Category: MLB

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s Blackburn face Red Sox Saturday afternoon at Fenway

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The Boston Red Sox Yu Chang connects for a two run single in the bottom of the second inning against the Oakland A’s at Fenway Park in Boston on Fri Jul 7, 2023 (AP News photo)

#1 The Oakland A’s (25-65) on Friday saw the Boston Red Sox (46-43) start of the game with a five run second inning that later handed the A’s a 7-3 loss at Fenway Park.

#2 The Sox Yu Chang got a base loaded hit in the second for the Sox to drive in two runs. Chang’s contribution proved valuable to help get the Sox get a lead on the A’s early off A’s starter Sammy Long and reliever Luis Medina.

#3 What was remarkable Chang missed over three months of play due to a left broken hand. Chang didn’t waste anytime driving in the first two runs of the game.

#4 Medina who came into relieve for Long ended up giving up seven hits, four earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts in six innings of work. A’s manager Mark Kotsay said that he brought Medina in a tough situaton.

#5 The A’s will start right hander Paul Blackburn (1-1 ERA 4.50) he’ll be opposed Red Sox starter left hander James Paxton (4-1 ERA 2.70) for a 10:10 AM PT first pitch.

Join Jeremiah for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Lose 7-3 to Red Sox; Sox do most of the damage with 5 run second inning at Fenway

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Mary Anne

The Oakland Athletics’ last series of their road trip was at the Boston Red Sox. The A’s began a three-game series against the Red Sox on Friday night. The A’s lost 7-3 to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Oakland fell to 25-65, while Boston improved to 46-43.

The A’s starting lineup featured Tony Kemp, Jordan Diaz, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, Jace Peterson, Shea Langaliers, Seth Brown, Tyler Wade, and Sam Long. Long pitched just one inning and gave up three hits, three earned runs, one walk, and two strikeouts.

After a scoreless first inning, Boston opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. Yu Chang singled on a ground ball to JJ Bleday. Alex Verdugo and Enrique Hernandez scored for a 2-0 lead as Triston Casas went to second base. Jarren Duran singled on a ground ball to Tony Kemp.

Casas scored for a 3-0 lead as Chang went to third base. Justin Turner singled on a line drive to Seth Brown. Chang scored for a 4-0 lead as Duran went to third base. Rafael Devers grounded into a forceout fielded by Tyler Wade. Duran scored for a 5-0 lead as Turner was out at second base, while Devers went to first base with two outs.

The A’s finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Tony Kemp singled on a ground ball to Rafael Devers. Seth Brown scored to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 5-1. Tyler Wade went to third base while Kemp went to second base. Devers committed a throwing error.

The A’s inched closer to the Red Sox in the top of the seventh inning. Seth Brown homered on a fly ball to right center field. Shea Langaliers scored to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 5-3.

The A’s chances of a comeback were short-lived as the Red Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Adam Duvall singled on a ground ball to Tyler Wade. Jarren Duran scored for a 6-3 lead as Rafael Devers went to third base. Alex Verdugo singled on a line drive to Brent Rooker. Devers scored for a 7-3 lead as Duvall went to second base.

Notes
A’s LHP Richard Lovelady turned 27 on July 7.

The A’s recalled RHP Angel Felipe from Triple-A Las Vegas.

The A’s selected OF Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas.

The A’s placed OF Esteury Ruiz on the ten-day injured list retroactive to July 6.

The A’s optioned and designated RHP Rico Garcia for assignment.

Up Next
The A’s and Red Sox will continue their series on Saturday at 1:10 pm Pacific. Starting for Oakland Paul Blackburn (1-1 ERA 4.50) for Boston James Paxton (4-1 ERA 2.70).

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: Why MLB owners are taking so long to vote on Las Vegas ballpark

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Will owners such as New York Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner agree to waving a relocation fee and having the Oakland A’s move to the smallest ballpark and TV market in MLB, in Las Vegas? (New York Post file photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said back in early June that the owners would take a vote on the Oakland A’s new Las Vegas ballpark by the end of June, here we are in the early days of July and the jury is still out is this just a matter of the owners haggling over the issues of the A’s relocating.

#2 The owners have to consider the pressure that the A’s must sell out every single event plus concerts and shows at the Vegas ballpark to meet their $380 million tax credit obligation running 30 years, in their view that’s a huge ask and some owners may think that’s just impractical.

