Author: rxslugger

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

Warriors overcome 17-point deficit, beat Blazers 114-111

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors again showed what they have hearts of lions as they clawed their way back from a poor first half to down the Portland Trailblazers 114-111 at Oracle Arena Thursday night.

The Warriors blew out the Blazers in Game 1. Many pundits said that the Warriors will win the series in five, while others thought the Warriors might sweep the Blazers. However, games are played on the court, not on paper. People have to remember that the Blazers are a professional basketball team that finished with the third best record in the Western Conference. They have an outstanding backcourt of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. The Blazers knew that they had to outplay the Warriors on both ends of the court. They put 65 points on the board in the first half and held the Warriors to 50. They made 11 threes in the first half. Steph Curry led the Warriors with 19, but no other Warrior starter was in double figures.

The first quarter was fairly even as Portland finished with a two-point advantage 31-29. The second quarter belonged to Portland as they outscored the Warriors 34-21 to finish with a 15-point lead 65-50. The Blazers had hoped to steal a game in Oakland and return home to Portland with the series tied at one apiece.

The Warriors had to regroup and figure out what they had to do to slow down Portland and come back to win the game. Portland made the first basket of the second half to increase the lead to 67-50. Steph Curry made a three, and the Blazers hit a two to lead 69-53. At this point, the Warriors went on a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to three 69-66. Portland refused to wilt, and they maintained the lead 75-74. Klay Thompson drained a three and the Warriors had their first lead since the first quarter when they led 8-6. The Warriors offense, paced by Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, had help from an unexpected source, Jordan Bell. Bell, who had played sparingly in the playoffs, had his best game of the season. The Warriors were up by five until Portland regrouped and they were able to finish the third quarter tied 89-89. The Warriors won the quarter 39-24, but still had 12 minutes left to play.

In the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers put the pressure on the Warriors. Portland’s offense came to life, and they had a 108-100 lead with five minutes left to play. Portland’s Seth Curry, Steph Curry’s younger brother, knocked down two threes in the quarter that propelled the Blazers into the lead.

Blazers coach Terry Stotts had his team concentrate on double-teaming Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors had seen teams use this defense before.

Players such as Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney made buckets as time was winding down. Looney made a bucket to bring the Warriors close 108-107. Steph Curry then made a three to put the Warriors up 110-108. Portland hit a three and led 111-110. Looney connected on a lob from Draymond Green, and Green made a bucket to put the Warriors ahead 114-111 with 12.3 seconds left. The Blazers knew they had to make a three to tie the game. They wanted the ball in either Lillard or McCollum’s hands. Lillard had the ball and was making his move when Iguodala slapped the ball out of his hands and stole the ball to secure the 114-111 win for Golden State.

Game Notes and Stats: Steph Curry led the Warriors with 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He made four threes in 14 tries. Klay Thompson had 24. Draymond had a double-double with 16 points, 10 boards, seven assists and blocked five shots. Jordan Bell had 11, and Kevon Looney knocked down 14 and had seven boards. Jonas Jerebko did not score, but he did have seven rebounds while on the court. Andre Iguodala had four points, five rebounds and five assists.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 23. He had five rebounds, 10 assists, and he connected on five threes. CJ McCollum had 22 points and three threes. Seth Curry finished with 16 points and made four threes.

Up Next: The Warriors and Trail Blazers meet for Game 3 in Portland Saturday night. Game time will be at 6 pm.

A’s trounce Tigers 17-3 to take first game of four-game series

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photo from expo.mlive.com: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien scores from third on a wild pitch during the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Detroit.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, who are having a hard time winning games away from home this season, found their offensive magic as they pummeled the Detroit Tigers 17-3 at Comerica Park on Thursday.

The A’s improved their road record to 6-15 and their pitcher, Chris Bassitt, pitched one of the best games of his career. Bassitt went eight innings and allowed just four hits and no runs. He threw 108 pitches in picking up his second win of the year.

