Category: Oakland Athletics

The Oakland A’s Mark Canha (20) gets congratulated after scoring by on deck hitter Stephen Piscotty (25) against the San Francisco Giants in the fourth inning of Sat Sep 19, 2020’s game at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s face the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night at Dodgers Stadium (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, who will win the American League Western Division crown with either one more victory or one more Houston Astro defeat, travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers for three games. The Series starts Tuesday night and could be a preview of possible future meeting in the 2020 World Series.

The Dodgers have won the NL West for the last eight seasons. They made it to the World Series in 2017 and 2018. They lost both.

The Dodgers last won a World Series in 1988 when they upset the heavily favored Oakland A’s. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball this season with a record of 38-16. The A’s have the third-best record in the American League.

They are 33-20 with seven games to play. The A’s last won the World Series in 1989. They played the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 series and were swept in four games.

The Dodgers made a blockbuster trade with the Red Sox last spring. They acquired the 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts to be their right-fielder. Betts would have been a free agent after the 2020 season, and the Red Sox could not sign him to a contract extension.

The Dodgers are loaded with talent. Cody Bellinger, the reigning 2019 NL MVP, is not hitting for average, but he is a very dangerous hitter. He will be seen in either center-field or at first base. Their shortstop, Corey Seager, was the unanimous choice for NL Rookie of the Year in 2016.

He is hitting .316 with 13 homers and 37 RBIs. His OPS is .952. Other outstanding players are third baseman Justin Turner, Max Muncy at first and third, Kike Hernandez, AJ Pollock, Joc Pederson, and catchers Will Smith and Austin Barnes.

The Dodgers have a great starting rotation. Lefty Clayton Kershaw leads them. Kershaw has won three NL Cy Young awards. Righty Walker Buehler, who almost won the award last year, is expected to pitch Thursday night against the A’s.

Buehler has been on the 10-day IL with a finger blister. Dustin May will pitch Tuesday night for the Dodgers, and Frankie Montas will go for Oakland. Wednesday night will feature Dodger lefty, Julio Arias.

The A’s will counter with Sean Manaea. Manaea has allowed more than one run in just one of his last five starts. Mike Fiers, who no-hit the Dodgers in 2105 as a member of the Houston Astros, is 6-2 this year. Fiers, as a Milwaukee Brewer in 2012, allowed one run in seven innings of work in his only career game in Dodger Stadium.

The Dodger bullpen with feature Kenley Jansen as the closer. He is 3-1 and has notched 11 saves so far this season. Former A’s closer Blake Treinen bounced back from an off-year in 2019. He is 3-2 with an ERA of 3.57. He has one save recorded for LA. Other relievers that may see action in the series are Brusdar Graterol, Dylan Floro, Jake McGee, Adam Kolarek, Pedro Baez, Joe Kelly, and Alex Wood.

The A’s would like to get the win that will give the AL West crown as soon as possible. By doing so, A’s manager Bob Melvin would have the ability to provide some benchwarmers extra playing time before the start of the playoffs. A’s designated hitter, Khris Davis, needs more at-bats to get back into form. Davis has been scuffling with his game since being injured in Pittsburgh last season.

The games between the Dodgers and A’s are always a treat for the fans. The teams usually meet every three years in interleague play. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the schedule was altered this season.

After the three with LA, the A’s welcome the Seattle Mariners to Oakland for four games to finish the season, which ends on September 27th. The ‘s probably will face the Houston Astros in the best two out of three Wild Card format.

The Oakland A’s Jack Lamb (4) does the forearm bash with teammate Stephen Piscotty (25) after hitting a two run homer in the seventh inning. The San Francisco Giants Joey Bart is to the left (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Saturday afternoon the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants were back on the field for Game Two of their series. Last night the A’s handed the Giants a 6-0 loss earning Oakland an assured playoff berth.

Starting pitchers were Jesus Luzardo for Oakland and Kevin Gausman for San Francisco. Both pitchers had a nice start with Luzardo and Gausman with six up and six down through the first two innings.