#3 The other issue for the owners that doesn’t sit well is the A’s will be moving from the tenth largest market to the 40th smallest market in baseball the owners have always been conscientious about revenue and profit some owners think that this actually a step backward.

#4 The competitiveness of the sports and entertainment dollar is at hand and the A’s knowing this want to have a start time of games at 4:00pm PT because live shows and entertainment with dinner usually start at 7:00pm so the game would end in time for people to go to the next venue. This may not sit well with the owners because they may want primetime televised games for their own teams back east and have the A’s come on Pacific time prime time and there is no guarantee a 4:00 pm start time would sell games out. Is the 4:00pm start practical?

#5 There is also the fact that many Nevadans who were polled during the Nevada State Legislative special session at 87% voted no for public use of a new stadium. The group organization “Schools over Stadiums” is gathering signatures for a ballot measure to put education first. Education in Nevada which is 49th in the US. The measure would stop spending $380 million in public money over a new ballpark. If the measure makes the ballot for this November’s election and gets over one million votes to stop the public funding of the Vegas ballpark Senate Bill 1 would be dead and the A’s might be forced to go back to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao to talk turkey again regarding Howard Terminal.

Daniel Dullum does the Oakland A’s podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Takes on Colorado Rockies Friday Night at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Ross Stripling will get the call against the Colorado Rockies on Fri Jul ,7 2023 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (San Francisco Chronicle file photo)

San Francisco Takes on Colorado Rockies Friday Night at Oracle

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (47-40) finished off a three game series this past week with the Seattle Mariners (42-43). The Giants lost a close one in game one losing 6-5 on Monday. The game was lost in the ninth inning when the Mariners put four runs on the board in the top of the ninth to lead 6-2. The Giants scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth but came up just short. In game two, the Mariners shut out the Giants 6-0 on Tuesday. San Francisco avoided the sweep with a win in game three 2-0 on Wednesday.

The Giants also lost a series over the weekend against the New York Mets. The standings in the NL West are tight with the Diamondbacks hanging onto first place, a game and a half ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants are three games out of first place. San Francisco will be looking to turn things around in their next series with the Colorado Rockies (33-56) which gets underway Friday night for a three game series.

The Giants will have a huge hole to fill with the left hand fracture suffered by second baseman Thairo Estrada which could sideline him for four to six weeks. He was struck in the hand on Sunday by a pitch from Mets reliever Adam Ottavino. Estrada had been batting .272 with nine home runs and 18 stolen bases. It is not only his offense but his defense that will be missed. A couple of rookies, Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisley could be used to fill the gap.

The Giants home run leader is Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis has the most RBIs and his batting average is .282. San Francisco will counting on both of them as well as a very strong batting lineup which features Austin Slater, Michael Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores, Lamonte Wadę Jr. J.D. Davis and Patrick Bailey. They do have the offense to get the job done.

The Rockies are coming into this game with a four game losing streak. They will be looking to get some better offense going after being handled by the Houston Astros last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ross Stripling will get the call on the mound for San Francisco with a 0-2 ERA 6.51 record. Austin Gomber will be on the hill for the Rockies with a 6-7 ERA 6.64. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 PM.

Tigers prevent A’s from sweeping series; Bengals shutout and beat the Green and Gold 9-0 at Comerica

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Detroit Tigers Jake Marisnick scores in the bottom fourth inning as Oakland A’s catcher Manny Pina can only watch at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thu Jul 6, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

What a difference a day makes. The Oakland A’s offense recorded 14 hits Wednesday and had four singles against the Detroit Tigers’ pitching on Thursday. The A’s pitching held the Tigers to three runs on Wednesday and gave up nine on Thursday.

The Tigers’ starter Michael Lorenzen, who will represent Detroit at the All-Star game next Tuesday in Seattle, had his way with the A’s hitters. The Tigers pounced on A’s starter Hogan Harris who allowed seven runs before his exit in the fifth inning. The Tigers shut out the A’s 9-0.

The Tigers scored two runs in the first, third, fourth, and one in the fifth off Harris. In the first, with one out, Spencer Torkelson singled. Andy Ibanez doubled, sending Torkelson to third. Harris struck out Tigers’ DH Kerry Carpenter for the second out. Tigers’ shortstop Javier Baez singled to drive in Torkelson and Ibanez to take an early 2-0 lead.

