Month: June 2017

Earthquakes Weather Early Heat play to 0-0 draw with Sporting KC

Published on by Mark AndreasenLeave a comment
Jackson Yueill, in his debut MLS game, readies a pass for Chris Wondolowski Saturday Night at Avaya Stadium, June 17, 2017 in San Jose, Ca. photo courtesy of ISIPhotos.com.

By Mark Andreasen

San Jose, CA. – On a hot Northern California summer’s evening the San Jose Earthquakes came out in their alternate kits. Sporting the primarily white with red sleeve jerseys to defeat the 90 degree heat yet tie the Sporting Kansas City to a scoreless draw in front of 18,000 fans at Avaya Stadium in San Jose.

The team diverted early chances by Sporting Kansas City as the Earthquakes were pinned in their defensive zone for most of the first half. They avoided disaster early as two SKC shots hit post to stay out of the net.

In the opening two minutes Sporting KC hit the post on a shot by Dominic Dwyer and proceeded to get nine shots on goal to the quakes zero shots in the opening 45 minutes of action.

Yet as the sun went down and the temperatures dropped into the 80s,
George Best and Laurie Calloway would be proud to see the team in their tribute to the 1974 Quakes colors make a surge.

At 75 minutes Jackson Yueill made his MLS debut in relief of Tommy Thompson. Fresh off his game against the San Francisco Deltas, where Yueill scored a goal, Jackson set up a nice Quakes chance at the 79th minute mark and took a deep shot on goal a minute later.

The Earthquakes kept the heat on Sporting Kansas City with more chances in the  second half. Late in the game David Bingham turned a save into a San Jose chance. In transition Danny Hoesen took a spinning shot at 85:00 that was headed for the back of the net, yet deflected in the knick of time by Sporting Kansas City’s Goalie Tim Malai.

Like many a summer’s eve in the 70s, fans were fired up by “Crazy George” during pregame and throughout the contest. In the end they were treated to some excellent defense and some great saves in a shutout performance by David Bingham. As in the Earthquakes’ early days they fought hard, if not for victory then rather to a respectable draw.

The Earthquakes remain at home to take on Real Salt Lake on Saturday, June 24, at Avaya Stadium. The match kicks off at 7:15 p.m. PDT and will air live on NBC Sports California, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.

A’s beat the Yanks 5-2 Saturday for third consecutive win

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

The 2:20 Wrap 

by Charlie O. Mallonee

As Butch Cassidy asked the Sundance Kid in that now timeless movie as they were being pursued by a posse who would not give up, “Who are these guys?” Who are these guys indeed? The Oakland Athletics have come home and looked like an entirely different team against the powerful New York Yankees.

The A’s have won the series

The 5-2 win on Saturday guarantees the Athletics will win the four-game series. In a four-game series you pray for split. You fear a 3-1 loss. Your worst nightmare is being swept.

On Father’s Day Sunday, the A’s will have the opportunity to sweep the Yankees in this four-game series. Oakland leads the season series 4-2.

The Athletics are 20-12 versus the Yankees over the last five years. That is the best record against the “Bronx Bombers” by an American League team over that period of time.

Jesse Hahn picked up the win but struggled early on

MLB: New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics
Jesse Hahn worked hard for the win on Saturday Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports

Jesse Hahn got the start for the A’s and it looked like it was going to be a very short outing. He threw 31 pitches in the first inning while walking two New York hitters. He worked out of that jam and managed to work 5.0-innings in the game.

Hahn gave up two runs (both earned) on three hits. He struck out six and walked three. Hahn threw 105 pitches (69 strikes). His record improves to 3-4 with a 3.56 ERA.

Liam Hendriks, Josh Smith and Ryan Madson each worked an inning of scoreless relief.

Sean Doolittle came on in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.

Santiago Casilla was not going to pitch on Saturday but he was hit in the left shoulder by a foul ball while standing in the dugout. X-rays proved negative so he will be fine.

Ryon Healy had a monster day

Healy hit two round-trippers on Saturday — one in the first inning and one in the third inning. He now has 17 home runs for the season.

This was is third multi-home run game. All three have come in this month of June.

Healy finished the game going 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, two runs and two RBI. His batting average currently stands at .288.

