Category: MLB

Oakland A’s hitter Stephen Piscotty takes Houston Astros pitcher Cristian Javier deep in the bottom of the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jul 27, 2022 (Bay Area News Group photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–On a day when the Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and his lovely wife Ayesha threw out the first pitch, the Oakland A’s completed a three-game sweep of the AL West first-place Houston Astros.

The 9,367 made the loudest noise in the ninth inning as A’s reliever A.J.Puk retired the Astros 1-2-3 to win the game 4-2. A’s starter Cole Irvin continued to pitch well. Irvin went seven innings and allowed four hits and two runs. His one mistake was a gopher ball to Houston’s DH Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez’s home run traveled 429 feet deep into the right-field seats.

The A’s drew first blood in the bottom of the second. With one out, A’s catcher Stephen Vogt took Christian Javier deep. The ball went over the fence in right field. It came o a 1-1 pitch. Now facing Stephen Piscotty, Javier saw his first pitch go out of the park. The back-to-back home runs gave the A’s an early 2-0 lead.

The Astros put one on the board in the top of the fifth. With one out, former SF Giant, Mauricio Dubon, singled. The next hitter, Jake Meyers, tripled to deep right-center-field to drive in Dubon. Irvin retired the next two hitters to end the inning.

The A’s lead got the run back in their half of the fifth. A’s first baseman Jonah Bride singled. Bride stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Tony Kemp drove him in with a double to right. The A’s lead 3-1 after five complete.

In the top of the sixth, the Astros’ DH Yordan Alvarez hit a blast ten rows deep in right-field. As they say in baseball: “there was no doubt about it” when it left the bat. The Astros trail the A’s 3-2 after six.

The A’s added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Stephen Piscotty led off the frame with a single, his second hit of the afternoon. Piscotty went to second on a passed ball and scored on Skye Bolt’s single. The A’s lead 4-2. 

Cole Irvin left after pitching seven innings. Domingo Acevedo kept the Astros off the board in the eighth. Lefty A.J.Puk earned his second career save, setting the Astros down 1-2-3 in the ninth to secure the win for Oakland. The A’s win 4-2.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 38-63. Oakland has won three in a row, six of the last seven, and are 6-2 since the All-Star break. The A’s are 12-8 in their last 20 games. The bullpen is 3-0 and has converted their six save opportunities in the last 12 games. 

Cole Irvin was the winning pitcher. His line was seven innings, four hits, and two runs allowed. His record is 6-7. The Astros’ Christian Javier was the losing pitcher. The Astros are now 64-35. 

Stephen Piscotty hit his fourth home run of the year. He also singled. Tony Kemp had two doubles and a single. Stephen homered for the fifth time this year.

Houston’s Yordan Alvarez blasted his 29th dinger.

The time of the game was two hours and twenty-nine minutes. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred will be smiling when he hears the news.

The A’s are off on Thursday. They travel to Chicago for three games this weekend against the White Sox. James Kaprielian will go for Oakland. Chicago will counter with Lance Lynn. The game will start at 5:10 pm.

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker signs a baseball during the Astros game against the visiting Kansas City Royals at Minute Maid Field in Houston on Tue Jul 5, 2022. Dusty just completed a visit to the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jul 27, 2022 to face the Oakland A’s (AP News photo)

Dusty Back in Oakland

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–That’s My Man! exclaimed Dusty Baker seating on a high director’s chair right behind the backstop at Rickey Henderson’s Field/Oakland Coliseum, as I approached him to greet him a couple of hours prior to the game on Tuesday night. Dusty; do you remember the days when you took batting practice right here?

Yes, I do, he responded as he seems relaxed as ever, we reminisced on those years when he retired as a player with the Oakland A’s in 1986. The A’s had a young rookie by the name of José Canseco in 1986, who would go on that year win the American League Rookie of the Year. Dusty (on his last season as a player) used to give José some hitting tips, talk, and mentor him.

Dusty’s Houston Astros are one of the best teams in baseball this year, they are going against the Yankees for the best record in the American League, but the A’s have played some of their best games of the season recently beating the Astros, with home run power and very good clutch hitting, giving Dusty’s a “dolor the cabeza” (headache), “You guys have been playing very well, we had it tough here man.”

