Author: rxslugger

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

LeBron James, Brandon Ingram lead the way over the Warriors 123-113

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to hold off the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors 123-113 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. It was the Warriors’ third preseason game, and they suffered their second loss in a row. The Warriors were missing All-Star forward Draymond Green with a sore knee, and DeMarcus Cousins was not available as he recovers from an Achilles tendon injury.

The Warriors lost two big men over the off-season. Zaza Pachulia went to the Detroit Pistons, and JaVale McGee became an LA Laker. Head coach Steve Kerr has to hope that Damien Jones and Kevon Looney will be able to do the job until Cousins is ready to play.

With LeBron James on board, the Lakers will no longer be a pushover for the Warriors. LeBron played the first half and was in mid-season form as he scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds and five assists in the first half. The Warriors won the first quarter 34-31, but the Lakers outscored them 30-23 in the second period to finish the first half with a 61-57 lead. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant each scored 18 to pace the Warrior attack.

Curry,  Durant and Klay Thompson saw action in the third quarter, but left the game midway through the period. Kerr used his bench players the rest of the way, but they were not able to catch the Lakers. The Lakers were paced by Ingram in the third quarter, and he finished the night with26 points. The Lakers outscored Golden State 41-35 in the third period, and the Warriors won the fourth quarter 21-20.

Notes: Steph Curry was sharp as he netted 23 points and recorded five assists, but had five turnovers. Klay scored 18. Durant ended the night with 18. Durant also fouled out midway through the third quarter.

Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 26. Kentavius Caldwell-Pope tallied 20. Kyle Kuzma, who came off the bench, knocked down 22 in 24 minutes. Lonzo Ball saw 23 minutes of action, but scored just seven points. Lance Stephenson helped out the Lakers with 12.

Up Next: The Warriors finish the preseason Friday night when they play the Lakers again. This time, the venue will be the SAP Center in San Jose.

The regular season starts on Tuesday, October 16th at Oracle Arena when the Warriors host the Oklahoma City Thunder. Game time will be at 7:30 pm PT.

 

A’s win the series vs. Angels with 21-3 blowout

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The A’s won a laugher as they rapped out 22 hits and put 21 runs on the board to blowout the Los Angeles Angels 21-3 and win the series 2-1. Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is rumored to be retiring at the end of the season, probably will need some Tylenol to remove his headache or antacid to calm his stomach after Thursday’s debacle. The A’s hitters were scorching hot, and it is too bad there is not a run bank so that the A’s could have some stored for the weekend series versus the Minnesota Twins.

The Angels drew first blood in the top of the third. With one out, A’s starter Edwin Jackson walked Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun. The next hitter, Jose Fernandez’s drive into right field went for a double that drove in Calhoun to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.

In their half of the third, the A’s jumped all over Angels starter Matt Shoemaker as they put five runs on the board and sent Shoemaker to an early shower. A’s catcher Josh Phegley got things going when he led off the inning with a single. Nick Martini followed with a single to put two men on with no out. Matt Chapman, who has been playing well in the second half of the season, doubled to drive in Phegley and Martini. Jed Lowrie hit a solid line drive for a single. Chapman went to third on the play. Shoemaker settled down as he struck out Khris Davis and Matt Olson. He did not get out of the inning as Stephen Piscotty, who had homered and doubled last night to drive in five, continued his hot hitting as he blasted his 26th big fly of the year into the seats in left field to put the A’s ahead 5-1. Scioscia brought in former A’s reliever, Jim Johnson, to get the final out of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, the A’s put on a hitting clinic. Johnson was greeted by a single off the bat of Marcus Semien. The next hitter, Josh Phegley, lined out to Mike Trout who was able to double up Semien, who was running on the pitch. The inning appeared to be over when Martini hit a ground ball to Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Simmons throw to first went for an error. That miscue opened the floodgates as the A’s hitters went to town on Johnson. The A’s had five straight singles before Ramon Laureano doubled. Semien singled. Josh Phegley flew out to right field to end the inning. The A’s put seven runs on the board and had eight hits in the inning. Six of the runs were unearned. The A’s had a commanding 12-1 lead after four complete.

