy. Our defense took a step back from the previous two games and it didn't seem like guys came with the same intensity, like they weren't playing for each other. Good teams bring out the best in us and sometimes we play down to the level of our opposition. We've got to play better on defense and show more chemistry to win the big wins. The big things was the guys didn't crack under pressure."

The A's finished their first trip through the AL at 5-2, a game out of first place in a 3-way race with the Titans (6-1) and Nationals (6-1).

"It's OK if we finish third as long as we come into the playoffs hot and ready to contend for a championship," Metcalfe said.

The A's will try to regroup with a rematch with the Astros (3-4), who have not looked good since pushing the A's in a 12-8 loss opening day. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Casa Grande

Brodie Nissen hung onto this tricky pop-up to help the A's get out of the 7th. He scored twice & hit an RBI single in the 1st.

Matt Wolfe hustled around the bases from start to finish, scoring 2 runs on 3 hits, including an infield single. He was thrown out in the second trying to stretch a single, but answered for his mistake by throwing out a Padre in the 2nd

Kevin Metcalfe broke out of a slump with two hits, including an RBI liner to left in the fifth. He accounted for three runs, reaching two more times on walks, raising his on-base percentage to over .400 and improving his average .182.

Yeager- MVP