Every time I speak with Dusty I sprinkle some phrases in Spanish, he understands and speaks conversational Spanish. When he was getting started, Dusty Baker played baseball in Venezuela.

Dusty is very proud of his son Darren. This season in Spring Training when the Astros faced the Nationals in Florida, Darren Baker took the lineup card out to his dad as a member of the Nationals. Dusty was totally surprised about the moment, as only Dave Martínez, National’s manager was aware of what was about to happen that March afternoon.

Dusty remembers that great moment, as “very emotional”. Although the most incredible moment involving Darren, that relates to baseball, was during Game 5 of the 2002 World Series Dusty’s SF Giants team lost to the Anaheim Angels.

We all remember when Giants first baseman J.T. Snow grabbed little Darren and saved him (the batboy for the Giants) as he went to the plate to grab the bat as millions watched on television. Many years later, as a freshman at Cal Darren and JT Snow reunited to discuss that famous moment.

Dusty’s team. The Astros have a team full of Latino talent, the great José Altuve from Venezuela, his first baseman Yuliesky Gurriel, Aledmys Díaz a versatile player (sort of the Chad Pinder of Houston), and Yordan Alvarez his DH and sometimes left fielder all from Cuba. Dusty smiles when I tell him “tú eres el hombre” (you are the man) “No, no, I am happy to be here with these guys,” says Dusty, always with his very relaxed laid-back style of managing.

I have never ever heard one player say anything that is not positive about this man. The Astros rotation, headed by Justin Verlander with a 13-3 record and a nifty 1.85 earned run average going for this third Cy Young in a brilliant Hall of Fame career.

After Justin Verlander, Dusty’s rotation is and ‘all Latino’ staff; Framber Valdéz and Cristian Javier from Dominican Republic, Luis García from Venezuela and José Urquidi from México. In the Astros bullpen, also a tandem of Dominicans in hard-throwing Bryan Abreu and veteran Héctor Neris.

Dusty’s main concern is to keep his team playing well and most importantly healthy the rest of the season as they will win the AL West Division. They do not need much trading, they have the team that can go all the way. Astros biggest enemy? injuries.

During my years doing Spanish radio play-by-play for the SF Giants in the 1990’s Dusty’s positive vibes were always around, even during road trips on the charter, he will approach and talk to everybody.

If anybody that was not into baseball and knew nothing about the players and the game would be on that charter, they would think he was just another player and not the manager. Dusty, tienes que estar orgulloso de tú record como manager -translation.

You must be very proud of your record as a manager. “Si, I am proud of these guys” -he gives all the credit to his players, not a manager that likes to talk much about himself, that is simply vintage Dusty. Our chat when on for at least half-and an hour when I speak with Dusty it is almost like speaking with a member of my family.

Dusty Baker is 73 years old, the second oldest manager in baseball this season, only Tony LaRussa 77 years of age is older and has more wins, and is in the Hall of Fame.

Dusty Baker’s career spanned 19 seasons as a major league player and 25 as a manager, with Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nats, and now Astros. I like to wish Dusty nothing but the best, like a World Series title. I speak for a lot of my friends and a lot of other people I know that are rooting for Dusty to win his first World Series.

The Oakland A’s go on the road to play three games against the Chicago White Sox and then to Anaheim to play three with the LA Angels, then return on August 6 for a home stand of two games with the struggling Giants and three against the Angels.

The Angels in my opinion are the biggest disappointment in our division. And nobody can blame Angels owner Arturo (Arte) Moreno of not spending money. Although his team on the field is ‘out of it’ his payroll is in first place!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio lead announcer for Oakland Athleticos baseball on flagship station Le Grande 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s first baseman Chad Pinder connects for a grand slam home run in the bottom of the the third inning against the Houston Astros at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue Jul 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

Houston (64-34). 3. 7. 0

Oakland (37-63). 5. 6. 1

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–While the Bay Area’s Giants fans are wondering if their team will be buyers or sellers between now and 9:00 Tuesday night, A’s fanatics know that their team will be sellers. The questions for Oakland are who is going, what will the team get in return, and will A’s remain in Oakland long enough for the newcomers to play here.

