Author: rxslugger

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

Oakland A’s preview: A’s open two game set in San Diego; A’s take an interest in Rangers’ Gallo

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A number of clubs have taken an interest in Texas Rangers Joey Gallo, the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland A’s so far have all stepped up to the plate in the Gallo Sweepstakes (file photo USA Today)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s continued to flounder as they lost three of the four games played against the Settle Mariners this past weekend. The A’ continued to fail to get clutch hits with runners in scoring position. Since June 18th, the A’s are 13-18. Yes, they are playing a lot of one-run games.

Yes, they have had chances to win. Yet, they fail to come through. On June 18th, the A’s were in first place in the AL West. They are now 5 and 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros. They led the Seattle Mariners by 3 and 1/2 games in the second AL Wild Card race.

That was before the weekend series. They now lead the Mariners by 1 and 1/2 games. They have lost seven of the last ten series played. They won two and split one with the Texas Rangers. The only team in the AL West that they can beat has been the LA Angels. The Astros, Rangers, and Mariners all have a winning record against Oakland.

The A’s missed the boat by not trading for Nelson Cruz. Tampa Bay sent two prospects to Minnesota for the slugger. Oakland could have worked out a deal. The A’s have not gotten the production they hoped for from the two guys in right field.

Mitch Moreland has been on the 10-day IL twice. Moreland has hit seven dingers and driven in 24. The A’s are rumored to be interested in acquiring Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers. The New York Yankees are also interested in trading for Gallo. Maybe Billy Beane and David Forst probably would go after Khris Davis. He is available.

The A’s are on their way to San Diego to play two against the San Diego Padres. The Padres are in third place in the NL West. They trail the San Francisco Giants by 5 and 1/2 games and are 3 and 1/2 games behind the LA Dodgers in the Wild Card Chase.

The Padres made several moves over the off-season to bolster their starting pitching. They acquired Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs and Blake Snell, a former Cy Young Award winner, from the Tampa Bay Rays. Their general manager, A.J. Preller, engineered a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates to acquire second baseman/ outfielder Adam Frazier for three prospects. The deal hasn’t been finalized but is expected to be announced soon. Preller is working on a deal to get pitcher Jose Berrios from the Minnesota Twins.

The Padres have not announced their starters for the series with the A’s. Chris Paddack (6-6, ERA 5.17) last pitched on July 21st, and his next turn would appear to be against the A’s. Lefty Blake Snell (4-3, ERA 4.93) would go on Wednesday. Oakland will send James Kaprielian to the mound Tuesday night. Kaprielian is 5-3, and his ERA is 2.53. Lefty Sean Manaea (7-6, ERA 3.16) will pitch for the A’s Wednesday afternoon.

The A’s pitchers will have their work cut out for them against a very potent San Diego offense. They have two guys on the left side of the infield that can hammer the baseball. Third baseman Manny Machado, in his tenth season, is hitting .275 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs.

Machado has hit 240 homers so far in his career. At shortstop, the Padres have the 2-year-old phenom, Fernando Tatis, Jr. The young man from the Dominican Republic is hitting .289 with 30 home runs and has 67 RBIs.

Eric Hosmer will be at first base for the Pads. Hosmer owns a .266 batting average, and he has hit eight dingers in driven in 48. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth is hitting a solid .275. Jake has hit 13 big flies out of the park and knocked in 24 mates.

The Padres have four players they use quite a bit in the outfield. Tommy Phan will probably start in leftfield. Pham is batting .260 and has hit 13 dingers. Trent Grisham will patrol centerfield. Grisham is at .262, 11 homers, and 39 RBIs. Will Myers (.254, 12 homers, 45 RBIs) will be in right. Jurickson Profar, who was an Oakland Athletic in 2019, will be the backup outfielder.

The Padre bullpen is solid. Their closer, the veteran Mark Melancon has been solid all year. Melancon has recorded 30 saves so far this year. Two former A’s are in the Padre pen. Emilio Pagan, who was with Oakland in2018, and Drew Pomerantz, a starter for Oakland in 2014 and 2025, have done well for the Padres. Other relievers that will see action include left Tim Hill, righties Craig Stammen, Austin Adams, Pierce Johnson, and Nabil Crismatt.

Since the game is being played in a National League Park, the A’s will be without the designated hitter. The A’s will have to figure out a way to put runs on the board. Since resuming play after the All-Star break, Oakland has put slightly more than three runs per game on the board.

After the two-game set with the Padres, the A’s play four against the Angels. The A’s have had their way against LA so far. However, the Angels would love to turn the tables on their foes from the Bay area. After the Angel series, the A’s return home to play two more against the Padres.

The Texas Rangers, in last place in the AL West, will play three more in Oakland. They have not been kind to the A’s this year. The A’s then go on the road to play three in Cleveland, three more with Texas, and four against the Central Division leaders, the Chicago White Sox. After that trip, the A’s host the San Francisco Giants for three, the Mariners for two, and the Yankees for four more games.