Angels star Mike Trout hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth off of Jackson. Jackson then walked Angels’ DH Shohei Ohtani. A’s manager Bob Melvin went to the mound and brought in Emilio Pagan to finish the inning. The A’s onslaught continued in the bottom of the sixth. Davis started the rally with a double. Angels’ reliever Miguel Almonte walked Olson and Piscotty to load the bases. Ramon Laureano’s single drove in Davis for the first run of the inning. With the bases loaded, Semien’s double cleared the bases. For Semien, it gave him a career-high five RBIs in a game. The hit parade continued when Phegley singled to drive in Semien with the A’s 17th run of the day. Phegley scored the sixth run of the inning and eighteenth of the game on Nick Martini’s single.

In the seventh, Scioscia decided to use his catcher, Francisco Arcia, as the pitcher. The use of a position player as a pitcher worked for just two hitters. Arcia retired Semien and Matt Joyce. He gave up a single to Phegley. It was Phegley’s third hit of the day. Martini then blasted the first home run of his career to make it 20-2. Chad Pinder, who replaced Chapman at third, took Arcia deep for his 12th of the year and the A’s increased the advantage to 21-2.

The Angels scored a run in the top of the ninth. Francisco Arcia homered with two out to score the Angels’ third run of the game, but it was too little, too late. Arcia became the first player in MLB history to pitch, catch and homer in the same game.

The A’s routed the Halos 21-3.

Game Notes: Edwin Jackson was the winning pitcher. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run and three hits. His record for the season improved to 6-3 and the A’s have won 13 of the 16 games that he has started.

The Angels’ Matt Shoemaker absorbed the loss, and his record dropped to 2-2.

The A’s are now 92-61 for the season, while the Angels fell to 75-78.

With the win, the A’s improved their record to 58-25 dating back to June 16, which is the best record in the Major Leagues over that span.

The A’s lowered their magic number to five to clinch a Wild Card spot. They currently have a six-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays, who play tonight. They are currently two games out of the first AL Wild Card spot behind the Yankees, who play tonight.

The A’s accounted for 21 runs on the game, the most runs the A’s have scored in a contest since June 18, 2000, at Kansas City. The 21 runs are tied for second in Oakland history.
The 18-run margin of victory was second largest in Oakland history.

This is the third time in Oakland history, the A’s have scored five or more runs in an inning three times in one game (June 14, 1969, at Boston; Sept. 30, 2000, vs. Texas).

Matt Chapman amassed his 24th double of the second half, which is now tied with Rajai Davis for the most doubles post All-Star break in A’s history.

Stephen Piscotty clubbed his seventh homer of the month and now has 22 RBI in September. He recorded his 85th RBI of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning, matching his career best. He leads the Majors in RBI for the month and is tied for first with seven homers.

Marcus Semien tallied a career-high five RBIs in the contest.

Nick Martini clubbed his first career round-tripper in the seventh inning.

Up Next: The A’s play the last three home games of the season starting Friday night versus the Minnesota Twins at 7:05 pm PDT. After the home series versus the Twins, the A’s finish the season on the road with three in Seattle and three more in Anaheim.

The A’s have not announced their starting pitcher for Friday night. It is possible that it will be a bullpen game. The Twins will send Jose Berrios to the mound. He is 11-11 with a 3.81 ERA.

Anderson, A’s trounce the Angels 10-0

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Photo credit: @Acbeam

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — Brett Anderson had his best performance of the season as he led the A’s to a 10-0 win over the Angels. Anderson made his third start since coming off the DL and was in total control as he throttled the Angels’ offense. He went 6 2/3 innings and allowed no runs and three hits. The A’s bullpen of Ryan Dull, Frankie Montas, and Aaron Brooks gave up one hit the rest of the way. The A’s came to life as they put 10 runs on the scoreboard. Stephen Piscotty was the hitting star with a double, home run and five RBIs.

The A’s put on their hitting shoes in the bottom of the fourth as they sent 10 men to the plate and scored six runs on six hits and a walk. Nick Martini and Matt Chapman singled to start the rally. Jed Lowrie doubled to drive in the first two runs of the night. Khris Davis reached on an infield single, and Lowrie went to third on the play. Pen walked Matt Olson to load the bases. Piscotty doubled to clear the bases, and the A’s had a 5-0 lead. Ramon Laureano singled, and Piscotty advanced to third. Pena struck out Marcus Semien for the first out of the inning. Jonathan Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Piscotty with the sixth run of the inning. The A’s led 6-0 after four.

