Cahill settles into role as A's stopper

June 23, 9:44 AMOakland A's ExaminerScott Sabatini

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Oakland A's starter Trevor Cahill stopped a five-game slide to the cross-town Giants on Monday night.
AP file

Look up "stopper" in the unwritten rules of baseball and it will speak of a starting pitcher whose deadly consistency props a team on his back, spurs winning streaks and most importantly, cuts a losing-streak off in its path. Also known as a horse, a stopper in baseball is a high compliment to a starting pitcher, the guy whose name on the lineup card spurs confidence in the rest of the team.

Oakland A's fans, meet Trevor Cahill: stopper.

The 21-year-old rookie who forced his way into the A's starting rotation earlier than planned or expected as taken his game to a new level -- a level on full display at the coliseum last night as the A's easily stopped a five-game losing streak to the Giants with a dominant 5-1 win.

Cahill's potential has been apparent since April, with stellar displays of pitching prodigy mixed with wildly inconsistent outings. But potential has given way to acclaim in recent weeks. As MLB.com's Michael Urban pointed out, Cahill has been deadly consistent over his last seven starts.

"In his past seven starts, he's posted a 2.44 ERA, allowing more than two earned runs just once, and with seven innings of four-hit work against the Giants, he evened his record at 5-5," Urban wrote.

Cahill lowered his ERA to 3.68. It will be four more days until he again takes the mound, but one thing is for sure. Whether riding a wining streak or trying to stop a slide, Cahill will take the mound with the team's full confidence behind him. He's their stopper afterall.

Tonight, the Giants prodigy and Cy Young award winner Tim Lincicum will match up with rookie Vin Mazzaro, who has pitched with surprising consistency since being called up from Triple A. In his four starts for Oalkand so far, Mazzaro is 2-1 with an 1.75 ERA. Gaudy numbers that he'll put on the line against one of pro baseball's very best pitchers.

More A's news:

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• Time for trading as A's conclude Bay Bridge Series with Giants.
• A's ask San Jose to slow down on stadium deal.
• Holliday's decline ups pressure for a deal.
• Bay Bridge shows how bad the A's offense truly is.
• Five reasons to fire Manager Bob Geren.

Hot stove slideshow: click here.
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