The A’s do not have an easy road to the playoffs. They need help to strengthen the offense. Lou Trivino has done a reasonably good job as the closer. Lefty Jake Diekman has had some control issues. Diekman has not been as effective as he was last year. Sergio Romo has regained his form and has been quite a surprise. Yusmeiro Petit has also done a good job.

It will be interesting to see if the A’s get active before the July 30th trade deadline. They need to upgrade the offense. First baseman Matt Olson is the A’s most valuable player. The big guy is hitting .287 to go along with 27 home runs and 66 RBIs. Mark Canha, Jed Lowrie, and Tony Kemp are the only other hitters above the .250 mark. Seth Brown is at .201, Stephen Piscotty at .205, Sean Murphy .212, Matt Chapman .218.

Hopefully, the A’s can get the offense going. If they don’t, they may not make the playoffs. Let’s hope they can make a couple of deals and they get back on the winning track.

A’s Manaea strong performance downs M’s 4-1 at T Mobile

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Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea throws against the Seattle Mariner line up at T Mobile Field in Seattle on Thu Jul 22, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s won their third game in a row behind Sean Manaea’s outstanding performance Thursday night in Seattle. Manaea broke a four-game personal losing streak as he held the Mariners to one run and three hits in seven innings of work. Manaea improved to 7-6 for the season. Sergio Romo set the M’s down in order in the eighth, and Lou Trivino closed out the ninth for his sixteenth save.

The Mariners’ starter, Chris Flexen, held the A’s to just one hit and no runs in the game’s first four innings. The A’s drew first blood in the top of the fifth. With two outs, A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus singled to start the rally. With Mark Canha at the plate, Andrus stole second. He went to third on Canha’s infield single. The next hitter, Ramon Laureano, lined a shot off Flexen’s leg to drive in Andrus with the A’s first run. 

The A’s added another run in the top of the sixth. With one out, Mitch Moreland doubled. A’s catcher, Sean Murphy, followed with a double to left to drive in Moreland. The A’s led 2-0 midway through the sixth. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Seattle’s catcher, Tom Murphy, led off the inning with a solo blast to left. Manaea settled down and retired the next three batters.

In the top of the eighth, the A’s put two more runs on the board. Singles by Matt Chapman and Seth Brown put men on at first and second with no out. Elvis Andrus executed a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Mark Canha walked to load the bases.

Ramon Laureano hit a soft line drive over the Mariners’ shortstop J.P. Crawford to drive in Chapman. Matt Olson drove in Brown with a sacrifice fly to right field. The A’s led 4-1. Sergio Romo was now pitching for Oakland. As mentioned above, he set the M’s down in order. Lou Trivino got the last three out of the game to earn his 16th save of the year. The A’s win 4-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 56-42 for the year. They trail the Houston Astros by two and 1/2 games in the race for the AL West crown. The Mariners fall to 51-46.

The A’s line was four runs, eleven hits, and no errors. The M’s stats were one run, four hits, and no errors.

Sean Manaea struck out 13 Mariner hitters for a new career-high. Mark Canha hat a single, double, and two walks as he reached base four times. Ramon Laureano and Sean Murphy each had two hits Thursday night.

The A’s will send Frankie Montas to the hill Friday night. The Mariners will counter with lefty Yusei Kikuchi. The game will start at 7:10 pm.

Preview of A’s four-game series in Seattle with Mariners starts Thursday night

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Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea shown here throwing against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Minute Maid Field on Wed Jul 7, 2021will be the starting pitcher of record tonight against the Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are en route to Seattle to start a four-game series against the Mariners starting Thursday night. The A’s, 55-42 for the season and 6-4 in their last ten games, are in second place in the AL West, trailing the Houston Astros by three and 1/2 games. The Mariners are in third place with a record of 41-44 and are three games behind the A’s in the race for the second AL Wild Card.

The A’s have played the M’s six times so far this year. The teams have each won three games. The teams last met on June 4th, and the A’s won the contest 9-5 that day.

The A’s will send lefty Sean Manaea to the hill Thursday night. Manaea is 6-6 with an ERA of 3.28. Righty Chris Flexon, 9-3 ERA 3.35, will go for Seattle. Frankie Montas, 8-8 era 4.33, goes for Oakland on Friday. Seattle will counter with lefty Yusei Kikuchi.

His record is 6-5, ERA 3.92. The A’s will have Chris Bassitt going on Saturday against the M’s Logan Gilbert. Bassitt is 10-3 with a 3.31 ERA. Gilbert is 4-2 and has a 3.5 ERA. On Sunday, lefty Cole Irvin goes for Oakland. Irvin is 7-8 with a 3.42 ERA. Lefty Marco Gonzalez goes for Seattle. Gonzalez is 1-5 for the year. The M’s are hoping Gonzalez regains his form and can handle the A’s.

The A’s have been struggling at the plate this year. As a team, they are hitting .233. They have a team on-base percentage of .311 and an OPS of .716. The M’s team batting average is .219. Their on-base percentage is. 295. They have a team OPS of .712.

