Author: rxslugger

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

Preview: A’s 4-game series against the White Sox

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Photo credit: chicagotribune.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The first game of the Oakland A’s four-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field was postponed due to a rainstorm in Chicago. The A’s will play a doubleheader on Friday.

The White Sox are experiencing a down year. Under second-year manager, Rick Renteria, they are in fourth-place in the AL Central division with a record of 24-49. The White Sox visited Oakland in April, and they did not fare well as the A’s swept the three-game series. Without a question, the White Sox are in rebuild mode and people are not familiar with many of their young players.

The pitching matchups for the series will feature the A’s Sean Manaea going against the White Sox veteran James Shields in the opener that starts at 1:10 pm PDT on Friday Afternoon. Manaea won his last start against the Angels, and his record is 6-6. Shields’ record is 2-8, but he has given the White Sox innings. Shields has worked at least six innings or more in his last 11 starts, and eight have been arguably quality starts. That means at least six innings of work and no more than three runs allowed.

Chris Bassitt will go for Oakland in the second game, and he will be opposed by Lucas Giolito (4-7, ERA 7.19). Dylan Covey starts for Chicago on Saturday, and the A’s have yet to announce their starter. Daniel Mengden will seek his seventh win of the year and Chicago will counter with lefty Carlos Rodon (0-2, ERA 4.41).

The White Sox offense is led by big Jose Abreu. Abreu is hitting. 281 and has 11 homers and 42 RBIs on his resume. Chicago’s DH is Matt Davidson. Davidson’s batting average is just .231, but he has power as evidenced by his 13 dingers and 32 ribbies. Tim Anderson will play shortstop and Yoan Moncada, obtained from Boston in the trade for Chris Sale, will be at second base. Yolmer Sanchez will also see time at second and may play third, too. The only veteran in the outfield is Avasail Garcia. Garcia has been on the DL for most of the season and has played sparingly. Daniel Palka has been the right fielder for most of the year. Nicky Delmonico is in left field, and Adam Engel, Leury Garcia, Charlie Tillson, and former Athletic Trayce Thompson all have been in center field.

Wellington Castillo has handled most of the catching chores for Chicago. He is backed up by Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith. The White Sox have three lefties in the bullpen. They are Luis Avilan, Xavier Cedeno, and Jace Fry. The righties out of the pen are Nate Jones (four saves), Juan Minaya, Bruce Rondon, Hector Santiago, and Joakim Soria (10 saves).

The A’s come into the series with a four-game winning streak and are looking to improve their season record. The A’s offense loves to go on the road as they have hit almost twice as many homers on the road and about half as many at home. Many people believe the cold night air and the marine layer that invaded the Coliseum keeps the ball in the park.

The A’s will be without the services of third baseman Matt Chapman, who was hit on his thumb by a pitch. A’s manager Bob Melvin has moved Jed Lowrie over to third base and played Franklin Barreto at second. Barreto rewarded the team with a three-run blast in Wednesday’s game in San Diego. Super-sub Chad Pinder has been stationed in left field as well as third base, shortstop, and second base. Outfielder Matt Joyce, who hits from the left side, may be activated for the weekend series in Chicago. His presence in the lineup gives Melvin the ability to have another left-handed bat in the game against a right pitcher.

The A’s are currently two games over the .500 mark. The pitching rotation has been riddled with injury, but Melvin has been able to juggle his starters and pitchers have been recalled from Nashville to help out. Manaea and Mengden lead the staff win six wins each. However, they are going to need help from Paul Blackburn, Chris Bassitt, and others if they want to improve. Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Daniel Gossett, and Andrew Triggs are all on the DL. All four have started. Cahill and Triggs were effective but have not stayed off the DL. The same goes for Anderson and Gossett.

Hopefully, the A’s will take three out of four from Chicago before moving on the Detroit for four more games. After Detroit, the A’s return home to play three with Cleveland and two with San Diego before going on the road again for another 10-game trip.