Matt Joyce also had a big game

Joyce led the game off for Oakland by hitting the first pitch from Tanaka over the right field wall for his eighth home run of the year. Joyce came to the plate five times — hit a home run, a double, a single and walked twice.

He also raised his batting average 13 points from .211 to .224.

Rookie Matt Chapman continues to be hot

Chapman who joined the A’s from Triple-A on Thursday had a 2-for-4 day. He hit a double, a single and scored a run. Chapman also had the opportunity to show off his speed on the base path and it is quite impressive.

His batting average is now at .273.

They all stood but the Judge did not rule

MLB: New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics
Aaron Judge went hitless for the fourth time this month Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports

The Yankees young superstar — Aaron Judge — caused a stir in the big crowd every time he came to the plate. Fans were hoping to him display the power that has allowed him to record 23 home runs so far this year.

Judge walked in the first inning and was stranded at first base. He then struck out swinging twice and went down on strikes looking in his final at bat in the eighth inning. Yes fans — he is human.

Tanaka had a strange day on the mound for New York

NYY Tanaka
Tanaka had a rough start taking the loss for the Yankees Photo Neville E Guard USA Today Sports

Masahiro Tanaka (5-7, 6.34) started the game for the Yankees. The right-hander has been struggling recently and Saturday was no exception.

He worked just 4.0-innings giving up all five runs (all earned) on eight hits. Three of those hits were home runs — all solo shots. Tanaka walked one and struck out 10. He had a double-digit strike out game and took the loss. That is a rough start.

Domingo German entered the game in the fifth inning to relieve Tanaka. He pitched four scoreless innings giving up just four hits, walking three and striking out six. German earned himself some more pitching time with his performance on Saturday.

Where the teams stand after the game

Oakland

The A’s are 30-38 on the season and have won three consecutive games. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games. The A’s are in last-place in the American League West 15-games behind division leading Houston. They are 2-games behind the fourth-place Mariners.

Yankees

The Yankees are still in first-place in the AL East with a record of 38-28 and will probably stay there as Boston is losing as this story is being written. They started the day with just a one-half game lead over the Red Sox.

New York has now lost five games in a row and are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

Up next

The final game of the four-game series will get underway at 1:05 p.m. PDT on Father’s Day Sunday on Rickey Henderson Field. The Yankees will send Triple-A call-up RHP Luis Cessa (0-0, 5.40) to mound for the series finale. The A’s will counter with RHP Jharel Cotton (3-7, 5.52).

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Giants From Torture to Futility

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AP File Photo:  San Francisco Giants Right field Hunter Pence (8) stumbles at home plate but recovers to get on 1st base during a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals on June 14, 2017, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

Giants fans cannot complain. Recently we have not seen any team winning three World Series in a span of five years. Their 2010,2012 and 2014 titles were welcomed by Giants fans from 18 to 80 (and some even older) in 2010 they captured their first ever World Championship title in San Francisco, after 52 years of hoping and waiting. Then,they took a break in between the next four years to win two more. Some were talking about a dynasty.

But since the middle of the 2016 season the Giants have been the worst team in the game.Hard to say that for a team that has over 500 consecutive sellouts, but its just a fact. Baseball is not a perfect science, so you think they can correct that record since mid 2016, but that remains to be seen. What we do know is that the Dodgers, the Rockies and Diamondbacks did get better and one of those three teams will win this division and maybe the wild card will also come from this division . Did the Giants rest on their laurels of their Tri-World Series era, while the division got much better and passed them? Did their front office miss-calculated the talent they had on hand?

The question today is: So what are the Giants planning to do to improve this team? Obviously they have been an organization that likes to keep their players, signed and extend their contracts.

Are they going to “back up the truck” or just fix a couple of things?

The last few weeks the Giants became irrelevant in the Bay Area while the Warriors were winning their second NBA championship, and are carving themselves a place in history. The Warriors had a great team last season, but an ever better this season when they brought Kevin Durant to join the Curry & Co boys. Baseball is much more complicated than basketball.and the season is twice as long and you have more players to deal with.

