Author: rxslugger

Retired pharmacist who now has a career as a sports writer and broadcaster

A’s need to go ten innings to down Marlins 3-2

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Oakland Athletics’ Skye Bolt, second from right, is congratulated by teammates after hitting a sacrifice fly that scored David MacKinnon against the Miami Marlins Wed Aug 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s won the finale of the three-game series with the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. It was a beautiful afternoon in Oakland. The temperature at the start of the game was 71 degrees, and there was not a cloud in the sky.

The game was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel between lefty Cole Irvin for Oakland and lefty Jesus Luzardo for Oakland. Irvin had one of his better outings as he went seven innings, allowed two hits, and had no runs. Irvin struck out a career-high eleven batters and did not issue a walk.

The A’s were ahead 2-0 when Irvin left the game and was in line for his seventh win. Unfortunately for Irvin, Oakland’s bullpen gave up a run in the eighth and one in the ninth to tie the game. 

Miami’s starter, Jesus Luzardo, was dominant for the game’s first five innings. He did not allow a hit and walked just one hitter. The former A’s hurler looked like he was on his way to a win. The A’s had other thoughts as they broke through the spell and put two runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth.

A’s second baseman Jonah Bride led off the sixth with a single. Tony Kemp laid down a sacrifice bunt to send Bride to second. Nick Allen followed with a soft single to short right-field. Bride stopped at third. Bride attempted to score on Shea Langeliers’ ground ball to Marlins’ third baseman Jon Berti.

Berti nailed Bride on the throw to the catcher. Luzardo walked Sean murphy to load the bases. Chad Pinder singled to drive in Allen and Langeliers. The A’s led 2-0 after six complete

A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in Zach Jackson to pitch the eighth. Jackson hit Joey Wendle with a pitch. Peyton Burdick reached on a fielder’s choice. Wendle was out at second. Jackson struck out JJ Bleday for the second out. Burdick was thrown out at second attempting to steal.

The Marlins challenged the call. The play was overturned after a review. Jon Berti walked. Miguel Rojas singled to in Burdick. Kotsay summoned Dany Jimenez from the bullpen. Jimenez retired Jesus Aguilar for the third out.

The Marlins tied the game in the top of the ninth. Jimenez was still pitching for Oakland. With one out, Marlins’ catcher Nick Fortes homered over the wall in left field. Jimenez retired the next two batters. The A’s failed to score in their half of the ninth. 

The A’s won the game in the bottom of the tenth. David MacKinnon was the ghost runner at second base. Mark Kotsay wanted the next hitter to lay down a sacrifice bunt to send MacKinnon to third. Marlins’ pitcher Richard Bleier uncorked a wild pitch.

MacKinnon went to third. Skye Bolt ended the game when his fly ball to centerfield was deep enough to get MacKinnon home with the winning run. Oakland wins 3-2.

Game Notes: With the win, the ‘s are 46-79. The Marlins fall to 54-70.

The Line score for Oakland was three runs, four hits, and no errors. The line for Miami was two runs, five hits, and no errors. A.J. Puk was the winning pitcher. Bleier took the loss for Miami.

The time of the game was 2:40. Three 3901 fans watched the A’ win in extras.

The A’s host the New York Yankees for four games starting Thursday night. Former Yankee James Kaprielian (3-7, 4.29) will be on the mound to face his former team. The Yankees have not announced their starters for any of the games yet.

Thursday night’s game will start at 6:38 pm.

Rangers rout A’s 10-3 earn a split of four-game series in Arlington

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Bubba Thompson, Leody Taveras and Adolis Garcia, from left to right do their best Rockettes impression after the Texas Rangers defeat the Oakland A’s at Globe Life Field in Arlington to conclude the four game series on Thu Aug 18, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Texas Rangers routed the A’s 10-3 to earn a split of the four-game series played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Thursday afternoon.

The A’s lefty Zach Logue did not make it out of the fifth inning. The Rangers tallied seven runs and had two home in the assault on Logue. The Rangers’ starter Dane Dunning went six innings and allowed four hits and two runs. 

The Rangers scored the game’s first runs in the bottom of the second. Adolis Garcia singled up the middle to get things going for Texas. Jonah Heim went to Texas in the trade for Elvis Andrus and tripled to drive in Garcia with the first run. Heim was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch. Logue’s pitch went to the backstop. Langeliers got to the ball quickly, and his throw to Logue, covering home plate, nailed Heim. The Rangers’ DH Mark Mathias blasted his second dinger of the year to give Texas an early 2-0 lead.

Oakland tied the game in the top of the fourth. With one out, Seth Brown doubled. Dunning retired Stephen Vogt for the second out. A’s second baseman, Sheldon Neuse, homered over the left field wall to even the score. The tie didn’t last long as Texas scored two more in their half of the fourth. Logue hit Nate Lowe with a pitch. Logue walked Garcia to put two men on with no out. Jonah Heim singled to drive in Lowe. Garcia stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Rangers led 4-2 after four complete.

