Month: June 2017

MLB The Show Podcast with Matt Harrington: Giants get edged out 3-2 for second straight home loss; Trigg’s on the DL and A’s bombed for 13 runs and 15 hits Friday

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Minnesota Twins catcher Chris Gimenez (38) stealing second base as San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (35) attempts the tag out during a MLB baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants on Autism Awareness Day at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

On the MLB Podcast with Matt:

1 The San Francisco Giants took another loss on Saturday losing by a run to the Minnesota Twins 3-2 it was their second straight loss on the current homestand our own Morris Phillips will have that game recap

2 Friday’s loss was no better as Twins starter Ervin Santana pitched a gem shutting out the Giants 4-0 on  four hitter at AT&T Park

3 Santana also helped his own cause with three RBIs nothing like one wave of the bat

4 It was a laugher on Friday night in Tampa Bay as the Rays were spraying the ball all over the yard off A’s starter Andrew Triggs who was placed on the 15 day DL effective Saturday morning. The Rays on Friday hit for 13 runs on 15 hits to beat the A’s 13-4

5 It’s most likely arm issues for Triggs as he struggled throughout Friday’s game and is being observed by the A’s medical staff and it was decided to put Triggs on the DL following the game Friday night as announced on Saturday

Matt Harrington does the MLB Podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

On to Game five if you’re Golden State

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots past Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the second half of Game 4 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Friday, June 9, 2017. Cleveland won 137-116. (Ronald Martinez/Pool Photo via AP)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

CLEVELAND, OH — The closeout games are always the toughest to win.

The Golden State Warriors were 48 minutes from basketball immortality when they entered Game 4  of the NBA Finals with a chance to send the Cleveland Cavaliers home for the summer, but the Cavaliers used lead wire-to-wire for a 137-116 win Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena to force Game 5 in Oakland on Monday night at Oracle Arena.

The loss snaps Golden State’s postseason record 15 straight wins, denying the Warriors of becoming the first team in NBA history to go through the postseason undefeated at 16-0.

Give the Cavaliers credit, they weren’t ready to see the Warriors celebrate another championship on their home floor as Golden State did back in 2015 when they defeated Cleveland in six games to capture the franchise’s first championship in 40 years.

LeBron James, who passed former Los Angeles Lakers great and hall of famer Magic Johnson for the most triple-doubles in the Finals with his 31-point, 10-rebound and 11-assist effort, finished 11-for-22 from the floor.

James led Cleveland with 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Cleveland’s heartbreaking loss to the Warriors 118-113 in Game 3  on Wednesday night after Cleveland led by six with three minutes left in the game before Golden State went on an 11-0 run to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

But don’t blink now, but the Cavaliers find themselves in the same predicament this year as they did last year: down 3-1 heading back to the West Coast trying to stave off elimination and we all know what happened.

The Cavaliers won Game 5 in Oakland, Game 6 in Cleveland, and the clinching Game 7 on the Warriors’ home floor for the Cavaliers’ first championship in franchise history, and the first major championship for Northeast Ohio since 1964.

Cleveland obliterated the record book for the Finals in Game 4, having the highest-scoring first quarter (49 points) and first half (86 points) and the most 3-pointers (24) in Finals history.

Kyrie Irving turned in another spectacular game, scoring a game-high 40 points on 15-for-27 shooting, including 7-for-12 from beyond the 3-point line.

But Game 4 was a lot closer than the final score indicated.

Both teams got 87 shots up, but Cleveland shot a blistering 52.9-percent (46-for-87) from the floor, compared to Golden State’s 44.8-percent (39-for-87).

Cleveland slightly out-rebounded Golden State 56-52, thanks largely to Tristan Thompson’s 10 rebounds after having just nine in Games 1-3 combined. The Warriors made keeping Thompson off the boards in the series a priority after averaging double-digit rebounds in the two previous Finals meetings between the teams.

For Golden State, you gotta turn the page from Game 4 and focus on Game 5 after letting the opportunity for a sweep slip through their fingers.

