1975 Oakland A's: What Should Have Been

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The A's took 3 of 4 from the Orioles with an 8-4 win at Memorial Stadium. Catfish Hunter went 7 innings and improved to 12-7. Claudell Washington was 3-5, Reggie Jackson 2-6 with 2 RBI, and Sal Bando 2-4 with 2 RBI. The A's now travel to Detroit for a doubleheader on Tuesday, followed by single games on Wednesday and Thursday.

MON JUL 21

OAK_____8___15___0
BAL_____4___13___1

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Reggie Jackson homered twice and Claudell Washington drove in 3 runs as the A's took the opener from the Tigers 9-7. Billy Williams also added a homer and Ray Fosse was 3-4 in support of Vida Blue, who improved to 12-6.

TUE JUL 22 (1)

OAK_____9___15___0
DET_____7___11___0

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Billy Williams' 2-run single in the 8th inning snapped a 5-5 tie as the A's came back from a 5-0 defecit to beat the Tigers 7-5. Ted Martinez was 2-4, including a key 2-run triple in the 8th. Jim Perry went 8 innings for the win. Paul Lindblad pitched the 9th and earned the save.

TUE JUL 22 (2)

OAK_____7___14___1
DET_____5____8___2

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Ken Holtzman tossed his 6th shutout of the season, allowing only 5 hits and 1 walk, as the A's blanked the Tigers 2-0. Oakland scored both of their runs in the top of the 6th inning. Joe Rudi smacked an RBI triple and later scored on Angel Mangual's double. The A's are now 7-2 since the All-Star Break.

WED JUL 23

OAK_____2___5___0
DET_____0___5___0

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Reggie Jackson's 3-run homer in the 6th inning snapped a 2-2 tie and the A's went on to defeat the Tigers 6-2, completing a 4-game sweep. Stan Bahnsen went 6 innings for the win. Glenn Abbott pitched the final 3 innings and earned the save. Joe Rudi was 3-5 at the plate. The A's now return home to face the White Sox for single games Friday and Saturday, followed by a doubleheader on Sunday.

THUR JUL 24

OAK_____6___12___1
DET_____2___11___0

[motnahp]

The Oakland A's returned home and were pounded in the opening game of a 4-game series against the White Sox, 11-3. Ken Henderson homered and drove in 4 runs. Deron Johnson added a 2-run homer. Pat Kelly had 4 hits and Bucky Dent hit safely 3 times. Oakland starting pitcher Catfish Hunter was treated roughly, as the pale hose smacked him around for 10 hits and 9 earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings. Oakland's runs came courtesy of a 3-run homer off the bat of Joe Rudi, his 10th homer of the year.

FRI JUL 25

CHI_____11___14___1
OAK_____3____4___1

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Oakland starting pitching followed one of their worst performances with one of their best. Vida Blue held the White Sox to only 3 hits, as he went the distance for the 8th time this season and recorded his 4th shutout, 5-0. Blue struck out 5 and walked only 1. Reggie Jackson was 2-4 with an RBI double.

SAT JUL 26

CHI_____0___3___0
OAK_____5__10___0

[motnahp]

Angel Mangual singled in Reggie Jackson with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th as the A's edged the White Sox 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader. Jackson belted his 14th homer and went 3-4 on the day. Ken Holtzman went 8 strong innings to improve to 14-5. Rollie Fingers pitched a scoreless 9th and earned his 12th save.

SUN JUL 27 (1)

CHI_____1___9___1
OAK_____2__10___0

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The White Sox earned a split of the series with a 7-5 win over the A's. Ken Henderson smacked 3 doubles to lead the way for Chicago. Gene Tenace drove in all 5 of the Oakland runs, as he went 4-4, including a 3-run homer. Oakland starter Jim Perry tweaked his elbow in the 1st and was replaced by Stan Bahnsen, who allowed 5 runs in 5 innings to absorb the loss. The Texas Rangers visit Oakland for a 3-game series, starting Monday. Former Ranger Dick Bosman will start for the A's in the opener.

SUN JUL 27 (2)

CHI_____7___13___0
OAK_____5___13___0

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For the second straight game, the A's lost a starting pitcher due to injury. Dick Bosman left in the 3rd inning with an arm injury and was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game. Sonny Siebert replaced Bosman on the mound and held down the Rangers as the A's took the game 7-2. Sal Bando was 4-5 with 2 RBI. Jim Holt, in a rare start, went 2-4 and picked up his first 2 RBI of the season. Reggie Jackson continued his hot hitting, going 2-5 with a triple and and RBI. The A's recalled rookie pitcher Mike Norris from AAA.