Things went south for Logue in the bottom of the fifth. With none out, Logue walked Marcus Semien. Corey Seager singled, sending Semien to third. Seager went to second on the throw. Nate Lowe broke open the game when he blasted his 17th home run of the 2022 campaign to make it a 7-2 game. Logue was done.

Texas added a run in the sixth to make it 8-2. Oakland got one back in the seventh. Rookie catcher Shea Langeliers doubled., then went to third on a ground out. Langeliers scored on a wild pitch. The Rangers plated two more in the eighth to win, going away 10-3.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s finished the seven-game road trip, winning two and losing five. The A’s are now 43-76 for the year. Texas improved to 53-65.

Zach Logue took the loss. His record is now 3-7the A’s used four pitchers. In addition to allowing ten hits, they walked six and hit two batters. Texas’ starter Dane Dunning improved to 3-6. 

The A’s line was three runs, five hits, and one error. The only A’s hitter with more than one hit was Vimael Machin. Machin had two singles. 

Jonah Heim, Mark Mathias, and Bubba Thompson led the Texas attack with two hits each. Texas’ line score was ten runs, ten hits, and no errors.

The A’s defense committed their 71st of the season. They are tied with the Rangers for the second most errors in the American League.

The A’s return home to start a ten-game homestand. They play the Seattle Mariners for three starting Friday night. On Monday, The ‘s will host the Miami Marlins for three. After the Marlins leave, the A’s will play four with the New York Yankees.

Friday night’s game will feature a battle between two lefties. Cole Irvin will go for Oakland, and the Mariners will counter with Marco Gonzales.

Former Oakland A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus was not unemployed very long. Andrus signed on with the Chicago White Sox for the remainder of the season. Neither Jed Lowrie or Stephen Piscotty have signed play with another team.

The time of the game on Thursday was two hours and fifty-two minutes. Sixteen thousand six hundred ninety-five fans watched the Rangers rout the A’s.

A’s hit three home runs to down Rangers 7-2

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Texas Rangers catcher Meibrys Viloria can’t get a handle on the ball as Oakland Athletics’ Sean Murphy (12) scores on a single by Chad Pinder in the top of eighth at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Wed Aug 17, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

On another emotional day for the Oakland A’s (43-75) and the Texas Rangers (52-65), the A’s won their second game in a row, downing the Rangers 7-2. The A’s cut ties with their veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus. Andrus can now sign with any team. I have included the A’s press release in the game notes section.

The Rangers are in a bit of turmoil, too. On Monday, the Rangers fired their manager Chris Woodward. On Wednesday, they dismissed Jon Daniels, who was with the team for 17 years and was the president of their baseball operations. Daniels had also been their general manager. The Rangers also designated pitcher Garrett Richards for assignment.

Even with all the day’s events, the teams still had to play a baseball game. The A’s sent Adam Oller to the mound to face the Rangers. Oller struggled earlier in the season. His record of 1-5 and ERA of 7.62 was not impressive. He was sent down to Triple-A Las Vegas to work on some of his issues.

Since his return, he has performed better. On Wednesday night, Oller pitched his finest game as an Oakland Athletic. He went six innings and allowed five hits and one run. He recorded his second win of the year.

The Rangers’ starter, lefty Cole Ragans, went five innings and allowed four hits and three runs. The A’s catcher Sean Murphy sent two of Ragans’ pitches over the fence. Murph hit a solo blast in the first and a two-run jack in the fourth. 

The A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first when Murphy homered with two out. It was Murph’s 15th of the season. The Rangers tied the score in their half of the inning. With one out Corey Seager singled. Seager went to second on a wild pitch. Oller retired Nate Lowe for the second out. Adolis Garcia doubled to drive in Seager with the run.

In the fourth, David MacKinnon walked, making his first start in an Oakland uniform. Murphy brought him home when he sent the ball over the fence in right-center-field. It was the second time in Murphy’s career that he had a multi-homer game. The A’s led 3-1. The Rangers’ pitching kept the A’s off the board until the eighth. 

Murphy led off the inning in the eighth with a double, his third hit of the night. Chad Pinder singled to drive in Murphy. The play at the plate was close. The throw to Rangers’ catcher Meibrys Viloria was on the money.

Unfortunately for Texas, Viloria could not hold onto the ball as it dropped out of his glove, attempting to put the tag on Murphy. Pinder went to third on the error.

Vimael Machin, pinch-hitting for Sheldon Neuse, singled to drive in Pinder with the A’s fifth run of the game. Oakland was done. The next hitter, Shea Langeliers, homered over the wall in right-center-field to put the A’s in the driver’s seat 7-1.

The Rangers scored a run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little, too late. The A’s win 7-2.

Game Notes: The A’s won their second in a row to improve to 43-75. The Rangers fall to 52-65.

The winning pitcher was Adam Oller. He is now 2-5. The loser was Cole Ragans.

Sean Murphy was the hitting star for Oakland. Murphy had a double, a solo homer, and a two-run shot. He drove in three runs. Rookie Shea Langeliers hit his first Major League home run in just his eighth at-bat in the bigs.

Game four of the series will start at 11:05 am on Thursday. The A’s will have lefty Zach Logue (3-6, 5.49) on the mound. Texas will counter with righty Dane Dunning (2-6, 4.12)

The time of the game was two hours and 58 minutes. 14,846 fans were on hand to watch the A’s down the Rangers

Here is the press release from the A’s regarding Elvis Andrus

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics recalled infielder Sheldon Neuse from Triple-A Las Vegas and released shortstop Elvis Andrus, the club announced today.

Neuse joins the A’s for the third time this year and is batting .227 with three home runs and 21 RBI in 70 games over his first two stints with Oakland. He was on the A’s Opening Day roster and hit .329 over his first 22 games, but a 13-for-91 (.143) stretch preceded his first option to Las Vegas on June 7.

The 27-year-old right-handed hitter batted .227 with a home run and four RBI in 21 games during his second stint from June 21 to July 27. Neuse is hitting .398 with five home runs, 20 RBI, and a 1.018 OPS in 25 games with the Aviators.

Andrus was batting .237 with eight home runs and 30 RBI in 106 games in his second season with Oakland. He was acquired by the A’s from the Texas Rangers on Feb. 6, 2021, with Aramis Garcia for Khris Davis, Jonah Heim, and Dane Acker and hit .243 with three home runs and 37 RBI in 146 games in his A’s debut last year.

The 33-year-old is a two-time All-Star (2010, 12) and left as the Rangers’ all-time leader in stolen bases (305). He also ranked second in games (1652), at-bats (6366) and triples (48), third in runs (893) and hits (1743), fifth in doubles (303) and walks (519), seventh in RBI (636) and eighth in extra-base hits (427).

Andrus has played 1,872 career games in the field, all at shortstop, which is the fifth-longest career-opening streak of appearing only at shortstop in Major League history behind Derek Jeter (2674), Luis Aparicio (2583), Ozzie Smith (2511) and Alan Trammell (1910). He is a .270 career hitter with 87 home runs and 703 RBI in 1,904 games in 14 seasons in the majors. Andrus is the active leader in stolen bases (324), is tied for fourth in triples (50), ranks sixth in hits (1948) and games (1904), and ninth in runs (994).

A’s snap nine-game losing streak beat Rangers 5-1 at Globe Life

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The Oakland A’s Elvis Andrus is all smiles after belting a top of the seventh two run homer against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Tue Aug 16, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s snapped their nine-game losing streak Tuesday night as they beat the Texas Rangers 5-1. The A’s had a revamped lineup as they continued to make roster changes. The A’s released veteran outfielder Stephen Piscotty.

Piscotty had been with the A’s since 2018. Piscotty had a great year with the A’s in 2018, but injuries took their toll, and he was hitting below the Mendoza line and had missed considerable playing time in 2022.

The A’s put two players on the IL on Tuesday. Pitcher Paul Blackburn was shut down for the remainder of the season with a finger injury. Blackburn was the A’s only player to make it to the All-Star team. He was 7-6 for the year.

Outfielder Ramon Laureano is on the ten-day IL with an oblique strain. The A’s brought up infielder David MacKinnon and catcher Shea Langeliers. Langeliers came over from Atlanta in the trade for Matt Olson. Langeliers is 24 years old and was hitting .283 with 19 homers and 56 RBIs in 92 games for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.

J.P.Sears was making his second start since coming to the A’s from the New York Yankees. Sears went five innings and allowed four hits, no runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. The A’s bullpen allowed the Rangers just one run over the last four innings of the game to give Sears his fourth win.

The Rangers had Kohei Arihara on the mound. Arihara was making his first start of the season. The A’s scored a run in the first three innings and recorded seven hits in the first three frames.

The A’s drew first blood in the tip of the first inning. Cal Stevenson led off the game with a double. Tony Kemp bunted for a single, sending Stevenson to third. Sean Murphy popped out to short for the first out. Seth Brown, playing in right field, singled to drive in Stevenson.

Oakland made it a 2-0 game when they plated a run in the second inning. Shea Langeliers, making his Major League debut, sent the first pitch from Arihama down the left field line for a double. Langeliers advanced to third on Vimael Machin’s ground out. Jonah Bride singled to make it 2-0.

In the third, Sean Murphy launched a 454-foot blast to straightaway center field. There was no doubt that it was an actual moonshot.

