Author: rxslugger

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

A’s continue to roll as they down the Mariners 9-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s continued their winning ways as they won their fifth in a row to down the Seattle Mariners 9-2 at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday night.

This was the 14th game of the season between the two teams. Even though the Mariners entered the game with a record of 39-58, they held a 7-6 advantage over the A’s. The M’s sent lefty Marco Gonzalez to the hill to stop the A’s. Gonzalez had beaten the A’s three times this year and was hoping to win his fourth. The A’s Daniel Mengden was given the task of slowing down the Seattle offense.

Seattle took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second when catcher Omar Narvaez led off the inning with a solo homer. It was his 15th of the year and the third in his last two games against the A’s. Narvaez has taken over as the guy that loves to kill the A’s. Mitch Haniger had that role, but he is on the injured list.

The A’s plated two runs in the bottom of the third. With one out, Josh Phegley singled. Marcus Semien doubled to put men on at second and third. Matt Chapman singled to drive them in to put the A’s ahead 2-1.

The A’s put three on the board in the fifth. Gonzalez retired the first two A’s hitters he faced. With a 3-2 count on Marcus Semien, Gonzalez threw a pitch that appeared to be strike three. Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora took a step back and looked as if he was going to call Semien out on strikes. He didn’t, and Semien had a free pass. The Matts, Chapman, and Olson, went back-to-back to put the A’s ahead 5-1. For Chapman, it was his 22nd of the year. For Olson, it was his 20th.

The A’s scored one on the sixth. Ramon Laureano doubled with one out. Laureano took off for third. Gonzalez threw behind him to second baseman Dee Gordon. Gordon’s throw to Kyle Seager was not on the mark and sailed past Seager. That miscue allowed Laureano to score. The error was the 96th of the year for the M’s They have committed more errors than any other team in baseball this year.

In the seventh, Semien doubled when his blooper to right field fell in safely as three Mariners had a chance to make the putout. Chappie doubled to drive in Semien. Chappie has five RBIs in the game. The onslaught continued as Oakland scored two more in the eighth. Singles by Laureano and Pinder put men on at first and second. The runners advanced on a wild pitch, and both scored on Phegley’s single.

With two out in the ninth and Blake Treinen pitching, Omar Narvaez continued his hot-hitting against the A’s when he homered again. Treinen retired the next batter to end the game.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 54-41. They have won five in a row, 13 out of the last 16, and 18 out of the previous 23. The A’s are tied with Cleveland for the second Wild Card slot and trail the Tampa Bay Rays by one game for the first slot. They also gained a game on the AL West leader Houston Astros and now trail them by 4 1/2 games.

Daniel Mengden won his fourth game in a row and is now 5-1 for the year. Mengden has not walked a batter in his last three starts.

Asked what his secret to success was, Mengden replied: “Keep them off balance and go from there.”

Mengden threw strikes on the first pitch to 16 of the 25 hitters he faced. He went 7 innings and allowed four hits and one run. The only mistake he made was the gopher ball that he served to Omar Narvaez. Gonzalez went six innings and allowed seven hits and six runs. He is 10-8 for the year.

Matt Chapman hit his 22nd dinger and has knocked in 59 so far. Matt Olson hit his 20th and has an 11-game hitting streak going.

Umpire Brian O’Nura left the game after the end of the fifth inning. He had been complaining of blurred vision to the trainers, and after missing the call, he went to the trainer’s room for treatment. Jame Hoye took over calling balls and strikes.

Time of game was two hours and 44 minutes and 18,718 fans watched the A’s win again.

Up Next: The A’s sent J.B. Wendelken to Las Vegas to make room for Homer Bailey who was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Bailey will make his A’s debut Wednesday afternoon against the Mariners at 12:37 pm.

Preview of the A’s series with the Mariners

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s, winners of four in a row, and eight of their last ten resume play Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are languishing in last place in the AL West with a record of 39-58. The A’s are in second place in the AL West and trail the first-place Houston Astros by six games.

The Mariners have been a tough team for the A’s to subdue. They have played the A’s fairly even this year even though they are not playing well. The A’s started slowly this season, but have turned the season around as they are now 12 games over the .500 mark with a record of 53-41. They have won eight of the last ten and four in a row. They swept all three games from the Chicago White Sox over the weekend.

