SEATTLE – Brett Anderson continued his groove on the mound Saturday, and his team seems to have rediscovered its rhythm, too.
The Oakland Athletics notched a second straight 6-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners, and they got yet another standout effort from Anderson, who won his fourth straight start since coming back from reconstructive elbow surgery.
Anderson (4-0) threw six innings and allowed just an unearned run as the Athletics made it two straight victories after dropping three straight to the Los Angeles Angels at home.
Since his surgery, the left-hander has thrown 26 innings and has surrendered just two earned runs, 17 hits and three walks to go with 19 strikeouts.
The Athletics took a 1-0 lead in the first Saturday, then gave Anderson plenty of breathing room with a four-run fourth off Seattle right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma (6-4).
Yoenis Cespedes opened the fourth with a double into the left-field corner. He then stole third, and came home on an Stephen Drew's RBI single.
George Kottaras then hit a 1-1 Iwakuma fastball into the right-field seats to make it 4-1. It was his fifth home run of the season, and came one day after he had a three-run shot in the same inning Friday during the A's 6-1 victory.
The A's boosted the margin when Cliff Pennington singled and scored on Coco Crisp's double.
Earlier Saturday, Pennington gave a simple answer when asked about his reaction to being shifted from shortstop to second base.
"You don't have a choice," he said. "But when your name is in the lineup card, you've got a chance to play. That's what you want."
Pennington had no choice when the Athletics traded for Stephen Drew on Aug. 20 to be their new everyday shortstop. Having manned short for Oakland since the start of 2010, Pennington was shifted to second base and has started against right-handed pitchers, with Adam Rosales seeing time against lefties.
The defensive transition has been seamless.
He's also found his hitting stroke lately, going 13 for 26 over his past eight games.
"I think it's been really kind of a new life for him," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said of Pennington. "It's tough to struggle for an entire season offensively. (But) it's almost like a change of scenery for him."
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