A’s hit 5 homers, rout Padres 12-4 for sweep of 2-game series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s hit five home runs at Petco Park on Wednesday afternoon in San Diego to rout the Padres 12-4. Franklin Barreto started the homer barrage with a three-run blast in the second inning to propel the A’s to the victory. Frankie Montas rebounded from a loss to the Houston Astros last week to win his fourth of the season.

The A’s sent Padres’ starter Joey Lucchesi to the showers in the top of the second inning. Lucchesi had control problems as he hit Matt Olson with a pitch. He then walked Stephen Piscotty to put men on at first and second with no out. Barreto, who entered the game with a batting average around .160, blasted a 424-foot homer to start the rout. The next hitter, Josh Phegley, also hit his first homer of the year and the A’s led 4-0. Padres’ manager Andy Green removed Lucchesi with two out in the inning and brought in another lefty, Robbie Erlin, to pitch.

In the top of the third, Mark Canha led off the frame with his ninth big fly to make it 5-0. Matt Olson followed with his 15th to make in 6-0. The A’s added another run after Barreto reached on a single but advanced to third when the Padres committed two errors on the play. Phegley hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Barreto with the A’s seventh run. The Padres put their first run of the afternoon on the board after Montas gave up a single to A.J.Ellis, a walk to Travis Jankowski, and a single to Cory Spangenberg.

The A’s scored one in the seventh and two in the eighth on the strength of Jed Lowrie’s blast off Phil Hughes to make it a 10-1 game. The Padres used a position player, Cory Spangenberg, to pitch the ninth. The A’s tallied two more to lead 12-1 in the middle of the ninth. The Padres plated three in their half of the ninth, but it was not enough as the A’s won the going away 12-4.

Notes: The A’s leading home run hitter, Khris Davis, was not in the lineup due to a stomach ailment. Davis was available for pinch-hitting duties, but there was no need for him at all.

Frankie Montas improved to 4-1. He went 6 2/3 inning and allowed one run and five hits. Montas threw 105 pitches. Joey Lucchesi took the loss, and his record is now 3-3.

The A’s have now homered in 21 consecutive road games with at least one or more home runs. The A’s have won four games in a row and are 38-36 for the year. The Padres are 34-42.

Up Next: The A’s begin a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox Thursday night in the Windy City. Chris Bassitt (0-2, 2.45 ERA) will go for Oakland, and righty Lucas Giolito (4-7, 7.19 ERA) will pitch for Chicago. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PDT.

A’s stun the Padres 4-2 in 10 innings

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Photo credit: mlb.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The way the A’s won the game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Tuesday night was made of the stuff that kids dream about doing when they become big league players.

The Padres led 2-1 and had their closer, Brad Hand, pitching in the ninth. Hand retired the first two hitters. All Hand had to do was retire Stephen Piscotty to end the game. Piscotty had two strikes on him. One more strike and the game was over. But that did not happen as Piscotty blasted a pitch into the second deck in left field to tie the game.

A’s reliever Lou Trivino retired the Padres in order, and the game went into extra innings. Jed Lowrie slammed a two-run blast to put the A’s ahead 4-2 in the 10th, and Blake Treinen earned his 16th save of the season to give the A’s the 4-2 win.

Paul Blackburn made his third start of the year. Blackburn recovered from a poor outing against the Houston Astros last week as he went five innings and allowed just four hits and two runs. Padres’ lefty Eric Lauer was just a smidge better as his line was six innings of work and he allowed three hits and one run.

The Padres took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With one out, Cory Spangenberg walked. Eric Hosmer singled sending Spangenberg to third. Jose Pirela hit into a fielder’s choice and Spangenberg scored on the play.

The A’s tied the game in the second. Khris Davis led off with a walk. Davis was safe at second on an error by Padres’ shortstop Freddy Galvis. Matt Olson was safe at first on the play. Mark Canha singled to load the bases. Piscotty hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Davis scored the A’s first run. The Padres regained the lead in their half on the second. Franmill Reyes, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs 275 pounds, doubled to left. Padres’ catcher Franny Lopez lined a double done the right field line to drive in Reyes with the Padres’ second run of the game.

