Author: Sports Radio Service

Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas (47) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Houston Astros at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed May 19, 2021 (AP News photo)

Houston 8 – 15 – 2

Oakland 1 – 4 – 0

By Lewis Rubman

Wed May 19, 2021

OAKLAND–Tuesday night, the Houston Astros (25-18) had the Oakland A’s (26-18) against the ropes for most of their nine inning bout, but they never threw the knockout punch and couldn’t even pull off a split decision. Oakland flew like a butterfly and stung like a bee, a bee named Ramón Laureano, until the mean fighting machine from Texas hit the canvas at the final bell. You can’t expect a game like that every day, but you always come hoping that somehow, you’ll get one.

Wednesday’s contest promised at least one similarity with last night’s; Houston sent to the mound a pitcher who seemed to have the advantage over his counterpart for Oakland.

Indeed, Zack Greinke is an established front line hurler who, alone with Greg Maddox and Bob Gibson, has pitched in three All-Star Games and won six Gold Gloves. He is among the select list of a dozen pitchers with at least 1,000 strikeouts to his credit in each major league. He has won a Cy Young Award (not to mention a Silver Slugger trophy). These are only a few of the highlights of his sixteen year MLB career.

So, what has Greinke done for Houston recently? Five days ago, he went seven innings against the Rangers, allowing three runs, all earned, on seven hits and a walk while striking out five. In his three previous starts, he hadn’t gotten past the fourth frame.

He’s faced the A’s once in ’21, earning the win in the season opener with six innings of three hit shutout ball. Although his won-lost record stands at 3-1, his ERA is an unimpressive 4.18. It was 4.03 in last year’s anomolous season. He’s 37 years old and very likely on the down side of his distinguished career.

He is getatable; Detroit touched him for six earned runs on ten hits in 4-2/3 innings on April 12. And let’s not forget that Ramón Laureano had a slash line of .545/.545/1.182, in 11 plate appearance against the probable Hall of Famer before they faced each other in the bottom of the first.

Frankie Montás (5-2, 4.93), the immensely talented 28 year old the A’s will throw against the ‘stros, is anything but the seasoned veteran he faced off against. During his three year big league career, he has shown immense promise and experienced several difficulties, not always of his own doing.

So far this year, his record is decidedly mixed, not just in the contrast between his won-lost record and ERA. The quality of his work at home differs greatly from that of his road performances. Away from home, he’s gone 2-1 with an earned run average of 2.50. At the Coliseum, he’s 3-1, even though his ERA is a high altitude 6.75.

José Altuve greeted Montás rudely, driving his first pitch of the game, an 88 mph slider, 396 feet into the left field seats. It was the diminutive second sackers fifth home run and eighteenth RBI of the young season and extended his hitting streak to 13 games, a Baker´s dozen.

It seemed as though this might be a passing glinch in Montás´s evening when Michael Brantley went down swinging on three pitches. But Alex Bregman drew a walk, and, after Montás K´d Yordán Alvarez, Yuli Gurriel singled to right, sending Bergman to second.

He scored from there on Carlos Correa’s bloop single to right. Montás ended the inning by striking out Kyle Tucker. Nowadays, that´s called striking out the side. In my youth, it was called striking out three but allowing two runs to score.

The A’s halved the Houston lead when, with two down in the bottom of the second, Chad Pinder singled to right and scored on Sean Murphy’s double to left.

Montás finished his shift after five innings or hard labor. He threw 98 pitches in that span, and 66 of those counted as strikes. It was’t until the fourth, when Brantley was the only Astros to get on base, that he finished a frame without allowing a.t least two base runners. In fifth, he finally retired the side in order. The two runs charged to him were earned, and they came on seven hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Deolis Guerra took over pitching duties in the sixth. His battery mate was Aramis García, who had replaced Murphy in the bottom of the fourth following blow to the head of the A’s starting catcher in the top of that episode. Bob Melvin said that it looks like he might be able to play tomorrow.

The only offense the A’s could muster betwen Murphy’s RBI double in the second and Canha’s one out single to left in the sixth was an infield single by Andrus to lead off the third. Canha hustled to second when Brantley lost control of the Athletics’ DH hit, but that was as far as he got.

Guerra disposed of the Astros in the sixth with a little help from a pitcher’s best friend. He retired the first two men he faced in the seventh but then walked Bergman and allowed a single to right by Alvarez. Gurriel cleared the bases on a 3-2 count with a double that the leaping Canha almost caught at the fence (it almost got over the fence as well). Enter Sergio Romo. The much booed Carlos Correa slapped a single to right, plating Gurriel with Houston’s third run of the inning, all of them charged to Guerra.

Adam Kolarek was on the hill to open the eighth. Myles Straw greeted him with a grounder that just evaded Lowrie’s reach. The Houston center fielder made it into scoring position at second on the slow moving Maldonado’s grounder to short.

