Category: MLB

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Olson going deep and hitting for average

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Eye on the ball as the Oakland A’s Matt Olson hits for an RBI single in the seventh inning during Tue Jul 20, 2021’s ball game against the Los Angeles Angels at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)

Oakland podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Matt Olson is seeing the ball well he hit a home run against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday for his 25th home run of the season.

#2 What an afternoon for Olson on Tuesday hitting the home run plus an RBI single and the Angels decided to intentionally walk Olson

#3 Olson is hitting a whopping .302 against left handed pitchers and is batting .284 against right handed pitchers. Either way pitchers are having a tough time getting Olson out.

#4 Olson had a great series against the Angels in the two game series. Olson had a homer in each game on Monday and Tuesday at the Coliseum.

#5 A’s starting pitcher for tonight’s game at T Mobile Field in Seattle for the A’s Frankie Montas (8-8 ERA 4.33) and for the Seattle Mariners Yusei Kikuchi (6-5 ERA 3.92)

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

Giants four-run rally in 9th stun Dodgers 5-3, take series

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The San Francisco Giants Thairo Estrada slides after a LeMonte Wade Jr ninth inning single at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thu Jul 22, 2021 (AP News photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

LOS ANGELES—Kenley Jansen might be public enemy number one in the Los Angeles area.

For the second straight game, the Los Angeles Dodgers closer blew a save in the ninth inning. This time it was a four-run rally by the San Francisco Giants in a 5-3 comeback win over their division rival on Thursday evening at Dodger Stadium.

San Francisco won the series taking three out of the four games. They are now three games up on Los Angeles in the National League West with the Dodgers four back in the loss column. The Giants finished 4-3 on their road trip.

The ninth inning consisted of a lot of drama and controversy that left the Dodgers irate at the end of the game.

With two outs and William Flores on first after a one-out single, Donovan Solano hit a double over the head of Cody Bellanger to centerfield. Jason Vosler worked a walk to load the bases. Thairo Estrada hit a ball to the left side where shortstop Chris Taylor threw to second base for the force out. The Giants challenged the call and it was overturned as Vosler clearly beat the throw thanks to his good lead off of first and hustle toward second base.

“”You don’t see it mean so much to a win as you did tonight”, said Giants manager Gabe Kapler regarding Vosler keeping the game alive. “I thought it was the most important play of the game.”

Darren Ruff, who came into the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning, drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch where he appeared to not have checked his swing. First baseball umpire Ed Hickox ruled no swing on the appeal and that not only allowed the tying run to score but sent Dodgers manager Dave Roberts into one of his best temper tantrums of his career as he was ejected from the game for a second straight night.

“There are lot of people that are pissed off, and I’m leading the way,” Roberts said after the game.

Lamont Wade Jr. played the hero role with a two-run single right after to give the Giants an improbable victory.

Buehler continued to his mastery of the Giants batting lineup even though it ended in a no decision for him. He pitched seven and a third innings holding the Giants to one run on five hits while striking out nine and walking just one.

In four starts this season versus San Francisco, Buehler has allowed only three earned runs in 27 innings.

Anthony DeSclafani, who hasn’t had any personal success against Los Angeles, pitched one of his best games against his nemesis going six innings and giving up three earned runs on six hits while striking out seven with only one walk.

“I think he got stronger as the outing went on. The ball he threw to Will Smith is probably one he’d like to have back. But other than that, I thought he pitched a good game. And I thought he was going toe to toe with (Walker) Beuhler, who also pitched an excellent game,” Kapler said.

The Giants (61-35) drew first blood early in the first inning. After a Lamont Wade Jr. leadoff double that followed with him stealing third base, Mike Yastrzemski hit a sacrifice fly to left field for a 1-0 lead.

The Dodgers (59-39) answered back in their half of the first inning with three straight singles off DeSclafani to even the score at one.

Los Angeles took the lead in the fourth inning when Will Smith smashed a two-run home run halfway up the bleachers in left center fielder off of DeSclafani. Smith’s 13th home run of the season was his second in the series against San Francisco.

