Oakland A's update: Gio Gonzalez sharp in 8-0 rout of Angels

After four disastrous days in New York that effectively ended any last sniff of an AL West title, the A's rediscovered the comforts of the Coliseum on Friday night, even with the Raiders having chewed up their field the night before.
Gio Gonzalez pitched six scoreless innings and Kevin Kouzmanoff and Cliff Pennington hit two-run homers in a six-run seventh as the A's posted an 8-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Even though he had just one 1-2-3 inning and threw only nfl throwback jerseys
four first-pitch strikes to the 24 hitters he faced, Gonzalez (13-8) nonetheless won his third consecutive start. He allowing just four hits while walking three and striking out six.
"The numbers were better than he pitched," said manager Bob Geren. "That was a battle from the first pitch for him. He didn't throw that well, but to his credit, he kept the runs off the board."
Oakland broke open a close game against the Angels bullpen in the seventh. After Kurt Suzuki opened the inning with an infield single, Kouzmanoff hit his 14th homer over the wall in center field against Jason Bulger. Pennington later hit his fourth against Brian Stokes.
A scary moment occurred with one out in the ninth inning when the Angels' Mike Napoli shattered his bat on a grounder and the sharp end of the broken barrel nearly impaled A's reliever Brad Ziegler. Ziegler suffered a bruise and a deep scratch behind his shoulder but was able to finish the San Francisco 49ers jersey
game.
Eric Chavez wasn't the only long-lost face who turned up Friday night. Pitchers Josh Outman and Joey Devine, who have been jointly rehabbing from their respective Tommy John elbow surgeries throughout this season in Arizona, are in town so the A's can evaluate their progress.
The right-handed Devine hasn't pitched for the A's since a sparkling 2008 season when he posted a 6-1 record and 0.59 ERA in 42 games out of the bullpen. He has had a slow recovery from the surgery he underwent on April 21, 2009, but said he hopes to get in some official action before the end of this season.
"I'm ready to pitch a game,'' he said. "I just want to get the feeling back of being between the lines, facing a hitter where there's some meaning behind it. Then the next thing is to wake up the next morning and see how (the arm) feels.''
The left-handed Outman, who underwent his surgery on June 30, 2009, after opening the season 4-1 as a starter, is taking a more cautious approach.
"I just know I'm going to pitch again,'' he said. "Whether it's this year or Buffalo Bills jersey
next year, the goal is to be ready to go next spring training."
The A's have signed former Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox outfielder Jeremy Hermida and assigned him to Triple-A Sacramento. Hermida, a former first-round pick by the Marlins in 2002 (11th overall), is a career .265 hitter with 62 home runs spread over six seasons.