The A’s swept the last two games played against the LA Angels. The A’s welcomed back leadoff hitter, Mark Canha, from the 10-day IL. A’s Designated Hitter Mitch Moreland also returned to action from a stint on the IL. Moreland has not been as productive as the A’s had hoped. Rumors are swirling that the As’ are looking to trade for the 41-year -old slugger Nelson Cruz, currently with the Minnesota Twins. .

The Mariners, despite their lowly team batting average, have been winning. They have a solid starting rotation. Their closer is former A’s starter, Kendall Graveman. Graveman is 2-0 and has a sparkling 0.90 ERA. He has recorded nine saves so far. Rafael Montero and Kenyon Middleton have 11 saves between them, closing out games for Seattle.

The M’s Mitch Haniger will be in the lineup for the series. Haniger has been productive against Oakland in the years he has been with Seattle. Haniger is hitting .265 with 22 homers and 58 RBIs. Other players to keep an eye on are first baseman Ty France, third baseman Kyle Seager, shortstop J.P.Crawford, and catcher Tom Murphy.

The A’s have played 97 games so far this year. They had a rough stretch where they went 9-15 and fell out of first place in the West. They need to have everyone contribute if they hope to gain ground on the Astros. The starting rotation has been good all year.

Lou Trivino has found a home as the A’s closer. Yusmeiro Petit has been solid all year. A’s first baseman Matt Olson leads the team with 25 home runs. The A’s need Moreland and other players to step up to keep opposing pitchers from pitching around Olson.

The A’s do not want to make the playoffs as a Wild Card. They would be the road team if the playoffs were to start today. They have not fared well in the past in that position. The trade deadline is nine days away. Will they make a deal for Nelson Cruz? Will they trade for Joey Gallo? Will they make a deal to strengthen the bullpen? The A’s have made deals in the past at the trade deadline. I suspect they will be active before the deadline passes on July 30th.

Preview of A’s series with Cleveland Indians

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Matt Chapman (28) and Matt Olson (26) forearm bash after Chapman’s second home run of the night against the Texas Rangers in the sixth inning Sun Jul 11, 2021 at Arlington. Chapman and Olson are getting ready for the second half of the season opening up with Cleveland on Fri Jul 16, 2021 (AP file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s start the second half of the 2021 season hosting the Cleveland Indians for three games starting Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s enter the game with a record of 52-40. They are in second place in the AL West three and 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros.

The Indians are in second place in the AL Central with a record of 45-42. They are eight games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox. If the playoffs were to start today, The Indians would be in fourth place and not eligible for post-season play.

A’s manager Bob Melvin announced his pitching choices for the series. The A’s ace, Chris Bassitt (10-2, ERA 3.28), will be on the hill Friday night. The Indians’ skipper, Terry Francona, will have Eli Morgan (1-3, 8.44 ERA) pitch. Lefty Sean Manaea goes for Oakland on Saturday.

Cal Quantrill, son of former Major League pitcher Paul Quantrill, will pitch for Cleveland. Sunday’s game will see Frankie Montas try to win his ninth game of the year. Cleveland will counter with Zach Plesac.

This year’s Indians’ roster will showcase many names that are not familiar to the A’s fans. Three names that contributed to the A’s success in the past few years are gone. Carlos Santana is now with the Kansas City Royals.

Their All-Star shortstop, Francisco Lindor, left the team as a free agent to join the New York Mets. Pitcher Carlos Carrasco is now with the Mets, too. Carrasco is currently on a rehab assignment. Shane Bieber, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, is on the 10-day IL.

The Indians will have Bobby Bradley at first base, Ahmed Rosario, and Cesar Hernandez will be at second. Rosario may see action at shortstop, third base, and the outfield. One of the Indians’ best players, Jose Ramirez, will be stationed at third base. Ramirez is hitting .260 with 19 homers and 52 RBIs.

The Indians have three outfielders on the IL. Eddie Rosario is on the ten-day IL. Josh Naylor and Jordan Luplow are on the 60-day IL. Oscar Mercado and Daniel Johnson will see time playing in left field. Francona will use both of these players in center and right field.

Harold Ramirez and Bradley Zimmer will probably be in centerfield for Cleveland. The Designated Hitter is Franmil Reyes. Reyes is hitting .272 with 14 dingers and 38 RBIs.

The A’s won the last two games against the Rangers before the All-Star game break. The A’s are hoping the momentum will carry over as they start the second half of the season. The A’s hope to have leadoff hitter Mark Canha and Designated hitter Mitch Moreland back in the lineup.

The A’s have missed Canha’s ability to get on base. The A’s are hoping Moreland can be more productive in the second half. Rumors are floating that Oakland is interested in trading for 41-year-old Nelson Cruz to be the DH. Another player rumored to be on the A’s list is Joey Gallo.

