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The National League jumped out to a giant lead early, and never looked back in their convincing 8-0 win over the American League at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City for their third straight All-Star Game win.

Melky Cabrera (Giants) won named the game’s MVP after hitting a two-run home run en route to a 2-for-3 night with two runs.

The 83rd annual Midsummer Classic started off with a bang, as the NL was able to tag Justin Verlander (Tigers) for five runs in the first inning.

A Ryan Braun (Brewers) double scored Cabrera, but the big blow came four batters later when Pablo Sandoval (Giants) smacked a bases-loaded triple to the corner of right field to give the National League a 4-0 lead before the American League had a chance to bat.

From there, it was smooth sailing for the NL.

The pitching staff was brilliant, led by starter Matt Cain (Giants) who threw two innings of one-hit baseball. After Cain, it was Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), Stephen Strasburg (Nationals), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), R.A. Dickey (Mets), Cole Hamels (Phillies), Craig Kimbrel (Braves), Aroldis Chapman (Reds), Wade Miley (Diamondbacks), Joel Hanrahan (Pirates) and Jonathan Papelbon (Phillies) who combined for the six-hit shutout against an incredibly talented AL lineup.

They are the true MVPs of the ballgame, the first All-Star shutout since the NL blanked the AL 6-0 back in 1996. The eight-run margin marks the biggest win the NL has ever had over the AL. 

Twitter Reaction

Verlander is one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball right now, but he got absolutely shelled by the NL lineup. How rare is it for Verlander to give up five runs in the first inning? CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler has the answer:

Before 1st inning tonight, last time Verlander allowed 5 in any inning was 4/11/2010 vs. Cle (also 5 in 1st)

— DKnobler (@DKnobler) July 10, 2012

Not only did Sandoval hit a triple, but so did Braun and Rafael Furcal (Cardinals). That’s an All-Star Game record according to Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi:

#NL has hit three triples tonight – an all-time #ASG record. @MLBONFOX

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 10, 2012

There is no question the most valuable team on Tuesday night was the San Francisco Giants. As ESPN’s Buster Olney points out, they are now owed an apology by critics who didn’t approve of three of them being in the starting lineup:

SF fans took a beating for their ballot-box stuffing…Apparently, they will be owed the thanks of NL team at the start of the World Series.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 10, 2012

Billy Butler (Royals) stepped to the dish in the seventh inning for his first official All-Star plate appearance to resounding cheers from the home crowd.

He was facing Cole Hamels, who is still taking heat for plunking Bryce Harper (Nationals) for no reason in particular earlier in the season. Former MLB legend Dale Murphy made this priceless joke making light of the matchup:

Wait a sec… that was Billy Butler’s 1st All-Star game at-bat right? Why didn’t Cole Hamels hit him?

— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) July 10, 2012

Say what you want about whether the All-Star Game winner should be awarded home-field advantage in the World Series, but it’s clearly important, as CNBC’s Darren Rovell tells us: 

Since the All-Star Game determined World Series home field advantage, the home team has gone on to win the title 6 of 9 times.

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) July 10, 2012

Analysis

This was a rather boring All-Star Game to say the least.

It was exciting to see all of the runs scored off Verlander, but it made for a rather mundane rest of the game.

The AL was only able to muster six hits, and only posed a real threat to score in the fifth inning.

The only memorable moment from the game came when Chipper Jones (Braves) was able to single in his lone plate appearance. Considering this will be his final appearance at the All-Star Game, it was cool to see him leave with a hit.

You could argue Tony La Russa using three pitchers in the ninth was a fitting end to his career, but most of America had already changed the channel by that point.

In the end, a ton of credit goes to the Giants. They had a pitcher go two scoreless innings, and three hitters who combined for five RBI, including the MVP of the game.

Whoever makes it to the Fall Classic needs to thank San Francisco for the Giants’ respective efforts tonight. 

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The clouds were rolling in on Fenway Park this afternoon, setting an ominous tone for the New York Yankees game with the Boston Red Sox before Franklin Morales even threw a pitch. 

Derek Jeter started the day with a bloop single to center field. After getting Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to both pop out, Morales hit Robinson Cano on the hand.

Then Nick Swisher came up.

He absolutely crushed a three-run bomb over the Green Monster (which you can watch on MLB.com).

Round 2 of the slugfest had begun. But this time the Red Sox took all of the punches.

Andruw Jones kept the punches coming with a solo shot into the Monster seats. It was the fifth time this season that the Yankees hit back-to-back home runs. 

