Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland Athletics pitcher Frankie Montas who gets the start against the San Francisco Giants on Fri Aug 14th at Oracle Park in San Francisco works against the Houston Astros in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO–The Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants are both enjoying a day off on Thursday. The teams will begin Part One of the annual Bay Bridge Series Friday night at Oracle Park. They will play three games in San Francisco and three more in Oakland in September.

The A’s are currently in first place in the AL West with a record of 13-6. The Giants are in last place in the NL West with a record of 8-12. The Giants would love nothing better than to upset the A’s applecart this weekend.

Let’s take a look at the starting pitchers. Friday night’s game will feature the A’s Frankie Montas going against the Giants’ Johnny Cueto. Montas, named the American League’s Player of the Week, won his last two starts and struck out fourteen over fourteen innings of work. Overall, he is 2-1 with an ERA of 1.57.

The Giants’ Cueto pitched against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. He had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning. He lost it when veteran outfielder Hunter Pence misplayed a fly ball that fell for a hit. Cueto is 1-0 and has an ERA of 2.57 against Oakland.

On Saturday, rookie left-hander, Jesus Luzardo, pitches for the Green and Gold. Luzardo won his first Major League game last week over the Houston Astros. He went five and 2/3rds innings and allowed just two runs.

The Giants will start Kevin Gausman. Gausman, a former Baltimore Oriole, went six and 1/3rd innings and allowed one run facing the Dodgers last week. Gausman is 1-2 with a 2.77 ERA in four starts against the A’s.

Sean Manaea will go for Oakland on Sunday. Manaea has not had a great start to the season. He has yet to go five complete innings. In his last start against the LA Angels on Monday, he was unable to make it out of the third innings.

The A’s are hoping that Manaea can get back on track. The Giants will send righty Logan Webb to the hill to face Oakland. Webb is 1-1, and his ERA is 2.71. Against Houston, Webb went three and 1/3rd innings and gave up five runs, and two were unearned. In his only start against the A’s in 2019, Webb went four and 2/3rds innings and allowed four runs.

The A’s, winners of 97 games in 2018 and 2019, are optimistic about making the playoffs again in 2020. They have a strong starting rotation, excellent bullpen, and a roster full of versatile position players.

Shortstop Marcus Semien leads the a’s offense, third baseman Matt Chapman, first baseman Matt Olson, centerfielder Ramon Laureano, right fielder Stephen Piscotty, and left fielder Mark Canha add potent bats to the A’s cause.

The A’s are also solid on defense. Laureano made three sensational plays in Wednesday’s game against the Angels. Chapman is a Platinum Glove winner, and Matt Olson has two Gold Gloves, and Marcus Semien nearly won one last year.

The Giants are a team that is rebuilding. They have a new manager, Gabe Kapler. Andrew Bailey, the former A’s closer, is the pitching coach. Ron Wotus remains at third base for San Francisco.

The Giants will feature several familiar faces in the lineup. Brandon Crawford will be at shortstop. Brandon Belt at first and Evan Longoria will be at third. These three have not hit well to start the season. Crawford is at .208, Belt at .135, and Longo at .213. Second baseman Donovan Solano, who is day-to-day, leads the team with a batting average of .458. He has one home run and 15 RBIs to his credit.

The Giants will play Mike Yasztremski in center, Alex Dickerson in right, and Austin Slater in left. Yaz is hitting .314 with four home runs, twelve RBIs, and an OPS of 1.077. Dickerson stats are .271 BA, two Homers, and 5 RBI. Slater, also day-to-day with a sore right elbow, is hitting .342 with three dingers and four ribbies.

His OPS is 1.076. Pablo Sandoval or Hunter Pence may see time as the designated hitter. Pence can also play in the outfield if needed. Hunter, who had a bounce-back year with Texas in 2019, has had a rough start. Wilmer Flores, the ex-Met, can fill in at third or first base, if necessary.

The following players man the Giants’ bullpen. The Giants will use Trevor Gott as the closer. Shaun Anderson, sidewinder Tyler Rogers, Jarlin Garcia, Caleb Baragar, Sam Selman, Wandy Peralta will all see action over the weekend.

The A’s bullpen has been very reliable for Bob Melvin and the A’s. Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria, Jake Diekman, J.B.Wendelken, T.J.McFarland, Lou Trivino, and closer Liam Hendriks have been consistent throughout the first nineteen games of the season.

The A’s, as mentioned earlier, cannot take the Giants lightly. Good teams don’t let opportunities such as this to slip through their hands. The A’s know the key to success is winning series. On the other hand, the Giants hope to beat the starch out the guys from across the Bay. It is always fun when these two teams get together. It should be no different this weekend.

(photo from Bay Area News Group) Oakland A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano who is appealing his six game suspension will be returning Aug 20th from the suspension

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Jerry the A’s had that nine game win streak but after the Laureano and Cintron brawl last Sunday the A’s had lost two straight on Monday and Tuesday nights was the fight and the forthcoming suspension of Laureano a distraction to the team?

#2 Laureano in an interview in Anaheim said he appealed and later will take the suspension six games, that he’s a man and he said he shouldn’t have wasted his time with Cintron.

#3 Laureano will sit out games against the Giants and Diamondbacks and looks forward to coming back during the Angels series in Oakland Aug 21st and on the road in Texas and Houston at the end of the month.

#4 Laureano’s suspension in a 60 game equals 2.7 games, he was one of Oakland’s best hitters hitting .263 with three home runs and has been a disciplined and patient hitter at the plate for the A’s especially during that nine game win streak.

#5 The A’s the day off today they open up a three game series against the Giants at Oracle Park on Friday night set up the three game weekend series.

Jerry joins us for the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, having lost the first two games of the three-game set, with the LA Angels, bounced back Wednesday afternoon to win 8-4. The A’s used three home runs and three fantastic defensive plays by Ramon Laureano to beat LA.

The A’s Chris Bassitt went five and 2/3rds inning to earn his second win of the year. Pitching against the Angels is no easy task as they have two rabbits that set the table for the power guys. Mike Trout homered for the third time in the series and has hit four of eight home runs this season against the A’s.

Anthony Rendon, signed as a free agent after winning a World Series ring with the Washington Nationals, homered for the third straight game. Shohei Ohtani, Albert Pujols, and Brian Goodwin are all tough outs. The Angels outscored the A’s 20-17 in the series.

The A’s Matt Olson, with two out in the first inning, blasted a 454 foot home run to right field to give the a’s an early 1-0 lead. A’s manager Bob Melvin said Olson’s blast “gave us a jolt of energy.” The lead didn’t last long as the reigning AL MVP blasted a Chris Bassitt pitch over the wall in right field to tie the game. For Trout, it was his eighth of the year and the fourth against the A’s.

The A’s put two more on the board in the second. Mark Canha led off with a double. Robbie Grossman, hitting a robust .310, homered to put the A’s in the lead 3-1. It was Grossman’s third of the year.

The Angels roared back to tie the game in the bottom of the third. With one out, Brian Goodman doubled. Singles by David Fletcher reached on an infield single. Goodwin advanced to third and scored on Tommy LaStella’s single. Fletcher went to third and scored on Mike Trout’s sacrifice fly.

The tie didn’t last long. Stephen Piscotty led off the fourth with a solo home run to left to make it 4-3. Oakland added another run in the fifth. Marcus Semien led off with a double. Angels’ reliever Jacob Barnes retired the next two A’s hitters. Barnes served up a hanging slider to Matt Chapman, and Chappie did not miss. Chappie’s blast went over left fielder Brian Goodwin’s head for a double. The A’s lead 5-3.

The Angels made it a one-run game in the bottom of the sixth. With two out, Angels’ third baseman Anthony Rendon homered. Rendon homered in all three games, and it was his fourth of the year. A’s manager Bob Melvin, brought in Jake Diekman to take over from Bassitt. Diekman struck out Albert Pujols to end the inning. The A’s were still ahead 5-4.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ramon Laureano made his third sensational defensive play of the day to rob Goodwin of the game-tying home run. Laureano raced back to the base of the centerfield wall and timed his leap to catch the ball as it was about to leave the park.

In the eighth, the A’s scored three runs with only one hit. Three Angel relievers walked Grossman, Piscotty, Murphy, and Marcus Semien for one run. Laureano singled to drive in two more to put the A’s ahead 8-4. Joaquin Soria shut the Angels down in the eighth, and Liam Hendriks closed out the game for Oakland in the ninth. The A’s win 8-4.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are now 13-6 for the season. The Angels drop to 7-12. Chriss Bassitt is now 2-0. Canning Griffin absorbed the loss, and his record is 0-3.
Ramon Laureano made three outstanding defensive plays and had a two-run single for the day. Liam Hendriks set an A’s record by striking out a batter in 28 consecutive games. He held the record at 27.