The A’s brought in the big lefty, A.J.Puk to pitch the sixth. With one out, Rangers’ right-fielder Adolis Garcia singled. First Baseman Nate Low singled, sending Garcia to third. Former A’s catcher Jonah Heim reached on an infield single. Garcia scored to make it 3-1 after six complete.

The A’s put two more on the board in the seventh. Sean Murphy singled with one out. Seth Brown was retired for the second out. Former Rangers’ shortstop Elvis Andrus homered to put the A’s ahead 5-1.

The A’s bullpen shut the Rangers down the rest of the way. Domingo Acevedo, Kirby Snead, and Dany Jimenez all kept the Rangers from scoring to preserve the A’s win.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 42-75. The Rangers fall to 52-64

The line score for Oakland was five runs, eleven hits, and no errors. The line for Texas was one run, nine hits, and no errors.

Sean Murphy had a home run and a single. Vimael Machin also had two hits, both singles.
The A’s outfielders recorded two assists in the game. Nate Lowe was at first base with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Jonah Heim hit a rocket to left field that bounced off the wall into Tony Kemp’s glove.

Kemp threw the ball to Elvis Andrus. Andrus double-clutched the ball, but his throw home was on the mark as Murphy tagged Lowe on the should before he could cross the plate. The play went 7-6-2.

The Rangers loaded the bases with one out. A’s starter J.P. Sears walked three hitters and needed a big play to get out of the jam. The Rangers had the speedy Leody Taveras at third. Ezequiel Duran was at second. Sears had to face a very dangerous hitter, Marcus Semien.

He got Semien to foul out to Seth Brown in right field. Brown had a long run and had to get into position to get ready to make a throw as Taveras had tagged up and was on his way home. Brown made a great throw.

Tavares stopped halfway down the line. When he tried to get back to third, he saw Duran was almost on the base. Taveras was caught in a rundown to end the inning.

Here is the announcement from the A’s regarding the release of Stephen Piscotty.
General manager David Forst thanked Piscotty, 31, for his impact on the club dating to his arrival ahead of the 2018 season in a trade from St. Louis that brought him back close to his home in Pleasanton.

His mother, Gretchen, died in May that year from Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Piscotty helped raise awareness for ALS. Major League Baseball held its first Lou Gehrig Day last year.

He helped lead the A’s back to the playoffs in 2018 after a three-year drought with career highs of 27 home runs and 88 RBIs.

“I want to acknowledge Stephen Piscotty first and just talk a little bit about his time here, which came at a really important time for us when we made that trade at the end of 2017,” Forst said in a conference call. “I appreciate everything that Stephen gave us both on and off the field in his time here.”

The time of the game was 3:07. The attendance was 15,260.

The teams play Wednesday night again at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The game will start at 5:07 pm. Adam Oller (1-5, 7.26 ERA) goes for Oakland. Lefty Cole Ragans(0-1, 4.82 ERA) will pitch for the Rangers.

A’s hitting woes continue lose their ninth in a row 2-1; Despite winning three straight Rangers fire Woodward

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The Oakland A’s pitcher James Kaprielian rubs up the baseball in the foreground after giving up a top of the third inning home run to the Texas Rangers Marcus Semien at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington on Mon Aug 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost their ninth game in a row Monday night to the Texas Rangers 2-1 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers fired their manager Chris Woodward before the start of the game. The Rangers, like the A’s, are in rebuild mode. They did spend 500 million dollars to sign Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. The Rangers’ story will follow in the game notes section.

The A’s were hoping to snap an eight-game losing streak. They sent James Kaprielian to the mound to face Texas. Kap has not more than six innings in his last 29 starts. Kaprielian did not snap that streak. He was the losing pitcher and is now 3-7. His line was five and 1/3rd innings, two runs, six hits, two walks, five strikeouts, and he gave up a solo home run to former A’s shortstop Marcus Semien.

The A’s scored their only run of the night in the top of the third. Nick Allen led off the inning with his third home run of the season and his second in the last two games. Semien homered to tie the game in the Rangers’ half of the third.

Texas scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Leody Tavares triple to deep center field. A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in lefty Sam Moll to pitch. Moll retired Eiler Hernandez for the second out. Texas’ left fielder, Bubba Thompson, singled to drive in Tavaras with the winning run. The Rangers win 2-1.

Game Notes: The A’s have lost nine in a row and are 41-75. They are 34 games under the .500 mark. The Rangers are now 52-63. The 2022 season has not been a banner year for either team. The A’s are on pace to lose over 100 games. 

Glen Otto (5-8) was the winning pitcher. Otto’s line was six innings, two hits, one strikeout, and six walks. The A’s managed just three hits in the game, but they received nine walks. They could not take advantage of Otto’s wildness. 

Lefty J.P.Sears (3-0, 2.20) will make his second start as an Oakland Athletic Tuesday night. The Rangers will use an opener, and the bullpen will handle the pitching chores. Their new manager, former third-base coach Tony Beasley won his first game as the Rangers’ skipper.