The trading deadline is July 30th. If no trades materialize, Oakland will have to go with the current roster. The A’s, in recent years, have done well in the second half of the season. The A’s want to win the division. They do not want to be a Wild Card team.

The A’s know the key to success is winning series. Before the All-Star break, they were 8-13. Their goal for this weekend is to win at least two of the three games against the Indians. They host the LA Angels for two games to conclude the short five-game homestand.

The A’s then go on a ten-game road trip. They place four against the Mariners in Seattle, two with Padres in San Diego, and four with the Angels in Anaheim. The A’s have their work cut out for them. Bob Melvin will have them ready.

Oakland A’s report: Build it and they will come

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By Jerry Feitelberg

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred tries to laugh off being booed after being introduced at the MLB 2021 baseball draft on Sun Jul 11, 2021 in Denver (AP News photo) 

OAKLAND–On Tuesday, MLB’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, announced that time has run out for the City of Oakland to make a final decision to support the A’s very ambitious project at the Howard Terminal.

The City Council meets on July 20th to announce their decision. Failure to join in with the A’s to build the stadium means the A’s probably will be looking elsewhere to build their new stadium. Possible sites include Portland, Oregon, Las Vegas, Nevada, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Montreal, Canada.

The A’s, without question, need a new ballpark. The Oakland Coliseum was built to be the home of two sports: baseball and football. The current configuration for baseball has the fans sitting too far away from the infield.

The Coliseum does not have the intimacy of a ballpark, such as Oracle Park in San Francisco, Camden Yards in Baltimore or Boston’s Fenway Park. Before Mt. Davis was built in 1995, the fans sitting in the bleachers could talk to the A’s outfielders. The outfield fence is much higher, and the fans’ view from the seats is much different now.

When Lew Wolfe was running the team, he wanted to move the team to several sites in the Bay Area. He looked at sites in Fremont and San Jose. The San Francisco Giants, who own territorial rights to San Jose, objected.

The Giants gained those rights when they were on the verge of moving the franchise to Toronto or Tampa Bay. The Giants built their new stadium in San Francisco but were not willing to relinquish their rights.

The A’s new president, Dave Kaval, thought he had a deal to build a stadium on the grounds of Laney College in Oakland. He had egg on his face with that highly-touted deal fell through. Undaunted, the A’s came up with a new plan to build at Howard Terminal, a few blocks north of Jack London Square in Oakland.

The original plan, or so though Oakland’s city council, was to build a baseball-only ballpark to be privately financed. The park would seat about 35,000 people.

They were blindsided when the A’s came to them will a 12 billion dollar project that would include not only the stadium but 3000 units of housing, over a million square feet of office buildings, and 200,000 square feet of retail space.

They informed the city that Oakland would have to invest over 855 million dollars to build the project. The A’s tried to show the council that those costs would be recouped by the new tax revenues generated by the project. They felt the additional jobs, homes, and businesses would greatly benefit the city’s economy.

The A’s and Oakland have to resolve several issues. Who will be paying for infrastructure costs? Access to the park and parking issues will have to be settled. Oakland wants the A’s to stay in town for the next 45 years.

The A’s will commit to 20. If the plan is to be approved by Oakland, it has to be a win-win situation. Both sides have to realize there is more to gain than lose.

The fans will be crushed to lose their team. Life will go on if the A’s leave town, but it will leave a big hole in the hearts of the people that have supported this team since their arrival here in 1968.

Oakland A’s Mid-Season analysis for first half 2021 season

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American League slugger Matt Olson representing the Oakland A’s watches the flight of the ball he hit during the first round of the Home Run Derby at Coors Field on Mon Jul 12, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are off for the next four days as MLB holds its annual All-star game festivities this week. Monday night’s activities include the annual Home Run Derby. A’s first baseman, Matt Olson, will compete against seven other sluggers for the crown.

He will have to beat the likes of Shohei Ohtani, who leads MLB with 33 dingers, Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero, Jr, and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis. It will not be easy, but the contest will be fun. The A’s best pitcher, Chris Bassitt, will also be in Denver as part of the American League’s pitching staff.

The rest of the A’s will be at home getting a well-deserved four-day rest. The baseball season, as fans know, is a grueling, grinding marathon for six months. There are not very many off-days throughout the season. The four days give the players to rest their weary bodies.

The A’s season did not start well. They lost the first six games of the season. Fans were concerned the team would not be able to overcome the poor start. A’s manager, Bob Melvin, would have liked the team to get off to a fast start, but that didn’t happen.

What made matters worse was the first four losses were to their main division rivals, the Houston Astros. The A’s then lost two more games to the LA Dodgers.

Things improved when they beat the Dodgers for their first win. The A’s got back on track with an amazing 13-game winning streak. The A’s were able to continue to play winning baseball. They found themselves in first place in the AL Western Division.

After the first 70 games of the year, they owned a two-game advantage over the Astros. However, they were 8-13 since then and now trail the Astros by three and 1/2 games. Their problems started when they went on a 4-6 on a ten-game road trip to New York, Dallas, and San Francisco.