The Mariners have announced that lefty Marco Gonzalez will pitch Tuesday night. Gonzalez is 10-7 for the year and has an ERA of 4.24. Gonzalez is 5-1 with an ERA of 2.89 in his last starts. He is 3-0 against Oakland and in his previous outing against the A’s he went eight innings, and the M’s beat the A’s 6-3. Daniel Mengden (4-1, 4.73 ERA) will pitch for Oakland. Mengden beat the M’s on July 7th at Seattle. He went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs. Mengden is 1-2 lifetime versus the Mariners.

On Wednesday, Homer Bailey will make his debut for the A’s. The A’s obtained Bailey from the Kansa City Royals on Sunday. Bailey has an ERA of 3.49 over his last seven starts with the Royals and is 7-6 overall for the year, and is 1-1 against the M’s in two career starts. The M’s have not announced their pitcher for Wednesday’s game.

The A’s pitchers still will have to face several Mariners’ players that can do damage. M’s catcher Omar Narvaez hit two home runs against the A’s on July 7th. Narvaez is hitting .290 and has 14 homers and 36 RBI’s for the year. M’s first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, who also will DH, made the All-Star team and he comes in hitting .239 with 21 dingers and 51 ribbies. The A’s know that Dee Gordon, J.P.Crawford, Kyle Seager, Domingo Santana, Mallex Smith, and former SF Giant Mac Williamson are players that can do damage and the A’s pitchers will have to be careful facing them.

Mitch Haniger and Ryon Healy are two Mariners that are still on the IL. Haniger loves to hit against the A’s and Healy, who was traded to Seattle last year, would like nothing better than beating his old team. Healy may be available, but Haniger will not come off the IL until late July.

The A’s know that they have to beat teams that are not doing well. They would like to sweep the two-game series with the Mariners as they go on a seven-day road trip to the AL central leader, the Minnesota Twins for four, and the AL West leader, the Houston Astros for three. The A’s took two out of three from the Twins in early July. The Astros, on the other hand, have handled the A’s so far this season.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the A’s when they return home. They will play four with the Texas Rangers after the Astro series. The Rangers, one of the big surprises in baseball this season, and trailing the A’s by two games in the race for second place in the AL West, will be a big test for the A’s. After the series with the Rangers, the A’s will face two teams from the NL Central that are fighting for spots in the playoffs. They will play three against the Milwaukee Brewers and two against the St. Louis Cardinals. The A’s have been playing well.

They have the ingredients for success. Their starting pitching has been solid, and with the addition of Bailey, should get better. Liam Hendriks has stepped out and done the job as the team’s closer. Blake Treinen’s problems with control have taken him out of the closer’s role for the time being. The A’s are working to get him back to the form that he had in 2018. Lou Trivino also needs to get back to his 2018 form.

The rest of the bullpen has done the job.

The A’s offense has come to life, and there are no easy outs in the lineup. The A’s shine on defense, They have a Gold Glover at third and one at first. Marcus Semien has improved so much at shortstop. He is also a candidate for a Gold Glove. Ramon Laureano in centerfield has an incredible arm and Robbie Grossman, Mark Canha, and Chad Pinder are more than adequate on defense. Stephen Piscotty in on the 10-day IL with a sprained right knee.

The A’s won 97 games last season. They know that they are in a race for the second wild card slot right now. They trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 1 1/2 games for the first wild card slot. The Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox are all teams that have a chance to make the playoffs. The A’s will not play the Indians or Red Sox again this year. They will face the White Sox back in Chicago in August and have seven with the lowly Kansas City Royals. They have eleven games left with the Astros and six with the New York Yankees.

The A’s are playing with confidence. A’s manager Bob Melvin has been punching all the right buttons. The message is clear. Take them one at a time and go out there and win.

Preview of the A’s series with the White Sox

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Photo credit: lookoutlanding.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s start the second half of the season by hosting the visiting Chicago White Sox for three games starting Friday night at the Coliseum. The White Sox, under second-year skipper Rick Renteria, have surprised a lot of people as they finished the first half of the season with a record of 42-44. They are currently in third place in the AL Central trailing the Minnesota Twins by 12 1/2 games.

