Month: September 2022

Oakland Athletics pitcher Adrian Martinez heads to the dugout after being lifted in the top of the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)

Chicago (72-68). 10. 20. 2

Oakland (50-90). 2. 3. 0

Saturday, September 10, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Your 2022 Oakland Athletics always can find a new way to lose. Friday night’s ninth inning breakdown was one of the most galling. Austin Pruitt pitched to 21 members of the best hitting team in major league baseball without allowing a single safety.

Thanks to a pair of errors behind him he was credited with 6 innings of no hit ball; in a just world it would have gone into the books as 6-2/3 innings of perfect pitching. And then there’s the matter of AJ Puk’s blown save….

But we don’t live in a just world and, in that way, baseball is a reflection of life, and we go on to the next day and the next game. That’s always difficult, especially when, like Oakland, your opponents come to the ballpark with a higher team batting average (Chicago’s is .261) than your top hitter’s, in this case Sean Murphy at .253.

There was no flirting with perfection Saturday, nor was it surprising that this afternoon’s contest between the two mismatched opponents ended in a 10-2 rout of the Athletics.

This afternoon, the A’s pinned their hopes on the right arm of 25 year old Adrián Martínez, a native of Mexicali. Mexicali is a strong baseball town, with a team in the Mexican Pacific League.

It has been the host of both the Caribbean Series and the qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic. Many major leaguers have played for the Mexicali Eagles, some, like Fernando Valenzuela, known to all baseball fans; others, like Sergio Romo and Adam Rosales, more likely to be confined to Bay Area fame.

Martínez has been shuttling back and forth between the Las Vegas and Oakland rosters, bringing a big league record of 4-3, 3.47 with him to Saturday’s game. When he left after hurling 3-2/3 innings, the A’s were behind 7-0. All of those runs were earned.

Martínez had thrown 93 pitches, 64 of which counted as strikes, and the Chisox had amassed 14 hits and a walk from them. Martínez struck out two and unleashed a wild pitch. He took the loss, his fourth against an equal of wins, and saw his ERA jump to 5.59.

His opposite number for Chicago. was Lance Lynn, a 35 year old veteran whose 5-5, 4.34 ledger when the game started is somewhat misleading. He was 120-82, 3.53 lifetime and 4-2, 2.28 since the All Star game. He was 4-2, 3.99 lifetime against the green and gold, including a 7-3 loss to them on July 29, when he surrendered five runs, four earned, over 5-2/3 innings, throwing 104 pitches.

Lynn had an excellent outing today. The two runs scored against him over six frames were unearned. and came on three hits and a walk. He hit two batters and struck out five. He threw 107 pitches, 72 for strikes. He earned the win and improved his won-lost record to 6-5 and lowered his ERA to 4.07. Those three hits were all the A’s got. Now, THERE’s a bullpen.

The Chisox scored early and often, crossing the plate four times in the top of the second. The frame started innocuously enough with AJ Pollock weak grounder to the right of the mound making its way through to left field for a single. Andrew Vaughn grounded out to Viamel Machín at third, sending Pollock to second. Pollock promptly pilfered third and scored on Yasmani Grandal’s single to center.

Erstwhile Josh Harrison singled to right, and then another Oakland alumnus, the resurgent Elvis Andrus made it 4-0 with his 13th home run of the year, a 412 foot no doubter to center. Five of those blasts came in 86 at bats for the pale hose; it had taken him another 354 ABs to garner the eight he hit for Oakland.

The inning ended with a scare, a liner from Gavin Sheets’ bat caromed off Martínez’s leg. The young hurler fell to the ground but was able to walk off the field on his own power and remained in the. game. (Incidentally, Sheets was retired, 1-4-3)

Chicago tacked on a trio of tallys in the fourth. One came on a Jiménez sacrifice fly that drove in Moncada, who had singled and gone to third on a single by Abreu.

Both he and Pollock, who singled after Martínez had fanned Sheets, came home on Vaughn’s two bagger down the line to left that drove Martínez from the mound, replaced by Kirby Snead, who closed out the inning by getting Grandal to ground out to short.

Snead continued his labors, holding Chicago at bay until back to back not too hard hit singles to right by Pollock and Vaughn ended his mound tenure. It now was Sam Moll who came in to close out the inning by facing Grandal, which he did, also on a grounder to short.