They came home to face the Rangers and the Red Sox for a short six-game homestand. They went 2-4. They placed the next six games on the road against the Astros and Rangers. Houston took two out three and owned a 9-4 record against Oakland with six games left to play late in the season.

The A’s lost the first game of the three-game set to the Rangers last Friday night. They outlasted the Rangers 8-4 in eleven innings on Saturday and beat Texas 4-1 on Sunday to finish with a 50-42 record.

What are the takeaways for the season? At this point, the A’s have to be very pleased with the pitching staff’s performance. Chris Bassitt has been their ace. Bassitt has a record of 1-2 with an ERA of 3.28. He has gone seven innings in several of his last ten starts and leads the A’s with 118 pitched.

Being able to go seven innings has allowed the A’s to keep the bullpen fresh. Sean Manaea has pitched well. The Big lefty’s record is 6-6 and has an ERA of 3.19. Frankie Montas is 8-7, and his ERA is 4.41. Montas has pitched, but a couple of rocky starts has pushed his ERA to over four runs per game.

Lefty Cole Irvin has been a pleasant surprise. Irvin is 6-8 with an ERA of 3.65. The A’s hitters failed to give him support in some of the games that he lost. Righty James Kaprielian has been another find. The big righty who pitched his collegiate ball at UCLA is 4-3 with an ERA of 2.90. Kaprielian came to Oakland in the trade that sent Sonny Gray to New York in 2017.

Kaprielian was sidelined with injuries, and he is now showing the A’s why the Yankees made him a number one draft pick several years ago.

Bob Melvin has to be pleased with the A’s bullpen’s performance. The A’s lost their All-Star closer, Liam Hendriks, to free agency last winter. They signed Trevor Rosenthal to a one-year $11 million contract to replace Hendriks. Rosenthal injured his shoulder in spring training and, hopefully, will return in August. Bob Melvin decided to use lefty Jake Diekman and righty Lou Trivino as the closer.

Diekman had a wonderful 2020 season. He was lights out. Not so much this season. He still has done well and has recorded seven saves. Lou Trivino, a sensation in 2018, struggled the last two seasons. Trivino worked to improve, and Sweet Lou has responded to the challenge. Trivino has 14 saves and an ERA of 1.84 for Oakland. Yusmeiro Petit has been good again. J.B. Wendelken, Deolis Guerra, Sergio Romo all have come through for Oakland.

The A’s offense has been a work in progress. The A’s lineup on Sunday had just two players hitting over .250. Matt Olson leads the A’s with a .282 batting average with 23 home runs and 59 RBIs. Jed Lowrie was second on the team with a .263 average.

Lowrie, who hadn’t played in the last two years as a New York Met, returned to Oakland the third time. Jed can still swing the bat. Ramon Laureano and Tony Kemp are hitting about .240. Laureano has some pop in his bat with 13 dingers and 31 RBIs.

Kemp was hitting about.280 a couple of weeks ago, but his bat went cold. Sean Murphy and Matt Chapman are at the .220 mark. Murphy homered in the last two games against Texas.

Chapman missed the last part of last season with a hip injury. He had surgery. Matt struggled early in the season. He has been doing better lately. Elvis Andrus arrived via a trade with the Rangers. The A’s needed to replace Marcus Semien, who left to play second base with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Semien is having a terrific season and made the All-Star team. Andrus struggled early in the season. He has been hitting well the last six weeks, and his average is about .238. Mitch Moreland is currently on the 10-day IL. It is the second time this season for Moreland.

The A’s need his bat back in the lineup. Stephen Piscotty’s average is slightly above the Mendoza line. Piscotty has been injured a couple of times and has not returned to the player that he can be. He did have a huge pinch-hit home run to help win the game last Saturday against Texas.

Billy Beane and David Forst will have to make some decisions regarding the team before the July 30th trade deadline. Rumors are floating around that they are interested in acquiring slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins to fill the DH slot.

Another possibility is trading for Texas Rangers’ outfielder Joey Gallo. Gallo has one year of arbitration left and will be a free agent after the 2022 season. The Rangers are paying him 6.2 million dollars. The A’s could handle his salary easily.

Those two big bats would put a lot more power into the A’s lineup. Right now, the only consistent power hitter in the A’s lineup is Matt Olson. The A’s may also be looking to acquire help either for the starting rotation or the bullpen.

The A’s want to win the division. If the season ended today, the A’s would be the second Wild Card. They would have to travel to St. Petersburg to face the Tampa Bay Rays.

The A’s hitters need to improve if they want to make the playoffs and win the pennant. Right now, the team has not been able to hit with men in scoring position.

The team, as a whole, strikes out too much. They need to put the bat on the ball. In the past few years, the A’s have played better in the second half of the season. Let’s hope the A’s will do well. The fans in the Bay Area would love to see another World Series between the A’s and the San Francisco Giants. It could happen.