The White Sox have several players on the team that have contributed to their success. Their veteran first baseman, Jose Abreu, is having another excellent season. Abreu is hitting .278 and has hit 21 dingers and driven in 66. Other players to watch include Eloy Jiminez, third baseman Yoan Moncado, Catcher James McCann, and pitcher Lucas Giolito. The White Sox obtained Moncado from the Red Sox in the trade for pitcher Chris Sale. Moncado appears to be reaching his potential as he is hitting .308 and has hit 16 homers and knocked in 48. Giolito is 11-3 and has an ERA of 3.15.

Giolito and McCann were named to the AL All-Star team this year.

Other players to keep an eye on are center fielder Leury Garcia, second baseman Yolmer Sanchez, and veteran right fielder Jon Jay.

The White Sox have several critical decisions to make before the July 31st trade deadline. Will they be buyers or sellers? It does appear that they can overtake the Rays, Indians, A’s, Rangers, or Red Sox in the race for the two Wild Card spots. If they decide to be buyers, they would have to give up prospects to get the players they would need to make a playoff run. If they are sellers, who would go? They have several players that they could move even though they have another year of team control. Perhaps their most valuable asset is closer Alex Colome. The 30-year reliever has converted 20 save opportunities in 21 tries this season. Colome could bring the White Sox some highly rated prospects from teams looking for a reliable closer. The Red Sox might be interested, but their farm system has been depleted. Other players that might be on the move include James McCann, Leury Garcia, John Jay, pitchers Ivan Nova and lefty reliever Aaron Bummer. Jose Abreu is also mentioned as a player that might be going elsewhere.

The A’s have not announced the starters for the series with the White Sox. Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, and Chris Bassitt probably will pitch this weekend, but that could change. The White Sox will send Ivan Nova to the hill Friday night. Nova is 4-7 with an ERA of 5.58. Reynaldo Lopez will go for Chicago on Sunday. His ERA is 6.34, and he has a won-lost record of 4-8. Lopez’ ERA is the worst of any starting pitcher in baseball.

The A’s would like to sweep the series this weekend. That may not happen, but taking two out of three would be a reasonable goal for the A’s. The A’s are off on Monday. They play two against the Seattle Mariners next Tues and Wednesday before heading off to play four against the Minnesota Twins and three in Houston against the Astros. The schedule brings the A’s home to play the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers.

The A’s are a good second-half team. They know that every game is essential and no opponent can be taken lightly. They are in a race with the Indians, Red Sox, and Rangers for the second Wild Card spot. The A’s are a good team and fun to watch.

A’s start the race to the playoffs on Friday

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The A’s start the second half of the season with a record of 50-41. The A’s have played 91 and have 71 games left to play. As fans know, it’s not how you start, it’s where you finish.

The A’s won 97 games last year with a so-so starting rotation, but, had a bullpen that was lights out. They lost second baseman Jed Lowrie to free agency. Lowry had a career-high 99 RBIs last year, and the team had to fill the hole. They traded for Jurickson Profar, and the young man has yet to show that he can play every day. The A’s have brought up Franklin Barreto to see if he can do the job, and the jury is still out on him.

The A’s starting rotation has surprised the pundits so far this year. Mike Fiers started slowly, but he has pitched well since May. Brett Anderson is healthy, and he has done the job. Chris Bassitt has thrown well, and Daniel Mengden has won a couple of games since being recalled. The fifth starter is a work in progress. Tanner Anderson is 0-3 and has yet to show that he can stay in the rotation. The A’s are hoping that Sean Manaea will be back in the rotation in early August. The A’s relievers Lou Trivino and Blake Treinen have not performed as well as they did last year. Trivino started well but has been rocked lately. Treinen has not had his control. He does have 16 saves, but he has walked too many hitters when he comes in to close. Yusmeiro Petit and Joakim Soria have pitched well all year. The big surprise is Liam Hendriks. Hendriks was designated for assignment last year. No one signed him, and he went back to Triple-A. This year, things have turned completely around. Hendriks was named to the AL All-Star squad, and he has done the job when called upon.

The A’s offense has power hitters all through the lineup. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Khris Davis, Stephen Piscotty, Ramon Laureano, Marcus Semien, and Profar all can send the ball into the seats. Catchers Josh Phegley, Chris Herrman, and Nick Hundley can also blast a baseball into the stands. The A’s defense has been superb.

