Author: Matthew Harrington

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: The Texas Rangers Jonathan Lucroy connected for a single that scored two runs gets a post game dousing from teammates Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor (12) as Oakland A’s reliever Ryan Madson is pinned for the loss at the Ball Park in Arlington

The Texas Rangers rallied for two runs in the ninth inning of A’s closer Ryan Madson for a walk-off win, snapping Oakland’s four-game win streak in the process. Jonathan Lucroy singled in a pair of runs to give the Rangers (88-60) a 9 ½ game lead over Seattle in the American League West. Khris Davis hit a two-run homerun for the A’s while Brett Eibner knocked in four runs including a solo homer.

The A’s (64-83) held a 6-2 lead in the sixth inning but the Rangers scored 5 unanswered runs to give Madson (5-6, 3.43 ERA) his 7^th blown save of the year. Madson coaxed a ground out from Ian Desmond to open the inning, then gave up a double to Carlos Beltran. Beltran was lifted for pinch-runner Delino DeShields who advanced to third on a wild pitch. Adrian Beltre walked to put the winning run on base, then had Joey Gallo replace him on the base paths.

Gallo swiped second while Madson struck Rougned Odor out, moving the winning run into scoring position with two outs. Lucroy, a trade deadline acquisition, took Madson’s first offering, a 94 mile-per-hour fastball down the third base line for the winning hit. Sam Dyson (2-2, 2.62)  wound up the winning pitcher after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth.

The A’s jumped on starter Cole Hamels, scoring three runs in the top of the 4^th. With Danny Valencia running on the pitch, Davis ripped a 2-2 offspeed offering to the opposite field in right for his 38^th homer of the season. It’s the highest single-season total by an Athletic since Hall of Famer Frank Thomas went yard 39 times in 2006. Eibner would also single in Ryon Healy in the frame.

The Rangers would score two runs off Oakland starter Kendall Graveman in the bottom of the fifth, but after Eibner would let loose his 6^th big fly of the season with Danny Valencia and Stephen Vogt on base for a 6-2 lead. The Rangers would plate two more runs off Graveman in the bottom of the sixth, then pull within one run after Carlos Gomez took Ryan Dull deep for his 10^th homer of the season, a solo blast to make it 6-5 A’s.

One positive for the A’s came in the top of the sixth. Rookie Renato Nunez singled up the middle off Cole Hamels for his first career hit. If he’s in the line-up tomorrow, he’ll look to support fellow rookie Raul Alcantara in picking up his first win. The A’s will have to go through Rangers ace Yu Darvish in order to do so.

 

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Robinson Cano right and Kyle Seager (15) of the Seattle Mariners jumps for joy after defeating the Oakland A’s 3-2 Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum to open a three game series

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Athletics dropped a tight 3-2 decision to divisional foes the Seattle Mariners Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Rookies Joey Wendle and Bruce Maxwell knocked in runs for the A’s, but a pair of Mariners homers from Norichika Aoki and Mike Zunino did in Daniel Mengden and the A’s. Sean Doolittle pitched a scoreless inning of relief, his second appearance since returning from the disabled list.

Mengden (1-7, 6.39 ERA) entered his start Friday coming off the worst outing of his career. The mustachioed hurler last just 2 2/3 innings against the Red Sox on Saturday, giving up 7 earned runs. The righty with the funky wind-up rebounded from that outing to put together a start showing his trending upward, not downward.

“It seems like he was just missing,” said Melvin. “He was getting into counts where he had to throw a lot of pitches and next thing you know he’s at 75 pitches. He ends up getting through five, he can hang his hat on how he finished.”

Mengden went 5 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six batters, the third highest total this season. He hit a snag in the first inning thanks to an unfortunate bounce. After walking Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz ripped a liner to left field that was going to one-hop Khris Davis. Davis charged in but appeared to get caught in a divot from the conversion from the Raiders field to the A’s outfield, causing the ball to hop over his glove and to the wall. Cano came home to score on what was officially ruled a double for a 1-0 lead. Aoki would homer to open the 3^rd, his second long ball of the year for a 2-0 lead.

Mengden would load allow the next two hitters to reach, with former A’s Seth Smith and Robinson Cano singling back-to-back. Mengden got the slugger Cruz to line out to short, then coaxed a pop out from Kyle Seager. He would load the bases after walking Adam Lind, but wiggled out of the jam with a punch-out of Leonys Martin to finish off the inning.

He would then retire another six straight, including picking up two strike outs to wrap up his appearance and give confidence moving forward. The righty was phenomenal in his first month in the big leagues, posting a 2.81 ERA over his first four starts but saw that number balloon up to 5.73 in June, prompting a demotion to Nashville.

