Category: MLB

The Oakland A’s Ramon Laureano gets an RBI single to send the A’s home in the bottom of the ninth knocking in the winning run against the Houston Astros on Wednesday night at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)

Houston 2 4 0

Oakland 3 5 0

Wed September 9, 2020

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–During the Dodgers last three seasons in Brooklyn, they had a young left handed pitcher who hadn’t played even one inning of professional baseball before signing with, and playing for, the big team.

They had to keep him a year; those were the days of the bonus baby rule, under which a signing bonus of over $4,000 came with the additional cost of a year-long place on the 25 man roster. The kid was fast and wild, but raw.

He excited fans whenever he pitched, especially contests like the Mayor’s Trophy game against the Yankees. He ended up in the Hall of Fame. You’ve guessed it; he was Sandy Koufax.

Jesús Lozano generates that kind of excitement. Of course, he comes with some minor league experience, and his has more command and control than the adolescent southpaw from Lafayette HS and Nathan’s Hot Dog amateur team.

And no one of Lozano’s age (he’ll be 23 this month) has a lock on a plaque at Cooperstown, but, if he can stay healthy, the Peruvian born, Venezuelan raised, and US educated lefty looks to have a bright future. That’s an unportant if.

The A’s already have shut down their other promising novice hurler, AJ Puk, for the rest of the season. Their main current concern about Luzardo, whose progress already has been interrupted several times by injuries, is to build up his stamina to the point that he can be counted on for seven strong innings.

Facing him on the mound tonight for Houston was another 23 year old wunderkind, rookie right hander Luis García, making his first big league start. In his brief minor league career, García pitched in 54 games, 32 as a starter.

Garcia went 18-7 ERA 2.50 in them. The highest level at which he appeared before throwing four and a third innings of relief for Huston earlier this season was in high A ball. In that game he gave up only one hit, a solo home run, walked three and struck out two. He throws mainly fast balls, but has an effective slider for a strikeout pitch and also features effective curveballs and change-ups.

One of Luzardo’s most noteable traits is his poise. He showed it in the opening inning when, later George Springer deposited the lefty´s third pitch over the center field fence, 410 feet from home, the youngster bounced back from a 3-0 count to Alednys Díaz to strike him out and retire Huston’s number three and four bats, Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel, to stop the bleeding before the blood had begun to flow.

The two prospects traded goose eggs for the next five innings until Yuli Gurriel jumped all over a Luzardo curve with two down in the sixth and sent it 405 feet into the stands in left center field.

García pitched superbly, but he didn’t come out to face the A’s after Gurriel’s blast. The youngster had allowed but one hit, a fourth inning single to right center by Matt Olson, and two walks to go with his four strike outs. He threw 86 pitches, only 36 of which were balls. When Dusty Baker replaced him with Andre Scrubb to start the sixth, García was in line for his first big league win. He didn’t get it.

Cionel Pérez, Houston’s second reliever of the night, walked Machín with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Out went Pérez; in came Josh James, who walked Sean Murphy but got Tony Kemp to foul out to third. Then, with two down, Tommy La Stella doubled to left to tie it up at two.

When Joakim Soria replaced Luzardo to pitch the Houston eighth he had struck out seven Astros, allowed two runs, each on a solo homer, given up four hits and a walk, and thrown exactly 100 pitches, only 40 of them balls.

Soria retired the side in order in the eighth, and Liam Hendricks repeated the trick the following inning.

The Astros, like the A’s, sent their closer into pitch the ninth frame of this time game, but Ryan Pressly wasn’t up to the task. He walked Murphy and hit Kemp with a pitch. Tommy La Stella forced Kemp out at second while Stephen Piscotty, running for Murphy, advanced to third. He was thrown out at home on Semien’s grounder to short.

That brought Laureano to the plate with runners on first and second and two down. He lashed a drive to left center that would have gone for extra bases, but since it drove in the winning run, counted for only a single. Once more, the walk off A’s emerged on top.

Liam Hendricks got the win. His record stands at 3-0,  ERA 1.40. The loss went to Pressly, who’s now 1-2, ERA 4.11.

They’ll face Houston at 12:40 tomorrow afternoon. The pitching match up will be José Urquidy (0-0, ERA 4.91) versus Sean Manaea (3-2, ERA 5.09)

A footnote on playing it by the numbers: Today was Roberto Clemente Day in the MLB. Houston shortstop Carlos Correa, who usually sports number 1, their catcher, Martín Maldonda (#15), and A’s third baseman, Vilmael Machín (#39) honored their fellow Puerto Rican by wearing number 21.

The Houston Astros avoided a sweep of Tuesday’s doubleheader and a sweep of the series with a one run 5-4 win over the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum. Both teams have two more games left in the series Wednesday and Thursday. (@astros image)

Houston 5 6 0

Oakland 4 8 1

Seven innings (second game)

Tue Sep 8, 2020

A’s home team

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Neither of the starting pitchers in tonight’s set to brought an enviable record for 2020 to the mound with him. Chase de Jong, Houston’s right handed hurler had pitched a mere two-thirds of an inning this year and managed to give up two earned runs that period.

That’s a pretty small sample size but a pretty ugly sample. For the first two frames, it looked like a misleading sample. De Jong looked sharp and struck out three of the seven A’s he faced. But in the third, he lost his touch. Vimael Machín led off with a solid single to left center and advanced to third on Tony La Stella’s one out single to center.