Morales got Jayson Nix to line out to center field, but the damage had been done. Once again the Red Sox were down before they even came to bat.

This was not what the Red Sox were expecting out of Morales. In his previous six appearances, Morales posted a 1.35 ERA with 33 strikeouts, in 26.2 innings pitched. 

The Red Sox did not respond in the first inning as they did Friday night. Freddy Garcia’s only blemish in the first was a walk to David Ortiz. 

Morales settled down in the second inning, getting Darnell McDonald, Chris Stewart and Jeter to go 1-2-3. But a confident-looking Garcia made easy work Mauro Gomez, Ryan Kalish and Mike Aviles in the bottom half of the second. 

A light rain began to fall on Fenway in the third, and it seemed as though Yankees were about to pour it on.

After walking Teixeira, Morales gave a up a single to Alex Rodriguez. But Morales struck out Cano and was able to pick Rodriguez off at first. Morales walked Swisher, but his great pick-off move came into play again as he got Swisher by a good margin at first. 

Garcia once again made easy work of the Red Sox in the fourth, getting Kelly Shoppach, Brent Lillibridge and Daniel Nava for a 1-2-3 inning.

The one-sided slugfest continued in the fourth, as Jones hit his second home run of the day off of Morales. The light-hitting Nix added insult to injury as he followed Jones’ home run with one of his own (ht/ MLB.com). It was Nix’s third home run of the year and the second time the Yankees went back-to-back in the game.

After Stewart reached second on an error by Gomez, Morales’ day was done. Morales’ final line for the day: 3.1IP, 6H, 6ER, 2BB, 2K, 4HR, HBP.

In the bottom of the fourth, Ortiz got Boston’s first hit of the day, with a single off the Monster. Gonzalez followed with a single of his own. Gonzalez’s hit extended his hitting streak to 17 games. Mauro made up for his error by driving in Ortiz with a single.

Like the clouds overhead, it looked as though the Red Sox were about to explode.

But then Kalish grounded into a double play to end the inning. 

After getting Aviles and Shoppach to start the bottom of the fifth, Garcia found himself in a jam. Lillibridge and Nava had back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners with two outs, but Garcia made quick work of Ciriaco to end the threat.

The Red Sox had stalled once again.   

Ortiz walked to start the bottom of the sixth, but Boston’s luck continued to be amazingly bad. Gonzalez hit a ball toward the the Green Monster and Jones made a great leaping catch. Ortiz, believing it was going to be a hit, had to race back to first to avoid the double play. Jones gunned the ball to Teixeira, and although Teixeira’s foot was clearly off the base, Ortiz was called out. 

ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes tweeted:

Umpires will not be happy that video board showed replay of close play at first, when Ortiz was doubled up

— Gordon Edes (@GordonEdes) July 7, 2012

In the seventh, Shoppach doubled, bringing an end to Garcia’s great day. But the Red Sox could not do anything with the double, and the Yankees got out of the inning unscathed.

Garcia’s final line: 6.2 IP,1ER, 6H, 5K, 2BB.

It was just that kind of day for the Red Sox. They looked like an old car desperately in need if a tune-up. Every time they had something going, they simply stalled. 

The lone bright spot for the Red Sox was the relief performance by Germano. He saved the bullpen for the second half of today’s doubleheader.

Sean McAdam of FoxSports.com tweeted:

Nice hand for Germano, who saves the pen with 5 2/3 scoreless innings. 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 7 K, 2 BB.

— Sean McAdam(@Sean_McAdam) July 7, 2012

It is small consolation for Red Sox fans in what really was thorough beating by the Yankees. 

New York and Boston play again tonight at 7:15 on FOX. 

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Ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Tom Milone appeared to have an easy first out on a Nelson Cruz grounder to third. Instead, it became the start of a five-run fifth inning as Brandon Inge could not make a play on the ball.

The Rangers would ultimately score two runs on Ian Kinsler’s single, and then the big moment was Josh Hamilton’s 23rd home run, making the score 6-2. Texas would go on to win 7-2, now one game away from a four-game sweep in the series. 

The A’s continued to see promise from Chris Carter, who went 2-for-4, including his second home run in as many games. Inge knocked in the team’s only other run with a single in the fourth, scoring Carter to make it 2-1. But the A’s did not play their best, committing three errors overall and going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Milone took the loss to drop his record to 8-6 on the year. Of the six runs he allowed, only one was earned, a solo home run to Adrian Beltre in the second inning. Brian Fuentes continued to struggle, allowing the final run of the game in seventh inning while again throwing more balls (16) than strikes (15).