In the third inning, A’s starter Harris Hogan couldn’t find the strike zone. He Walked Matt Vierling and Andy Ibanez to put men on at first and second with one out. Kerry Carpenter singled to drive in Vierling. Ibanez went to third when A’s left fielder Tony Kemp bobbled the ball trying to make a throw. Harris walked Baez to load the bases. Harris walked three men in the inning. Ibanez scored on Jonathan Schoop’s sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.

The Tigers continued to make life miserable for Harris in the fourth. Harris gave up back-to-back doubles to Zack Short and Jake Marisnick. Short scored to increase the lead to 5-0. Marisnick then stole third. Matt Vierling singled to make it 6-0.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay let Harris start the fifth inning. Harris’ pitch count was nearing 100 pitches as he started the fifth. Javier Baez led off the fifth with a double. Jonathan Schoops’ infield single sent Baez to third. Tiger catcher Eric Haase grounded into a double play, and Baez scored. The Tigers led 7-0. The A’s replaced Harris with Rico Garcia.

The Tigers added a run in the sixth when Jake Marisnick homered leading off the inning. Detroit continued to put runs on the board. They added one more in the eighth to increase the lead to 9-0.

Game Notes. The A’s were shut out for the tenth time in 2023. The only team with more shutouts is the Detroit Tigers. The A’s record dropped to 25-64. The Tigers improved to 37-48

The A’s line was no runs, four hits, and one error. The A’s had four singles in the game. The Tigers’ line was nine runs, 13 hits, and one error.

The A’s were without the services of three key players on Thursday. Ryan Noda, who blasted a two-run dinger on Wednesday, was unavailable due to a temporary illness. He should be back in action Friday night in Boston.

Esteury Ruiz injured his shoulder sliding back to first base on Wednesday and did not play in Thursday’s game. His injury does not appear to be too serious. Catcher Carlos Perez will be out until August 18th with a thumb fracture. Manny Pina took his spot on the roster.

The A’s finish the road trip with three games against the Red Sox in historic Fenway Park starting Friday night. After the game on Sunday, the A’s will be out of action until Thursday as Major League Baseball will hold the annual All-Star game in Seattle.

The A’s announced Luis Medina (2-7 ERA 6.37) as their starter on Friday. The Red Sox have not announced any starters for the three-game series. The game will start at 4:10 pm.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s win fourth out of last five in Detroit; Series concludes today at Comerica

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Oakland A’s Shea Langeliers knows it’s hammer time after crushing a solo shot in the top of the fourth inning at Comerica Park against the Detroit Tigers on Wed Jul 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Jerry, just an early start for the Oakland A’s scoring three runs on the Detroit Tigers in the top of the first inning.

#2 Jerry talk about Ryan Noda whose getting around on the ball for a three run homer in the first inning.

#3 The A’s are starting to cluster their games winning their fourth in their last five games.

#4 The Tigers offensively had only two hits in the first seven innings and both runners got erased on double plays.

#5 The A’s and Tigers conclude this three game series at Comerica today the A’s are going with starter left hander Hogan Harris (2-2 ERA 5.17) and for the Tigers Michael Lorenzen (2-6 ERA 4.28) a 10:10 AM PT first pitch.

Join Jerry Feitelberg for the A’s podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cobb Shuts Out Mariners Giants Win 2-0

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Taylor Rogers pitching against the Seattle Mariners at Oracle Park July 5th, 2023 (AP news photo)

Wednesday, July 5th 2023

By Troy Ewers

SAN FRANCISCO-In front of a crowd of 24,108 in San Francisco, the Giants played the final game of their three game series against the Seattle Mariners and the ace for the Giants was Alex Cobb, who pitched a phenomenal game. Six innings, seven strike outs and no runs. Cobb in his last ten games is 9-1 and the Giants are now 12-4 when Cobb is on the hill. San Francisco snapped their four game losing streak and can go into their next series with that monkey off their back.

The game itself wasn’t a plethora of runs, but the two runs scored were big for the Giants. In the third inning Wilmer Flores started the rally with a hit that seemed to be an easy ground out, but the ball hit the bag and went over Jose Caballero’s head and Flores gets a single and Brandon Crawford moved to third, he got on base with a walk. Crawford would then score off of LaMonte Wade Jr.’s sac fly making it 1-0 Giants.

