Author: Matthew Harrington

Oakland Athletics’ Jed Lowrie watches his RBI double against the Baltimore Orioles during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. The Athletics won 5-4. (AP Photo/Ben Margot

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics erased a two-run deficit in the eighth inning Friday night, beating the visiting Baltimore Orioles 5-4. Matt Olson knocked in two runs while the 3-4-5 hitters of Jed Lowrie, Khris Davis and Chad Pinder all knocked in a run. Jonathan Scoop knocked in a pair of runs and Adam Jones launched a solo shot for the Birds. Starter Ubaldo Jimenez retired ten straight A’s by punchout but exited his start with an injury in the sixth inning.

The Orioles crept out to a 1-0 in the second inning after Jones launched his 22^nd homer of the year over the out of town scoreboard after starter Paul Blackburn grooved an 89 mph fastball over the heart of the plate.

Jones would add the second run of the game in the fourth inning, but would only wind up with the one RBI. After Manny Machado doubled, Jonathan Schoop singled for first and third with no outs. Jones bounced into the double-play but Machado scored for a 2-0 lead.

The A’s answered back in the bottom half of the inning when Jed Lowrie led off the inning with his league-leading 36^th double. Khris Davis followed up with a double of his own off Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez to break up the shutout. Jimenez punched out Chad Pinder, but rookie Matt Olson clubbed a 91 mile-per-hour fastball over the wall in centerfield for a 3-2 lead.

Blackburn wouldn’t hold the lead for long, giving up back-to-back one out singles to bring Schoop up to the plate with runners on first and second. Schoop hit a wall-ball double to knock in both runs and hand Jimenez a 4-3 advantage. He would depart after 5 1/3 innings after taking a line drive to the body with one out.

The Orioles vaunted pen couldn’t hold the lead for long though after an eighth inning rally from the A’s. Brad Brach opened the inning by coughing up a double to Matt Joyce. Marcus Semien doubled to put runners at the corners. Jed Lowrie tied the game, fighting off rumors of an impending waiver trade to ground-rule double home Joyce and move Semien to third^. Khris Davis flew out in shallow left, but Chad Pinder’s sacrifice to deep right field brought home the winning run. Pinder nearly popped out to first baseman Chris Davis, but the O’s slugger dropped the fly ball in foul territory to get a second chance for the A’s infielder.

Sanitago Casilla picked up the win after pitching a rare 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth. Blake Treinen also fired a perfect frame to nail down his sixth save and an A’s win.

Saturday’s contest features of pair of talented young arms, with the O’s Dylan Bundy squaring off against Sean Manaea for the A’s. Both starters boast an identical 4.15 ERA heading into the tilt.

Oakland Athletics pitching coach Scott Emerson, left, meets with Daniel Gossett, right, and Ryan Lavarnway (30) during the fourth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Minnesota Twins on Friday, July 28, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND–When the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Mets 3-2 Sunday in the Big Apple for manager Bob Melvin’s 999^th career managerial win, few would have thought the story line for 1,000 would last more than a few days. And yet, Melvin still remains on the door step of one of the round numbers baseball pundits so adore heading into the weekend.

The latest bit of bad luck the Green and Gold have endured in a now-5-game losing streak came Friday night at the Coliseum with the A’s falling to the free-falling Minnesota Twins 6-3 after Daniel Gossett  (2-6) gave up 5 runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. Jaime Garcia (5-7), making his debut with the Twins after coming over in a July 24^th trade, gave up three runs but struck out seven in his 6 2/3 innings.

It was evident for the first inning that Gossett’s control was off, allowing a two-out double to Max Kepler before escaping unscathed. The first three batters of the second inning reached base, but a relay throw from Rajai Davis to Adam Rosales to catcher Ryan Lavarnway cut the runner down at home plate. The next batter, Ehire Adrianza would single home a run for a 1-0 Minnesota lead.

The fourth inning would be Gossett’s worst, and last, inning of the night. The rookie making his ninth career start got Robbie Grossman out to open the inning, but then gave up back-to-back singles to Zack Granite and Adrianza. Jason Castro plated Granite with a double to left, and Brian Dozier followed it up with a single to score Adrianza for a 3-0 Twins lead.

