Oakland

Cespedes home-run not enough, A’s lose to Tigers

Published

12 years ago

October 4, 2013

Oakland, CA – It’s been almost a year when these teams met in the American League Division Series. Fate has brought them back together to kickoff this year’s postseason. The only problem is, this time the outcome wasn’t any different.

The Detroit Tigers took game one of the series with a 3-2 win over the A’s. Ace Max Scherzer pitched a stellar game striking out a total of eleven batters. Only one player was successful in hitting off him and that was Yoenis Cespedes who produced the only runs for Oakland.

“Yeah, they had three pretty good pitchers and their go-to guys to finish out games at least with [Drew] Smyly and [Joaquin] Benoit,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “Would have been nice to get them going earlier in the game and try to get Scherzer’s pitch count up. Yet maybe not our best offensive night, but they pitched well too.”

The Tigers took an early lead, Austin Jackson leadoff the first frame with a double and Torii Hunter was hit by pitch that set up Miguel Cabrera’s bloop single up the middle scoring Jackson for their first run.

Prince Fielder followed by grounding into a double play that scored in Hunter and Alex Avila who got the base hit for the final run giving Detroit a 3-0 lead. Bartolo Colon rocky’s start in the first inning was crucial, especially hitting a batter and giving up three runs for the first time this season.

Colon settled down to retire the next five batters before Fielder knocked a ground single to left field. The A’s defense stepped up and kept Detroit from scoring any more runs. In fact, the biggest defensive play in the game came in the sixth.

Omar Infante hit a single to right-fielder Josh Reddick and Victor Martinez was waved in and headed to home plate. No one has been successful in out running Reddick’s arm thus far and Martinez had no chance tonight when he threw to catcher Stephen Vogt for the out. That was the only time Tigers came close to scoring again.

“We just have to forget about this as fast as we can,” Coco Crisp said. “That’s been working for us all year. It’s unfortunate, because we almost pulled it off, but we’ll let this go and start worrying about Mr. Verlander.”

The one person who shutdown Oakland’s offense was Scherzer. He scattered three hits over seven innings, giving up two runs, two walks, and a home run. Those two runs came from Cespedes who hit a triple in the second and blasted a two-run homer in the seventh.

“The first at-bat he caught too much over the plate and the third at-bat, he had a good battle,” Scherzer said in reference to Yoenis getting two big hits off him. “It got to a 2-2, and I didn’t know what pitch to go with, and I thought if I went with my fastball, I could make him go away. That pitch caught too much of the plate and he took it deep and that’s just something that happens. And it’s baseball. It’s pitching and you move on.”

Max relied on his fastball and change-up to stifle a powerful offense. Justin Verlander did the same thing last year to win game four of the ALDS. A good change-up is hard to beat and Scherzer fanned four in a row from the fourth through the fifth frames. The bullpen came in to pitch the final three outs to secure their victory.

“I thought I had a good change-up tonight,” he explained. “I thought that was the difference. I was able to keep them off balance, and it allowed me to pitch deep into the game.”

“We were able to jump on some of his mistakes the last time, and he didn’t make any mistakes this time,” Vogt said. “He was putting his fastball on the corners. He wasn’t missing over the middle of the plate. His fastball-changeup fastball is one of the best in baseball. Good pitching will always beat good hitting.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

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March 22, 2026

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Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College 

While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sponsored by JPMorganChase

As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.

If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.

Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.

Understand what causes financial stress

2. Determine your financial priorities

Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.

3. Create a plan and stick to it

While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.

4. Pay down debt

Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.

5. Build your financial resilience

Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.

6. Seek help and support

Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.

The bottom line

Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.

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