A's vs. Giants: Oakland Rallies but Loses Game 1 of Bay Bridge Series, 8-6

After trailing by as many as seven runs in the first game of their three-game series with the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland A's put the tying run on and had a chance to come all the way back.

However, it was not to be tonight as the Giants won 8-6 at AT&T Park.

Oakland's offensive star was Josh Donaldson, who reached base in every at-bat and drove in five of their six runs. Included in his barrage was his first major league home run in the third inning. 

A's starter Jarrod Parker struggled from the beginning and was chased in the third after failing to retire a batter.

Parker went 2+ innings and allowed six runs on six hits and four walks without striking a batter out. His counterpart, Barry Zito, was not entirely sharp either but went long enough to get the victory.

The Giants had a balanced attack led by Brandon Belt and Hector Sanchez, who together drove in five of the Giants' eight total runs. The good, bad and ugly for the A's on the night:

Good

Josh Donaldson. 3-for-4 with five RBI, including a home run and two doubles. If Donaldson can continue to produce anything like this, there might be an interesting dilemma at third base when Brandon Inge gets healthy. 

Bad

Jerry Blevins. Another uneven performance from "Everyday" Jerry. He allowed two of the three inherited runners to score in the third and then gave up two more runs of his own in two innings. His 2.45 ERA is proof that sometimes, stats do not tell the whole story.

Ugly

Jarrod Parker. The rook showed the wildness that caused him to begin the year in Triple-A. Of his 58 pitches, only 28 were strikes. He also issued four walks in 2+ innings—all the ingredients for a short night were in play.

And when his pitches were in the zone, the Giants pounded them. Bad all the way around. 

Now back to .500, the A's look to bounce back Saturday as Tyson Ross faces the Giants' Ryan Vogelsong. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PDT.