Good

Chris Carter. Despite an error at first, it appears as though Carter may be earning a chance to play much more in 2012. As he finally translates that power to the big-league level, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts for the duration of his stint in Oakland. To see him go opposite field for a home run was definitely encouraging.

Bad

Brandon Inge. The good thing is he came through with a good at-bat in a run producing situation. The bad thing is his error basically started the A’s implosion in the fifth inning. That is now five errors for Inge on the season, which for him has been all of 49 games. A little too frequent in that department.

Ugly

Brian Fuentes. It is to the point where the dreaded tag of “gas can” applies to Brian Fuentes. He has no business pitching for the A’s at this point, and only the albatross of his contract keeps him on the big league level. He has no control, not much velocity and a propensity for home runs. Other than that, he’s doing fantastic.

Sunday, the A’s will try to avoid a sweep as Travis Blackley will face of with Texas phenom Yu Darvish. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.  

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In a week that started with four straight dominate performances by San Francisco Giants starters, the tables have turned over the past two days. Nearly getting shut out by Mike Leake (3-5) in a complete game effort last night, Mat Latos (7-2) echoed his performance, allowing only one run as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Giants 2-1.

Latos, formerly of the division rival San Diego Padres, has had quite a bit of success pitching against the Giants in the past. Earlier this year, on April 24th in Cincinnati, Latos went seven scoreless innings against the Giants as the Reds won the game 9-2.

Saturday’s win was Latos’s seventh win of the season, allowing only two hits, a one-out double in the third to Brandon Crawford and a one-out triple in the ninth inning to Brandon Belt.

Belt would score on Gregor Blanco’s ground out to short, putting the Giants within one run of tying the game, but it never felt that close. The next hitter was Ryan Theriot, and with two outs, Theriot left the bat on his shoulder as he watched the called third strike sail across the plate.

With the win, Latos improved to 4-3 in 11 games lifetime against the Giants with a 2.19 ERA. At AT&T Park, his ERA is even lower at 1.67 over six games.

Barry Zito (6-6) ended up losing the game, but he pitched well. Allowing only one run over six innings, Zito pitched himself in and out of jams all day. In the fourth inning, Zito surrendered his only run, when, with two outs and a runner on first base, he walked three straight.

Zito hadn’t issued a free pass in the first three frames, and then suddenly couldn’t find the strike zone.

When asked after the game about why the sudden loss of control, Bochy remarked, “occasionally he does that, I thought he was pitching smart though, he wasn’t giving in. At times when he would get into a jam, other than the bases loaded walk, I think he probably got a little quick there with men on base when he was in the stretch.”

Bruce Bochy commenting further about the overall outing he received from his pitcher was very positive.

“It was a good effort, he got off a couple innings and was battling himself and his command, but to go six innings and give up just one run, that’s a great job.”

Coming off seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on Monday, the first of four consecutive shutouts pitched by the Giants staff, Zito pitched well enough to win but didn’t get any run support. It was a case of the other guy was just better, and Bochy had much to say about Latos after the game.

“He had command of all his pitches, threw a lot of strikes, and used all of them (pitches). We knew what we were going into, but when a good pitcher’s on top of his game you do all you can to compete and try and get some runs, but we just had a tough time today.”

Zito echoed Bochy’s comments when asked about Latos, “he was definitely pounding the strike zone more than we’re used to seeing. He had his good rhythm out there the whole time, we couldn’t really get to him except in the ninth a little bit.”

Zito finished by saying, “you just got tip your cap to him, go out tomorrow and try and split a series.”

The Giants wrap up the series and their seven-game home stand tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. To salvage Game 4 and earn a split, the Giants send Ryan Vogelsong (7-3) to the mound against Bronson Arroyo (3-5) for the Reds.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

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On Friday, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel dominated the Washington Nationals in a 2-1 Orioles victory at Camden Yards.

Saturday, Washington hurler Edwin Jackson returned the favor.

Jackson tossed 6 1/3 strong innings, as the Nationals beat the Orioles 3-1.

Jackson surrendered just one earned run on four hits, while striking out five on the night. With the victory, Jackson goes to 4-4 on the season and his ERA shrinks to 2.91.

Tyler Clippard picked up the save for the Nationals—his 11th.

Wei-Yin Chen took the loss for the Orioles. The rookie left-hander pitched five innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits.

