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Neal delivers as a starter in A’s win
- Updated: August 28, 2016
ST. LOUIS — Though rather uninspiring on paper, the A’s lineup pieced together a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals on Saturday evening, mostly thanks to their No. 9 hitter.
Zach Neal’s night at the plate was nothing to write home about, but his gritty performance on the mound proved vital to the club’s win.
The right-handed Neal, whose numbers this season have far and away been better as a reliever than as a starter, was terrific this go-around, providing a career-high six innings with only one earned run (two total) allowed.
In two of his previous three starts, he fell two outs shy of that six-inning mark.
“I’ve been real close the past couple times, and to finally do it is huge,” said Neal, who entered the game with a 7.91 ERA in four starts, compared to a 3.15 mark in 10 relief appearances. “As a starting pitcher, that’s your goal, to get as deep in the game as you can and keep your team within reach, and to be able to do that is to kind of check off my goal for the night there.”
Neal allowed six hits, including a solo home run to Greg Garcia. But he didn’t walk a batter and struck …
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