The A’s, as a team, hit five home runs on Thursday. They hit five Monday night in Seattle, but lost the game. The homers in Seattle were all solo blasts. Thursday’s show of power included a grand slam, a three-run blast, two two-run shots, and a solo home run.

The A’s scored all the runs they would need in the third inning when they put six on the board. Left-fielder Robbie Grossman started the festivities going with a lead-off triple. A’s catcher Josh Phegley, who had four hits and four RBIs in the game, singled to drive in Grossman with the A’s first run.

Marcus Semien reached on a fielder’s choice. Phegley was out at second. Matt Chapman walked, and first baseman Matt Olson reached on a fielders’ choice. Chapman went to second on Tigers’ first baseman Niko Goodrum’s throwing error.

Semien scored the second run on pitcher Spencer Turnbull’s wild pitch. Khris Davis struck out. Turnbull walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases. Jurickson Profar deposited Turnbull’s ball into the right-field seats for his first career grand slam. The A’s lead 6-0. The A’s scored three in the sixth, four in the seventh, two in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Aaron Brooks pitched the ninth for Oakland, and he had a rough outing. Pitchers don’t have to be careful when leading by 17, but Brooks needed to show the A’s that he belongs on the club. He gave up three hits and three runs. The big blow was a blast off the bat of Dawel Lugo to drive in Nick Castellanos and Josh Harrison. Brooks stuck out Grayson Greiner for the final out.

Game Notes: The A’s won their ninth in a row at Comerica Park. Detroit has been outscored 41-9 while losing the first four games of a 10-game homestand.

Josh Phegley, Mark Canha, Marcus, Semien, and Matt Olson all homered for the A’s.

A’s manager Bob Melvin had high praise for the play of Josh Phegley: “If you are looking for All-Star catchers this year, I don’t know anyone more worthy than Josh. He’s hitting close to .300, and he’s giving us homers and RBI. You don’t see that from the nine spot very often.”

The A’s are 20-25 for the year. The Tigers drop to 18-24.

Up Next: Frankie Montas (4-2, 3.78 ERA) will pitch Friday night for Oakland. Montas has been the most consistent starter for Oakland this year. Lefty Daniel Norris will be on the hill for Detroit. He’s 2-1 and has a respectable 3.63 ERA. Game time will be at 4:10 pm.

Preview of A’s four-game series with the Tigers

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nbcsports.com file photo: Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt gets ready to deliver as the A’s open up a four game series in Detroit on Thursday night at CoAmerica Park

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are having a very rare off-day on Wednesday as they travel to Detroit to face the Tigers for four games starting on Thursday.

The A’s, who are having trouble winning on the road, stumble into Motown with a 5-15 road record. The A’s were 1-8 on their last nine-game trip and have started this nine-game trip by losing the first two games to Seattle. The A’s overall are 19-24 for the season.

The A’s are currently residing in the basement in the AL West. Their starting rotation has not performed as well as A’s manager Bob Melvin had hoped. The A’s may have help coming in that department as pitchers Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk are making their way back from Tommy John surgery and may be available soon.

Sean Manaea, who had shoulder surgery, is coming along and he may be back later this year. Manaea won 12 games and tossed a no-hitter last season before exiting with the shoulder problem. In the meantime, Bob Melvin will send Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Daniel Mengden, and Mike Fiers to face the Tigers this weekend.

Montas has been the most consistent starter the A’s have had this year. Fiers is 3-3, and he threw a no-hitter in Oakland against the Cincinnati Reds. Bassitt has made three or four starts since being recalled, and Mengden will b making his second start.

The A’s bullpen has not been as good as it was last year. Most of the relievers are back, but baseball people know that last year’s success is no guarantee that the pitchers will be as successful this year. The A’s lost Jed Lowrie to free agency. Lowrie was a consistent hitter, and he knocked in 99 ribbies last season. The A’s acquired Jurickson Profar to replace him, but Profar has been struggling both on offense and on defense.

The A’s will be facing a Detroit Tiger team that is in the midst of a rebuild. The Tigers are not the juggernaut of 2012 when the won the AL Pennant. Gone are pitchers Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Anibal Sanchez. Their starters are now lefties Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris.