The great outing continued through the third inning for both pitchers. Luzardo had allowed only one hit and Gausman had not allowed a single hit. Three up and three down seemed to be the theme for the two pitchers; the third inning running with that theme.

Luzardo allowed 3 hits in the fourth but got out of the inning when Solano’s attempt to advance failed with a forced out at third. San Francisco had a chance to load the bases with Evan Longoria and Mauricio Dubon on first and second but Solano’s forced out took a great opportunity away from San Francisco.

The bottom of the fourth was the breakthrough for Oakland when Mark Canha walked and Matt Olson singled to center bringing Canha home for a 1-0 lead for the A’s.

Luzardo allowed one hit in the fifth inning and the pitchers dual continued in this great defensive match up. The A’s went three up and three down in the fifth inning. It was a swift sixth inning for both teams. The Giants had one hit off the bat of Solano who was having a productive game. Oakland had a walk in the sixth inning but was not able to get much going offensively. Luzardo would finish the game allowing five hits and seven strikeouts.

In the top of the seventh inning, Jake Diekman would go to work having a productive three up three down inning and the A’s pitchers were rolling. Giant’s pitcher Sam Selman would take the mound in the bottom of the seventh.

It proved to be a very short appearance by the pitcher allowing a Stephen Piscotty single followed by a Tommy La Stella home run. Oakland now led by the score of 3-0. Robbie Grossman walked and that was it for Selman as a pitching change for San Francisco brought in Sam Coonrod.

Conrad did not fare much better allowing a single by Ramon Laureano followed a single by Jonah Heim. La Stella would triple and Laureano and Heim would score. The A’s had busted this game wide open. They finished the inning with another run in when Semien hit a double scoring La Stella. The A’s had a comfortable lead going into the eighth inning 6-0.

Joakim Soria got the job done pitching a three up three down top of the eighth. San Francisco put Jarlin Garcia on the mount to face Olson, Piscotty and Jake Lamb in the bottom of the eighth. It was a good inning for Garcia. The Giants were three outs away however from a second shutout loss.

Lou Trevino came in to close out this one for Oakland Flores grounded into a double play and Longoria flied out to left and Oakland would have their second shut out in as many days 6-0.

The A’s are coming together at the perfect time. The pitching has really come to life going deeper into the game and keeping the bullpen fresh something you really want to see with the postseason looming. The offense is getting the job done as well.

‘Guys are playing loose, they are playing great,” said Bob Melvin after the game. “They know what’s at stake. All-around great game just like last night,” he said.

The late great Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away on Friday at age 87 (WGN 9 TV photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Jeremiah, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was honored by MLB teams for her passing at the age of 87. Ginsburg who died after a lengthy bout with cancer was on the bench from 1993 to her death. Players in the NBA, NFL and MLB said she did a lot for them in civil rights, gender equality and equal rights.

#2 Jeremiah turning to the A’s are hosting the Giants for a three game series at the Oakland Coliseum and first pitch for today’s second game is at 1 pm the way these clubs have played as of late it looks like their pretty even. The A’s have won seven of their last 11 games.

#3 The A’s on this run have been getting some get pitching from from Mike Minor, Sean Manaea, and Chris Bassitt.

#4 Jeremiah, talk about AJ Puk who just recently had shoulder surgery to get it cleaned out and not repaired said A’s trainer  trainer Nick Paparesta. Puk is schedule to be back with the A’s next season.

#5 Game two of this three game series with the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s is at 1:10pm today with the Giants starting Kevin Gausman (3-2 ERA 4.05) Gausman missed his turn to pitch against the Padres Sunday because he had elbow tightness. The A’s will start Jesus Lazardo (2-2 ERA 4.32). Lazardo’s last start he pitched on Monday in the heavy Seattle wildfire smoke at T-Mobile center saying he had a hard time breathing.

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

Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt who was bringing them all game long is seen here throwing to the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of Friday night’s game at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

You didn’t hear any of the A’s broadcasters Glen Kuiper, Ray Fosse, Vince Cotroneo, Ken Korach, Amaury Pi Gonzalez or Manolo Hernadez Douen yelling “The A’s win the pennant, the A’s win the Pennant!” But they’ll take a clinch for a playoff spot and look forward to playing the post season in the Southland coming up in October.

