Cahill at center of another festivity
Veteran pitcher gets call for 50th anniversary game
OAKLAND >> Seven years after Trevor Cahill started the first game Bob Melvin ever managed for the A’s, the veteran right-hander gets another significant assignment — starting the A’s 50th anniversary game tonight against the Chicago White Sox.
The A’s go into that game with some momentum, defeating the White Sox 8-1 on Monday night.
Coincidentally, Cahill made his start on June 9, 2011 against the White Sox as well, the same day Melvin was named interim manager after general manager Billy Beane fired Bob Geren.
Cahill, who signed March 19, had two starts for the Class AAA Nashville sounds, giving up four hits and five earned runs in nine innings with seven walks and 10 strikeouts. The reports Melvin received were positive.
“Good sink, kind of an overhand sink, good command, good change-up,” Melvin said. “He has some
history, actually pitched the first game of my A’s career in Chicago. He’s kind of come full circle.”
Things didn’t go well for Cahill that night, as the A’s lost to the White Sox 9-4. Cahill was gone after 2 2/3 innings and saw his record fall to 6-4 en route to a 1214 season.
Cahill worked out with the A’s before the game but won’t be activated until today and was unavailable for comment.
The A’s are expecting a capacity crowd for their 50th anniversary game, with fans getting in for free (tickets were pre-distrubuted) and no charge for parking. Both teams will wear throwback uniforms.
Melvin said Cahill, 30, has evolved as a pitcher since 2011.
“Back then he was basically sinker, curve ball,” Melvin said. “Now he’s got a few more pitches in his arsenal. He’s pitched out of the bullpen, he’s started. We’ve always liked him here. He’s had a nice little career and we’re looking forward to seeing take the mound in front of 250,000 people.”
Having a veteran could be an advantage given the magnitude of the moment -- assuming the A’s get the crowd they’re expecting.
“It will be interesting. It should be very exciting,” Melvin said. “As I’ve often said, when there’s 15,000 people here it sounds like
30. I don’t know what the number’s going to be tomorrow but it’s going to feel like double that probably. I hope we can put on a good show for tehm and get ‘em going because this can be one of the louder places in all of baseball when things are going good.”
The parking lot opens at noon, with the gate for season ticket holders opening at 3:30 p.m. and all other stadium gates at 4:30 p.m. Seats in sections 106 through 128 will be reserved for season ticket members until the game begins.
• Daniel Mengden sprinted to the mound in the ninth inning, and it wasn’t so he could beat the traffic out of the parking lot before the Warriors game finished up next door.
Mengden (2-2) was all set to put the finishing touches on a long run of futility with his second career shutout. A leadoff home run by Jose Abreu ended that quest, but Mengden was plenty pleased to win his first-ever game at the Coliseum in an 8-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox Monday night.
Mengden went in to the game with an 0-10 record in 13 starts due to a combination of bad luck, a few too many bad pitches and some occasionally shaky defense.
None of that was in evidence Monday night, as Mengden became the first pitcher other than Sean Manaea to go deeper than the sixth inning, giving up six hits in eight innings with one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 106 pitches, 70 of them strikes.
When Melvin went to get him after Abreu’s home run and brought in Yusmeiro Petit to finish up, the monkey on Mengden’s back was gone.
“I mean, I guess you can consider it a monkey, but my job’s not really to win games, it’s to keep our team in it for as long as possible and have a chance to win,” Mengden said. “Wins and losses happen here or there, but yes, it was nice getting the first win.”
Mengden was backed by errorless defense highlighted by three excellent plays in center field by Mark Canha.
• It was a scoreless game until the fourth inning when first baseman Matt Olson, coming off an 0-for-11 road trip in Seattle that included six strikeouts, unloaded on starter Reynoldo Lopez for a home run to deep right field.
A two-out RBI double by Khris Davis in the fifth put the A’s up 2-0, with a comedy of three errors contributing to a three-run seventh inning. The only hit in the inning was a single by Marcus Semien.
The A’s scored three more times in the bottom of the eighth to make absolutely sure Mengden went out a winner, with Stephen Piscotty contributing a run-scoring single and Jed Lowrie driving in a run with a single to give him a team high 17 RBIs.
• The A’s announced attendance of 7,479 was no surprise given the presence of the Warriors next door, the Sharks being int he Stanley Cup playoffs and the free-for-all 50th anniversary game Tuesday night. It is the fourth time this season in nine games the A’s have had attendance under 10,000. Last year it happened three times in 81 games.
• Piscotty is in a 9-for-22 run and has hit safely in six straight games.
• A’s pitchers have given up at least one home run in 12 straight games and 14 of 17 this season.
• Chad Pinder was reinstated to the roster after going 2-for-7 with a double and a homer in a twogame rehab assignment in Class A Stockton.
Franklin Baretto was optioned to Nashville to make room.
Pinder went on the disabled list April 7 after tweaking a knee on a play in the outfield against the Los Angeles Angels.