A's 8, Angels 4

Sometimes all the A's need to get back on the winning track is a nice dose of Mr. Scot Shields.

I always giggle to myself when I hear accolades like, "one of the top setup men in the American League" or, "about as automatic as it gets" lauded on Shields, as the A's seem to have a knack for kicking his ass on a regular basis. This time, he got a little help from his defense as well. But it was Scot who served 'em up, and the A's took big helpings.

Although, there is one pitch Scot served up that I wish he hadn't, at that's the one that nailed Kurt Suzuki in the right hand. Suzuki stayed in the game to run, but the camera zoomed in on that hand several times and it was looking swollen and bruised. Please, please, please - let's not have Bobby Crosby Part 2 here. Suzuki needs to be playing the rest of this year, as this is his time to learn.

So a nice win tonight, but I'll feel even better about it once I hear Suzuki's X-rays are negative.

Tomorrow (or today really :)), it's Blanton vs. Escobar in a Saturday afternoon matchup that MLB.tv will oh-so-kindly black out for me. I have a feeling he'll be throwing to Rob Bowen tomorrow. If his "I only trust Jason Kendall" mentality makes him have a hard time throwing to Suzuki, imagine how tomorrow might be. Yikes. Let's hope Escobar is off his game.

Go A's!!!