The Angels used eight pitchers on Wednesday. Angels’ catcher Jason Castro struck out four times to earn a Golden Sombrero.

The A’s are off on Thursday. They meet the San Francisco Giants for a three-game set at Oracle Park on Friday. It will be the annual Battle of the Bay. The two teams will play six games this year, and the winner of the series gets to receive the Bay Bridge trophy.
Frankie Montas will go for Oakland. Johnny Cueto will pitch for the Giants. The game will start at 6:45 pm.

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Dylan Bundy delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angels Angels downed the A’s 6-0 Tuesday night at Anaheim. The Angels’ starter Dylan Bundy used all five pitches in his repertoire to baffle the A’s for seven innings. The Angels’ offense, for the second night in a row, hammered A’s pitching for four round-trippers.

The Angels have homered thirty-two times this year, the most in the American League. The A’s starter Mike Fiers worked out of a jam in the first inning. He set the Angels down in order in the second and third innings. The fourth inning was a different story.

In the fourth, Angels’ third baseman, Anthony Rendon, led off the frame with a home run. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani singled. First baseman Albert Pujols followed with a single. In his first year as an Angel, the veteran catcher, Jason Castro, slammed a blast into the seats in the right field. The Angels added a fifth run in the inning when right fielder Brian Goodwin hit a solo home run to make it 5-0.

The Angels shortstop David Fletcher, who loves to hit against the A’s, hit the team’s fourth dinger of the night to make it 6-0.

Dylan Bundy went seven innings allowing just four hits and struck out ten to win his third of the year. Fiers took the loss.

Game notes- Major League baseball suspended A’s centerfielder, Ramon Laureano, for six games for his actions in the brawl Sunday with the Astros. Laureano has appealed the decision and can play until the appeal is heard. Astros’ coach Alex Citron was suspended for 20 games for his role in inciting the brawl.

With the loss, the A’s have lost two in a row and are 12-6 for the season. The Angels improved to 7-11.

The A’s have now been held to no runs in their last fourteen innings of play.
The line score for Oakland was no runs, five hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was six runs, twelve hits, and no errors.The Angels have hit eight home runs in the series.

Game three will be played at 1:10 pm Wednesday. The A’s will send Chris Bassitt to the hill, and the Angels will counter with Griffin Canning.

(Sep 17, 2018 photo from Noah Berger to the SF Chronicle) The proposed site of the Oakland A’s new ball park Howard Terminal where shipping containers sit and where Schnitzer Steel conducts business. The A’s are suing Schnitzer over contamination issues.

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary:

#1 The Oakland A’s said regardless whether they get the new park at Howard Terminal at Jack London Square their still suing the State of California Toxic Substances Control because of Schnitzer Steel’s continuous contamination of the soil near the site of the A’s proposed park

#2 The A’s contend that Schnitzer is shredding over 200,000 tons of metal steel that is contaminating the air, water and soil next to the A’s stadium site. The A’s who filed the lawsuit on August 5th in Alameda Superior Court is asking for legal fees and demanding waste hazardous control and that Schnitzer clean up the toxic waste.

#3 The State of California Toxic Substances Control has been named as a defendant in the case because of their failure to enforce Schnitzer to clean up hazardous materials over the last 30 years according to A’s team president David Kaval.

#4 Kaval said that West Oakland has been suffering from high levels of pollution, health problems, asthma, heart disease, and Covid and the A’s are seeking a clean up plan from the Toxic Substances Control. Director of Public Affairs for Schnitzer Steel Colin Kelly said the A’s lawsuit is an attack on Schnitzer Steel saying the company has spent over $30 million in clean up and is a leader in emissions clean up at the Schnitzer Oakland facility.

#5 Kaval said whether or not the A’s get the park built at Howard Terminal the club will pursue the lawsuit against Schnitzer and the state Toxic Substances Control because the A’s offices are located at Jack London Square and it’s a separate issue from the ballpark.

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

 

Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angeles Angels came back from a 9-4 deficit to beat the A’s 10-9 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim Monday night. The A’s starter, Sean Manaea, had another rough outing. He went two-plus innings and was tagged for four runs and four hits.