The A’s continued the onslaught in the bottom of the fifth. Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced Felix Pena with Parker Bridwell. Matt Chapman singled to start the A’s rally. Bridwell retired Lowrie for the first out. Davis walked to put men on at first and second. Bridwell struck out Matt Olson for out number two. Piscotty blasted his 25th home run of the year about four rows deep in the second deck in left field. He has hit a career-high 25 home runs and a career-high 81 RBIs. The A’s led 9-0 after five.

The A’s put the 10th run of the night on the board in the seventh. A’s manager Bob Melvin inserted some of the role players as the game was well in hand at this point. Franklin Barreto hit for Lowrie and struck out. Matt Joyce, hitting for Davis, singled and was safe on second on a throwing error by Jefry Marte. Olson reached on the fielder’s choice. Piscotty was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ramon Laureano hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Joyce with the A’s 10th run, which was unearned. There was no more scoring as the A’s won their 91st of the year by a final score of 10-0.

Game Notes: The A’s picked up a game on the Astros as Houston lost to Seattle. They are four back with just 10 games left to play. The Yankees won again on Wednesday and the lead the A’s by 2 1/2 games in the race for the first Wild Card spot.

A’s Brett Anderson was the winning pitcher. His record for the year is now 4-5.

Angels’ Felix Pena absorbed the loss. His record dropped to 3-5.

Up Next: Game three of the series will be played Thursday afternoon at 12:30 pm PDT at the Coliseum. The A’s will send Edwin Jackson to the mound. Jackson (5-3, 3.17 ERA) Jackson will be opposed by the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker (2-1, 3.98 ERA)

Angels knock off the A’s 9-7

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angeles Angels won a wild and wooly game Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum as they sent the A’s down to their fourth loss in the last five games by a score of 9-7. It was also the third loss in a row for the Green and Gold.

With the loss, the A’s now trail the Houston Astros by five games in the race for first place in the AL West and are 2 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card spot. Time is running for the Green and Gold as there are just 11 games left in the regular season. The A’s are now 90-61 on the season.

The Angels put one on the board in the top of the fourth. With one out, their all-world center fielder, Mike Trout, blasted his 35th home run of the year off Daniel Mengden. Mengden walked the next hitter, Justin Upton. Mengden retired Shohei Otani for the second out. Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons then lined a double off the wall in left center field. It went out like a rocket, and the A’s were able to get the ball back to the infield to prevent Upton from scoring. Mengden retired third baseman Tyler Ward for the third out. The Angels led 1-0 in the middle of the fourth inning.

The A’s answered by scoring four times in the bottom of the fourth. Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced starter Tyler Skaggs with Cam Bedrosian. Skaggs made his first start since August 11th, and Scioscia had him on a pitch count. Skaggs did not allow a hit or  run in three innings of work. The A’s took advantage of Bedrosian’s wildness to load the bases with no outs. Bedrosian walked Jed Lowrie to start the inning. A’s DH Khris Davis singled to send Lowrie to second. Bedrosian walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases with no out. Bedrosian struck out the next two hitters and was in position to get out of the jam. A left fielder ripped a double that bounced off the base of the left field wall that cleared the bases. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy followed with a single to drive in Canha with the A’s fourth run of the frame. Scioscia changed pitchers, and reliever Noe Ramirez was able to retire Ramon Laureano for the final out of the fourth. The A’s led 4-1 after four.

Melvin went to his bullpen to start the sixth inning. The move turned out to be a disaster for the A’s as the Angels plated six runs on four hits. Shawn Kelley started the inning and faced Jose Fernandez. Kelley retired Trout for the first out. Justin Upton singled off Matt Chapman’s glove to put runners on at first and second. Melvin brought in lefty Ryan Buchter to pitch to Ohtani. That strategy failed as Ohtani singled to load the bases. Andrelto Simmons singled to drive in Fernandez and Upton. The Angels trailed 4-3. Melvin replaced Buchter with Lou Trivino. Trivino hit Taylor Ward with a pitch to load the bases. Kaleb Cowart hit his first home run of the run and his first grand slam. Trivino retired the next two hitters, but the damage was done. The Angels took a 7-4 lead.

The Angels put two more on the board in the top of the eighth. The A’s brought in their seventh pitcher of the night, Cory Gearrin, to face the Halos. Ohtani walked. Simmons followed with a single. Ward reached on a fielder’s choice. Ohtani was thrown out at third, but Chapman’s throw to first sailed past Matt Olson and went into right field. Simmons scored, and Ward ended up on third base. Cowart, who hit a grand slam in his last at-bat, tripled to drive in Ward with the Angels’ ninth run of the night.