Righty Tyson Ross is on the 10-day IL and Michael Fulmer is on the 60-day IL. Former SF Giant, Matt Moore is also on the 60-day IL. Spencer Turnbull, Victor Alcantara, Daniel Stumpf, and Buck Farmer will see action this weekend against the A’s. Their closer, Shane Greene, has recorded 15 saves and has a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 1.50. The Tigers are in fourth place in the AL Central with a record of 18-22.

The Tigers’ two best players are Miguel Cabrera and Nick Castellanos. Cabrera is day-to-day with a knee issue. Cabrera missed most of 2018 with injuries, and his power has yet to return this year. His batting average is a respectable .282, and he has just one home run and 15 RBIs so far this year.

Castellanos, who will be a free agent at the end of next year, is on the trading block. The Tigers are paying him 10 million this season. In 37 games this season, Castellanos is hitting .270 with three homers and 12 RBIs. Last year he hit .298 and had 23 dingers.

The infielders for Detroit are Niko Goodrum at first, Josh Harrison, at second, Jeimer Candelario will play third, and Ronny Rodriguez will be the shortstop. Rodriguez has been productive, but the other three are just slightly below average.

The outfield will be manned by Christin Stewart in left, JaCoby Jones in center, and Castellanos in right. Cabrera will be the DH.

The series will be a battle between two teams hoping to improve. The A’s want to regain the form they had last season when they won 97 games. The Tigers, who lost 98 games in 2017 and 2018, are hoping to find a way back to respectability. They hope their young players will mature and improve. The A’s are hoping to end their road woes with a good series. Let’s see how this plays out in Detroit this weekend.

Mariners nip the A’s 4-3 to sweep the 2-game series

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photo from yahoosports.com: Seattle Mariners closing pitcher Roenis Elias reacts as stadium lights flash after the team’s baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in Seattle. Elias earned the save as the Mariners won 4-3.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland  A’s road woes continued as they fell to the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Seattle Tuesday night. The A’s, who were 1-8 on their last nine-game road trip, started this road trip 0-2. The A’s are off on Wednesday and will start a four-game set with the Tigers in Detroit before finishing the trip with three games with the Cleveland Indians.

Brett Anderson was on the mound for Oakland Tuesday night. Anderson gave the A’s six innings, and he allowed six hits and four runs. He was the losing pitcher, and his record dropped to 4-3. Mike Leake started for Seattle, and he picked up his third win of the year. Leake went 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and three runs (one earned).

The M’s put two on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Anderson gave up solo homers to Daniel Vogelbach and Tim Beckham.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the fifth. Leake walked Ramon Laureano and gave up a single to Robbie Grossman. Both runners advanced when Josh Phegley flew out to deep center field. Marcus Semien reached on Beckham’s throwing error, and that allowed Laureano and Grossman to score.

The game didn’t stay tied for long. With one out, Anderson walked J.P. Crawford. M’s centerfielder, Mitch Haniger, who loves to play against Oakland, hit his second home of the series to give the Mariners the lead 4-2.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the seventh. Stephen Piscotty led off with a double. Robbie Grossman singled to drive in Piscotty. The A’s trail 4-3.

The M’s brought in Roenis Elias to pitch with two-out in the seventh. Elias responded by getting the final seven outs of the game to preserve the win for Seattle.

The A’s drop to 19-24 while the M’s improve to 21-23.

Time of game was two hours and 37 minutes. 11,355 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s will have the day off on Wednesday before heading to Detroit and Comerica Park. Starting for the A’s on Thursday night Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA). The Tigers starter is yet to be determined.

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

Warriors roll over the Trail Blazers 116-94

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, still without the services of Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, rolled over the Portland Trail Blazers 116-94 Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors finished off the Houston Rockets last Friday night and had a few days to recover from that grueling series. The Blazers, on the other hand, had to play in Denver on Sunday and flew to the Bay Area after the game. They did not practice Monday and did not have shoot-around on Tuesday.