The Oakland A’s finally got a day off. After a grueling stretch that saw the A’s play everyday with three double headers included, they received a much needed day off on Thursday. On Friday, it was right back to business at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s were set to take on the hungry San Francisco Giants  that is doing its best to make the postseason despite a rebuilding year. The Giants have won six of their last 11 games.

The first game of the series was all A’s. The A’s scored six runs by the end of the fourth inning and never really looked back. The biggest hit for the A’s was a three run shot by Matt Olson in the bottom of the third inning number 13 of the season for Olson.

The real story of the game was the continued success of A’s starter Chris Bassitt. Bassitt managed to go 6.2 innings without giving up a run. His line finished with only three hits and seven strikeouts and is now 4-2. Bassitt has been the A’s most consistent pitcher this year lowering his ERA to 2.57.

The A’s bullpen would do what they do the rest of the way and the A’s won by a final of 6-0.

Up next: The A’s will take on the Giants in the second game of the series on Saturday at 1:10 PST.  Starters for the Giants Kevin Gausman (3-4 ERA 4.05) and for the A’s Jesus Lazardo (2-2 ERA 4.32). Listen to my podcast between 12-1pm today right here on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s will meet for three games starting on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum (image is from rollinghills.com)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The A’s welcome their cross-town rivals, the San Francisco Giants, to the Oakland Coliseum for three games starting Friday.

It should be a fascinating series with lots at stake for both teams. The A’s currently own the third-best record in the American League. They are a game and 1/2 behind the Chicago White Sox for the number one slot.

They trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 1/2 game for the second-best record. The Giants would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. They are 28-28 and own one of the two Wild Card spots in the National League. The Philadelphia Phillies are also 28-28 and would be in the playoffs, too. The Giants play the Seattle Mariners Thursday night, and their status could change.

The A’s played the Giants earlier this year in San Francisco. The A’s came from behind in two of the games to stun the Giants. On August 14th, the Giants blew a 6-0 lead and lost 8-7 in ten innings.

Stephen Piscotty hit a grand slam in the ninth off Giants’ closer Trevor Gott to tie the game. They scored a run in the tenth, and the A’s bullpen closed out the game. The next night, lightning struck again for Oakland.

The Giants led 6-3 in the ninth. Trevor Gott was in to close. A’s catcher Sean Murphy hit a solo homer to make in 6-4. With two men on, Mark Canha blasted a three-run dinger to win it for Oakland 7-6. The A’s won the finale of the series 15-3. The Giants will be looking for payback this weekend.

The team, under the first-year skipper Gabe Kapler has improved since the series with the A’s. The Giants are stacked with guys that have a lot of pop in their bats. The A’s starters will have their work cut out for them to shut the Giants’ offense down.

The G-men are led by outfielders Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, and Darin Ruf. All are hitting about .280 or higher. Yaz has nine dingers and 33 RBIs. Dickerson has eight and 24 RBIs.

The greybeards in the infield, Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Wilmer Flores, Donovan Solano, are all raking at the plate. Longo is hitting .282 with six homers and 25 RBIs.

Solano’s average is .351 with five round-trippers and 28 ribbies. Belt’s numbers are .305, eight big flys, and 24 RBIs. Flores .283, nine home runs, 23 RBIs. Crawford is resurgent as his average is .281, five homers, and 18 RBIs.

The A’s announced righty Chris Bassitt will start on Friday night. The A’s have not determined the pitchers for Saturday and Sunday. The Giants have not indicated their pitchers for the series yet.

The Giants’s starters are Johnny Cueto, Kevin Gausman, Logan Webb, Tyler Anderson, Drew Smyly, and former A’s starter Trevor Cahill. Smyly pitched on Wednesday and will not be available. The Giants’ closer Trevor Gott is on the 10-day IL. Kapler will use lefties Caleb Baragar, Wandy Peralta, Tony Watson, and Sam Selman. Righties Sam Coonrod, sidewinder Tyler Rogers, and Cahill probably see action.

