Oakland

Closer to clinching, A’s magic number is 2

Published

13 years ago

September 20, 2013

Oakland, CA – The best news of the night was that the Texas Rangers lost to the Kansas City Royals. The sellout crowd at O.Co erupted when the final score was shown during the game. That means the magic number to clinch the American League West Division is down to two.

The A’s gladly accepted the assist from the Ranger as they dominated the Twins in a 11-0 shutout victory. Again Oakland’s offense took advantage of every opportunity from Minnesota’s troubled defense. A stellar performance by Bartolo Colon who allowed no runs, struck out eight and walked one. Colon scattered five hits over six frames.

“I was tired for a bit for awhile, but I have recovered good,” said Bartolo through interpreter Ariel Prieto.

“Now we’re seeing the movement again, we’re seeing the velocity coming back,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We were able to give him a little bit of a break with the D.L. and I think the last two times he’s had five days rest in between starts. So we’re seeing a guy really hitting his stride again after a down period.”

Yoenis Cespedes leadoff the second with a solo home run for the early 1-0 lead. Derek Norris followed with a double thanks to Oswaldo Arcia’s losing the ball in right field. Josh Reddick brought in the next run with a bloop infield single and Arcia’s next fielding error allowed Daric Barton to reach third on a single bringing in Reddick for the unearned run.

The A’s got their next run from Norris’ single in the fourth, advanced to third when catcher Chris Hermann over threw second base. That set up Alberto Callaspo’s RBI single. The fifth was the inning that the Twins gave away. A total of five runs scored to give Oakland a 9-0 lead. Starter Andrew Albers loaded the bases, Chris Young grounded a single to third baseman Eduardo Escobar. A simple play done a million times would’ve easily gotten the out.

“We threw the ball around, missed the ball, had some trouble in the outfield early and every time we missed a play they took full advantage of it,” said Minnesota’s manager Ron Gardenhire. “Not very much fun for us in our dugout.”

Escobar threw past first baseman Chris Parmelee clearing the bases leaving Young at second. Callaspo singled in Young and a wild pitch by Ryan Pressly while Daric Barton was at-bat brought in the ninth run. It was truly unbelievable on how the Twins handed this victory to the A’s. Lapse in judgement was an understatement on how pitiful this defense played. Josh Donaldson capped the night off with a two-run homer in the sixth.

“They made some miscues, and I think the important part is we were able to take advantage of it,” said Donaldson. “We’ve been scoring a lot of runs lately, and it’s one thing to score runs and do it early as we have been, but I feel like throughout the game we continually add runs on, and that’s even more important.”

Oakland plays tomorrow at 1pm and must await the final decision between the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers game. If the A’s win and sweep the series, they can clinch if the Rangers lose. But they’ll have to stick around and wait since that game is a few hours later. Oakland would win the American League West for the second straight season.

“Who knows? I could see it happen. It’s a long time to wait, though, so we’ll see,” Jed Lowrie said. “Going to the playoffs, it doesn’t matter when you celebrate. Getting the opportunity to go is what it’s all about.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

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

Published

1 week ago

March 22, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Advice

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.

 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC