By doctors Charlie O. Mallonee, Vasu Vaddiparty and Jordan Chapin
Atlanta Falcons
QB
If you drafted Matt Ryan, you drafted him as a number one QB. Of course, you are going to start him versus the Eagles tonight. Just don’t have too high of expectations for his production. Most of the predictions have him passing for 230 to 240 yards with up to two TD’s. Expect approximately 20 completions.
RB
Devonta Freeman was a Top 10 pick in most Fantasy Leagues, so he’s starting for you tonight. Again, do not get too excited because the projections for his production are not great. Many have Freeman rushing for under 50 yards. The experts say chances of Freeman scoring a touchdown are minimal.
WR
Yes, you are going to start Julio Jones. If you don’t start him, we are going to make you turn in your Fantasy Football membership card. Again, the projections are not great. The prediction is for 75 yards receiving with an outside chance of catching a touchdown.
Philadelphia Eagles
QB
If you have Nick Foles as your starting QB tonight, it probably means you picked Carson Wentz hoping he would be ready to go tonight. Well, you are going to have to wait at least until game three for Wentz so Foles is your man until then. He is projected for 240 yards versus the Falcons with two touchdowns.
RB
Jay Ajayi will be the main man carrying the rock for the Eagles. Look for him to run for about 80 yards in the game.
TE
Zach Ertz was a fantasy football assassin in the second half of the season last yerar. If you have him on your roster, he is a must play.
Game Projections
FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Eagles a 65-percent chance of winning tonight’s game. They make Philadelphia the favorite -4.5 points.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
OAKLAND — If you are planning to come to the ballpark between now and the end of the season, bring seat cushion with you. Every team in the Major Leagues could expand their roster on Saturday. The A’s added eight players to their active roster, bringing their total of available players to 33.
A’s manager Bob Melvin talked about how much the club was looking forward to having the extra help down the stretch in September. After 136 games, a team is tired, bruised and battered from the rigors of playing every day. Melvin was also looking forward to having extra help in the bullpen.
Oakland lost the services of two starters last week. Sean Manaea was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendonitis and may not be available for the remainder of the season. Brett Anderson went down with a strained left forearm and is eligible to come off the disabled list on September 7. The A’s chose not to go out on the waiver trade market for a starter and instead bolstered their bullpen.
Saturday night was the beginning of a new experiment
The Tampa Bay Rays shocked the baseball world earlier this season when they began using an “opener” instead of a starting pitcher in their games. Former Giants reliever Sergio Romo made headlines when he “opened” the game pitching one inning then turning it over to what would have been the starting pitching who was now a long relief pitcher. Confused?
There is a method behind the madness. First, the Rays really believe in the strength of their bullpen. Secondly, the Rays are adhering to the concept of limiting the number times hitters are allowed to see a “starting pitcher.” The prevailing thought is that batter should only see a pitcher twice because the hitters become too effective in the third time at bat.
The A’s decided to go with the same philosophy on Saturday night. Reliever Liam Hendricks was put into the role of “opener.” He lasted 1.2 innings, giving up two runs off two hits. He gave up both runs in the second inning. Danny Coulombe came on to relieve Hendricks and gave up an RBI double to the only batter he faced. Emilio Pagan then took over from Coulombe and ended the second inning by getting Haniger to fly out in foul territory. That second inning set the tone for the rest of the game.
“Starter” Daniel Mengden entered the game in the top of the third inning and lasted 2.0 innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits. Mengden walked one and struck out one Mariner. You will want to listen to Melvin’s comments about Mengden’s performance.
The A’s newest pitcher–reliever Cory Gearrin–made his Oakland debut in the game in the fifth inning, and it was less than a stellar beginning. Melvin said that Gearrin is not used to pitching from behind (the A’s were down 8-1 at that point). Gearrin allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits. Melvin said Gearrin just needs to get his feet on the ground and he will be fine.
The A’s also used Hatcher, Buchter, Wendelken, and Familia as relievers in the game. For those of you scoring at home, that is a total of nine pitchers used by the A’s in nine innings.
Those nine pitchers gave up 8 runs (7 earned) off 12 hits. They struck out five M’s batters and walked two.
The M’s used six pitchers in the game even though their starting pitcher (who was a traditional starting pitcher) James Paxton lasted 5.0 innings. Seattle pitching gave up 7 runs (6 earned) on six hits. They walked six and struck out 18 Oakland batters. Paxton struck out 10.
Oh, you would like to know who won the game
I am sorry. I am so tired from the length of the game (3 hours and 33 minutes) that I forgot to mention the Mariners won the game 8-7. Paxton was the winner and is now 11-5 on the year. “Opener” Liam Hendricks took the loss and is now 0-1 for the season.
The M’s (76-60) now lead the four-game series 2-1. The Astros (83-53) beat the Angels Saturday night, so the A’s (81-56) are now 2.5 games back of Houston for first-place in the AL West. The win moves Seattle within 4.5 games of the A’s for second-place and for the second Wild Card slot.
Just when you thought it was over–it wasn’t
The A’s were trailing 8-2 as they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. If it had not been a fireworks night, a good portion of the 28,760 fans in the crowd would have already been on the freeway headed home. Instead, the fans were still in their seats after three-plus hours and were ready to see their team make some fireworks of their own.
Alex Colome came out of the bullpen to take over the pitching duties for Seattle. The first batter he faced was Khris Davis who promptly dispatched a 2-1 pitch into the right field seats for his 40th home run of the season. The crowd came to life and this reporter got his focus back because the A’s are team of late-inning miracles.
Stephen Piscotty followed up the home run with a single. Matt Olson struck out pinch hitting for Pinder. Ramon Laureano singled up the middle and Piscotty moved up to second base. Mark Canha walked to load the bases with one out. Dustin Fowler entered the game as a pinch hitter and struck out.
That brought a pitching change by Seattle, who sent Edwin Diaz to the mound and Colome to the showers. Marcus Semien hit a double to left-center field that cleared the bases with the help of a fielding error charged to Denard Span and made the score 8-7. Matt Chapman struck out to end the inning.
Another wild ninth inning
In the top of the ninth, Jeurys Familia took the hill to stop the Mariners from scoring additional runs. Familia set the side down in order giving the A’s a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.
The M’s brought in their closer Edwin Diaz to stop any thoughts the A’s had of winning the game. Jed Lowrie led off the ninth with a base-on-balls. Khris Davis went down swinging. Stephen Piscotty also struck out, so it all came down to Matt Olson with Lowrie at first. Olson also became a strikeout victim and Diaz notched his 51st save of the season.
Back to the need for a seat cushion
This game featured 15 runs, 18 hits, and 13 pitching changes. That required 3 hours and 33 minutes to complete. Trust me, you will want a seat cushion for any game that goes that long. Plus, get seats close to a restroom.
Up next
The A’s and M’s wrap up this four-game series on Sunday at 1:05 PM PDT.
Seattle will send RHP “King” Felix Hernandez (8-12, 5.49) to the mound to make his 401st MLB start. The A’s will return to using a traditional starting pitcher by sending RHP Edwin Jackson (4-3, 3.03) to the hill.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics scored five runs off five hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead on the Seattle Mariners. Matt Chapman hit his 22nd home run of the season off of M’s starter Mike Leake. Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run home run (19) off Leake. Matt Olson and Marcus Semien each hit an RBI double. Everyone in the Coliseum knew that this game was going into the “W” column for the A’s.
Everybody in the Coliseum knew that the game belonged to the A’s except the 25 guys in blue uniforms from Seattle. The M’s put up a run in the top of the second inning and then came back for more in the top of the fourth inning. Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back home runs off A’s starter Mike Fiers who did have his best stuff on Friday night. Then, Ryon Healy–the former Athletic–hit a two-run home run to tie the game at 5-5. Everything changed.
The A’s bullpen took over for Fiers and gave their team a chance to get it together.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Oakland retook the lead when rookie outfielder Ramon Laureano delivered a sacrifice fly that allowed Matt Olson to score the go-ahead run. The A’s then added some cushion when Jed Lowrie hit a one-out double and then scored on a Khris Davis RBI single.
The bullpen held on to that 7-5 lead to get the A’s (81-55) the win.
This critical four-game AL West series is now tied at one game apiece.
The win was awarded to Yusmeiro Petit (6-3) who relieved Fiers and was the pitcher of record when Olson scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Blake Treinen picked up his 34th save of the season. Treinen now sports a 0.94 ERA.
Mike Leake (8-9) was hung with the loss for Seattle (75-60).
This is how the A’s pitching line is going to look the rest of the season
Mike Fiers only lasted 3.2 innings in his start on Friday night. A’s manager Bob Melvin certainly wants his starting pitchers to go at least five innings per start, but five innings are all that may be required from the starters for the A’s to be successful. The 2018 A’s are all about the bullpen.
In the win 7-5 win over Seattle on Friday night, Oakland used 5 relief pitchers. It was a parade of fresh arms stepping up on the rubber to deliver a devastating variety of pitches designed to stop opposing hitters in their tracks.
