With a lot of youth in key positions, the A's are likely to be inconsistent at times this year, and the last two weeks demonstrate that perfectly.
Oakland went 2-7 on its most recent road trip, the offense struggling much of that time. Then the A's came back and dropped two games to Tampa Bay before winning the series finale -- and then sweeping the defending champion Red Sox over the weekend. That knocked Boston out of first place in the AL East, and it pushed Oakland just a game and a half behind the Angels in the West. And for all Oakland's up-and-down ways, the pitching has been reliably excellent, even before Rich Harden returned to the rotation. With the talented right-hander back after missing five weeks with a muscle strain below his shoulder, Oakland's staff has been superb. Overall, the team is leading the majors in ERA with a 3.27 mark, and the staff is holding opponents to a .234 average.
The A's bullpen has a 3.10 ERA and is allowing opponents a .230 average, and that's with three relievers (Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla and Kiko Calero) on the disabled list. Joey Devine has been particularly impressive, and closer Huston Street appears to be hitting his stride -- he retired 15 batters in a row until allowing a ninth-inning single on Sunday. He followed that by getting a game-ending double play.
Oakland's lineup is also picking up the pace. The team's lack of power has been a topic much of the first two months, but the A's have homered in eight consecutive games.
