Category: Oakland Athletics

A’s win a laugher 10-4 snap a four-game losing streak in San Diego

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Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea throws against the San Diego Padres line up in the first inning would up retiring the first 16 hitters and striking out nine on Wed Jul 28, 2021’s matinee at Petco Park in San Diego (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s turned the tables on the San Diego Padres Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park in San Diego. The A’s won a laugher 10-4 behind another outstanding performance by lefty Sean Manaea. Manaea retired the first sixteen Padre hitters he faced on Wednesday.

Jurickson Profar broke up the perfect game with a walk with one out in the sixth. Eric Hosmer, pinch-hitting for pitcher Craig Stammen, singled to break up the no-hitter. Manaea retired the next two hitters to finish his work for the day. He threw 90 pitches in his six innings of work. He struck out nine and allowed just one hit. 

How did the A’s win the game? The Padres sent former Cy Young award winner, lefty Blake Snell to the mound Wednesday afternoon. Snell entered the game with a 4-3 record. He was 3-0 at Petco Park.

Snell, however, could not get into a groove Wednesday afternoon. He walked A’s leadoff hitter, Mark Canha, to start the game. He retired Ramon Laureano for the first out. Canha moved to second on the play. Canha then stole third. Olson walked to put men on at first and third with one out.

Jed Lowrie drove in Canha with the A’s first run with a sacrifice fly. Snell walked Sean Murphy. It was the third walk of the inning. A’s third baseman, Matt Chapman, smoked a Snell pitch deep into left field. The ball hit off the facade of the second deck. The ball traveled 404 feet. The A’s led 4-0 midway through the first. They tallied four runs on just one hit.

Oakland made it 5-0 in the second. Elvis Andrus led off with a single. Sean Manaea laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to send Andrus to second. Mark Canha followed with a single to drive in Andrus.

The A’s were not done tormenting Blake Snell. Padres’ manager Jayce Tingler did not want to go to the bullpen. Snell had to take one for the team. In the fourth, three straight singles by Chapman, Stephen Piscotty, and Elvis Andrus put the A’s ahead 6-0. Canha Singled to drive in Piscotty with the A’s seventh run of the game.

The A’s added three more in the seventh. Matt Olson led off the frame with a double to left. With two out, Padres’ shortstop, Fernando Tatis, Jr. fielded Matt Chapman’s ground ball. His throw to first pulled first baseman Jake Cronenworth off the bag. Olson scored on the play.

Chapman went to second on the error. Padres’ pitcher Nabil Crismatt fielded Stephen Piscotty’s dribbler in front of home plate. His throw to first base went past Cronenworth and down the line into right field. Chappie scored the ninth run of the game for Oakland. Piscotty reached second safely. Elvis Andrus singled to drive in Piscotty. The A’s led 10-0 midway through the seventh.

San Diego scored their first run of the game in their half of the seventh. J.B.Wendelken was now pitching for Oakland. Padres’ third baseman, Manny Machado, singled to start the rally. Wendelken retired the next two hitters. He walked Will Myers to put two men on with two out. The next hitter, catcher Austin Nola, doubled to drive in Machado. The A’s led 10-1 after seven.

Deolis Guerra worked a scoreless eighth inning for Oakland. Bob Melvin let Guerra come out to pitch the ninth. He gave up consecutive singles to Jake Cronenworth and Will Myers. Guerra retired Austin Nola for the first out. Former A’s second baseman, Jurickson Profar, doubled to drive in Cronenworth with San Diego’s second run.

Melvin had seen enough. He summoned lefty Andrew Chafin from the bullpen to finish the game. Chafin, acquired from the Chicago Cubs on Monday, made his first appearance as an Oakland Athletic. The first hitter he faced was pinch-hitter Victor Caratini.

Caratini hit his first pitch for a single to make it 10-3. Profar went to third on the play. Chafin then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Profar to score. Chafin was able to record the last out of the game without any further damage. The A’s win 10-4.

Game Notes and stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 57-46. They remain six games behind the Houston Astros. The Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 11-4 on Wednesday. The A’s now lead the Mariners by two games in the second AL Wild Card race. The Padres are 59-45 for the year. 

Sean Manaea ‘s record improved to 8-6. It was his second straight impressive performance. He beat the Mariners 4-1 last week in Seattle. Blake Snell was the losing pitcher. 

