Author: Matthew Harrington

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – Throughout most of Monday night’s contest, the Oakland Athletics offense couldn’t muster any life against the Tampa Bay Rays pitching. The Swingin’ A’s appeared maligned, the bats non-existent after failing to convert with the bases loaded three times in the first nine innings. It turns out the A’s were just playing like the furry visitor who wandered around the outfield wall in the 10^th inning. Caught on camera for the game’s television broadcast was a large, furry creature strolling around the warning track.

Yes, an opossum is on the loose at O.Co Coliseum, and that’s just fine with A’s players. The unnamed critter heralded a 10th inning rally culminating in Derek Norris’ second career walk-off hit, lifting Oakland (68-43) to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

“He’s been out here before when we’re warming up a few times,” said A’s starter Jeff Samardzija. “We might have to give him a name or a jersey. Hopefully, we’ll keep feeding him and he’ll keep bringing us wins and we’ll be alright.”

Heading into the bottom of the 10th inning, the A’s stranded a season-high 18 base runners. The inefficiency of offense had the hometown fans in doubt when former Athletics closer Grant Balfour took the mound to shut down his old teammates. Fans in the outfield seats greeted him with his “Balfour Rage” salute, drumming the air as the reliever loosened up.

“I think fans were waiting five months to do that,” said Norris. “He was here for three years. He was a fan favorite, a raging closer bulldogging it out there. I can see why he’s a fan favorite. I really think they were waiting for that for four months. Fans are going to get excited over strange things, but they’re supporting us which is the biggest thing. You can’t fault them for showing appreciation for one of their favorite players of the last few years.

Once again the A’s loaded the bases, this time with one out against an erratic Balfour (1-4, 4.93 ERA), but appeared on track to once again fail to bring the runner in from third.

“My thinking was, if we keep getting in that position, we were going to come through,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “I honestly did.”

Brandon Moss struck out while Derek Norris quickly found himself in an 0-2 hole against the Aussie. Fighting off the third strike, Norris sent the Balfour delivery back up the box for the game-winning hit, earning the catcher a shaving cream pie and Gatorade shower.

“Sometimes he falls into patterns,” said former batterymate Norris of Balfour. “Tonight he was mixing it up. He was throwing well. Once he gets runners in scoring position, he throws on another switch. I saw it time in and time out we’re he’d walk the first two guys and then go one-two-three. I was just looking for something over the plate.”

Jeff Samardzija pitched another gem for the A’s, going seven innings while allowing only two earned runs on three strikeouts.

“I thought my stuff was all there minus the splitter,” said Samardzija. “My splitter was garbage tonight. As the splitter goes, so goes my strike out total.”

He, however, had to settle for the no decision for the third time in six starts with Oakland. Instead, reliever Ryan Cook earned the “w” after pitching a flawless 10^th inning.

“That seems to be my M.O. since I’ve gotten here,” said Samardzija. “Go out and throw some innings then watch these guys put on a show at the end of the game. One of these games, I’ll be out there ripping the jersey myself. It’s fun watch. I love this team and how they play and don’t quit.”

Cook (1-1, 2.48) almost didn’t have a shot at the victory after the Rays (54-58) managed to put runners on the corners with one out in the top of the ninth against Sean Doolittle. Facing pinch hitter Brandon Guyer, Doolittle fielded a safety squeeze bunt attempt, charging the ball before underhanding it to Norris for the tag out of an advancing Sean Rodriguez. Doolittle struck out Kevin Kiermaier to end the ninth and keep the score knotted at 2-2.

“Their team, when first and third, has a lot of action,” said Norris, noting that a squeeze play was on the A’s radar. “There’s no way to defend a perfect bunt. Luckily he bunted it strong enough to Sean that he had time. It was still a difficult play to make and it was even more difficult with the new blocking the plate rule. I had to make sure I was giving him a lane then taking it away.”

Evan Longoria put Rays on top first with a second inning solo shot off Samardzija, his 8^th homer of the season, before Jed Lowrie tied the game up in the home half of the third on an RBI double. Desmond Jennings hit a two-out single in the fifth to put Tampa on top 2-1.