The next score for SF would come in the fifth inning when a routine fly ball is hot by Wade Jr. to center, but Julio Rodriguez dropped the ball and Austin Slater scored for the second and final run of the game. When Cobb left the game in the sixth inning, the Rogers brothers came in for an inning a piece and maintained the shutout for Cobb.

The 9th inning came and it was time for the all star Camillo Doval to take the mound and it was a 1, 2, 3 inning with a strikeout to close out the game. This was Doval’s 25th save of the season and he at this point has the most in the N.L. and the second most in the MLB.

The next game for the Giants is against the Colorado Rockies (pitchers not announced yet).

A’s rout Tigers 12-3; Oakland scores big in 1st, 6th and 8th innings in laugher

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The Oakland A’s Esteury Ruiz swings for a two RBI single in the top sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wed Jul 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Wow, the A’s, after beating the Tigers 1-0 on Tuesday, routed the Tigers 12-3 on Wednesday. The A’s offense came to life, and the A’s pitching was outstanding. The team that could muster two hits on Tuesday had 14 hits, including three home runs, that produced 12 runs.

The A’s opener Austin Pruitt worked three innings and retired all nine hitters. Lefty Ken Waldichuk had one of his best outings of the year. Waldichuk took over in the fourth and held the Tigers scoreless until the eighth.

The A’s scored three in the first, one in the third, one in the fourth, four in the sixth, and three in the eighth. In the first, the big blow was Ryan Noda’s ninth home run with a man onboard to give the A’s an early 3-0. In the third, Jordan Diaz singled with one out.

Aledmys Diaz doubled to drive in Jordan with the A’s fourth run. The A’s were pounding Tigers’ starter Eduardo Rodriguez. The onslaught continued when Shea Langeliers blasted a solo home run in the fourth to make it 5-0. Tigers’ skipper A.J. Hinch removed Rodriguez from the game.

The A’s made the game a runaway in the top of the sixth as they put four more runs on the board. With one out, She Langeliers singled and went to second on a throwing error by the Tigers’ third baseman Zack McKinstry. JJ Bleday singled, and Langeliers stopped at third.

Nick Allen walked to load the bases. Tony Kemp singled to drive in Langeliers and Bleday, and Allen went to third on the play. Kemp then stole second. Leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz singled to drive in Allen and Kemp. The A’s led 9-0 after six.

In the eighth, the A’s put more icing on the cake as they scored three times. With one out, Nick Allen and Tony Kemp singled. Tyler Wade was inserted into the game after Ruiz had to leave with an injury. Wade’s fielder’s choice allowed Allen to score.

Kemp was out at second. Jordan Diaz, who had two singles in the game, blasted a two-run home run into the seats in right field to finish the A’s scoring. The A’s led 12-0 midway through the eighth.

The Tigers finally put some runs on the board in the eighth. Waldichuk had allowed the Tigers just one hit in the first four innings of work. In the eighth, Waldichuk walked the first two hitters. He could not keep his fastball down in the strike zone. Waldichuk regained his composure and retired catcher Jake Rogers for the first out. Waldichuk now had to face Miguel Cabrera.

Cabrera, a sure bet for baseball’s Hall of Fame, doubled to drive in the Tigers’ first run. Jake Marisnick, a former Oakland Athletic, drove in the Tigers’ second run with a sacrifice fly to right field. The Tigers added a run in the ninth.

Game Notes- The A’s won for the fourth time in the last five games and the 13th in the last 26 games. Their record improved to 25-63. This team wants the New York Mets to keep their record of 120 losses in a season. Their record over the last 26 games indicates that the team will continue to improve. The Tigers are now 37-48.

Waldichuk was the winning pitcher. He earned his second win. The losing pitcher was Eduardo Rodriguez.

The A’s line score was 12 runs, 14 hits, and no errors. The hitting stars for Oakland were Jordan Diaz, Esteury Ruiz, Shea Langeliers, Tony Kemp, and Ryan Noda. Diaz had two singles and a home run, Ruiz had two singles and stole his 43rd base, Langeliers had a single and a home run, Kemp had two singles and a stolen base, and Ryan Noda had a two-run blast.