“It didn’t appear like we would get five innings out of him,” said Melvin. “Certainly his last two innings were by far his best. He attacked the strike zone more. You could just see his confidence went up.”

Despite the strong outing, Mengden left the game on the hook for the loss. Mariners’ starter Hisashi Iwakuma (15-11, 3.96) pitched well, going 6 2/3 innings with two runs allowed. He was staked out to a 3-2 lead when Mike Zunino crushed a Daniel Coulumbe offering onto Mount Davis for his 10^th homer of the season. They had cut the Mariner’s lead to 2-1 in the 5^th before the dinger. They would score a run in the bottom of the 7^th to pull within one but the Seattle bullpen would shut them down. Edwin Diaz picked up his 14^th save of the season.

One tweak that worked for the A’s was batting Joey Wendle in the leadoff spot. Wendle went three for four and is expected to be in the leadoff spot again Saturday against Felix Hernandez when Kendall Graveman takes the hill.

“His first at-bat he saw eight pitches and ended up getting a hit,” said Melvin. “It seemed like he had a good at bat every time up there. He’s got a little speed, can use the hole. We’ll use him in that leadoff spot for a little bit now. He did a good job.”

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Dustin Pedroia comes into score for the Boston Red Sox is greeted by teammates against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. — When the Oakland Athletics pitching staff sleeps, their dreams are haunted by the Boston Red Sox prolific offense. The Red Sox (75-59) posted their fourth double-digit run total against the A’s this season, trouncing the A’s 16-2. David Ortiz, playing in his final series at the Oakland Coliseum, knocked in three runs and third baseman Travis Shaw hit a three-run homer for the Sox as part of a four RBI night for the Sox. Billy Butler and Stephen Vogt knocked in runs for the Athletics (57-77). Starter Andrew Triggs left the game early for the A’s with an injury.

The Red Sox demolished the A’s in a three-game sweep at Fenway Park May 9-11, outscoring the A’s 40-15 over that span. Friday night was more of the same with the A’s struggling to find answers against a Boston line-up boasting five .300 hitters.

“They’re first in the league in runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, everything,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “You have to make quality pitches to them, keep guys off base and keep the ball down.”

Starter Andrew Triggs fared well in his first inning against the Red Sox, allowing an unearned run after Xander Bogaerts reached on a Marcus Semien error and scored on one of two Ortiz RBI singles. Triggs , a long reliever forced into starting due to injuries, would exit the game after the inning however suffering from what the A’s medical staffed deemed to be back tightness.

“He’s pitched well,” said Melvin. “He’s trying to make a name for himself in the rotation. We’ve left him in there for a reason, because he’s pitched well. Hopefully it’s not too long before he’s back.”

Zach Neal would step in for Triggs and managed to surrender just one unearned run over his next three innings, allowing the A’s to tie the game against Sox starter David Price. Price held a no-hitter heading into the bottom of the fourth but gave up back-to-back singles to Jake Smolinski and Danny Valencia to open the frame. Khris Davis popped out to first baseman Hanley Ramirez deep in foul territory moving Smolinski to third base. Butler then popped out to plate Smolinski. Stephen Vogt would rip a double to bring Davis around.

Price (14-8, 3.92) would allow just one more hit, going seven innings with seven strikeouts and three walks. While Price cruised, Neal would begin to struggle in the fifth, getting two outs before yielding a double to Xander Bogaerts. Ortiz singled Bogaerts home, then Mookie Betts reached base with a single. Hanley Ramirez knocked them both in with a ringing double to give Boston a three-run edge 5-2 and chase Neal (2-4, 5.33) from the game.

“For a while there we were in the game,” said Melvin. “We came back to tie it. Then they did what they do and we made some mistakes.”

Daniel Coulombe was greeted with a Travis Shaw RBI double to make it 6-2. He managed to escape the fifth inning, but the Sox rallied again in the sixth. Coulumbe would load the bases before walking in a run to make it 7-2. Ortiz would add a sacrifice fly off Coulumbe before he departed trailing 8-2 with one out in the sixth.

J.B. Wendelken struggled mightily in his mop-up performance, allowing an RBI single to Hanley Ramirez before coughing up Shaw’s three-run long ball for an 12-2 deficit.  The Sox would add three more runs in the top of the eighth and another in the top of the 9^th.

