Category: MLB

Quick recovery after getting hit with a piece of a splintered bat the New York Yankees Gio Urshela hit a eighth inning go ahead home run off Oakland A’s pitcher Jesus Luzardo at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sat Jun 20, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

NEW YORK–The Oakland A’s had their seven-game winning streak – the longest active in the league – snapped on Saturday afternoon by a relentless New York Yankees team that won 7-5 at Yankee Stadium. Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela in the second inning swung at a pitch that splintered his bat and Urshela said a piece of the bat bounced off his eye and didn’t stick, “I saw just the piece of wood come into my eye.” said Urshela “I didn’t even see the ball and where I was running. Just my eye, started to feel like a little pain. Thank God (I was OK).”

A’s right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt held the Yankees to two runs in six innings and had five strikeouts. Urshela hit a two-out RBI single off Bassitt and Gary Sanchez hit a homer.

Tony Kemp, a star of Friday’s 5-3 A’s victory, hit a home run on a fly ball to right center field in the first inning to put the A’s up 1-0. Matt Chapman hit a homer on a fly ball to center field in the fourth inning to extend Oakland’s lead to 2-0. But Urshela singled on a sharp line drive to center field and allowed Aaron Judge to score, cutting Oakland’s lead to 2-1.

In the fifth inning, Matt Olson singled on a sharp ground ball to center field and Elvis Andrus and Mark Canha scored to boost the A’s to 4-1.

But the Yankees rallied starting in the sixth inning, with a homer by Gary Sanchez that cut the A’s lead to 4-2. In the seventh inning, Judge singled on a sharp line drive to Canha and Clint Frazier scored, narrowing Oakland’s lead to 4-3. Giancarlo Stanton singled on a ground ball to right field and Judge scored, tying the game at 4-4.

In the eighth inning, Urshela hit a home run on a fly ball to center field to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. LeMahieu singled on a line drive to left field and Tyler Wade and Clint Frazier scored, lifting New York to 7-4.

Oakland’s Ramon Laureano in the ninth inning singled on a ground ball to right field and Canha scored to cut New York’s lead to 7-5, but it was too little too late.

Oakland’s bullpen was unable to hold on to their late lead. Right-handed pitcher Burch Smith allowed one run and left in the seventh inning with two outs and a runner. Right-handed pitcher Yusmeiro Petit filled in but LeMahieu struck a single off him.

A’s manager Bob Melvin said that he used the relievers who were available and was going to use Petit in the lineup.

The A’s lost for only the third time in 16 games this month. They dropped to 34-3 when holding the lead after seven innings.

Saturday’s attendance was 23,985, slightly lower than Friday night which was the first time that coronavirus attendance limitations were lifted at Yankee Stadium.

First pitch for the third and final game in the split series is Sunday at 10:05 a.m.

The Oakland A’s Tony Kemp (5) looks heavenward as the A’s line up for the conga congratulations line behind Kemp after defeating the New York Yankees at Yankees Stadium New York (AP News photo)

Post game Oakland A’s commentary: Oakland Celebrates Seventh Win In A Row

By Barbara Mason

With Game One in the books it is on to Game Two of this series.  The A’s continue to breathe fire and the Yankees continue with the ups and downs they have suffered this season.  Oakland continues to string together those hits and homeruns.  

While slugger Matt Olson had a home run in the first inning it was the bomb by Tony Kemp in the sixth inning with two runners on base that sealed the deal for Oakland.

 
In Game Two of this series the A’s will be lookingfor Chris Bassitt to bring home their eighth straightwin.  Bassitt has been having a great season witha record of 7-2 and an ERA of 3.43.  This guy hasbeen sensational allowing four runs or fewer in eachof his past twenty-five starts over the past two years.

This is the longest streak since Dave Hamilton’s streak in the 70’s.  He is really making some waves as Oakland continue to ride the wave.  

The Yankees will have Domingo German starting in Game Two.  He was having a great run of success until that came to an end at the hands of Philadelphia this past Sunday.   In this game he took his first loss since May 27 giving up seven runs on ten hits. He has a 6.05 ERA in four career starts against Oakland.