Kevin Durant, one victory away from his first championship, finished with 35 points on 9-for-22 shooting. It was Durant’s fourth-straight 30-point game of the series, but the Splash Brothers picked a bad night to have their quietest game of the Finals, combining for only 27 points on 8-for-24 from the floor (6-for-19 on 3s)

Cleveland did a great job of harassing Curry in Game 4, double-teaming and trapping the two-time league MVP whenever he got the ball.

Curry never got in a groove offensively, shooting 4-for-13 from the floor and a putrid 2-for-9 from the 3-point line while recording 10 assists after finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in Game 3.

Klay Thompson finished with 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting. All of Thompson’s makes were from beyond the 3-point line, converting 4-for-10. Thompson’s 30 points were instrumental in Golden State’s Game 3 win.

Draymond Green had 16 points and 14 rebounds and was part of a crazy set of events in the third quarter that led two technical fouls, and a friend of James being escorted from the arena.

It was announced in the third quarter that Green had assessed his second technical foul, prompting security onto the floor to escort Green back to the locker room. But the officials confirmed that Green’s technical foul in the first half was actually given to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, which was even more confusing.

Then, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia was involved in a pileup where he appeared to swipe Cavaliers forward Iman Shumpert int he groin area. Pachulia should’ve been ejected from the game, but was given a technical foul along with Shumpert.

A total of seven technical fouls and one flagrant foul were handed down in Game 4.

There will be a lot said and written about the Cavaliers dominance over the Warriors in Game 4 over the next 48 hours, whether its opinions or jokes. Cleveland were the aggressor from start to finish for 48 minutes and that can’t be glossed over. Golden State knows what type of team that the Cavaliers are.

The Cavaliers were simply the better team Friday night, a rarity for the opponent to be better than Golden State.

Keep this in mind: one loss isn’t the end of the world for Golden State. The Warriors are still firmly in control of the series and are 31-1 in their last 32 games dating back to the regular season. Golden State is still the superior team and most people don’t expect a sub par performance from the Warriors’ core in Game 5 on Monday night.

But Golden State’s first lost this postseason does leave the door slightly ajar for Cleveland heading back to the 510 area code.

 

 

NBA Finals/Golden State-Cleveland Game 4 Commentary: Cavaliers Show Up With Their “A” Game In Hand

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 Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) pulls down a rebound against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game 4 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Friday, June 9, 2017. Cleveland won 137-116. (Ronald Martinez/Pool Photo via AP)

By Barbara Mason

It was a game that was supposed to make even more history for the Golden State Warriors but the Cleveland Cavaliers had different plans for Curry and Company. Friday night’s Game 4 was all Cavaliers from beginning to end.

The Warriors had a slow start in the first quarter and the Cavaliers came out like a house on fire and never looked back. At the end of the first quarter Cleveland was leading 49-33 and by half time the score was 86-68 in favor of LeBron and Company. The Cavaliers were relentless bringing an onslaughts of three’s throughout the game playing the aggressive brand of basketball that they are known for.

While the Warriors played the Cavaliers even through the third and fourth quarters, even was not going to win this game. The damage had been done in the first half. The final was 137-116.

Superstars Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love played an outstanding game. Irving finished with 40 points, James had 31 points and Love with 23. Irving’s 40 points were especially amazing since Klay Thompson was all over him throughout the game. J. Smith who had not shown up at all the first three game played a great game scoring 15 points.

On the other hand the Warriors were flat with the exception of Kevin Durant who finished with 35 points. As this series had gotten underway, Durant and Curry were neck and neck when it came to who would be the most valuable player but it would appear that tonight’s game settled that discussion. Curry only had 14 points, Thompson had 13 and Draymond Green finished with 16. It was not the sort of game that dreams are made of.

Monday night the Warriors will be back at Oracle Arena to close this series out and win their second championship in the last three years. A second game like this for Golden State is hardly likely. Tip-off will be on June 12 at 6:00 PT.