The A’s made a trade with the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. They acquired outfielder Starlin Marte in exchange for pitcher lefty Jesus Luzardo. There was no question the A’s were not happy with the lack of production from the two players in right field.

Marte should help solve that problem. While it was difficult to give up on Luzardo, the A’s had to give something to get something. Luzardo was hampered by injuries early in the season. The A’s sent him to Las Vegas to get back on track. The front office must have felt that Luzardo was not going to fit into their pitching plans. 

The hitting stars for Oakland were Mark Canha, Matt Chapman, and Elvis Andrus. Canha reached base four times on Wednesday. He had two hits, two walks, and two RBIs. Chappie was two-for-five with a single and a three-run blast. Elvis Andrus had three hits and two RBIs.

The time of the game was three hours and twenty-nine minutes. Thirty-five thousand three hundred fans were watching the game at Petco Park.

The A’s are on their way to Anaheim to play four against the Los Angeles Angels starting Thursday night. The A’s are 9-3 against the Angels this year. Frankie Montas will go for Oakland, and the Angels’ Alex Cobb will oppose him. The game will start at 6:38 pm.

Padres take game one of two-game set from A’s 7-4

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Fernando Tatis Jr fists pumps after the bat flip taking the Oakland A’s deep in the third inning for a two run homer at Petco Park in San Diego to open a brief two game series on Tue Jul 27, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s came into San Diego to play two interleague games against the Padres. The A’s were facing one of the elite teams in the National League. Would the A’s pitching be able to keep the Padres’ 22-year-old superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr. in check?

Could the A’s stop Manny Machado? It was going to be a daunting task for A’s starter James Kaprielian. Kaprielian, with his father watching from the stands, entered the game with a record of 5-3 and an ERA of 2.65. The Padres’ starter Chris Paddack had not pitched well in his home park, Petco Field. His record in Petco was 2-4 and the worst home ERA (6.94) in the Majors.

The A’s plated three runs in the top of the third. Kaprielian started the rally with his first hit ever in Major League baseball. With one out in the third, Kapreielian singled to right-center-field. Singles by Mark Canha and Ramon Laureano followed with singles to load the bases.

Matt Olson drove in Kaprielian with the A’s first run with a sacrifice fly. Canha tagged and went to third on the play. Jed Lowrie singled to drive in Canha to make it 2-0. It was Lowries’ 49th RBI of the year. A’s catcher Sean Murphy blooped a double down the right-field line to drive in Laureano with the third run of the inning. The A’s led 3-0 midway through the third inning.

The Padres put two on the board in the bottom of the third. With two out, Adam Frazier, playing in his first game as a Padre, singled. The next hitter was Fernando Tatis, Jr. Kaprelian’s pitch was a hanging slider. Tatis did not miss. He hit a monster shot that went deep into the second deck in left-field. The Padres were back in the game, trailing 3-2 after three.

In the bottom of the fifth, Kaprielian ran into a wee bit of trouble. The Padres sent eight men to the plate as they scored five times. A’s manager took Kaprielian out of the game after the Padres took the lead 4-3. There were still two men on the bases when Yusmeiro Petit entered the game. The first batter he faced, Manny Machado, hit a ball into the seats in right field to put the Padres ahead 7-3.

The A’s added a run in the eighth when Sean Murphy hit his 13th home run of the year. The A’s could do no more as they fell to the Padres 7-4.

Game notes and stats- With the loss, the A’s are 56-46 for the year. They lost their fourth in a row and the nineteenth in the last 32 games. They are now six and 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. They still lead the Seattle Mariners by one game in the race for the second AL Wild Card.

The A’s line was four runs, 11 hits, and no errors. The Padres’ line was seven runs, 12 hits, and no errors. The two keys plays for San Diego were Tatis’ two-run homer and Machado’s three-run blast.

Ramon Laureano had three hits for Oakland. Jed Lowrie had a single, double, and an RBI.
James Kaprielian took the loss, and Chris Paddack was the winning pitcher for San Diego.

The time of the game was three hours and eight minutes. 40,162 fans watched the game.