With rosters expanding on September 1^st, the A’s did little to add to their bullpen depth, only activating reliever Sean Doolittle from the disabled list while adding starter Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Nashville. Mengden is expected to take Sean Manaea’s turn in the rotation after the south paw suffered an injury in his last start. Mengden, last a member of the A’s rotation in July, allowed 23 earned runs in 23 innings pitched that month. He failed to pitch more than 5 1/3 innings during that stretch, a troubling sign for an A’s team in desperate need of a deep performance Saturday. Mengden will be opposed by the Major League wins leader Rick Porcello. The sinker baller seeks out win number 19 on the season.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Yonder Alonso center is congratulated by Danny Valencia left after hitting a solo homer in the second inning at Busch Stadium against the St Louis Cards the run accounted for the A’s only score on Friday night

The Oakland Athletics fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Friday night at Busch Stadium, falling on the short end of a pitchers’ duel. Rookie Luke Weaver held the A’s to one run on four hits for his first professional win while Ross Detwiler allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings of work. Yonder Alonso hit a solo homerun for the A’s.

Detwiler (1-3, 5.74 ERA) opened the game with a single to leadoff man Matt Carpenter before yielding a two-run homer to Jedd Gyorko with no outs. He’d also allow a sacrifice fly to Jhonny Peralta in the bottom of the sixth, but the homer would be all the Cards (68-59) would need to back their rookie starter.

Weaver (1-1, 3.60) pitched six innings, punching out seven A’s while only walking two. He yielded only four hits, one of which being Alonso’s seventh homer of the year in the top of the second. He was otherwise sterling in his first victory at the major league level. The Cardinals bullpen pitched three scoreless frames of relief capped by Seung Hwan Oh picking up his 13^th save of the year.

The A’s (55-73) turn to Zach Neal in Saturday’s contest looking to get a strong start out of the longman turned starter. Neal has allowed nine runs over his last two starts. Alex Reyes will take the hill for the Cardinals who look to hold on to the final National League Wild Card slot.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s catcher Stephen Vogt congratulates starter Kendall Graveman for his complete game and shutout over the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field on Friday night

The Oakland Athletics trounced the Chicago White Sox 9-0 Friday night from U.S. Cellular field. Kendall Graveman fired his first career complete game shutout and the A’s offense torched starter James Shield. Yonder Alonso, Khris Davis and Stephen Vogt homered for the A’s.

Graveman (9-8, 4,09) needed only 98 pitches to make tidy work of the pale hose, yielding only two hits while striking out five batters without a walk. Shields (5-15,5.98), on the other hand, yielded seven runs over just 4 2/3 innings of work.

Max Muncy drew a two-out bases loaded walk in the top of the second, but the A’s failed to add another run in the frame. The next inning, Davis would plate a pair after launching his 31st homer of the season with Danny Valencia on base. Vogt would take Shields deep in the fifth for a solo shot and Alonso would add his 6th dinger of the season with a runner on for a 6-0 lead through five. A throwing error by shortstop Tim Anderson would plate another A’s run for a 7-0 edge.

Vogt would knock in his second run of the game off reliever Matt Albers in the top of the 6th, then Marcus Semien would add an RBI single in the ninth off former A’s farmhand Michael Ynoa to end the scoring.

The A’s face Cy Young winner Chris Sale in Saturday’s matchup, with rookie Chad Pinder expected to make his A’s debut at second base. Oakland counters with Ross Detwiler.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: There’s a celebration going on after the Oakland A’s defeat the Seattle Mariners at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night

OAKLAND, Calif. – One of the coolest teams in baseball managed to down the hottest team in the American League Friday night when the Oakland Athletics bested the visiting Seattle Mariners 6-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s, winners of just four of their last ten entering play, snapped a six game win streak for Seattle. The Mariners came into play winners in eight of their last ten games.

“They’re a very hot team,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin on his Friday foes. “They’ve won six in a row and put themselves back in the thick of the Wild Card race. They’ve transformed their bullpen, they got some guys at the deadline they can mix-and-match. You never really feel at ease at any part of their lineup. They’re a good team, it was a good win for us.”

Sean Manaea picked up his first win since June 29^th, Khris Davis his 28^th homerun of the year and Yonder Alonso knocked in a pair of runs to down the surging Mariners (60-54). Marcus Semien went four-for-four and Ryan Madson converted his 25^th save for the Athletics (52-64).

The A’s scored three runs in the first, with catcher Stephen Vogt knocking in the first run before Davis’ two-run shot. Davis curled a Joe Wieland offering fair down the right field line for his 28^th homer, a new career best, good for a 3-0 A’s lead.

“Nobody hits the ball down the right field line like that as a right-handed hitter,” said Melvin. “He really doesn’t even hit (the ball) all the way. Guys just don’t do that. He’s opposite field power is similar to a guy like (Miguel) Cabrera.”