There were a couple bad pitches that bothered me,” said Samardzija. “That 2-0 to Longoria, the 1-2 to Jennings were dumb pitches. I’d like to have those back but other than that we made some great plays and had a chance.”

Josh Donaldson’s run-scoring single off Rays starter Alex Cobb an inning later set up the late-inning theatrics. Cobb went 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and two runs while wriggling out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and second innings.

For Oakland, the win was much-needed to keep the Los Angeles Angels at bay for one more day. The Halos topped the crosstown rival Dodgers 5-0 with the A’s outcome yet to be determined, moving a half-game back of the AL West lead. A Rays win would have resulted in a tie atop the western hierarchy, this time between the Northern and Southern California teams, for the first time since April 28^th. Instead, the A’s kept their one-game gap another day.

Defending the advantage Tuesday night will be former Ray Jason Hammel. Hammel, a member of the 2008 AL Champions in Tampa, has yet to win with the A’s after coming over in the July 4^th trade that yielded Jeff Samardzija. He’ll be opposed by another starter who changed uniforms midseason, with Drew Smyly making his Rays debut after being a part of the haul Tampa received in exchange for shipping former Cy Young winner David Price to Detroit.

According to Melvin, leadoff man Coco Crisp will start Tuesday’s game after a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning Monday night. Crisp missed the previous seven games with neck stiffness.

“He looked good,” said Melvin. “We plan on playing him tomorrow.”

By Matthew Harrington

The Houston Astros scorched the Oakland Athletics to a 7-3 series-opening win at Minute Maid Park Monday night, launching four home runs to beat the American League West leaders for the fourth time in 11 games against the Green and Gold this season. Houston scored all seven of its runs on long balls, including a three-run shot by Chris Carter and a two-run blast by Jason Castro. Oakland starter Jesse Chavez (8-7, 3.44 ERA) yielded six of the seven runs on three round trippers, pitching 5 1/3 innings while being saddled with the loss.

The big damage came in the bottom of the sixth with both teams knotted at three runs apiece. Chavez started the inning before back-to-back one-out homers to Castro (a two-run shot) and Marc Krauss chased the A’s starter. Dan Otero then entered the game in relief, getting Jon Singleton to fly out for the second out, but saw Matt Dominguez take him deep on the first pitch he saw for a 7-3 lead.

Oakland took the lead early off Astros starter Brett Oberholtzer, scoring a run in the second on a Derek Norris RBI single then taking on another in the third Stephen Vogt’s fifth homer of the season. Former Athletic Chris Carter put the Astros ahead with a three run shot in the bottom of the inning for a 3-2 lead before Yoenis Cespedes brought the A’s even on a sacrifice fly of Oberholtzer in the fifth. Oberholtzer (3-7, 4.30) went 6 2/3 innings, allowing eight A’s hits but only three runs to pick up the win.

The A’s were without Craig Gentry and Coco Crisp. Crisp received an MRI Monday on his neck and is still listed as day-to-day, but Gentry was placed on the disabled list with a broken right hand earlier in the afternoon. The A’s called up outfielder Billy Burns, who went 0-for-1 in his major league debut after pinch hitting for Josh Reddick in the ninth, from Double-A Midland to fill the speedster role. The switch hitter batted .303 in spring training with 10 steals pilfered 51 bases in 91 games with the RockHounds this season while being caught only five times. Jed Lowrie batted in the leadoff spot with both fleet of foot outfielders missing Monday and went 2-for-4 with a run.

With the Los Angeles Angels inactive Monday, the A’s AL West lead drops to 1 ½ games Monday despite the day marking the 100^th consecutive day Oakland (65-40) has been in first place this season. The A’s send Jeff Samardzija to the mound Tuesday looking to top the Astros’ Scott Feldman and keep Oakland more than a fraction of a game up.

By Matthew Harrington

The collective state of mind projected by the seven Oakland Athletics in attendance at the 2014 All-Star game was that, despite being all business on the field, this team was all smiles and just happy to be in the fold. In the various interviews, Josh Donaldson, Sean Doolittle and Derek Norris all made it seem like playing for the A’s was just a good ole’ time. Winning, after all, is a cure-all for many things. It’s not, however, a consolation prize for one contributor to the first-place squad.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted today that sources close to Tommy Milone say the southpaw has requested a trade to a team with an opportunity at the major league level. This comes after Milone’s third demotion to Triple A Sacramento in the last calendar year on Independence Day. At the time of his optioning, the lefty had gone 6-3 in 16 2014 appearances, all starts, with an accompanying earned run average of 3.55.