MON JUL 28

TEX_____2___6___1
OAK_____7__15___0

[motnahp]

Gene Tenace's 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th gave the A's an exciting 3-1 win over the Rangers. The game was scoreless after 8 innings, as Fergie Jenkins and Catfish Hunter put up zeroes. Roy Howell's 2-out homer in the top of the 9th gave the Rangers the lead, but Jenkins could not shut the A's down in the 9th. Joe Rudi led off with a double, then advanced to 3rd on an infield single by Matt Alexander. With Alexander running, Tenace blasted Jenkins' 2nd pitch over the center field wall to give the A's the victory. Hunter improved to 13-8 with his 11th complete game of the season. Catfish struck out 7 and walked 1.

TUE JUL 29

TEX_____1___4___0
OAK_____3__10___0

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The Rangers took the final game of the series, 7-5. Texas led 5-0 after 5 1/2 innings. The A's scored 2 runs in both the 6th and 7th innings to cut the lead to 5-4, but Rollie Fingers allowed single runs in both the 8th and 9th innings. The A's will take Thursday off, as they end up 20-9 for the month of July. They will open August with 3 games in Kansas City, followed by 5 games in 4 days in Arlington against the Rangers. Jim Perry will miss a start, but should be available for the Ranger series.

WED JUL 30

TEX_____7__14___2
OAK____5___9___1

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Standings at the end of July:

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Billy Williams smacked a 3-run homer. Phil Garner was 3-4 with a double, triple and 2 RBI as the A's edged the Royals 8-6. Oakland led 8-3 after 8 innings, then survived a John Mayberry 3-run homer in the 9th off reliever Paul Lindblad. Ken Holtzman allowed 3 runs in 7 innings to improve his record to 15-5 on the season.

FRI AUG 1

OAK_____8___8___0
KC______6___16__1

[motnahp]

Billy Williams' 2-out, 2-run triple in the 8th inning broke a 1-1 tie and led the A's over the Royals 5-1. Williams' blow was followed by a 2-run homer from Gene Tenace, his 11th of the season. Catfish Hunter went the distance on the mound and improved to 14-8.

SAT AUG 2

OAK_____5___6___2
KC______1___5___0

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For the 3rd straight game, Billy Williams provided the key hit. Williams' 1-out single in the top of the 11th inning drove in Billy North with the eventual game-winner as the A's swept the Royals with a 2-1 win. Rollie Fingers pitched the final 1 2/3 innings and improved to 6-1 on the season. The A's now travel to Arlington to face the Rangers for 5 games in 4 days, including a Tuesday doubleheader.

SUN AUG 3

OAK_____2___10___1
KC______1____5___0

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The Texas Rangers unloaded on Oakland pitching for 16 hits, including 5 home runs in an 11-3 Ranger victory. Toby Harrah cleared the wall twice and drove in 4. Mike Cubbage had a homer and 3 RBI. Both Tom Grieve and Ron Pruitt homered and drove in 2. Oakland starter Stan Bahnsen was roughed up for 9 hits and 7 earned runs in only 2 1/3 innings.

MON AUG 4

OAK_____3___11___0
TEX_____11__16___0

[motnahp]

The Texas Rangers showed no respect for the AL West-leading A's, pounding Oakland 15-1. Tom Grieve was 4-4 with a homer and 6 RBI. Jim Spencer homered twice and drove in 5. Jeff Burroughs was 4-5 with one RBI. Oakland starter Kenny Holtzman was knocked out after only 1 2/3 innings, having surrendered 9 earned runs. Gaylord Perry held the A's to only 5 hits, while the Rangers knocked around three Oakland pitchers for 18 hits. Gaylord's brother Jim returns to action for the A's in the second game of the doubleheader.

TUE AUG 5 (1)

OAK_____1___5___1
TEX_____15__18__0

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Mike Hargrove's 3-run homer in the 5th provided the margin of victory as the Rangers took their 3rd straight from the A's, 4-1. Jim Perry went the distance, but took the loss and fell to 5-6.

TUE AUG 5 (2)

OAK_____1___10___1
TEX_____4___11___1

[motnahp]

It took 12 innings, but the A's snapped their 3-game losing streak to the pesky Rangers, 2-1. Catfish Hunter and Steve Hargan battled thru 11 innings on the mound before the A's won the game with an unearned run in the 12th. Billy Williams led off with a single. Matt Alexander ran for Williams and stole second. Sal Bando singled to left, but Alexander was thrown out at the plate, with Bando taking 2nd. Clyde Wright then relieved Hargan on the mound and got Ray Fosse to pop up for the second out. Phil Garner's line drive to center field was misplayed by Dave Moates and Bando came in with the go-ahead run. Rollie Fingers pitched a scoreless 9th for his 13th save. Hunter improved to 15-8.

WED AUG 6

OAK_____2___6___0
TEX_____1___7___2