The lead looked like it would be safe in Manaea’s hands, with the rookie south paw firing four innings of no-hit ball including three inning-ending double plays.

“I would have wanted to avoid a fourth time,” said Manaea. “But I would have taken it.”

The twin killings helped offset Manaea’s issues with finding the plate, with the lefty issuing three walks over the first three frames.

“My body felt good,” said Manaea. “It wasn’t a mechanics thing either. The ball just wasn’t coming out of my hand right.”

A fifth inning mistake over the plate, not off it, to Mariners’ third baseman Kyle Seager would prove costly for the “Throwin’ Samoan”. With a full count, Seager ruined Manaea’s date with history, crushing a line driver homer to pull Seattle within two at 3-1.

The Mariners would get to Manaea again in the sixth, opening the inning with a Ketel Marte single. Left fielder Shawn O’Malley tripled him home, then was brought home on a Franklin Gutierrez sacrifice fly to tie the game. Manaea would finish off the inning, turning the game over to the pen after just 75 pitches.

“It’s not often that we’ve seen his command off,” said Melvin. “That’s why I took him out when I did. It’s not that I want to cut him short this late in the year as far as pitches. We had a rested bullpen. He battled. These are the type of learning experiences that are good for him”

A rally in the bottom of the inning put Manaea (4-7, 4.57 ERA) in line for his first victory since the Bay Bridge Series at the end of June. Over his six starts since the 7-1 win over the Giants, Manaea has given up more than three runs only twice while receiving 20 runs of support from his offense.

Friday they would supply six runs, picking up another three in the sixth inning after the trio of scores to open the game. The A’s loaded the bases off Seattle starter Joe Wieland (0-1, 10.80 ERA) with no outs then scored two runs on Yonder Alonso’s single to chase the rookie making his first start of the 2016 season.

“The last three weeks his probably swung the bat better than anybody we have, him and Billy Butler,” said Melvin of Alonso. “He’s coming up big in situations. We win a game one to nothing the other night  and he knocks in that  run. He’s putting together some good at bats with guys on base and being very productive.”

Danny Valencia greeted reliever Drew Storen to the game by singling on the first pitch he saw, plating the sixth run of the game charged to Wieland.

The A’s wouldn’t score again off the Mariners pen, but they wouldn’t have to thanks to the work of relievers Liam Hendriks, Ryan Dull and closer Ryan Madson. Hendriks dominated in his inning of work, fanning three, while Dull surrendered just one hit and no runs during his frame. Ryan Madson went 1-2-3, popping out Dae-Ho Lee to end the game.

Oakland will look to make another rookie a winner for the first time in a number of starts in Saturday’s contest at the Coliseum. Kendall Graveman takes the hill looking for his first win since notching a third-straight decision on Independence Day. The ground ball pitcher has had mixed results since then, allowing four runs or more in five of eight outings. He’ll be opposed by Hisashi Iwakuma.

 

 

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Dillon Overton works the plate in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Athletics fell to the visiting Chicago Cubs 7-2 Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Jon Lester fired seven innings of two-run ball for the win, striking out eight A’s while allowing six hits. For Oakland, Dillon Overton matched a season low by only lasting three innings while allowing seven runs in his brief outing. Dexter Fowler and Jorge Soler homered for the Cubs (67-41), while Brett Eibner hit his first dinger in an Athletics uniform.

The Cubs jumped on Overton early, with leadoff man Fowler taking the rookie deep in the first at-bat of the game, hitting a deep fly ball to the bleachers in left field. Five batters later Jorge Soler would exit the park with a two-out, three-run homer for a 4-0 Cubs lead before the A’s took their first cuts at Lester.

For Overton, Friday marked the second consecutive outing where he lasted less than four innings and allowed two homeruns or more. The soft-tossing south paw surrendered three long balls in his July 30^th start at Cleveland. Over 24 1/3 innings and two stints called up from Triple-A, Overton has allowed 13 home runs.

“He’s upset about the game,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “He expects himself to do better. He’s got higher expectations than what he’s shown here. You don’t want to see a guy give in and say ‘I’m not good enough to pitch here’. He’s disappointed in what he’s done so far. His numbers aren’t as good as he would like.”

Overton (1-3, 10.97 ERA) avoided the long ball in the second, stranding runners at the corners but struggled through the third inning. Overton allowed a leadoff double to former Athletic Ben Zobrist then plunked ex-Oakland farmhand before picking up a fielder’s choice with Soler at the plate. Heyward would plate one run with a single, then Javier Baez would knock in a pair with a double for a 7-0 lead. Overton would get the inning-ending punch-out of David Ross before departing the game.

