Author: rxslugger

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Dylan Bundy delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angels Angels downed the A’s 6-0 Tuesday night at Anaheim. The Angels’ starter Dylan Bundy used all five pitches in his repertoire to baffle the A’s for seven innings. The Angels’ offense, for the second night in a row, hammered A’s pitching for four round-trippers.

The Angels have homered thirty-two times this year, the most in the American League. The A’s starter Mike Fiers worked out of a jam in the first inning. He set the Angels down in order in the second and third innings. The fourth inning was a different story.

In the fourth, Angels’ third baseman, Anthony Rendon, led off the frame with a home run. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani singled. First baseman Albert Pujols followed with a single. In his first year as an Angel, the veteran catcher, Jason Castro, slammed a blast into the seats in the right field. The Angels added a fifth run in the inning when right fielder Brian Goodwin hit a solo home run to make it 5-0.

The Angels shortstop David Fletcher, who loves to hit against the A’s, hit the team’s fourth dinger of the night to make it 6-0.

Dylan Bundy went seven innings allowing just four hits and struck out ten to win his third of the year. Fiers took the loss.

Game notes- Major League baseball suspended A’s centerfielder, Ramon Laureano, for six games for his actions in the brawl Sunday with the Astros. Laureano has appealed the decision and can play until the appeal is heard. Astros’ coach Alex Citron was suspended for 20 games for his role in inciting the brawl.

With the loss, the A’s have lost two in a row and are 12-6 for the season. The Angels improved to 7-11.

The A’s have now been held to no runs in their last fourteen innings of play.
The line score for Oakland was no runs, five hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was six runs, twelve hits, and no errors.The Angels have hit eight home runs in the series.

Game three will be played at 1:10 pm Wednesday. The A’s will send Chris Bassitt to the hill, and the Angels will counter with Griffin Canning.

Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angeles Angels came back from a 9-4 deficit to beat the A’s 10-9 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim Monday night. The A’s starter, Sean Manaea, had another rough outing. He went two-plus innings and was tagged for four runs and four hits.

The A’s offense put nine runs on the board to lead 9-4 after four innings. A’s third baseman, Matt Chapman, homered twice and had a triple to drive in six runs. The Angels’ relievers allowed the A’s just two hits after the fourth inning. Angels’ big boppers, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Shohei Ohtani, tagged A’s pitchers for four home runs as the Halos came back to win.

The Angels plated three runs in the bottom of the first. David Fletcher started the rally with a single. Tommy LaStella singled to right sending Fletcher to third. LaStella tried to stretch the single into a double, but Piscotty’s throw from right field nailed him at second. Fletcher scored on Sean Manaea’s wild pitch. Mike Trout singled and came home when Angels’ third baseman, Anthony Rendon, sent a Manaea pitch over the fence in left field. The Angels lead 3-0.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the second. Third baseman Matt Chapman led off with a home run. The A’s put men on at first and second with no out. Angels’ starter Julio Teheran hit Mark Canha with a pitch. He went to second on a Robbie Grossman single. Stephen Piscotty singled to drive in Canha with the A’s second run.

Chad Pinder hit a sharp ground ball to third. Grossman, running on contact, was caught in a rundown. Piscotty motored to third, and Pinder advanced to second. Piscotty scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at three.

The A’s put two more on the board in the third. Matt Olson walked and went to second on a passed ball. Matt Chapman hit a hanging slider about 440 feet to put the A’s ahead 5-3. The Angels added a run in their half of the inning.

Manaea gave up a single to Mike Trout and a walk to Rendon. Trout went to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a single by Justin Upton. A’s manager Bob Melvin replaced Manaea with J.B. Wendelken. Wendelken was able to retire the Angels without any further damage.

The A’s scored four more in the fourth to take a 9-4 advantage. The A’s loaded the bases with one out. Matt Chapman tripled to right-center field to clear the bases. Chapman scored when Angels’ left fielder Justin Upton dropped Mark Canha’s fly.

The Angels refused to wilt. They plated three runs in their half of the fourth. With one out, LaStella, who loves to torment the A’s, doubled. The next hitter, Mike Trout, homered to make it a 9-6 game.

Wendelken’s night ended when he walked Anthony Rendon. Lefty T.J.McFarland replaced him on the hill. Angels’ Designated hitter, Shohei Ohtani, doubled to send Rendon to third. Rendon scored on an Albert Pujols ground out. The A’s still lead 9-7 after four complete.