With the loss, Chen is now 7-3 with a 3.38 ERA.  

Offensively, the Nationals got on the board first in the top of the second inning when Xavier Nady singled home Michael Morse. A throwing error by third baseman Wilson Betemit allowed Washington’s first baseman Adam LaRoche to score from second base.

LaRoche tacked on another run for the Nationals in the top of the fourth inning with a solo shot over the right center field wall—his 13th of the season.

Baltimore’s lone run came in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Orioles center fielder Adam Jones deposited a laser just right of the foul pole over the left field wall. Jones’ homer was his 19th of the season.

A bright spot for the Orioles, the team’s bullpen pitched four more scoreless innings in what has become one of the most reliable bullpens in baseball.

But on this night, Washington’s bullpen did not blink either, holding Baltimore scoreless in 2 2/3 innings of work.

With the win, Washington moves to 41-28. They hold a 3.5 game lead over the New York Mets in the NL East.

The Orioles fall to 40-31, and are now 2.5 games behind the AL East leading New York Yankees.

Baltimore and Washington will battle once again Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

Ross Detwiler (4-3, 3.34 ERA) will square off against Jake Arrieta (3-9, 5.83 ERA) in the grudge match of this three game series.

James Morisette is a featured writer for Bleacher Report. You can see his full archive here.

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Ryan Cook has been almost lights out for the A’s this season. Tonight was not one of those nights. The San Francisco Giants overcame a 3-1 deficit with four in the ninth to beat Oakland 5-4 and take the opener of the Bay Bridge series in Oakland. Cook took the loss, while Giants reliever Clay Hensley got credit for the win. Former A’s reliever Santiago Casilla allowed Josh Reddick’s 16th home run in the ninth, but picked up his 20th save.

A’s starter Jarrod Parker went six-plus innings, allowing only a single run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Struggling Giants starter Tim Lincecum actually resembled his former dominant self after the first inning, going six innings and allowing three runs on only three hits. Lincecum struck out eight. But he did walk four batters, as his control remained elusive.

After Parker went 1-2-3 in the first, the A’s immediately struck against Lincecum. Coco Crisp led off with an infield single. He then promptly stole second and third base and scored on Jemile Weeks’ single to center field. Josh Reddick then snapped his 0-for-19 slump with a bloop single that landed just in front of Nate Schierholtz. A walk to Yoenis Cespedes loaded the bases.

Then Seth Smith hit a grounder to Giants first baseman Brandon Belt. 

Belt, instead of tagging first base for the force out, stepped over the bag and threw home, where Weeks slid home to beat the tag of backup catcher Hector Sanchez. Brandon Inge followed with a bases-loaded walk to force home the third run of the inning. To Lincecum’s credit, he stopped the bleeding, striking out Brandon Moss, Kurt Suzuki and Cliff Pennington in order to keep the score 3-0. 

The Giants scored their run in the top of the third when, after a leadoff single by Sanchez, Parker threw a wild pitch to advance him to second. Gregor Blanco then singled to right field for the RBI, making it 3-1.

But Parker would allow nothing else, and the bullpen effort of Jerry Blevins and Grant Balfour was splendid. Cook just could not shut the door. Belt’s two run double and RBI singles by Sanchez and Blanco put the victory in the Giants’ win column.

Good: Jarrod Parker. He definitely deserved to win. Unfortunately for him, it was one of those deals where the closer just didn’t have it. But Parker was solid. He threw six-plus innings and did enough to exit with a 3-1 lead. He kept the Giants guessing with his fastball and changeup and continues to impress at home.

Bad: A’s 7-8-9 hitters. You can’t completely scapegoat the bottom of the lineup, but they do deserve some criticism. It’s is not really the overall performance (1-for-10 with five strikeouts), but the lack of production in the first inning, when the A’s could have ended the game right away. With the bases loaded and no outs, Moss could not put the ball in play. Needing only a sacrifice fly, Suzuki could not put the ball in play. And the last chance to produce, Pennington, struck out meekly. The A’s gave the Giants an opening and they took it.

Ugly: Ryan Cook. It was bound to happen. Most closers have a bad appearance or two in the course of a season. Cook’s was definitely tonight. His control was off from the beginning and walks—a season-long issue—were his undoing tonight. In total, he was charged with four earned runs. That is double the two he had allowed entering the game. This was a disheartening loss for the A’s, who appeared well on their way to getting the opener against their Bay Area arch rivals. 

