Category: MLB

A’s will return to Bay Area as series with Seattle is postponed

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Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin pictured here on Feb 13th during spring training says that the worst thing to happen this season is to stop playing. After Thursday the A’s will have missed six out of eight scheduled games due to being postponed (photo from San Francisco Chronicle)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that the series between the A’s and the Mariners had been postponed. For the second day in a row, none of the A’s players or staff had tested positive for Covid-19. That is excellent news. MLB and the A’s are using an abundance of caution to allow for extra testing.

The A’s will now have to make up the five games and face the prospects of playing four doubleheaders this month. The A’s are 22-12 so far and have twenty-six games left to play. The A’s will host the Astros for four games starting September 7th.

It will become a five-game series when they play a doubleheader to make up for last Sunday’s postponement in Houston. After the Houston series, the A’s fly to Texas to play the Rangers. They will play a doubleheader on September 12th.

The A’s then fly to Seattle and will have another doubleheader with the Mariners on September 14th. The A’s have another doubleheader with the Mariners on September 26th. The season ends on the 27th. There is no question that Bob Melvin will have to be at his best preparing his starting rotation ready to face the challenges presented by the schedule.

The A’s have been quarantined in Houston since Sunday. The team will return to the Bay Area instead of traveling to Seattle. The team has not named the player or the staff member that has been infected. That person probably will stay in Houston until he is better.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s series in Seattle cancelled over Covid issues; Minor coming to A’s from Rangers in deal

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Pitcher Mike Minor is coming to the Oakland A’s in a deal from the Texas Rangers in exchange for two players to be named later (mlb.com file photo)

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Oakland A’s have now cancelled three of their last five games only playing a doubleheader last Saturday how far does these misses put the A’s behind the eight ball?

#2 The first two misses on Thursday and Friday the A’s cancelled due to the civil unrest of racial injustice in America pertaining to the shooting of Blake Jacob in Kenosha Wisconsin.

#3 The A’s missed their third game on Sunday when a member of the A’s traveling party in Houston was found to be positive for Coronavirus. A’s general manager David Forst said anything beyond today will not be speculated on. The A’s were scheduled to be in Seattle on Tuesday night but have been quarantined in their Houston hotel rooms as of Sunday.

#4 Tests taken after the discovery have been reported to be negative in the A’s traveling party as of Sunday. The A’s series in Seattle was cancelled and are expected to resume on Fri 4th at the Oakland Coliseum against San Diego.

#5 The A’s are buyers on Monday they dealt two players to be named later to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Mike Minor. Minor has struggled at 0-5 ERA 5.6o for this season. His last outing however he threw six shutout innings against one of the toughest lineups in baseball the LA Dodgers.

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

Giants stay pat at the trade deadline, zero in on the Rockies

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photo: San Francisco Giants general manager Farhan Zaidi was dealing on Monday as the Giants acquired left hand pitcher Anthony Banda from the Tampa Bay Rays 

By Morris Phillips

The Giants won a road series for the first time in 2020, no small feat when you consider the physical and mental challenges involved with travel during the pandemic, along with trying to turn around 93 mph splitters.

The team picked to finish last in the last in the NL West is now a game behind third-place Colorado, and has won nine of 12 games. Baseball-Reference is feeling the Giants as well, saying they’re the (slight) favorite to overtake the Rockies for the last playoff spot in the National League’s expanded field of eight teams.

So the August 31 trade deadline must have been eventful for a club looking for reinforcements for the stretch run. Right?

The answer: not really.

The Giants acquired pitcher Anthony Banda, who had been placed on irrevocable waivers by the Rays. Dereck Rodriguez, who was designated for assignment by the Giants, got picked up by the Tigers. Two transactions, no trades for the Giants.

The message undoubtedly is that the front office likes this group, despite its flaws and bullpen deficiencies. But the greater point is–and this goes for all 30 teams–the 2020 deadline is no place for significant, and costly, player movement given the uncertainty for the rest of the season, and beyond with no framework for a new collective bargaining agreement in place for 2021 and beyond.

But for now, this point rings true: the Giants like this group, and more so, they like the significant improvement in their farm system and were reluctant to part with any prized assets.

“You can tell there’s a lot of belief within the group about what we can accomplish here down the stretch,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said on Monday after the 1pm deadline passed.

The Giants are offensively competent for the first time in years. From Mike Yastrzemski and Donovan Solano, who have appeared at the top of the NL’s offensive categories throughout the first half of the season, to Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria and Alex Dickerson, the Giants have capable hitters throughout their lineup. At home, the group has averaged six runs per game, making Oracle Park seem hitter friendly maybe for the first time ever.

The pitching and defense have improved as the season has progressed, despite injuries to Jeff Samardzija and Drew Smyly, and the failure of Trevor Gott to seize the closer’s role.