The A’s have put together a team that could possibly go deep into the playoffs. They need to improve the starting rotation. Will the A’s make a trade for a starter? No one knows what Billy Beane or David Forst will do. They have not hesitated to pull the trigger on a deal if they think that it will improve the team. They don’t want to give up any of their key players as Beane or Forst remember what happened in 2014 when they sent Yoenis Cespedes to Boston for John Lester. The team went into a spiral and barely made the playoffs that year. The A’s may feel that the players coming off the Il will be sufficient to get them there. Manaea and Jharel Cotton should be back soon.

The A’s lost starting pitcher Frankie Montas for 80 games due to using of an illegal substance. Montas may make it back in late September, but he is not eligible to play in the postseason.

The ingredients are there. They have pitching, offense, and defense. They start the second half at home with three against the Chicago White Sox, and two against the Seattle Mariners. Following that, they go on the road for four with the Minnesota Twins and three with the Houston Astros. The A’s took two out of three from the Twins last week in Oakland. The Twins, in first place in the AL Central, played well against the A’s and they will give the A’s a tussle when they meet next week. The A’s then have to play the Astros in Houston. The Astros have one of the best teams in baseball. The Astros won the World Series two years ago and want to win another. They also have a potent lineup. They have two terrific starters, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. The A’s have not had success against Houston so far this year.

The A’s will have quite a race to the finish line. The Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox are teams that will be competing for the second Wild Card slot in the American League. It should be fun.

Semien powers the A’s to a 7-2 win over the Twins

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Photo credit: @atleticos

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — On a very lovely Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum, the A’s beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 to win the three-game series 2-1. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien was the hero as he blasted two home runs and drove in five to lead the A’s to a 7-2 victory.

A’s starter Tanner Anderson was looking for his first win of the season, but it didn’t happen for him as he was removed from the game with two out in the fifth inning. He was replaced by Wei-Chung Wang. The young Taiwanese lefty was the winning pitcher and earned his first major league win.

The Twins drew first blood in the top of the first with an unearned run. Tanner Anderson retired the first two hitters he faced. He gave up singles to Nelson Cruz and Luis Arraez. He walked Miguel Sano to load the bases. The next hitter, Ehire Adrianza, was awarded first base when A’s catcher Chris Herrmann interfered with his swing. Herrmann was charged with an error. Cruz trotted home with the Twins’ first run.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. A’s DH Khris Davis led off with a single. Twins’ starter Jose Berrios retired the next two hitters. Robbie Grossman and Chris Herrmann each singled. Herrmann’s single allowed Davis to score. The score was 1-1 after four.

The tie didn’t last long as the Twins put their second run of the game on the board in the top of the fifth. Nelson Cruz, who loves to torment the A’s, led off with a double. Cruz went to third on a wild pitch. Anderson retired the next two hitters. He did not get by Ehire Adrianza who singled to drive in Cruz. Jonathan Schoop followed with a single, and that ended Anderson’s day. A’s manager brought in Wei-Chung Wang to pitch. Wang got Jason Castro to fly out for the final out of the inning. In the A’s half of the fifth, they were able to grab the lead 3-2. Marcus Semien led off the frame with his 12th bomb of the season. Matt Chapman walked and moved to second on a single by Matt Olson. Berrios walked Khris Davis to load the bases. Mark Canha had a golden opportunity to break the game open, but he hit into a double play. Chapman scored on the play. Berrios got Laureano to fly out to Max Kepler in right to end the inning. The A’s led 3-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, Marcus Semien hit a grand slam to blow open the game for the A’s. Robbie Grossman and Chris Herrman singled to start the rally. Jurickson Profar was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no out. Marcus Semien, who had hit a solo home run in the fifth, sent the first pitch from Mike Morin over the fence for a grand slam and the A’s now led 7-2. A’s manager Bob Melvin, brought in Joakim Soria to pitch the ninth. The Twins right-fielder, Max Kepler, doubled to start the inning, but Soria settled down and retired the next three hitters to ice the win for Oakland. The A’s won 7-2.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s, with the win, improve to 48-40 and now lead the Texas Rangers by one game in the race for second place in the AL West. They trail the first place Houston Astros by 7 1/2 games.