Looking to bounce back from this tough loss, the A’s will send Tyson Ross against Madison Bumgarner on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 4:15 p.m.

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It took better than one-third of the season and two stints on the disabled list, but the Tigers‘ Doug Fister finally broke into the win column with an outstanding performance after his first game back in 19 days.

Fister has battled through a pulled stomach muscle which occurred in his first start of the season and has hampered his efforts to continue the hot stretch he finished with in 2011.

Fister (3-1) was razor-sharp, giving the Rockies all they could handle through six-innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking one. His swing-back fastball and two-seamer were money and allowed Fister to take early control of the game, sitting down the first 11 Colorado hitters he faced. 

Phil Coke provided strong relief in the seventh and eighth while earning his 11th hold of the season for the Tigers. Joaquin Benoit allowed the only Colorado run via a Michael Cuddyer ground-out which scored Carlos Gonzalez from third. Gonzalez ripped a double to lead off the ninth.

An outfield throwing error by Don Kelly allowed him to advance to third.

Benoit was called upon to finish the game for Detroit in lieu of  Tigers’ closer Jose Valverde who wasn’t an option today after getting smoked for seven runs in Detroit’s 10th-inning loss on Friday night.

The Tigers offense was led by slugger Miguel Cabrera‘s two-out solo home run in the first inning of Colorado starter Christian Friedrich giving Detroit an early 1-0 lead. 

Cabrera got Detroit on the board again in the fifth when he rounded all bases on a ball that didn’t make it past the infield grass.

Cabrera hit a sharp liner back at Friedrich whose glove got a piece of the ball, but a throwing error on the play at first allowed Cabrera to move all the way to third. Things didn’t get better for Colorado when catcher Wilin Rosario committed the second throwing error of the play attempting to pin Cabrera out at third. Instead, he allowed him to trot home and score—better known in the baseball world as a “Little League Home Run.”

Albeit with errors and not counting as a stat-line homer, Cabrera hit two of the most opposing home runs possible and scored twice for the Tigers.

Austin Jackson also contributed to Detroit’s opportunities on the basepaths, working Colorado pitching for four walks on the day and an RBI. Ramon Santiago also chipped in with two hits on the day to equaling Cabrera as the only Tigers with two hits on the day. 

Detroit, 6-4 in their last 10 games, is inching back toward the top of the AL standings, and now, sit only three games under .500 and 3.5 games back of divisional leader Chicago. Chicago is 3-7 in their last 10 having lost three straight after entering June as the hottest team in baseball.

The Tigers will close their three-game series with Colorado tomorrow. The rubber match will pit Colorado’s Jeremy Guthrie (3-5) against Detroit’s Max Scherzer (5-4) who hasn’t lost a game in his last three starts and will look to lower his 5.76 ERA en route to a third straight series victory for the Tigers.

Detroit will finish out interleague play with a three-game set against the defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals before hitting the road to face the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Box score stats provided by mlb.com.

Bleacher Report Featured Columnist J. Cook is a member of B/R’s MLB Coverage Team and contributes to B/R’s MLB content and Detroit Tigers page. He also covers key sport interest stories for all of Detroit’s major sports teams.

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Jonny Gomes was hitless in his last 34 pinch-hit appearances. He got over that in a big way, crushing a go ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning as the A’s rallied to win their fifth straight, 6-4 over the San Diego Padres.

Gomes’ home run capped a three-run rally as the A’s recaptured a lead they lost in the top of the inning. Sean Doolittle got his first major league victory in spite of allowing two runs in the seventh inning, and Ryan Cook converted his third save with a perfect ninth inning.

Tyson Ross was brilliant in a spot start for Oakland. With a breaking ball looking as sharp as it has been in 2012, Ross did not allow a hit for 5.2 innings. His only hit of the game was a two-run home run to San Diego’s Carlos Quentin in the sixth inning. Other than that, he was fantastic throughout. 

The A’s offense continued its recent success, notching two runs in the fourth inning to take the lead. Seth Smith opened the scoring with a solo home run off Padres starter Ross Ohlendorf. Then, Collin Cowgill singled in Brandon Moss after he doubled to make it 3-0. The Padres took the lead in the seventh on a two-run double by Will Venable off Doolittle.

But the A’s were able to respond with the three-run at the bottom of the seventh. The tying run was scored on a wild pitch by Luke Gregerson, plating Cliff Pennington. 

