--LHP Jerry Blevins was promoted from Triple-A Fresno to replace RHP Keith Foulke, who was placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation. Blevins was 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA. More recently, he had a 1.50 ERA in 16 outings. Last September, Blevins made his big-league debut but posted a 9.64 ERA in six outings.

--1B-DH Wes Bankston had three hits and his first big-league RBI. One day earlier, he had his first big-league hit. Bankston's father, Bob, made a surprise visit to Chicago, having traveled from Dallas. Wes didn't know his dad was in town until he noticed him in the stands during BP on Thursday.

--LF-DH Jack Cust hit his second homer in two days, his team-leading 15th. He went 2-for-5 with three strikeouts, giving him 100 K's on the season. Six more, and he'll pass Jose Canseco, who has the most K's before an All-Star break (105 in 1986) for an Oakland hitter.

--RHP Joe Blanton had his "best performance by far of the year," according to manager Bob Geren. Blanton lasted seven innings and gave up one run and six hits, including five singles. Blanton had lost five of six starts and yielded seven runs in four innings in his last start, vs. the Giants.

--RHP Brad Ziegler, who throws sidearm, pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and now has 16 straight scoreless innings. It's Oakland's second longest streak to start a big-league career. No. 1: Steve Chitren's 16 1/3 innings in 1990.

BY THE NUMBERS
.000 -- A's pinch hitters were hitless over their past 20 at-bats, and 3 for their past 34 (.088) through June 29. Oakland's last pinch hit came on May 10, by Mike Sweeney at Texas, and the last extra-base hit by an A's pinch hitter was a double by Bobby Kielty on Sept. 22, 2006.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I wish I could get the DeLorean from 'Back to the Future,' and go back and throw a different pitch." -- RHP Justin Duchscherer, on the 2-1 fastball that Ray Durham stroked for a double in the Giants' 1-0 win on June 28, the only hard hit ball of the day for San Francisco.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.