Smith Pitches Oakland Past White Sox

Oakland ace tosses majors' 19th perfecto

(AP) - Dallas Braden pitched the Athletics' first perfect game in 42 years and just the 19th in major league history today, dazzling the majors' hottest team in recording a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Oakland. Braden threw his arms in the air after Gabe Kapler grounded out to shortstop for the final out. The closest the Rays got to a hit was Jason Bartlett's liner to third leading off the game. Evan Longoria tried to bunt against Braden leading off the fifth, drawing boos from the small crowd. More»

(NEWSER) - Jack Cust's two-run homer in the seventh inning lifted the Oakland Athletics to a 3-1 victory over Texas yesterday, ending the Rangers' four-game winning streak. Santiago Casilla (1-0) threw a scoreless seventh for the win, and has yet to allow a run this season. Rangers' starter Scott Feldman (0-1) gave up three runs and six hits in a career-high 6 1-3 innings. More»

Barton goes 3-for-5 as Oakland beats up Kansas City's bullpen again

(NEWSER) - Kurt Suzuki singled home Chris Denorfia with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Oakland Athletics knocked around Kansas City's bullpen for a second straight day in a 6-5 win over the Royals yesterday. Daric Barton went 3-for-5 with a single, double and triple to make up for a critical fielding error in the second inning while five other players had two hits apiece for the A's. More»

(AP) - Chicago White Sox ace Mark Buehrle has set a major league record by retiring 45 straight batters. Coming off a perfect game in his last start against Tampa Bay, Buehrle retired the first 17 Minnesota Twins batters he faced tonight to break the record of 41 set by San Francisco's Jim Barr in 1972 and tied by Chicago reliever Bobby Jenks in 2007. Buehrle's streak ended with a walk to Alexi Casilla on a close call with two outs in the sixth. Denard Span followed with a single to break up the no-hitter. More»

(NEWSER) - White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle retired 27 consecutive Tampa Bay Rays today for a perfect game and a 5-0 win, the Chicago Tribune reports. There were a couple of dicey moments, particularly in the ninth inning, when center fielder DeWayne Wise barely caught a drive by Gabe Kapler destined for the stands, the AP adds. It’s the first perfect game since Randy Johnson’s in 2004, and the 16th since 1900. More»