The Warriors were tasked with shutting down Portland’s two backcourt aces, C.J. McCollum, and Damian Lillard. Lillard, an Oakland native, loves to play at Oracle and has averaged 27 points a game against the Warriors. McCollum is also a scorer who is capable of making threes. The Warriors wanted their Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry, to get into the flow of the game early so that they could lead the team to the win.

The Warriors and Blazers played a low-scoring first half. The Warriors led 27-23 after the first 12 minutes of action. The finished the first half with a nine-point lead 54-45. Curry made two-threes late in the period to give the Warriors the advantage.

The Blazers won the third quarter 26-23 to cut the lead to six after three quarters of action. The Warriors led by 17, 70-53, but the Blazers’ offense came to life and rallied to end the period trailing by six.

The Warriors used their second unit to start the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson was on the floor with Jonas Jerebko, Shaun Livingston, Quinn Cook, and Kevon Looney. Klay hit two buckets and two threes. Cook knocked down two threes, while Jerebko hit a bucket and was a force on defense. By the time Steph Curry and Draymond Green returned to the floor, the Warriors were in total command and cruised to the 116-94 victory.

Game Notes: Steph Curry led the Warriors with 36 points. He connected on nine threes in 15 attempts. Klay Thompson had 26 points. Draymond Green finished with a double-double. He had 12 points, 10 boards, and five assists. Jonas Jerebko had nine points, Quinn Cook had eight points, and Kevon Looney had six.

Damian Lillard had 19 points for Portland. McCollum and Mo Harkless each had 17 points. Rod Hood, coming off the bench, added 17 points.

The Warriors defense held Portland to 36% from the floor. The Blazers made seven threes in 28 attempts. The Warriors knocked down 17 threes. The Warriors had 13 steals and eight blocks and forced Portland into 21 turnovers.

Up Next: Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 6 pm.

A’s hit five homers, but still lose 6-5 to Seattle in extra innings

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photo sfgate.com: In this multiple-exposure photo, Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi throws against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 13, 2019, in Seattle.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s were in Seattle to start a nine-game road trip. Mike Fiers, who pitched a no-hitter against Cincinnati last Tuesday, started for the A’s. The Seattle Mariners countered with lefty Yusei Kikuchi. Fiers lost his bid for a second no-hitter in the first inning when Mitch Haniger led off with a solo blast.

The A’s hitters hit four solo homers to give the A’s a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. The M’s tied the game in the 8th when they scored three runs. The A’s reclaimed the lead when Ramon Laureano hit a solo home run with two out in the top of the tenth. It was the A’s fifth dinger of the night. The M’s answered with two runs in their half of the tenth to win 6-5.

The A’s had home runs from Mark Canha in the second, Khris Davis in the sixth and in the eighth, Matt Olson in the seventh, and Laureano in the 10th.

The M’s scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game. Trivino walked Haniger to start the frame. Haniger was erased on a fielder’s choice. The next hitter, the ever-dangerous Edwin Encarnacion, walked on a 3-2 pitch.

The pitch was over the lower part of the plate and above the knees, but the home plate umpire called it a ball. A’s manager Bob Melvin was seen screaming at the umpire from the dugout. The next hitter, big Daniel Vogelbach, hit Trivino’s pitch over the 401-foot marker in center field to tie the game. Melvin went after the ump again and was tossed out of the game.

As mentioned above, Laureano homered with two out in the tenth to give Oakland the short-lived lead. Joakim Soria, who struck out the side in the ninth, issued a walk to Vogelbach with two out in the inning.

The Mariners had the speedy Dee Gordon run for Vogelbach. Gordon then stole second to get into scoring position. Domingo Santana doubled to left to drive in Gordon with the tying run. M’s catcher Omar Narvaez singled to end the game as the M’s won 6-5.

Game Notes: Mike Fiers went five innings and allowed just two hits and one run. Yusmeiro Petit did not allow a run in his two innings of work. Trevino allowed three runs, and Soria took the loss.

Up Next: The A’s conclude the two-game series Tuesday night in Seattle. Brett Anderson goes for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Seattle’s Mike Leake.