 Tomorrow the stands are again expected to be packed with full capacity allowed.  It has been agreat thing for not only in-person fans but also adds so much excitement for TV viewers.

 Nothing beats the sights and sounds of a live baseball game and with no masks required it is as normal as we have seen in several seasons.

The starting pitching certainly indicates an edge for the Green and Gold and possibly a second win for Oakland in this series.  Will the Oakland A’s win their eighth game in a row?   Tune in to Sports California for first pitch at 10:05.        

The Oakland A’s Ramon Laureano is back in the line up and look for him to make more of these exciting plays such as his over the fence fourth inning catch of the Los Angeles Angels Justin Upton at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jun 16, 2021 as Laureano and the A’s open a three game series in New York Fri Jun 18, 2021 (San Francisco Chronicle photo)

Athletics VS Yankees—The Series—Game One

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s are probably playing the best baseball that we have seen them play this entire season. They have now won six games in a row, the latest a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels who were red hot coming into the series. The A’s cooled off the Angels in all three games, in fact the Angels weren’t quite sure what hit them. Stringing together hits, home runs coupled with remarkable defensive play rendered the Angels relatively ineffective.

Now we have the long anticipated series between the Oakland A’s and the New York Yankees this weekend. Whether it is played in Oakland or in Yankee Stadium it is without doubt one of the most popular series played all season.

The good news for the A’s is that they are playing even better baseball on the road than they are playing at home. After Oakland’s last two series at home it’s really hard to imagine what that would look like. Right now every player on this team is playing at an extremely high level not only offensively but defensively. The pitching; starters, relief pitching and closers have been sensational.

This Friday night Yankee Stadium will be rocking with the park open at full capacity, which is 46,537, for the series. This will be the biggest house that the Oakland A’s have played in front of since 2019. Since 2013 Oakland has seen some nice results as it pertains to the win column for the A’s vs Yankee series. This is of course a new season and we will find out if history will repeat itself tomorrow night in Game One.

Oakland’s James Kaprielian will take the mound for Game One and for the Yankee’s it will be Jameson Taillon who will get the nod. Kaprielian has had a great start with a 2.51 ERA though his first six games. He has proven to be tough against right-handed batters. He has held them to a .131 batting average which could mean trouble for New York. New York’s Taillon has a 5.74 ERA with a 1-4 record coming into this game.

When it comes to team leaders, Oakland’s biggest threat is Matt Olson who comes into this game with18 home runs. His batting average is .297 and he has 49 runs batted in. The Yankees have a threat of their in Aaron Judge with a batting average of .282 and 15 homeruns. He has brought in 36 runs. New York will be leaning heavily on him.

This series is bound to be a dandy because you never know what to expect from New York. They have had their struggles from time to time this season but have nicely recovered from those setbacks. First pitch is scheduled at 4:05 PT.

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is needless to say not very happy with the direction the Yankees have gone and the team has not been to the World Series since 2009. The Yankees are seven games back in the AL East (photo from nj.com)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (43-27) are off on Thursday. On Friday, they will play three games against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. After New York, the A’s play four against the Texas Rangers and finish the trip with three against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

The Yankees are 35-32 and are in third place in the AL Eastern Division, seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. Many people, press and fans alike, expected the Yankees to be the beasts in the East. The fans know the Yanks have not been to the World Series since 2009.

The drought is killing them. The Yankees’ front office, managerial staff, and players are feeling the wrath of the fans. People are questioning the decisions made by general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, and owner Hal Steinbrenner. The Yankees are the most valuable franchise in all of the sports. They are a money machine, yet Hal Steinbrenner seems not to want to pay the luxury tax to get the players they need.

The pitching matchups are set for the series. The A’s will send James Kaprielian to the hill Friday night. Kaprielian would love nothing better than send the Yanks down to defeat. New York sent Kaprielian to Oakland when they acquired Sonny Gray from the A’s.

James’ record is 3-1, and he has an ERA of 2.15. He has been especially tough on right-handed hitters, holding them to a .131 batting average. Righty Jameson Taillon (1-4, ERA 5.74) will pitch for New York on Friday night. On Saturday, Chris Bassitt will go for the A’s.