For the Giants right now, there are more questions than answers. Do they fix the car or buy a new one? This team at least might need an overhaul, especially in their outfield. Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt is the motor, but they have much more to do. Some parts have to depart to make the car run smooth again, maybe, Johnny Cueto, Hunter Pence, Eduardo Nunez and other(s). On the pitching side, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore, probably will stay, Their bullpen needs some smaller repairs also, but they have to be precise.

The 2017 off-season will be a key one for this organization.In a very much improved and different western division.

Happy Father’s Day.

 

 

Chapman’s Two “First Hits” Help A’s to 7-6 Comebacker Over Yankees

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Oakland Athletics’ Matt Chapman swings for an RBI ground out off New York Yankees’ Luis Severino in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, June 16, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND–Oakland A’s fans were very excited when the team’s no.4 overall prospect, Matt Chapman, was called up Wednesday to play third base. Friday night against the Yankees, Chapman gave a glimpse of the future, making his “second” first career hit a game-winner in the bottom of the eighth inning of the 7-6 win. It was the A’s second consecutive time taking the lead in the eighth inning or later to open the four-game series against the Yankees.

“The kid is here for a reason,” said A’s Manager Bob Melvin. “He’s a tough kid. He wants to play, he likes to play. He’s not afraid of those situations.”

Chapman took a Jonathan Holder offering with the bases loaded, one out and the A’s trailing 6-5, skidding a ball down the third base line to plate the tying and go-ahead runs in a second consecutive back-and-forth game between Oakland and New York. Before that, he’d “singled” in a run on a slow roller to third, but after Yankees manager Joe Girardi challenged the call, Chapman had to settle for just his first RBI after being called out by a step.

“I guess having your first hit taken away from you means you’re just waiting for something sweeter,” said Chapman.

After a second inning rally, Oakland looked to be in total control, but a New York comeback forced some dramatics from the rookie at the hot corner. The A’s had Yankees starter Luis Severino on the ropes early with a four-run second inning, but the Yankees rallied back over the next three innings to tie the game, then took the lead in the sixth on a Chris Carter solo homer Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player front-runner Aaron Judge hit his league-leading 23rd homerun and knocked in three runs for the Pin Stripes. Stephen Vogt, Jaycob Brugman and Chad Pinder collected RBI basehits. Sean Manaea pitched sixth innings, striking out seven Yankees but the two homers had him departing the game in line for the loss. It wasn’t until the New York bullpen entered the game that the A’s did their damage.

Chad Pinder picked up a sacrifice fly off reliever Chasen Shreive to plate Rajai Davis in the bottom of the 7th inning, pulling the A’s within one and giving the Oakland shortstop his second RBI on the night. An inning later, the A’s rallied off Jonathan Holder (1-1, 3.49 ERA)  for two runs in the eighth after loading the bases with one out on singles by Ryon Healy, Yonder Alonso and an intentional walk to Stephen Vogt. Chapman’s two-run double handed Daniel Coulombe (1-1, 1.99) his first win of the season. Santiago Casilla worked around a one-out walk, punching out three Yankees for his 11th save.

New York found itself in a 4-0 hole after the second inning, but used a two-out rally in the top of the third to take a heavy dent out of the Oakland lead. With Mason Williams and Rob Refsnyder on base, Yankees manager Joe Girardi’s ideal hitter, Judge, came to the plate. The slugger capable of turning a game instantly on the back of his 96 MPH average exit velocity on contact did just that in remarkable fashion.

The native of Linden, Calif., far outside of Stockton, Judge enjoyed his return to Northern California but displaying his light-tower power. Judge took a Manaea offering to the opposite field in right field, deep into the bleachers for his 50th, 51st and 52nd RBIs, good for second in the American League and a 4-3 deficit. An RBI single by Williams off Manaea two innings later would tie the game.

“All the sudden a 4-0 game is a 4-3 game on one pitch,” said Melvin. “[Manaea] didn’t have his best fastball command today. He used his other pitches effectively and kept it simple.”

Carter tagged Manaea for the then potential game-winning shot to open the sixth on a 1-0 count. The lefty hurler grooved a change-up low and outside that the Bronx bomber crushed halfway up Mount Davis for his eighth homer of the season. Carter also struck out three times to fulfill his “Three True Outcomes” designation.

