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A’s Hold On For The Win

Published

12 years ago

August 9, 2014

Oakland, CA – The Twins rallied back in the seventh scoring five runs trimming the lead to one. It took the A’s bullpen to hold on for the 6-5 victory after Scott Kazmir unraveled after pitching six scoreless innings. He yielded five runs in the seventh, the most he’s allowed in an inning this season.

“They put some good swings on the ball,” Kazmir said. “But at the same time instead of making those quality pitches when I’m ahead of the count, I was just leaving it up and they were putting good swings to it.”

It started off as a pitchers duel, neither pitcher allowed a run through four frames. Kazmir almost went the distance by not allowing a batter on base through six innings. He tossed a no-hitter through four frames, while Kyle Gibson surrendered a double to Josh Donaldson in the first and a walked Coco Crisp in the third.

Jed Lowrie hit a triple in the fourth giving Oakland a chance to get on the board with two outs. But Josh Reddick grounded out to end the inning. Minnesota tried to rally after Kennys Vargas leadoff single broke up Kazmir’s no-hitter in the fifth. But the Twins next batter struck out and hit into a double play.

“We got behind early and we had the one bad inning out there,” said manager Ron Gardenhire. “We made a nice run but we came up short.”

The A’s got another opportunity in the fifth when Gibson issued a free pass to Stephen Vogt to leadoff the inning. Sam Fuld hit an infield bunt, tripped over first baseman, Chris Parmelee and advanced to second on a throwing error from third baseman Trevor Plouffe.

No outs with two on, Gibson walked Eric Sogard to load the bases. Coco Crisp’s three-run triple opened up Oakland’s offense. Crisp scored on a pass ball making it a 4-0 game. Gibson allowed three walks and two hits before forcing the last two batters to pop-out stranding one runner.

“It’s embarrassing to go out there and pitch five innings and walk that many guys,” Gibson said. “It’s unacceptable.”

It was obvious he didn’t learn from the last inning, Gibson walked Reddick to leadoff the sixth, Vogt followed with a single and chased him off the mound. The bullpen came in and forced Fuld to ground out advancing both runners. Sogard’s two-run triple extended the A’s lead 6-0.

“That’s my bad for putting him back out there,” said Gardenhire. “The reason why I did it was because he needed to go back out there after one bad inning, but that didn’t turn out too well either.”

Kazmir lost his command in the seventh when Danny Santana led off the frame with a single followed by a walk to Brain Dozier. Plouffe’s RBI single put a run on the board. Kazmir struck out the next batter but Oswaldo Arcia hit a RBI single giving Minnesota their second run scored.

Parmelee’s two-run double cleared the bases and he advanced to third on a throwing error by left-fielder Brandon Moss. The Twins rallied back by scoring five runs. Eduardo Nunez hit a RBI double cutting the lead to one. But it was Oakland’s bullpen that saved the game.

“They put some really good at-bats together consistently throughout that inning,” manager Bob Melvin said. “So when the inning’s over you know you’re in for a battle.”

Minnesota’s offense was shutdown for the next two innings and Sean Doolittle earned his 18th save, breaking the A’s record for saves by a lefty set by Alan Embree in 2007. The A’s bullpen has 28.2-inning scoreless streak over the last 14 games, an Oakland record.

“That’s one of the things that makes our bullpen so good is the amount of pride and how badly we want to be in situations like (Friday night),” said Doolittle. “When the momentum shifted toward their dugout we were able to come in and finish it out.”

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Black Artists in America, Installation Three Wraps at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens

TRI-STATE DEFENDER — With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.

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2 weeks ago

March 24, 2026

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By Candace A. Gray | Tri-State Defender

The tulips gleefully greet those who enter the gates at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens on an almost spring day. More than 650,000 bulbs of various hues are currently on display. And they are truly breathtaking.

Inside the gallery, and equally as breathtaking, is the “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” exhibit, which runs through Sunday, March 29. This is the third installment of a three-part series that started years ago and illustrates part of the Black experience through visual arts in the 20th century.

“This story picks up where part two left off,’’ said Kevin Sharp, the Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea director for the Dixon. “This era is when we really start to see the emergence of these important Black artists’ agency and freedom shine through. They start to say and express what they want to, and it was a really beautiful time.”

With 50+ paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the exhibit features artists like Varnette Honeywood from Los Angeles, whose pieces appeared in Bill Coby’s private collection (before they were auctioned off) and on “The Cosby Show.” Also included are works by Alonzo Davis, another Los Angeles artist who opened one of the first galleries there where Black Artists could exhibit.

“Though [Davis] was from LA, he actually lived in Memphis for a decade,” said Sharp. “He was a dean at Memphis College of Art, and later opened the first gallery in New York owned and operated by black curators.”

Another featured artist is former NFL player, Ernie Barnes. His work is distinctive. Where have you seen one of his most popular paintings, Sugar Shack? On the end scene and credits of the hit show “Good Times.” His piece Saturday Night, Durham, North Carolina, 1974 is in this collection.

Memphis native James Little’s “The War Baby: The Triptych” is among more than 50 works featured in “Black Artists in America, From the Bicentennial to September 11” at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, the final installment of a three-part series highlighting the impact and evolution of Black artists through 2011.

The exhibit features other artists with Memphis ties, including abstract painter James Little, who was raised in a segregated Memphis and attended Memphis Academy of Art (before it was Memphis College of Art). He later moved to New York, became a teacher and an internationally acclaimed fixture in the art world in 2022 when he was named a Whitney Biennial selected artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Other artists like Romare Bearden, who had a Southern experience but lived up North, were featured in all three installments.

“During this period of time, he was a major figure,” said Sharp. “He wrote one of the first books on the history of African American art during a time when there were more Black academics, art teachers, more Black everything!”

Speaking of Black educators, Sharp said the head curator behind this tri-part series and Dixon’s partner in the arts is Earnestine Jenkins, Ph.D., an art history professor at the University of Memphis, who also earned a Master of Arts degree from Memphis State University (now UofM). “We began working with Dr. Jenkins in 2018,” he said.

Sharp explained that it takes a team of curators, registrars, counterparts at other museums, and more, about three years to assemble an exhibit like this. It came together quite seamlessly, he added. Each room conjured up more jaw-dropping “wows” than the one before it. Each piece worked with the others to tell the story of Black people and their collective experience during this time period.

One of the last artists about whom Sharp shared information was Bettye Saar, who will turn 100 years old this year. She’s been working in Los Angeles for 80 years and is finally getting her due. Her medium is collages or assemblages, and an incredible work of hers is on display. She’s married to an artist and has two daughters, also artists.

The exhibit catalogue bears some of these artists’ stories, among other scholarly information.

The exhibit, presented by the Joe Orgill Family Fund for Exhibitions, is culturally and colorfully rich. It is a must see and admission to the Dixon is free.

Visit https://www.dixon.org/ to learn more.

Fun Facts: An original James Little design lives in the flooring of the basketball court at Tom Lee Park, and he makes and mixes his own paint colors.