While preseason injuries to Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin gave the 27-year-old a chance to crack the rotation out of Spring Training, Milone (still in possesion of a minor league option) became expendable after the July 4^th trade that brought Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel over from the Chicago Cubs. While he was 6-0 with a 2.62 ERA over his last 11 starts. With Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir and Samardzija anchoring the front end while Jesse Chavez and Hammel create a formidable back-of-the-rotation duo there was no room at the major league level for Milone or fellow lefty Drew Pomeranz, also demoted to the River Cats after returning from a broken hand July 13th. Brad Mills, who was purchased from the Milwaukee Brewers for one dollar earlier in the season, also fell victim to the roster crunch and now finds himself a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.

While the path to the big leagues appears blocked for Milone, who was acquired along with Derek Norris from the Washington Nationals in 2011 for Gio Gonzalez, he may not have to wait long for another opportunity with green and gold. Over his last ten starts, Chavez has seen his ERA balloon from 2.61 on May 24 to 3.14 after his July 12^th start against Seattle. While a change in roles for Chavez may be unlikely, Hammel’s position could be in jeapordy after going 0-2 in his first pair of starts with the A’s. The righty has allowed seven earned runs over his first seven innings, failing to register more than six outs in his last start against the Baltimore Orioles.

One of the hallmarks that have made the 2014 Athletics the top team in the American League has been the reliance on and faith in positional depth. Dan Straily, Josh Lindblom, Mills and Pomeranz join Milone as pitchers who made a start for the A’s this season but are no longer with the team (or in Mills and Straily’s case, the organization). Few teams, especially teams that play deep in to October, avoid casualties to the rotation due to injuries.

While Milone believes he deserves to be contributing at the major league level, and though his numbers thus far certainly suggest he should be, it is in the best interest of Bob Melvin and co. to keep Milone at their beck and call. With Chavez pitching his first year as a starter following an off-season conversion from long relief, questions surround how his stamina will hold up as the seasons turn from summer to fall. While Kazmir’s past injury woes, ailments that derailed most of his 2011 season and had him toiling for another big league audition in the Independent leagues in 2012, if trouble should again befall the Texan Milone could be plugged into his spot in the rotation.

With the Los Angeles Angels only two games back of the A’s for the AL West lead, the ability to not skip a beat for even one spot start could prove the difference between a bye to the Division Series or a spot in the sudden death Wild Card Play-off game. While Milone may currently be frustrated with the lack of reward for his performance, sticking it out for the good of the team may lead to an emergency role when the A’s need him most down the stretch.

By Matthew Harrington

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – What a difference a bridge crossing can make. After commanding performances against the black and orange Monday and Tuesday night at O.Co Coliseum, the Oakland Athletics fell to the San Francisco Giants 5-2 at AT&T Park Wednesday night to open up Western half of the Bay Bridge Series. Matt Cain earned his second win of the season, going six strong innings of two-run ball while 2014 NL All-Star Hunter Pence collected two RBIs, including a solo home run to centerfield off recently acquired A’s starter Jason Hammel.

“Cain was how he normally is,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “It’s a mix of pitches. It was probably fifty percent fastballs, different pitches, backdoor curveballs and changeups.”

While Jeff Samardzija transitioned seamlessly into the A’s rotation in his debut following Friday’s deal with the Chicago Cubs, Hammel struggled in his first go-around with the green and gold. There were, however, moments where he showed promise, including wriggling out of a bases loaded, one-out jam with limited damage on one run in the third inning.

“That’s what you’re going to get out of me,” said Hammel. “I’m going to battle hard out there. Tonight was just a grind. They grinded me pretty good, but we still had a chance to win.”