New York scored its sixth unanswered run in the seventh after Judge tripled off Josh Smith with one out. Smith walked designated hitter Matt Holliday then yielded a single to Thursday’s goat Starlin Castro for a 6-4 New York lead.

Severino took the no-decision, but he was nearly knocked out of the game in the second inning. Back-to-back walks to Khris Davis and Yonder Alonso put runners on first and second with no outs. Ryon Healy struck out, but catcher Stephen Vogt knocked in a run on a double. Chapman squibbed his grounder to third that scored Alonso that was a hit nullified by replay.

“I don’t get replay anymore,” said Melvin. “It looked like it should have been the other way for us. Don’t get me started on replay. It was announced as a hit, then replay, as it has done all year to us, took a hit away from us.”

After back-to-back-to back singles and a 4-0 A’s lead, the Yankees trainer and Girardi came out to check on the starter. He remained in the game, retired Jed Lowrie to end the inning and wound up with six innings of work on the day.

The Yankees send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound looking for the same success but a different result from his last outing against Oakland. The former Ace struck out a career-best 13 batters in the Bronx May 23rd, but gave up a single run in what wound up being a 4-1 loss. The A’s hand Jesse Hahn the ball Saturday looking for an improvement on his last outing. The righty went five innings, allowing three runs in a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay in his second start since returning from injury June 6th.

 

Seven straight wins for the Rockies over the Giants: Desmond HRs and slugs four RBIs in 10-8 win

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Colorado Rockies’ Ian Desmond watches his three-run home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 16, 2017, in Denver. The Rockies won 10-8. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Jeremy Kahn

It seems that the rut that the San Francisco Giants are currently in will continue until they find the right timing.

Ian Desmond hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, and ended the game with four runs batted in and the Colorado Rockies defeated the Giants 10-8 at Coors Field.

With the victory, rookie pitcher Armando Senzatela won for the ninth time this season, tying the most wins in the major leagues.

Senzatela tied Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Kuechel and Jason Vargas for the most in the major leagues during the 2017 season.

In his six innings of work, Senzatela gave up three home runs. Denard Span and Joe Panik each hit solo home runs, while opposing pitcher Jeff Samardzija hit a two-run home run.

The two-run home run by Samardzija gave the Giants a 4-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning; however, that lead would not last long, as the Rockies took a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on Desmond’s home run. Trevor Story added a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Desmond drove in his fourth run of the evening on a sacrifice fly.

The Giants made it a game in the top of the eighth inning, as they scored two runs and then added another in the top of the ninth inning; however, Rockies closer Derek Holland was able to bounce back from his blown save of the season to pick-up his 24th save of the season.

With the victory, the Rockies have now won seven straight versus the Giants, their longest winning streak in their 24-year history.

On the other side of things, the Giants have lost four games in a row and 13 out of their last 17 games and are 17 games below. 500.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy was ejected by home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom in the top of the seventh inning after arguing over a ball and strikes call on D.J. LeMahieu.

NOTES: Matt Cain will get his 39th career start against the Rockies on Saturday afternoon, the 39 starts by Cain against the Rockies are the most by a pitcher against any team in major league history. In his career, Cain is 17-10 with a 3.52 earned run average against the Rockies. Kyle Freeland makes the start for the Rockies.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Mike Scioscia doing his best managing job to date

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AP file photo: Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia (14) enters the field prior to a Major League Baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX. The Angels won the game 9-4…Trask Smith/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were not expected to contend this season in this western division of the American League. The LA Angels have been playing with a “patched up”lineup, without the services of reigning MVP Mike Trout, and their ace pitcher Garrett Richards, and a plethora of pitchers that have been hurt like Tyler Skaggs, Andre Heaney, Nick Tropeano, even closers Huston Street and Cam Bedrosian. The shuttle from their AAA team in Salt Lake City, Utah to Anaheim, California is one of busiest flights in the LA Angels world these days.

The one milestone of Albert Pujols hitting his 600th home-run against fellow Dominican Ervin Santana on June3 at Angels Stadium is now history and since them he now is chasing Sammy Sosa for #8 in history. Pujols has 601 homeruns.

