1975 Oakland A's: What Should Have Been

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Frank Tanana came out on top in the battle of young lefties, beating Vida Blue and the A's 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.

SUN APR 27 (1)

OAK_____1___5___0
CAL_____2___7___0

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The A's went with Dave Hamilton in the 2nd game of the doubleheader and Hamilton delivered 7 shutout innings. The A's held on the beat the Angels 7-5. Blue Moon Odom pitched a scoreless 8th, then ran into all kinds of trouble in the 9th, allowing 5 runs. Ken Holtzman retired the last two batters and earned a save. Jackson, North, and Campaneris rested. Ray Fosse went 4-5. Ted Kubiak was 2-3. Jackson came in as a pinch-hitter for Angel Mangual and drew a bases-loaded walk. Bill North then took Jackson's spot in the order and delivered a bases-loaded triple an inning later. The A's even their record to a mediocre 10-10 on the young season.

SUN APR 27 (2)

OAK_____7___12___0
CAL_____5____8___2

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Standings at the end of April:

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Storm clouds followed the A's through Minnesota, wiping out an entire series. The A's enjoyed a mini-vacation, as they did not play APR 28, 29, 30, or MAY 1st. We'll have doubleheaders later in the season to make up the missed games. They travel now to Chicago for a 3-game series against the White Sox. It's easy to set up a rotation with 4 days off in a row!

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Jim Hunter was roughed up for 5 runs in 8 innings. The A's left an amazing 16 men on base and fell to the White Sox 5-1. Williams, Tenace, and Bando had two hits apiece. Campaneris had three.

FRI MAY 2

OAK_____1___12___0
CWS_____5____9___2

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Claude Osteen went the distance for Chicago as the White Sox beat the A's again, 2-1. Osteen allowed 6 hits, struck out 4 and walked one. Ken Henderson's solo homer in the bottom of the 6th broke a 1-1 tie. Vida Blue pitched into the 7th inning and took the loss, falling to 2-3 on the season.

SAT MAY 3

OAK_____1___6___0
CWS_____2___6___1

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The Oakland A's broke out the lumber in Chicago, battering 4 Chicago pitchers for 22 hits. Kenny Holtzman shut out the White Sox on 6 hits and earned his 1st win of the year. For the first time this season, Holtzman received plenty of support. Claudell Washington went 4-5 with 2 doubles and a triple. Reggie Jackson was also 4-5 with 2 doubles. Sal Bando was 4-5, as well. Gent Tenace was 2-5. Washington, Jackson, Bando, and Tenace each drove in 2 runs. Among the starters, only lead-off man Bill North failed to join the hit parade. He was 0-5 with a walk, dropping his average to .187. Ted Kubiak added a double in a reserve role. Angel Mangual smacked an RBI triple in relief of Jackson in the outfield.

SUN MAY 4

OAK_____10___22___0
CWS_____0____6___0

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California's Ed Figueroa held the A's to 2 hits as the Angels bested Oakland 3-1. Figueroa struck out 10 and walked only 1. He allowed a lead-off double to Claudell Washington in the first inning, then held the A's hitless until Phil Garner's two-out single in the 9th. Catfish Hunter allowed only 2 earned runs in 8 innings, but suffered his second straight loss.

TUE MAY 6

CAL_____3___7___0
OAK_____1___2___1

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Nolan Ryan picked up his first win of the season, striking out 16 A's. The Angels took their 2nd straight against the A's, 3-2 in 10 innings. Ryan went the distance, allowing 6 hits and 6 walks. The A's loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th, but could not push across the tying run.

WED MAY 7

CAL_____3___9___0
OAK_____2___6___0

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Reggie Jackson's bases-loaded double in the bottom of the 7th erased a 3-1 deficit and the A's went on to beat the Angels 6-4. Ken Holtzman pitched 8 innings for his 2nd straight win. Rollie Fingers picked up the save. The A's now entertain the Yankees for a 3-game series.

THUR MAY 8

CAL_____4___9___0
OAK_____6___9___2

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The Yankees proved to be impolite guests, pounding out 19 hits and thrashing the A's 11-7. Sandy Alomar, Thurman Munson, and Bobby Bonds all went 3-6. Alomar and Munson each drove in a pair of runs and Bonds homered and drove in 4. Reggie Jackson homered and drove in 3 for the A's. Jim Todd took the loss in relief. He allowed 4 earned runs in only 2/3 of an inning and fell to 0-3 on the season.