Even with his tenacious mindset, the righty (0-1, 3.60 ERA) yielded three runs (two earned) against a Giants offense that’s been held scoreless in three of eight contests in the month of July entering play Wednesday night. The newcomer is the first Athletics starter to not go six innings and yield more than one run in a week.
The bar isn’t set as high for Hammel f as it does for the centerpiece of Billy Beane’s blockbuster, but there certainly is precedent for expectations from his spot in the rotation for the AL-leading A’s. After all, the 31-year-old’s arrival made southpaw Tommy Milone expendable, prompting a demotion to Triple-A Sacramento despite a 6-3 record and 3.55 ERA this season. Milone’s most recent start, a six inning, four-hit blanking of the then AL-East leading Blue Jays on Independence Day was fresh in A’s fans’ minds after Wednesday’s loss.

Behind Hammel, the AL West-leading A’s (57-34) found themselves playing catch-up early. San Francisco scored a run each in the second and third innings before Oakland could knick Giants starter Matt Cain (2-7, 4.18) for a run. The first two men to touch all four bases for the home team reached on a walk surrendered by the Oakland starter.
“I got myself into trouble with those deep counts and drove my pitch count up,” said Hammel. “They put together some pretty good at-bats. They were patient tonight. I didn’t help myself by walking guys.”

“I thought he threw the ball well,” said Melvin. “It looked like he got a little more comfortable as the game went along. He started mixing in all his pitches a little bit more. He’s got good stuff. It’s not exactly what he would hope for, but we didn’t do him any favors in the field or scoring runs.”
First basemen Stephen Vogt crushed a full-count fastball at the belt over the wall in right field and just shy of McCovey Cove for his third homer of the season moving the A’s within a run at 2-1.

Hammel couldn’t make the run hold up in the home half of the inning though, allowing a Hunter Pence homer on a low fastball to restore the two-run lead.
“It was a fastball down the middle,” responded Hammel when asked what he threw to Pence. “It was supposed to be a four-seamer in and it just cut a little over the plate and he got it.”

Hammel kept San Francisco (50-41) off the board in the fifth, but the frame was not without its drama. With Michael Morse on second base following a two-out double, Hammel delivered a ball to Gregor Blanco. After the delivery, the hurler clutched his catching hand in pain. After a lengthy visit from the training staff and a gruesome on-camera distortion of an extremity, Hammel finished off the inning, getting the Giants centerfielder to bounce into the inning ending force-out.

“In the middle of the pitch before, my hand just cramped up,” said Hammel. “I couldn’t get it to straighten out. I had to stop and figure out what was going on. It looked like I dislocated it, but it was just a really bad cramp. My thumb cramped up and went completely down. It was stuck for a little bit but it will be alright.”
After the game Hammel confirmed with the gathered media that he is, in fact, not disjointed. He also talked about his hope to continue on despite 99 pitches.

“I made a couple of good pitches to get the ground ball and get out of the inning,” said Hammel. “I wanted to go back out there but Melvin played it safe.”

With Hammel departed, Jed Lowrie swung momentum back in the A’s in the favor in the sixth inning after lacing a two-out single off Cain to plate Yoenis Cespedes. A rocky bottom half of the inning from reliever Eric O’Flaherty snubbed out any hopes of a shutdown frame. The lefty allowed two runs, including a single to Pence for his second RBI of the night and uncorked a wild pitch that brought home a run as well. A free agent signing in the off-season, O’Flaherty was activated from the disabled list earlier this month after missing most of 2014 following Tommy John surgery required after 19 appearances last season with the Atlanta Braves. He had allowed only one hit in his previous two innings of work in the current campaign.

The A’s will get back to work looking to clinch a victory in the 2014 incarnation of the Battle of the Bay series with a victory in an afternoon tilt at AT&T Park Thursday. If Oakland comes out on top, the A’s will take the rivalry series 3-1 after sweeping the first two games of the series in Oakland on Monday and Tuesday.

“These games mean a lot in this area,” said Hammel. “This is as close to a playoff atmosphere as you can get right now.”

History isn’t on Minnesota-bound A’s lefty Scott Kazmir’s side when the All-star goes against former Athletic Tim Hudson under the San Francisco Sun Thursday. The A’s have lost 13 of the last 15 games at the ballpark on the shores of McCovey Cove.

“We were 1-1 last year,” said Melvin. “That’s all I remember. When you have two teams that play competitive ball against each other, home field will come into play. We have a good road record this year, but I’m sure they got a boost from their crowd tonight as well.”