Frankie Montás, tonight’s starter for the green and gold, is a prime candidate for an August departure. The 3-9, 3.16 record he brought to the mound tonight doesn’t tell the whole story. He has an inventory of five pitches consisting of four seam, split finger, and cut fastballs, a sinker, and a slider.

The 29 year old righty had gone 0-2, 1.50, in his four previous starts. He was forced to leave the last of those, five days ago, after just one frame because of a shoulder inflammation that had kept him out of action since July 3.

Tuesday night he lasted but five innings, in which he threw 78 pitches, 44 of which were counted as strikes. He surrendered three runs, two of which were earned, on seven hits, one of which went the distance, and three walks, two of which were intentional, while striking out three. He was credited with the win, his fourth against nine defeats, although his ERA creeped up to 3.18.

Luis García, who started for the Astros, was a pretty good 8-5, 3.65 at game time and had come in second in the voting for last year’s American League Rookie of the Year Award. His team began the day leading Seattle by 12 games for first place in the AL West at 64-33, 29 games ahead of the slowly improving A’s, who at 36-63 would need to go 45-18 merely to finish the season at .500.

García suffered one horrid inning but hung on to throw 108 pitches (63 strikes) over 5-2/3 frames, allowing four runs, all earned, on four hits, one of them a grand slam, another four walks, and a wild pitch. He struck out seven Athletics; five of his first six outs were Ks. He took the loss and now has a record of 8-6, 3.81.

Montás didn’t look sharp at the start but didn’t get into serious trouble until Martín Maldonado led off the third with a bouncing drive down the left field line that zipped past Vimael Machín, playing shallow at the hot corner, for a lead off double that brought the top of the Astro order to the plate with a runner in scoring position.

Chas McCormick and Jeremy Peña bounced out to Machín as Maldonado prudently remained at second. Montás threw two balls to Yordán Alvarez before conceding the remaining two balls for an intentional walk. He then threw third straight balls to Alex Bregman, who, with the count at 3-0 flew out to Piscotty in right on a 95mph sinker. The Curse of the Lead Off Double strikes again!

García dug a hole for himself in the bottom of that frame. With one out, Jonah Bride legged out a single to third. García got Machín to ground out to second while Bride moved up a base. Then García walked Laurano and Murphy, filling the basepaths with Athletics.

Chad Pinder unclogged that traffic jam, driving a 78mph slider 417 feet into the left field seats for his ninth home run of the year, his second grand slam of 2022 and the fourth of his career, putting the A’s ahead, 4-0.

The ‘stros quickly cut that lead to 4-1. Kyle Tucker opened the Houston fourth by taking a 2-1 splitter from Montás way deep to right, 425 feet deep to be exact. They were his 19th four bagger and 64th run batted in of the season and served as a reminder that three walks and a ball hit out of the park don’t make a game a walk in the park.

Alvarez drove that lesson home in the next episode by driving Peña, on first with a two out single to left center, home with a double off the right center field wall. Bregman followed that with a hard ground ball to third that Machín fielded beautifully but threw late and wildly past Pinder at first.

Bregman’s single allowed Alvarez to reach third, and Machín’s throwing error let each of them advance an additional 90 feet. The run was unearned, Bregman didn’t get an RBI, but the A’s lead had dwindled to 4-3.

After Oakland went down in their half of the fifth without achieving anything more than a walk to Murphy, Montás didn’t come out to pitch the Houston sixth. That task fell to Austin Pruitt, who disposed of the bottom of the Astros’ lineup in order.

García lasted only two thirds of the way through the bottom of the sixth. He got Andrus to ground out to start the frame before Piscotty doubled to left center and Kemp lined out to center. At that point, Bryan Abreu came in to strike out Bolt.

Pruitt stuck around to fan McCormick and Peña in the seventh and then gave way to Sam Moll, who retired Alvarez on one pitch with a grounder to Pinder.

The Oaklanders came close to stretching their lead in the home seventh. With one out and Machín on first, Laureano lifted a high fly to deep left that McCormick harvested just in front of the Ring Central sign, at the meeting point of the running track and the fence.