The A’s had three players that had multiple hits in the game. These three had nine of the A’s 12 hits. Robbie Grossman had three singles. Chris Herrmann had his first four-hit game. He had a double and three singles. Semien had two hits, both home runs. Semien’s first was a solo blast in the fifth, and a grand slam in the eighth. Semien has hit 13 so far this season. His five RBI game matched a career-high, It was also his fifth career two-homer game, and his fourth career grand slam.

The line score for Oakland was seven runs, 12 hits, and one error. The Twins’ line was two runs, 11 hits, and no errors. The winning pitcher was Wang, and Jose Berrios took the loss. Berrios is now 8-5 for the year.

Time of game was three hours and 20 minutes. 20,836 fans watched the A’s win.

Up Next: The A’s travel to Seattle to face the Mariners for three games before the All-Star break. Lefty Brett Anderson will pitch for the Green and Gold Friday night. Brett is 8-5 and has an ERA of 3.92. Seattle’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-5, 5.12 ERA) will be on the hill for the M’s. Kikuchi is also left-handed.

Twins need 12 innings to beat the A’s 4-3 and even the series

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Photo credit: @Twins

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Minnesota Twins and Oakland A’s struggled through 12 innings before the Twins were able to break through for a 4-3 win at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday night. The A’s took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, but the Twins held them scoreless the rest of the way. In the meantime, the Twins scored one in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to tie the game. The A’s had their chances, but failed to capitalize.

Mike Fiers started for Oakland and went six-plus innings and allowed five hits and two runs. Twins starter Kyle Gibson also worked six innings, and gave up five hits and three runs. Gibson’s only mistake was serving up a gopher ball to Ramon Laureano.

The A’s put three on the board in the second inning. A’s DH Khris Davis reached on an error. Kyle Gibson issued a walk to Mark Canha to put two men on with no out. Ramon Laureano followed with an Earl Weaver special, a three-run homer. Gibson finished the inning with no further damage.

The Twins scored their first run of the game in the top of the sixth. Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop led off with a single. Fiers retired Byron Buxton for the first out of the inning. Max Kepler singled to move Schoop to second. Both players advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Twins catcher Mitch Garver singled to drive in Schoop. Fiers retired the next two hitters. Ramon Laureano made a sliding catch to retire Jorge Polanco for the second out, and A’s third baseman showed off his fielding skills as he made a nice running catch to rob C.J. Cron of a hit and end the inning. The A’s lead 3-1 midway through the sixth.

The Twins scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh to close the gap to one. Rookie Luis Arraez led off with a single. The Twins were able to bring in Arraez for the score when Franklin Barreto made two errors on the same play. He failed to touch second for a force out and then threw the ball past Matt Olson at first. The A’s then caught former Giant Ehire Adrianza trying to steal home. A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit struck out Byron Buxton for the final out.

The Twins tied the game in the top of the eighth. With two out, the Twins’ DH Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star game, homered off Joakim Soria. The game was knotted at three apiece with the A’s coming to bat.

The Twins scored a  run in the 12th. Bob Melvin brought in Blake Treinen to pitch. Treinen came off the 10-day IL and was rusty. He struck out Schoop for the first out. He then walked Byron Buxton and Max Kepler to put a man in scoring position. Mitch Garver singled to drive in Buxton to put the Twins ahead 4-3. Melvin replaced Treinen with Brian Schlitter, and he got C.J. Cron to hit into an inning-ending double play. In the A’s half of the inning, Matt Chapman reached on an error. Twins’ reliever Taylor Rogers struck out Matt Olson for the first out. Jurickson Profar, who ran for Khris Davis earlier, singled to left. Chapman went to third on the play  Profar was called out at second after he was called safe. The Twins challenged the call, and it was overturned. Rogers struck out Mark Canha to preserve the win for the Twins. The Twins won 4-3.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the A’s drop to 47-40. They remain in second place in the AL West as the Texas Rangers lost to the Angels again. The Twins improved to 54-31.

Jorge Polanco’s home run in the eighth was the Twins’ 161st of the year. They have four games left to break the record they share with the Yanks for most home runs before the All-Star break. The A’s used seven pitchers. Treinen took the loss. Blake Parker was credited with the win.

The line score for Minnesota was four runs, 10 hits, and two errors. The A’s line was three runs, eight hits, and two errors.