The disparaging blows came with the pitcher-catcher battery at the center. First, Gossett uncorked a wild pitch that scored Castro and moved Dozier over to second, then Miguel Sano hit an infield single to short that Dozier appeared too greedy on after Sano drew the throw at first. The power-hitting second sacker turned around third base heading for the plate, with Ryon Healy sending a throw well ahead of the runner to home plate. Catcher Ryan Lavarnway couldn’t hold on to the ball, with Dozier tagging the plate with the loose ball closer to his possession that the A’s backstop for a 5-0 lead.

Lavarnway atoned in the bottom of the inning after coming to the plate with Khris Davis (Double) and Jed Lowrie (walk) on base and no outs. Lavarnway doubled to the gap in right field, knocking in two runs.

The A’s and reliever Frankie Montas couldn’t deliver on a shutdown inning though after Castro picked up a second RBI double. Khris Davis knocked in a run on an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, but the Twins bullpen would hold the lead for the win.

Melvin sends Chris Smith, the 36-year-old reliever turned starter without a win since 2008 to push the skipper into the quadruple-digit win club. Smith will be making his fourth start of his career Saturday after making 62 appearances as a reliever, with all but 49 coming before or during the 2010 season. Minnesota counters with Adalberto Mejia.

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Frankie Montas, center, reacts as New York Mets’ Michael Conforto, left, and Matt Reynolds, right, runs the bases after Conforto hit a two-run home run during the seventh inning of an interleague baseball game Friday, July 21, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

By Matthew Harrington

Michael Conforto hit a pair of homeruns and T.J. Rivera knocked in a pair to help push the New York Mets past the Oakland A’s 7-5 Friday night at Citi Field. Marcus Semien went 4-for-5 for Oakland, knocking in two runs, while Khris Davis, Jed Lowrie and Ryon Healy knocked in runs. Healy exited the game early after taking a Lucas Duda liner to the head. Starter Paul Blackburn gave up 4 earned runs for the A’s while Mets pitcher Steven Matz allowed 3. Neither pitcher went past the 6^th inning.

Before taking the line drive to his head, Healy opened the scoring in the game, singling Rajai Davis home in the 1^st inning for an A’s 1-0 lead. Conforto would take Blackburn deep for his first two-run homer of the night in the bottom of the 3^rd for a 2-1 edge.

The A’s took the lead after Semien (single) and Davis (sacrifice fly) knocked in runs for a 3-2 5^th inning lead, but a blunder in the bottom of the 6^th proved costly.

With the bases loaded, T.J. Rivera singled up the middle off reliever Blake Treinen, with two runs coming in to score. Rajai Davis fired the ball into 3^rd trying to cut down Lucas Duda. The tag was in time, but third baseman Matt Chapman got greedy, trying to gun down Rivera at 2^nd as well. His snap throw sailed into center field, allowing Rivera to easily score on the error and see the Mets take a 5-3 lead.

In the following inning, Conforto would take Frankie Montas, recently recalled to the major league team, for his 2^nd 2-run homer of the game. His 18^th homer of the year gave the Mets a 7-3 advantage.

Jed Lowrie and Semien collected RBI base hits in the top of the 8^th inning off reliever Erik Goeddel, but former Athletic Jerry Blevins fired a 1-2-3 inning for his first save of the year.

The A’s most reliable pitcher, Sean Manaea, takes the hill in Flushing for the A’s tomorrow. He’ll be opposed by righty Zach Wheeler.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray works against the Cleveland Indians during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 14, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – The good news for Oakland A’s fans is that Sonny Gray pitched like his former Cy Young contender self in a 5-0 win over the visiting Cleveland Indians Friday night. The bad news is it means he may be pitching his way out of Green and Gold.

While rumors of a trade of the A’s ace to the Chicago Cubs were twirling around Twitter, Gray was spinning a gem to outduel Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco and his 10 K’s. Gray fired six scoreless innings with 4 punch outs and two-hits to Carrasco’s six hits and five runs. Yonder Alonso and Rajai Davis both hit solo homeruns in a two-run 5^th inning. Matt Joyce and Marcus Semien also knocked in runs in a two-run 3^rd. Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and Santiago Casilla struck out 6 Indians out of the bullpen in an inning each to close out the win.

“It’s one of those things that you just have to deal with sometimes,” said Gray on late rumors that he was a scratch for the start and movement was imminent. “Whatever happens, happens. It’s out of my control.”

