He Went to Jarrod
The panoply of Oakland’s youthful talent was on display last night. Rookie hurler Jarrod Parker notched his first win in the majors with a respectable 6⅔ innings: 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts.
Jordan Noberto, who debuted last year, entered the ninth after Grant Balfour surrendered a two-run single to Mike Aviles. With one down and two on Noberto struck out Lars Anderson on four pitches but more impressively induced a weak ground out off Dustin Pedroia’s bat to end the game.
Center field standout Yoenis Cespedes only went 1-for-4 but set the stage with his RBI single to center. He drove in Jemile Weeks, a player in his sophomore season.
All the Oakland players I named except Balfour are 26 years old or younger. Their combined ages is just a touch older than Peter Gammons.
In the cold, raw evening home plate umpire Greg Gibson’s strike zone expanded as it is uncomfortable to exercise such precise judgment in chilly conditions. Jarrod (when did we stop spelling this name “Jared”?) Saltalamacchia was called out on strikes twice and Mike Aviles once; both had issues with Gibson’s calls. Since when does a rookie pitcher get the benefit of the doubt?
| Game 23: May 1, 2012 | ||
 Oakland Athletics12-13 |
5 |
W: Jarrod Parker (1-0) H: Brian Fuentes (2) S: Jordan Noberto (1) |
| 2B: Kila Ka‘aihue (3), Cliff Pennington (6), Josh Reddick (8) | ||
| Boston Red Sox 11-12 |
3 |
L: Felix Doubront (1-1) |
| 2B: Cody Ross – 2 (5) | ||