The A’s used four relievers to keep the Padres scoreless. Emilio Pagan, Santiago Casilla, and Lou Trivino did the job. Blake Treinen pitched the 10th and earned the save. The Padres’ Jose Castillo, Craig Stammen, and Kirby Yates also kept the A’s off the board until the ninth inning. Padres’manager Andy Green brought in lefty Brad Hand to pitch the ninth. Hand, who leads the National League with 21 saves, almost did the job. With two strikes on Piscotty, Hand tried to get a fastball by him. Piscotty did not miss, and the ball left the park in a hurry.

The Padres brought in righty Adam Cimber to pitch. Cimber uses a submarine-style delivery to confuse the hitters. He reminds people of Brad Ziegler, who used to pitch for the A’s. He did not fool Marcus Semien who lined a single to center. With two out in the inning, Marcus stole second and went to third when the throw from Lopez went into centerfield. Cimber now had to face Lowrie. Lowrie had not homered since May 11th when the A’s were in New York. Lowrie hit his 10th of the season over the fence in right field. Blake Treinen retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the 10th. He gave up a single, but then struck out Eric Hosmer to end the game.

The A’s are now 37-36 for the year, and San Diego falls to 34-41.

Up Next: The A’s will meet the Padres again on Wednesday afternoon at 12:40 pm PDT at Petco Park.

Preview: A’s at Padres two-game inter-league series

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Photo credit: goldstar.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s start a 10-game, three-city road trip Tuesday with a two-game inter-league series with the San Diego Padres. The A’s then go to Chicago for four games against the White Sox and on to Detroit for another four-game series against the Tigers.

The Padres, under third-year manager Andy Green, find themselves in last place in the National League West with a record of 34-40 but are just 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Padres’ general manager A.J. Preller has built the roster in a manner very similar to the A’s. Preller’s first year with the club was very controversial as he spent a lot of money acquiring expensive free agents in the hopes of making the Padres a contender. The experiment failed, and Preller is trying to follow the Houston Astros model of using young talent and having a couple of veterans in the lineup. Preller’s one big move over the winter was the signing of former Kansas City Royals’ first baseman Eric Hosmer to a big contract.

Most A’s fans probably are not familiar with the Padres. The Padres’ lineup will feature Freddy Galvis at shortstop, Jose Pirela at second base, Eric Hosmer at first, and Corey Spangenberg and Christian Villanueva have shared time at third. Travis Jankowski, Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe are the outfielders. Matt Szczur and Franmill Reyes have are the backups. A.J. Ellis and Raffy Lopez are the catchers.

Since the game is being played in an NL city, there will be no DH.

The A’s are back at the .500 mark for the 13th time this season with a record of 36-36. They will be without the services of Matt Chapman. Chapman was placed on the 10-day DL with a right thumb contusion. Matt Joyce is also on the 10-day DL. Franklin Barreto or Jed Lowrie will be at second. Chad Pinder or Lowrie will play third.

The pitching matchup for Tuesday night’s game will feature Lefty Eric Lauer (3-4, 6.20 ERA) going for the Padres and righty Paul Blackburn on the mound for Oakland. In his last start, Lauer went 5 2/3 innings and gave up two runs and allowed eight hits. Blackburn, after an impressive start after coming off the DL, was shelled by the Astros last week as he gave up eight runs in just 1 1/3 innings of work.

On Wednesday, Tyson Ross (former A’s starter) will take the mound and will be seeking to send his former team down to defeat. Ross had a quality start against the Atlanta Braves last week, but his effort was not good enough as he took the loss. Ross is 5-4 and has an ERA of 5.41. Frankie Montas (3-1, 2.67 ERA) will go for Oakland. Montas lost to Houston last week and is hoping to get back on the winning track.

The A’s will see a couple of their former star players on the Padres’ coaching staff. Mark McGwire is in his second season as the bench coach for the Padres. The former slugger was a hitting coach with the St.Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres hitting coach is Matt Stairs.

The A’s would like to sweep the Padres before heading to Chicago. The A’s are not familiar with the Padres but as someone once said this about baseball, “You never know.”

Astros complete sweep over the A’s with 7-3 rout

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Houston Astros pounded the A’s 7-3 at the O.co Coliseum on Thursday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep.

