Category: Oakland Athletics

1,000 Ways To Thrive: A’s nip the White Sox, acquire starter Homer Bailey from the Royals

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–When it comes to post All-Star break success, the A’s have no peer. With Bob Melvin pulling the strings, the Billy Beane-led front office making the deals, not to mention the baseballs flying over the fence, the A’s know how to put the finishing touches on a 162-game season.

On Sunday at the Coliseum, the A’s laid the foundation for the 2019 version of the climb up the American League standings with a 3-2, walkoff win over the White Sox.

Baserunner Chad Pinder, looking to take second base on Ramon Laureano’s ground ball in the hole, instead raced home with the winning run when shortstop Jose Rondon’s throw sailed past second and into foul ground as the alert Pinder crossed the plate.

“I was just trying to beat the throw, and as I’m sliding, I saw the second baseman lunge a bit,” Pinder recounted. “And from there, I was trying to get ahold of Matt (the third base coach) and see what he sees. He sent me, so I went home.”

After the Sox were basically no-shows on Friday and Saturday, losing both days by a combined score of 18-3, starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez set the tone by limiting the A’s to three hits with seven strikeouts through six innings.

Lopez had allowed at least one home run in ten consecutive starts, while the A’s had homered in 14 straight games, but that intersection was bypassed when Lopez exited with a 2-1 lead.

A’s starter Brett Anderson stepped on a bat in foul territory, allowed a tie breaking homer to Eloy Jimenez, and exited in the seventh after a Yolmer Sanchez double. But other than those unfortunate moments, Anderson was steady in pursuit of his tenth win of the season.

Once Lopez departed, the home run ball appeared. Laureano got the A’s even leading off the seventh with his career-best 18th off reliever Evan Marshall.

“We felt like he had a chance to be a 30-homer guy,” Melvin said. “Maybe he’s on pace a little sooner than we expected.”

The A’s have won 12 of 15, and surpassed Cleveland, Texas and Boston in the ever-changing wild card race. The A’s are within striking range of the Astros in the AL West as well.

Given that, the Sunday morning’s timing of the deal with the Royals to acquire starting pitcher Homer Bailey was brilliant. Bailey was scratched during warmups in Kansas City, and will be available on Wednesday afternoon for his first start with the A’s.

The deal for the 33-year old former Red who pitched a no-hitter against the Giants came at the cost of 2017 compensatory pick Kevin Merrell, an infielder with speed currently at AA-Midland.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary Q &A: Mid-season Chat with the Athletics President

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photo from TK Sports and sportsblogs.com: Oakland A’s president David Kaval is Amaury Pi Gonzalez’ guest for this week’s That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

Mid-season Chat with the Athletics President

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–The All-Star Game has come and gone. The American League continues to show its superiority over the National League. It doesn’t matter if the games counts or are only exhibitions, the American League keeps winning, extending their winning streak to seven-in-a-row. Talking about winning, the Oakland Athletics are on a roll again, with almost the same record as they had last season at this time of the year when they took-off with a sensational second half, advancing to the postseason.

There is nobody more enthusiastic about the A’s success that Mr. Dave Kaval, their President, and why not. There is great news all overcoming from this organization as we entered the second half of this season. I had basically two questions in mind for Mr. Kaval.

APG: How do you feel about the 1st half of the season for the A’s?

DK: “How can you not love this team?! Fiers’ lights-out no-hitter; Ramon Laureano’s laser arm in centerfield; Josh Phegley’s emergence at the plate and the amazing defense of Matt Chapman and Matt Olson at the corners. They’re an exciting”

APG. What is the latest on the proposal for the stadium at Howard Terminal?

DK: “We’ve had a very busy few months working on our plans for a waterfront ballpark at Jack London Square. In May, the Board of Port Commissioners voted 7-0 to approve a term sheet between the Port of Oakland and the Oakland Athletics”

A big test for the club is coming, as they embark on a road trip that takes the young A’s to Minnesota and Houston, two first-place teams. The Minnesota Twins are one of the great surprises this season as they have owned the Central Division (once dominated by the Cleveland Indians) during the first half of the season. They will play a four-game series at Minnesota 18th to the 21st, the next day they are in Texas, against the Houston Astros for a three-game series.

While a lot of discussions is focused on the Wild Card already, the A’s have a total of 11 games left against Houston, seven at Houston and four at Oakland. Not to overlook Minnesota, but Houston is getting healthier and they are a formidable team when they have Springer, Altuve, Bregman, and Company, plus a very good pitching staff headed by All-Star Justin Verlander. It should be fun, because the A’S are not afraid of anybody these days, and they also had their share of injuries.