Jake McGee pitched the bottom of the nine and earned his 20th save of the season.

GAME NOTES: For the first time in the series, the Giants did not hit a home run.

UP NEXT: The Giants return home on Friday 7/23 to host a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at 6:45pm at Oracle Park.

A’s Manaea strong performance downs M’s 4-1 at T Mobile

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Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea throws against the Seattle Mariner line up at T Mobile Field in Seattle on Thu Jul 22, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s won their third game in a row behind Sean Manaea’s outstanding performance Thursday night in Seattle. Manaea broke a four-game personal losing streak as he held the Mariners to one run and three hits in seven innings of work. Manaea improved to 7-6 for the season. Sergio Romo set the M’s down in order in the eighth, and Lou Trivino closed out the ninth for his sixteenth save.

The Mariners’ starter, Chris Flexen, held the A’s to just one hit and no runs in the game’s first four innings. The A’s drew first blood in the top of the fifth. With two outs, A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus singled to start the rally. With Mark Canha at the plate, Andrus stole second. He went to third on Canha’s infield single. The next hitter, Ramon Laureano, lined a shot off Flexen’s leg to drive in Andrus with the A’s first run. 

The A’s added another run in the top of the sixth. With one out, Mitch Moreland doubled. A’s catcher, Sean Murphy, followed with a double to left to drive in Moreland. The A’s led 2-0 midway through the sixth. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Seattle’s catcher, Tom Murphy, led off the inning with a solo blast to left. Manaea settled down and retired the next three batters.

In the top of the eighth, the A’s put two more runs on the board. Singles by Matt Chapman and Seth Brown put men on at first and second with no out. Elvis Andrus executed a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Mark Canha walked to load the bases.

Ramon Laureano hit a soft line drive over the Mariners’ shortstop J.P. Crawford to drive in Chapman. Matt Olson drove in Brown with a sacrifice fly to right field. The A’s led 4-1. Sergio Romo was now pitching for Oakland. As mentioned above, he set the M’s down in order. Lou Trivino got the last three out of the game to earn his 16th save of the year. The A’s win 4-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 56-42 for the year. They trail the Houston Astros by two and 1/2 games in the race for the AL West crown. The Mariners fall to 51-46.

The A’s line was four runs, eleven hits, and no errors. The M’s stats were one run, four hits, and no errors.

Sean Manaea struck out 13 Mariner hitters for a new career-high. Mark Canha hat a single, double, and two walks as he reached base four times. Ramon Laureano and Sean Murphy each had two hits Thursday night.

The A’s will send Frankie Montas to the hill Friday night. The Mariners will counter with lefty Yusei Kikuchi. The game will start at 7:10 pm.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s hope to chase down Astros as they open 10 game roadie tonight in Seattle

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Oakland A’s third baseman Jacob Wilson gets his first big league hit at age 31 on Tue Jul 20, 2021 against the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum. Wilson and his teammates hope to get more hits on Thu Jul 22, 2021 in Seattle at T Mobile Field (photo from San Francisco Chronicle)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Oakland A’s start out this road trip in Seattle tonight at T Mobile Field in Seattle the first of ten road games and the first of a four game series.

#2 This is a crucial series the A’s need to gain ground on first place Houston as their 3.5 games back and are hoping to do a little better than .500 on the trip.

#3 The A’s and Mariners have both won their last two games and have won six of their last ten games

#4 Jerry talk a little bit about A’s pitcher James Kaprielian who had thrown six shutout innings giving up only five hits against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday afternoon. Kaprielian pitched well enough to complete the game if it wasn’t for the pitch count he threw 100 pitches.

#5 The A’s will send lefty Sean Manaea to the hill Thursday night. Manaea is 6-6 with an ERA of 3.28. Righty Chris Flexon, 9-3 ERA 3.35, will go for Seattle.