The Angels tied the game in the sixth. Lou Trivino was now pitching for Oakland. Trivino struck out Trout for the first out. Rendon singled and scored on Ohtani’s home run.

Mike Trout won the game for the Halos in the eighth. With one out, he slammed his second dinger of the night to give the Angels a 10-9 lead. Ty Buttrey closed out the game for LA. The final score is 10-9 in favor of LA.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s nine-game winning streak ended. They are now 12-5 for the year. The Angels improved to 6-11.

Matt Chapman was the hitting star for the A’s. Chappie’s two homers and a triple made him the first A’s player since Mitchell Page accomplished that feat. Page did it in 1977 against Boston.

The hitting stars for LA were Tommy LaStella with two hits. Mike Trout had four hits, two home runs, and three RBIs. Rendon had a single and home run, Ohtani, a double and homer. Rookie Jo Adell had two singles.

The line score for Oakland was nine runs, nine hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was ten runs, fourteen hits, and one error.

The A’s and Angels play game two of the three-game set Tuesday night. The game will start at 6:40 pm. Mike Fiers will pitch for Oakland. Dylan Bundy will go for the Halos.
The time of game was three hours and forty-one minutes.

Oakland catcher Sean Murphy scores on a past ball while Mariners relief pitcher Bryan Shaw stands on home plate late during a disastrous fifth inning for the Mariners. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s won their third game in a row downing the Seattle Mariners 11-1. The A’s came to Seattle, hoping to sweep the rebuilding Mariners. They lost the first game but won the next three. It wasn’t easy as the A’s hitters were not moving the line until Monday night. The A’s squeezed out two wins by a 3-2 score on Saturday and Sunday. A’s manager Bob Melvin had to wonder when and if his guys would get the offense going.

The answer would come in the fifth inning of Monday night’s contest. The Mariners put the first run of the night on the board in the bottom of the third. Mariners’ shortstop J.P.Crawford walked. A’s starter, Frankie Montas retired the next two hitters. M’s third baseman, Kyle Seager, doubled to drive in Crawford. The Mariners did not score again. Nor did they get a hit after the fourth inning.

The A’s blew open the game in the top of the fifth. They sent fourteen men to the plate. The Mariners’ Justin Sheffield and Bryan Shaw gave up eight runs, nine hits, and three walks. All the runs came after there were two out in the inning. A’s centerfield Ramon Laureano drove in the first two runs with a single. Chad Pinder drove in two, also. Mark Canha, Khris Davis, Stephen Piscotty all drove in a run. One run scored on a wild pitch.

Khris Davis led off the seventh with his first dinger of the year. Davis finished the night with two hits. He came into the game hitting .045. They added another run and one more in the ninth to win 11-1.

Game Notes- Frankie Montas won his first of the year. He went seven innings and allowed one run and four hits. Frankie struck out nine and walked four. Mariners’ starter, lefty Justin Sheffield lost his second of the season. Mariners’ pitched walked eleven A’s and struck out nine. Ramon Laureano has driven in nine runs so far. Seven of the nine have either tied the game or put the A’s in the lead. The A’s improved to 6-4, and the A’s dropped to 4-7.

The A’s return home to face the Texas Rangers. Lefty Jesus Luzardo will start for Oakland. Lance Lynn will pitch for Texas. The game will start at 6:10 pm.

Manager Scott Servais elbow bumps Shed Long at summer camp last week at T-Mobile Park. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, tied for first place in the AL West with the Houston Astros, make their first road trip starting Friday. The A’s travel to Seattle to play four against the Mariners. The A’s are 3-3 so far, and the Mariners own a 2-4 record. In his fifth year as the M’s skipper, Scott Servais has a record of 321-327 during his tenure.

Servis will have his work cut out for him as the team has jettisoned many of the players from the 2019 season. Pitchers Felix Hernandez, Mike Leake, Hunter Strickland, Tommy Milone, Wade LeBlanc, have new homes. Sluggers Ryon Healy, Edwin Encarnacion, and Jay Bruce are in greener pastures. The same goes for catcher Omar Narvaez.

There will be a lot of unfamiliar names in the M’s lineup on Friday. Let’s take a look at their roster. The Mariners have three catchers on the team. Austin Nola will see the bulk of the action, and he will be backed up by rookies Joseph Odom and Joe Hudson.

Nola hit .269 last year with ten homers. Daniel Vogelbach will see time at first base. The big man hit just .208, but he hit 30 round-trippers in 2019. He will also see action as the teams’ designated hitter. Evan White and Jose Marmolejos also will see work at first.
Three players will handle the chores at second base.