Warriors find a way to eliminate the Rockets in Game 6

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, playing without two of their stars, DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant, found a way the defeat the Houston Rockets 118-113 Friday night in Houston. Most of the pundits, excluding this writer, picked the Rockets to win Game 6 and force a deciding Game 7 on Mother’s day in Oakland. The “experts” felt that the Warriors could not win with Kevin Durant. Durant was averaging a smidge over 36 points a game and how were the Warriors going to pick up the slack. The Warriors bench had not produced much in the playoffs this year. Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr knew that he could not let his starters play all 48 minutes. He needed the bench to come through and did they ever. The Warriors motto is “Strength in Numbers,” and the bench led by Kevon Looney, Shaun Livingstone, Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell, and Jonas Jerebko all contributed to the Warriors victory and they did it in a hostile environment.

The Rockets, for the past year, were hoping to avenge last year’s demise in the Western Conference Finals against the W’s. Their star point guard, Chris Paul, injured his hamstring and did not play in the last two games. Paul was healthy, and they felt they had the advantage as Durant was not able to play for Golden State. What the Rockets didn’t count on was the fact that the Warriors know how to win. They won a championship in 2015 without Kevin Durant. They almost repeated in 2016 and did not have Durant. The W’s won the last two championships with KD, and, hopefully, they will win their third in a row with Durant as a teammate. The Warriors knew they had to find a way to stop the Rockets offense. They had to play strong defense, rebound, make steals, block shots, and not turnover the ball. They did everything right except they were a bit sloppy as they turned the ball over 17 times.

The Warriors and Rockets played a very competitive first half. The Rockets won the first quarter by one-point to lead 28-27. The Warriors offense in the first quarter was driven by Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green. The Warriors won the second period by a point, and the game was tied at 57 at the of two-quarters of action. Steph Curry did not score a single point in the first half. He committed three fouls and spent a lot of time on the bench. Klay Thompson led the W’s with 21. Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Kevon Looney each had 8. Shaun Livingston had 6. The Rockets’ attack was led by James Harden’s 19. Chris Paul added 11. Hot-shooting Eric Gordon was held to 4. The Warriors knocked  down7 threes while Houston made 8. The Rockets shot 10 more free three than the Warriors to keep them in the game.

The Warriors were hoping to get Steph going in the third quarter. The Rockets planned to double team both Steph and Klay and force the other Warriors to make the shots. The lead changed hands several times in the period. The Rockets increased the lead to six 74-68, but the W’s met the challenge and tied it at 77. The Rockets led by one 83-82 when they went on a 4-0 run to finish the period leading 87-82.

It all came down to the last 12 minutes of play. The Rockets led by five and had the crowd roaring their support. Would it be possible for The W’s to catch the Rockets? Could they put enough points on the board to win? Would Steph Curry lead them to the win? All those questions were answered. The Warriors refused to fold. The Rockets could not put Golden State away. The W’s tied the game at 97 when Steph made a two-point bucket. The took the lead for good when Kevon Looney made a huge bucket. Steph followed with a three, and the Dubs led 102-97. The Rockets’ James Harden hit a three, and it was a two-point contest 102-100. Curry was a one-man wrecking crew at this point. Steph made a duce and a trey and the Warriors were up 110-104 with 36.1 seconds left to play. Kevon Looney blocked a shot, and the ball went Golden State. The Rockets fouled Steph, and he made both free throws. Harden countered with a three. The Rockets kept fouling Steph, and he kept making free throws. The Warriors held off Harden and Paul to win 118-113, and they again ended the Rockets’ season.

Game Notes and stats- The Warriors outscored the Rockets 36-26 in the fourth quarter to overcome the five-point deficit at the end of three. Steph Curry scored 16 points in the final five minutes of the game. He scored 23 points in the fourth quarter and 33 points in the second half.

The Warriors resume play Tuesday night at Oracle Arena when they face the winner of the Denver Nuggets- Portnad Trailblazers series.