Yusmeiro Petit, Lou Trivino, Fernando Rodney, Jeurys Familia and Blake Treinen combined to pitch 5.1 innings of shutout baseball. They allowed the M’s just two hits while walking just two batters and striking out seven. They slammed the door on the Seattle offense to give their A’s the chance to win the game, which they did 7-5.
Every game will not feature five relievers, but you can expect to see games that feature three men out of the bullpen on a regular basis. The help that is coming with the expanded September rosters is going to be most welcome.
The standings are shaken up again
This A’s win really changed the standings in the AL West. The Astros lost, the A’s won and the M’s lost. Oakland is now just 1.5 games behind Houston for first place in the West. Seattle falls 5.5 games back of the A’s in the West and 7.0 games behind Houston.
By losing, the M’s also are now 5.5 games down to the A’s in the Wild Card race. These head-to-head division matchups are critical to a team’s standing when fighting for a post-season slot.
Food for your brain
Up Next
The A’s and Mariners will play game three of this crucial four-game series on Saturday night at 6:05 PM PDT.
The M’s will send LHP James Paxton to the mound. Paxton is 10-5 on the season and will be making his 25th start of the year. He has a 3.68 ERA.
The A’s will counter with RHP Daniel Mengden, who was recalled from Triple-A Nashville last Monday. This is Mengden’s second tour of duty with the big club. Mengden has a 6-6 record on the year with a 4.28 ERA.
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Oakland Athletics took a 2-1 lead in their four-game series with Minnesota by downing the Twins 6-2 in game three on Saturday night in the Twin Cities. The A’s won the game using their typical formula of strong starting pitching, consistent bullpen relief and power production at the plate.
The Athletics have found themselves in a must win situation in each of the games in Minnesota. The first place Houston Astros have been on a tear winning four consecutive games forcing Oakland to win just to stay 1.5 games back in second place in the American League West.
The Seattle Mariners have also been applying pressure on the A’s as they have won two games in a row to stay just 4.0 games behind Oakland in third place. Many have tried to write the Mariners out of the playoff hunt but someone forgot to tell Seattle they’re done for the season. With six games left to play against the A’s and three versus the Astros, the M’s can erase a four game deficit very quickly.
Fiers comes through again
Mike Fiers (10-6) started the game for the A’s and once again showed why the team had focused on adding him to the roster. Fiers worked 5.2 innings giving up just one run (earned) on five hits. He struck out seven Twins and walked just two. Fiers threw 100 pitches (63 strikes).
The one run Fiers gave up was spectacular. In the bottom of the fourth inning, he tried to throw a 3-2 fastball past Miguel Sano but was unsuccessful. Sano crushed the ball 455 feet into the third deck in left center field for his 12th home run of the season.
Fiers did get credit for the win.
A’s bullpen does its job again
Lou Trivino was brought in to relieve Fiers and ended the bottom of the sixth inning. “Sweet Lou” ran into some trouble in the seventh when he gave up a home run to Tyler Austin and then hit Willians Astudillo with a pitch. Ryan Buchter entered the game but was unable to get an out, so the call went to Jeurys Familia who shut the Twins down.
Familia worked the eighth inning to set it up Blake Treinen in a non-save situation. Treinen needed the work so that is why he was used in the game. He pitched a perfect ninth and the A’s won their 78th game of 2018.
Lucroy had an amazing night with the bat
The A’s backstop went 2-for-4 in the game with a home run and recorded four RBI. Lucroy drove in the A’s first run of the contest in the top of the second inning when he singled to left driving home Chad Pinder. It was the 500th RBI of his career.
Lucroy was just getting started. In the top of the fourth inning, he clubbed a home run to left center field that plated Mark Canha and Ramon Laureano ahead of him. It was the third home run of the season for Lucroy, but more importantly, it was 13,000th in Athletics’ (Philadelphia, Kansas City, Oakland) history. Lucroy will now be in the A’s milestone record book forever more.
Chad Pinder had a good night with the bat. He went 3-for-4 and scored two runs. In the meantime, Matt Chapman had an odd night. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate but scored no runs and produced no RBI. It is very unusual for a hitter have a .750 night with the bat and walk away with no run production.
Up Next
The Athletics will play the final game of the series on Sunday at 11:10 AM PDT. Chris Bassitt (2-3, 3.38) will start for Oakland while the Twins will counter with All-Star Jose Berrios (11-6, 3.69).
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Las Vegas Aces (14-20) knew the game on Sunday was their last game of the 2018 season. The Aces had been eliminated from the playoffs on Friday night in Dallas. They hoped to put on a good show for the crowd in their finale and keep the Atlanta Dream from earning a double bye in the first round of the playoffs.