The A’s are 31-19 with ten games left. The A’s pitching has been outstanding. Mike Fiers, who beat the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, will not see any action. A’s manager Bob Melvin will probably use Frankie Montas, Mike Minor, or Jesus Luzardo.

The A’s bullpen has done a stellar job for the Green and Gold this season. Pitchers that will see action will be Yusmeiro Petit, J.B.Wendelken, Jake Diekman T.J.McFarland, Lou Trivino, Joakim Soria, along with closer Liam Hendriks.

The A’s have been inconsistent on offense so far this year. Designated hitter Khris Davis is having a down year. Stephen Piscotty injured his knee and may not be available. Matt Chapman is having hip surgery and is sone for the year. Chad Pinder has a hamstring problem and may not play.

The A’s love players that can play multiple positions. Mark Canha has played all three outfield slots. Tony Kemp can play a couple of infield positions. Tommy La Stella has played second and third for the A’s. After being released by the Arizona D-Backs, Jake Lamb, signed as a free agent, has played third and is five-for-eleven as an Athletic. Lamb has also been the DH.

The A’s offense has failed to take advantage of the opportunities they had with runners in scoring position. The guys hit home runs, but getting hits in bunches has not happened this year. Bob Melvin knows it’s a problem, but has not yet come up with a solution.

As mentioned above, it’s always fun when these two teams get together. The season series winner gets to keep the Bay Bridge Trophy and bragging rights for a year. Usually, the Coliseum would be jammed to the gills with fans. Not so, this year. It’s a shame, but it’s the reality due to Covid-19. Turn on the TVs, folks, and enjoy three games of great baseball.

Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers went six innings and the A’s bullpen shut down the Colorado Rockies as the A’s and Rockies split the brief two game series at Coors Field in Denver on Wednesday (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s ended their eight-game road trip win a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies Wednesday at Coors Field in Denver. The A’s played four with Texas, two with Seattle, and two with Colorado. They played games in three cities in three days. They played a doubleheader in Texas, a doubleheader in Seattle, and two games in the thin Rockie Mountain air. The air quality in Seattle was abominable.

It was so bad that MLB canceled the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Mariners on Tuesday. They then moved the two games to San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday. MLB was able to do it as both teams had an off-day on Thursday.

The A’s met the Rockies for the fourth time this season. The Rockies had won the previous three games and were looking to sweep the A’s. The A’s sent Mike Fiers to pitch. Fiers entered the game with a 5-2 record and had been pitching well. The Rockies countered with German Marquez. Marquez was 2-5 but had thrown well against the A’s when the teams played in July at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s put the first run of the game on the board in the top of the third. Tony Kemp, leading off, drew a walk. He went to second on Marquez’s throwing error to first in an attempt to pick him off. Marquez walked Semien. Kemp went to third on the play as Marquez’s last pitch to Semien got past catcher Tony Wolters.

The A’s had men on at first and third with no out. Robbie Grossman hit into a fielder’s choice. It was a strange play as Tony Kemp was caught in a rundown. Instead of trying to tag Kemp, Wolters threw to third base to nail Semien. Kemp, in the meantime, was able to avoid the tag. Rockies’ third baseman Nolan Arenado, who tagged Semien out, dropped the ball. He made a hurried throw to home, which was not on the mark, and Kemp could slide past the tag. The A’s lead 1-0.

The lead didn’t last long. In the Rockies’half of the third, the Rockies put together three straight singles by Ryan McMahon, Tony Wolters, and Ramiel Tapia to tie the game with one out. Fiers had his work cut out for him as he had to face two of the Rockies’ best hitters, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. Story hit into a fielder’s choice, and he struck out the ever-dangerous Blackmon to end the threat.

The A’s added two more runs in the sixth. Tommy La Stella reached on an infield single. Matt Olson doubled to send La Stella to third. Olson’s double snapped an 0-for-18 slump. Mark Canha grounded out to drive in La Stella. Olson went to third. Jake Lamb, playing third, singled to drive in Olson with the A’s third run. The A’s lead 3-1.