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

Ninth-inning rally lifts Giants past Dodgers 4-2

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San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores connects for a ninth inning two run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wed Jul 21, 2021 at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

The San Francisco Giants nearly had company atop the National League West, until a ninth-inning rally off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen extended their long stay on top of the heap.The Giants won 4-2, maintaining their 2-game lead over Los Angeles. A sellout crowd of 52,076 was on hand at Dodger Stadium.

With San Francisco trailing 2-1 going into the top of the ninth inning, Buster Posey led off with a pinch-single. Wilmer Flores followed with a two-run home run to left off Jansen.

Jansen struck out Mike Yastrzemski, but Darin Ruf doubled and walks to Donovan Solano and Thairo Estrada loaded the bases with one out. Jansen was booed off the mound as left-hander Victor Gonzales came on. Gonzales fanned Lamonte Wade Jr., but walked Curt Casali for the fourth San Francisco run. Yastrzemski opened the scoring with a first-inning solo home run, his 16th.

Jose Alvarez (3-1) was the winning pitcher in relief, throwing a perfect eighth. Tyler Rogers recorded his 11th save, and Jansen (1-3) was tagged with the loss.

The Giants and Dodgers wrap up their series on Thursday night at Chavez Ravine. Anthony DeSciafani (10-4, 2.78) starts for San Francisco, facing the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler (10-1, 2.37)

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Why the Athletics should trade for Nelson Cruz

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The Minnesota Twins Miguel Sano (center without cap) hugs and congratulates teammate Nelson Cruz (with batting helmet on) after Cruz hit a two run home run against New York Yankee pitcher Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thu Jun 10, 2021 at Target Field in Minneapolis can the Oakland A’s swing a deal before the trade deadline to bring Cruz to Oakland? (AP file photo)

Why the Athletics should trade for Nelson Cruz

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Minnesota Twins are one of the biggest underachievers this season, on their way to one of their worse seasons in recent memory. They will be sellers for sure and DH Nelson Cruz could be a very good strategic pick-up for the A’s. The Minnesota Twins last season had an identical record to the Oakland A’S 36-24. The Twins won the Central Division and the Athletics won the West.

After beating the Angels 6-0 Monday, the Athletics are enjoying a couple of days off before they re-start their engines Thursday at T Mobile Field in Seattle for the first of four-games in Rain City and the beginning of a long 10-game road-trip. Their next game at home is a couple of weeks away, on August 3 against the San Diego Padres.

Their offense has not been clicking in all cylinders and they could use Cruz’s potent bat, for the last two months and weeks. The DH spot this season for the A’s has a combined .226 average and not the power the A’s envisioned this season. Only Texas and Detroit among all American League teams have less productivity from the designated hitter slot in the lineup.

There might still be a chance that Nelson Cruz ends the season with the Twins, but that seems to be a very slim possibility. Cruz and the glove have not been acquainted much in the last few years. He is the quintessential veteran DH with that power that if inserted in the middle of this Athletics lineup could be a serious power injection to their offense.

Nelson Cruz is hitting .295 with 19 home runs and 49 runs batted-in during his first 84 games with the Minnesota Twins. Those numbers (if he came to Oakland) will make him second in home runs and runs batted only to Matt Olson. Cruz can still hit, is healthy and towards the end of his great career and seems to have something left in the tank.

During a 17 year career in the major leagues, Dominican slugger Nelson Cruz is hitting a combined .279 with 436 home runs and 1,201 runs-batted-in. The A’s are in a good position to either win the division again or advance as a wild card, the trade deadline is 10 days away. The A’s always can pull the trigger at this time in the season when they have a chance and they do. Do not be surprised Nelson Cruz wears the Green and Gold very soon.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s Spanish flagship station 1010 KIQI LeGrande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Preview of A’s four-game series in Seattle with Mariners starts Thursday night

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Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea shown here throwing against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Minute Maid Field on Wed Jul 7, 2021will be the starting pitcher of record tonight against the Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are en route to Seattle to start a four-game series against the Mariners starting Thursday night. The A’s, 55-42 for the season and 6-4 in their last ten games, are in second place in the AL West, trailing the Houston Astros by three and 1/2 games. The Mariners are in third place with a record of 41-44 and are three games behind the A’s in the race for the second AL Wild Card.