Cavaliers get physical and pound the Warriors to keep their hopes alive 137-116

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Golden State Warriors players watch from the bench in the closing moments against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Friday, June 9, 2017. Cleveland won 137-116. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Cleveland- The Cleveland Cavaliers set four NBA records Friday night as they defeated the Warriors 137-116. The Cavs came out smoking and set the first NBA record of the night when they tallied 49 points in the first quarter. The Warriors scored 33 and trailed by 16 after twelve minutes of action,  The Warriors were outscored in every quarter of the game and lost by twenty-one points.

Cleveland had an answer for everything the Warriors tried. They put a blanket on Steph Curry who was four-of-thirteen from the floor. Klay Thompson was held to just 13 points. The Cavs set a second NBA record when they finished the first half with 86 points. The Dubs, who usually have great third periods, could not make up any ground as they lost the period to the Cavs 29-28. They closed the gap to eleven 115-104 in the fourth quarter, but this was it as the Cavs roared back and got the lead up to twenty-one once again.

The Cavs’ Kyrie Irving was magnificent as he scored forty points. He drove the basket, he stepped back and made threes. His partner, LeBron James had another triple-double to set the third NBA record. It was LeBron’s ninth career triple trouble breaking the record of eight set by the Lakers’ Magic Johnson. LeBron had 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Kevin Love was hot in the first quarter with several 3-point shots, and he finished with 23. J.R.Smith also made several threes, and he finished with 15 points. The Dubs held Tristan Thompson to just five points, but he reasserted himself under the boards as he pulled down ten big rebounds. The veteran, Richard Jefferson, played well and he was excellent on defense, and he added 8 points to the Cavs’ attack.

The game was marred by 7 technical fouls, and the officiating left a lot to be desired. There was confusion surrounding a technical foul called on Draymond Green early in the game. Everyone in the arena thought Draymond would be ejected from play when a second technical was called on him in the second half. The first technical was actually called on Steve Kerr as he rushed onto the court defending Draymond. For some reason, the scorer’s table had listed it incorrectly.

Draymond stayed in the game. Kevin Durant and LeBron James got into a heated exchange in the second half, too. Each player was charged with a technical. The game was very physical and emotional. The Warriors wanted to win the game and clinch the championship. The Cavs were fighting for their playoffs life. With the win, the Cavs are in the exact same spot they were in a year ago,  Down 3 game to one and heading back to Oracle Arena. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Finals to win. However, the Cavs did come back from being down 3-1 to win. They feel they can do it again, but things are not exactly the same. Draymond Green will be on the court Monday night, and he will be joined there by Kevin Durant. KD led the Dubs with 35 points. The Dubs will need him to perform his magic once again, and they will need Steph and Klay to have big games. The know that if they lose Monday night, the series goes back to Cleveland and could go to seven games once again. The Dubs want to close it out Monday in front of their hometown fans.

Notes and Stats- The Cavs made 24 three-point shots to set another NBA record for the Finals. Just an amazing performance by Cleveland.

LeBron James put the victory over the Dubs in perspective:” We won one game.” “We are looking forward to the challenge in Game 5.”

Warriors’ assistant coach Jarron Collins, filling in for Steve Kerr, made the following remarks:”we came out flat. (Cleveland) Played with a lot of force. We know we have to play a lot better. We have to play with energy and force.” He believed that ” we’ll be better on Monday and we’ve got to do a better job at the point of attack.” He also reminded the team and the fans that the Warriors” are one step away from achieving our ultimate goal.”

Game 5 will be Monday night at 6 pm at Oracle Arena.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Francisco Giants Friday game wrap: Santana throws four hit shutout and hits for three RBIs in 4-0 Twins win over Giants

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Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) tossing to starting pitcher Ervin Santana (54) to catch the Giants Brandon Belt (not shown) during a MLB baseball game between the Minnesota Twins and the San Francisco Giants on Portuguese Heritage Night at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Valerie Shoaps/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-After returning home from a 3-4 road trip, and a win in the road finale, you would think that the San Francisco Giants would continue their winning ways.

