Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Santana Propel Indians To 1-0 Win Over A’s, As Oaklands’ Woes Continue

by Pablo MenaAugust 23, 2016, 12:03 pmNews >

The Oakland A’s have had a rough few days recently.

Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Santana Propel Indians To 1-0 Win Over A’s, As Oaklands’ Woes Continue

On Monday night, they suffered a 1-0 home loss against the Cleveland Indians after a home run by Carlos Santana and a strong outing by Carlos Carrasco. The defeat follows details emerging of an A’s clubhouse fight between Billy Butler and Danny Valencia.

“Both teams really pitched well,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “We hit a few balls hard, but not a lot. Fortunately, [Santana] ran one out of there, because it looked like that was probably the way someone was going to have to score.”

Valencia pinch-hit in the ninth inning and was one of three victims of Cleveland reliever Andrew Miller, acquired from the Yankees before the trade deadline, who promptly struck out the side. Miller earned his second save since joining the Indians.

Santana hit his 27th homer into the right-field stands off Oakland reliever Ryan Dull in the eighth.

“In any sport, once the game starts, it’s your job to go out there and perform at the highest level you possibly can,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said when asked about the mood in the dugout after Friday’s clubhouse fight emerged as the main topic before the game.

“Now, Carrasco had a little something to do with the mood in the dugout based on the fact we didn’t get too many good swings off him. But once the game started, you’re not too worried about off-field activity.”

The A’s, who suffered their eighth loss in nine games, got a great outing from Andrew Triggs, who pitched a career-high 89 pitches over six scoreless innings in his second consecutive solid start, which led Melvin to announce, “He will stay in the rotation.”

Triggs, who has had eight stints with the A’s this season, shuttling from Triple-A Nashville to Oakland, apparently won’t return to the minors again this year. He yielded three hits and walked one over a career-high 89 pitches.

After reliever Liam Hendriks threw a scoreless inning, Dull allowed Santana’s one-out homer down the line in right. Dull was an All-Star candidate in the first half, but has yielded four home runs in 17 innings since, though his ERA remains an admirable 3.18 in that time.

The American League Central-leading Indians have now pushed their lead over the Tigers to 7 1/2 games in the division, matching a season-best margin. Carrasco, a right-hander, struck out nine, scattered four hits and issued no walks to earn his ninth victory of the year.

“He was awesome,” Miller said of Carrasco. “That’s as good as you can throw the ball. I know you need a couple things to go your way, but that was no-hit stuff. That was a lot of fun to watch.”

Oakland’s Coco Crisp hit a one-out double in the sixth and was called out trying for third base. Melvin challenged the call to no avail and stated after the game he still believed Crisp was safe.

The two teams will face off again for the second game of their three-game series at O.co Coliseum on Tuesday night. Right-hander Danny Salazar (11-4, 3.57 ERA) will take the mound for the Indians. In his first outing off the disabled list on Thursday, Salazar struggled with his command and lasted only one inning. Lefty Sean Manaea (4-8, 4.73 ERA) will start for the A’s.

OAKLAND, CA – AUGUST 22: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the first inning at O.co Coliseum on August 22, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.