Category: Oakland Athletics

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Hall of Fame weekend is their World Series

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: espn.com

By: Amaury Pi-González

In Cooperstown, New York this weekend six players will have the weekend of their lives with their families, friends and fans as their names will be engraved into immortality in alphabetical order: Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martínez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith.

Cooperstown is a beautiful small town that’s best known as the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

For the greatest Hall of Fame in all American sports, this is their World Series, their Superbowl, their Olympics and their World Cup altogether. Dozens of living inductees will be on hand to welcome the new class of six. The last time I visited Cooperstown, it was part of a vacation to the east coast in November 2009. From the Bay Area by plane to Miami and then up to New York, where I bordered a train from Penn Station to Albany, NY. There, in Albany, I had a rental car awaiting and from there I drove to Cooperstown, driving through beautiful green rolling hills country. The whole trip takes about 5 hours and I recommend to anybody that has the time to do it. It is truly a nice relaxing trip. Cooperstown reminds me of the movie “Back to the Future” with old brick buildings and where you feel it is 1952 all over again.

Two of the six players that will be inducted have a direct connection with the Bay Area. Harold Baines, who played with the Oakland A’s from 1990 to 1992, played a total of 22 years for various clubs, ending with 2,830 games, 2,886 hits, 1,628 runs batted in, 384 home runs and a solid .289 batting average. A designated hitter for a great part of that stellar career.

Mike Mussina attended Stanford University where he pitched for three years. He was one of the most consistent pitchers in the majors for 18 years (10 with the Yankees and eight with the Orioles). He won 270 and lost 153 with a 3.58 ERA, 2,813 strikeouts and 57 games completed in 3,562 innings pitched.

The other four will be Roy Halladay, whose family will be accepting in his behalf. He died on November 2017 as his small private plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. Halladay won two Cy Young Awards hurled a perfect game plus a no-hitter during playoffs with Philadelphia. 16 years with Toronto and Philadelphia, won-lost 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA who also completed 67 games. Roy “Doc” Halladay was one of the last pitchers that everybody expected to complete the game he started. I can only imagine if he was with us, what would Doc say about the new craziness by some teams to use an “opener” which is a man that would be scheduled to pitch only the first inning.

Edgar Martínez is one of only two players inducted this year that played their whole career with the same team. The Seattle Mariners from 1987 to 2004. He originally was a third-baseman, but became one of the best pure hitters of his generation as a DH. 2.056 games, 2,247 hits, 309 home runs and 1,261 runs batted in and a combined .312 average. He hit over .300 in 11 of his 18 seasons and he had the eye of an eagle, struck out only 1,202 times in 8,674 trips to the plate. I used to call him “el oportuno” (translation: “the clutch one”) because he was the type of hitter you want with the winning run on base, he will not disappoint.

Lee Smith. About time! This man should have been inducted many years ago. He was a great reliever. During 18 years saved 478 and pitched for Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, NY Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos.

Mariano Rivera. Born in Panamá, the land of the great Hall of Famer Rod Carew, Rivera was the greatest closer in the history in this position. With a cutter from heaven he saved an incredible 652 games with a 2.21 ERA in 1,115 games,1,283 innings pitched with 1,173 strikeouts. It would be safe to say that this save record is safe and might not be broken during mine, yours, your kids and their kids years unless if baseball invents another crazy rule. Rivera only played for one club, the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. He is a wonderful man who is truly an idol in his native Panamá. Also, a real gentleman. Every time I interviewed Rivera, he conducted himself with great professionalism. We were truly privileged to have witnessed his career.

Congratulations to all! They represent the best of the best.

Twins snap A’s win streak with 6-3 victory

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @morsecode

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s began their seven-game road trip to Minnesota and Houston on a down note Thursday night. The AL Central leaders hit three-home runs to come from a 3-1 deficit to win 6-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

The A’s Mike Fiers pitched well again. The A’s putative ace went 6 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and three runs. Fiers was responsible for two runners in the seventh, and when the Twins’ Eddie Rosario homered on the first pitch from Yusmeiro Petit, any chance that Fiers would get a win went down the drain.

The Twins’ Kyle Gibson went seven innings and allowed six hits and three runs and received credit for his ninth win of the year against four losses.