We thank Dave Kaval, as we share his enthusiasm, with the largest minority in the Bay Area, that of Latinos (around 2 million people) many more during the next Census and, many who have been supporting the Athletics for many years, are also excited about the possibility of a new ballpark.

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.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: No stopping the Swinging A’s now Oakland wins 8 out 10 games

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sfgate photo: Oakland Athletics’ Franklin Barreto swings for a three-run home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher Ross Detwiler in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 13, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The A’s crushed the Chicago White Sox 13-2 as the A’s got plenty of offense on Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 The A’s Franklin Baretto got things going in the bottom of the first crushing a 1-1 pitch for a three run homer .

#3 The A’s in the first inning sent ten hitters to the plate and scored seven runs it was game over.

#4 The A’s continued their hitting derby with five consecutive hits in the fourth inning

#5 Joey takes a look at Sunday’s pitchers for the Chicago White Sox Reynaldo Lopez (4-8 ERA 6.34) and for the A’s Brett Anderson (9-5 ERA 3.86)

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

A’s score early and often in destroying the ChiSox 13-2 on Saturday

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Canha
Canha and Olson celebrate on a day when the A’s score 13 runs Photo: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Oakland — The A’s continued their winning ways on Saturday as they won for the eighth time in their last 10 games dominating the Chicago White Sox (42-46) 13-2. Oakland put seven runs up on the board in the first inning. That was the first time the Athletics had done that since 2014 against the Astros.

The A’s sent 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the first inning. The big highlight of that inning was when Franklin Barreto hit a 1-1 pitch from Ross Detwiler over the wall in left field with two runners on base for a 3-run home run. It was his second round-tripper of the year. Bob Melvin said it was a “huge” hit that really put the Athletics on the winning path.

Chicago starting pitcher Dylan Covey lasted just 0.2-innings as he gave up six runs (all earned off just four hits. Covey walked two batters and struck out one. He threw 32 (20 strikes) pitches to the eight batters he faced. And of course, Covey (1-5) was charged with the loss.

The A’s never let up in the game. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Oakland (52-41) hit five consecutive base hits that resulted in four runs. With the score at 11-0, you could sense the competitive spirit of the White Sox had left the building.

Focus on the Athletics

Bassitt
Photo/Graphic: @Athletics
  • Chris Bassitt picked up his sixth victory of the season as he worked six scoreless innings. Bassitt allowed just four hits while walking just two and striking out six of the 24 batters he faced. This was the first time Bassitt had worked that many innings since back on June 2nd versus Houston. He wound up with a no-decision in that contest. Bob Melvin was pleased with Bassitt because he worked hard with the big lead and did not lose his focus.
  • The top four men the Oakland batting order went 9-for-16 in the game. They scored seven runs and recorded three RBI. Marcus Semien went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Matt Chapman had a 3-for-4 day with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. Matt Olson was 2-for-4 with the bat while scoring three runs and adding an RBI. DH Khris Davis had a 1-for-3 game scoring two runs and driving in one run. Skipper Bob Melvin acknowledged that his top four men in the batting order are the keys to his team’s offense.
  • Blake Treinen was able to get some work in as he pitched the seventh inning. He gave up two runs off two hits. Melvin was not concerned about Treinen’s performance as it was not in the type of “high pressure” situations the reliever normally works in during games.
  • Melvin was also pleased to get Lou Trivino into the game for an inning. Trivino had not seen any game action since July 4th. He worked one scoreless inning on Saturday.
  • The A’s scored 13 runs off 13 hits and recorded 13 RBI in the game on Saturday.
  • Oakland is now 6-2 in the month of July. The A’s have won three consecutive games. They have won all three series that they played in July.
  • The A’s record is now 28-20 at home and 24-21 on the road.
  • The team is 20-15 in day games.
Barreto
Franklin Barreto celebrates after A’s win Photo: @Athletics

Chicago White Sox Notes

  • Dylan Covey’s 0.2-innings was the shortest by a ChiSox pitcher since September 21, 2017, when Carson Fulmer left after just 0.1-inning pitched due to a blister.
  • White Sox catcher Zack Collins ended an 0-for-23 hitless streak when he singled in the seventh inning. Collins had not recorded a hit since hitting a home run in his first Major League at-bat. Chicago pitchers may not be thrilled to have Collins behind the dish when they are on the mound. They have a 6.50 ERA when Collins is catching.
  • Yoan Moncada ended his career-high 14-game hitting streak (23-for-57) by going 0-for-4 in the game. He was hitting .404 during the streak.
  • Outfielder Jon Jay had a 2-for-4 game with the bat and has now reached base safely in 11 of his 12 games with the Sox.

