Month: May 2023

Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena, left, celebrates after hitting a two-run home run that also scored Jose Altuve (27) during the first inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat May 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (30-21).  200 000 040. –   6. 8. 0

Oakland (10-44).  010 000  020  –   3. 6. 1

Time: 2:41  

Attendance: 9,293

Saturday, May 27, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–This was a day off for the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, so they remained at 7-23, .233.

On this day in 1962, the not yet Amazin’ Mets lost both ends of a double header at Candlestick Park, , 7-1 and 6-5. Future Giant manager Roger Craig was the losing pitcher in the opener. The day ended with the Mets  at 12-27, 3.08.

On this day, May 27, 2023, the deracinated Oakland A’s fell to the Houston Astros, 6-3. The defeat left the Athletics at 10-44, .185. This promises to be a season of historic proportion.

Starting for the visitors was Framber Valdéz, who hurled a complete game shut out against the Athletics this past May 21. He showed up for work with record of 4-4, 2.45 for the ‘stros. He lasted six innings, in which he allowed  one run, earned, on five hits and three walks, striking out five.

His pitch count reached 95, 40 of which were balls. He left with a one run lead and garnered the win, giving him a season record of 5-4, 2.38.

The Athletics’ relievers performed well last night, so it made sense for A’s manager Mark Kotsay and crew to make this afternoon’s contest a bullpen game.  (Kotsay, by the way, wasn’t on the job for the game; Darren Bush was acting manager). They opened with Austin Pruitt. Pruitt would end up being the losing pitcher after giving up the first two runs of the contest in the top of the first inning. The A’s wound up losing 6-3 marking their first 54 loses to start a season an MLB record for a worst start since 1901.

It took him all of three pitches to fall behind,  2-0. José Altuve led off with a single to the gap  (an unintended homage to another of John Fisher’s holdings?) in right center field, and Jeremy Peña banged a hanging slider against the auxiliary scoreboard in left field for his seventh home run of the season.

.Hogan Harris, whom the A’s had just selected from  the PCL Las Vegas Aviators, optioning Adrián Martínez, who had done a good job last night, back to their AAA farm team, was the A’s choice for the second inning. An around the horn double play made up for the walk he issued to Martín Maldonado and allowed Harris to pitch a scoreless frame while facing only three batters.

Harris returned to the hill for the third. He was hit hard, but a marvelous stop and two hop throw across the diamond by Aledmys Diaz at third kept lead off batter Peña off the base paths, and Jordan Alvarez’s fly to deep left died on the warning track in the course of another one, two, three, frame.

That earned Harris another turn on the mound for the visitors’ fourth, in which he fanned all of the three Astros he faced. And so, already having thrown 44 pitches over three innings of shut out ball, Harris went on to pitch another three up, three down frame.  He continued working into the Houston sixth, when he finally gave up his first hit, a two out single to Alex Bregman that got action started in the Oakland bullpen.

When Trevor May relieved him to start the seventh, Harris had thrown 77 pitches (54 strikes)and allowed only one walk and one hit. He faced 16 batters over the course of five frames. Trevor May walked Chas McCormick and surrendered a hard hit infield single to Corey Julks but benefited from an inning ending round the horn twin killing to add another zero to the Astros’ ledger.

Meanwhile, The A’s cut the Houston lead in half in the bottom of the second after Ramón Laureano defied The Curse of the Lead Off Double, stole third, and scored on a line drive sac fly to left. They almost drew even in their half of the fifth, but The Curse of the Lead Off Double took its toll, and Shea Langeliers was stranded on third after Oakland had loaded the bases.

Garrett Acton gave up a lead off double to the much booed Jose Altuve to open the eighth. Peña followed with a resounding double off the State Farm sign in left center, and, for some unknown reason, Altuve stopped at third. Alvarez received an intentional pass, and Bregman cleared the bases with another double to left center that was it was Acton and the A’s.

The latter had to remain on the field, but the former left the mound for Richard Lovelady, who retired both hitters he faced but allowed a sacrifice fly to Jose Abreu that plated Bregman for a run that was charged to Garrett Acton, who tended to be corrupted by the Astros’ power. Houston finished their half of the frame leading, 6-1.

Phil Maton retired Oakland to a conga beat, one, two, three,  in seventh and then gave way to Bryan Abreu, who allowed a lead off double by the slumping Brent Rooker. Two outs later, the green and gold had loaded the bases on a walk to Seth Brown and 3-2 pitch plunking Díaz.

Dusty Baker yanked Abreu and brought in Héctor Neris. Langeliers singled Rooker and Brown home, both runs charged against Abreu, before retiring Tony Kemp on a grounder to second. The Curse of the Lead Off Double had been defeated, but Oakland still was on the short end losing by three runs.

Shintaro Fujinami pitched a perfect top of the ninth to give the A’s one last chance to come back.