The teams meet Wednesday afternoon again at 1:10 pm in San Diego. It will be a battle of two left-handed pitchers. Sean Manaea will go for Oakland, and Blake Snell pitches for the Padres.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Is crime in Oakland another factor A’s want to leave so anxiously? Sen Boxer robbed at Jack London Sq

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On That’s Amaury’s Podcast:

#1 In the latest in a series of robberies, shootings, and mugging in Oakland former California Senator Barbara Boxer 80, was robbed of her cell phone and she was pushed and the phone was taken. The suspect ran off and Sen Boxer was not seriously injured there is a $2,000 reward for the suspect. The crime took place near the location where the Oakland A’s want to build their new ballpark Jack London Square.

#2 After last week’s City Council vote in Oakland that voted 6-1 to support the A’s for a new ballpark but didn’t meet the A’s request for more infrastructure A’s president David Kaval who was in the greater Las Vegas and South Nevada area looking for a location for a new A’s stadium is well aware of the crime in downtown and Chinatown Oakland could that be also a added factor to leave town?

#3 Tonight the Oakland A’s are in San Diego to battle the San Diego Padres in a two game series. A’s starter James Kaprielian gets the call for tonight’s game. This will be Kaprielian’s 12th start and has 68 innings under his belt. Kaprielian is 5-3 with a 2.65 ERA he’s had some good outings.

#4 The A’s added pitcher Andrew Chafin to the bullpen strengthening the bullpen Chafin comes from the Chicago Cubs with two minor league prospects. Chafin is (0-2 ERA 2.06).

#5 Amaury, A’s reliever JB Wendelken relieved for the second time since the All Star break. Wendelken pitched 1 2/3 innings against Seattle on Sunday. A’s manager Bob Melvin says that Wendelken is coming off an injury and their trying to find spots for him to come in and releive.

#6 Amaury after the A’s lost three out of four games in Seattle how important was it for the club to have Monday off in getting prepared for their two game series in San Diego.

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

Oakland A’s preview: A’s open two game set in San Diego; A’s take an interest in Rangers’ Gallo

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A number of clubs have taken an interest in Texas Rangers Joey Gallo, the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland A’s so far have all stepped up to the plate in the Gallo Sweepstakes (file photo USA Today)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s continued to flounder as they lost three of the four games played against the Settle Mariners this past weekend. The A’ continued to fail to get clutch hits with runners in scoring position. Since June 18th, the A’s are 13-18. Yes, they are playing a lot of one-run games.

Yes, they have had chances to win. Yet, they fail to come through. On June 18th, the A’s were in first place in the AL West. They are now 5 and 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros. They led the Seattle Mariners by 3 and 1/2 games in the second AL Wild Card race.

That was before the weekend series. They now lead the Mariners by 1 and 1/2 games. They have lost seven of the last ten series played. They won two and split one with the Texas Rangers. The only team in the AL West that they can beat has been the LA Angels. The Astros, Rangers, and Mariners all have a winning record against Oakland.

The A’s missed the boat by not trading for Nelson Cruz. Tampa Bay sent two prospects to Minnesota for the slugger. Oakland could have worked out a deal. The A’s have not gotten the production they hoped for from the two guys in right field.

Mitch Moreland has been on the 10-day IL twice. Moreland has hit seven dingers and driven in 24. The A’s are rumored to be interested in acquiring Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers. The New York Yankees are also interested in trading for Gallo. Maybe Billy Beane and David Forst probably would go after Khris Davis. He is available.

The A’s are on their way to San Diego to play two against the San Diego Padres. The Padres are in third place in the NL West. They trail the San Francisco Giants by 5 and 1/2 games and are 3 and 1/2 games behind the LA Dodgers in the Wild Card Chase.

The Padres made several moves over the off-season to bolster their starting pitching. They acquired Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs and Blake Snell, a former Cy Young Award winner, from the Tampa Bay Rays. Their general manager, A.J. Preller, engineered a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates to acquire second baseman/ outfielder Adam Frazier for three prospects. The deal hasn’t been finalized but is expected to be announced soon. Preller is working on a deal to get pitcher Jose Berrios from the Minnesota Twins.

The Padres have not announced their starters for the series with the A’s. Chris Paddack (6-6, ERA 5.17) last pitched on July 21st, and his next turn would appear to be against the A’s. Lefty Blake Snell (4-3, ERA 4.93) would go on Wednesday. Oakland will send James Kaprielian to the mound Tuesday night. Kaprielian is 5-3, and his ERA is 2.53. Lefty Sean Manaea (7-6, ERA 3.16) will pitch for the A’s Wednesday afternoon.

