Two problems face the A’s running game: Coco Crisp is on the disabled list and Craig Gentry hasn’t had a hit yet this season.
Those are the A’s two best base stealers, but for one night, anyway, the A’s ran without them but with purpose and drive, stealing four bases in a game for the first time since April 16, 2013.
Two of the four steals wound up producing runs. Sam Fuld singled, stole a base and scored for the A’s first run, and Eric Sogard singled, stole a base and scored the A’s second run. Sogard’s run put the A’s ahead to stay 2-1 as the first run of a five-run seventh inning.