The A’s rallied in the bottom of the eighth inning and scored three times to make it a 9-7 game. Jed Lowrie got things going when he walked for the third time in the game. Davis struck out, but singles by Piscotty and Olson allowed Lowrie to score. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien walked to load the bases. A’s outfielder Dustin Fowler was sent in to pinch hit for Josh Phegley. Fowler came through with a single to drive in Piscotty and Olson. Angels’ pitcher Ty Buttrey retired Ramon Laureano for the third out. The A’s had one more opportunity to either tie or get ahead in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Angels’ seventh pitcher of the evening retired in order in the ninth to seal the win. The A’s lost 9-7.

Game Notes and Stats: Time of the game was three hours and 42 minutes. For all intents and purposes, it was a bullpen game for both managers. A’s manager Bob Melvin started Liam Hendriks for the first inning, and Daniel Mengden was able to go four innings with the Halos scoring just one run. Angels manager Mike Scioscia used seven pitchers to subdue the A’s.

Things went awry in the sixth and eighth innings as the A’s bullpen imploded and allowed the Angels to put eight runs on the board. The A’s used eight pitchers in the loss, and it appeared to many that the bullpen might be a bit tired at this stage of the season. Rookie Lou Trivino, who has been so good, was burnt by Kaleb Cowart when he hit his first homer of the year, and it was a grand slam to boot. Cowart also had a triple.

The A’s line was seven runs on seven hits and one error. The Angels’ line score was nine runs on nine hits and no errors.

The winning pitcher was the Angels’ third pitcher Noe Ramirez. Ty Buttrey earned his fourth save of the year.

The losing pitcher was the A’s Lou Trivino, who absorbed the loss. His record is now 8-3.

There were 15.031 fans in attendance as they watched their A’s go down to defeat.

Up Next: Game two will be played Wednesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05 pm PDT.

Brett Anderson will go for the A’s. Anderson is hoping to rebound from two poor outings since coming off the DL.

Felix Pena will pitch for the Angels.

Orioles snap the A’s six-game winning streak with a 5-3 win

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Photo credit: @Orioles

By Jerry Feitelberg

One of the great things about baseball is that one never knows what is going to happen in any game. Things that are expected to happen go awry and things that one expects to happen don’t. The red-hot Oakland A’s were expected to beat the hapless Baltimore Orioles Thursday night. Since June 16th, the A’s had the best record in baseball and everything was going their way. They entered the game against the O’s with expectations of winning and sweeping the three-game series and extend their winning streak to seven games. That did not happen as the O’s pounced on A’s starter Brett Anderson. Anderson was making his first start since coming off the 10-day DL, and he just wasn’t able to get his “A” game going.

The O’s put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning. The first two O’s hitters, Cedric Mullins and Jonathan Villar, singled. Trey Mancini was retired on a ground out to A’s shortstop Marcus Semien. Mullins and Villar advanced to second and third. Tim Beckham singled to drive in both runners. The O’s had an early 2-0 lead.

The A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty homered to right to cut the gap to one, and the A’s trailed 2-1 after two innings of play.

The O’s plated two more in the bottom of the fourth. The O’s put together two singles and an Anderson wild pitch to put men on at second and third with one out. John Andreoli hit a low roller that Anderson fielded. He threw awkwardly to home but the throw was offline, and the O’s had their third run of the night. Valera singled to make it 4-1.

The A’s scored another run in the fifth. A Semien double followed by a Nick Martini single made it 4-2. The A’s made it a one-run game when they scored another run in the top of the eighth. The O’s extended the lead to two as they got the run back in their half of the inning and led 5-3.

The A’s failed to score in the ninth and lost to the O’s 5-3.

Game Notes: Brett Anderson went just three and one-third innings, and he gave up four runs and seven hits. His record is now 3-5 for the year.

Stephen Piscotty hit his 24th homer of the year to extend his hitting streak to 14. He has also hit 39 doubles.

The A’s are now 3.5 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West and 1.5 games behind the Yankees in the race for the first Wild Card slot.