Steph led the W’s with 33. He made four threes in 11 tries. Klay had 27, and he made 7 three. Draymond Green had 8 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists. Andre Iguodala played well on offense as well as defense. He had 17 points, and he made five threes. Kevon Looney had 15, Shaun Livingston 11. The rest of the bench added 8. The W’s shot 49.4% from the floor. The had 35 boards and 10 offensive rebounds.

James Harden led the Rockets with 35. Chris Paul 27, P.J.Tucker 15, Clint Capela 10 points and 10 boards, Eric Gordon 9. Austin Rivers also had 9. The key to the win was not letting Eric Gordon, and Austin Rivers knock down threes.

The Warriors again showed the world that they are champions. They refused to fold. They could have, and nobody would have criticized them as they were without two All-Stars. They made the shots when they had to. They played defense in the fourth quarter. They did what they had to do to win.

 

A’s lose in finale vs. Reds 3-0

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s were hoping to win Thursday’s game and sweep the three-game set from the Cincinnati Reds, but that didn’t happen.

The A’s sent Chris Bassitt to the hill, while the Reds had Tanner Roark on the mound.

Bassitt pitched well, but not well enough as the Reds’ hitters hit two home runs and the Reds’ pitchers held the A’s scoreless to win 3-0. Bassitt pitched 7 2/3 innings. He had trouble with Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez touched Bassitt for two doubles and a home run.

Meanwhile, Roark went six innings and allowed no runs and three hits. He picked up his third win of the year.

The Reds put two on the board very quickly in the first inning. With one out, Reds’ third baseman Eugenio Suarez doubled. Derek Dietrich then took Bassitt deep for his 10th round-tripper of the year. The Reds led 2-0.

The Reds added a run in the top of the third when Eugenio Suarez, who doubled in the first, blasted his 11th dinger of the year into the seats of left field. The Reds led 3-0 in the middle of the third.

The Reds hurlers allowed the A’s six hits and no runs. They were able to salvage the finale of the three-game series.

Game Notes: The A’s won the series 2-1.

The Reds will be staying in the Bay Area as they play the Giants in San Francisco for three games starting Friday.

The A’s fall to 17-22. The Reds improve to 16-22.

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

The Reds’ line was three runs, eight hits, and one error.

Time of game was two hours and 36 minutes and 19,694 fans were at the park watching the game.

Up Next: The A’s will host the other Ohio team, the Cleveland Indians, for three games this weekend. Time of first game will be at 6:37 pm.

A’s manager Bob Melvin will have Frankie Montas on the mound, and the Indians will counter with righty Cody Anderson.

There will be a fireworks show after the game.

A’s needed 13 innings to edge Reds 5-4

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 Wednesday evening. The game went 13 innings and was ended when Stephen Piscotty hit his first career walk-off home run.

A’s starter Brett Anderson struggled in the second inning. He gave up four runs and four hits. He also issued two walks. However, he settled down and gave the A’s six innings of work and allowed just one more hit before exiting the game.

The A’s bullpen did not let the Reds put another run on the board the rest of the way. The A’s were down 4-2 when they rallied to score two in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. The Reds’ Sonny Gray, who was the A’s ace until 2017, lasted 4 1/3 innings and he was charged with four runs (three earned).  Gray is 0-4 with the Reds this season.

The A’s plated two runs in the bottom of the first against their former teammate Sonny Gray. Gray walked A’s leadoff hitter, Marcus Semien. The next hitter, Jurickson Profar, who drove in the A’s two runs Tuesday night, sent Gray’s 3-1 pitch over the fence in right-center field to give the A’s an early 2-0 lead. It was Profar’s fourth tater of the season.

In the top of the second, the Reds sent 10 men to the plate and put four runs on the board to take the lead 4-2. Anderson walked the first two hitters he faced, and the Reds followed with four hits to score four runs.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Marcus Semien walked to start the inning. Jurickson Profar hit into a fielder’s choice. Matt Chapman singled and Kendrys Morales, who was pinch-hitting for Khris Davis, also singled to load the bases.