Moll stayed on long enough to retire the Bregman and Tucker, the later on a fly to Piscotty on the right center field warning track, and then bow out in favor of Zach Jackson.who had pitched to and retired one batter in the eighth inning the night before. He did it tonight as well.

Héctor Neris, pitching for the ´stros in the bottom of the eighth, caught Pinder and Andrus looking at third strikes and then yielded a double down the left field line to Piscotty, his second consecutive two bagger. Kemp brought him home with an insurance run by banging a double of his own off the right field fence.

Now the question was, could Lou Trivino, who had come in to pitch the ninth with a two run lead in Monday’s 7-5 win over Houston, hold on to at least one of the two run cushion he had tonight?

JJ Matijevic hit a liner back to Trivino, who knocked it down and threw Matijevic out at first. José Altuve hit for Meyers and grounded out to second. Yuli Gurriel hit for Maldonado and grounded out, Machín to Pinder, both of whom made nice plays.

Trivino justified Mark Kotsay´s faith in him and earned his tenth save in 12 opportunities.

The players on both squads will grab 40 winks and be back here to face each other at 12:37. Cole Irvin (5-7,3.08) will be on the bump for Oakland, and Christian Javier (6-5,3.13) for Houston.

Oakland A’s Sky Bolt rounds the bases after belting his third home run of the season against the Houston Astros in the bottom of the fourth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Jul 25, 2022 (photo @Athletics)

Houston (64-33) 5.  7.  0

Oakland (36-6)  7. 10. 1

Monday, July 25, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The A’s last faced 11 year veteran Jake Odorrizi a week ago Sunday, when he got to him for three runs, all earned, in 5-1/3 innings in a game that Oakland won but in which Houston’s starter didn’t figure in the decision.

A week before that, he gained his fourth win of the season, shutting out the green and gold in the Coliseum on four hits over seven innings. He returned to the scene of the crime this evening with a record of  4-2, 3.56 for the division leading Astros, who could boast of a 64-32 record when the A’s sent 27 year old rookie Adam Oller, a native of Conroe, TX, three hours’ drive from Houston, to toe the rubber against the Astros. In Texas, that’s a hop, skip, and a jump.

In his last mound appearance, Oller, who took the mound at 0-3,8.56,  started and went 4-1/3 frames against Odorizzi and Co., surrendering three runs, all earned, on six hits, two of them home runs, and, like Odorizzi, came out of it with a no decision.

But before the first pitch was thrown in anger, the A’s announced that they had optioned David McKay to Las Vegas. McKay made his Oakland debut Sunday, relieving Paul Blackburn in the fifth and allowing a run on four hits in 2-2/3 innings.

Seth Brown, who popped out to third in his eighth inning pinch hitting appearance in the same game, was placed on the paternity list. You could say that he popped out in the transaction. Replacing them were infielder Jonah Bride, returning from the injured list, and left handed pitcher Sam Selman.

Odorrizi managed to get through five plus frames. Although he left two posthumous runners on board, none of them scored.  His line for the night was six runs, all earned, on seven hits, two of them homers,  and a walk. He recorded two strikeouts and threw 81 pitches, 56 counted as strikes. He took the loss, dropping his record to 4-3,4.25).

Oller also lasted five plus innings, leaving ahead 6-2 with two men on base and nobody out in the top of the sixth. He threw 71 pitches, 42 of them considered strikes). He was charged with four runs, three of which earned and one posthumous.

He gave up four hits, one of which went the distance, and two walks, while striking out four. He got the win, and his record now stands at 1-2, 8.07).

Houston didn’t waste much time getting the upper hand. After

José Altuve lined out to right to open hostilities, Jeremy Peña parked a 3-2,  94mph four seamer  in the right field stands, 366 feet from home plate.

Oller settled down, allowing only a walk before Tony Kemp led off the bottom of the third, with the score still 1-0.  After two pitches to Kemp, it was knotted at one all.  The A’s left fielder slammed an 88mph cut fastball over the fence in right field, 374 feet deep, for his fourth round tripper and 17th run batted in of the season.