Up Next: The A’s travel to Tampa Bay to face the Rays for three games starting Friday at 4:05 pm PDT. The Rays have been playing well, so the A’s cannot afford to take them lightly.

A’s pummel the Orioles 10-0 to win their sixth in a row

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by Jerry Feitelberg

There was good news and bad news for the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night at Camden Yards. The good news was that the woeful Orioles held the A’s scoreless in eight of the nine innings played. The bad news is that Oriole pitchers were pounded in the third inning as the A’s put ten runs on the board when they pummeled Orioles’ starter Andrew Cashner and reliever Cody Carroll for ten runs on ten hits and two walks. The A’s used five pitchers in the game and kept the O’s of the board and limited to just one hit as the A’s won their sixth in a row by a score of 10-0.

The A’s kept pace with the Houston Astros in the race for first place in the AL West. The A’s remain three games behind the Astros. They did pick up a game on the New York Yankees as the Yankees lost 3-1 to the Minnesota Twins. The A’s are just one game behind the Yanks for the first Wild Card spot. If the A’s overtake the Yankees, the one-game playoff between the teams will be played in Oakland. Seattle lost and fell 9.5 games behind Oakland in the race for the second Wild Card.

How did the A’s do it Wednesday night? Orioles’ starter Andrew Cashner allowed just one hit in the first two innings that he pitched. The third inning was a different story. Cashner failed to retire a single hitter in the third. Cashner did not record an out in the third as the A’s put eight on the board before O’s skipper Buck Showalter replaced him with Cody Carroll. The A’s ended the inning scoring ten runs on ten hits and two walks. They sent fifteen men to the plate in their biggest inning of the year. The key hits were provided by Matt Chapman and Matt Olson. Chappie had a double and a single in the inning to drive in three runs. Matt Olson also drove in three when he blasted his 26th bomb of the year over the left field wall. Jed Lowrie singled to drive in his 90th RBI, and Khris Davis drove in his 110th of the year to tie him with his total of last year.

The A’s used Liam Hendriks as the “opener.” Hendriks pitched one inning. He was followed by Daniel Mengden who threw five scoreless innings and was the winning pitcher. He is now 7-6 for 2018. The O’s Andrew Cashner went two-plus innings, and his record fell to 4-15

The A’s improved  89-57 for the year and Baltimore is 41-104.

The A’s go for the sweep on Thursday. Hopefully, the game will be played as Hurricane Florence is near landfall.

The A’s will send lefty Brett Anderson to the hill. Anderson will be coming off the 10-dl. He hasn’t pitched since August 27th. He is 3-4 with a record of 4.02. His opponent will be Dylan Bundy. Bundy is 7-14 and his an ERA of 5.58. Bundy is healthy but has been ineffective the last two months. Bundy has surrendered a club-record 37 home runs this season.

A’s beat the Orioles 3-2 for their fifth win in a row

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Photo credit: mlb.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s started the six-game road trip on a winning note as they downed the hapless Baltimore Orioles 3-2 at Oriole Park on Tuesday. The Orioles–who have traded away many of their stars–gave the A’s a tussle, but the A’s produced enough offense to record the win.

A’s starter, Mike Fiers, gave the team six innings of four-hit pitching. He made just one mistake when O’s shortstop Jonathan Villar hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.

O’s starter, Alex Cobb, went only two innings as he had a flare-up of a blister on his pitching hand and as unable to continue.

The O’s brought in Mike Wright to pitch the third inning. The A’s put three on the board on the strength of three hits and two walks. The rally started when A’s catcher reached on a walk. Lucroy went to second on a groundout off the bat of Ramon Laureano. Third baseman Matt Chapman doubled to right field to drive in Lucroy. Jed Lowrie walked to put two men on with one out.  A’s DH Khris Davis singled to drive in Chapman with the second run of the inning. Lowrie stopped at second. Wright struck out Matt Olson for the second out. The next hitter, Stephen Piscotty, singled to drive in Lowrie to give the A’s a 3-0 lead. Piscotty extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

The O’s got on the board when Villar homered off Fiers in the bottom of the sixth.

A’s manager Bob Melvin turned the game over to his bullpen for the last three innings of the game. Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Melvin called on Lou Trivino to pitch the eighth. The O’s rallied to score a run and make it a 3-2 contest. O’s second baseman Breyvic Valera singled to get things going for Baltimore. Trivino retired Corban Joseph for the first out. He struck out Cedric Mullins for out number two. Valera got into scoring position when he successfully stole second. Jonathan Villar knocked in his second run of the night with a single. Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini line a shot to center that looked like it would drop and Villar would be able to score. A’s center fielder Ramon Laureano had other thoughts. Laureano was playing shallow and was able to make a sensational diving catch to end the inning and save the game for the A’s.