The A’s have played the M’s six times so far this year. The teams have each won three games. The teams last met on June 4th, and the A’s won the contest 9-5 that day.

The A’s will send lefty Sean Manaea to the hill Thursday night. Manaea is 6-6 with an ERA of 3.28. Righty Chris Flexon, 9-3 ERA 3.35, will go for Seattle. Frankie Montas, 8-8 era 4.33, goes for Oakland on Friday. Seattle will counter with lefty Yusei Kikuchi.

His record is 6-5, ERA 3.92. The A’s will have Chris Bassitt going on Saturday against the M’s Logan Gilbert. Bassitt is 10-3 with a 3.31 ERA. Gilbert is 4-2 and has a 3.5 ERA. On Sunday, lefty Cole Irvin goes for Oakland. Irvin is 7-8 with a 3.42 ERA. Lefty Marco Gonzalez goes for Seattle. Gonzalez is 1-5 for the year. The M’s are hoping Gonzalez regains his form and can handle the A’s.

The A’s have been struggling at the plate this year. As a team, they are hitting .233. They have a team on-base percentage of .311 and an OPS of .716. The M’s team batting average is .219. Their on-base percentage is. 295. They have a team OPS of .712.

The A’s swept the last two games played against the LA Angels. The A’s welcomed back leadoff hitter, Mark Canha, from the 10-day IL. A’s Designated Hitter Mitch Moreland also returned to action from a stint on the IL. Moreland has not been as productive as the A’s had hoped. Rumors are swirling that the As’ are looking to trade for the 41-year -old slugger Nelson Cruz, currently with the Minnesota Twins. .

The Mariners, despite their lowly team batting average, have been winning. They have a solid starting rotation. Their closer is former A’s starter, Kendall Graveman. Graveman is 2-0 and has a sparkling 0.90 ERA. He has recorded nine saves so far. Rafael Montero and Kenyon Middleton have 11 saves between them, closing out games for Seattle.

The M’s Mitch Haniger will be in the lineup for the series. Haniger has been productive against Oakland in the years he has been with Seattle. Haniger is hitting .265 with 22 homers and 58 RBIs. Other players to keep an eye on are first baseman Ty France, third baseman Kyle Seager, shortstop J.P.Crawford, and catcher Tom Murphy.

The A’s have played 97 games so far this year. They had a rough stretch where they went 9-15 and fell out of first place in the West. They need to have everyone contribute if they hope to gain ground on the Astros. The starting rotation has been good all year.

Lou Trivino has found a home as the A’s closer. Yusmeiro Petit has been solid all year. A’s first baseman Matt Olson leads the team with 25 home runs. The A’s need Moreland and other players to step up to keep opposing pitchers from pitching around Olson.

The A’s do not want to make the playoffs as a Wild Card. They would be the road team if the playoffs were to start today. They have not fared well in the past in that position. The trade deadline is nine days away. Will they make a deal for Nelson Cruz? Will they trade for Joey Gallo? Will they make a deal to strengthen the bullpen? The A’s have made deals in the past at the trade deadline. I suspect they will be active before the deadline passes on July 30th.

Smith walks it off for Dodgers 8-6

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Los Angeles Dodger Will Smith (16) reaches home to the entire Dodgers bench to greet him after hitting a three run in the bottom of the ninth inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles against the San Francisco Giants on Tue Jul 20, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

Will Smith came off the bench to pinch-hit for former San Francisco Giants reliever Jimmy Sherfy, and he ended it with one swing of the bat.

Smith hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers to a come-from-behind 8-6 victory over the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

Tyler Rogers came onto get the save for former Dodgers starter Alex Wood, but Rogers walked both Chris Taylor and Matt Beaty and then Smith ended it with one swing of the bat.

The Dodgers took an early 1-0 lead, as nemesis Max Muncy singled off of Wood in the bottom of the first inning to score Taylor.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the lead would not last long, as Alex Dickerson hit a two-run home run in the top of the second inning to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

It was the ninth home run of the season for Dickerson, and then an inning later, LaMonte Wade, Jr., also hit his ninth home run to extend the Giants lead up to 3-1.

