Philadelphia --
Pitching figured to be the highlight of this series between the Phillies, with the National League's best staff, and the A's, who have the lowest ERA in the American League.
And right from the get-go, the first game of the series was all pitching and defense. Friday night's game was scoreless until, with two outs in the ninth, Ben Francisco provided a two-out, pinch-hit RBI single off Brian Fuentes that bounced over third baseman Scott Sizemore and sent in Shane Victorino from third, giving the Phillies a 1-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park.
"I was in a little more than I would have been because you can't give them any opportunity to bunt," Sizemore said. "It just didn't bounce our way."
"Both teams pitched very well," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "It came down to one hit, and they got it."
Oakland has scored just three runs over the past three games, and Friday's game was reminiscent of the strong pitching performances the A's wasted when the original rotation was still together.
Since then, the team has seen three starters go down. With Brandon McCarthy, Rich Harden and Tyson Ross expected back soon, though, Guillermo Moscoso is pitching to keep his spot - and he helped himself in a big way against the Phillies, a perennial playoff team. Moscoso, changing speeds with his breaking ball and using his changeup effectively, Bottega Veneta sale worked seven scoreless innings and gave up just two hits and three walks, lowering his ERA to 2.68.
"I'm trying to push to stay in the rotation," Moscoso said. "Those guys are coming back from the (disabled list) soon, and it will be a tough decision. I want to stick."
Friday's matchup wasn't supposed to be the marquee event, with Phillies rookie right-hander Vance Worley opposing Moscoso; neither started the season in the big leagues, but they had dueling no-hitters through the first five innings.
Oakland's first hit came courtesy of Hideki Matsui, who doubled with two outs in the sixth.
Matsui played well in left field again, making a running catch in the gap in the fifth. The A's got terrific defense from center fielder Ryan Sweeney, who made a diving, backhanded catch to rob Jimmy Rollins of a hit, and shortstop Cliff Pennington, who dived to his left to snare a liner by Rollins.
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard plunged to his right for a sharp grounder by Jemile Weeks in the sixth, and from the ground, he made a backhand flip to Worley, who hit the bag on a dead run as he caught the ball.
Placido Polanco recorded the Phillies' first hit, a one-out single in Men Briefcases the sixth. He entered the game with a lifetime .376 mark against the A's. Francisco is 12-for-19 lifetime against the A's with four RBIs in seven games.
E-mail Susan Slusser at sslussersfchronicle.
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