In his second year, Shed Long, Jr., the veteran Dee Gordon, in his tenth, and Tim Lopes, who hit .270 in 111 at-bats in 2019.J.P.Crawford and Dylan Moore will be at shortstop. Crawford played more than Moore, but their batting averages are about the same as are their home run totals. The veteran Kyle Seager will be at third base for the tenth year. Seager hit .239 with 23 home runs and 63 RBIs last year.

Rookie Jose Marmolejos will be in left field. Marmolejos can also play first base. Mallex Smith will be in centerfield. Kyle Lewis, who is off to a good start with eleven hits and a batting average of .458 will be in right field. Vogelback, Mamolejos, and Tim Lopes will see time as the designated hitter.

The M’s will use Matt Magill as their closer. Other bullpen pitchers include Dan Altavilla, Bryan Shaw, Nestor Cortes, Taylor Williams, Carl Edwards, Jr, Zac Grotz, Anthony Misiewicz, Yohan Ramirez, and Nick Margevicius.

We will now take a look at the probable pitchers for the four-game series. Sean Manaea will pitch for Oakland on Friday night. Taijuan Walker will oppose him. Manaea lost his first start to the Angels last Saturday.

Manaea pitched early in the game but ran out gas and didn’t make it through the fifth inning. His command was sharp as 40 of his 55 pitches were strikes. Taijuan Walker did not pitch in 2019 as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Walker, back with Seattle after spending two years in Arizona, did not fare well in his first outing. In three and 1/3rd innings of work, he allowed five runs and his ERA stands at 13.50

The A’s have not announced their starting pitcher for Saturday night. Mike Fiers probably will pitch. Yusei Kikuchi will go for Seattle. Kikuchi went three and 2/3rds innings and gave up five hits, five runs, and walked four.

On Sunday, Chris Bassitt will pitch for Oakland. Kendall Graveman, the former Athletic, will face his teammates for the first time since leaving the club. Graveman also had Tommy John surgery and has not pitched in the last two years. He is 0-1 so far.

Graveman pitched four-plus innings and gave up seven runs and six hits. He would love nothing better than beating his old mates. No pitchers have been announced for Monday’s game. There is a possibility that Jesus Luzardo will make his first start for Oakland.

The A’s would like nothing better than sweeping the four-game series. A’s manager Bob Melvin wants his starters to go deeper into the game. Only one pitcher has gone at least five innings. If Melvin has to remove the pitchers too early, it will wear out the bullpen. The relievers have done their job.

The A’s hitters have to get their game going, too. Khris Davis is 0-for-15 to start the season. The team cannot get off to a so-so start. The season is only 60 games, and if they are not playing well in the early going, it won’t be easy to finish in one of the two top spots in the AL West. Let’s hope things fall into place for the Green and Gold this weekend.

Rocked out: The Colorado Rockies form a congratulatory conga line after taking the two game set from the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon (sfgate.com photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland-The Colorado Rockies’ pitcher held the A’s to just five hits to win 5-1 and sweep the short two-game series. Matt Chapman had the A’s only extra-base hit as he hit a solo dinger in the first inning. The A’s managed just four hits in the next eight innings.

As mentioned above, the A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first when Chapman took Rockies’ starter, German Marquez, deep. The Rockies tied the game in the top of the second. A’s starter, Frankie Montas, walked Daniel Murphy, gave up a single to Ryan McMahon, and walked Garrett Hampson to load the bases. Tony Walters singled off the right-field wall to drive in Murphy. Montas retired the next two hitters to get out of the jam.

The Rockies added a run in the fourth. McMahon and Sam Hilliard singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Garrett Hanson drove in McMahon with a sacrifice fly to left. Wolters hit into a double play to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, the A’s had men on at second and third with two out. Stephen Piscotty hit a sharp ground ball to the third baseman, Nolan Arenado. All Arenado had to do was throw to first, and the inning would be over.

Arenado, a seven-time Gold Glove winner, made a rare mental error. Instead of throwing to first, he threw home to get Matt Olson at the plate. The play was close. The umpire called Olson out. The A’s asked for a review. The replay showed that Olson appeared to have reached home safely. However, the call was upheld, and the inning ended with the Rockies still leading 2-1.

The Rockies added a run in the eighth. Rockies’ shortstop singled and then scored on Charlie Blackmon’s double into the left-field corner. The A’s had an opportunity to put some runs on the board in their half of the frame.