Against all the adversity the longest tenured manager in major league baseball, Mike Sciosia (18th years with the LA Angels) have done a tremendous job keeping this team just above water. Tonight at Angels Stadium the Halos play the second game of a four game set against the Kansas City Royals. The Angels are 35-35, holding a distant second place to the Houston Astros. Prior to his current series the Angels won two out of three in Detroit against the Tigers, and two of three in Houston against the Astros. The Angels are the only team in the western division to have taken a series against the Astros and at Houston.

Sciosia is the same consistent skipper, day in and day out, as he holds his daily press chat with the media in the Angels third base dugout a few hours porior to the game.

“I have a lot of talent here and we have a long way to do” says Sciosica who then responds to another question about Mike Trout, “:Of course we miss him, but we have a lot of very competitor ballplayers here”.

Since winning the 2002 World Series against the San Francisco Giants, Scioscia (once considered the top candidate to manage the team he played for, the Dodgers) has been regarded as one of the best managers in the game.He is showing why this year.

With a fourth place finish last year, the Los Angeles Angels were looking to improve in 2017, but their pitching situation was compromised from Spring Training. Somehow, Mike Scoscia has kept this boat afloat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oakland A’s Podcast with Charlie O: The Young firing simply doesn’t make any sense

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AP File Photo: Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesse Hahn, center, wipes his face as he visits with catcher Josh Phegley, left, and pitching coach Curt Young in the third inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore, Saturday, May 7, 2016. Baltimore scored four runs against Hahn in the third. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

On the A’s podcast with Charlie:

Former A’s pitching coach Curt Young held the longest tenure of anyone in an A’s uniform whether it was as a pitcher or pitching coach. Now that’s got to mean something it really does. This guy is not some fly by night, flitter around, Young did go to Boston to be pitching coach during the 2011 season. We all understand why Young went to Boston. He had suffered with the A’s, the Boston thing was a big opportunity unfortunately he went to Boston during a very bad time.

It didn’t work out they let him go after that season and he came back, the A’s opened up their arms and said, “man glad to have you back.” Young worked so hard in Oakland working with very young pitchers most of the time. He was working with pitchers young and old that was his plight on an ongoing basis and when I got to the email that announced the new pitching coach (Scott Emerson) on Thursday in very small letters “Curt Young relieved of duty” I shocked.

I was really shocked I wasn’t expecting Young to be fired just because of the way things have been going. If there was going to be some coaching shake ups I didn’t know a thing anyway, shape or form that the shake up would come with the pitching coach. Now it’s true that the pitching staff has been in trouble but they’ve been mostly in trouble due to injury.

Charlie has more commentary regarding the firing of long time pitching coach Curt Young on today’s podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

A’s stun the Yankees as they rally in the tenth as Davis’ walk off bloop ends it 8-7

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Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis, second from right, is hoisted by teammates after making the game winning hit against the New York Yankees in the tenth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND– The Oakland A’s won a ten-inning thriller on a walk-off bloop single by Khris Davis with the bases loaded and two out to defeat the New York Yankees 8-7. The A’s blew five leads in the game as the Yankees scored three times in the sixth and one in seventh, one in the eighth, one in the ninth, and one in the tenth. The A’s never trailed in the game until the Yankees took a one-run lead in the tenth and the situation looked dire as the first two hitters in the tenth made outs.  Rajai Davis singled and went to third on a double by Chad Pinder. The Yanks wanted no part of Jed Lowrie as he had three hits in the game, so they gave him an intentional walk to load the bases. Davis had two strikes on him but was able to bloop the ball into shallow center field. Yankees’ second baseman Starlin Castro made a valiant effort to catch the ball, but it dropped out of his glove as he lay stretched out in the field. Davis was the recipient of the pie treatment after the team raced out onto the field to express their joy in a very dramatic come-from-behind win.

Sonny Gray started for Oakland Thursday night. Gray was solid for the first five innings. The A’s gave him a three-run lead, but he was tagged for three runs in the sixth by the Yankees. The A’s bullpen was not stellar as they gave up a single run in each of the next four innings.  The A’s, to their credit, also scored a run in three consecutive innings to regain the lead. The only time the A’s didn’t answer was in the bottom of the ninth. They loaded the bases but could not score, and the game went into extra innings. The game summary follows below.