Gray (5-4) didn’t allow a hit until Cleveland had one out in the top of the third. He’d give up another in the inning, but escape unscathed. From there the Indians were hitless over Gray’s in-game tenure, with the righty departing after the 6^th after throwing 100 pitches, 62 for strikes.

The 27-year-old hurler has now pitched in four-straight contests allowing 2 runs or fewer. During that stretch he has lowered his ERA over a full-point from 4.84 to 3.72. He’s pitched at least 6 innings in all of those starts, rebounding from a 5 inning, 5 run loss to the Astros June 20^th.

“He’s pitched really well since he’s come back,” Said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “He’s had a couple bad innings, but the stuff has been there. When he’s gotten onto a roll pitching deeper into games and being healthy we’re seeing what we’re getting right now. We’ve seen it before. He pitched really well.”

The A’s (40-50) also were being no-hit by Carrasco into the 3^rd, but Rajai Davis kick started the offense with a single. He scored from first base after Matt Joyce ripped a ball into the gap in right center. Davis originally hesitated rounding 2^nd, but decided to go for home. Bradley Zimmer’s throw crept towards the first base side of the plate, but Yan Gomes dove back to the plate to make the tag. His mitt connected with the hand of a head-first sliding Davis a beat too late for a 1-0 lead. Joyce took third on the throw home and would score on Marcus Semien’s sacrifice fly in the next at-bat.

“(Davis) can impact the game in any number of ways,” said Melvin. “With Jaycob Brugman being sick today he got a start against a righty, a guy that he’s had some at-bats against. His best work has come here these last five or six games.”

Carrasco (10-4) allowed a single to Bruce Maxwell in the bottom of the 4^th, but nothing came of it for the A’s. The last of the 5^th started off with a bang though, with Davis taking Carrasco deep for his 3^rd homer of the season. Davis, who provided the Game 7 heroics with a homer of Aroldis Chapman as a member of the Indians in the World Series last year, hit a looping fly ball over the out of town scoreboard in left for a 3-0 lead.

“It was definitely like a reunion,” said Davis.

After the next two hitters struck out, Oakland’s lone 2017 All-Star Yonder Alonso continued the downhill half of the season with his 21^st homer of the season on a no-doubter to right-center field. Alonso’s 21 homers are more than double his single-season best of 9 as a member of the Padres in 2012 and good for more than 1/3 of his 8 year career total of 60. Like Gray, due to his upcoming free agency, Alonso may be playing his way onto a contender come July 31^st.

The A’s scored another run charged to Carrasco after Matt Chapman smoked a triple to open the bottom of the 7^th. Carrasco gave way to a pair of relievers after 6 1/3, with righty Nick Goody’s wild pitch closing the book on his pitching line after Chapman crossed home.

Brentwood Native Paul Blackburn draws the unenviable task of taking the hill Saturday against Cleveland’s 2014 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber for the middle game of the two-game series. Sean Manaea looks to continue his bounce-back season with his first start of the second half, drawing a match-up against Drone enthusiast Trevor Bauer.

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher James Paxton throws against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 7, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

By Matthew Harrington

James Paxton fired seven innings of two-hit baseball and Nelson Cruz hit his 300^th career homerun as part of a five RBI game to hand the Seattle Mariners a 7-2 lead over the Oakland A’s “First time that ever happened to me,” Cruz said. “So that definitely was special. “That’s special,” Cruz told the Seattle Times. “I’ve come a long way. Not only what I did in baseball in the minors but from where I come from in the Dominican. Never in my dreams did I think about hitting 300 homers in the big leagues.”

Paxton (7-3) outdueled Sean Manaea (7-5) who hurled seven innings of three run ball, striking out three while surrendering eight hits. Marcus Semien knocked in both Oakland runs. A’s manager Bob Melvin said Manaea effort’s was there but for one double play ball that was miscued extended the inning, “I’ll tell you what, he gave us seven innings when it didn’t look like he might give us four, and he really should have given up one run,” Melvin told the SF Chronicle.

The Mariners singled Manaea to defeat, using back-to-back-to-back singles to give Cruz his first RBI on a run-scoring basehit in the bottom of the first. Though Semien would knock in a pair in the top half of the third inning, a trio of singles would give Cruz another RBI with one out. The next batter, Mitch Haniger would single to load the bases. Kyle Seager’s sacrifice fly would give the M’s a 3-2 edge.