The Astros were in complete control for the entire three games and showed everyone why they are one of the best teams in all of baseball. They have the best starting rotation in baseball, and their everyday lineup is loaded with hitters loaded with confidence. They won a World Championship last year, and they are intent on going back to the playoffs and trying to win the big prize for the second year in a row.

Justin Verlander started for Houston and the big righty cruised to his ninth win of the year. Oakland starter Frankie Montas was no match for the powerful Astros’ offense, and he absorbed his first loss of the season.

With two out in the first inning, the Astros put two runs on the board. Carlos Correa singled and scored on Yuli Guriel’s double off the wall in left field. Josh Reddick singled to drive in Guriel with the second run of the inning. Reddick was thrown out trying to go to second on the throw home.

In the bottom of the second, A’s designated hitter, Khris Davis, homered to make it a 2-1 game. For Davis, it was his 20th big fly of the year and his third–all solo jobs–in the last two games. Verlander settled down ,and retired the next three A’s hitters in order.

The Astros plated their run of the game in the third inning. With one out, Montas walked Jose Altuve. Atuve advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Carlos Correa’s second single of the game to put the ‘Stros up 3-1.

The Astros’ offense continued the onslaught in the fourth. Montas retired the notorious A’s killer, Evan Gattis, for the first out. He then walked Marwin Gonzalez. Astros’ catcher Brian McCann slammed his fifth home run of the year into the seats in right field. The Astros lead 5-1 in the middle of the fourth.

In the top of the sixth, A’s third baseman Matt Chapman, who is a terrific fielder, had an inning that he would like to remove from his memory. Astros’ catcher Brian McCann hit a high pop up that Chappie lost in Oakland’s famous “high sky.” He couldn’t find the ball and when he did it bounced off his chest for an error. Tony Kemp followed with a smash that Chapman smothered but couldn’t make the play at first. The official scorer ruled it a hit. Alex Bregman hit a ground ball to Chapman Chapman stepped on third for the force out but his throw home sailed over Matt Olson’s glove. Kemp scored on the play and Bregman went to second. Chapman was charged with his second error of the inning. Jose Altuve doubled to drive in Bregman. A’s manager Bob Melvin walked to the mound and took the ball from Montas. Santiago Casilla retired the two Astros’ hitters necessary to end the inning. The score was 7-1 in favor of Houston.

Khris Davis led off the seventh with a high pop up that Astros’ first baseman Yuli Guriel could not find in the high sky. The ball dropped safely and Davis wound up on second base with a double. Matt Olson then took a Justin Verlander fastball into the right field bleacher for his 14th tater of the year and now trail the Astros 7-3.

The Astros’ manager A.J.Hinch used Chris Devenski in the 8th and Hector Rondon in the ninth as they shut down the A’s in order in each of the last two innings. Houston won 7-3.

Game Notes: With the win, the Astros improve to 45-25. The A’s are now one game under .500 with a mark of 34-35. Justin Verlander won his ninth game of the season while A’s starter Frankie Montas lost his first. Verlander went seven complete and allowed three runs and five hits. Montas pitched five and 1.3rd innings and was tagged for seven runs. Five were earned and two were unearned. Verlander is 9-2 and Montas is 3-1.

The Astros’ line score was seven runs on 13 hits and no errors. Brian McCann hit the Astros’ only home run.

All the A’s runs were the result of a home run. Khris Davis hit a solo job in the second and Matt Olson clobbered a two-run dinger in the seventh. The A’s scored three runs on five hits and they committed two errors on defense.

Thursday’s game with the Astros took two hours and 45 minutes.

13.009 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s finish the 10-game homestand with three games against the Los Angeles Angels.

The A’s Chris Bassitt (0-1, 1.29 ERA) will handle the pitching chores and he will be opposed by lefty Tyler Skaggs (5-4, 3.08 ERA).

Friday night’s game will start at 6:35 pm PDT.

There will be a fireworks show immediately after the game.

A’s call up Jake Smolinski, but Astros win in yet another laugher 13-5

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Houston Astros continued their dominance over the Oakland A’s once again as they won in a laugher 13-5 at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday night.