The A’s will be going for a sweep on Thursday. A’s manager Mark Kotsay will send lefty Hogan Harris (2-2 5.17) to the hill for Oakland. Harris will be seeking his third win of the campaign. The Tigers will counter with Michael Lorenzen (2-6 ERA 4.28). The game will start at 10:10 am.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Memories of Oakland (No.6 in Series)  1987 All-Star Game at Coliseum

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Logo from the 1987 All Star Game hosted by the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum (logo from Oakland A’s and MLB)

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

On July 14, 1987 the Oakland Coliseum hosted the 1987 MLB All-Star Game. There were two Oakland Athletics on this game representing the American League and both were in the reserves; first baseman Mark McGwire and relief pitcher Jay Howell.

A’s legend Rickey Henderson was in the starting lineup but for the New York Yankees. McGwire won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1987 and went on the establish the current record for a rookie of 49 home runs.

The A’s had three consecutive Rookies of the Year, José Canseco in 1986, Mark McGwire in 1987, and Walt Weiss in 1988. 49,671 were in attendance at the Coliseum for that night’s game won by the National League All-Stars 2-0 over the American League All-Stars in 13 innings; Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos was named the Most Valuable Player. This was the only time since the A’s played at Oakland that the Oakland Coliseum hosted an MLB All-Star game.

Named by the Oakland A’s ownership as part of the Clout Committee, I was privileged to meet with various civic personalities, including the Mayor of Oakland Lionel Wilson as well as others in the community. The All-Star Gala is always a special gathering of community and baseball people, my wife Gail and I sat at a table that included two Twins greats, Kirby Pucket and Tony Oliva.

Prior to the game at the Coliseum, Bay Area Media personality, Rich Lieberman introduced me to the one and only Larry King, who was said to have conducted over 50,000 interviews on radio and television, from Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Paul McCartney to Margaret Thatcher and thousands in-between.

The Walter Haas ownership of the Oakland A’s did a wonderful job organizing this big event together with the City of Oakland and Major League Baseball, it was a classy well-organized event that made Oakland proud.

There was a time when Oakland was a proud city, as a matter of fact Oakland was once called ‘City of Champions”, with the A’s winning three consecutive World Series in 1972-73-74, the Warriors winning the NBA title in the 1974-75 season and the Raiders winning in 1976 the first of their three Superbowl titles.

It is said that Gertrude Stein, who was raised in Oakland, when later she grew up and became an American novelist, playwright and art collector, and then moved to Paris in 1903 where she lived for the rest of her life once said about Oakland; ”When you get there, there isn’t any THERE there.”

Two years later, after the 1987 MLB All-Star Game, the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the A’s vs Giants World Series, which the As swept in four games. It was felt that it would be inappropriate to have a parade in Oakland for the World Series champion Oakland Athletics.

They did celebrate, though with this subdued celebration (a victory rally) at the Jack London Waterfront and broadcast live by local San Francisco CBS affiliate, KPIX. It would be the last civic celebration by a professional sports franchise in Oakland until 2015 when the Warriors won the NBA title.

I always remember 1987 as a good year for Oakland and a “departing point” for what came later for the Oakland Athletics during the great Tony LaRussa years.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants need to get some runs on M’s pitching to come back in series at Oracle

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The San Francisco Giants starter Keaton Winn delivers a first inning pitch against the Seattle Mariners at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Jul 4, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael:

On the Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Seattle Mariners starter Logan Gilbert went the distance on Tuesday afternoon shutting out the San Francisco Giants giving up only five hits and striking out seven hitters. Gilbert had his control and kept hitters off balance all afternoon.

#2 Michael, Logan was so happy with the results of his handy work that he danced a bit and apologized for it later on saying he was just so excited to pitch a shutout and go the distance.

#3 The Mariners got some good hitting out of AJ Pollock who hit a two run blast as the Mariners came out ahead with a six run win. Pollock was key to providing some offense for the M’s.

#4 Michael, Giants manager Gabe Kapler wanted to use Michael Conforto as designated hitter rather than start him in the outfield. Conforto is recovering from his left hamstring injuries when he injured himself last week Wednesday making a catch in the outfield in Toronto.

#5 Game 3 is on tap tonight Michael, the Mariners will start Tommy Milone (0-0 ERA 1.93) and for the Giants righthander Alex Cobb (5-2 ERA 3.12) a 6:05pm PT first pitch. No doubt Cobb is looking for his sixth plus a chance to even the score from Tuesday night’s 6-0 loss.

Join Michael Duca for the San Francisco Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com