Unfortunately that did not happen, as Ervin Santana hit a bases clearing double in the top of the fourth inning and the Minnesota Twins took game one of the three-game weekend series with a 4-0 victory over the Giants, before a crowd of 41,046, the 517th consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

The three runs driven in by Santana are the most by a Twins pitcher since Luis Tiant on May 28, 1970 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

In what was his first ever appearance against the Giants, Santana threw a complete game, allowing zero runs, while scattering just four hits, while walking just one and striking out four, as he improved his record to 8-3 on the season. Prior to tonight, the Giants were the only team that Santana never faced.

Brian Dozier drove in the only run that the Twins would need on the night, as he singled in Byron Buxton, who singled to lead-off the top of the third inning.

Despite that one bad inning, it was not a bad night for Matt Moore, as he went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out three; however, his record on the season fell to 2-7.

Eduardo Nunez extended his hitting streak up to 11 games with a single in the bottom of the first inning, and he also extended his streak of reaching base up to 24 games. On the other hand, Buster Posey saw his streak of reaching base come to an end after 22 straight games.

NOTES: Jeff Samardzija takes the ball for the Giants in the second game of the three-game series for the Giants, while Jose Berrios will take the mound for the Twins. This will be Berrio’s first ever appearance against the Giants.

Prior to the game, the Giants added Sam Dyson to the roster and sent Orlando Calixte to Triple-A Sacramento.

It was two years ago tonight that Chris Heston threw the fifth Giants no-hitter in seven years, as the Giants defeated the New York Mets 5-0 at Citi Field. Heston did not walk a batter and struck out 11. He also hit three batters.

Triggs Roughed Up Again, A’s Routed 13-4 By Tampa Bay

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Tampa Bay Rays’ Mallex Smith, right, hig h fives third base coach Charlie Montoyo after his home run off Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Andrew Triggs during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 9, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

By Matthew Harrington

 The Tampa Bay Rays hit five home runs over the first 5 innings while starter Alex Cobb stymied the Oakland A’s hitters to one run over 6 innings in a 13-4 rout Friday night in West Florida.
 Corey Dickerson, Mallex Smith, Steven Souza Jr., Logan Morrison and Tim Beckham all went deep to give Andrew Triggs (5-6, 4.27 ERA)  his second loss and second consecutive start of four or fewer innings in June. Stephen Vogt homered in the losing effort.
Triggs struggled in his last start against the Washington Nationals June 2nd, going 3 2/3 while allowing six runs. Friday at the Trop proved far worse, with the slinging righty exiting the game after surrending eight runs over 3 2/3. Longman Zach Neal closed out the game, giving up another 5 runs in a 5-run 5th inning before finishing off the final 3 innings without giving up a run.
The A’s, on the other hand, struggled to find their offense against the winner Cobb (5-5, 4.29). The righty struck out 5,scattering for hits while allowing one run on a Khris Davis RBI single in the 6th. He departed the game leading 13-1.
Vogt continued the A’s momentum, launching his fourth long ball of the year off reliever Ryan Garton for the A’s second run of the game. An RBI double by Adam Rosales would score another run off Garton in the 8th, while the A’s final run came on a wild pitch of a Ryon Healey strikeout that scored Matt Joyce in the 8th as well.
The A’s look to bounce back Saturday with Sonny Gray on the mound. He’ll face off against Erasmo Ramirez in game 2 of the weekend series.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Athletics and Giants—Possible trades

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Oakland Athletics’ Jaycob Brugman, making his major league debut, flies out to Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Colby Rasmus during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, June 9, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

By the end of action this Sunday most teams in the majors would have played between 60 to 62 games. With the July 31, deadline on the horizon most teams, contenders and non-contenders will be buying and selling players. For both bay area teams this is also the case and they will be sellers for the most part. The Athletics will continue their Nashville to Oakland shuttle, bringing prospect like this Friday Jaycob Brugman an outfielder that was hitting .288 with one home run and eight runs batted in. He is part of the young contingent of Athletics players of recent like Ryon Healy who came in last year and Chad Pinder who a couple of weeks ago came to the big club. They do have some good prospects in the minors like Franklin Barreto and Matt Chapman, who probably will also be brought up in July.