Melvin brought in Jeurys Familia to pitch the ninth. The A’s had used closer Blake Treinen in the last three games at the Coliseum and had the night off. Familia responded by pitching a perfect ninth inning to earn his first save as an Athletic. The A’s won 3-2.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 88-58. They are now 54-21 in their last 75 games.

The O’s drop to 41-103.

The A’s remain three games behind the Houston Astros as the Astros beat the Tigers Tuesday night. The A’s picked up a game on the New York Yankees in the race for the first Wild Card slot. The Minnesota Twins beat the Yankees 10-5.

Fiers improved to 12-6 for the season and is 5-0 with Oakland. Wright took the loss for Baltimore.

Stephen Piscotty was 3-for-4 and has now hit in 12 straight games. Khris Davis has now driven in 109 runs, which is good for second in the AL.

The A’s recalled pitcher Frankie Montas from Nashville as the A’s are two pitchers short for the five-man rotation.

The A’s also announced that lefty starter and ace of the staff, Sean Manaea, will have arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder September 18th. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Neil ElAttrache at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe clinic in Los Angeles. Manaea will not pitch again this season and may be lost for the entire 2019 season as well. The A’s will give updates on his condition after the surgery is performed.

Time of games was two hours and 45 minutes, and there were 9,545 hardy souls watching the game under very cloudy skies.

Up Next: Game two of the series is Wednesday at 4:05 pm PDT. Liam Hendriks will be the “opener” for the A’s, and he will be opposed by the O’s Andrew Cashner.

A’s to open road trip with 3-game series against Orioles starting Tuesday

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Photo credit: @Athletics photo: A’s players wearing their favorite football jerseys as they board the plane to Baltimore, Md.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s start a six-game road trip against the Baltimore Orioles starting Tuesday. One of the problems that these teams may have is the weather. The forecast is as follows: Tuesday (thunderstorms) along with Wednesday and Thursday (scattered thunderstorms; Hurricane Florence). Hopefully, they will be able to play.

If the games are played, the A’s will be facing a Baltimore Oriole team that has the worst record in the AL. O’s manager Buck Showalter probably will be gone after the season as the team will be in rebuild mode. They traded Manny Machado to the Dodgers. Machado will be a free agent at the end of the season, and he will be getting a contract that will take care of him and his family for years. Jonathan Schoop has been traded to the Brewers. Ace reliever, Zach Britton, is now a Yankee. Kevin Gausman is now in Atlanta. Former A’s players Danny Valencia and Craig Gentry did not produce and are currently unemployed. Chris Tillman, who was once the O’s best starter, had a dismal season and was released on July 25th.

The O’s own a 41-102 record and are languishing in the basement of the AL East. They still have Adam Jones, but not much else. Slugging first baseman Chris Davis (not to be confused with the A’s DH Khris Davis) is having a terrible year. His batting average is a .177 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs on his tally sheet. The rest of the players with the exceptions of catcher Caleb Joseph, second baseman Jonathan Villar, and outfielder Trey Mancini are either young players or fill-ins. The veteran, Mark Trumbo, who is the O’s DH, is out for the season following knee surgery.

The A’s are rolling and would love to sweep the O’s. They travel to Florida to play the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend. The weather won’t be a problem there as their games are played in a dome.

If the games are played in Baltimore, Mike Fiers will pitch Tuesday night. Fiers is 11-6 overall and 4-0 since coming to the A’s. His opponent will be Alex Cobb. Cobb got off to a terrible start with Baltimore after signing a free agent deal this year. Cobb has been pitching better in the second half. The A’s have not announced their starters for Wednesday and Thursday. Lefty Brett Anderson is due to come off the DL, and he may be available. A’s manager Bob Melvin might have to have two bullpen games if he can’t find a starter.

The A’s swept the three games from Baltimore when they played in Oakland on May 4th, 5th, and sixth. The A’s are just 2 1/2 games behind the AL West division-leading Houston Astros for first place and 2 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card spot.

