The Giants were unhappy before Friday's game with Oakland's ad in the Bay Area newspapers that declared: "The battle of the Bay is 100 percent baseball," with "battle" crossed out before continuing: "Well, when you've won eight of the last nine, it's not exactly a 'battle.'"
But no matter how much the A's change in the offseason or what ups and downs they have with young and inexperienced players, they still generally find a way to beat the Giants, and they did so again Friday night, running their winning streak against their cross-Bay rivals to seven games. The A's have allowed just eight runs during that span, including Friday night, when the Giants managed just one run against Dana Eveland and relievers Brad Ziegler and Huston Street.
The Giants had an excuse on Friday, though, after arriving back in San Francisco at 3 a.m. following a lengthy rain delay at Cleveland on Thursday night.
The A's have won 10 of the past 11 and 15 of the last 19 meetings. A victory either Saturday or Sunday would give Oakland five consecutive series wins over San Francisco.
ATHLETICS 4, GIANTS 1: Oakland, which has had the best ERA in the major leagues most of the past month, got another fine pitching performance on Friday, this time from LHP Dana Eveland, who allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings. First- and second-year players also led the way offensively, with rookie Carlos Gonzalez providing two hits and Jack Hannahan and Daric Barton driving in runs.