Thairo Estrada hit a solo home run and then Mike Yastrzemski added a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning, as the Giants broke the game wide open after they took a 6-1 and it looked Like the Giants were on their way to another victory and extending their lead in the National League West up to three games.

Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tell the reigning World Champions that the game was lost, as Taylor hit the first of his two home runs that cut the Dodgers deficit down to 6-2 against their longtime rivals.

Austin Barnes then cut the Giants in half in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he doubled to left field that scored the speedy Cody Bellinger.

Taylor hit a two-run home run later in the inning that got the Dodgers within one run, and that was the score when Smith hit his walk-off home run that gave the Dodgers a dramatic win over the leaders in the NL West.

Wood, who was in line for the win, as he went the required five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out seven ended up with a no-decision.

John Brebbia gave up a two-run home run to Taylor, as he went 0.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, walking zero and striking out two.

The duo of Jarlin Garcia and Jake McGee pitched a combined 2.1 innings, allowing a hit and a striking out and held the lead for Rogers, who walked two and then gave up the game-winning three-run homer to Smith and the series was even after two games with two to go.

Darien Nunez started for the Dodgers, and lasted just two innings, allowing two runs on two hits, walking one and striking out two before giving way to Josiah Gray.

In his major-league debut, Gray pitched four strong innings, allowing four runs on four hits, walking one and striking out seven.

Garrett Cleavinger and Joe Kelly got the Dodgers thru the seventh and eighth innings unscathed, as they struck out three before Dave Roberts gave the ball to Sherfy, who struck out two in the top of the ninth and picked up his second win of the season when Smith launched that three-run home run into the Los Angeles night that gave the reigning World Champions a huge victory.

NOTES: With three more home runs on the night, the Giants have now hit 141 home runs on the season, tying them with the Toronto Blue Jays for the most home runs in the major leagues.

When the Giants and the Dodgers each went back-to-back in the top of the first inning on Monday night, it was the first time in the history of the rivalry that both went back-to-back in the first inning. According to STATS, LLC, it is only the second time in major league history that two teams hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, and the last time it happened was on July 29, 2004, when the Oakland As and the Texas Rangers accomplished the feat at the Ballpark in Arlington.

UP NEXT: Logan Webb looks for his fifth win of the season on Wednesday night, as Julio Urias goes for his 13th win of the season for the Dodgers.

Dealbreaker on Howard Terminal ballpark: A’s looked for two infrastructure projects Oakland Council gave them only one

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Oakland A’s owner John Fisher and team president David Kaval behind the Oakland A’s dugout in undated photo have turned down the Oakland City Council’s offer after they voted yes on Tue Jul 20, 2021 (file photo from Athletics Nation)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Oakland City Council held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the A’s Howard Terminal Development Proposal. The meeting took place at 9 AM local time over zoom.

Tensions were high heading into the meeting on Tuesday. The climate over the development project has been hot since Major Lague Baseball and the Oakland A’s essentially delivered an ultimatum to the city. The ultimatum was essentially, “approve our Howard Terminal ballpark plans or we are leaving town.”

MLB has stated they do not beleive the current site to be viable for the future of the MLB product. This obviously leaves the A’s with little choice but to pursue a more updated model of a downtown ballpark with other amenities.

On Tuesday after the community input section of the meeting, Councilmember Fife asked A’s President Dave Kaval a very direct question to the tune of, “If the current city proposal isn’t in consideration from the A’s what are we doing here?”

The response from Kaval drew mixed responses after the meeting. The A’s appeared very set that the council either vote on the A’s proposal or the A’s were not interested in hearing what they had to say. The council did not do so. Instead, after hours of community input and conversation with the council they decided to vote on the term sheet the city had released on the prior Friday.

One key difference between the two are the number of IFD’s (Infrastructure Financing Districts). The A’s want two in order to pay for the project while the city of Oakland only wants one. The city did appear to make the concesison of adding a BID (Business Improvement District).