Johnny Cueto has anchored the staff with a string of quality starts, including Sunday at Arizona where he allowed a run in 6 2/3 innings of work. Moving Cueto at the trade deadline never came to pass as teams passed on the hefty remainder of his contract.

The Giants biggest advantage however, maybe their remaining schedule. They remain one of the few teams that hasn’t experienced any disruptions to its schedule–excepting last week’s postponement in protest of Jacob Blake’s shooting. Their next two road contests loom as their biggest as the Giants visit Colorado for games on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon. Their last 10 contests all take place in the Bay Area: three at Oakland, followed by the final seven at Oracle Park.

The eight qualifiers for the playoffs will be the top two finishers in each division, plus the next two best records. Because no one is playing league games outside their division, and the interleague schedule hasn’t seen any teams compile a difference-making record, finishing third in the West is the goal for the Giants. The Dodgers and Padres appear to be too far in front, and the third place finisher in the West should qualify, while the fourth place finisher probably won’t qualify.

The Rockies upgraded at the trade deadline, ironically by acquiring Kevin Pillar from the Red Sox to give them greater flexibility in the outfield. Pillar revived his career with the Giants in 2019, only to not be offered a deal by the club for this season.

The Giants send Kevin Gausman to the mound on Tuesday to face Jon Gray. Logan Webb will pitch Wednesday versus Kyle Freeland.

 

A’s are dealing with a Covid-19 problem; Have now postponed three of their last five games

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Former Oakland Athletic Franklin Barreto will try to get his groove back as he works his way into the Los Angeles Angels line up after being traded to the Angels this week for Tommy LaStella (photo from Athletics Nation)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s had quite a few unusual events happenings the last few days in Texas. The A’s and Rangers postponed the game last Thursday to show support for the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, relating to the shooting of Jacob Blake.

The A’s traveled to Houston to face the Astros for a three-game series. The A’s and Astros are the two teams in the AL West fighting for the top spot. They did not play Friday night to show support for the protests in Kenosha.

The two teams played a double-header on Saturday. Under the new rules for 2020, each game was shortened to seven innings. Things did not go well for the Green and Gold as the Astros won both games and moved to within 2 1/2 games of the West’s top spot.

Also, Marcus Semien, the A’s seemingly indestructible shortstop, missed the second game with an injury. Semien had played in about 250 consecutive games. The damage is not too severe, and Marcus should be back in the lineup soon.

On Sunday, the team announced that someone in the A’s traveling party was tested positive for Covid-19. The team did not say if it was a player or a member of the staff. The game with Houston was postponed.

The A’s immediately were quarantined at the hotel in Houston. The team was not scheduled to play on Monday. No A’s have tested positive after the one positive test on Saturday. Individuals who have tested positive must test negative twice before rejoining the team per MLB protocol.

The team may continue isolating instead of traveling as scheduled because of its potentially long incubation period. The Tuesday and Wednesday games with the Mariners have been postponed.

In other news, the A’s made a trade with the Angels last week. The A’s acquired second baseman Tommy LaStella. LaStella, who hits from the left side, is 31 years-old. He was an All-Star last season and was hitting about .273 at the time of the trade.

LaStella is a pending free agent after the season. The A’s sent Franklin Barreto to the Angels. The 24-year old Barreto played well in Triple-A ball. His slash line was .285/.357/.505, with 53 home runs in 1285 plate appearances. However, he could not produce at the Major-League level. The Angels are hoping a change of scenery will work wonders for him.

The A’s made a trade with the Texas Rangers on Monday. They acquired left Mike Minor in exchange for two prospects. Minor has struggled this season. His record is 0-5 and has a 5.60 ERA. In his last start against the Dodgers, Minor went six innings and pitched well. The A’s are hoping that he can find his 2019 form.

MLB podcast with Larry Crino: A’s Covid case might force them to miss series in Seattle; Sox Pillar apologizes for words used in racial injustice protest; plus more

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(file photo from Boston Herald) Boston Red Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar seen here in July 19 photo at the Sox summer camp apologized for saying that taking Thursday off for racial injustice and teammate Jackie Bradley Jr was not as important as the playing the game.

MLB podcast with Larry Crino:

#1 The Oakland A’s cancelled their game with the Houston Astros Sunday due to a member of the team traveling party testing positive for Coronavirus. The A’s will isolate in their Houston hotel and they are scheduled to be in Seattle on Tuesday night to face the Mariners.

#2 The Boston Red Sox Kevin Pillar said that when the Red Sox voted not to play because of racial injustice and for shooting victim Jacob Blake he said regarding the team’s only African American player Jackie Bradley Jr on the team “Is it more important that we uplift Jackie because he’s the only one? My answer would be no.” Pillar received lots of criticism for the remarks on social media and later apologized for his choice of words and for and not supporting the social injustices that are taking place.