The Astros are now 7-1 against the A’s this season and have won 26 of the last 34 games played between the two teams. Houston has won all five games played here in Oakland, and they must just salivate when they get on the plane to face the A’s.

The Astros changed the words of the late mayor of Boston, James Curley, who once said, “Vote often and early” to score often and early. They plated three runs in the first and seven in the second. Their designated hitter, Evan Gattis, homered twice and drove in five runs as he waged war on the A’s pitchers. Gattis has three homers and 10 RBIs in two games played thus far. The A’s are likely hoping that Gattis will be too tired to play on Thursday.

The Astros continued their onslaught on the A’s pitching staff in the very first inning of the game. George Springer and Jose Altuve singled to get Houston going. Blackburn walked Carlos Correa to load the bases with no out. The cleanup hitter, Yuli Guriel, who leads the league in batting average (.444) with RISP (Runners in Scoring Position) singled to put two runs on the board for the Astros. Correa went to third on the play and scored on an Evan Gattis sacrifice fly. The Astros led 3-0 with the A’s coming to bat. The A’s didn’t score in their half.

The Astros sent 10 men to the plate in the top of the second. They had six hits and scored seven runs. A’s manager Bob Melvin had to go to the bullpen as the Astros had their attack in full gear. The Astros scored three times and had two men on with one out when Melvin brought in Emilio Pagan to face Evan Gattis. Gattis, who drove in five runs on Tuesday, slammed his 12th bomb of the year to put the Astros ahead 9-0. Marwin Gonzalez, playing third base, followed with his fifth homer to put the Astros in the lead 10-0 in the middle of the second inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Oakland put three on the board. Khris Davis started the frame with a single. Gerrit Cole retired the next two hitters before walking Marcus Semien. A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty took Cole deep for his fourth home run of the year to make it a 10-3 game.

The A’s continued to chip away at the lead as Khris Davis led off the bottom of the sixth with his 18th tater of the season. Cole escaped with no further damage. The A’s still have a long way to go to get back into the game as they trail 10-4 after six complete.

Gattis continued to punish Oakland pitching. He hit his second home run of the night on the first pitch from lefty Daniel Coulombe to make it 11-4. Gattis has faced Coulombe three times and has homered twice.

Melvin brought in outfielder Jake Smolinski to pitch the ninth. Smolinski was making his  Major League debut as a pitcher. Things did not go well for him as he gave up a double to Max Stassi and Jake Marisnick homered to give Houston the lead 13-5. Smolinski retired the next three hitters. The A’s went down in order in the ninth to end the game. The Astros won 13-5.

Game Notes and Info: With the win, the Astros improve to 44-25 and remain just 1/2 game behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for first place in the AL West. The Mariners beat the LA Angels earlier in the day.

Gerrit Cole was the winning pitcher. Cole is 8-1 for Houston this season. He went six innings and gave up six hits and four runs.

Two of the A’s hits were home runs by Stephen Piscotty and Khris Davis.

A’s starter Paul Blackburn had a very rough outing. He lasted just 1 1/3 innings. He gave up eight hits and was charged with eight runs. Emilio Pagan relieved him in the second inning, and Pagan gave up back-to-back home runs to Evan Gattis and Marwin Gonzalez. The hitting stars for Oakland were Khris Davis with two homers and Stephen Piscotty with a three-run blast. Blackburn’s record is now 1-1, and his ERA rocketed from 1.50 to 11.05.

There were just 9,164 fans in the park watching, and the game took three hours and five minutes to play.

Up Next: The two teams conclude the three-game series Thursday afternoon at 12:30 pm PDT.

Oakland will send Frankie Montas to the Hill. Montas has won all three of his starts since being recalled from Nashville, and he has a 1.25 ERA.

Justin Verlander (8-2, 1.45 ERA) will pitch for Houston.

World Series champion Astros beat the A’s 6-3

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Photo credit: @astros

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Houston Astros continued their mastery over the A’s as they defeated them 6-3 and improved to a 6-1 advantage this season.