Time of game was four hours and 40 minutes. 31,570 people saw the A’s lose.

Up Next: Game three of the series will be played on Thursday at 1:00 pm. Tanner Anderson will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Jose Berrios.

Herrmann hits grand slam in 1st game with A’s; Oakland edges Twins 8-6

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s won their fourth straight to go eight games over the .500 mark with a record of 47-39. It was not easy as they were facing the AL Central first place Minnesota Twins. The Twins have a lineup loaded with guys that can hit the ball out of the park. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has the team playing well and the A’s were hoping their starter Daniel Mengden could subdue the Twins’ hitter. In addition, the A’s were facing the Twins’ best pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who entered the game with a sparkling record of 10-3 and an ERA of 2.73.

The Twins put two runs on the board in the top of the second inning. With two out, Twins rookie second baseman, 22-year-old Luis Arraez singled to start the rally. Third baseman Miguel Sano took Mengden deep for his 13th tater of the season. The Twins led 2-0 halfway through the second.

The Twins took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. The A’s came back with two in their half of the third. A’s second baseman Franklin Barreto led off with a double. He tagged up and went to third on Marcus Semien’s fly out to left. Matt Chapman struck out, but the other Matt, Matt Olson hammered his 17th homer to make it a 3-2 game.

The A’s took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth. A’s right fielder Mark Canha reached on an error. Twins starter Jake Odorizzi walked Ramon Laureano to put two men on with no out. Robbie Grossman followed with a bloop single to center to load the base, A’s catcher, Chris Herrmann, making his first start as an Oakland Athletic, made his first hit memorable. His hit is the stuff that players dream about when they were kids. Just imagine coming to the plate with the bases loaded and hitting a grand slam for your first hit with your new team. That is exactly what happened. Herrmann’s blast sent Odorizzi to the showers. The A’s now led 6-3.

The Twins, who were loaded with power hitters, cut the deficit to two when catcher Jason Castro homered off Mengden to make it 6-4. The A’s got the run back in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Mark Canha walked. Ramon Laureano doubled into the corner in left field. Third base coach Matt Williams waved Canha home. Twins’ left fielder Marwyn Gonzalez’s throw home nailed Canha. Laureano took third on the throw home. Grossman singled to drive in Laureano to give the A’s the lead 7-4 after five complete.

The Twins showed the reason they are in first place in the AL Central. With one out, Marwyn Gonzalez singled to start the rally. Gonzalez tormented the A’s when he was with Houston and he continued to do so Tuesday night. Mengden retired C.J.Cron for the second out. Luis Arraez, who singled in the second inning, slammed a  double to left-center-field to drive in Gonzalez with the Twins’ fifth run of the game. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch. Petit retired Sano for the third out. The A’s failed to score in the bottom of the sixth. They still led the Twins 7-5 after six.

The Twins’ Jason Castro led off the seventh with his second solo dinger of the game to make it a one-run contest. Oakland still led 7-6 midway through the seventh. The A’s Mark Canha responded with his 12th homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the A’s a two-run cushion 8-6 heading into the eighth inning.

The Twins failed to score in the eighth. In the ninth, the A’s brought in Liam Hendriks to close out the game. Hendriks gave up a single to Miguel Sano.  Hendriks settled down and struck out Jason Castro for the first out. Castro had a double and two solo home runs and getting a strikeout was just the tonic Hendriks needed. He struck out Byron Buxton for the second out. Hendriks had to deal with the dangerous left-handed hitter Max Kepler. Kepler has hit 21 homers to lead the Twins in that department and also represented the tying run at the plate. Hendriks won the battle as he got Kepler to fly out to center for the final out of the game. The A’s won 8-6.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s won their fourth game in a row to improve to 47-39. The A’s moved into second place in the AL West as the LA Angels beat the Texas Rangers 9-4. The A’s did not gain any ground on the Houston Astros as they rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8. The Twins drop to 53-31 for the year.

Daniel Mengen was the winning pitcher and his record improved to 3-1. Liam Hendriks earned his third save. The loss went to Jake Odorizzi. Odorizzi is now 10-4 for 2019.

The A’s line score was eight runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Twins’ line score was six runs, 10 hits, and one error.