Ryan Pressley, who got the save last night, did it again today. It was his tenth of the year.

Tomorrow, Sunday, at 1:07 the A’s will send Luis Medina (0-3, 6.45) against fellow right hander Cristián Javiere (5-1, 3.07) in an attempt to stop their losing streak at 10

Oakland Athletics’ Seth Brown, foreground, reacts after striking out against the Houston Astros during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri May 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (29-21). 014 000 000. – 5. 9. 0

Oakland (10-43). 000 000 200 – 2. 5. 2

Time: 2:23

Attendance: 13,345

Friday, May 26, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–On this day in 1899, the Cleveland Spiders were obliterated by the Brooklyn Superbas, 12-0, in front of an estimated 100 masochists at the Forest City’s League Park. The defeat left the Spiders at 7-23, .233.

On this day in 1962, the New York Mets were in Candlestick Park, where they suffered a 7-6 walk off loss to the Giants and Don Larsen. The contest drew 18,791 fans and left the Mets nine games out of first place in the 10 team National League, with a won-lost record of 12-25, .324.

On this day in 2023, the Oakland Athletics, still reeling from their eighth consecutive loss, dropped their ninth in a row, this time to the Houston Astros, 5-2, in front of 13,345 fans, many of whom came for the fireworks that followed the contest. This brought the A’s to 10-43, 1.85, giving them a shot, even at this relatively early date, to become the losingest team in major league history.

Oakland’s starting pitcher didn’t have a win to his credit at game time. James Kaprielian was 0-4, 8.68. His brief, occasional ups and ungoing downs are known well enough by the readers of these dispatches not to need ay reiteration. Still, he once seemed to have a bright future in front of him.

Kaprielian was the Yankees’ first round draft pick in 2015. Once Lucas Erceg, a recent acquisition from the Brewers, took over mound duties for the A’s, Kaprielians’ ERA had come down down to 8.45). He threw 93 pitches 60 for strikes, and they took him through five innings. He allowed five runs, four of them earned, on eight hits two walks, and a wild pitch.

He was on the hook for the loss, for which he was charged, making hi 0-5. Erceg pitched a scoreless sixth, and Sam Moll put the visitors down in order on seven pitches in the seventh and, after retiring Tucker in the eighth, gave way to Adrián Martínez. Martínez got his two men out.

The Astros, who came to town three games out of first place in the AL West, sent a young but already accomplished right handed pitcher to the mound. The ‘stros consider him their top prospect. Both Baseball America and MLB pipeline listed him as the major’s 28th top prospect before the season started.

Last season saw him win the PCL Pitcher of the Year and Baseball America Triple A Pitcher of the Year awards. He was a September call up for Houston and went 2-0, 0.89 before appearing in three post season games, going 3-2/3 frames without allowing a run. He went six innings, giving up two runs, one earned, against the A’s on May 20th of this year, earning the win. His 2023 season record when today’s game started was 4-1, 3.20.

A pitcher’s best friend helped Kaprielian emerge unscathed from the first inning, but three singles (one each by Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Coreuy Julks) among which José Abreu mixed a fly to the warning track in left field, put the visitors up, 1-0, in their half of the second.

José Altuve, who had missed the first 43 games of the season because of a fractured right thumb suffered in the World Baseball Classic, opened the third with his second hit in as many at bats. This was a double, and it defied The Curse. A walk to Yordán Alvarez, singles by Bregman, Tucker and Julks, not to mention a wild pitch and a passed ball, brought in four runs, making it 5-0, Houston. It’s worth mentioning that Tucker’s hit was a pop fly to shallow left, just to the right of the line, that Seth Brown should have caught.

To give you an idea of how well Hunter Brown was pitching, when Nick Allen walked with one out in the bottom of the sixth, he was the A’s first base runner since Estuery Ruíz’s lead off single in the first.

The Athletics finally got to Brown in the home seventh after Brent Rooker opened the frame with a single to left and Seth Brown powered his third home run of the year, a 410 foot blast into the right center field seats, making it 5-2.

Seven innings were enough for Hunter Brown. He held Oakland to two runs, both earned on four hits, including Seth Brown’s home run and a walk. He chalked up 10 Ks. Only 27 of his 88 offerings were balls. He earned the win, improving his record to 5-1, 3.12. Héctor Neris took over for him to start the eighth. Aside of an infield single by Noda that Houston challenged (a challenge they lost) there was no excitement in that frame.

Martínez returned to the mound for the Athletics in the top of the ninth. With the help of a nice diving catch by Ruíz of Maldonado’s dying quail to center, he put the ’stros away in order.

Ryan Pressley hurled the ninth for Houston, looking for and earning ninth save. Three up, three strike outs.

Tomorrow, Saturday, Houston will sender southpaw Framber Valdéz (4-4,2.45) against an as yet unannounced A’s starter a 1:07pm PT first pitch at the Oakland Coliseum.