Interesting factoid of the game

Today’s announced attendance was 22,222. For a while, it felt like that might be the total number of runs that might be scored in the game.

Up Next

In the series finale on Sunday, the White Sox will send RHP Reynaldo Lopez (4-8, 6.34) to the hill to face the Athletics LHP Brett Anderson (9-5, 3.86). Anderson was victorious in his last start in Seattle on July 5th – winning that game 5-2.

 

MLB podcast with Matt Harrington: Posey’s slam paces Giants for win over Brew Crew; A’s Fiers pitches to a 5-1 win over Chisox; plus more

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey hits a grand slam during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, July 12, 2019, in Milwaukee

On the MLB podcast with Matt:

#1 A grand time to be had by all San Francisco catcher Buster Posey whose been hitting below .300 or near it all season which is unusual for him hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to help launch the Giants to a 10-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on Friday night.

#2 Oakland A’s pitcher Mik Fiers pitched 7.2 innings of shutout ball against the visiting Chicago White Sox as the A’s held a 5-0 lead and eventually won it 5-1.

#3 Red Sox were back to their old ways again with some home run help from Xander Bogaerts with a three run homer, and solo homers from Rafael Devers and Christian Vazquez as the one hour rain delayed game was worth the wait as the Sox crushed the LA Dodgers 8-1.

#4 The hot Minneosta Twins continue to roll with a 5-3 win over Cleveland Jorge Polanco knocked a two run double in the seventh inning that ended Cleveland’s six game win streak.

#5 The New York Yankees blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 6-0 as pitcher Domingo German pitched six innings of shutout ball and Edwin Encarnacion belted a three run double to contribute to the run total.

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s off to a great start in the second half, rout the White Sox 5-1

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Lewis Rubman

Chicago White Sox: 1 | 10 | 1
Oakland Athletics: 5 |13 | 0

OAKLAND — For the third time this year, Mike Fiers took the mound for the A’s to open a segment of the season. He was trounced by Seattle in Tokyo in the season opener but came back eight days later to get the win against the Angels in Oakland’s first game of the campaign on American soil, although his performance on that occassion didn’t even rate as a quality start. His pitching picked up in May, including a no-hitter on the seventh, and, when Frankie Montás was suspended on June 21 for violating MLB’s drug policies, Fiers became the undisputed ace of the A’s pitching staff, a distinction he in any case deserved by dint of his own efforts. The A’s starter went into tonight’s contest with an ERA of 2.87 in May, 2.30 in June, and 1.50 for his one start in July. He faced the task of getting the third portion of the season, the long haul between the All=Star Game and the final stretch drive, off to a successful start.

Facing him for the White Sox was Iván Nova, a right-hander much given to throwing sinker balls and having a 4-7, 5.88 ERA record to show for it.

The A’s opened the scoring in the top of the first, when, with one out, Matt Chapman’s line drive ate up Leury García at short and ended up as a single to left. Matt Olson promptly moved Chapman to third with a single to right. The A’s third baseman then scored on Khris Davis’s clean single to center. Nova escaped further damage by inducing Mark Canha to hit into an inning ending double play, short to second to first.

Ramón Laureano extended the A’s lead by blasting a 2-2 pitch into the second deck left field seats for his seventeenth home run of the season. Not to be outdone, Jurickson Profar, batting left-handed, the switch-hitting second sacker’s weak side, followed with a homer, his eleventh, into the Budweiser seats in right, putting the home team in front by a score of 3-0.

The Pale Hose threatened in the top of the third when Ryan Cordell and García, the number nine and one hitters, laced back to back one out singles. But Oakland’s Fiers put out the Chicago fire, striking out Yoán Moncada and José Abreu, both of them swinging.

Fiers kept on shutting out the Sox, and Nova settled down, not allowing the A’s any more runs until with one down in the bottom of the sixth Canha shot his 13th round tripper of the season over the center field fence, just to the right of the 400 foot sign. On the next pitch, Robbie Grossman lined a double off the left center field wall. But Nova got Laureano to ground out to third and Profar to first to keep the A’s from posting a crooked number.

But Nova had thrown 104 pitches, and that finished his work for the night. Josh Phegley greeeted his replacement, Juan Minaya, by hitting a solid single to left on his first offering in the home half of the seventh. Three pitches later, Semien plated Phegley with a triple to left center. Minaya got two quick outs on Chapman and Olson but then issued back-to-back walks to Davis and Canha to load the bases. Rick Rentería sent lefty Josh Osich in to face Grossman, who would have batted from his weak, right, side if Bob Melvin hadn’t sent Chad Pinder in to hit for him. Osich got his man on a called third strike. But, by now, the A’s held a 5-0 advantage over Chicago.