Oakland loaded bases on an error on Machín’s grounder to second, a walk to Murphy, and an infield single by Brown to open the bottom of the fourth. All they got for that was one run, scored by Machín on Vogt’s sac fly to center.

Harrison’s second error gave Oakland its second run. With one down in the bottom of the sixth Lynn hit Laureano with a slow curve. Vogt then smacked a grounder to second that Harrison elected to throw to Andrus, covering second. He ended up throwing it into left field. Vogt advanced to second on the throwing error, and Laureano came all the way home on it, cutting Oakland’s deficit to 7-2.

Domingo Tapia, freshly recalled from Las Vegas needed only nine pitches to walk Harrison and Andrus, the first two batters he faced in the top of the seventh. He went to a full count on Moncada, who fouled off a mess of pitches, before walking him to clog the basepaths.

It looked as if Tapia might pitch himself out of the self-inflicted jam he was in when Abreu hit a soft grounder back to the mound that Tapia converted into a 1-2-3 twin killing. But Andrus and Moncada, who had advanced on the DP, scored on a single to right center by Jiménez, and it was 9-2 in favor of the Sox.

When Oakland came to bat in the bottom of the seventh, Lynn had done his bit, and he was given the rest of the day off, replaced by Jimmy Lambert.

The White Sox reached double digits in scoring on an infield hit by Pollock, single to right center by Vaughn, and Grandal’s sac fly in the eighth. After Harrison took a called third strike for the second out of the inning, Norge Ruíz relieved Tapia, retiring Andrus and the side on a grounder to Allen at short.

As if ex-Athletics hadn’t bedeviled the current crop enough this series, Jake Diekman pitched the bottom of the eighth and got the A’s out in order, fanning two of them.

José Ruíz came out of the bullpen for the 56th time of the season, tasked with preserving Chicago’s eight run lead for one last inning. He did it to a conga beat.

The A’s will honor Dave Stewart, retiring his number and giving away replicas of his jersey before Sunday’s 1:07 game against the White Sox. Former A’s manager Tony LaRussa who had been away from the team will join the Sox for the ceremony of his old pitcher Stewart it was an opportunity that LaRussa didn’t want to pass up. The contest Sunday could be an interesting game, with Oakland’s Cole Irvin (7-11, 3.78) going against the White Sox Johnny Cueto (7-7, 2.87) at the Coliseum.

Oakland A’s reliever AJ Puk can’t hold off the Chicago White Sox who rallied in the top of the ninth inning for five runs is relieved by manager Mark Kotsay on Fri Sep 9, 2022 at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)

Chicago (71-68). 5. 7. 0

Oakland (50-89) 3. 6. 2

Friday, September 9, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND-Friday night, the A’s got a scoreless final inning of relief pitching from infielder Sheldon Neuse (0-0-0,0.00) over three games, in case you’re interested). They used reliever Austin Pruitt (0-1,-1, 4.75 at game time) as an emergency starter. The decision didn’t work as hoped, and the White Sox pulled off a stunning come from behind 5-3 victory.

Pruitt’s performance was a resounding success, and three of the four moundsmen the A’s used were effective. But AJ Puk’s work was, frankly, terrible. Maybe manager Steven Kotsay and pitching coach Scott Emerson should take a page out of Eddie Sawyer’s book.

Sawyer, as some of us are old enough to remember, managed the 1950 Whizz Kids Phillies. He used Jim Konstanty, his bullpen mainstay (in those days. they didn’t have closers), who hadn’t started a game all season, as his pitcher for the opening game of the World Series. Konstanty pitched a complete game, losing 1-0 to the Yankees, who went on to sweep the series.

The visiting Chicago White Sox went with Lucas Giotto, making his 26th start of the year in spite of having made two visits to the injured list, once for COVID, and once for an abdominal strain. He first toed the rubber at 10-9, 5.21. Giiotto pitched about as well as you’d expect someone with a 10-9, 5.21 record to pitch.

He lasted six innings and allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits and two walks. He struck out six, using 96 pitches, 63 for strikes. He escaped with a no decision and lowered his ERA a smidgen to 5.18.

Oakland’s front office was busy before the on field action began. They claimed Conner Capell, a four A outfielder from the Cardinals and recalled relief pitcher Domingo Tapia from Las Vegas. To make room for the two additions, the Athletics designated Luis Barrera for assignment and optioned lefty reliever Zach Logue to the AAA Aviators.