Astros starter Lance McCullers worked seven innings and gave up just five hits and two runs. He gave up singles to the first two hitters and three doubles to Matt Chapman. None of the other A’s hitter could solve McCullers’ slants.

A’s starter Daniel Mengden, who was pounded in his last start against the Texas Rangers last week, couldn’t make it out the fifth inning Tuesday night.

The Astros’ Evan Gattis, who has killed the A’s in the past, was the hitting star for Houston with a home run and a double that drove in five of the Astros’ six runs.

In the bottom of the first, Oakland took an early 1-0 lead. Leadoff hitter Dustin Fowler singled to get things going. Marcus Semien reached on an infield single. Jed Lowrie hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Fowler advanced to third and scored when McCullers uncorked a wild pitch.

In the top of the second, the Astros vaunted offense came to life as they rocked Mengden for four runs on four hits, two of which went out of the park, and two walks. Astros’ shortstop Carlos Correa sent Mengden’s first pitch into the seats in left field to tie the game. Yuli Guriel doubled, and Mengden walked Josh Reddick to put men on at first and second with no one out. Designated hitter Evan Gattis, who has murdered A’s pitching in the past, hit his 11th of the year to put the Astros ahead 4-1. Mengden was able to get out of the inning without any further damage. The A’s put their second run of the night on the board in their half of the inning. The A’s third baseman Matt Chapman doubled to start the inning. He went to third on a groundout and scored on Stephen Piscotty’s sacrifice fly to center field. The A’s trailed 4-2 after two innings.

The Astros plated two more runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, Mengden walked Carlos Correa. He retired Yuli Guriel for the second out, but gave up a single to Josh Reddick and a double to Evan Gattis. Two runs scored on the play and A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Mengden from the game. Lefty Danny Coulombe retired Brian McCann for the final out of the inning.

Mengden’s pitching line was not very good. He allowed eight hits, six runs all earned, and was tagged for two home runs in just 4 2/3 innings of work.

The A’s plated their third run of the night, thanks to Collin McHugh’s wildness and an error by Carlos Correa. With one out, McHugh plunked Jed Lowrie with a pitch. Khris Davis reached on Correa’s error to put men on at first and second with one out. McHugh struck out Matt Olson for the second out. The next hitter Matt Chapman, who had three consecutive double, was hit on the wrist to load the bases. A’s manager Bob Melvin, and the trainer raced out to first base to see if Chapman was okay. After he was checked by the trainer, Chapman stayed in the game. Mark Canha followed with a single to drive in Lowrie. Houston brought in Brad Peacock to fave Stephen Piscotty. Peacock, the former athletic, struck out Piscotty for the third out. Houston has a 6-3 advantage after eight innings.

Astros’ closer Ken Giles gave up a single to Dustin Fowler, but was still able to record the three outs necessary to end the game and earn his 11th save of the year as Houston wins 6-3.

Game Notes: With the win, the Astros–who are in a battle for first place in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners–improved to 43-25.

The A’s dropped to 34-31. Oakland is now 10-22 against the AL West and 24-11 against the rest of the AL.

Lance McCullers was the winning pitcher and is now 8-3 for the season.

Daniel Mengden absorbed the loss, and his record dropped to 6-6.

Astros’ Ken Giles recorded his 11th save.

The line score for Houston was six runs, 11 hits, and one error.

The A’s line was three runs, seven hits, and no errors.

Time of the game was two hours and 57 minutes and 11,742 fans watched the A’s go down to a defeat.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will be played Wednesday night at the Coliseum. The A’s Paul Blackburn will make his second start of the year. Blackburn will be going against Gerrit Cole, who owns a 7-1 record and a sparkling 2.16 ERA.

A’s will welcome the World Champion Houston Astros on Tuesday night

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Photo credit: youtube.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s (34-32; fourth place in the AL West) start a three-game series with the World Champion Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

The Astros are currently in a dogfight with the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West. They are currently 42-25 and have one more loss than the M’s.

The Astros come to Oakland having won seven of the last 10 games. They will be sending three tough pitchers at the A’s. On Tuesday night, Lance McCullers Jr. will pitch for Houston. McCullers’ season record is 7-3, and his ERA is 3.94. McCullers has beaten the A’s twice this season and will be hoping to record his third win over them on Tuesday. In his two prior starts against the A’s he has allowed just two earned runs, four walks, and has struck out 10.