FRI MAY 9

NYY_____11___19___2
OAK_____7____9____1

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Catfish Hunter dominated the Yankee lineup, striking out 9, walking only 1 and allowing only 5 hits as the A's shut out New York 3-0. Billy Williams hit a solo homer in the 4th. The A's added two more runs with two bases-loaded walks in the 7th.

SAT MAY 10

NYY_____0___5___0
OAK_____3__12___0

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Oakland defeated New York 4-2 to take the series. Vida Blue allowed 10 hits in 7 innings, but worked out of several jams to improve to 3-3 on the season. Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers finished out with scoreless relief. Both Joe Rudi and Reggie Jackson went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs. Boston now comes to town for a 2-game series.

SUN MAY 11

NYY_____2___11___0
OAK_____4___8____1

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Bernie Carbo's pinch-hit single brought home Cecil Cooper with the go-ahead run as the Red Sox defeated the A's 8-7 in a 13-inning affair. Roger Moret pitched 5 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win. Boston took a 7-3 lead with a 5-run 4th inning, knocking Ken Holtzman out of the game. Jim Rice and Rico Petrocelli homered for Boston. Sal Bando had a great day, with a 3-run homer and a 3-run double in a losing effort.

MON MAY 12

BOS_____8___17___0
OAK_____7___17___1

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Phil Garner's bases-clearing triple in the 5th inning was the difference maker as the A's beat the Red Sox 5-3. Glenn Abbott picked up the win and Rollie Fingers collected a save.

TUE MAY 13

BOS_____3___12___0
OAK_____5____8___0

The A's & Red Sox game on the 14th was rained out. With a scheduled off-day on Thursday, the team has two days off before opening a 3-game series on Friday in New York.

The A's made a trade with San Diego on the 15th. We acquired veteran pitcher Sonny Siebert in exchange for IF Ted Kubiak. Siebert will either start or work in long relief. In San Diego's bullpen, he was 1-0 with an 8.22 ERA. Utility infielder Kubiak was batting .235 with no homers and 2 RBI. The A's also optioned pitcher Mike Norris to AAA. Norris had not seen action since his start against Texas on April 21. He allowed 8 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. The A's also recalled IF Gaylen Pitts.

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Reggie Jackson swatted a pair of homers as part of a 5-for-5 day as the A's defeated the Yankees 7-3. Jackson is now hitting a robust .352 for the season. Joe Rudi chipped in with 3 hits and an RBI. Sal Bando added a solo homer. Catfish Hunter improved to 6-2 on the season. He went 7 1/3 innings and got scoreless relief help from Paul Lindblad and Jim Todd.

FRI MAY 16

OAK_____7___16___0
NYY_____3____6___0

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Billy Williams smacked two 3-run homers, doubled and drove in 7 as the A's scored 6 times in the 11th inning to beat the Yankees 11-5. Joe Rudi was 3-6 with 2 RBI. The A's led 5-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, but Rollie Fingers could not hold the lead, allowing 2 runs and sending the game into extra innings. Fingers picked up the win in relief. Sonny Siebert pitched a scoreless 11th in his Oakland debut.

SAT MAY 17

OAK_____11___16___3
NYY______5___10___0

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Billy Williams once again crushed Yankee pitching. The sweet swinger was 4-6, with a double, a grand slam homer, and 5 more RBI. Reggie Jackson also homered and drove in 4 as the A's pounded the Yankees and completed the sweep, 15-6. Before the game, the A's acquired IF Ted Martinez from St. Louis. Martinez singled after entering the game in the 7th inning. Gaylen Pitts was optioned to AAA. The A's now visit Boston for a 3-game series.

SUN MAY 18

OAK_____15___17___0
NYY______6____9___1

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Reggie Jackson's grand slam capped a 5-run 3rd inning as the A's won their 5th straight game, 6-3 over the Red Sox. Glenn Abbott pitched 8 strong innings, allowing only solo homers to Jim Rice and Dwight Evans.

MON MAY 19

OAK_____6___7___0
BOS_____3___7___2

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Boston snapped the A's 5-game winning streak, 5-4. Bill Lee outlasted Catfish Hunter.

TUE MAY 20

OAK_____4___9___0
BOS_____5__10___1