However, the A’s did not appear to want to play ball at all with the city on this issue. One concession the city did seem to make is that the A’s would not have to pay for off-site infrastructure. It appears the city is willing to reimburse the A’s through taxes of these costs or at a minimum subsidise them.

The Council voted in a 6-1-1 decision to approve the preliminary term sheet the city put together. All members voted in favor excpet Councilmember Carroll Fife abstained and Councilmember Noel Gallo voted against the project. However, it will prove mute if the A’s refuse to return to the negotiating table on the approved term sheet and not the one the A’s put fourth.

The meeting did not end on an overly optimistic tone as it appears the A’s will not return to the negotiating table. Only the next few days if the A’s are headed out of town or if they are willing to try and get a deal done with the city that involves some compromise.

A’s Kaprielian, bullpen blank Halos on 7 hitter 6-0

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Oakland A’s closer Deolis Guerra gets congratulations from catcher Sean Murphy after closing the door on the Los Angeles Angels at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue Jul 20, 2021 (AP News photo)

LA Angels 0 – 7 – 0

Oakland 6 – 8 – 1

By Lewis Rubman

Tuesday, July 20 2021

OAKLAND–It was a lovely day for a slugfest. With a temperature of 66 and rising at game time under a bright, cloudless sky, we could expect a shower of long balls and high flies lost in the sun. What we got was a tight pitching duel for two thirds of the game, followed by a one sided offensive outburst that gave the home team a 6-0 victory.

José Suárez (4-2 ERA 2.29), the 23 year old Angels lefty best known for his effective change up, kept the A’s off the basepaths for the first 3-2/3 innings he pitched, until Matt Olson unloaded on an 80 mph hanging curve for a 356 foot homer to right, his 12th circuit clout of the season.

Suárez gave up a single to Laureano in the fifth but that was all the offense Oakland could muster until they began to play little ball in the sixth. Jacob Wilson, the Athletics’ 30 year old rookie who had nothing to show for his first four major league at bats, got his first hit in the bigs with a lead off single to center.

Tony Kemp promptly pinch ran for him. Suárez then hit Canha with a pitch, SOP for the Athletics´left fielder. Then Andrus dropped a sacrifce bunt in front of the mound, moving Kemp and Canha up a base.

LA elected to walk Olson to fill the bases, which brought Lowrie to the plate. His sac fly to right scored Kemp and streched Oakland´s lead to two runs. Laureano opened up the game with a two run double to left. Mike Mayers relieved Suárez and struck out Chapman.

Suárez had been almost impregnable but ended up with a line of 5-2/3 innings pitched, four earned runs allowed on three hits, including one round tripper, a walk, which was conceeded, and a hit batter. He threw 73 pitches; 49 counted as strikes

The floodgates opened when Junior Guerra was pitching to the rejuvenated A’s in the seventh. He retired Murphy and Piscotty, but back to back singles by Kemp, Canha, Andrus, and Olson brought in the first two and earned an RBI each for the second pair. Guerra then got Lowrie to ground out to second to end the inning.

Before Dylan Bundy could throw a pitch to inaugurate the bottom of the eighth, home plate umpire Bill Miller gave Angels manager Joe Maddon the heave-ho. Bundy retired the A’s in order

Meanwhile, James Kaprielian (4-3, 2.90), without approaching Suárez´s early near perfection, held the visitors scoreless for six frames, striking out the fearsome Shoei Ohtani twice in the process. Kaprielian held the Halos to five hits and two walks. He threw 100 pitches.

37 were balls. Sergio Romo took over in the seventh and also held the visitors scoreless, but, since he had only one chance to strike out Ohtani, had to settle for that. Sam Moll pitched a scoreless eighth, giving way to Deolis Guerra, who set the Angels down in order in the ninth.

The Athletics now go on a ten game, three city trip to Seattle starting Thursday, then move onto San Diego, and Anaheim they will have Wednesday off. Their next game at the Coliseum will be at 6:40 on August 3, an inter-league contest against the San Diego Padres.