Jerry Feitelberg covers Oakland A’s road games for the 2021 season for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Frankie Montas’ superb outing propels A’s to win over Astros 2-1

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Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas delivers against the Houston Astros in the first inning of Thu Jul 8, 2021 game at Minute Maid Field (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (50-39) needed their starter to find a way to stop the powerful Houston Astros’ (54-34) offense. Houston had won the first two games of the three-game series and increased their leas to 5 and 1/2 games over the A’s. Had the Astros won, they would have increased their lead to six and 1/2 games.

A’s manager Bob Melvin handed the ball to Frankie Montas to expect that Montas would shut down the Astros’ attack. Montas responded with, perhaps, his best performance of the season. Montas went six and 2/3rds innings, allowing the Astros one run and five. He struck out ten and walked one, as he won his eighth game of the year, leading the A’s to a 2-1 win.

The A’s scored all the runs they would need in the first inning. With one out, Elvis Andrus doubled. Astros’ starter, Lance McCullers, Jr. uncorked a wild pitch to send Andrus to third. Matt Olson doubled to drive in Andrus with the A’s first run. Jed Lowrie singled to drive in Olson to give the A’s the lead 2-0.

Montas had all four of his pitches working. He painted the corners with his four-seam fastball. He had command of his slider, splitter, and changeup. He was moving the ball up and down in the zone. He threw 95 pitches, and 71 were strikes. He struck out the side in the first and second innings.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Astros finally put a run on the board. Montas recorded the first two outs. Astros’ right-fielder, Kyle Tucker, doubled to start the Astro rally. He went to third on a wild pitch. Astros’ centerfielder, Chas McCormick, followed with a double to drive in Tucker with Houston’s first run. A’s manager, Bob Melvin, brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch to Abraham Toro. Petite got Toro to ground out to end the inning. 

Lou Trivino pitched the eighth for Oakland. Trivino walked Jason Castro to start the frame. A’s fans got a little nervous as they know the cardinal sin for any reliever is to walk the first man he faced in the inning. Trivino now had the unenviable task of facing the Astros’ three best hitters. Trivino was not fazed at all.

He got Jose Altuve to hit into a fielder’s choice, Michale Brantley to fly out to right, and Carlos Correa hit a popup to Tony Kemp at second base. Bob Melvin had Jake Diekman pitch the ninth. Diekman gave up a single to Yordano Alvarez to start the bottom of the ninth.

He got the next hitter, Yuli Guriel, to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. He retired Kyle Tucker on a soft line to Tony Kemp to preserve to win for Oakland. The A’s win a very close game 2-1.

Game Notes and Stats- with the win, the A’s are 50-39 for the years and are 4 1/2 games back of the first-place Astros. Houston is now 54-34. The line for Oakland was two runs, eight hits, and no errors. Houston’s line was one run, six hits, and one error.

The A’s pitching did an excellent job of holding down the Houston offense. Houston has averaged 5.5 runs per game so far this season.

The A’s are 4-9 against Houston this year. In all four victories, A’s pitchers have held the Houston Offense to less than six runs. The Astros have scored six or more runs in eight of the nine wins against Oakland.

Ramon Laureano, Elvis Andrus, and Jed Lowrie each had two hits on Thursday. Frankie Montas improved to 8-7. Lou Trivino earned a hold, and Jake Diekman recorded his seventh save of the season.

The first four hitters in the Astro Lineup were one-for sixteen against the A’s. Yordano Alvarez’s single in the ninth was the only hit. Bob Melvin commented after the game about Montas’ performance. It applied to all four of the A’s pitchers:”Every pitch meant something.”

Injury update: Chad Pinder was placed on the 10-day IL. Pinder injured his right hamstring running to first base on the last play of Wednesday night’s game. After running across the base, he grabbed the back of his leg as he fell to the ground. The A’s do not know how much time Pinder will need to recover.

The time of Thursday’s game was 2:52. 29,243 fans did not see their Astros win.

The A’s are on their way to Arlington, Texas, to play a three-game series with the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are 4-3 against the A’s this year. Hopefully, the momentum for Thursday’s win will continue for the A’s this weekend. After the series, the A’s are off until July 16th. They will resume play after the annual All-Star game break against the Cleveland Indians at the Coliseum.

The pitching matchups for the series will see lefty Cole Irvin go for Oakland Friday night. Texas will send Jordan Lyles to the hill. On Saturday, it will be James Kaprielian going against Mike Folynewicz. Folty has been tough on the A’s in the two games he has pitched for the Rangers. On Sunday, Chriss Bassitt will be on the mound for the A’s, and Texas will counter with lefty Kolb Allard.

Friday night’s game at Globe Life Stadium will begin at 5:05 pm.

Two Astro home runs sink A’s 4-3

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Houston Astros Jose Altuve reaches down and up to hit a third inning three run home run against the Oakland A’s at Minute Maid Field on Wed Jul 7, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Houston Astros (54-33) continued to torment the Oakland A’s (49-39) as they beat the Green and Gold 4-3. The Astros and A’s have met 12 times so far this season. The Astros have won nine. The storyline shows two teams going in different directions. The A’s have lost twelve of their last 18 games.