The Yankees threatened to score in the top of the first. Bett Gardner, leading off for the Bronx Bombers doubled to right center field. Gray struck out Aaron Hicks for the first out. The Yankees’ rookie right fielder and current hitting star, singled on the first pitch from Gray. The ball was hit so hard, Gardner was not able to score. Gray struck out Starlin Castro for the second out. Gray walked Gary Sanchez to load the bases but got out of the jam when Didi Gregorius flew out to right for the third out.

The A’s Jed Lowrie facing lefty Jordan Montgomery for the first time, sent one of Montgomery’s offerings into the left-center-field bleachers to give the ‘s the lead 1-0. For Lowrie, it was his eighth home run of the year.

The A’s plated two more in the bottom of the second. With two, out Montgomery walked Matt Chapman. The next hitter, Josh Phegley hit a ball that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. Chapman stopped at third. A’s shortstop Adam Rosales lined a double down the third base line that drove in Chapman and Phegley. The A’s lead 3-0 after two complete.

In the top of the sixth, Sonny Gray could not extricate himself from a jam that he helped to create. With one out, Starlin Castro singled. Gray walked Gary Sanchez, and Didi Gregorius singled to load the bases. Gray needed to retire Chase Headley. Headley won the battle as he singled to drive in Castro and Sanchez. Former Athletic, Chris Carter singled to left to drive in Gregorius to tie the game at three.  Gray’s night was over as A’s manager, Bob Melvin took Gray out of the game and replaced him with Sean Doolittle. Doolittle struck out Austin Romine for the second out and retired Brett Gardner on a ground ball to second. The A’s broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth when Yonder Alonso sent a 2-0 pitch over the center field wall for his 17th round-tripper of the season. The A’s own a 4-3 lead after six innings of play.

The Yankees rallied to tie the game in the top of the seventh. Doolittle struck out Aaron Hicks to start the inning. Melvin replaced him with Ryan Madson. Madson retired Aaron Judge for the second out. Starlin Castro singled and then stole second to get into scoring position. Gary Sanchez doubled to drive in Castro with the tying run. Madson struck out Gregorius to end the inning. The A’s answered once again as they parlayed a single by Matt Joyce, a Rajai Davis sacrifice bunt moved Joyce to second, and Chad Pinder’s single up the middle drove in Joyce with the go-ahead run. The score after seven complete has the A’s ahead 5-4.

The Yankees tied the game again in the eighth. With John Axford pitching, Chris Carter continued to torment his former team when he hit a moonshot into the left-field bleachers. It was Carter’s 7th of the year. The A’s answered by manufacturing a run in their half of the inning. Yonder Alonso singled to get the rally started.  Another former Athletic, Tyler Clippard walked Matt Chapman to put men on at first and second with one out. Yankee Manager Joe Girardi brought in closer Delllin Betances to pitch. Betances walked Stephen Vogt who was pinch-hitting for Josh Phegley to load the bases. The next hitter Matt Joyce hit a slow roller to second. The Yanks got the force at second but the throw to first was late, and the A’s regained the lead 6-5.

The Yankees, being the Yankees, scored the tying run in the top of the ninth. A’s closer Santiago Casilla gave up a double to Starlin Castro. Gary Sanchez singled to drive him in with the tying run. Sanchez stole second, and after the A’s gave Headley a free pass, Sanchez came out of the game as he appeared to injure his hand on the slide into the base. Casilla struck out Chris Carter to end the inning. The game is tied at six heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The Yankees regained the lead in the tenth. With one out, Brett Gardner singled. With a 3-2 count on Rob Refsnyder, Gardner running on the pitch, made it to third when Refsnyder beat out a slow ground ball to third for a hit. Liam Hendriks walked Aaron Judge to load the bases. Garner scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Castro. Yanks lead 7-6 halfway through the tenth inning. The A’s loaded the bases with two outs, and it was up to Khris Davis. Davis bloops a single to center and the A’s win 8-7 in a walk off.

Game Notes- The A’s line was 8 runs on 14 hits and no errors. The Yankees scored 7 times on 16 hits and they, too, didn’t make an miscue. Jed Lowrie was one of the hitting stars for Oakland with a single, triple, and home run. He needed a double to complete the cycle. The winning pitcher was Liam Hendriks. Hendriks was the seventh pitcher used by Bob Melvin in the game. The loss went to Giovanny Gallegos.

Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday night at 6 pm. There will be a fireworks display after the game.

The A’s announced that they have designated for assignment the veteran third baseman Trevor Plouffe. Plouffe was hitting just .214, and the A’s called up Matt Chapman from Nashville to take his spot on the roster. Chapman made his Major League debut. He did not get a hit, but he walked twice and was flawless in the field.

The A’s also announced that they have relieved pitching coach Curt Young of his duties. Young was in his second stint as pitching coach for the A’s. He was here from 2004 to 2010. He went to Boston in 2011 but returned to Oakland and was here from 2012 to June 15th, 2017. He was replaced by Scott Emerson.

Time of game was four hours and 29 minutes, and there were 21,838 people in attendance. Lefty Sean Manaea will be going for his fifth win in a row, and he will be opposed by the righty Luis Severino.

Rockies walk Giants off; Tapia’s single ends it in ninth 10-9; SF loses 7 of 9 and Posey goes on DL

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Teammates hug Colorado Rockies’ Raimel Tapia, center, after his single off San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Hunter Strickland drove in the winning run in the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Denver. The Rockies won 10-9. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Jeremy Harness

 Just when things were really turning around, the Giants had it taken right away from them in an instant. Such is the case for the team’s sorry season thus far.

 The Giants were very game in making a dramatic late-innings comeback, but the Colorado Rockies thwarted that effort with a walk-off single to earn a 10-9 win at Coors Field Thursday night.

 Matt Moore continued his miserable season on Thursday, giving up a whopping eight runs on 11 hits and pitched only three innings, walking two hitters while striking out seven in the process.

Had it not been for the Giants tying the game in the ninth, Moore would have been tagged with his eighth loss of the season against only two wins, with an ERA of 6.00. He has dropped three straight decisions and has seen losses in four of his last five.

 Meanwhile, Jeff Hoffman (4-0) was in line for his fifth win to start the season, after surrendering only a single run on seven hits. He went five innings and walked three and struck out two, and he left the game with a comfortable 8-1 lead.

 However, the Giants began to tee off on Colorado’s bullpen starting in the seventh inning, when Buster Posey launched a two-run homer off Scott Oberg.

 In the eighth, the Giants exploded with a five-spot, which was highlighted by Brandon Crawford’s three-run shot off Colorado reliever Jake McGee, which cut the Rockies’ once-sizable lead to a single run. The Giants made it all the way back in the very next inning, handing Greg Holland his first blown save of the year with a run to tie the game.

Those good feelings didn’t last very long, however. Hunter Strickland could not keep the Rockies from scoring in the bottom of the ninth, and when Raimel Tapia’s single brought in Mark Reynolds, the crowd in Colorado has a lot to cheer about, and Strickland was tagged with his second loss of the year.

 

Oakland A’s Podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s fire pitching coach Young; Emerson named new pitching coach

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FILE – In this June 30, 2016, file photo, Oakland Athletics pitcher Dillon Overton, right, speaks with pitching coach Curt Young, left, and catcher Josh Phegley (19) in the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in Oakland, Calif. Young has been fired by the Oakland Athletics and bullpen coach Scott Emerson was promoted to the position, the team announced Thursday, June 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–Beside the mountains of problems the A’s have had with losing and pitching now the team has announced it fired it’s longtime pitching coach Curt Young. A’s general manager/vice president Billy Beane had seen the decline of the pitching staff and with the recent struggles of the A’s losing road trips and struggles of pitchers Jharel Cotton, Sean Manaea, Kendall Graveman, Sonny Gray, and reliever Sean Doolittle who have been either hurt or having trouble keeping runners off base.

Young who starred with some of the great A’s teams in the 80s that went to the World Series in 1988, 89 and 90 was part of those great starting rotations with Storm Davis, Mike Moore, Bob Welch, Dave Stewart, and Young. Young was the A’s pitching coach for two stints Young was pitching coach for his first stint from 2004-10, the coached in Boston in 2011, then came back to Oakland the following season.

On the podcast Jerry give you all the latest on the A’s most recent games, join Jerry each week on the A’s podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com