A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Fiers after six innings of work. He brought in lefty Jake Diekman to start the seventh. Diekman held the Rockies scoreless in the seventh and faced one batter in the eighth. Liam Hendriks recorded the last two outs in the eighth and then sent the Rockies down in order in the ninth to record his thirteen save of the season.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are now 31-19 and have a six-game advantage over the Houston Astros. The magic number to clinch the AL West division is five. Any combination of A’s wins or Houston losses will give the Green and Gold the title.

Mike Lamb is five-for eleven since joining the A’s. Hed had two hits and drove in a run on Wednesday. La Stella was two-for-four and scored a run.

The defensive play of the day came in the bottom of the fifth. Rockies’ catcher Tony Wolters led off with a double. Left fielder Raimel Tapia hit a ground ball down the first baseline. Olson, playing in, fielded the ball. Instead of making the out at first, he threw a dart to Lamb at third to tag Wolters out. Bob Melvin said, “it was the play of the game.”
Melvin also said, “it was a big win for us” and that Mike Fiers was “fantastic.”

Fiers’ line was six innings pitched, seven hits, four strikeouts, and one earned run. The line for the A’s was three runs, six hits, and no errors. The Rockies’ line was one run, nine hits, and one error.

The A’s do not play on Thursday. They have ten games left to play. The meet the Giants for three this weekend. They are off on Monday. They play three against the Los Angeles Dodgers in LA and finish the season with four against the Mariners in Oakland.

Colorado Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela went the distance for the Rockies going nine innnings, giving up six hits and one earned run to defeat the visiting Oakland A’s at Coors Field on Tuesday night (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s met the Colorado Rockies for a two-game set in Denver Tuesday night. The temperature at the start of the game was 84 degrees, and the air was clear. It was quite a contrast from Seattle, where the air quality readings were over 200.

Very unhealthy, and some of the A’s players complained they had difficulty breathing. The thin air in Denver may have been a factor as the Rockies’ starting pitcher, Antonio Senzatela, held the A’s offense to just one run and six hits as the Rockies downed the A’s 3-1.

The A’s have played the Rockies three times this year and have lost all three. Senzatela faced the A’s on July 10th in Oakland and, in that game, went five innings and allowed two runs.

The A’s scored their lone run of the night in the second inning. A’s designated hitter Jake Lamb drew a walk. He went to third on a Ramon Laureano single. Second baseman Tony Kemp drove in Lamb with a sacrifice fly to center.

A’s starter Sean Manaea got out of a jam in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded and two out, Manaea had to face Charlie Blackmon. Blackmon is one of the best hitters in baseball, and getting him out is no easy task. Manaea rose to the challenge as Blackmon grounded out 4-3 to end the inning. The A’s still lead 1-0 after three.

The Rockies got to Manaea in the bottom of the fifth. Rockies’ first baseman Josh Fuentes reached on an infield single. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien had to make a long throw to nail Fuentes. His throw got by Matt Olson, and Fuentes went to third on the error. As it turned out, the error didn’t matter as catcher Elias Diaz blasted his first home run of the year to put the Rockies in the lead 2-1.

The Rockies added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Third baseman Nolan Arenado led off with a single. Kevin Pillar followed with another single to put men on at first and second with no out. Matt Kemp hit into a fielder’s choice. Arenado advanced to third and scored on a sacrifice fly to left. The Rocks lead 3-1.

The A’s were toast. Senzatela allowed just one hit in his last four innings of work. The A’s fall to Colorado 3-1.

Game Notes with the loss, the A’s drop to 30-19. They lead the Houston Astros by 5 1/2 games with eleven games left on the schedule. The Rockies improved to 22-25 and are still a contender for a wild card spot in the National League.

Senzatela’s line was one run and six hits in pitching his first complete game. Sean Manaea took the loss. Manaea went five and 2/3rds innings allowing three runs and seven hits.

The A’s and the Rockies meet Wednesday again for the fourth time this year. Mike Fiers will go for the Geen and Gold, and German Marquez will throw for Colorado. Game time will be at 12:10 pm.