The Astros are 13-5. The A’s were in first place with a 2-game lead over Houston before things went south. They now trail Houston by five and 1.2 games. The A’s can get back on course with a win Thursday afternoon in Houston.

The A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. A’s first baseman, Matt Olson, blasted a 398-foot blast into the seats in the right field with two out. It was Olson’s 21st big fly of the year.

A’s starter, Sean Manaea, retired the first six Astro hitters he faced. Things went sour in the bottom of the third. Astros’ third baseman reached on A’s third baseman Chad Pinder’s throwing error. Toro went to second on the error.

The next hitter, Myles Straw, singled, sending Toro to third. Manaea struck out Martin Maldonado for the first out. Unfortunately for Manaea, he had to face the ever-dangerous Jose Altuve. Altuve sent Manaea’s pitch off the wall in the back of the Crawford Boxes to propel Houston to a 3-1 lead. Michael Brantley followed with a single. Manaea then retired the next eleven Astro hitters.

Houston’s manager, Dusty Baker, did not allow his starter, Luis Garcia, to pitch the sixth inning. Garcia’s high pitch count was the reason he did not come out to start the sixth. Baker selected righty Christian Javier to face Oakland in the sixth.

A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus hit his second home run of the year with a blast into the left-field seats. Javier then walked Matt Olson. Ramon Laureano singled, Olson stopped at second. Jed Lowrie also singled to load the bases with no out.

With Sean Murphy hitting, Javier uncorked a wild pitch allowing Olson to score on the play. Laureano and Lowrie advanced to second and third. The next play turned out to be one of the key plays in the game. Murphy sent a ball left field that Michael Brantley caught.

A’s third base, Mark Kotsay, had Laureano tagged up and tried to score. Brantley’s throw home nailed Laureano to complete the double play. Stephen Piscotty struck out to end the inning. The good news was the A’s tied the game 3-3.

A’s manager Bob Melvin sent Manaea out to pitch the seventh. He retired Carlos Correa for the first out. The next hitter was right fielder Kyle Tucker. Tucker hit his 14th dinger of the year to put the Astros ahead 4-3.

Astros’ relievers, Ryne Stanek and Ryan Pressly, each set the A’s down 1-2-3 in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve Houston’s 4-3 win.

Game Notes and Stats- With the loss, the A’s are 49-39 for the season. They trail the Astros by 5/12 games. Houston’s record is 54-33.
The A’s line was three runs, five hits, and two errors. Houston’s line was four runs, four hits, and two errors.

Sean Manaea absorbed the loss. His record is now 6-6 for the year. Manaea went six and 2/3rds innings. He allowed four runs, one of which was unearned, and four hits. Two of the hits were home runs. He struck out six and did not issue a walk.

Chad Pinder appeared to injure his right leg on the last play of the game. The extent of the injury is not known at the time of this report.

The A’s meet the Astros Thursday afternoon in Houston. The game will start at 10:30 pm Pacific Daylight time.

The game lasted two hours and fifty-nine minutes. Twenty-one thousand one hundred fifty people witnessed the Astros beat the A’s for the ninth time this season

Astros storm back to down A’s 9-6; Alvarez goes yard twice

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The Houston Astros Yordan Alvarez who hit two home runs hits a three run homer in the fifth inning at Minute Maid Field in Houston on Tue Jul 6, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (49-38) opened the three-game set with the Houston Astros (53-33) Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. The A’s sent their ace, Chris Bassitt, to the mound hoping Bassitt could find a way to slow down the potent Astro offense.

It was not an easy task as the Astros lead the AL in runs, team batting average(.273), and OPS (.794). The Astros are fourth in the league with 109 homers. The Astros are patient hitters and get lots of walks. They don’t strike out much either.

The Astros’ Michael Brantley l is the best hitter in the AL with a .340 batting average. Yuli Guriel, hitting behind Brantley, entered the game with a .322 average. Bassitt did not find the way; the Astros came back from an early 6-2 deficit to win 9-6.

The A’s plated three runs in the top of the first. Oakland greeted Astros’ starter Framber Valdez with five hits to get off to a great start. The Astros answered with two in their half of the first. With one out, Bassitt walked Michael Brantley. He retired Guriel for the second out. He did not get by Yordano Alvarez. The big guy blasted his 15th of the year to make it 3-2.

The A’s put three more on the board in the second. Three hits and a throwing error by Astros’ catcher Martin Maldonado gave the A’s a 6-2 lead midway through the second inning.

Alvarez led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. Third baseman Abraham Toro singled, sending Alvarez to second. Myles Straw singled to drive in Alvarez with Houston’s third run. The A’s led 6-3 after four complete. Things went south for Bassitt in the bottom of the fifth.