Bassitt is 7-2, with an ERA of 3.43. Bassitt has allowed four runs or fewer in each of his last 35 starts the past two seasons. Domingo Herman will go for the Yanks. Herman is 3-3, ERA 3.88. Sunday’s game will be a battle of lefties. Sean Manaea goes for Oakland.

Manaea is 6-2, ERA 2.99. Sean has allowed one run or less in nine of his last 14 starts. He is 1-0 in two career starts at Yankee Stadium. The big lefty has not allowed a run in 12 innings of work. Jordan Montgomery will pitch for the Yanks. Montgomery is 3-1, ERA 4.20.

The feared injury jinx has hit the Yankees hard. Righty Corey Kluber, who threw a no-hitter earlier in the season, is now on the 60-day IL. Lefty Justin Wilson is on the 10-day IL. Slugger Luke Voit has been on the 10-day IL and is almost done rehabbing his injury.

Centerfielder Aaron Hicks is out for the season. The Yankees will use Chris Gittens at first base. D J LeMahieu’s first two seasons with New York were fantastic.

He has a career .303 batting average and a .781 OPS. His numbers are way down this year. He is batting .262 with four homers and 19 RBIs. LeMahieu will be at second base. Glyber Torres will be at shortstop. Torres is having a tough time adjusting to the position.

He is better suited to play second base. He is hitting .263 with three homers and 23 RBIs. Gio Urshela will be at third base. Urshela is hitting .261 with seven round-trippers and 27 RBIs. Rougned Odor, the former Texas Ranger, and Tyler Wade can fill in if needed.

With the Aaron Hicks injury, the outfield has been a problem for New York. The Yankees will use Miguel Andujar or Clint Frazier in left. Frazier, finally getting an opportunity to play regularly, has not performed well. His batting average is an anemic .188. He has five home runs and 12 RBIs. Brett Gardner, now 37-years old, moved from left to center.

Brett is hitting .215 with two home runs and eight RBIs. The big man in the Yankee offense is Aaron Judge. Judge, 2017 Rookie of the Year with 52 homers, will be in right field. Judge, from Linden, California, has a .282 batting average to go along with 15 homers and 35 Ribbies. His OPS is .894. Judge is finally healthy. He has missed a lot of time over the last three seasons due to injury.

Giancarlo Stanton will be the Yankees’ DH Stanton was the NL MVP in 2017. The big guy blasted 59 homers that year. He joined the Yankees as a free agent in 2018. In 158 games that year, Stanton homered 38 times. He was injured in 2019 and 2020. In 2019 he hit three and four in 2020. This year, he has stayed healthy. So far, he is hitting .260 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs.

Gary Sanchez will handle most of the catching chores for New York. Sanchez has received a lot of criticism for his defensive work as a catcher. The Yanks have been working with him to improve. They keep him in the lineup as he is a threat to go deep at any time. Kyle Higashioka is the backup catcher.

The Yankees are 4-6 in their last ten games. They have won the last two over the Toronto Blue Jays. The teams are playing the third game of the set Thursday night in Buffalo, the temporary home of the Blue Jays.

Oakland is hot right now. The A’s were 8-1 on the last homestand. They have won six in a row. Ramon Laureano returned from a stint on the 10-day IL and led the team to an 8-4 win over the LA Angels Wednesday in Oakland. Laureano robbed Justin Upton of a home run in the fourth inning. He then hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to get the A’s offense going. The A’s were trailing 4-0 when Laureano homered.

The A’s are hoping to continue playing well. Matt Chapman and Elvis Andrus appear to have snapped out of their early-season doldrums as they both come through with key hits. Mark Canha has been a steady presence all season long. Canha, in the leadoff spot, has shown a knack for getting on base.

He has a lot of pop in his bat, too. Matt Olson is leading the team in homers and RBIs. Other key contributors have been Laureano, Tony Kemp, Sean Murphy, Mitch Moreland, Seth Brown, and Stephen Piscotty. The A’s starting rotation has been solid, and the bullpen has come through many times this year.

Playing in New York has to be fun. The A’s want to do well to start the 10-game road trip. Let’s hope they win at least two of the three games.