The Twins put the first run of the game on the board in the third inning. Fiers walked big Miguel Sano to start the frame. Jake Cave singled to advance Sano to second. Both runners advanced a base on a sacrifice base. Fiers didn’t help his cause when he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Sano to score.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the fourth. Ramon Laureano singled and scored on a double by Khris Davis. In the sixth, Laureano singled and scored on Jurickson Profar’s 14th big fly of the season to put the A’s ahead.

Fiers started the seventh by striking out C.J.Cron for the first out. Luis Arreaz doubled, and Sano walked again. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch. The Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli made a counter-move by bringing in left-handed hitter Eddie Rosario to pinch hit for Jake Cave. Rosario hit the first pitch from Petit into the seats in right-center-field to give the Twins a 4-3 advantage after seven innings of play

The Twins hit two more solo jobs in the eighth. Lou Trivino was now pitching for the A’s, but he gave up homers to Mitch Garver and Cron. Twins lefty reliever, Taylor Rogers, pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn the save and preserve the win for Gibson

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s drop to 54-42. They trail the Cleveland Indians by one game for the first wild card spot. They are tied for the second spot with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays lost twice to the Yankees, and Tampa is now in a virtual tie with Oakland.

The hitting stars for the A’s were Ramon Laureano with three singles and two runs scored and Jurickson Profar with his 14th home run of the year that gave the A’s  3-1 lead,

The A’s line was three runs, six hits, and no errors. The Twins’ line was six runs, nine hits, and two errors.

Time of game was three hours and 18 minutes.

Up Next: The A’s and Twins play their second game Friday at 5:10 pm PT.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O for Jerry Feitelberg: 6 home runs for A’s, but is the ball really juiced?; Bailey makes debut

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Mark Canha, right, is congratulated by third base coach Matt Williams (4) after hitting a home run off Seattle Mariners’ Tommy Milone in the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 17, 2019, in Oakland, Calif

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O for Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Is the ball juiced? There were six home runs hit during the A’s-Mariners game in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon.

#2 A’s hit six home runs Wednesday from Jurickson Profar 12th and 13th, Mark Canha 14th and 15th, Chad Pinder 8th, and Ramon Laureano 19th. In this lineup, you just never know who is going to get a base knock, but on Wednesday, it was everybody.

#3 A’s starter Homer Bailey debuted for Oakland pitching six innings, two earned runs and six strikeouts. He might be what the doctor ordered for the A’s rotation.

#4 The Mariners have had a rough trip so far in Anaheim. They got no hit on Tyler Skaggs night. the odds were not with them that night, then in Oakland, the Mariners getting swept in a two-game series by a hot A’s club. Most likely will be sellers at the trade deadline.

#5 A’s head to Minnesota for a four-game series starting on Thursday night at Target Field. For the A’s, Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.61 ERA), and for the Twins, Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.03 ERA).

Catch the A’s podcast with Charlie O for Jerry Feitelberg Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Elway hopes Flacco can come through at QB for Broncos; Harrison arrested for assault in Arizona; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @9NEWSSports

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony:

#1 Denver Broncos general manager John Elway says that quarterback Joe Flacco, who joined the Broncos from the Baltimore Ravens in March, is a player that he really looks forward to break the string of quarterbacks that didn’t work out for the Broncos in the past.

#2 Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Desmond Harrison, who was arrested for attempting to strangle a woman, was released by Arizona today. Harrison had joined the Cardinals in June after playing for the Cleveland Browns. Harrison had eight games at left tackle for Cleveland.

#3 Former Oakland Raider wide receiver Mattavias Bryant applied for reinstatement after being suspended for drug abuse. Bryant has missed 36 of 80 games. Bryant is serving his third suspension and the NFL as of now will not reinstate him.

#4 The NFLPA and the NFL are close to an agreement on the collective bargaining agreement. The two sides are trying to iron on some other issues. Both sides report that meetings have been constructive and making progress.

#5 Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he wasn’t there to be understood. One players who didn’t get along with him was Antonio Brown who left for Oakland. Tomlin says he’s fair to everyone, although he might treat others differently.

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Quakes tie Real Valladolid in friendly 1-1; A’s and Giants keep rolling; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 The San Jose Earthquakes are on a roll and picked up a huge win in Los Angeles against the Galaxy on a two-goal win 3-1. Jackson Yueill, Danny Hoesen, and Valeri Qazaishvili scored a goal each to help the Quakes to the win.