Astros’ second baseman, Jose Altuve, doubled. Altuve went to third on a Guli Guriel single. Bassitt now had to face Alvarez again, Alvarez hit his second dinger of the night into the Crawford Boxes in left field to tie the game at 6-6. Alvarez had driven in five of the Astros’ six runs.

The Astros scored three more times in the sixth. Three singles and two put the runs on the board for Houston. The Astros had scored seven unanswered runs to lead 9-6.

The Astros bullpen held the A’s to three singles and no runs after the second inning. The Astros win 9-6.

Game Notes and stats- With the loss, the A’s are 49-38. They are now 4 and 1/2 games behind the Astros. The Astros improved to 53-33.

Elvis Andrus had a double, two singles, and an RBI to lead the Oakland offense. Ramon Laureano and Jed Lowrie each had two hits.

Yordano Alvarez was the hitting star for Houston. Alvarez had three hits, including two home runs. He had five RBIs. Abraham Toro and Myles Straw each had two hits.
The time of the game was three hours and sixteen minutes. Twenty-six thousand three hundred fifty-three fans watched their Astros win.

A’s manager will send Sean Manaea to the hill to pitch for Oakland. The big left is 6-5 with a 3.13 ERA. Astros’ manager Dusty Baker will counter with righty Luis Garcia. Garcia’s numbers are very similar to Manaea’s. Garcia is 6-5 with a 3.14 ERA.

The game will start at 5:10 pm.

Preview of the A’s series with the Houston Astros

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Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt whose been on a role starts for the A’s on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Field in Houston (AP file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are on their way to the state of Texas to face the Astros and Rangers. The three-game series with Houston begins on Tuesday at 5:05 pm from Minute Maid Park. The A’s then go to Arlington for three more before the annual All-Star Game.

The A’s are having a hard time winning baseball games these days. They have lost ten of the last sixteen played. They lost series to the Yankees, Giants, Rangers, and Red Sox The A’s fell to second place in the AL West, 3and 1/2 games behind Houston.

They lost two out of three to Boston last weekend. All three games were decided by one run. The A’ lost 3-2 in ten on Friday night, won 7-6 in 12 on Saturday and lost a heartbreaker 1-0 Sunday. The A’s have had their chances but have not been able to get hits when needed to get the runs needed to win on the board.

They have a chance to reverse things the next six days. It will not be easy when they face the Astros in Houston. The Astros are 7-3 against the A’s this year. The Rangers, in last place in the AL West, have not rolled over for Oakland. The Rangers split the four-game series with the A’s in Arlington took two out of three last week in Oakland.

On Tuesday, the A’s will send their ace, Chris Bassitt, to the mound. Bassitt is 9-2 with a 3.04 ERA. Lefty Framber Valdez will oppose him. Many A’s fans were furious that Bassitt was not picked to play in the All-Star game a week from tomorrow in Denver. Sean Manaea will pitch on Wednesday. His opponent will be Luis Garcia. Frankie Montas will go on Thursday. Lance McCullers, Jr. goes for Houston.

The A’s pitchers will have their hands full with the Houston lineup. Alex Bregman, Houston’s slugging third baseman, is on the 10-day IL and will not be available. Houston still has players that can do damage. Second baseman Jose Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, first baseman Yuli Guriel all are playing well. The Houston DH, Yordano Alvarez, is not an easy out. Michael Brantley is a hitting machine. The A’s cannot take Myles Straw or Kyle Tucker lightly.

The A’s are going to find a way to get their offense going. They miss their leadoff hitter, Mark Canha. Canha is on the 10-day IL with a hip injury. He may not be available until after the All-Star break. His presence in the lineup is missed. The A’s will need Matt Chapman, Ramon Laureano, Seth Brown, Stephen Piscotty, Elvis Andrus, and Matt Olson to come through with big hits.

Olson will be the A’s only player to participate in this year’s All-Star game. The A’s DH Mitch Moreland is also on the 10-day IL. There is speculation that the A’s will be active in the trade market before the June 30th trade deadline. There are rumors that they might be interested in acquiring Minnesota’s DH, Nelson Cruz. Another player of interest is the Rangers’ right fielder, Joey Gallo.

The Rangers are paying Gallo $6.2 million this season. Gallo has one more year of arbitration and will be a free agent after the 2022 season. He could play right field for the A’s or be used as a left-handed bat in the DH slot.

The A’s do not want to make the playoffs as a Wild Card. Major League Baseball has gone back to the format before the 2020 season. There will be three division champions and two wild cards. There will be a game-playoff between the two wild card teams. The A’s have not fared well in those games. They hosted the 2019 Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The outcome was a loss.

If the A’s are to gain ground against Houston, they have to take two out of three. They would cut the deficit to 2 and 1/2 games. A three-game sweep would leave them just 1/2 game behind. However, if the Astros sweep them, they will be six and 1/2 games behind. A’s manager Bob Melvin will have his troops ready. They know the importance of the next two series—the A’s need to make a statement this week. They will be able to enjoy the four-day break.