An inning later, the home team foiled The Curse of the Lead Off Double. In this case, it was Ramón Laureano’s two bagger to center field that opened the frame and led to the A’s putting five tallies on the board. 

After Laureano took second on Sean Murphy’s fly to center, Odorizzi issued a free pass to Chad Pinder. Elvis Andrus brought Laureano home with a single to left that sent Pinder to second. After Stephen Piscotty flew out to right, Kemp whacked a double to the base of the centerfield wall at the 400 foot sign, scoring Pinder and Andrus.

That made it six total bases and three runs driven in in two at bats for Kemp and a 5-1 lead for the Athletics. Skye Bolt made it 6-1 by taking Odorizzi deep to right on a 92mph four seamer that travelled 379 feet. It was Bolt’s third dinger and fifth RBI.

The Astros also defeated The Curse of the Two Out Double by smacking them back to back. Aledmys Día and Chas McCormick went to right field to perform their Zombie Jamboree (“Back to back and belly to belly. / I don’t give a damn. I done that already”). But that’s all they got, and, half way through the game, Oakland led 6-2.

The Houston sixth also featured a lead off double, this one by Peña off the Rickey Henderson Field sign in left center. Yordán Alvarez’s full count walk that followed signaled the end of Olller’s tenure on the mound. Domingo Acevedo relieved him and got Alex Bregman out on a fly to center. Then he tried to pick Alvarez off at first and threw the ball into the visitors’ bullpen, which allowed Peña to score and Alvarez to take third.

Acevedo then hit Yuli Gurriel with a pitch. With Díaz at the plate, the Astros pulled a double steal, which brought them to two runs of the A’s, who now led 6-4.

Dusty Baker yanked Odorizzi with no one out in the bottom of the sixth, after Pinder and Andrus had singled, respectively, to right and left. Phil Maton was his replacement. Maton called on a pitcher’s best friend, 6-4-3, before getting Kemp to ground out to second to end the inning.

AJ Puk took over mound chores for the green and gold in the top of the seventh. He set the Astros down without a hit or run, although he needed an around the horn twin killing to offset the third strike wild pitch he unleashed to Korey Lee, which had allowed the Houston receiver to reach first after being fanned.

Bolt led off the Oakland seventh against Maton with a single up the middle that just eluded the grasp of the diving Peña. Allen and Machín went down swinging. Then Baker called on Ryne Stanek to face Laureano.

The speedy Bolt stole second on Stanek to the A’s right fielder, putting a potential much needed insurance run in scoring position. But Laureano took a split fingered fastball for a called strike three.

Puk flirted with danger in the Houston eighth, walked Peña on five pitches to open the frame. But he caught Alvarez looking at four seam strike three and retired Alex Bregman on foul fly to first on which Pinder made a nifty over the shoulder catch. Zach Jackson then entered the fray to retire Díaz on a less challenging foul to first.

Murphy led off the home half of the inning by slicing a double down the right field line. He took third strike when Stanek’s first offering to Pinder was a wild pitch and, after Pinder went down swinging, scored on an Andrus base knock to left. The Curse of the Lead Off Double, be damned! Stephen Vogt came up to pinch hit for Piscotty and grounded into a double play, Peña unassisted to Gourriel.

Lou Trivino started the top of the ninth as the intimate gathering of 4,105 fans held their breath. He got Díaz to ground out to third, where Machín made a neat play. Then the inevitable happened, Chas McCormich took him deep to right, drawing Houston to within a two runs of tying the game. Jake Meyers made the second out, bouncing out to short.

Then JJ Matijavic, pinch hitting for Lee, singled to left, bringing the top of the lineup to the plate. Altuve dropped a perfect bunt just to the left of home for a single, and now the tying run was on first. Trivino now had to face Peña. He struck him out on a 1-2 slider.

The save was Trevino’s ninth in 11 opportunities.

There were several scouts assessing the Athletics roster with an eye to the August 2 trade deadline. Even more are expected for tomorrow’s match up, in which Frankie Montás (3-9, 3.19) is scheduled to strut his stuff against Luis García (8-5, 3.65). Game time will be 6:40.