The A’s wouldn’t manage another hit for the rest of the game, struggle to solve Paxton and a trio of relievers. Cruz would take Liam Hendriks deep for three runs in the top of a rocky eighth inning that also saw Seager hit another sacrifice fly for the 7-2 decision.

The A’s will call on Chris Smith to make the Saturday start in place of the injured Jharel Cotton. This would be the 36 year old’s first career star. He is opposed by Andrew Moore, a rookie righty for Seattle.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz works against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 30, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND–Sonny Gray had his best start of the season Friday night against the visiting Atlanta Braves, but Mike Foltynewicz fired the best game of his career, one-hitting the Oakland Athletics for eight innings in a 3-1 win. Matt Olson homered with no outs in the bottom of the ninth to break up the no-hitter and shutout in one swing. Rookie Dansby Swanson knocked in the lone run off Gray while Oakland reliever Sean Doolittle let in two runs on RBI hits by veterans Brandon Phillips and Matt Kemp. Ex-Athletic closer Jim Johnson nailed down his 17^th save of the year. Oakland continued its streak of being the team with the longest streak of avoiding being no-hit, a streak since 1991.

Foltynewicz (6-5, 3.83 ERA) was dealing, striking out 8 A’s hitters while coughing up just the one hit. He walked four A’s, but managed to work around the baserunners. He entered the ninth with his pitch count at 110, but a full-count battle with Olson resulted in a deep homer to the bleachers in right on a two-seam fastball from the 25-year-old.

With his starter’s pitch count at 119, interim manager Brian Snitker took the ball from Foltynewicz, handing it to Johnson for the save. Johnson allowed one hit before finishing up the game.

For Oakland, Gray’s eight innings of work were stellar in their own right and would normally have accounted for a win for the homer-happy A’s. Gray only struck out four but was highly effective, firing 62 of 98 pitches for strikes. He allowed only two hits, but they came in the same inning. Gray gave up a leadoff double to Johan Camargo to open the third, then Swanson doubled him home with one out to take a 1-0 Atlanta lead.

The Braves tacked on two insurance runs for the then-unhittable Foltynewicz off Doolittle in the ninth inning. Ender Inciarte scored from first on Brandon Phillips’ one-out double, then Phillips came around to score on Matt Kemp’s line drive single for a 3-0 lead at the time.

The young A’s will be tested Saturday when R.A. Dickey takes the hill Saturday for Atlanta, with many of the younger players getting their first looks at a knuckle ball. With Steven Wright of the Red Sox injured, this will be the first taste of the knuckler the A’s will get this year. The Green and Gold send Antioch native Paul Blackburn to the hill to oppose Dickey. Blackburn will be making his major league debut after going 5-6 with a 3.05 ERA for Triple-A Nashville.

Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis (2) celebrates his two-run home run with Yonder Alonso (17) as Jed Lowrie, left, who also scored on the play, watches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics started off the weekend series with a bang, using a pair of homeruns to down the host Chicago White Sox 3-0 Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. Khris Davis launched his 19^th homer of the year while the red-hot Matt Joyce launched a solo shot for the Green and Gold. Jharel Cotton (5-7) fired a sharp but brief three hit, five inning performance for the win. Santiago Casilla collected his 12^th save of the year. Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson and Manager Rick Renteria were ejected in the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes.

Jed Lowrie coaxed a two-out walk from White Sox starter Mike Pelfrey, setting the table for Davis’ two-run shot. Joyce tagged Pelfrey (3-6) for a solo homer in the fifth to hand the veteran righty the loss. The A’s managed five hits to seven for the Pale Hose.

Three of Chicago’s hits came off starter Cotton who started the sixth inning with three K’s and only one walk. After allowing a single, Cotton showed discomfort in his hand. He was pulled after just 66 pitches. Reliever Liam Hendriks fired a scoreless sixth, then Ryan Madson and the recently returned Sean Doolittle followed suit.

Casilla got the job done in the ninth, but not without giving up no-out singles to Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu. The A’s closer coaxed a pop-out from the AL batting average leader Avisail Garcia, then managed to get the second out on Todd Frazier’s fielder’s choice that forced out Abreu. Designated hitter Matt Davidson lined out to end the game and snap a four-game losing streak for the A’s.

Daniel Gossett takes the mound for his third start of his career. He’ll be opposed by veteran James Shields in game two.

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 23^rd 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 11^th 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 50^th, 51^st and 52^nd 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 23^rd, 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 6^th.