#3 Larry talk about how important it is for the San Diego Padres to have swung a deal with the Boston Red Sox getting Mitch Moreland in exchange for outfielder Jeisson Rosario and third baseman Hudson Potts. Also the Pads picked up pitcher Mike Clevinger from Cleveland in a nine player deal.

#4 Larry inspite of all the problems the Miami Marlins had with a Covid outbreak on the team which sidelined up to 16 players and two coaches the Marlins were really expected to go nowhere are currently two games out of first place and also had the help with call ups, free agents, and and rookies who took over and kept them in running during the outbreak.

#5 Larry talk about the season that Max Muncy is having he had four RBIs with a three run home run and helped lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Muncy is hitting only .198, 9 home runs, 20 RBIs but he can be clutch.

Larry does the MLB podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

A’s-Astros finale cancelled due to positive virus test

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By Morris Phillips

The finale of the A’s-Astros series at Minute Maid Park was cancelled when a member of the Oakland traveling party tested positive for the Coronavirus.

The A’s are quarantined in a Houston hotel where they will remain until Monday when the group will be subjected to a follow up round of tests to determine the full scope of the outbreak. The A’s were scheduled to fly to Seattle and resume their road trip against the Mariners on Tuesday.

Already on this road trip, the A’s have missed a game against the Rangers in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting, and cancelled a second contest that was scheduled for Friday night in Houston. That game was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Saturday, where both games shortened to seven innings went to the Astros.

No information was released linking the positive test to a player, coach or another, non-uniformed member of the A’s traveling party.

The Astros were last tested on Friday, with all of the results negative. The team conducted a round of tests Sunday morning, the results of which were not available at press time. The Astros are hopeful of resuming their schedule on Tuesday with a home series against the Rangers. The team announced that the clubhouse occupied by the A’s, and designated for the Rangers, will undergo a rigorous cleaning above normal protocols.

The A’s-Astros cancellation is the 38th of the pandemic-truncated 2020 season and the first to affect AL West or NL West clubs. Saturday marked the first time all 30 MLB teams had played on the same day since July 26. Five Oakland-Houston matchups remain with the Astros visiting the Coliseum next week, providing an opportunity to reschedule Sunday’s game.

The A’s are 22-12 on the season, and maintain a 2 1/2 game lead on the Astros.

Giants take 2 of 3 from Snakes in weekend set; SF gets 4-1 win from D-Backs

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San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford (right) gets the relay to second baseman Donavan Solano (left) for the force out the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, August 30, 2020

San Francisco claimed the rubber match of its three-game weekend series in Phoenix Sunday, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 earning its first road series win of the season. It was also the Giants’ ninth win in their last 12 games.

The Giants got a quality start from Johnny Cueto, who surrendered one run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings. Alex Dickerson hit a solo home run in the first inning and delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning off D-Backs reliever Archie Bradley after Arizona’s Stefan Crichton (2-2) allowed a pair of baserunners.

Evan Longoria, who has swung a hot bat all weekend, added a two-run base hit. Tyler Rogers (2-3) worked a perfect bottom of the eighth to earn the win.

Sam Coonrod turned in a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his first career save.

Offensive struggles continue to plague the Diamondbacks. Eduardo Escobar hit a solo home run that tied the game at 1-1 in the seventh, and starter Taylor Clarke allowed one hit in five innings, but Arizona mustered only three hits and has lost 10 of its last 11 games.

Checking the injured list, The Giants said that an MRI on Trevor Cahill’s left hip disclosed joint inflammation. Cahill will start anti-inflammatory medicine and be evaluated later this week. Meanwhile, left-hander Drew Smyly (finger), right-hander Jeff Samardzija (shoulder) and outfielder Austin Slater (groin) will reportedly check in at the Giants’ alternate training site to start rehab.

Former Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who has been on the shelf since Aug. 9 with back spasms, threw a simulated game on Saturday.

The Giants have Monday off, then start a series in Denver against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.

Headline Sports podcast with Daniel Dullum: Dumba and Kane expect NHL response on Blake shooting; Covid-19 outbreak cancels A’s-Astros on Sunday plus more

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(@theScore file photo) San Jose Sharks Evander Kane makes a statement looking for teeth and more action in the fight against racism and social injustice in America

Headline Sports podcast with Daniel:

1 Racial injustice not forgotten as NHL playoffs resume

2 Matt Dumba, Evander Kane call out NHL on its response to Jacob Blake shooting

3 A’s cancel contest with Astros on Sunday due to member of traveling party testing positive for Covid-19

4 NBA returns with tributes to Clifford Robinson, Lute Olson and Chadwick Boseman

5 Padres get serious, trade with Royals for closer Trevor Rosenthal

6 Mets GM apologizes for unfiltered criticism of Rob Manfred

Daniel does Headlines podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants pound Snakes pitching in 5-2 victory

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San Francisco Giant outfielder Mike Yastrzemski watches the flight of his RBI double in the second inning of Saturday night’s game at Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, August 29, 2020

San Francisco jumped to a four-run lead Saturday against Arizona, and the Giants rolled to a 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, Mauricio Dubòn, Brandon Belt and Alex Dickerson each had two hits, as the Giants outhit Arizona 13-3. Longoria doubled twice, and Mike Yastrzemski, Belt and Crawford each had a two-bagger.