The time of the game was 3:10. 13,141 fans watched the Rangers down the A’s.

Here is the announcement from the Rangers about the dismissal of Chris Woodward.

The Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward amid a disappointing season that has them likely to miss the postseason for the sixth consecutive year. Third base coach Tony Beasley will take over as interim manager for the remainder of the season.

At 51-63, the Rangers are 9 1/2 games behind the third and final American League wild-card spot. The case can be made Texas is having a tough-luck season. The Rangers’ minus-2 run differential suggests their record should be close to .500 — a massive improvement from last year’s minus-190 run differential — but they are 6-24 in one-run games. A few lucky bounces and they could’ve been in the race. 

Woodward, 46, was in his fourth season as Rangers manager. The team went 211-287 (.424) under Woodward, though the club was clearly in a rebuild in 2020 and 2021. Texas committed over $500 million to free agents this past offseason, most notably Corey Seagar and Marcus Semien, and the brain trust surely expected to remain in contention longer this summer.

“We have had extensive discussions over the last several weeks, and while the team’s current performance is certainly a big part of this decision, we are also looking at the future,” Rangers executive Jon Daniels said. “As the Rangers continue to develop a winning culture and put the pieces together to compete for the postseason year in and year out, we felt a change in leadership was necessary at this time.”

Preview: Oakland opens up three game set with Houston Friday night at Minute Maid Field

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Oakland A’s starter Cole Irvin delivering here against the Los Angeles Angels on Mon Aug 8, 2022 at the Oakland Coliseum will be starting on this current road trip for the A’s (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are in Houston to start a three-game series with the Astros this weekend. The A’s have lost five in a row and will not have an easy task facing the AL West leader. The Astros are tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League.

Each team has won 71 and lost 41. The A’s record is the opposite, with 41 wins and 71 losses. The A’s are on pace to lose 103 games. The A’s and Astros have met 12 times this season. Surprisingly, the A’s and the Astros have each won six games. The A’s swept the Astros in Oakland the last time the teams met.

The Astros made a couple of deals at the trading deadline to strengthen an already potent lineup. They made a deal with the Baltimore Orioles for Trey Mancini. Mancini is hitting .267 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs.

The Astros needed help in their catching department. They acquired Christian Vasquez from the Boston Red Sox. Vasquez is hitting. 278 with eight homers and 42 RBIs. Mancini can fill in at first base in place of Yuli Guriel when needed. Mancini can play in the outfield and be used in the DH slot.

The Astros have a solid infield with perennial All-Star Jose Altuve at second base. Rookie Jeremy Pena has been solid at shortstop, and Alex Bregman handles the hot corner. The Astro outfield is patrolled by Chas McCormick in left,

Jake Meters in center, and Kyle Tucker in right. Tucker loves to hit against the A’s pitching. Oakland pitchers will have to find a way to limit the damage that Tucker can provide. Astros’ big bopper, Yordan Alvarez, is another dangerous hitter. Alvarez is hitting a robust .295. The big (six-foot, five inches tall slugger) has blasted 31 dingers and knocked in 74.

The A’s will send Adam Oller (1-5, 7.63 ERA) to the mound Friday night. The Astros will counter with Luis Garcia (8-8, 3.93 ERA). The A’s have not announced their starter for Saturday’s game. Lance McCullers, Jr. will make his first start of the year for Houston.

McCullers is coming off the 60-day IL. Lefty Cole Irvin (6-9, 2.92 ERA) has been pitching well for Oakland. In his last start against the Angels, Irvin went eight innings and allowed one run and five hits. He lost the game 1-0 as the A’s offense failed to give him any run support. Christian Javier (6-8, 3.14 ERA) goes for Houston.

The A’s made a couple of roster moves on Wednesday. The A’s brought up outfielder CAl Stevenson from the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. The A’s designated Jed Lowrie for assignment. Lowrie was in his third stint as an Athletic.

Oakland has seven days to either trade or release him. Lowrie believes he still has some gas left in his tank and hopes he can continue his career with another team.

The A’s, as mentioned above, have lost five straight and eight of the last nine. Oakland is 9-10 since the All-Star break, including the three-game sweep of the Astros. They are 15-16 in their last 31. The A’s offense went to sleep in the last five games.

They are hoping to get back on track against the Astros this weekend. The A’s have 50 games left to play. They will be looking at the performances of young players such as Nick Allen, Jonah Bride, Vimael Machin, Cal Stevenson, and Skye Bolt.

Their veterans Stephen Vogt, Elvis Andrus, Stephen Piscotty, Chad Pinder, and Tony Kemp may see limited playing time in the last 50 games.

It’s been a tough season for the A’s fans. The team is definitely in transition. The last 50 games will be a showcase for the young players.