The dangerous Altuve struck out. He eventually had to settle for two hits in six at bats as the balance of his evening’s activity at the plate. It was Brantley’s single to center that brought Straw in with Houston’s sixth tally. After Kolarek walked Alvarez, Gurriel’s double to left brought Bergman in with Houston’s third run of the inning and eighth of the game. Montás was charged with the loss, bringing him to 5-3, 4.79, which actually lowered his ERA.

Greinke got the well deserved win. His record now stands at 4-1, 3.77. He threw 89 pitches (63 strikes) over eight innings, allowing one run on four hits, and no walks while recording eight strike outs, before being relieved by Kent Emanuel, a lefty who wears the number 0 on the back of his uniform and shut them down with only a man reaching first on an error by Bergman.

Besides Reymin Gudan, who came in to take the A’s to the finish line and escaped unscathed by anything worse than a single, Romo was the only Oakland hurler not charged with a run. On other hand, he allowed three inherited runners to score. It was not a an enouraging night for the Athletics’ bullpen.

The A’s will close out the series and their current home stand tomorrow in game a scheduled for a 12:37 start. Right hander Luis García (1-3, 3.34) will pitch for Houston. He’ll be matched against Oakland’s left handed pleasant surprise, Cole Irwin (3-4,3.02). The winning team will leave town in (probably temporary) possesion of first place in the AL West.

TO ERR IS HUMAN In my report on last night’s game, I mistakenly identified the pivot man in the nifty double play the A’s pulled off in the eighth inning as second baseman Tony Kemp. The shortstop, Chad Pinder, should have been credited with a put out and an assist on that play.

Oakland A’s Ramon Laureano (22) touches them all after hitting hitting a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning off Houston Astros starter Cristian Javier (53) at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue May 18, 2021 (AP News photo)

Houston 5 – 13 – 0

Oakland 6 – 8 – 0

By Lewis Rubman

Tue May 18, 2021

OAKLAND–On the whole, the Oakland Athletics’ (26-17) recent six game excursion to the Hub and the Twin Cities was a success. Four wins out of six games played, especially on the road, is an effective ratio. Although Jake Diekman, who had been one of the bright spots when the team left Oakland, performed spotily, Sergio Romo began to show the form that made him such a favorite with the fans across the bay, and the offense was buoyed by the return to form of Matt Chapman, both at bat (although he still has a some more work to do there) and with his glove work, showing once more why he is, if not indisputably the best fielding third baseman in baseball, which he very well might be, he is the most elegant one.

The return of Chad Pinder from the injured list provided both a viable back up to those two left side of the infielders and added depth at every position except pitcher and catcher. Perhaps the A’s biggest problem on their swing through New England and the Mid West was located in New York, where MLB’s team of video replay analysts went its idiosyncratic way, overturning calls on the field or letting them stand without any visible cause.

Meanwhile, the A’s target for tonight, Dusty Baker’s Houston Astros, at 24-17, came into town only a half a game behind Oakland (25-17), snapping at the home team’s heels in what is shaping up as a tight race for the AL West lead. The game was even closer with the A’s taking the opening volley of the series 6-5 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Before the game started, Oakland announced that they had placed Mitch Moreland, used mostly as DH and occasionally as first baseman, on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 15. He was sidelined by an inflammation of the area where his ribs join the cartridges that hold them to the breastbone, a condition that isn’t serious and which usually goes away on its own without treatment.

To replace Moreland, they recalled outfielder Luis Barrera from their AAA affiliate in Las Vegas. Barrera has no big league experience and was hitting at a .349 clip with two homers and seven RBI in eleven games when he was promoted. He bats and throws from the left side.

The man on the mound for the green and gold was Sean Manaea, who looked terrible at Fenway on Thursday, when he lasted only two innings against the Bosox, giving up ten hits and seven runs, every single one of them earned. Fenway’s a difficult park for left handed hurlers, although great and near great southpaws like Lefty Grove and Mel Parnell have prospered there.

But it’s not so overwhelming a venue that it could cause a debacle like that one. That’s a harsh judgement, but I make it with an awareness that Manaea has it in him to be a very good pitcher indeed. No mention of him and the Red Sox is complete if it doesn’t include the no hitter he pitched against them at the Coliseum on April 21, 2018.

Manaea’s opposite number, Cristián Javier (3-1, 3.08), was facing the A’s for the third time this season. He gave up three hits and two runs, both earned, in 3-2/3 innings against them on April 2, a game Houston eventually won, and then shut the A’s out over five innings, again yielding three hits, six days later in Houston, striking out seven and garnering his second win of the year.

It didn’t take long for Houston to get to Manaea. After retiring José Altuve on a fly to the warning track in left and striking Michael Brantley out swinging, the A’s starter surrendered a single to Alex Bregman, a double to Yuli Gurriel that advanced Bregman to third, and a double to Yordán Alvarez that brought both runners home. Manaea closed out the inning by inducing Carlos Correa to ground out to third.