Giants starter Trevor Cahill worked 3 1/3 innings before being pulled in favor of Jarlin Garcia (2-1). Sam Coonrod, Trevor Gott and Tony Watson each threw a scoreless inning, and Tyler Rogers did the same to earn his second save.

San Francisco did most of its offensive damage against D-Backs starter Luke Weaver (1-5), who surrendered four earned runs on eight hits in three innings.

Longoria put the Giants ahead in the first inning with an RBI double that drove in Alex Dickerson. Belt followed with a run-scoring double, plating Longoria, giving San Francisco a 2-0 lead.

In the Giants’ second, Yastrzemski’s double to right center drove in Dubòn. One inning later, Pablo Sandoval’s RBI single drove in Longoria.

Arizona’s Christian Walker belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, but Wilmer Flores provided the Giants with an insurance run in the top of the ninth with a solo home run, his eighth of the season.

San Francisco improved to 16-19, and the Diamondbacks slipped to 14-20. The rubber match is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Johnny Cueto (2-0, 5.40) starts for the Giants against the D-Backs’ Taylor Clarke (1-0, 2.33).

Oakland A’s game 2 wrap up: A’s Lose More Ground to Astros 6-3 in night cap; swept in doubleheader

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It’s been one of those days for the Oakland A’s as the A’s Mark Canha does a swipe slide but is tagged out by the Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado during the second inning of the first game on Sat Aug 29th’s doubleheader at Minute Maid Field in Houston (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s wasted no time getting on the board in Game 2 of their doubleheader against the Houston Astros. Facing Astro pitcher Zack Greinke Ramon Laureano hit a homer (382 feet) to take the early lead 1-0.

The Astros would now duel with the A’s pitcher Frankie Montas who has yet to reach the level he had been at previously, before his suspension. It has been a very big series for the Astros Kyle Tucker driving in three runs in the first inning and just like that the Astros led 3-1. It would be another big first inning for the Houston Astros and a disappointing start for Montas.

It didn’t get much better for Montas in the second inning when George Springer hit a home run scoring Martin Maldonado and extending their lead 5-1. It has been a struggle for Montas since the beginning of the season and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of the old Montas.

In the third inning we got to see Tommy La Stella’s first at bat since coming to Oakland from the Angels. He would pop fly out in his first showing. Zach Greinke was proving to be a very difficult pitcher to hit making it tough on the A’s offense.

Montas had a three up three down third inning and it was on to the fourth inning. Matt Chapman would hit his tenth home run in the fourth, another solo home run. Hits were few and far between for Oakland, trailing 5-2.

In the bottom of the fourth the A’s would make a pitching change sending J.B. Wendelken to the mound. The Astros would leave two runners on base when George Springer struck out. The A’s had three innings left in the games to try and comeback. Oakland had five hits so far in this game and Houston had seven.

In the fifth inning the A’s would chip away at the deficit. Machin would score when LaStella grounded out moving Laureano to third. Chapman would pop out leaving Laureano on third and the A’s still had a two run deficit and two innings left to do something about it. TJ McFarland would dismiss the Astros in the bottom of the fifth inning.

A double play would end the top of the sixth inning and the A’s were running out of innings. The seventh, eighth and ninth inning comebacks that the A’s are famous for have to happen in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings of these shortened games.

The offense has been very disappointing for awhile now and the team has become very inconsistent of late. Given the hitting prowess of the Astros the Athletics had their hands full and they needed to match the offense of Houston and they just were not.

In the bottom of the sixth Yuli Gurriel would sacrifice fly and Martin Maldonado would score giving the Astros a 6-3 lead. This really took away the possibility of an Oakland comeback.

Oakland couldn’t get a thing going in the seventh, a theme that ran throughout this game. It was very choppy with a few bright spots but this team just was not hitting. The Astros outhit the A’s 11 to 6.

Tomorrow: Oakland will play one more game against Houston. They need this game; they do not want to let the Astros get within one and half games especially since they will be seeing them at home in a little over a week for a four game series. They have to step up their offense and pitching has to improve especially with only 26 games left in the season.