The A’s observed a moment of silence to honor the memory of Angels’ pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs passed away yesterday in Texas. He was 27-years-old. A very sad time for his family, the Angels, and everyone that loves baseball.

The A’s hit three homes to increase their total for the season to 136.  They have seven players with 10 or more home runs which are second-most in the majors. The Twins have eight. The Twins also hit three homers and now have 160 with five games remaining before the All-Star break. The Yankees set the record last year with 161.

Time of game was three hours and 20 minutes and a crowd of 13,926 people went home happy as the A’s won 8-6.

Up Next: Game two will start at 6:07 pm Wednesday. Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA) will go for Oakland and Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) will go to the mound for the Twins.

Following Wednesday night’s game, the A’s will have a fireworks show that will honor the military and the Fourth of July.

Preview of the 3-game series between the A’s and Twins

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s are enjoying an off-day on Monday after finishing a six-game road trip with a 5-1 record. The A’s are now just 1/2 game behind the Texas Rangers for second place in the AL West and for the second slot in the Wild Card race.

The A’s will play the next three games at home with the AL Central Division leading Minnesota Twins. The Twins, under first-year manager Rocco Baldelli, have a record of 53-30 and own an eight-game lead over the second place Cleveland Indians.

The Twins have a power-packed lineup. Six of the nine hitters in the lineup have hit more than 10 home runs so far this season. The other three need just one or two more dingers to reach that level. The Twins star left fielder, Eddie Rosario, will not play in the series. Rosario is hitting .280 and has 20 homers and 60 RBIs so far. He is on the 10-day IL with a sprained left ankle. Marwyn Gonzalez, the former Astro, will take his place. The A’s will see Byron Buxton in center and Max Kepler in right. The German-born Kepler leads the team with 21 dingers. All the infielders can hit the ball out of the park. Former LA Angels first baseman, C.J. Cron, is hitting .271, and has hit 17 big flies, and knocked in 52. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop is playing well with a .251  average and has hit 13 out of the park. Shortstop Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star Game in Cleveland, leads the team in hitting with a .320 average and he has 11 homers and 39 RBIs on his resume. Miguel Sano is a third. He is not hitting for average, but he is a power threat every time he goes to the plate. Jason Castro will handle the catching. Nelson Cruz will be the DH. Cruz, who loves to hit against Oakland, is having an excellent season with 16 homers and 46 runs batted in.

On Tuesday, the Twins will send their All-Star starter, Jake Odorizzi, to the hill. Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA) pitched exceptionally well in May. In June, however, Odorizzi has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings of work over his last three starts. The A’s Daniel Mengden will be making his second start since being recalled from Las Vegas last month. Mengden was sensational in his start against the St. Louis Cardinals last week in St. Louis. He pitched six innings of shutout baseball. Mengden will be making his first career start against Minnesota.

Wednesday’s game will feature the Twins’ Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) going against the A’s Tanner Anderson (0-3, 7.13 ERA). Anderson was roughed up in his last start last Thursday against the LA Angels. He, too, will be making his first career start against the Twins.

On Thursday, the Fourth of July, the A’s will and the ball to Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA). Fiers has an ERA of 2.61 in his last 12 starts, which is the sixth lowest in the AL over that span. He has a record of 6-1 and an ERA of 2.77 in 11 (10 starts) games against the Twins. Jose Berrios (8-4, 2.89 ERA) pitches for Minnesota. Berrios pitched last Friday and was tagged for six runs (three earned) against the White Sox in six innings of work. That effort allowed the Twins’ bullpen to get some rest after an 18-inning game the night before.

The Twins have two pitchers that have 10 save each for the team. The Twins will use either righty Blake Parker or lefty Taylor Rogers as the closer. Pitchers that will see action in the series include Trevor May, Matt Magill, Ryne Harper, Mike Morin, Tyler Duffey, and lefty Lewis Thorpe.

The A’s will be without the services of Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty injured his right knee sliding into second base Saturday night. Piscotty had an MRI done on Monday to see the extent of the damage if any. He is on the 10-day IL.

Following the three-game set with the Twins, the A’s travel to Seattle for three with the Mariners. The A’s will resume play at home against the Chicago White Sox after a four-day break for the MLB All-Star game that will be played in Cleveland. A’s third baseman Matt Chapman will be making his first appearance as an All-Star.

