Month: April 2022

Baltimore Orioles starter Jordan Lyles (28) delivers against the Oakland A’s line up in the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Apr 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The one thing that teams who underestimate the Baltimore Orioles (4-8) is they have an effective bullpen as starter Jordan Lyles could attest to who pitched five innings and gave up six hits in the Orioles 1-0 win over the Oakland Athletics (7-6) at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 Jerry all four of the Orioles relievers Paul Frye, Dillion Tate, Bryan Baker, and closer Jorge Lopez shut the A’s out after Lyles was lifted in the sixth inning. The O’s bullpen are the most effective relief staff in baseball right now.

#3 The A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus committed an error that allowed the Orioles Ryan McKenna to score the game’s only run in the top of the fifth inning.

#4 A’s starter Daulton Jefferies had a fine performance himself going six innings giving up three hits on five strikeouts and got excellent relief help from AJ Puk, Jake Lemoine, and Adam Kolarek but fell a run short of a win on Wednesday.

#5 The A’s will try to get in the win column later today as the Orioles will start right hander Tyler Wells (0-1 ERA 1.80) against the A’s right hander Paul Blackburn (1-0 ERA 1.80) a 12:37 pm first pitch at the Coliseum.

Join Jerry for the A’s podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s runner Billy McKinney was originally called safe but the call was overturned on review ruling that Baltimore Orioles catcher Anthony Bemboom just got the tag on McKinney before he touched home plate in the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Apr 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

Baltimore 1 5 0

Oakland 0 7 1

Attendance: 2,703

Wednesday April 20, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The line score on last night’s game was missing one row. It should have read “Rubman” with a 2 in the error column. The Orioles roster did include Chris Ellis. I inadvertently had consulted the roster for April 17, not the one for the 19th.

I also referred to the right handed Ryan McKenna who pinched hit for Odor in the top of the ninth as a switch hitter. I apologize for these errors. Unlike Edith Piaf, I regret my mistakes.

Before the unusual 3:07 start of this afternoon’s game, the A’s found themselves in an unfamiliar situation. Their 7-5 record put them in a tie with the Los Angeles Angels for first place in the AL West.

This marked the first time since June 20 of last year that Oakland has had any share of the top spot in the division. It’s even more remarkable that the Athletics and Angels also are tied for the second best won-lost record in the entire junior circuit.

Before game time, early compared with the originally scheduled first pitch, late compared with that of most day games, Oakland announced that one time ace of the future and now major question mark A.J. Puk had been reinstated from the Covid list.

They also promoted Mckey McDonald, a left handed hitting infielder who had performed well in spring training, from Las Vegas. At the same time, Oakland put Kevin Smith on the ten day injured list because of a bone bruise on his left ankle.

His placement on the IL was effective yesterday, the day after he suffered his injury. The Athletics also returned last night’s winning pitcher, Zach Logue to their Triple A farm team in Las Vegas.

The Wednesday afternoon recap: Mark Kotsay and Scott Emerson sent righty Doulton Jefferies to the mound. He came to work with a 1-1,1.93 record, the result of his having held the Phillies to scoreless over five innings, a personal high, on April 10.

He limited the Phils to a pair of hits and walks while striking out two to pick up the win. Five days later, he had another career high. This time it was surrendering seven hits, which he did in 4-1/3 innings. He allowed two runs, both earned, and was charged with the loss.

Today, despite some early difficulties with his control, he had an excellent outing. He pitched six full innings, allowing only one run, and it was unearned on three hits. He didn’t walk anyone but hit two Oriole batters and unleashed a wild pitch. 54 of his 83 pitches were considered strikes, but you have to remember that when the bat makes contact with a pitch, it counts as a strike.

He took the loss because that one unearned run was enough to defeat the Athletics. Jefferies’ performance lowered his ERA to 1.17.

Facing him for the birds was the durable 31 year old 11 year veteran Jordan Lyles. The unimpressive 0-1, 5.23 2022 record he brought with him was in line with his lifetime figures of 54-80, 5.21. But today he was not the mediocrity that his history indicated.

He stymied the A’s, holding them scoreless over five innings on five hits, a walk, and a hit batter. Only 28 of his 89 offerings were balls. He got the win, which brought his season’s ERA down to a respectable 3.52.

Jeffries opened the game by hitting Cedric Mullins, who immediately was thrown out attempting to steal second. That kept him from scoring on batter, Anthony Santander’s, double. One inning later, Jeffries hit Robinson Chirinos with a 92.2 mph fastball, forcing the Orioles’ catcher to leave the game. Subsequent examination showed that he had suffered a facial contusion. That, I”m glad to report, was the last time this afternoon that Jefferies hit anyone with a pitch.

Oakland almost took the lead in the bottom of the second, in which Billy McKinney led off with a single to right and came home on Seth Brown’s double to right center. Home plate umpire and crew chief Greg Gibson called him safe, but the Orioles challenged his decision and cooler heads in New York correctly overruled the call.

It was the A’s turn to challenge authority in the bottom of the fourth. The inning began with a 90.6 MPH sinker from Lyles that hit Murphy led off the frame. Two outs later, he moved into scoring position on second when Christian Bethancourt singled to left center.

Elvis Andrus followed with a sharp grounder that Kelvin Gutiérrez fielded at third. Gutiérrez won the race to the bag, but the Athletics didn’t see it that way and challenged the call. This time, New York upheld the ruling, which looked like the correct decision to me.

One more inning, and Lyle was through for the day. Paul Fry and Dillon Tate set the A’s down in order in the sixth and seventh, respectively, preserving the Baltimore bullpen’s excellent record so far this season. Even the lowly Orioles have some bright spots in their roster.