Reds manager David Bell removed Gray from the game and replaced him with lefty Amir Garrett. Garrett struck out Matt Olson for the second out. Stephen Piscotty singled to shallow right, Profar and Chapman scored on the play. Morales went to third, and Piscotty stopped at second. Ramon Laureano struck out to end the inning, The game was tied 4-4 after five innings.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 13th. Both bullpens did their job as they stymied the hitters for the next eight innings. The game ended when A’s right fielder, Stephen Piscotty led off with a walk-off home run to give the A’s the 5-4 win.

Game Notes: Jurickson Profar hit his second home run of the series in the first inning. Piscotty hit his fifth to lead off the 13th to send the 9,096 fans in attendance home happy.

The A’s improve to 17-21, and the Reds fall to 15-22.

Up Next: The A’s go for the sweep of the series Thursday afternoon at 12:37 pm. Chris Bassitt will be seeking his second win of the year. He will be opposed by the Reds’ Tanner Roark.

Warriors down Rockets 104-99, lead series 3-2

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets continued their epic struggle in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series.

The series has been extraordinarily close, and neither team has been able to blow out their opponent. The first four games were extremely close as exemplified by the fact that the Warriors had outscored the Rockets by just one point in four games played.

Wednesday’s contest was another heat pounding nail-biter. The Warriors won 104-99, but it was not easy. They had a 14-point lead at the end of the first 24 minutes of play. The Rockets wiped out the lead in the third quarter. The teams entered the final period of the game 72-72.

The Warriors lost Kevin Durant to a calf strain late in the third quarter. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had to figure out a way to stop the hard-charging Rockets. The Rockets took the lead just once in the period, and the Warriors summoned up the will to not let the guys from Houston beat them at Oracle Arena. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala showed everyone that they have the hearts of champions as they prevailed to take a 3-2 advantage. If they beat the Rockets Friday night, they will advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The first half of Game 5 between the Rockets and Warriors belonged to Golden State. The Warrior defense was outstanding as they held the Rockets to 43 points in the first half. Steph Curry did not score in the first 12 minutes of play. He connected on a three and a deuce in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 52-37 advantage. Kevin Durant paced the Warriors with 20 points, and Klay Thompson was second with 17. James Harden led the Rockets with 14. The Warriors held Eric Gordon to 4 points, and he was) for 5 from the 3-point range. None of the other Rocket starters were in double figures.

The third quarter belonged to the Rockets as they outscored the Warriors by 14 points to finish the period 72-72. The Rockets put the clamps on the Warrior offense, and they caused the Warriors to turn the ball over six times. Kevin Durant left the game late in the quarter with a leg injury. He went to the locker room and was diagnosed with a right calf strain and did not return to the game.

Curry hit a three to put the Warriors ahead 82-79. The Rockets kept coming back, but the Warriors refused to relinquish the lead. The Warriors took a five-point lead after a technical foul was called on Draymond Green. Green’s answer was a three to give Golden State the lead 94-89. The Rockets kept clawing back, but Klay Thompson came up big with another three to extend the lead to eight 97-89. Curry made two free throws and Klay hit a three with 4.1 seconds left to ice the win. The Warriors prevailed 104-99.

Game Notes and Stats: Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points. He made five threes in 10 tries. Curry, after a slow first half, pumped in 20 in the second half to finish with 25. He made three threes in 11 attempts. Kevin Durant had 22. Andre Iguodala finished the night with 11. Draymond Green had another double-double with eight points, 11 assists and 12 boards.

To no one’s surprise, James Harden led the Rockets with 31. Eric Gordon, who was bottled up in the first half, finished the night with 19. He connected on three threes to keep Houston in the game. Defensive whiz, P.J.Tucker also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Paul and Imam Shumpert each had 11.

The Warriors shot 45.3% from the floor. Their defense held the Rockets to 41,8%.

The Warriors made 13 threes, and the Rockets connected 12 times.

The Warriors outrebounded the Rockets 42-39 and had 12 offensive rebounds. The Rockets had eight.

Game 6 will be played in Houston on Friday. Game time will be at 6 pm.