The Aces did put on a good show for the fans–at least for three quarters–but they came up short on their plan to beat the Dream. Atlanta (23-11) beat Las Vegas 93-78 handing the Aces their 20th loss of the season.
The Dream held just a 64-62 lead at the end of three quarters. It looked like the Aces were well positioned to make a run to win the game in the final quarter, but it was not meant to be. Atlanta outscored Las Vegas 29-16 in the final period and ran away with the game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Dream had won the game 93-78 and earned a double bye to escape the single elimination games in the playoffs.
“Games like this are always tough,” said Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer in his postgame comments. “You get eliminated from the playoffs and have to go out there and find the motivation to keep working. We are professional basketball players, so I told the team before that we are going to play a lot of people tonight. I want to compete – to win the game – and for the most part, I think we did for a half. We came out in the 3rdquarter and you could see we just didn’t have it anymore, mentally, they didn’t put forth the effort to win the game. [Atlanta] needed it badly, they did the job, they got the win. I told [the team] after the game – be proud of this year, it was a great year for the Las Vegas Aces. We launched a franchise. We competed and showed who we were – individually and collectively – and our franchise and our fans got to come out and enjoy a great product and a great sport, and MGM did a wonderful job launching this franchise. So, I told them to be proud of themselves. Yeah, we didn’t make the playoffs, but we are really looking forward to next year.”
Aces Postgame Notes
Atlanta Postgame Notes
By Charlie O. Mallonee
OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon and are now tied for first place in the American League West. Fans were in disbelief that the A’s (74-49) were in contention for the Wild Card in the AL, but now, the Green and Gold are fighting to win their division. Virtually none of those fans thought that was a possibility before the season began.
Strong starting pitching and power hitting was the key to the A’s win on Saturday.
Trevor Cahill (5-2) started the game for Oakland. He has been pitching the lights out in the Coliseum with an ERA under one at home. Cahill continued his mastery of opponents in his home stadium as pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Astros just one hit. The right-hander struck out seven batters and walked just one. Cahill threw 100 (62 strikes).
The A’s also went on another power surge on Saturday as they hit eight doubles which tied an Oakland single-game record, but you were not allowed to hit just one double – you had to hit two. All of the extra base hits were recorded by four A’s hitters. Khris Davis (24), Stephen Piscotty (33), Matt Olson (26) and Josh Phegley (6) hit all of the “two-baggers” for Oakland versus Houston. The A’s posted a total of 11 hits in the contest.
More A’s
Astros’ notes
Up Next
The A’s and Astros wrap up the three game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT on Sunday.
The Astros will send RHP Justin Verlander (11-8, 2.52) to the mound in an attempt to salvage one win in the series. The A’s will go with their ace LHP Sean Manaea (11-8, 3.44). Manaea won his last start on Monday in Oakland over the Mariners 7-6. He is 1-1 in three starts versus the Astros this season.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Oakland Athletics and their president–David Kaval–have not made any secret about being unhappy with their flagship radio station 95.7 FM The Game and their parent corporation Entercom Communications. The A’s major complaint has been that 95.7 FM The Game spends more time covering the Giants and 49ers than they do the A’s.
By the way, without belaboring the point and going in-depth on the historical reasons why it is a logical editorial move for the station, the A’s complaint has some real validity to it.
Unlike the Giants, the A’s have been the nomadic professional sports team on the Bay Area airwaves. They have been heard on 50,000 watt powerhouse radio station KNBR and tiny college FM station KALX (it’s a long story that also involves the Giants’, Larry Baer). In total, the A’s have been heard on 14 different radio stations in the Bay Area including three different stations in one year back in 2011.
In 60 years, the Giants have been on two stations. Originally, they were heard on 560 AM KSFO before moving to 680 AM KNBR.
Kaval obviously wants to have the kind of relationship with a radio station like Giants have with KNBR. Here is the problem Kaval has in establishing that kind of bond, KNBR/Cumulus Media are also part owners of the Giants. When KNBR promotes and sells the Giants, they are promoting and selling themselves. It’s a perfect business synergy.
It is totally understandable as to why Kaval wants that kind of broadcast relationship for his baseball team. The ongoing conversation about the team and its players help to gin up excitement among the fans year around. That has to be helpful to a team’s bottom line. The problem is the A’s do not have an investor that owns a radio station.
The Dodgers and Angels ran into a very similar situation in Los Angeles and took matters into their own hands. In this writer’s opinion, the Dodgers have done a better job of handling the situation.
The Dodgers established a partnership and purchased their own radio station with iHeart Radio. Together, they operate AM 570 LA Sports–Home of Dodgers Radio & Los Angeles sports. AM 570 LA Sports is also the radio home of the Chargers, Clippers, Fox Sports Radio, and several locally produced sports talk shows, but make no mistake–it is “Dodger Radio.”