In the ridiculously mediocre American League west, with only one team playing over .500, the incredible Houston Astros, closing in on 50 victories, it looks like A’s Angels,Mariners and Rangers are just going to “pick up the crumbs”left behind by the Astros. All these teams have to get ready to start thinking about 2018, because this division belongs to the Astros. barring a historic total collapse.

Here are some of the Athletics players that are good bait for a trade: 1B Yonder Alonso, he is enjoying his best season ever, adjusted his hitting since Spring Training when he told me he had a “different approach” and obviously it has worked for him. Reliever Ryan Madson, a solid and experienced man coming out of the bullpen could be helpful to a lot of contending teams.

Rajai Davis, could also be in the trading block, because of his experience and speed and 3B Trevor Plouffe who is not having a very good first half, but like Rajai is an experienced player that a change of scenery with a contending team could make a difference and even journeyman Adam Rosales could also be gone this season, as much he is liked, he has played very well taken injured Marcus Semien essential position at shortstop and his stock has gone up.

Of course the Athletics are never shy come deadline time, so guys like Sonny Gray could also be gone, there are teams that still interested in the A’s ace. I for one, would not be surprised at all if Santiago Casilla also gets traded. The A’s closing spot in the bullpen was not rooted in cement when the season started, they have a few options for closer, like for example when Sean Doolittle is back and healthy. These are after all, the trading Oakland Athletics.

For the San Francisco Giants. They are in a division that could be separated in two parts. The three teams contending, Rockies,Dodgers and Diamondbacks, they have been trading places from first to third. Then the second part, where they find themselves with the San Diego Padres. The biggest story here will be if the Colorado Rockies can win this division. Colorado and Arizona improved a lot, and of course the LA Dodgers are a good ballclub looking to with their fifth straight western division.

These are some of the players that the Giants could be trading: Pitcher Johnny Cueto, IF/OF Eduardo Nunez, Aaron Hill, catcher Nick Hundley and outfielder Hunter Pence. Obviously the Giants could go for a couple of power bats, outfielders, veteran Matt Kemp is out there. Giants offense is pathetic, last in home runs and next to last in combined batting average in baseball. This team had a great run winning three World Series in six years, their changes have to be much more strategic to see if they can be contenders in 2018. The Giants believed they had enough this year, but in a way forgot that other teams in their division got much better. Not an excuse, but they lost their ace Madison Bumgarner early and that made things much more difficult. However, it is fair to say that with this offense, even if Bumgarner was doing well they could still be ten games out of first place.

But the biggest news in Bay Area baseball this year, will be the day when A’s President David Kaval announces the location and date when the Oakland Athletics will build their new ballpark in Oakland. That, after all-is-said-and-done, will be the biggest news in local baseball.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Angels TV Spanish talent, the A’s radio Spanish talent, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports Podcast with Tony Renteria: It won’t be a sweep but let’s face it Cavaliers just don’t have the fire power against Golden State

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) defends Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half of Game 3 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

On the Headline Sports Podcast with Tony:

Lets Just face it the Cleveland Cavaliers just don’t have the fire power to keep up with Golden State. Last podcast I predicted a Warriors win four games to two this is one of the games I predicted tonight that the Cavs would win and win a couple games in Cleveland and I don’t think their going to be able to do it. It doesn’t look like the Cavs have a good chance to pull this one off.

I think the Warriors for tonight lose this one and lose another one in Oakland and win game six. LeBron James is the best player on the planet and he doesn’t like getting his butt kicked every night. I don’t think he would be happy in a sweep and the Cavs played their best game in Cleveland in game three of the season and to come up short at the end of the fourth quarter and lose when Kevin Durant hit that three.