Some of the veterans will not be back next year. Let’s hope the A’s can play well and hope they can bounce back in 2023. Taking two out of three from Houston would be a step in the right direction.

Angels win 5-4 in 12 innings sweep A’s in three-game series

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Magneuris Sierra swings for an RBI double in the top of the 12th inning at the Oakland Coliseum for the Los Angeles Angels against the Oakland A’s on Wed Aug 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost their fifth straight game on Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. It took the Los Angeles Angels twelve innings to down the A’s. The Green and Gold fought hard, but they still came up short. The Angels won the game 5-4.

The A’s had a couple of new faces in the lineup. Lefty J.P.Sears, acquired in the trade with the Yankees for Frankie Montas, made his first start as an Athletic. Sears was impressive as he went five and 1/3rd innings and allowed three hits and two runs.

The other new face was rookie Cal Stevenson. Stevenson was in center field, and he made his family and the A’s fans when he collected his first Major League in the sixth inning.

The Angels put three on the board in the top of the sixth. With one out shortstop, Andrew Velasquez reached on an infield single. Second baseman David Fletcher, a longtime A’s irritant, singled to put men on at first and second.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in lefty Sam Moll to face the Angels’ superstar slugger, Shohei Ohtani. Moll struck him out. The next hitter, Luis Rengifo, sent Moll’s pitch over the wall in left field to put the Angels ahead 3-0.

The A’s scored three runs in their half of the seventh. Lefty Aaron Loup was now pitching for LA. A’s catcher Stephen Vogt walked to start the inning. Loup retired Elvis Andrus and Chad Pinder on fly balls to center.

The Angels brought in righty Andrew Wantz to pitch. Wantz walked Nick Allen and Cal Stevenson to load the bases. Tony Kemp doubled to clear the bases. Kemp was out trying to make it to third. The A’s and Angels are tied at three apiece.

There was no scoring by either team in the eighth or ninth innings. Dany Jimenez was on the mound for Oakland in the tenth. Former SF Giant, Steven Duggar, was the ghost runner. Jimenez retired Max Stassi for the first out.

Angels’ centerfielder Magneuris Sierra singled to drive in Duggar to put the Angels ahead 4-3. The A’s tied the game in their half of the inning. Skye Bolt was the ghost runner. Cal Stevenson’s sacrifice bunt sent Bolt to third.

Jaime Barria retired Kemp for the second out. Ramon Laureano singled to drive in Bolt to make it 4-4. Neither team scored in the 11th. 

In the 12th, Duggar was the ghost runner again. Sierra doubled to drive him in with the Angels’ fifth run. Jaime Barria got the last three outs of the game to earn his first career save. The Angels win 5-4.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 41-71. They lost all five games on the homestand. The Angels improved to 49-63.

The A’s used seven pitchers Wednesday afternoon. Austin Pruitt was the losing pitcher. Barria earned a win and a save.

The line score for Oakland was four runs, seven hits, and one error. The Angels’ line was five runs, six hits, and no errors.

The hitting stars for Oakland were Tony Kemp and Ramon Laureano. Kemp had two doubles and three RBIs. Laureano had two singles, a double, and one RBI.

The A’s were four-for 44, with runners in scoring position for the five-game homestand. The A’s set a new record in baseball by going 71 games without a triple.

The A’s are off on Thursday. They are off to Texas for three games with the Houston Astros and four with the Texas Rangers. On Friday the A’s will be starting Adam Oller (1-5, 7.63) the Astros will be starting Luis Garcia (8-8, 3.93) a 5:10 pm PDT first pitch at Minute Maid Field.

The time of the game was 3:45. 8,286 fans were on hand to see the A’s lose their fifth straight game.

Oakland A’s preview: A’s host Giants for brief two game series at Coliseum beginning Saturday night

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Oakland A’s slugger Ramon Laureano get congratulated upon returning to the Oakland dugout after hitting a two run home run against the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim on Thu Aug 4, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The annual Bay Bridge series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants resume this Saturday in Oakland. The team split the two-game series played at Oracle Park in late April.

Both Bay Area teams are not having a good season. The A’s are in a rebuild mode as they traded away three of the best pitchers. They sent Matt Olson to Atlanta and Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays. The team has the worst record in the American League.

The A’s, however, have played better since the All-Star break. Oakland won their last two games and are 6-4 in the last ten. The Giants, winners of 107 games last year, entered the season with high hopes.

They lost Buster Posey to retirement, and Kevin Gausman signed a free-agent deal with Toronto. The Giants had most of the players back for the 2022 season. In his third year at the helm, Giants’ manager Gabe Kapler has not seen his team play as well as they did last year.

The Giants are 51-55 and are in third place in the National League West Division. They currently trail the Philadelphia Phillies by six and 1/2 games in the race for the third Wild Card slot. The Giants have lost four in a row to the hated Dodgers and are 3-7 in their last ten games.

