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Saturday, Jul. 22 4:05pm ET
A's Grieve backs Zito with grand slam | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A quick reminder is all Barry Zito needed to zip to his first major league victory. Zito made an impressive escape in his big league debut and Ben Grieve hit a grand slam Saturday as the Oakland Athletics beat the Anaheim Angels 10-3. In the fifth inning, Darin Erstad singled and Zito walked Adam Kennedy and Benji Gil to load the bases with no outs. A's pitching coach Rick Peterson then went to the mound. "Peterson came out and reminded me of the time during spring training when I kept my composure during a similar situation," Zito said. "Then I just kept the ball down in the zone. My off-speed stuff bailed me out today." Zito responded, striking out Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson in succession. "We saw him in spring training and knew he had good stuff," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He kept his poise and made good pitches in tough situations. It shows he's ready for the challenge." Zito (1-0) allowed one run on two hits in five innings to join Mark Mulder as the second A's pitcher to win his major league debut this season, and the eighth since the A's moved to Oakland in 1968. Zito struck out six, walked six and hit a batter. He walked Darin Erstad on four pitches to start the game, and gave up an RBI single to Edgard Clemente in the second. "He didn't seem that nervous. He seemed anxious," A's outfielder Matt Stairs said. "He settled down, used his off-speed stuff and boosted the team up." Grieve's slam was his second of the season and the ninth for the A's this year, a franchise record. Miguel Tejada also homered for the A's, who collected 18 hits, and Terrence Long drove in three runs. Erstad recorded his major league-leading 53rd multi-hit game and continues to remain on pace to set the all-time season mark for hits. Brian Cooper (4-4) allowed a season-high seven runs and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the year. He threw a complete-game, three-hit shutout against the Athletics in Anaheim on June 30. "He struggled with his command and got behind a lot of hitters," Scioscia said. "He has the ability to move the ball around. He just wasn't able to do it today." Stairs doubled home Randy Velarde in the first to give the A's a 1-0 lead. Grieve's grand slam, his 19th home run of the season, highlighted a six-run burst in the fourth that put Oakland in front 7-1. Tejada and Eric Chavez singled to open the inning. After a sacrifice by Ramon Hernandez, Long singled home both runners. Velarde singled and Jason Giambi walked ahead of Grieve, who hit a 1-2 pitch over the left-center field fence to end Cooper's day. Tejada hit his 18th homer of the year and Long added an RBI single in the fifth. Chavez, who had three hits, had a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Troy Glaus hit his 29th homer, tying his career high, off T.J. Mathews in the Angels sixth. Vaughn had an RBI single in the seventh.
Game notes | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Anaheim Clubhouse Oakland Clubhouse RECAPS Kansas City 8 Detroit 5
Detroit 10
Oakland 10
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