Friday’s game recap: The A’s took their first lead of the series in their first turn at bat. Tony Kemp, Oakland’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for community service, started it with a leadoff single to left. Sean Murphy’s single to right moved Kemp into scoring position at second.

Kemp moved up another 90 feet on Seth Brown’s fly to center and scored when the speedy Ramón Laureano beat out the relay on what would have been an around the horn double play.

Pruitt held the Chisox hitless over five innings requiring only 55 pitches to do so. The only men to reach base were Elvis Andrus, who did when second sacker Shea Langeliers mishandled his leadoff grounder in the fourth and Andrew Vaugh, safe on a two base throwing error by third baseman Vimael Machín in the fifth.

He gave way to Joel Payamps in the sixth after having achieved everything that was asked of him and more.

Langeliers atoned for his error by lacing Giolito’s first offering in the bottom of the fifth into the left field corner for a two base hit.

Oakland foiled The Curse of the Leadoff Double when Kemp dropped a two bagger into left to plate Langeliers and scored on Murphy’s liner that spliced through the territories of Andrew Vaughn in left and AJ Pollock in center.

When Payamps came in to mow the White Sox in the sixth, he was protecting a 3-0 lead for Pruitt, who had pitched enough innings to earn the win, but all he got was a no decision and the satisfaction of an impeccable performance.

The Sox, who had come into the game with a major league leading .261 team batting average, didn’t get their first safety until Eloy Jiménez singled to left off Payamps with one away in the seventh. He allowed another single to left, to AJ Pollock, but that was it.

Joe Kelly relieved Giolito in the home seventh, allowing only an infield single to Neuse, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and was replaced by Cristián Pache, who ran for him. Domingo Acevedo pitched a scoreless, one hit eighth.

Aaron Bummer, the first left handed hurler of the evening, pitched the eighth for the visitors.

On time starter AJ Puk entered the fray in the top of the ninth, looking for his fifth save in nine opportunities. A great backhand stop and throw by Kemp, now playing second, got him his first out.

A 377 blast into right on an 0-1 count put Chicago on the board. A 3-2 walk to pinch hitting Yasmani Grandal put the tying run at the plate. Kemp made another great play on Pollock’s shot up the middle, getting the batter out at first while pinch runner Leury García took second. Chicago challenged the call and first, but it stood.

Andrew Vaughn sent a ground single into center, which brought in García to close the gap to. 3-2. Puk got to a 2-2 count on Seby Zavala and then hit him with a pitch. Rory González then smacked a single to left. Adam Engel, running for Vaughn, just beat Pinder´s throw home to tie the score.

Oakland, of course challenged the call, but this one also stood. Andrus capped the Chicago comeback with a double to left that drove in Zavala and González, putting the pale hose ahead 5-3. The newly recalled Domingo Tapia replaced the once promising Puk to put out the fire.

One time Athletics’ closer Liam Hendriks was called upon to perform that job for the visitors. Hendriks, with 31 saves in 35 opportunities, started off by walking Machín on a full count.

The win went to Aaron Bummer. He’s now 2-1, 3.20, and Hendriks got his 32nd save.

Puk was charged with his second loss against three wins. His ERA is 3.20.

Adrián Martínez (4-3,4.37) will start Saturday’s matinee a 1:07 game for the Athletics. Lance Lynn (5-5, 4.34) will oppose him for Chicago.

Chicago White Sox’s Eloy Jiménez belts a two run homer in the top of the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum against the Oakland A’s on Thu Sep 8, 2022 (AP News photo)

Chicago (7-68). 14. 21. 0

Oakland (50-88). 2. 6. 0

Thursday, September 8, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The Chicago White Sox came to town minus their manager, Tony LaRussa and, at 69-68, two games behind the AL Central leading Cleveland Guardians, tied with the Minnesota Twins for second place in place in the division but trailing by 7-1/2 in the free for all battle for the third and last playoff berth in the AL Wild Card.

Health problems caused LaRussa to hand the Pale Hose managing duties on an interim basis to Miguel Cairo and LaRussa not expected to attend the ceremonies honoring David Stewart scheduled for this Sunday.

Although the one time Athletic and two time White Sox skipper will be in Arizona for medical testing, there will be a few familiar faces in the Chicago dugout tonight. One of them, Elvis Andrus, led off the game for the visitors.

Others were ex-Giant Johnny Cueto and Kevin Graveman, Liam Hendriks, and Jake Diekman from the Athletics. So now you know what happened to San Francisco’s rotation and Oakland’s bullpen.