Ramón Laureano got one of those runs back by driving a 94 mph four seamer over the left field fence for his ninth home run and 18th RBI of the season. It came with two out and no one on base, Javier having struck out Marc Canha and Seth Brown before his fellow Dominican took him deep.

Manaea held Houston in check until Kyle Tucker led off the fourth with a 459 foot blast into the right field seats, his tenth round tripper and twenty-eighth run batted in, puttng the Astros up 3-1. Manaea recovered to get Myles Straw out on a fly to left center, and Tony Kemp robbed Martín Maldonado of a hit with his leaping backhanded grab of the Houston backstop´s liner into the shift between second and third.

That was a break for Manaea because Altuve extended his hitting streak to an even dozen games when he beat out a slow grounder to Chapman. Then Canha made a nice running catch of Brantley´s fly to left to end the frame.

Once again, Laureano brought the A´s to within a run of Houston, leading off the bottom of the fourth with a 387 foot homer, again to left. The A´s threatened to tie it up when Chapman hit a resounding double off the right center field wall but Lawrie fouled out to Maldonado, and Murphy flew out to left center.

Settling down, Manaea pitched his first 1-2-3 inning in the fifth. Hopes for Oakland rose in their half of that frame with Pinder´s lead off towering fly to right but fell with the ball as it landed in Tucker´s glove at the wall.

Houston threatened in the top of the sixth with runners at the corners and one out, but Manaea came through, getting Maldonado to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play that kept the game tight.

It was Matt Olson’s tenth home run of the season, coming with two down and the bases empty in the bottom of the sixth off a 2-1, 93 mph four seamer that knotted the score at three all.

91 pitches, 66 of them for strikes, over six innings of work were enough for Manea, who left the game before the seventh frame began. He gave up three runs, all earned, on ten hits and a wild pitch, but didn’t walk anyone. His earned run average creped up a smidgen to 4.41.

Burch Smith relieved Manaea, and the visitors’ seventh started off ugly. Altuve beat out a slow grounder up the middle for a single, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Brantley’s double to deep right center. Brantley, in turn, advanced to third on Bregman’s fly to the same part of the outfield and scored on Gurriel’s sac fly to left. Smith struck Alvarez out swinging, but the damage was done.

Six innings also were enough for Javier. All three of the runs he surrendered were earned and came on solo home runs, two by Laureano. The Astros’ starter allowed two other hits and a walk and struck out nine. 56 of his 96 offerings were strikes.

His replacement, Enoli Paredes, quickly put the potential tying runs on base with a walk to Lawrie and a single by Murphy. After striking Pinder out swinging and loading the bases by walking Kemp, Paredes was up against the wall, and Baker replaced him with Andre Scrubb.

Canha brought Lawrie home with a sacrifice fly to center on Scrubbs’ first pitch. The two other runners held their places but advanced a base each when Scrubbs uncorked a wild pitch to Brown, whose fly out to right stranded them.

The A’s trailed the ‘stros 5-4 when Romo entered the fray to pitch the eighth. Correa led off with a dinky grounder that got past Romo for a single to short. But Romo got Tucker to hit another grounder in his direction, fielded it, threw from the seat of his pants to Kemp, who completed the double play by throwing Tucker out at first. Straw’s pop out to Pinder put an end to the inning.

Ryne Stanek came to pitch the home eighth and began by walking Laureano on four pitches. He got Olson out on a fly to left, but Chapman worked a 3-2 count before slamming a 97 mph four seamer to deep left center for a double that brought in Laureano and tied tbe game at five.

An intentional walk to Lowrie gave Murphy the chance to break the tie. He almost did, but Altuve fielded his grounder behind second and threw from the ground and behind his back to Correa for the force. Bryan Abreu came in and got Pinder to ground into a routine force at second, Correa to Altuve.

Melvin chose Yusmeiro Petit to pitch the ninth for the A’s. He retired pinch hitter Jason Castro, Altuve, and Brantley to a conga beat, as they say in Latin America. (For the younger set, the conga goes 1, 2, 3, kick).

Abreu stayed on to pitch the ninth for Houston. Altuve made a stellar dive to stop Kemp’s grounder and throw him out. Then Canha, after almost getting beaned, wallked and moved on to third on Brown’s shift defying single to center. Laureano drove in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center, and the A’s had pulled off another unlikely comeback.

The win went to Petit, whose 16 pitches earned him his fifth win against no defeats (he has one save) and brought his ERA down to 1.82. The loss went to Abreu, his second against two wins.

Tomorrow’s battle, scheduled for 6:40 pm Oakland Coliseum, will feature two right handed starters, Zack Greinke (3-1, 4.18) for the ‘stros and Frankie Montás (5-2, 4.93) for the Athletics.