Three pitches later, Machín cossed the plate on Tony Kemp’s sac fly to right. Matt Olson’s 11th homer of the year drove in both baserunners and gave Oakland a 4-0 lead. De Jong stumbled through the next two batters to end the inning, his last.

Mike Minor’s numbers were not preposessing either. He had gone 0-5, 5.60 for Texas and entered the game 0-0, 18.00 for the A’s. He, too, started the game well, breezing through his first three innings, giving up only one hit, a single, and a walk. But he surrendered singles to Myleas Straw and Michael Brantley to open the fourth. He got Yuli Gurriel out on a fly to center, but Laureano caught it at the wall.

Minor then walked Kyle Tucker and hit Carlos Correa to load them bases. That ended his hard day’s night. Yusmeiro Petit got the second out when Aledmys Díaz lined out to center. But the usually reliable Petit walked Abraham Toro and Dustin Garneau, bringing in two runs that were charged to Minor, as was the tying run, which Correa scored on George Springer’s infielde single Petit finallly got the third out when Straw skied to center..

The A’s threatened in the sixth when, with two down, they loaded the bases on a walk to Canha, a single by Machín, who went three for three, with a double, and another walk to Jonah Heim, But La Stella’s fly to left ended that.

JB Wendelken was on the mound in the top of the seventh when Pinder, playing third, and Machín, at short, got in each other’s way on a ground ball from the bat of Springer. It was charged as an error to Machín. An infield single, a walk, and Gurriel’s sac fly to center was all the ‘stros needed to push the winning run across, thus earning a split in the day-night double header.

The winners used four pitchers in addition to De Jong, ex-Athletic Brad Peacock, Brooks Raley, Enoli Paredes, who got the win, and Ryan Pressly, who was credited with his eighth save. Paredes now is 2-2, 3.45.

The A’s also used five hurlers, Minor, Petit, TJ McFarland, Lou Trivino, and Wendelken, who took the loss in spite of having turned in the best performance of the quintet.

The two teams will face each other again tomorrow, Roberto Clemente Day, at 6:10. The probable starters are Jesús Luzardo (2-2,4.23) for Oakland and Luis García for Houston.

The Oakland A’s Khris Davis swings for an RBI double in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News Photo)

Oakland 4 8 0

Houston 2 7 0

Astros home team

Seven Innings (First Game)

September 8, 2020

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Perhaps the most consequential development arising from the opening game of this afternoon’s double header between the battered division leading Oakland Athletics (24-14 at game time) and their closest competitor in the AL West, the Houston Astros (21-20), was the return of Marcus Semien to the A’s lineup after 10 days on the injured list.

He started the first game, playing short and batting second. Actually, he batted second and then played short because that game was a make up for the one postponed in Houston on August 30, so Oakland played the afternoon contest at the Coliseum as the visitors. Nonetheless, the team wore its home whites.

MLB’s pandemic protocols also mandate that twin bills be seven inning affairs and allow the teams participating in them to add an extra player to their rosters for the occasion. The A’s chose James Kaprielian, who they’d acquired three years ago as part of the Sonny Gray trade with the Yankees

The. Astros also were able to reactivate an outstanding infielder. Alex Bregman came off the IL to play third and, like Semien, bat second. Both teams still are without the services of one other outstanding infielder. José Altuve still is on Houston’s injured list, and Matt Chapman, while in uniform, wasn’t on the field.

The mighty Zach Greinke (3-0, 2.91) kept the A’s off balance with his assortment of hesitation offerings for the first two innings. Then Khris Davis unloaded on a 90 mph four seamer for a lead off home run to right center field that put the Athletics up, 1-0. It was the struggling slugger’s second round tripper of the season.

Chad Pinder followed up on Davis’s blast with a hard single to the left side of the infield that neither Bregman nor Carlos Correa could handle. After Sean Murphy struck out and Tommy La Stella walked, the A’s second baseman advanced to second on a ground out by Semien and scored on Ramón Laureano’s single to left.

Montás wasn’t dominating, but he was effective. He allowed at least one hit in each of the five innings he pitched, but he always shut the door on the ‘stros until he finally wavered in the fifth. He struck out Jack Mayfield to open frame but then allowed a single to left by George Springer.

The A’s starter almost escaped this time,too, but Michael Brantley, who had doubled down. the right field line in the second and sliced another to left in the third, knocked a 96mph fast ball over the fence in right to knot the score at two,

The A’s came roaring back against Greinke in the sixth. Laureano doubled to right and advanced to second on Olson’s ground out to second. Robbie Grossman’s dying quail to center fell in for a hit,and the A’s were back on top, 3-2.

After Mark Canha flew out to left, Davis came through again, this time with an RBI double to right center. The A’s almost added to their lead in the top of the seventh against Humberto Castellanos, but a sparkling pick up of and throw home by Carlos Correa cut Murphy down at plate.

Montás evened his record a 3-3 and lowered his ERA to 5.73 with five innings of six hit ball. He walked one and struck out three. His pitch count was 79 with 50 strikes. Jake Diekman pitched an inning of hitless relief, and Liam Hendricks earned his eleventh save with a one hit ninth.

Greinke was charged with his first loss of the season and now is 3-1, 3.27.

Game two will start at 6:10. Chase De Jong will go for Houston, and Mark Minor will have his first start for the A’s.