After the two series on the road, the A’s play three with Minnesota and three with the LA Angels. They finish the season on the road with three against the Seattle Mariners and the last three of the year with the Angels.

A’s to host Rangers in weekend series starting Friday night

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Photo credit: markmoneyhoffman.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s will host the Texas Rangers at the Coliseum for three games beginning Friday night. It will be the final time the teams will meet this season.

The Rangers find themselves in last place in the AL West with a 61-79 record. The Rangers had hoped to have had a better record as they put together a lineup with hitters that could put runs on the board. On the other hand, their pitching could not keep the other team from putting more runs on the board.

The A’s, who have an off-day on Thursday, after 20 consecutive games, find themselves in a race for either one of two possibilities. The A’s are 3.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the race for first place in the AL West.

If the A’s were to win the division, they would not have to play in the one-game playoff between the two Wild Card teams. They are also 3.5 games behind the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card slot. The first Wild Card hosts the game at their home park. If the A’s finish in the second spot, they would have to fly to New York for the game.

Also, history is not on the side of the second Wild Card. The home team usually, but not always, prevails when the one-game playoff is held at their home stadium.

The A’s have a lot to play for this weekend. While they have successfully handled the Rangers so far this year, they cannot take them lightly. The Rangers would love nothing more than upsetting the A’s apple cart.

Below are the A’s and Rangers pitching matchups:

On Friday night, The A’s will send Chris Bassitt to the hill. Bassitt has pitched well at times, but he has not been as consistent as the team had hoped. However, in his last start against Minnesota, he went 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run. The A’s could potentially use an “opener” when a bullpen pitcher to start the game and then bring in Bassitt after the first or second innings.

The Rangers will counter with the veteran hurler Yovani Gallardo who has a 8-3 record and a 5.97 ERA. Gallardo beat the Twins 7-4 in his last start. His line was pitched five innings and gave up three runs. Gallardo has a 5-2 record with a 4.07 ERA in his last eight starts.

On Saturday, the A’s Edwin Jackson will pitch for the Green and Gold. Jackson has a 5-3 record and a 2.91 ERA so far this year. In his last start, Jackson went six innings and allowed just one run and three hits.

The Rangers will start Yohender Mendez. Mendez recorded his first MLB win last Sunday when he beat the Twins. He pitched six scoreless innings and allowed three hits while walking one and striking out three. He has a 1-1 record and a 5.59 ERA for the season.

On Sunday, Trevor Cahill will start for the A’s, and Texas has not yet announced their pitcher. Cahill has a 6-3 record and a 3.60 ERA. The big righty has pitched extremely well at the Coliseum this year. In his nine starts at home, he has a 5-0 record and a 1.09 ERA. He beat the Yankees last Monday before 41,000 fans. He allowed the Yanks’ three runs (two earned) and five hits while walking one and striking out three.

The A’s pitching will have their hands full as they try to stop the Rangers’ hitters. The Rangers’ infield consists of Ronald Guzman at first, Rougned Odor at second, Elvis Andrus at short, and Adrian Beltre at third. The Rangers’ outfield will be patrolled by Shin-Soo-Choo, Joey Gallo, and Nomar Mazara. Robinson Chirinos will handle the catching. Every one of these players can hit the ball out of the park.

The A’s also have big boppers. They have five guys that have hit 20 or more balls out of the park this season. Part-time players such as Mark Canha and Chad Pinder are in double figures in that department.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the A’s cannot let their guard down. The team knows what’s at stake and their manager Bob Melvin will prepare them. The A’s are 84-57 and have 21 games left to play. They have to keep winning, and they will need help from other teams if they are to move up in the standings.

The Boston Red Sox could really help the A’s as they host the Astros at Fenway Park this weekend, and have six more, three at home and three in New York, against the Yanks. The Red Sox would love nothing more than upsetting the Yanks’ apple cart.

The surprise team and feel good story of the 2018 season have been the A’s. The players know they are good and they are showing the world what they can do.

A’s rout the Yankees 8-2 to take 2 out of 3 from New York

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s beat the Yankees 8-2 at the Coliseum on Wednesday night to take two out of three and even the season series at three apiece.

The A’s had several legends in the ballpark. The A’s honored former greats Reggie Jackson, Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, who was represented by his wife. Charlie Finley’s son Paul was in attendance for the Finley family.