Kevin Durant signs four-year $164 million deal to play with the Brooklyn Nets

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file photo from sfgate.com: Former Golden State Warrior Kevin Durant #35 gets help off the floor in his last hurrah for Golden State with the injured Achilles tendon in the first half of game 5 against the Toronto Raptors.

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Golden State Warriors lost a key player to free agency on Sunday. Superstar forward Kevin Durant decided to leave the Warriors, a team that he won two championships with, to play for the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets were active Sunday signing point guard Kyrie Irving and center DeAndre Jordan. They will have to wait a year for Durant to play for them as he will be recovering from an Achilles tendon injury that will sideline him for the entire 2019-2020 season.

The big question is, why did Durant decide to leave the Warriors. Golden State offered him a five-year deal worth $ 221 Million. The answer has to be that he was unhappy here with the Warriors. He had a massive dustup with Draymond Green early in the season. The two players didn’t speak for a while, and that may have been a factor even though Green apologized to Durant. Another factor may have been the injury that he sustained in Game Five of the NBA Finals with Toronto. Durant had suffered a calf injury in the series with the Houston Rockets. The team may have asked him to return to action before that injury was healed. No one knows what the Warriors’ doctors told him about the possibility that he might make it worse if he played.

The Warriors did agree to terms with a five -year $190 million contract with Klay Thompson. Klay will be out for at least nine months as he recovers from surgery to fix a torn ACL in his left knee. The Warriors want to re-sign Kevon Looney.  Looney is being courted by the Houston Rockets. Looney proved his worth as he played inspired basketball in the Finals after suffering an injury to his collarbone. The Warriors may try to get DeMarcus Cousins back. The most the can offer Cousins is about 6.3 million. Cousins could help fill the gap left by Durant’s departure. Cousins may stay to get a better deal a year from now. Shaun Livingston may retire, and that is another hole that the W’s will have to fill.

The Warriors should be competitive next year with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala still on the roster. Players such as Damian Jones, Jordan Bell, Alonzo McKinnie, and Quinn Cook will have to step up if the Warriors are to be successful next season. The fans are hoping the GM Bob Myers might have something rolled up in his sleeves to help make the team better. It will be a very different season for the Warriors as they start to play next year at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Angels down the A’s 8-3 to win the series opener

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Photo credit: @Angels

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s dropped the opener of the four-game series to the LA Angels by a score of 8-3 at Angel Stadium on Thursday night. A’s starter Tanner Anderson had a rough outing Thursday night in Anaheim. The Angels rocked him for two runs in the second and five in the third.  Anderson went 2.2 innings and allowed eight hits, and seven runs (all earned).

Angels starter Griffin Canning went six innings and allowed three hits and two runs. Home runs by Ramon Laureano in the second and Matt Olson on the fourth were the only damage done by the A’s offense.

The Angels added a run in the sixth, and the A’s put their third run on the board in the eighth.

Anderson gave up two two-run homers to the Angels. Kole Calhoun hit his 17th in the bottom of the second to put the Angels ahead 2-1. In the bottom of the third, Shohei Ohtani hit his 10th with a man aboard to make it 4-1. The Angels scored three more before A’s manager removed Anderson from the game.

Game Notes: The A’s drop to 43-39 and the Angels improved to 42-40. The Angels have now won four in a row. The Angels have welcomed back two position players back to their lineup. Justin Upton was in left field Thursday. Upton missed over 70 games with a turf toe injury. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was back in the lineup after missing 39 games.

The A’s missed an opportunity to pick up a game on the Houston Astros as the Astros lost to Pittsburgh 10-0 Thursday. They trail the Astros by seven games in the race for first place in the AL West. The Texas Rangers are in second place with a 2 1/2 game lead over the A’s. The Angels are in fourth place, and they trail the A’s by one game.

Time of game was two hours and 46 minutes. 40,631 fans watched the Angels win the fourth in a row.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday night. Game time will be at 7:07 pm. Mike Fiers (7-3, 4.20 ERA) will go for Oakland. Fiers’ ERA is 2.51 in his last nine starts. The Angels will use an opener to start the game. Felix Pena will come in after the first or second inning. The Angels have used an opener in 10 of Pena’s 11 appearances.

The A’s line score was three runs, five hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was eight runs, 12 hits, and no errors.