The Chisox’ starting pitcher, right hander Dylan Cease. came with credentials that made him a strong candidate for this year’s AL Cy Young Award, 13-6, 2.13. He already has been named AL Pitcher of the Month for June and July.

Thursday night, Cease breezed through six scoreless innings on the way to his 14th win in the White Sox´ 14-2 rout of the A’s. He allowed only three hits, only one of which reached the outfield and two walks, with a wild pitch thrown into the mix. 62 of his 95 offerings counted as strikes. His already impressive ERA shrank to 2.06

The A’s starter JP Sears could some day be a Cy Young contender, probably for an Athletics team in Las Vegas. But not if he continues to pitch like he did tonight.

The rookie southpaw went 3-0, 2.05 for the Yankees before they traded him to Oakland, for whom he went 2-1,2.63 before throwing the game’s first pitch at 6:41. After he threw his second pitch, a 93 mph four seamer, the White had a 1-0 lead. Four pitches later, they were up 2-0.

Andrus had hit his third White Sox home run and 12th of the season, 444 feet into left field. Moncada had hit his eighth, this one “only” 404 feet deep, over the Sports California sign to the right of the 388 foot marker in center field. That’s what a temperature of 89 degrees can do to a hard hit ball in the Oakland Coliseum.

The combination of a double play and a magnificent running catch in left center by Cristián Pache got Sears out of the inning in spite of a single by José Abreu and a walk to AJ Pollock.

The Chisox offense was unrelenting. Romy González led off the second with a single to left. Ceby Zabala followed up with a drive off the Craftsman ad in right center that went for a double that sent González to third. After Adam Engel struck out, Andrus dropped a single into shallow center to drive in González.

Then Moncada, who had come to work with a BA of .199, whacked his second dinger of the night. This one went to straightaway left field and produced three runs. After two innings, Chicago was ahead by a half a dozen tallies, and Sears was out of the game, replaced by fellow portsider Zach Logue.

Sears had thrown 59 pitches to get six outs. In the process, he allowed six runs, all earned, on eight hits, three of which left the park, and a walk. He took the loss, leaving him with a record of 5-2, 3.33. Both of those losses came as an Athletic.

Logue held the Sox scoreless on one hit in the third and struck out two of their batters in the fourth. But that still left room for a single to right by Moncada and Jiménez’s 11th round tripper of the year, a 404 foot, two run blast to left that brought the score to 8-0.

These Sox had plenty of runs left in them. Romy González led off the fifth by clanking a double off the Eva Air advertisement in right. He now was just a triple short of the cycle. He could have strolled home on Adam Engel’s single to center, but he trotted in, increasing Chicago’s advantage to nine zip.

Andrus forced Engel at second and then scored when Moncada’s double to center brought him in to make it 10-0. The hit also put Moncada one triple short of a cycle. It was the Sox third baseman’s fifth RBI of the encounter, raising his season’s total to 45.

Run number 11 ame on Andrew Vaughn’s single with no outs and two on in the sixth. Number 12, 13, and 14 came on the round tripper González sent 410 feet into left on the next pitch. A walk to Zabala ended the night for Logue. He had managed to allow eight runs, all earned, on ten hits in three innings, and left a runner on base for newcomer Tyler Cyr.

Cyr gave up a single to Moncada but finished the frame without allowing any further damage and finished off the Chisox with only a one out two bagger by Zabala in the eighth.

Interim manager Cairo felt confident enough to let Cease cease his labors and take the rest of the night off at the end of six innings of Athletic futility. José Ruíz cast The Curse of the Leadoff Double, in this case to Machín, in a scoreless seventh.

Oakland finally ended its scoring drought in the eighth, with Vince Velásquez on the mound. Jonah Bride, who had replaced Kemp an inning earlier, led off with an infield single and motored to third on Seth Brown’s double to right.

Shea Langeliers, now the A’s catcher, sent a sacrifice fly to center that drove in Bride and allowed Brown to take third and score on a ground out to short by Sheldon Neuse, hitting for Vogt. Neuse then went out to pitch a scoreless top of the ninth. Scoreless because Pache made a great over the head catch of Jiménez’s fly to the rear of the warning track in center.

Velásquez put the Athletics down in order in the ninth.

James Karielian (3-9, 4.79) will face off tomorrow at 6:40 against Lucas Giolito (10-9,5.21) in the second of this four game series.