Marcus Semien led off with a single. Rockies’ reliever, Jairo Diaz, walked Ramon Laureano. Diaz retired Chapman and Olson. He hit Mark Canha with a pitch to load the bases. The next hitter, Robbie Grossman, who had a single and a double, struck out to end the threat.

The Rockies scored two unearned runs in the ninth to make it a 5-1 game. The A’s went down 1-2-3, and the game ended.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are now 3-3 for the year. The Rockies improved to 4-1. German Marquez was the winner, and the loss went to Frankie Montas. Montas was the first A’s pitcher to go at least five innings this year. He allowed two runs and five hits in his five innings of work. He threw 77 pitches. Jesus Luzardo replaced him to start the sixth inning. The young leftie went three and 2/3rds innings. He gave up four hits and three runs. Only one run was earned. He threw 67 pitches.

The A’s managed just five hits. The big blow was Chappie’s dinger in the first. Robbie Grossman had a single and a double. The A’s were o-for- 14 with men in scoring position. The A’s need to get their offense going. They are off on Thursday. They travel to Seattle for a four-game series with the Mariners beginning Friday night.

Colorado Rockies’ Nolan Arenado, left, scores against Oakland Athletics catcher Austin Allen in the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (AP photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

 The visiting Colorado Rockies pounded out 13 hits to defeat the A’s 8-3. The Rockies’ manager, Bud Black, loaded his lineup with seven left-handed hitters. The A’s starter, Daniel Mengden, had trouble last year with the lefties. The lefties hit over .300 against him. Mengden went just four innings. He threw 87 pitches and allowed five hits and three runs.

The Rockies put the first run of the game on the board in the top of the third. With one out, Trevor Story singled. Charlie Blackmon followed with a single to send Story to third. Nolan Arenado hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Story.

The A’s tied the game in their half of the third. With one out, Ramon Laureano singled. Rockies’ starter Anthony Senzatela walked Matt Chapman and Matt Olson to load the bases. Mark Canha hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Laureano with the tying run. Khris Davis struck out to end the inning.

In the fourth, the Rockies scored twice to take the lead 3-1. Designated hitter Ramiel Tapia singled with one out. Left-fielder Sam Hilliard hit a hanging curve into the seats in rightfield.

Jordan Weems made his Major League and A’s debut when he took the mound to start the fifth. He struck out the first hitter, Trevor Story, that he faced. Things did not go well for him after that. He gave up four straight singles and a sacrifice fly.

The Rockies own a 5-1 lead. The A’s got one back in the bottom of the fifth inning. Laureano singled. Matt Olson singled to send him to third. Laureano scored on Nolan Arenado’s error to make it a 5-2 game.

The Rockies plated three more in the eighth to put the game out of reach. A’s reliever Lou Trivino did not have a good outing. Hoping to regain the magic he had in 2018, Trivino allowed three runs, a walk, and three hits. The A’s plated their third run of the night in the bottom half of the eighth. The A’s lose 8-3.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are now 3-2 for the season. The Rockies improved to 3-1. The winning pitcher was Anthony Senzatela. He threw 40 pitches in the first inning, but settled down and finished five innings of work. Tyler Kinley, Daniel Bard, and Carlos Estevez ended the game for the Rockies. The story of the night was Daniel Bard. Bard had not pitched in the Majors since 2013.

He left due to a severe case of the “yips.” Baseball is a mental game. He had lost his confidence and couldn’t get his pitches over the plate. He regained his confidence and pitched and allowed just one run in two innings of work Tuesday night.

The A’s designated hitter, Khris Davis, had opportunities to do some damage but failed. Davis has not had a hit so far this year. The fans know that he is a streaky hitter. Tonight would have been an excellent time to get it going. He left nine men stranded. In the first inning with the bases loaded, he popped out. In the third with two men on, he struck out. In the fifth with two men on, he hit into an inning-ending double play. In the eighth, with a man on third, he struck out.

The teams meet again to complete the short two-game series. Frankie Montas goes for Oakland, and German Marquez will take the hill for Colorado.

Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) who started and threw for five innings was one of six pitchers who combined in a nine hit shutout of the Los Angeles Angels at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday afternoon (athleticsnation.com)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Oakland A’s beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 to take three out four to start the 2020 season with a 3-1 record. The Angels had Albert Pujols back in the lineup after giving him the day off on Sunday.

Also back in the lineup was Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, who pitched yesterday, was the designated hitter. Ohtani typically has the day off after throwing. He did not get out of the first inning and did not retire a hitter.