The A’s pitchers will have their work cut out for them against a very potent San Diego offense. They have two guys on the left side of the infield that can hammer the baseball. Third baseman Manny Machado, in his tenth season, is hitting .275 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs.

Machado has hit 240 homers so far in his career. At shortstop, the Padres have the 2-year-old phenom, Fernando Tatis, Jr. The young man from the Dominican Republic is hitting .289 with 30 home runs and has 67 RBIs.

Eric Hosmer will be at first base for the Pads. Hosmer owns a .266 batting average, and he has hit eight dingers in driven in 48. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth is hitting a solid .275. Jake has hit 13 big flies out of the park and knocked in 24 mates.

The Padres have four players they use quite a bit in the outfield. Tommy Phan will probably start in leftfield. Pham is batting .260 and has hit 13 dingers. Trent Grisham will patrol centerfield. Grisham is at .262, 11 homers, and 39 RBIs. Will Myers (.254, 12 homers, 45 RBIs) will be in right. Jurickson Profar, who was an Oakland Athletic in 2019, will be the backup outfielder.

The Padre bullpen is solid. Their closer, the veteran Mark Melancon has been solid all year. Melancon has recorded 30 saves so far this year. Two former A’s are in the Padre pen. Emilio Pagan, who was with Oakland in2018, and Drew Pomerantz, a starter for Oakland in 2014 and 2025, have done well for the Padres. Other relievers that will see action include left Tim Hill, righties Craig Stammen, Austin Adams, Pierce Johnson, and Nabil Crismatt.

Since the game is being played in a National League Park, the A’s will be without the designated hitter. The A’s will have to figure out a way to put runs on the board. Since resuming play after the All-Star break, Oakland has put slightly more than three runs per game on the board.

After the two-game set with the Padres, the A’s play four against the Angels. The A’s have had their way against LA so far. However, the Angels would love to turn the tables on their foes from the Bay area. After the Angel series, the A’s return home to play two more against the Padres.

The Texas Rangers, in last place in the AL West, will play three more in Oakland. They have not been kind to the A’s this year. The A’s then go on the road to play three in Cleveland, three more with Texas, and four against the Central Division leaders, the Chicago White Sox. After that trip, the A’s host the San Francisco Giants for three, the Mariners for two, and the Yankees for four more games.

The A’s do not have an easy road to the playoffs. They need help to strengthen the offense. Lou Trivino has done a reasonably good job as the closer. Lefty Jake Diekman has had some control issues. Diekman has not been as effective as he was last year. Sergio Romo has regained his form and has been quite a surprise. Yusmeiro Petit has also done a good job.

It will be interesting to see if the A’s get active before the July 30th trade deadline. They need to upgrade the offense. First baseman Matt Olson is the A’s most valuable player. The big guy is hitting .287 to go along with 27 home runs and 66 RBIs. Mark Canha, Jed Lowrie, and Tony Kemp are the only other hitters above the .250 mark. Seth Brown is at .201, Stephen Piscotty at .205, Sean Murphy .212, Matt Chapman .218.

Hopefully, the A’s can get the offense going. If they don’t, they may not make the playoffs. Let’s hope they can make a couple of deals and they get back on the winning track.

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: Padres can swing the bats as A’s head to San Diego Tuesday

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San Diego Padre’s Fernando Tatis Jr thanks the good Lord for hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins in the first inning but it wasn’t enough as the Padres fell to the Marlins 3-2 on Sat Jul 24, 2021. The Oakland A’s travel to face Tatis and the Padres in San Diego for a two game series on Tue Jul 27, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 Barbara, after the A’s were able to string three wins together two against the Los Angeles Angels and the first of the four games against the Seattle Mariners the A’s struggled on Friday and Saturday against the M’s losing 4-3 and 5-4 and lost another one run game on Sunday 4-3.

#2 Last three games one run loses and it’s something that A’s manager Bob Melvin is hoping to make a difference on by moving runners over and getting them to score but sometimes the M’s relief pitchers can work themselves out of a jam.