Tony Renteria has much more take a listen to him below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Giants survive Melancon’s meltdown coughs up two runs in ninth; Giants rally for four runs in 10th for 9-5 win

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San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence hits an RBI single during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

By Jeremy Harness

 Mark Melancon was brought in specifically to address the need for a closer that the Giants can count on to close games, which has been a huge problem for them for years.

 Based on what happened Thursday afternoon, however, that holding a lead in the late innings is not a foregone conclusion, either. Melancon had a two-run lead when he took the ball in the ninth, but the Milwaukee Brewers scored two runs off of him to tie the game, resulting in his second blown save of the year in 12 chances.

 The Giants, however, were able to rebound from this, rallying in the very next inning with an offensive explosion to gut out a 9-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers inside of Miller Park. The win ensured the Giants of an even split of the four-game series.

 “We’ve had some tough times,” Bochy said. “That can really get a club down. But that shows a lot about the character and how resilient they are, to come back and find a way to win the game, especially on a road trip that hasn’t been great for us.”

 ‘We’ll get this turned around, but we’ve just got to keep plugging.”

 On another positive note, the Giants are actually 6-2 in extra innings this season.

 The Giants also got a glimpse into the future, as outfielder Austin Slater, who as just called up from Triple-A Sacramento a week ago, launched his first major-league home run in the fourth inning to give the Giants a 3-2 lead.

 “He got a good swing off, and he hit it well,” Bochy said. “He’s more of a line drive-type guy, but (when) he gets it in the air, I’ve seen some long ones by him.”

 This one was pretty long, too. In fact, the ball traveled 461 feet, which is the longest home run by a Giants player this season.

 The Giants will now head back to AT&T Park for a five-game homestand that starts Friday night, as the Minnesota Twins pay a visit to the Giants for a three-game series.

 

Oakland A’s day off Preview of the A’s vs the Tampa Bay Rays

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AP file Photo: Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash throws during batting practice before an interleague baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s start a four-game series with the Tampa Bat Rays Friday night at Tropicana Field. The A’s record is 26-33 and the club is in last place in the American League West. The Rays, managed by Kevin Cash own a record of 30-31 and are playing the Chicago White Sox Thursday night. The Rays are in fourth place in the tough American League East.

Andrew Triggs will start for Oakland on Friday night. Triggs, who started the season 5-1, is now 5-5 with an ERA of 3.36. The Rays will counter with Alex Cobb. Cobb is 4-4 and his ERA is 4.52. Sonny Gray and Sean Manaea will pitch in Saturday’s doubleheader. The Rays have not announced their starters yet. However, they did say that the A’s will face Chris Archer on Sunday.

The Rays, like the A’s, strikeout a lot. The Rays strikeout rate is 26.2% which is the highest in the league. Their offense is led by the third baseman Evan Longoria. Logan Morrison is their first baseman and has 16 dingers and 37 RBIs to his credit. Michael Martinez at second and Tim Beckham at shortstop round out the infield. The outfielders are Colby Rasmus in left, Kirk Kiermaier in center field, and Steven Souza, Jr. in right. Souza has some power as he has 10 homers and 33 RBIs so far. Other starters in the Rays rotation include Jake Odorizzi, Erasmo Ramirez, and Jacob Faria. The closer for the Rays is Alex Colome. Other relievers include Tommy Hunter, Danny Farquhar, Chase Whitley, Jose Alvarado, Austin Pruitt, and Ryan Stanek. The catching chores are handled by Jesus Sucre and former Athletic Derek Norris. Norris, however, may not be available as he is being investigated for a domestic abuse incident.

After the A’s conclude the series with the Rays, they have an off-day on Monday. They travel across the state of Florida to play the Miami Marlins Tuesday and Wednesday in Miami before returning home to face the New York Yankees on Thursday, June 15th.