The Dodgers control their broadcast situation and create their own profit center from their efforts. Not only do they have a 24 X 7 X 365 self-promotion channel but they have a sports-related broadcast business profit center for the team as well.
The Angels have done the same thing with AM 830 in Orange County, which they call Angels Radio. They are also the home of the Anaheim Ducks, USC Basketball, multiple play-by-play syndicated feeds plus some ESPN network programming and a locally produced talk show.
AM 570 LA Sports does much better in Nielsen Radio Ratings than does Angels Radio AM 830, which means they can charge more for their commercials. They also have the sales and marketing force of iHeart Radio to work with to sell their product. Not that the Angels are losing money, but the assumption would be the Dodgers are making more money with their venture at this point.
If the A’s want to establish stability on the radio and have some control over their broadcast product, then they must put some “skin” in the game. The team is going to have to invest in their own product by finding a broadcast partner to help them build a radio station from the ground up. It will cost some money, but the team will have their choice of Entercom, Cumulus, iHeart, Bonneville, Salem and even possibly Disney to become their broadcasting business partner.
There is plenty of room in the sports broadcasting segment in the Bay Area for more programming. Think “Green & Gold AM 610 ESPN Radio.” There is no full-time ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio or CBS Sports Radio affiliate in the Bay Area. Take the programming from one of those outstanding networks, add a killer local afternoon talk show to go with specialty programming for the A’s to enhance the play-by-play and you have the foundation of a strong sports station. Add to the baseball programming play-by-play coverage of pro and college sports from around the nation plus Bay Area college basketball and you have a station worth listening to if you are a sports fan.
The A’s will need to select the right partner and then buy the correct radio station or stations to make the plan come together, but it can happen? More importantly, as the Dodgers and other professional teams have proved, it can work very successfully.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Oakland Athletics jumped back into the win column on Saturday night with a 7-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. The A’s scored their seven runs in the first four innings and the Angels were never able to respond.
Marcus Semien may have had his best game of the season at the plate on Saturday. The A’s shortstop went 3-for-5, hitting two home runs (8, 9), driving in four runs (43) and scoring three runs. Semien’s third hit was his 26th double of the year.
Khris Davis also joined the power show on Saturday night in Anaheim. “KD” smashed his 34th round-tripper of the season in the third inning off Angels starter Tyler Skaggs. Davis also hit an RBI-single in the fourth inning. Davis now has 92 RBIs for the year to date.
Matt Chapman had a 2-for-5 game with the bat. Chapman hit a single up the middle in the top of the first to drive Semien home from second to score the A’s first run of the game. It was Chapman’s 40th RBI of the season. Chapman scored a run in the fourth inning on Davis’ RBI single.
Stephen Piscotty went 3-for-5 with the bat and scored a run for Oakland. A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy had a 2-for-4 game at the plate and also scored a run.
The A’s scored seven runs on 14 hits while leaving nine men on base. They went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position. And while they picked up 14 hits, their batters struck out just seven times. More hits than strikeouts–is that allowed in an MLB game this year?
Strong starting pitching for Oakland
Edwin Jackson–who almost did not make the Major League roster–picked up his fourth win of the season in this game. He worked 7.1 innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Halos just three hits and three walks while striking out six batters. The 7.1 innings represents the deepest into a game Jackson has worked since joining the A’s. He had worked into the sixth inning six times. Jackson threw 110 pitches (65 strikes).
Jackson’s strong starting pitching effort meant that Trivino, Familia, and Treinen were able to take the night off.
Ryan Buchter worked 0.2 innings of relief in the eighth inning, striking out two batters. Emilio Pagan worked the bottom of the ninth, which got a little more exciting than the A’s would have liked. Pagan loaded up the bases with no outs but worked his way out of trouble without allowing a run to score.
The win affects the West, but not the Wild Card
The Mariners beat the Astros again on Saturday, so the A’s gained ground on Houston, but did not create any additional separation between themselves and Seattle.
Oakland has cut the Houston lead in the American League West to 3.5 games. The Astros have lost three straight games. The Astros and A’s play a three-game series next weekend in Oakland.
The A’s lead over the M’s in the Wild Card race stays steady at 1.5 games. The A’s and M’s play a three-game series Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Oakland.
Up Next
The three-game series will wrap up on Sunday with a 1:07 pm PDT game. The A’s will send RHP Trevor Cahill to the mound (4-2, 3.12) to face the Angels’ Taylor Cole, who will start what will be a bullpen game for LAA.
Sports Radio Service 