The A’s sent righty Chriss Bassitt to the hill to face the Angels. Bassitt was making his first start of the year. The Angels countered with Griffin Canning. Bassitt had his work cut out for him.

The A’s pitchers have to work hard to retire the Angels hitters. The Angels lineup with David Fletcher, Mike Trout, Justin Upton, Ohtani, and Tommy LaStella can make life rough for any pitcher. A’s manager Bob Melvin had a 70 pitch limit for Bassitt on Monday. Bassitt threw a lot of pitches in the first and second innings and left the game after four innings of work.

The A’s drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, second baseman Tony Kemp walked. Marcus Semien beat the shift as he singled to right-center to send Kemp to third. Ramon Laureano hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Kemp with the first run of the game. Semien tagged up and advanced to second on the play. A’s third baseman Matt Chapman doubled to deep centerfield to drive in Semien with the inning’s second run. The A’s lead 2-0 after three complete.

In the top of the fourth, the Angels blew an excellent opportunity to get on the board and possibly tie the game. Justin Upton led off the frame with a single. Tommy LaStella, who loves to hit against the A’s, doubled to send Upton to third.

The next hitter, future Hall of Famer, Albert Pujols hit a rocket to third baseman Matt Chapman. Chappie, sure-handed as ever, picked up the ball, and his throw home got Upton trapped in a rundown. A’s catcher Sean Murphy tagged Upton for the out.

LaStella could not advance to third on the play. Angels’ catcher Jason Castro singled to load the bases with one out. Bassitt got out of the inning when he got Andrelto Simmons to ground out into a 1-2-3 double play. The A’s bullpen did their job and held the Angels scoreless the rest of the way.

Mark Canha led off the bottom of the fourth with his first home run of the year to make it 3-0. That ended the scoring for the A’s. The Angels threatened in the ninth as they had two men on with two out. A’s reliever, Joakim Soria, had to face the American League MVP Mike Trout. Trout could tie the game with one swing of the bat.

Soria struck him out looking. Trout argued the call but to no avail. The A’s win 3-0. Game Notes- The A’s bullpen continued their outstanding work again on Monday. In four games, they have given up just one run.

The A’s used five relievers. Burch Smith, who took over for Bassitt in the fifth, worked two innings and received credit for his second win. T.J.McFarland, Yusmeiro Petit, Jake Diekman, and Soria all saw action.

A’s manager Bob Melvin said the play that changed the game’s momentum was Chapman’s throw to nail Upton. it was a “big swing.” Melvin said this about Chris Bassitt: “we feel good when he’s on the mound.”

The big news around baseball was the story about the 14 people in the Miami Marlin organization that became infected with Covid-19. So far, 11 players and three other personnel contracted the disease.

The Marlins tested the players after yesterday’s game with the Phillies, and results are expected back today. The Marlins’ games with the Baltimore Orioles have been postponed. The Phillies and Yankees games were also postponed. Melvin’s comment about the outbreak was succinct: “it worries you.” The A’s host the Colorado Rockies Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time will be at 6:40 pm.

Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin pulls Mike Fiers in the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park the final pre season game for 2020 (mercurynews.com photo) 

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s are looking forward to the four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels starting Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. It has been a very long wait to start the season. The season has been delayed due to pandemic caused by the coronavirus. Many changes have been made in order to get things going.

The teams will have 30 players on the roster for the first two weeks of the season. The roster will be reduced to 28 players for the next two weeks and then down to 26 for the rest of the year. The Designated Hitter will be universal. It will be the first time the DH will be used in the National League’s home parks.

The teams will play 60 games. Forty of the games will be played against the A’s Western Division rivals. The other 20 games will be played against the National League Western Division teams. In order to speed up the games, MLB has a new rule for extra-inning contests. The league has mandate that a runner will placed at second base to start the 10th inning. The rule will not be in effect for the playoffs.

The A’s feel that they have an excellent chance to go all the way to the World Series this year. A’s manager, Bob Melvin, in his 10th year at the helm, knows he has the talent to get there. The A’s won 97 games in 2018 and 2019.

They have a good solid nucleus of All-Star caliber players. The team has a lineup that can strike fear into opposing pitchers. There are no easy outs in the lineup. The infield is good defensively, too. Big Matt Olson will be back at first, Matt Chapman at third, Marcus Semien at shortstop.

Semien came in third in in last year’s vote for Most Valuable Player. The only question mark will be at second base. The A’s traded last year’s second baseman Jurickson Profar to the San Diego Padres for catcher Austin Allen. Franklin Barreto, who is out of options, will be in a fight with Tony Kemp and Chad Pinder for the job.