Good: Jonny Gomes

Gotta be happy for a guy who, by all accounts, is an awesome teammate and great clubhouse guy. His chances have diminished simply because the A’s don’t face many lefties. But he came up in a big spot and delivered—big time.

His home run looked like it was headed to his hometown of Petaluma. That’s the kind of clutch hitting the A’s will continue to need if they want to push for .500 before the All-Star break.

Bad: Sean Doolittle

Yes, he got the win, but he put himself in a bad situation with bad pitch location and a crucial walk. His stuff is electric, but the consistency is clearly not there yet. Thankfully, it did not cost the A’s today. I have a feeling there will be plenty of good things to say about him before it’s all said and done.

Ugly: N/A

Nothing ugly about a five-game winning streak. Tomorrow’s game is big with the Giants and Dodgers coming to town. You want to be riding a big wave instead of coming down when quality opponents venture in. 

Now 31-35, the A’s look for their second straight sweep as Bartolo Colon takes the bump against San Diego’s Clayton Richard. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. 

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Just a few weeks ago, the New York Yankees found themselves near the bottom of the American League East. Since then, they have been baseball’s hottest team and reclaimed the division lead. Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins, who won 21 games in May, are mightily struggling again in June, something that knocked them out of playoff contention last season. Here are some notable moments around Major League Baseball on Friday, June 15th.

St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran became the first switch-hitter in MLB history to record 300 home runs and 300 steals. In the second inning of last night’s ballgame against the Kansas City Royals, Beltran stole second for his 300th steal.

Manny Ramirez’s comeback to baseball has suddenly taken a detour. Ramirez, who signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics, asked and received his release. 

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was hospitalized for an intestinal virus and could miss at least two games. Hamilton has had a stellar 2012 start with 22 home runs and 62 runs batted in.

Jason Bay, just days after being removed from the disabled list, is more than likely heading back there. Bay, who attempted to make a diving catch in the New York Mets game against the Cincinnati Reds Thursday night, hit his head on the wall and suffered a potential concussion. Bay has struggled with injuries throughout his time in New York.

Manager Bobby Valentine announced that Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox will miss his next start because of inflammation on his right shoulder. 

Recapping yesterday’s scores, the Yankees won their seventh straight with a 7-2 win against the Washington Nationals. The Royals and Reds continue to play good baseball as they both extended winning streaks to four games. Meanwhile, the Marlins’ offensive woes continue, as they were able to get just one hit against the Tampa Bay Rays, who won 11-0. And the Pittsburgh Pirates have fallen into a tie for second place in the NL Central with their fourth consecutive loss.  

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The A’s came back from a four-run first inning and played long ball en route to an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

The longest and largest of the four home runs the A’s hit was by Brandon Moss, who hit a third-deck shot estimated at 461 feet in the third inning to give the A’s the lead for good. Moss would hit two home runs, and both Brandon Inge and Cliff Pennington also went deep. Seth Smith hit a pair of doubles and drove in two RBI on the night, as well.

While Bartolo Colon was not his best, he did settle down after the first inning to keep the Rockies off the board until Todd Helton’s solo homer in the fifth inning. By that time, the A’s were up 7-4. Colon’s line on the night was five runs allowed on nine hits, three walks and four strikeouts in five innings pitched. But it was enough to notch his sixth win of the year.

The key—along with the offensive outburst—was Oakland’s bullpen. Sean Doolittle and Grant Balfour struck out four and allowed only a single hit and one walk combined in three innings. Then the A’s turned to Ryan Cook to close the game. After a leadoff walk and a single to former A’s utility man Marco Scutaro, Cook responded by striking out Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer, and inducing a game-ending force out from Todd Helton for his first save.

Good: Brandon Moss and Brandon Inge (tie)

Both were big during the six-run rally to take the lead in the third. Moss’ first home run was a tape-measure shot with the kind of power the A’s have been looking to add at first base. Inge provided insurance with a long home run of his own and also had an RBI double and a huge defensive play to save two runs in the sixth inning.

Neither will hit .300 in a season, but they are both legitimate power threats when their swings are on. Inge also provides above-average defense at a spot that had been a wasteland before his arrival

Bad: Coco Crisp

Another 0-for-4 at the plate. Collin Cowgill should be playing right now. The A’s need every capable hitter they can get, and it seems clearer with each passing day that Crisp is just not going to turn it around with some burst. It is better to just cut losses now.

With the win, the A’s move to 27-35 and look to build on this performance, sending Tom Milone on the bump against former A’s starter Josh Outman. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET.

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