hit since May 29. In his time at Norfolk, Neshek was 3–2 with 11 saves and a 2.66 ERA in 35 relief appearances. He recorded 49 strikeouts while walking just seven and giving up only one home run in 44 innings pitched. Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics traded for Neshek on August 3, 2012, for cash considerations, and immediately called him up from Triple-A Norfolk. On September 22, Neshek gave up the game-tying home run in the bottom of the 13th inning to New York Yankees slugger Raúl Ibañez. The A's had scored four runs in the top of the inning, leading to a galling 10–9 loss the next inning. However, the A's defeated the Yankees the next day and went 9–2 to end the season, edging the Texas Rangers out of the American League West championship by one game, including sweeping the final three-game series in Oakland. In 24 games with the A's, Neshek went 2–1 in innings, yielding 10 hits and six walks, along with 16 strikeouts and a 1.37 ERA. He relied heavily on the slider, throwing it 83.5 percent of all pitches. On November 30, 2012, Neshek avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $975,000 deal with the A's. He started the season well, posted a 2.34 ERA in his first 38 appearances into August, with 30 of them being scoreless. However, he gave up three runs apiece in two different appearances in August, raising his ERA to 3.58. Neshek attributed his early success to throwing almost exclusively sliders to right-handed hitters. Of all his pitches, he threw the slider 73 percent of the time in 2013. The A's designated Neshek for assignment on August 26. For the season, he finished 2–1 with a 3.35 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 45 relief appearances. He elected free agency November 5. Through the end of 2013, Neshek had faced 555 right-handed batters in his MLB career, holding them to a .181 batting average, .257 on-base percentage (OBP), and .315 slugging percentage (SLG). In 326 plate appearances, opposite-handed hitters had more success with a .237 average, .328 OBP, and .432 SLG. St. Louis Cardinals Neshek signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on February 6, 2014, with an invitation to spring training and an opportunity as a right-handed specialist against right-handed batters from the bullpen. After the mixed performances of the previous two seasons and less-than-satisfying