Oakland

A’s sweep Rays, closing in on AL West lead

Published

13 years ago

September 1, 2013

Oakland, CA – No better way to begin the month of September. These past two weeks have felt like playoff baseball. But for the A’s, they have only one thing on their mind and that’s to reclaim first place in their division.

“Scoreboard watching tends to take place around this time, I try not to get caught up in that,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I pretty much watch one score when it goes up and that’s the Texas score.”

It’s hard not to see Oakland make a strong push for the pennant race after sweeping the Rays 5-1 in the series finale. They are now within one game of the Rangers who they face in a three-game series tomorrow. After today’s win the A’s are 2 1/2 games ahead of Tampa in the Wild Card spot.

“I don’t want the [Wild Card] game,” said Melvin. “You try not to get too caught up in it but you can’t help it. Everybody is, and once you get into September, it feels like the finish line is in sight.”

Both Coco Crisp and Stephen Vogt went deep behind a good day of pitching from A.J. Griffin. Crisp matched a season-high with his sixteenth home run in the first giving the A’s a 1-0 lead. It was his second home run in the past two games.

“No,” Coco replied when asked if he’s playing his best baseball after tying his career-high. “I have 17 stolen bases. I don’t care about home runs, if they go, they go. I’m grateful it’s a home run, but… it is what it is.”

James Loney tied the game in the second with a long ball to right field. That was the only run scored off Griffin. Through seven innings, he allowed five hits, one walk and struck out seven. A.J. recorded his second straight win after being winless in four previous starts.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good,” said Griffin. “The results haven’t been there, trying to become a pitcher I’m not, like a power-pitcher type thing. Today [pitching coach Curt Young] and I found some stuff mechanically, keeping my head on line a bit more, and that helped tremendously. I felt I could execute my pitches and get the ball where I needed it more.”

Oakland took advantage of the errors that plagued the Rays today. Evan Longoria over threw Jed Lowrie’s infield bunt to first base for the out. Lowrie then advanced to third, and was scored in on Brandon Moss’ single to right field in the third.

Tampa tried to rally back in the seventh but had no luck against the A’s dominant defense. With one runner on at second and two outs, Desmond Jennings hit a single to left-fielder Yoenis Cespedes whew threw toward home plate.

Josh Dondalson came off third to catch the ball above the mound. He then fired a bullet to catcher Vogt who tagged Will Myers twice at home plate. Making sure home plate umpire Tony Randazzo called the out.

“I knew the situation, the line drive was hit to my right and I froze,” Myers said. “I should have gotten a better read on it. I didn’t know where the ball was, so I was just trying to avoid the tag. When your not scoring runs, things like that get magnified.”

“I knew he was nowhere near the plate and I had time to go back and get him,” said Stephen. “If that’s a play where he slides in and he’s at the plate, I’m not going to act like I tagged him the first time. So fortunately, he was well off the plate and I had time to go back and tag him.”

Vogt homered in the seventh and Oakland scored two more runs in the eighth. With no starter assigned, Jamey Wright came out of Tampa’s bullpen to make his first start since August 25, 2007 with the Texas Rangers. His outing lasted 1 2/3 innings before the bullpen took over. Wright allowed a leadoff home run to Crisp and two singles. He walked two and struck out one.

“It’s where it all starts with us,” Bob said. “The starters, if they can get deep in games, going against a staff like they have over there, you know your not going to score a ton of runs. The whole series, up until the last inning of this game, felt like a couple of runners on and you don’t know where it’s going. So for the starters to be able to get us deep and pitch that well, really makes it a lot easier to finish out of those games.”

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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

Published

1 week ago

March 22, 2026

Oakland Post

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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