“They forced him to throw the ball over the plate,” said Melvin. “They got some good swings with men on base. We’ve seen him pitch better than this.”

The A’s bullpen picked up the slack, with Andrew Triggs (two innings), Daniel Coulombe (three) and Marc Rzepczynski (one) kept the potent Cubs offense off the board. The trio allowed only two hits to limit the damage.

“It was important that they got us deep into the game,” said Melvin. “It was important they gave us the innings they did and they were successful in the way they did it.”

Unfortunately for the pen, the A’s offense wasn’t able to solve former A’s stretch-run acquisition Jon Lester. Lester (12-4, 2.93) held the A’s to only one hit over the first five innings before the A’s offense finally broke through in the sixth.

Eibner, acquired for Billy Burns on July 30th, made quite the impression on A’s fans in his appearance since being called up from Nashville earlier in the day. The right fielder mashed his third homer of the season off Lester for the A’s first run.

“You watch him in batting practice and he was hitting balls a long way,” said Melvin. “He gets a swing like that off Jon Lester and hits the ball a long way. Power is probably one of his best tools offensively. He’s not a bad runner and can play all three outfield position but definitely it’s the power.”

Marcus Semien collected a two-out run scoring single, plating Bruce Maxwell in the process. The A’s lineup, comprised of four rookies, would only have two more baserunners over the remainder of the game off Lester and relievers Carl Edwards Jr. and Joe Smith.

“You’re always looking for young players to respond at this time of year,” said Melvin on what he’s looking for from his team as the close out a season of non-contention. “That’s why we’re in the position we’re in. We want to give them the opportunity now.”

The youth movement for the A’s (48-61) will get a shot tomorrow against tough competition, with Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta taking the mound for the Cubs. While not a rookie, Sonny Gray will take the hill for the A’s hoping to right a season that’s been mostly forgettable for the young ace.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Cleveland’s Carlos Santana celebrates after going deep on Oakland A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman in the sixth inning as plate umpire Scott Barry watches in Cleveland on Friday night

The Oakland Athletics entered play Friday night as one of the hottest teams in the American League, going 9-4 since the All-Star break. Their hot run was derailed Friday night in Cleveland after the Indians (58-42) rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 5-3 victory at Progressive Field, scoring four runs in the seventh inning.

Kendall Graveman (7-7, 4.15 ERA) appeared on the verge of another solid outing after allowing only one run over the first six innings, but he and Mark Rzepcynski failed to quell an Indians rally. Josh Reddick, rumored to be on the move at the trade deadline, went deep back-to-back with Khris Davis, but the A’s (47-56) couldn’t scratch a run off the Tribe bullpen.

Billy Butler singled home the first run of the game on a two-out hit that plated Reddick. Reddick reached base earlier to open the inning on a throwing error by Mike Napoli. Reddick (8^th homer of the season) and Davis (26^th) hit their consecutive dingers to open the sixth inning.

Bauer bounced back to strike Stephen Vogt out but issued a walk to Billy Butler and coughed up a Yonder Alonso single before making way for former Athletic Dan Otero. Otero induced a flyout from Marcus Semien then forced Ryon Healey to bounce out to end the inning.

Graveman opened the sixth inning by surrendering a homer to Cleveland’s unconventional leadoff hitter, Carlos Santana. He’d allow a Francisco Lindor walk but escape the inning without any further damage.

Cody Anderson (2-4 7.09 ERA) pitched the top of the seventh, winding up the winner thanks to the Cleveland comeback in the bottom half of the frame. Lonnie Chisenhall popped out to open the inning, but Rajai Davis reached on an error by Marcus Semien. Rookie Tyler Naquin singled to advance Davis to second, then pinch-hitter Abraham Almonte drove him in with a base hit, chasing Graveman in the process.

Santana drew a walk off the newly inserted Rzepcynski, then Jason Kipnis knocked in Naquin to tie the game with a single of his own. Ryan Dull, the baserunner-stranding specialist, replaced the lefty with one out and the bases loaded. He uncorked a wild pitch to bring home a run and surrendered another on a Lindor sacrifice fly for a 5-3 A’s deficit. He would escape the inning without any further damage.

Neither pen would be scored on for the rest of the contest, with Cody Allen working his way around two baserunners and one out for his 20^th save of the season.

Saturday the A’s send Dillon Overton to the mound for his fourth career major league start. The Indians send Josh Tomlin to the hill to try to take game two of three.