The Giants are hoping to get back on track this weekend in Oakland. They will send their best two pitchers to face the A’s. Lefty Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00 ERA) will pitch on Saturday. Righty Logan Webb (9-5, 3.20 ERA) will be on the mound on Sunday.

The A’s will counter with Adam Oller (1-4, 7.68 ERA). The A’s have not announced their starter for Sunday. There is speculation that the A’s will use one of the pitchers acquired in the trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the New York Yankees. The platers are Ken Waldichuk and J.P.Sears. Both are currently with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.

The Giants have a lot of familiar names on their roster. They won’t see Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, Thairo Estrada, or Joc Pedersen. All those players are on the IL. However, Brandon Belt will be at first base, as usual.

Belt has missed a lot of playing time this season to injury. Tommy La Stella or the versatile Wilmer Flores will play second. Dixon Machado will be the shortstop. J.D Davis, acquired from the New York Mets for Darrin Ruf, or rookie David Villar will be at third.

Luis Gonzalez will patrol left field for the Giants. Mike Yazstremski or Austin Slater will be in center. LaMonte Wade, Jr will play in right. Yaz or Slater can also play there if needed. The Giants have four players that can be the DH. La Stella, Flores, Davis, And Yermin Merceded will be inserted as the DH when needed.

The A’s big three power guys right now are Ramon Laureano, Sean Murphy, and Seth Brown. Brown and Murphy had two RBIs in the wild win over the Angels on Thursday. Laureano had four RBIs in the game.

The A’s are using Nick Allen, Jonah Bride, and Vimael Machin in three different infield spots as needed. Tony Kemp has played second base and left field for Oakland. Chad Pinder, Skye Bolt, and Stephen Piscotty have played in different outfield positions.

The outcome of the games will depend on the bullpens. Right now, the A’s pen has pitched well. The Giants are using Camilo Doval as the closer.

The A’s Zach Jackson earned a save Wednesday night against the A’s. He may not remain in that role as Dany Jimenez is off the IL. Jimenez pitched the eighth inning against the Angels Thursday. He struck out the side.

The A’s are expecting large crowds for the series. The teams love to beat each other and win bragging rights. It should be a fun weekend.

A’s win a wild one over LA ; Angels hit seven home runs and still lost 8-7

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By Jerry Feitelberg

An adage in baseball says, “you never know what is going to happen in a game.” The A’s and Angels played a wild one Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The Angels hit seven solo home runs and lost 8-7.

It was the sixth time in baseball history that a team has hit seven home runs in a game and lost. Angels fans left the stadium, shaking their heads in disbelief. How could this happen? Yet it did. The A’s offense produced six runs in the third and two in the fourth. The Angels’ bullpen allowed the a’s just one hit over the next five innings.

The Angels’ DH, Shohei Ohtani, started the homer parade by hitting his 23rd of the year to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead. Former A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki made it 2-0 in favor of LA when he blasted his third dinger of the year in the bottom of the second inning.

The A’s offense came to life in the top of the third. A’s second baseman Jonah Bride got things going with a single. Third baseman Vimael Machin reached on a fielder’s choice. Bride was out at second. Angels’ starter Janson Junk walked Nick Allen and Tony Kemp to load the bases.

Ramon Laureano doubled to drive in Machin and Allen. Sean Murphy doubled to drive in Kemp and Laureano. Seth Brown hit his 16th home run of the year to put the A’s ahead 6-2. The A’s sent 11 hitters to the plate in the third. Tayloe Ward led off the bottom of the third with his 14th big fly to make it 8-3.

The A’s put two more runs on the board in the fourth. With one out, Tony Kemp bunted for a single. Laureano homered to make it an 8-3 ball game. In the bottom of the fourth, Blackburn gave up a solo home run to the Angels’ left fielder Jo Adell. It was the first time in Blackburn’s career that he gave up four home runs in a game. The A’s led 8-4

Blackburn left the game after pitching five innings. Lefty Sam Moll was on the hill for Oakland. Angels’ first baseman Jared Walsh homered with one out to close the gap to 8-5. Lefty Kirby Snead was brought in to pitch the seventh.

He hit the first batter he faced with a pitch. He got Taylor Ward to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. The next hitter was Shohei Ohtani. Snead threw Ohtani a pitch that appeared to be about three inches inside. Ohtani turned on the pitch and sent the ball out of the park for his 24th of the year. It was now an 8-6 game.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought Dany Jimenez to pitch the eighth inning. Jimenez was making his first appearance since coming off the 10-day IL. How did he do? He struck out the side. Zach Jackson, who earned his third save of the year yesterday, had the task of getting the last three outs of the game. Jackson struck out Kurt Suzuki for the first out.

The next hitter, Mickey Moniak, recently acquired in a trade with the Phillies, hit his first home run as an Angel. It was the seventh solo Angel Home run. Jackson walked pinch-hitter, Max Stassi. Jackson struck out Ward for the second out.

