Oakland A’s starter Ken Waldichuk will duel against the Los Angeles Angels on Fri Sep 29, 2023 at the Big A in Anaheim. This will be the last series of the 2023 season for Oakland. (photo from White Cleat Beat)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, behind Luis Medina’s best performance of the year and timely hitting by the A’s offense, gave the A’s a 2-1 win over the Central Division champions, the Minnesota Twins. It was Medina’s last start in 2023, and he made it a good one. The young man from the Dominican Republic can go home knowing how well he pitched Thursday afternoon.

The Twins did score a run off Medina in the bottom of the sixth. However, relievers Lucas Erceg, Dany Jimenez, and Trevor May pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth inning to secure the win for the Green and Gold.

The A’s were facing their former teammate Sonny Gray in the final game of the three-game series. Gray had been a first-round pick of the A’s in the 2011 Amateur Draft. Gray had been a standout pitcher at Vanderbilt University. The Twins’ manager, Rocco Baldelli, planned to have Gray pitch four innings as he will pitch the second game of the AL Wildcard series slated to start next Tuesday.

The A’s scored the game’s first run in the top of the second inning. With one out, JJ Bleday, recently activated from the IL, singled. Bleday went to second base on Aledmys Diaz’s ground out. A’s shortstop Nick Allen singled to drive in Bleday.

The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Willie Castro, playing third base for the Twins, laid down a perfect drag bunt to reach safely. Former San Francisco Giant Donovan Solano singled, sending Castro to second.

Medina hit Alex Kiriloff with a pitch to load the bases with no out. The next hitter, Matt Wallner, who hit a grand slam Tuesday night, hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Castro scored to tie the game. Medina retired Ryan Jeffers for the final out.

The Twins threatened to break the game open in the bottom of the seventh. A’s reliever Lucas Erceg walked Trevor Larnach to start the inning. Erceg retired the next two hitters. Erceg suddenly could not find the strike zone. He walked Edouard Julien and Willie Castro to load the bases.

The next hitter was the ever-dangerous hit machine, Donovan Solano. It was quite a battle. It took 12 pitches as Erceg struck out Solano with a 99-mile-per-hour fastball that ended the inning.

The Twins brought Kenta Maeda to relieve Sonny Gray in the fifth inning. Maeda held the A’s hitless for three innings. The game-winning hit came in the top of the eighth. A’s rookie first baseman Ryan Noda blasted his 16th home run of the year into the right field seats to give the A’s a 2-1 advantage.

Dany Jimenez gave up a one-out double to Matt Wallner. The Twins needed a hit to tie the game. Jimenez retired Ryan Jeffers on a fly ball to left and Trevor Larnach on a ground out to first baseman Ryan Noda. Trevor May, a former member of the Minnesota Twins, retired his former 1-2-3 in the ninth. The A’s win 2-1.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 49-110. It was the A’s third win in their 14 games. The winning pitcher was Lucas Erceg. The Twins dropped to 85-74. The losing pitcher was Kenta Maeda.

The line for Oakland was two runs, four hits, and no errors.
The line for the Twins was one run, four hits, and no errors.

The line for Luis Medina was six innings pitched, allowing one run, four hits, walking three, and striking out four. Medina threw 93 pitches, 55 for strikes. It was his best performance of the year.

The A’s play the season’s final three games with the Los Angeles Angels. Both teams have had a dismal season. The A’s set an Oakland record with 110 losses. The Angels lost their two All-Stars to injury. Mike Trout broke his hamate bone last July and did not fully recover.

Shohei Ohtani had UCL surgery and is out until next year. The big question in Anaheim is whether the players will wear an Angel uniform next year. Ohtani is a free agent and will be a hot property on the market. The big-money teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, or Mets will be trying to sign Ohtani.

The A’s will send lefty Ken Waldichuk to the hill Friday night to face the Angels. Waldichuk will be trying to win his fifth game of the year. Chase Silseth will pitch for LA.

For this writer, this will be my final A’s game summary for 2023. It has been difficult to watch the A’s lose so many games. However, as dismal as it has been, there are some bright spots. First, I would like to commend A’s manager, Mark Kotsay, for the job he did in such unfortunate circumstances.

Kotsay made sure his players gave 100% every day. They may not have produced better results, but it was not for lack of effort. The guys were all grinders. They did not lay down. The A’s have some young talent that may change their fortunes. Second baseman Zack Geldof has shown he is a big-league talent.

In the coming seasons, Ryan Noda, Esteury Ruiz, and Shea Langeliers will all be building blocks. The A’s need to improve the starting rotation. The only pitcher with five wins was Shintaro Fujinami. The A’s traded Fuji to Baltimore, and the young pitcher from Japan will be in the playoffs.

Starting pitcher for Oakland to open the three game series in Anaheim Friday night for the A’s Ken Waldichuk (4-8 ERA 5.29) for the Los Angeles Angels Chase Silseth (4-1 ERA 4.10) a 6:38pm PT first pitch.

Let me finish by saying adios to the Green and Gold. Let’s hope next year will be better.