A few observations from tonight’s A’s victory, which was played before a surprisingly small crowd of 21,331. That’s small at least in comparison to the turnouts the A’s usually get for the Red Sox.

–Dallas Braden has made an adjustment on the mound. He typically stands on the first base side of the rubber, but on Monday, switched to the third-base side. Braden tried it out during his between-start throwing session, and the hope is that it helps his command.

“I think it’s going to affect all of his pitches as far as control,” A’s manager Bob Geren said.

The biggest key for Braden’s night was the three-up, three-down inning he had in the third, after the A’s scored five runs in the second. With the A’s struggling to put together offensive rallies, they needed a shut-down inning after their outburst.

–Matt Holliday went 3-for-4 tonight, and even though he hasn’t gotten off to the hottest start, you still have to be impressed with how he goes the other way with pitches. He had two more hits to right field Monday, including an RBI triple in the seventh.

I would think any hitter that so effortlessly shoots the ball to the opposite field will avoid a prolonged slump. You don’t have to be swinging great to just slap an outside pitch to right …

Check in w/you before tomorrow’s game …