#2 London tells us how the success of the club and their turnaround has made this season one for the books. At 9-4-7, the team is in fifth and can very well make the climb in the standing if they can keep this up.

#3 How much of an impact has Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda made on this club, the Quakes? The Quakes had such a good friendly on Tuesday night against Real Villadolid, which ended up in a 1-1 draw.

#4 Turning to the red-hot Oakland A’s, there’s no mercy rule as the A’s keep pounding opponents by hitting as Matt Chapman got five RBIs and homered in the A’s win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night 9-2 and Wednesday the A’s pounded out six home runs and Chad Pinder and Jurickson Profar both hit two home runs each to beat Seattle 10-2.

#5 The Giants, on Tuesday night, went into the 10th inning tied at 4-4 and rallied for four runs when Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Alex Dickerson, and Brandon Crawford scored runs for the 8-4 win over the Colorado Rockies. The Giants came right back on Wednesday’s matinee and clubbed the Rockies again 11-8 to sweep the series.

London does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s blow out the Mariners 10-2

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners played the second game of a two-game set at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon.

The A’s starting lineup featured starting pitcher Homer Bailey, who made his debut as an Oakland Athletic, as well as Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Mark Canha, Ramon Laureano, Khris Davis, Jurickson Profar, Chad Pinder and Josh Phegley.

After a scoreless first inning, the Mariners opened the scoring for a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Dylan Moore tripled to Mark Canha and Tim Beckham scored on the play. Shortly after, the M’s made it 2-0 on a Dee Gordon single that scored Dylan Moore.

But the A’s tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the second inning. Jurickson Profar hit a game-tying home run that scored Ramon Laureano.

The A’s announced that Matt Chapman left the game in the top of the third inning with left ankle soreness. After that, the A’s went ahead 3-2 on a Mark Canha home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Mark Canha resurfaced in the bottom of the sixth inning with a home run. The A’s took a 4-2 lead.

The crowd cheered when Chad Pinder hit a three-run home run that scored Ramon Laureano and Jurickson Profar in the bottom of the sixth inning. The A’s were up 7-2.

Ramon Laureano hit a home run to give the A’s a 8-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Moments later, Jurickson Profar hit his second home run of the game and his 13th of the season to help the A’s to a double-digit 10-2 lead.

After two hours and 49 minutes of play, the A’s blew out the Mariners by a final score of 10-2.

Today’s attendance was 19,161.

The A’s head to Target Field to take on the Minnesota Twins for a four-game series. Game one will be played on Thursday at 5:10 pm PT.

A’s continue to roll as they down the Mariners 9-2

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s continued their winning ways as they won their fifth in a row to down the Seattle Mariners 9-2 at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday night.

This was the 14th game of the season between the two teams. Even though the Mariners entered the game with a record of 39-58, they held a 7-6 advantage over the A’s. The M’s sent lefty Marco Gonzalez to the hill to stop the A’s. Gonzalez had beaten the A’s three times this year and was hoping to win his fourth. The A’s Daniel Mengden was given the task of slowing down the Seattle offense.

Seattle took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second when catcher Omar Narvaez led off the inning with a solo homer. It was his 15th of the year and the third in his last two games against the A’s. Narvaez has taken over as the guy that loves to kill the A’s. Mitch Haniger had that role, but he is on the injured list.

The A’s plated two runs in the bottom of the third. With one out, Josh Phegley singled. Marcus Semien doubled to put men on at second and third. Matt Chapman singled to drive them in to put the A’s ahead 2-1.

The A’s put three on the board in the fifth. Gonzalez retired the first two A’s hitters he faced. With a 3-2 count on Marcus Semien, Gonzalez threw a pitch that appeared to be strike three. Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora took a step back and looked as if he was going to call Semien out on strikes. He didn’t, and Semien had a free pass. The Matts, Chapman, and Olson, went back-to-back to put the A’s ahead 5-1. For Chapman, it was his 22nd of the year. For Olson, it was his 20th.

The A’s scored one on the sixth. Ramon Laureano doubled with one out. Laureano took off for third. Gonzalez threw behind him to second baseman Dee Gordon. Gordon’s throw to Kyle Seager was not on the mark and sailed past Seager. That miscue allowed Laureano to score. The error was the 96th of the year for the M’s They have committed more errors than any other team in baseball this year.