The A’s will counter with Houston native Daniel Mengden. Mengden had a terrific May but was pounded by the Texas Rangers in his last start. Mengden was tagged for four big home runs and six runs in just four innings of work.

On Wednesday, Astros’ Gerrit Cole will face the Green and Gold. Cole is having a terrific season with a record of 7-1 and a sparkling ERA of just 2.16.

The A’s Paul Blackburn will make his second start since coming off the DL. Blackburn is 1-0, and his ERA is 1.50. He went six innings and allowed just one run and three hits in recording the win over the Kansas City Royals. He threw 67 pitches and looked sharp.

Thursday’s game will feature Justin Verlander going for the Astros against the A’s Frankie Montas. Verlander, a former Cy Young Award winner and MVP with the Detroit Tigers, has a record of 8-2 and a 1.45 ERA.

The Astros are 14-5 in games that Verlander has started since he came to Houston from the Tigers last year. Montas has made three starts and won them all. He is 3-0 and has a 1.25 ERA. In three starts (and wins), Montas has allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings of work.

The A’s pitchers will have their hands full trying to contain the Astros’ powerful lineup. Second baseman Jose Altuve is leading the league in hitting again. Shortstop Carlos Correa is a tough out. Alex Bregman at third, and Yuli Guriel round out the infield. George Springer, Josh Reddick, Jake Marisnick, or Marwyn Gonzalez will handle the outfield chores. Evan Gattis, who also doubles as a DH, Brian McCann, and former Athletic, Max Stassi are all guys that can hit and cause damage. The Astros’ bullpen is deep with Collin McHugh, Brad Peacock, Hector Rondon, Will Harris, and Tony Sipp seeing action. Chris Devenski and Ken Giles are the closers.

The A’s are just 1-5 against Houston this year. The A’s also have power up and down the lineup. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson are threats to go deep, and pitchers have to be careful not to make a mistake with their pitch selection. If they fail to locate the ball, Olson and Chapman will send the pitch into the seats. Jed Lowrie, who was hot early in the season, has cooled off a bit but is still a dangerous hitter. DH Khris Davis leads the A’s in homers and RBIs and is a very dangerous hitter. Davis can hit the ball out of any park. Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Dustin Fowler, and Stephen Piscotty all have power.

Johnathan Lucroy and Josh Phegley are the catchers. Lucroy is a better contact hitter while Phegley has power but hasn’t played very much this season.

The Astros have had the advantage over the A’s the last couple of years. If the A’s are going to make progress, they will need to take the series from the Astros. That will be a tough task, but the A’s know they can play with the big boys. Just ask the Boston Red Sox.

A’s score three in the sixth for 4-1 laugher of Royals; Blackburn gets a win

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Photo credit: @Gloves_And_Bats

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — Oakland A’s starter Paul Blackburn was activated off the 60-day DL and made his first start of the year. Blackburn, who missed a lot of time last year due to an injury and suffered a right forearm strain in spring training, was very impressive in his return to action Thursday night against the Kansas City Royals. Blackburn went six innings and allowed just three hits.

The only run the Royals scored came in the third inning when shortstop Alcides Escobar homered. The A’s rallied for three runs in the sixth, and the bullpen shut down the Royals offense as the A’s won the game 4-1.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Matt Olson blasted his 13th homer of the year over the 388-foot marker in deep right center field. The blast traveled 414 feet. Olson has nine homers in his last 23 games.

In the bottom of the sixth, the A’s put together four hits and a walk that produced three runs and ended Jason Hammel’s night. With one out, A’s DH Khris Davis singled. Hammel walked Matt Olson to put men on at first and second. Matt Chapman hit a towering fly ball to center. Royals’ center fielder Paulo Orlando appeared to have trouble determining where the ball was going to come down. He seemed to be twisting and turning to find the ball, but when he did locate the ball, it was too late as the ball hit the wall for a double. Davis scored, and Olson stopped at third base. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Olson, and that was followed by Stephen Piscotty’s third single of the game to drive in Chapman with the A’s third run of the inning and the fourth of the game. The A’s led 4-1 after six.