#3 The A’s lead off hitter Mark Canha returned he started off his first game back going 0-4 but it wasn’t long after that he Canha said “The first day back was a little uncomfortable and I felt a little rusty. But on the second game I felt like I was right back.”

#5 Canha since his return has hit safely in all of his last six games. He gone 7 for 20, walked three times and what would Canha be if he didn’t get hit three times by pitches.

#5 The A’s head to San Diego to face the Padres. The Padres are a team loaded and just some 4 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West. They have some hitters in their line up Fernando Tatis Jr, Jake Cronenworth, and Manny Machado. Tuesday is the start of a two game series at Petco Park in San Diego.

Join Barbara for the A’s podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s drop another one in Seattle, have competition for 2nd wild card spot

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By Morris Phillips

Only one major league club is neither currently holding a postseason spot or tethered to an uninspiring .500 won-loss record or below. Increasing the growing interest around that club: they haven’t made a postseason appearance since 2001. That only one club would hold this distinction so close to the trade deadline is unusual.

But thanks to the Oakland A’s and a string of three, consecutive one-run losses, the Seattle Mariners are picking up steam and notoriety.

“It’s been preached this rebuild so much, but I mean we’re right there on the edge of this thing,” Seattle’s Kyle Seager said. “Certainly you would like to have them make moves and get the team as good as we possibly can.”

The A’s came to Seattle looking to create space between themselves and the Mariners. Instead they won the opener, and spent an additional three days in the Emerald City being miserable.

“Last night stung,” said Sunday’s A’s starter Cole Irvin. “Anytime you lose a one-run game against a team in your division, and on top of that, fighting for the Wild Card spot in your possession, it’s not easy to swallow. We’re gonna have to bounce back here and collect ourselves.”

So for now, the AL West is a three-team battle, and that increases intrigue with the trade deadline approaching this week. The Mariners in particular have players that have tremendous value on the trade market, most notably slugger Mitch Haniger and resurgent, remade reliever Kendall Graveman. Now with the longest playoff drought in the game hanging over their heads, they’ll have no choice but to hang onto their assets, as well as look to add a couple of pieces.

“The teams that feel like they have a chance to go after a division title or a Wild Card berth, there’s going to be a lot of movement,” manager Scott Servais said. “I think it all comes down to the last 72 hours, and being a part of a lot of those discussions, in my past, I realize how that all works.”

Marco Gonzales pitched into the sixth inning for Seattle, and left with a 4-2 lead courtesy of a four-run, third inning that saddled Irvin with the loss. Kyle Seager, Luis Torrens and Tom Murphy came up with RBI hits in the inning, and the A’s found themselves unable to mount a suitable response. Seth Brown’s solo shot off Casey Sadler brought the A’s within 4-3 in the seventh, but that was all they could muster.

The Mariners improved to 23-8 in one-run ballgames, and pulled within a game-and-a-half of the A’s for the second wild card. Seattle started fast two seasons ago–the last time they were as many as eight games above .500–but then they went into the tank. By the All-Star break, their 2019 season had already fallen apart. Since 2001, Seattle has won 90 games twice and finished second in the AL West three times. In that same span, the A’s have made nine postseason appearances, but have advanced to the ALCS only once.

Now both teams are in each other’s cross hairs. It figures to be exciting.

“As tough as it’s been, we know we’re a team that can get hot or ride it out. We just need a big hit or a big game,” Matt Olson said. “Something to spark us a little bit and get rolling.”

A’s drop another game to Mariners 5-4

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Seattle Mariners’ Mitch Haniger (17) does the forearm bash with Jake Bauers, center, after Haniger hit a two-run home run to score Bauers in the fifth inning on Sat Jul 24, 2021 at T Mobile in Seattle (AP News photo)

A’s Drop Another Game to the Mariners 5-4

By Barbara Mason

After splitting the first two games of the series the Oakland A’s and the Seattle Mariners met Saturday night in Game Three at T-Mobile Park.

Oakland had a very good game until the seventh inning of yesterday’s game. A horrible relief appearance by Jake Diekman throwing back to back wild pitches resulting in the winning run was the low light for Oakland. In the game there were 5 wild pitches thrown and three of them belonged to Diekman. The A’s had fallen behind in this game 3-0 but tied up the game. It was the seventh inning that spelled the difference.