The A’s offense put nine runs on the board to lead 9-4 after four innings. A’s third baseman, Matt Chapman, homered twice and had a triple to drive in six runs. The Angels’ relievers allowed the A’s just two hits after the fourth inning. Angels’ big boppers, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Shohei Ohtani, tagged A’s pitchers for four home runs as the Halos came back to win.

The Angels plated three runs in the bottom of the first. David Fletcher started the rally with a single. Tommy LaStella singled to right sending Fletcher to third. LaStella tried to stretch the single into a double, but Piscotty’s throw from right field nailed him at second. Fletcher scored on Sean Manaea’s wild pitch. Mike Trout singled and came home when Angels’ third baseman, Anthony Rendon, sent a Manaea pitch over the fence in left field. The Angels lead 3-0.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the second. Third baseman Matt Chapman led off with a home run. The A’s put men on at first and second with no out. Angels’ starter Julio Teheran hit Mark Canha with a pitch. He went to second on a Robbie Grossman single. Stephen Piscotty singled to drive in Canha with the A’s second run.

Chad Pinder hit a sharp ground ball to third. Grossman, running on contact, was caught in a rundown. Piscotty motored to third, and Pinder advanced to second. Piscotty scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at three.

The A’s put two more on the board in the third. Matt Olson walked and went to second on a passed ball. Matt Chapman hit a hanging slider about 440 feet to put the A’s ahead 5-3. The Angels added a run in their half of the inning.

Manaea gave up a single to Mike Trout and a walk to Rendon. Trout went to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a single by Justin Upton. A’s manager Bob Melvin replaced Manaea with J.B. Wendelken. Wendelken was able to retire the Angels without any further damage.

The A’s scored four more in the fourth to take a 9-4 advantage. The A’s loaded the bases with one out. Matt Chapman tripled to right-center field to clear the bases. Chapman scored when Angels’ left fielder Justin Upton dropped Mark Canha’s fly.

The Angels refused to wilt. They plated three runs in their half of the fourth. With one out, LaStella, who loves to torment the A’s, doubled. The next hitter, Mike Trout, homered to make it a 9-6 game.

Wendelken’s night ended when he walked Anthony Rendon. Lefty T.J.McFarland replaced him on the hill. Angels’ Designated hitter, Shohei Ohtani, doubled to send Rendon to third. Rendon scored on an Albert Pujols ground out. The A’s still lead 9-7 after four complete.

The Angels tied the game in the sixth. Lou Trivino was now pitching for Oakland. Trivino struck out Trout for the first out. Rendon singled and scored on Ohtani’s home run.

Mike Trout won the game for the Halos in the eighth. With one out, he slammed his second dinger of the night to give the Angels a 10-9 lead. Ty Buttrey closed out the game for LA. The final score is 10-9 in favor of LA.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s nine-game winning streak ended. They are now 12-5 for the year. The Angels improved to 6-11.

Matt Chapman was the hitting star for the A’s. Chappie’s two homers and a triple made him the first A’s player since Mitchell Page accomplished that feat. Page did it in 1977 against Boston.

The hitting stars for LA were Tommy LaStella with two hits. Mike Trout had four hits, two home runs, and three RBIs. Rendon had a single and home run, Ohtani, a double and homer. Rookie Jo Adell had two singles.

The line score for Oakland was nine runs, nine hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was ten runs, fourteen hits, and one error.

The A’s and Angels play game two of the three-game set Tuesday night. The game will start at 6:40 pm. Mike Fiers will pitch for Oakland. Dylan Bundy will go for the Halos.
The time of game was three hours and forty-one minutes.

Oakland A’s outfielder Ron Laureano is intercepted before he can get to Houston Astros coach Alex Cintron in the Astros dugout on Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum (sfgate.com photo)

Baseball With or Without Covid: There will be Brawls

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

As long as athletes are competitive in the game of baseball, brawls will happen. Doesn’t matter if there is a Pandemic. Nobody expected the A’s and Astros players, to put their masks on, and then go and exchange a few punches with the Astros after Ramón Laureano was hit in the back by a pitch by Astros rookie Sunday during a beautiful and warm August afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.

Ramón Laureano’s 2020 start has been hot, he is hitting well and he is driving in runs for the A’s. This was the second time in Sunday’s game that he was hit and the fifth (5) times that Ramón has been hit during the first two weeks of the season. Laureano charged the Astros dugout after he was taunted by Alex Cintrón from inside the dugout. Then all hell broke loose. Both teams went into battle mode. I remember how mad A’S manager Tony LaRussa used to get every time they hit his slugging first baseman Mark McGwire, which at one time was like the “punching bag” of the team, he was hitting all those home runs and the pitchers did not like it. As simple as that. No need for a great sports psychologist to come over.