In the seventh, Semien doubled when his blooper to right field fell in safely as three Mariners had a chance to make the putout. Chappie doubled to drive in Semien. Chappie has five RBIs in the game. The onslaught continued as Oakland scored two more in the eighth. Singles by Laureano and Pinder put men on at first and second. The runners advanced on a wild pitch, and both scored on Phegley’s single.

With two out in the ninth and Blake Treinen pitching, Omar Narvaez continued his hot-hitting against the A’s when he homered again. Treinen retired the next batter to end the game.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 54-41. They have won five in a row, 13 out of the last 16, and 18 out of the previous 23. The A’s are tied with Cleveland for the second Wild Card slot and trail the Tampa Bay Rays by one game for the first slot. They also gained a game on the AL West leader Houston Astros and now trail them by 4 1/2 games.

Daniel Mengden won his fourth game in a row and is now 5-1 for the year. Mengden has not walked a batter in his last three starts.

Asked what his secret to success was, Mengden replied: “Keep them off balance and go from there.”

Mengden threw strikes on the first pitch to 16 of the 25 hitters he faced. He went 7 innings and allowed four hits and one run. The only mistake he made was the gopher ball that he served to Omar Narvaez. Gonzalez went six innings and allowed seven hits and six runs. He is 10-8 for the year.

Matt Chapman hit his 22nd dinger and has knocked in 59 so far. Matt Olson hit his 20th and has an 11-game hitting streak going.

Umpire Brian O’Nura left the game after the end of the fifth inning. He had been complaining of blurred vision to the trainers, and after missing the call, he went to the trainer’s room for treatment. Jame Hoye took over calling balls and strikes.

Time of game was two hours and 44 minutes and 18,718 fans watched the A’s win again.

Up Next: The A’s sent J.B. Wendelken to Las Vegas to make room for Homer Bailey who was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Bailey will make his A’s debut Wednesday afternoon against the Mariners at 12:37 pm.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s rise from last place to making a run at the Astros

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

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

#1 The A’s are making a run at second place in the AL West and chasing the Houston Astros after having a rough first half. They came on strong in the closing weeks of the first half now in sight for a wild card and just six games back behind the Astros.

#2 The San Francisco Giants are another team that has been making noise. They have won 11 of their last 12 games and they didn’t waste any time in Colorado, taking out the Rockies in a doubleheader on Monday.

#3 If the Giants were to trade Madison Bumgarner, would he be a second half trade rental?

#4 The Tampa Bay Rays have won five of their last six games, including two wins over the New York Yankees on July 4th and 5th. The Rays are in a heated battle with the Yankees, which started Monday night.

#5 The Chicago Cubs had won five of their last six games going into Monday night’s game with the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs are holding a two-game lead in the NL Central.

Amaury Pi-González is a pioneer in establishing Spanish baseball radio play-by-play in the Bay Area that dates back to 1970s. The Spanish broadcast for 72 games are heard on KIQI 1010A/990AM with studios in San Francisco, serving also the Sacramento/Stockton market and does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com 

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O : A’s on 4-game win streak and 1 1/2 games back for a wild card

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The A’s are on a tear. They are winners of their last seven of eight games and on a four-game win streak.

#2 The A’s are getting some key and timely hitting to name of few of the key hitters of late in the lineup like Marcus Semien .272, Matt Chapman .274, Matt Olson .254, returning back from the IL Khris Davis .235, and Mark Canha .254.

#3 The A’s are just a 1 1/2 out of first place behind the Tampa Bay Rays and tied with Cleveland for second place in the AL Wild Card chase.

#4 The A’s even capitalized on an error to win Sunday’s game at the Coliseum on a ground ball and Chad Pinder running at first for the A’s. The White Sox Shortstop Jose Rondon fielded the ball, but threw past second baseman Yolmer Sanchez to allow Pinder to score all the way from first base.

#5 The A’s open a two-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Coliseum against the Seattle Mariners. Starting for the M’s, Marco Gonzalez (10-7, 4.24 ERA), and for the A’s, Daniel Mengden (4-1, 4.73 ERA).