In Game Three the A’s had their ace Chris Bassitt on the mound and Seattle called upon Logan Gilbert. Seattle took the early lead in the first inning when Mitch Haniger scored.

Oakland started stringing together hits in the third inning. Andrus, Kemp, Lowry and Laureano all had singles in the inning taking a 3-1 lead. There was a pitching change for Seattle in the latter part of the inning with JT Chargois taking over and getting the Mariners out of the inning. In the bottom of the third Mitch Haniger unleashed a 402 feet home run cutting the A’s lead to 3-2.

In the bottom of the fifth inning Seattle’s Mitch Haniger struck again hitting his second home run of the game giving Seattle the lead 4-3. In the seventh inning Aramis Garcis would tie up the game with a 336ft home run.

The score remained 4-4 into the bottom of the ninth inning. Lou Trivino loaded the bases in the inning. He walked two and allowed one hit and again a wild pitch allowed the winning run to score the walk off for the Mariners.

It was more trouble for the bullpen. Another loss for Oakland when relief pitching let the team down.

Tomorrow the A’s play their fourth and final game of this series attempting to tie up the series. They will need improved play from the bullpen to pull this off.

First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 1:10 PT. We will see Cole Irvin on the mound for Oakland and for Seattle Marco Gonzales will get the call.

M’s grab second inning lead as A’s lose one run game to M’s 4-3

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Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh, right, gets a forearm bash by Luis Torrens (22) as Raleigh comes home to score after hitting a two run homer against the Oakland A’s in the second inning at T Mobile Field in Seattle on Fri Jul 23, 2021 (AP News photo)

Oakland Loses Game Two To Seatle 4-3

By Barbara Mason

Friday evening the Oakland A’s (56-43) and the Seattle Mariners (52-46) clashed in Game Two of the series. Thursday’s game saw a slow start for both teams offensively but Oakland’s Sean Manaea had a spectacular game on the mound with a record 13 strikeouts in seven innings. This was probably his best outing this season which is saying a lot. He has been very good this season.

Ramon Laureano drove in two runs in the 4-1 win against the Mariners. For awhile it looked as if the A’s would win the game without a single home run but in the seventh inning Sean Murphy hit one out of the park. Mark Canha had a couple of hits after the long layoff due to injury. He got back on task in record time.

Friday night the teams were back at it with Oakland looking for another win. On the mound for Oakland was Frankie Montas and for Seattle Yusei Kikuchi.

It was a rough second inning for Montas. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh homered with a runner on base to take an early 2-0 lead. The very next at bat was Luis Torrens who sent one out of the park and just like that the Mariners were cruising with a 3-0 lead. The next three batters struck out swinging to end a very costly inning for the A’s as the M’s made it stand up for a 4-3 win at T Mobile Field in Seattle.

Oakland has been very good on the road and this visit to Seattle was no exception. In the third inning Matt Chapman homered and not to be outdone Matt Olson homered in the fourth inning. Mark Canha continued his offensive excellence hitting a double in the fifth inning to score Wilson and the A’s had tied up this game 3-3.

Oakland had a great opportunity in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases but Elvis Andrus struck out to put an end to taking the lead in this game for the moment. The A’s are leaving the bases loaded and coming up empty far to often this season.

Diekman came in to relieve Montas in the seventh inning. It was an absolute disaster. Two stolen bases and two wild pitches by Diekman resulted in a run for Seattle by Dylan Moore who easily scored on one of those pitches. Seattle had taken back the lead 4-3. Diekman threw a third wild pitch in the inning. The A’s finally got out of the seventh but had some work to do if they wanted to win this game. The Astros had won earlier and Oakland needed this win to keep pace with Houston.

Seattle really put on the pressure in the eighth inning with runners on first and second and only one out. Petit had come in to relieve Diekman. Another wild pitch and a tough night for Sean Murphy. There were five wild pitches in this game for the A’s. Oakland got out of the eighth inning unscathed and had one more shot in the ninth inning.

An uneventful ninth inning for the A’s resulted in a Seattle win 4-3. Murphy flied out, Chapman walked, Brown struck out and Kemp also struck out. Game over.

So the loaded bases in the seventh inning came back to bite Oakland big time and coupled with the horrific seventh inning this game was one to forget.

Oakland will try to put this behind them and get back on track in Game Three. First pitch will again be at 7:10.

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

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.