Just like when the A’s or other teams hit a walk-off hit, there is a celebration and many times it is not totally contained. I have little doubt that brawls in the game will continue to happen this year, it is human nature. These guys have been trained to be competitive all their lives and in the moment, this is going to happen in the passion of the game, thing happen.

I know some in this culture like to see sort a utopian society behavior, but this is not going to happen, especially in professional sports. The A’s are hot, they have won the last nine games, swept the 3-game series over the reigning divisional champion Houston Astros, a team that is marked after their sign-stealing scandal. A team that in a way is lucky to have escaped much embarrassment returning to the field with no fans during this unique season.

About the brawl Sunday. “That’s one of those things in baseball where you don’t really think about what’s going on with mask-wearing in a pandemic when stuff like that is happening”. Said ex-A’s now Astros right fielder, Josh Reddick who added “You’re looking to get in there and protect your teammates the best you can, and try to minimize a situation that can get out of hand and do something that can keep going the rest of the season that we don’t want to have.

On July 28, Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly threw a ball near Alex Bregman’s head, and then taunted Carlos Correa. That started a benches-clearing incident at Minute Maid Park in Houston, between the two teams. Kelly was suspended for eight (8) games. In a 60 game season an eight game suspension is large, compared to a regular 162 game season.

This weekend we saw photos and videos in the news of lots of people at Dolores Park in San Francisco, not socially distancing, enjoying a sunny day, a lot of them not wearing mask, picnicking, rubbing elbows, throwing Frisbees to their dogs to catch and having a good time. These people were not working, but enjoying some leisure time. In contrast, a brawl happens in the heat of passion when players are working, this is their job to play baseball, and sometimes emotions will run hot and unfortunately are not possible to control.

Because of the Pandemic, Major League Baseball is very strict enforcing suspensions and fines in these types of incidents. Ramón Laureano, has been the best hitter and most consistent player for the Athletics this season, and is sure to get a costly suspension for the team. There will be others suspended on the other side.

Stay well and stay tuned.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio talent for 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Athletics’ Sean Murphy, Liam Hendriks (16) and Marcus Semien, from left, and teammates celebrate the 3-1 win over the Houston Astros in a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Charlie O

The Oakland A’s became baseball’s hottest team after they defeated the visiting Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum 3-1 winning their eighth straight game. The A’s Marcus Semien who got the game winning hit the night before in the 13th inning to send the Astros packing this time lead off the ball game on Saturday with a home run in the first inning.

The A’s also got some great pitching help from starter Frankie Montas who picked up his second win against one loss throwing seven innings of shutout ball against a Astros line up that can pound the ball. Montas was pitching out of his mind and looked like he could have completed the game if it weren’t for the pitch count.

Montas surrendered two hits and walked a hitter the seven innings of work and top it off Montas struck out five batters. For the Astros their suffering in their own right taking a fourth straight loss, they have three starting pitchers that are shelved and can’t seem to get that old magic feeling like when they won their three previous AL West division title seasons.

Semien is off to the races during the A’s eight game win streak Semien is the first A’s player in the team’s franchise history to get a get a walk off hit to win a ball game and the very next day to leadoff with a home run.

Mark Chapman also provided some offense for the club he belted an eighth inning homer and picked up an RBI when he grounded out in the sixth. The A’s scored a single run in each of the first, sixth, and eighth inning frames good enough to defeat the Astros.

This was Astros manager Dusty Baker’s first visit back to the Bay Area. Dusty worked in the San Francisco Giants front office last season before getting hired as the Astros manager for this season. Dusty is trying to weather the storm with an injured pitching staff of starters and the team in the middle of a four game losing streak.

Sunday’s starting pitchers: The Houston Astros for game three of this series will be starting right hander Cristian Javier (1-0 ERA 1.42) with 11 strikeouts on Sunday. Javier won his first major league game on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

The A’s will be starting left hander Jesus Luzardo (0-0 ERA 2.31) threw five innings of shutout ball in his major league starting debut against the Texas Rangers. Luzardo made his major league pitching  debut in releif against the Houston Astros last season.