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Preview of the A’s series with the Mariners

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s, winners of four in a row, and eight of their last ten resume play Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are languishing in last place in the AL West with a record of 39-58. The A’s are in second place in the AL West and trail the first-place Houston Astros by six games.

The Mariners have been a tough team for the A’s to subdue. They have played the A’s fairly even this year even though they are not playing well. The A’s started slowly this season, but have turned the season around as they are now 12 games over the .500 mark with a record of 53-41. They have won eight of the last ten and four in a row. They swept all three games from the Chicago White Sox over the weekend.

The Mariners have announced that lefty Marco Gonzalez will pitch Tuesday night. Gonzalez is 10-7 for the year and has an ERA of 4.24. Gonzalez is 5-1 with an ERA of 2.89 in his last starts. He is 3-0 against Oakland and in his previous outing against the A’s he went eight innings, and the M’s beat the A’s 6-3. Daniel Mengden (4-1, 4.73 ERA) will pitch for Oakland. Mengden beat the M’s on July 7th at Seattle. He went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs. Mengden is 1-2 lifetime versus the Mariners.

On Wednesday, Homer Bailey will make his debut for the A’s. The A’s obtained Bailey from the Kansa City Royals on Sunday. Bailey has an ERA of 3.49 over his last seven starts with the Royals and is 7-6 overall for the year, and is 1-1 against the M’s in two career starts. The M’s have not announced their pitcher for Wednesday’s game.

The A’s pitchers still will have to face several Mariners’ players that can do damage. M’s catcher Omar Narvaez hit two home runs against the A’s on July 7th. Narvaez is hitting .290 and has 14 homers and 36 RBI’s for the year. M’s first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, who also will DH, made the All-Star team and he comes in hitting .239 with 21 dingers and 51 ribbies. The A’s know that Dee Gordon, J.P.Crawford, Kyle Seager, Domingo Santana, Mallex Smith, and former SF Giant Mac Williamson are players that can do damage and the A’s pitchers will have to be careful facing them.

Mitch Haniger and Ryon Healy are two Mariners that are still on the IL. Haniger loves to hit against the A’s and Healy, who was traded to Seattle last year, would like nothing better than beating his old team. Healy may be available, but Haniger will not come off the IL until late July.

The A’s know that they have to beat teams that are not doing well. They would like to sweep the two-game series with the Mariners as they go on a seven-day road trip to the AL central leader, the Minnesota Twins for four, and the AL West leader, the Houston Astros for three. The A’s took two out of three from the Twins in early July. The Astros, on the other hand, have handled the A’s so far this season.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the A’s when they return home. They will play four with the Texas Rangers after the Astro series. The Rangers, one of the big surprises in baseball this season, and trailing the A’s by two games in the race for second place in the AL West, will be a big test for the A’s. After the series with the Rangers, the A’s will face two teams from the NL Central that are fighting for spots in the playoffs. They will play three against the Milwaukee Brewers and two against the St. Louis Cardinals. The A’s have been playing well.

They have the ingredients for success. Their starting pitching has been solid, and with the addition of Bailey, should get better. Liam Hendriks has stepped out and done the job as the team’s closer. Blake Treinen’s problems with control have taken him out of the closer’s role for the time being. The A’s are working to get him back to the form that he had in 2018. Lou Trivino also needs to get back to his 2018 form.

The rest of the bullpen has done the job.

The A’s offense has come to life, and there are no easy outs in the lineup. The A’s shine on defense, They have a Gold Glover at third and one at first. Marcus Semien has improved so much at shortstop. He is also a candidate for a Gold Glove. Ramon Laureano in centerfield has an incredible arm and Robbie Grossman, Mark Canha, and Chad Pinder are more than adequate on defense. Stephen Piscotty in on the 10-day IL with a sprained right knee.

The A’s won 97 games last season. They know that they are in a race for the second wild card slot right now. They trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 1 1/2 games for the first wild card slot. The Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox are all teams that have a chance to make the playoffs. The A’s will not play the Indians or Red Sox again this year. They will face the White Sox back in Chicago in August and have seven with the lowly Kansas City Royals. They have eleven games left with the Astros and six with the New York Yankees.

The A’s are playing with confidence. A’s manager Bob Melvin has been punching all the right buttons. The message is clear. Take them one at a time and go out there and win.