The A’s sent Mike Fiers to take care of the pitching duties. The Yanks had an opportunity to do damage in the first inning. Fiers retired leadoff hitter Brett Gardner for the first out. Yanks’ DH Mike Stanton blasted a double to deep right center field. Fiers got Andrew McCutchen to fly out to center for the second out. Fiers walked the next two hitters, Aaron Hicks and Gary Sanchez, to load the bases. Fiers was laboring as his pitch count was now in the 20s. He now had to face the Yanks’ first baseman Luke Voit. Voit has been on a tear since being recalled from the minors as he has homered seven times in his last 12 games. Fiers retired Voit for the third out as he hit a ground ball to Matt Chapman. Chapman stepped on third for the force out. Fiers regained his composure and allowed the Yankees just one hit over the next five innings. A’s manager Bob Melvin allowed him to start the seventh. He walked the first batter Aaron Hicks and then Gary Sanchez took him deep for the Yanks’ only runs of the game.

The Yanks had their ace, Luis Severino, going for them. Severino came into the game tied for the most wins in the AL with 17. The Yanks were 22-6 in games started for Severino, but that didn’t faze the A’s one bit. They put six runs on the board in Severino 2 2/3 innings of work and sent him down to his seventh loss of the year.

The A’s put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Rookie Ramon Laureano started the rally with a solid double to left. Laureano went to third on a passed ball and scored on Jed Lowrie’s single. A’s DH Khris Davis doubled to right. Lowrie stopped at third. Severino uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Lowrie to score and Davis motored to third. First baseman Matt Olson doubled to left to drive in Davis with the A’s third run of the inning. Olson went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.  It was a very strange inning that featured two passed balls and two wild pitches.

The A’s added two more in the third and one more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. Matt Chapman walked to start the third. Lowrie singled to met on at first and second. Both advanced a base when Davis’s ground ball to third was momentarily bobbled by Neil Walker. Davis was out at first. Both scored on Stephen Piscotty’s single. The A’s added another run after Chad Pinder singled. Josh Phegley walked to put men on at first and second with no out. Laureano reached on a fielder’s choice. Phegley was out at second, and Pinder moved to third on the play. Matt Chapman ground out to first on a checked swing and Pinder crossed the plate for the score.

The A’s plated another tally in the bottom of the sixth. Yanks’ reliever Luis Cessa retired the first two hitters he faced. Laureano then lined a double to right-center. Matt Chapman followed with a rocket past third baseman Neil Walker to drive in Laureano to give the A’s a commanding 8-0 advantage after six complete.

The Yanks finally put two on the board in the top of the seventh. Fiers walked the leadoff hitter to start the frame. Yanks’ catcher Gary Sanchez slammed Fiers’ pitch into the left-field seats to make it an 8-2 game. It was just the third hit of the game that Fiers had allowed. Melvin replaced Fiers with Yusmeiro Petit. Petit retired the first hitter, Gave up a single to Neil Walker but was able to get the next two outs to the end the Yanks’ seventh.

The A’s bullpen continued to shine as Lou Trivino set the Yanks down in order in the eighth and Cory Gearrin closed the door on them in the ninth. The A’s won their 84th game of the year.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 84-57 and remain 3.5 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. The Astros beat Minnesota again on Wednesday. The Astros travel to Boston for three with the Red Sox and, hopefully, Boston can help the A’s gain ground on the Astros.

The Yanks lead the A’s by 3.5 games in the race for the first Wild Card spot in the AL. The Yanks are off on Thursday and then finish the West Coast swing with a three-game series with the Mariners. Then they play three in Minnesota and three in Toronto. Their last 12 games of the year consist of six with Boston, three with Baltimore, and three with Tampa Bay. The A’s will need help from these teams if they hope to finish either first in the division or first in the Wild Card race.

Mike Fiers was the winning pitcher, and he is now 11-6 for 2018. The A’s are now 60-0 when leading after the seventh inning. The A’s are 50-21 since June 16th which is the best record in baseball.

A’s hitting stars were Khris Davis and Ramon Laureano with two doubles each. Jed Lowrie had two singles.

The A’s line score was 8 runs, 11 hits, and no errors.

The Yanks’ line was 2 runs, five hits, and no errors.

Time of game was two hours and 53 minutes, and there were 21,001 fans watching the A’s continue their magical ride.

Up Next: The A’s welcome the Rangers for a three-game series starting this Friday at 7:05 pm PDT.