The A’s outfield is also solid. All three outfielders are good defensively and they are all capable of sending the baseball flying out of the park. Mark Canha, who played so well last year in centerfield, will start the season in left. Ramon Laureano will be back in center, and Stephen Piscotty, who missed playing time last year due to injury, will patrol right field. The A’s will use Sean Murphy as the everyday catcher. Austin Allen or Jonah Hiem will be the backups.

The A’s lost three pitchers from last years rotation. Homer Bailey, Brett Anderson, and Tanner Roark all have found new homes. The A’s rotation will feature Frankie Montas, Mike Fiers, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, and Daniel Mengden to start the season. Montas will start against the Angels Friday night.

Montas was on his way to being the ace of the staff last year until he was suspended for 80 games for use of an illegal substance.The A’s were hoping to use lefties Jesus Luzardo and A.J.Puk as starters. Luzardo is recovering from a bout with Covid-19. Puk, who had Tommy John surgery last year, is experiencing some shoulder pain and is on the Injured List. He is visiting an orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles for a consultation.

The A’s bullpen is also very good. Liam Hendriks is the A’s closer. Hendriks was an All-Star last season. The setup men will be Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria, Lou Trivino, Jake Diekman, T,J,McFarland and J.B. Wendelken.

The A’s will use Robbie Grossman and Chad Pinder as backups. Grossman is a switch-hitter and can fill in for Canha. Pinder can play both in the infield and outfield. Another play the ‘s will be keeping is Rule-5 selection Vimael Machin. He is an infielder and the A’s may use him if Barreto or Kemp don’t wor out at second base.

The A’s main challenger for the top spot in the West will be the Houston Astros. Even though the Astros lost Geritt Cole to the Yankees and Will Harris to the Nationals, they still are powerful club. They made it to the World Series twice in the last three year. They won it in 2017 and lost to the Nationals last year.

The club has been in turmoil since they were caught stealing signs. The Astros replaced their manager A.J.Hinch with Dusty Baker. Baker, known as a players’ manager, has the tools to make sure the Astros are competitive.

The A’s know they have to get off to a good start. They know that a slow start can doom their chances of winning the division. They made the playoffs in 2018 and 2019 as a wildcard. They lost each time in the one-game playoff format. If they win the division, they will escape the win or go home syndrome. The time has come to play games that count. Let’s play ball.

Jerry Feitelberg is a beat writer for the Oakland A’s on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Matt Chapman of the Oakland A’s gets ready to take his hacks against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tuesday night (@Athletics)

By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The A’s met the Giants at a deserted Oracle Park Tuesday night. The Giants beat the A’s 4-2 to sweep the two-game series.

The setting was totally surreal. The stands were empty, crowd noise was being piped in to make the players get the sense that fans were in the park. There were no fans and no cutouts in the seats. The Giants said the cutouts will be available on next Tuesday when the Giants return home after playing four games in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. The A’s are off until Friday. They open the 60-game season at home against the Los Angeles Angels.

The A’s manager, Bob Melvin, sent Mike Fiers to the mound to face the Giants. The Giants’ skipper, Gabe Kapler, in his first year as the manager, used nine pitchers. Each pitcher worked just one inning.

The Giants drew first blood in the bottom of the first when Mike Yastrzemski led off with a blast to center field. The A’s tallied their two runs in the top of the second. With the Giants using a four-man outfield and the shift, A’s first baseman laid down a bunt down the third base line.

A’s DH Khris Davis was hit by a pitch and the A’s had two men on with no out. Giants’ pitcher Conner Menez retired Mark Canha and Stephen Piscotty. Chad Pinder, playing second base, Hit a ball that appeared to go into the stands in right centerfield. Two runs scored. The umpires ruled the ball was in play and Pinder stopped at second with a double. Bob Melvin challenged the call.

The replays clearly showed the ball hitting the seats and bouncing back into the field. The review umpire in New York did not overturn the call. The A’s led 2-1. They would not score again.

The Giants tied the game in the bottom of the second on Alex Dickerson’s off-field home run. They added a run in the fourth and one in the sixth. The Giants win 4-2.

The A’s line score was two runs, two hits, and no errors. The Giants’ line was 4 runs, 8 hits, and no errors.

Baseball starts for real for the A’s Friday night. The A’s will be gunning for the AL West title. There will be a preview of the team and predictions on my report on Thursday.