Stepthen Vogt, playing first, had to leave the game in the top of the eighth when he hurt his foot or ankle coming down hard on the bag after leaping to catch a high throw from Andrus.

The A’s threatened in the eighth. Tony Kemp led off with a 3-2 single to right off Bryan Baker. He moved on to third when Baltimore’s shortstop Chris Owings deflected Nuese’s hard grounder that went into left field for a single.

Baker got Murphy to swing and miss on an 0-2, 93mph four seamer for the first out, and that ended his mound duties at a third of an inning. Jorge López came in to strike out Christian Lopes, a veteran of 10 minor league campaigns, who had made his first major league appearance pinch hitting for McKinney in the sixth.

Lopes’s third strike was a wild pitch that allowed Neuse to take second. With the potential tying and winning runs in scoring position, Oakland’s hopes rested on Seth Brown. He grounded out meekly, Mancini to López.

López got the A’s out 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve Baltimore’s victory and gain his second safe of the season

Oakland used three relievers to keep the game close. AJ Puk threw 1 -1 /3 innings; Jake LeMoine and Adam Kolarek. an inning apiece. Puk was the only member of the trio who allowed anyone to reach base, yielding to hits and a walk.

The series winds up Thursday at 12:37, with the now second place A’s sending Paul Blackburn (1-0 ERA1.80) against Baltimore’s Tyler Wells (0-1 ERA 6.35)

A look at the Oakland A’s minor league affiliate’s ballpark the home of the Las Vegas Aviators in Summerlin NV. The A’s could possibly move to the Las Vegas suburb if they lose the advisory board vote on Jun 2, 2022. They need two thirds vote to approve Howard Terminal from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission in hopes to remain in Oakland (file photo from the Las Vegas Review Journal)

As the A’s Turns – A Baseball Soap Opera

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–General Hospital, Guiding Light, Days of Our Lives, As the World Turns, The Young and the Restless are some of the longest-running soap operas, they have been running for decades, some since the 1960’s and even before. It is a staple of American entertainment.

As a matter of fact, few things have survived longer on television than Soap Operas, it is a guaranteed loyal audience. I am sure your wife, your sister or mother or grandmother were big fans. I do not want to discriminate, some men also were hooked to soaps. Some ballplayers have told me, when they went on the road they watched these in the morning.

The Oakland A’s stadium situation could be dated to 1989 (coincidentally the year the A’s beat the Giants in the World Series) when former A’s owner Wally Haas, of Levi Strauss Company agreed to cede the Giants and owner Bob Lurie the territorial rights to San José (which was under A’s control) as the Giants were looking to relocate the team out of California.

The Giants owner was frustrated that his club could not get a new stadium built in the Bay Area. Finally the Giants resolved their situation, many years later, but it was not easy, they suffered various setbacks as well as losing a few elections. In 2000 the Giants inaugurated Pac Bell Park, today Oracle Park.

The State Capital. Sacramento was a possibility for the A’s as their new home years ago, but plans did not materialized. Their Mayor was Kevin Johnson, an ex-NBA star, who successfully fought to keep the Sacramento Kings on his city and was very receptive to the idea of the Oakland A’s moving there.

Johnson believed in the power of pro-sport franchises. Today Sacramento, according to the Nielsen Designated Market Area (DMA) ranks 20, while Las Vegas is 40 media market. These are the top media markets in the US. 1-New York, 2-Los Angeles, 3-Chicago, 4-Philadelphia, 5-Dallas/Ft Worth, 6-San Francisco/Oakland/San José. “Sacramento is a very nice city, but not for Major League Baseball, as far as our ownership is concerned,” A’s owner, Lew Wolff, told a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. Sacramento is known since 2017 as “America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital”. At the end of this episode Sacramento also struck out.

2011 The Oakland A’s were planning going south to Fremont, where they will play at Cisco Field, excellent location adjacent to highway 680 about 20-25 miles south from the Oakland Coliseum and just 15 miles north of San José largest city in the Bay Area.

That plan had the A’s building a 32,000 to 35,000 seat which they would share with the Oakland Raiders. Since then, the Raiders stop watching this soap opera and left for Las Vegas. At the time I attended a Pro A’s rally at Fremont at the old ‘Saddle Rack’ country-style bar and nightclub who used to have some famous country talent like actor-singer Dwight Yoakam and others of notoriety.

People showed up in opposition citing it would bring more traffic and crime. The A’s got cold feet, and Fremont struck out. The “suburb” of Fremont today is the #4 most populous city in the Bay Area with over 235,000, only San José, San Francisco and Oakland have a larger population.

Fremont? End to that chapter of this long running soap opera. Fremont might not have the A’s but they have Tesla one of the great automobile manufacturers in the world, as we speak.

2017 Lake Merritt, Oakland. The A’s also planed to build a 35,000 seat ballpark in downtown Oakland near Lake Merritt, but that was derailed when the Peralta Community College board district that owns the land rejected the offer.

We all remember that location and some of us visit that area frequently. It was considered downtown, just as the current proposed Howard Terminal, obviously much more closer to downtown than Peralta College.

Currently a couple of lawsuits in opposition hang over the A’s as far as their new Howard Terminal downtown park, while the team management continues to work on parallel plans with Oakland and Las Vegas.

All estimates are that this long-running soap opera would have some kind on conclusion during the 2022 season, some even predict this summer. And, of course, we will all witness the final episode of “As the A’s Turn”.

Adiós muchachos!

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez on the Oakland A’s Spanish flagship station for all the play by play 1010 KIQI San Francisco LeGrande and for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com