Shohei Ohtani came to the plate as the potential winning run. Mark Kotsay brought the very tall A.J.Puk to pitch to Ohtani. It was a very tense moment in the game. The suspense ended when Ohtani popped out on Puk’s first pitch. The A’s win 8-7.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 41-66. Oakland ended the six-game road trip 3-3. The Angels dropped to 44-61. Paul Blackburn was the winning pitcher. His record is now 7-6. His line was five innings pitched, six hits, four runs, one walk, three strikeouts, and four home runs. The losing pitcher was Janson Junk. Junk is now 1-1.

The A’s line was eight runs, eight hits, and no errors. Ramon Laureano had a double, home run, and four RBIs. Sean Murphy drove in two, and Seth Brown’s 16th of the year put two more on the board for Oakland.
Shohei Ohtani had three hits for the Angels. He had a single and two home runs. It was the 11th time in his career that he had two homers in a game. The Line score for the Angels was seven runs, nine hits, and no errors.
The A’s are off on Friday. They return home to face the San Francisco Giants on Saturday and Sunday. Then, they face the Angels for three more games starting on Monday. Starting pitchers for Saturday’s game for San Francisco Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00) for Oakland (1-4, 7.68) 7:07 pm PDT first pitch.

The time of the game was 3:25. 23,849 fans watched nine balls fly out of the park as the A’s outlasted the Angels 8-7.

A’s get solid performance from Kaprielian down Angels 3-1

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Elvis Andrus (17) and Sean Murphy (12) share a forearm bash after Murphy’s two run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum as Ramon Luareano (22) looks on against the Los Angeles Angels at the Big A in Anaheim on Wed Aug 3, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s bounced back to beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. The A’s had to face the Angels’ ace, Shohei Ohtani. The young man from Japan entered the game with a record of 9-6 and an ERA of 2.81.

Ohtani was in the Angels’ lineup as the designated hitter. Ohtani is hitting .255 with 22 homers and 62 RBIs. The A’s sent James Kaprielian out to do the pitching for Oakland. Kaprielian got off to a slow start as he had to deal with a shoulder issue early in the season. He was 0-5 entering July. In July, he was 2-0 with an ERA of 1.03.

His record for the season before Wednesday’s game was 2-5 with an ERA of 4.50. The smart money probably would be putting money on Ohtani to win the game.

Kaprielian had other ideas and outpitched Ohtani to win his third game of the year. Kaprielian went five and 1/3rd innings and allowed just one run. Ohtani was the losing pitcher. Ohtani was touched for three runs as he absorbed his seventh loss of the season.

The A’s drew first blood in the top of the fourth. Ramon Laureano reached safely on Angels’ third baseman Luis Rengifo’s throwing error. Laureano went to second on a wild pitcher. A’s catcher Sean Murphy singled to drive in Laureano with the A’s first run.

The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Their center-fielder, Magneuris Sierra, led off the inning with a single. Kaprielian retired David Fletcher on a ground-out. Sierra advanced to second on the play.

Kaprielian retired Shohei Ohtani on another ground-out. Sierra motored to third on the play. Luis Rengifo atoned for an error in the previous inning by hitting a double to drive in Sierra with the tying run. The score was 1-1 after five complete.

The A’s put two more runs on the board in the top of the sixth. Ramon Laureano led off the sixth with a single. The next hitter, Sean Murphy, blasted his 13th home run over the fence in left field to put the A’s in the lead 3-1. Ohtani retired the next two hitters. He walked Jed Lowrie and gave up a single to Chad Pinder. Angels’ manager Phil Nevin brought Aaron Loup to get the final out of the inning.

Neither team scored after the sixth inning. The A’s used Sam Moll to finish the sixth, A.J.Puk in the seventh, Domingo Acevedo in the eighth, and Zach Jackson earned his third save by setting the Angels down 1-2-3 in the ninth. The A’ win 3-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 40-66. The Angels fall to 44-60. 

Kaprielian won his third game of the season. He is now 3-5. His line was five and 1/3rd innings, one run, six hits, and walked one and four strikeouts. Kaprielian threw 83 pitches. Ohtani was the losing pitcher. His record is 9-7. Ohtani has lost his last three starts.

His line was five and 2/3rds innings of work. He allowed seven hits, three runs(two earned), one walk, and seven strikeouts. Ohtani did not stay in the game as the DH even though he was done pitching. 

The hitting star for Oakland was Sean Murphy. Murph had a single and a home run. He drove in all three Oakland runs.

The teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The game will start at 1:07 pm.

Paul Blackburn (6-6, 4.15) will go for Oakland. Janson Junk (1-0, 0.00) pitches for the Angels.

The time of the game was 3:08. 25,190 fans watched as the A’s beat the Angels 3-1.