A’s manager Bob Melvin used Lou Trivino in the seventh, Yusmeiro Petit in the eighth, and Blake Treinen in the ninth. The relievers did their job to secure the win.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 32-31. Blackburn won his first game since August 22, 2017, against the Baltimore Orioles. Blackburn is 1-0, and has a 1.50 ERA. Jason Hammel’s record dropped to 2-6.

The A’s line was four runs, nine hits, and no errors. The Royals’ line was one run, four hits, and no errors. It was the Royals’ fifth loss in a row.

To make room for Blackburn on the roster, the A’s optioned catcher Bruce Maxwell to Nashville.

Time of game was two hours and 18 minutes and a sparse crowd of 7,967 fans were on hand to see Blackburn’s return to Oakland.

Up Next: Game 2 of the four-game series will be played Friday night at the Coliseum. Frankie Montas (2-0, ERA 0.64) will pitch for the A’s, and Jakob Junis (5-5, ERA 3.62) will go for Kansas City. Game time is at 7:05 pm PDT.

Rangers crush A’s 8-2 to win series

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Rangers hit four home runs to beat the A’s for the second night in a row at Glove lIfe Stadium on Wednesday night.

Rangers’ starter Bartolo “Big Sexy” Colon won his third game of the year. With the win, the 243rd of his 20-year career, he tied Juan Marichal for most wins by a pitcher born in the Dominican Republic. He went five innings and allowed six hits and two runs. The Rangers’ bullpen held the A’s scoreless the rest of the way and won 8-2.

The Rangers plated three runs in the bottom of the first to take an early 3-0 lead. With two out, Nomar Mazara doubled. Jurickson Profar slammed his fifth big fly of the season to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. A’s starter Daniel Mengden then served up a gopher ball to Joey Gallo. Gallo sent his 17th of the year into the seats in the second deck in right field to make it 3-0.

Mengden continued to struggle as Profar hit his second dinger of the night to give Texas the advantage 4-0 in the bottom of the third. The Rangers’ onslaught continued as they tallied two more runs in the fourth. Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos walked and scored when Ronald Guzman took Mengden deep for his seventh of the year. The A’s trail 6-0.

The A’s put two on the board in the top of the fifth. A’s leading hitter, Jed Lowrie, reached on a double. Designated Hitter Khris Davis hit his 15th dinger to drive in Lowrie, and the A’s trailed 6-2.

Texas scored two more in the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Jurickson Profar continued his big night when he singled to drive in two more runs. The Rangers were done scoring, and they won 8-2.

Game Notes: Jurickson Profar was the hitting star for the Rangers. He had his first multi-homer game and had a career-high five runs batted in.

Bartolo Colon won his 243rd game and needs just one more strikeout to reach 2500 for his career. Colon, who is 45 years old, evened his season’s record at 3-3.

A’s starter Daniel Mengden, who was so good in May, took the loss. Mengden is now 6-5 and his line for the night was four innings pitched, five hits, and six runs. Four of the five hits Mengden allowed were home runs.

The A’s announced that Matt Joyce was placed on the 10-day DL retroactive to June 3rd. They recalled outfielder Nick Martini from Nashville. Martini, if he gets into a game, will be making his Major League debut.

The A’s also announced that pitcher Paul Blackburn will be activated from the 60-day DL and will be making his season’s debut against the Kansas City Royals Friday night at the Coliseum.

The Royals will send Jason Hammel to the hill to handle the pitching chores. Hammel gave up seven hits and three runs in six innings of work against the A’s last Saturday in Kansas City. Hammel did not get a decision.

Sad News: Baseball lost one of its greatest players Wednesday. The St. Louis Cardinals announced that Albert “Red” Schoendienst passed away at the age of 95. Schoendienst had a great career as a second baseman and won championships with the Cardinals and Braves. Schoendienst was a member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Up Next: The A’s will welcome the Royals for a four-game series starting Thursday night at 7:05 pm PDT.