When Fiers walked John McCann with two down and a man on base in the top the eighth, the A’s starter had thrown 111 pitches over seven and two-thirds, innings, more pitches over more innings than in any game since his early season no-hitter. Oh, yes, his replacement, Yusmeiro Petit, retired the side by getting John Jay to ground out to Profar at second.

Joakim Soria came in to mop up in the ninth. He wasn’t quite up to the job. García’s two-out single on a 3-2 count brought in Eloy Jiménez who had led off the frame with a single to spoil the shutout. Oakland’s all star closer, Liam Hendricks, the Pride of Perth, came in and struck out Moncada on three pitches.

The win went to Fiers; the loss to Nova. Hendrick got the save, his sixth in eight opportunities.

Oakland’s win puts them at 51-41, a half a game behind Cleveland for the second wild card spot.

Tomorrow afternoon’s contest will feature righty Chris Bassitt (5-4, 4.29 ERA) on the bump for the A’s. His opposing number is as yet unnamed, making it likely that he will be an opener.

Preview of the A’s series with the White Sox

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Photo credit: lookoutlanding.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s start the second half of the season by hosting the visiting Chicago White Sox for three games starting Friday night at the Coliseum. The White Sox, under second-year skipper Rick Renteria, have surprised a lot of people as they finished the first half of the season with a record of 42-44. They are currently in third place in the AL Central trailing the Minnesota Twins by 12 1/2 games.

The White Sox have several players on the team that have contributed to their success. Their veteran first baseman, Jose Abreu, is having another excellent season. Abreu is hitting .278 and has hit 21 dingers and driven in 66. Other players to watch include Eloy Jiminez, third baseman Yoan Moncado, Catcher James McCann, and pitcher Lucas Giolito. The White Sox obtained Moncado from the Red Sox in the trade for pitcher Chris Sale. Moncado appears to be reaching his potential as he is hitting .308 and has hit 16 homers and knocked in 48. Giolito is 11-3 and has an ERA of 3.15.

Giolito and McCann were named to the AL All-Star team this year.

Other players to keep an eye on are center fielder Leury Garcia, second baseman Yolmer Sanchez, and veteran right fielder Jon Jay.

The White Sox have several critical decisions to make before the July 31st trade deadline. Will they be buyers or sellers? It does appear that they can overtake the Rays, Indians, A’s, Rangers, or Red Sox in the race for the two Wild Card spots. If they decide to be buyers, they would have to give up prospects to get the players they would need to make a playoff run. If they are sellers, who would go? They have several players that they could move even though they have another year of team control. Perhaps their most valuable asset is closer Alex Colome. The 30-year reliever has converted 20 save opportunities in 21 tries this season. Colome could bring the White Sox some highly rated prospects from teams looking for a reliable closer. The Red Sox might be interested, but their farm system has been depleted. Other players that might be on the move include James McCann, Leury Garcia, John Jay, pitchers Ivan Nova and lefty reliever Aaron Bummer. Jose Abreu is also mentioned as a player that might be going elsewhere.

The A’s have not announced the starters for the series with the White Sox. Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, and Chris Bassitt probably will pitch this weekend, but that could change. The White Sox will send Ivan Nova to the hill Friday night. Nova is 4-7 with an ERA of 5.58. Reynaldo Lopez will go for Chicago on Sunday. His ERA is 6.34, and he has a won-lost record of 4-8. Lopez’ ERA is the worst of any starting pitcher in baseball.

The A’s would like to sweep the series this weekend. That may not happen, but taking two out of three would be a reasonable goal for the A’s. The A’s are off on Monday. They play two against the Seattle Mariners next Tues and Wednesday before heading off to play four against the Minnesota Twins and three in Houston against the Astros. The schedule brings the A’s home to play the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers.

The A’s are a good second-half team. They know that every game is essential and no opponent can be taken lightly. They are in a race with the Indians, Red Sox, and Rangers for the second Wild Card spot. The A’s are a good team and fun to watch.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s rolling good enough to catch Houston in second half

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Photo credit: bleacherreport.com

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Jerry, the A’s are opening the second half of the season with a record of 50-41. They for a good part of the first half were a team in last place in the A.L. West. What were some of the factors that lifted them out of the cellar to second place and just seven games out of first place?

#2 The A’s have been getting some great offensive help, but it’s looking up and down that lineup with some of the key bats and key support that they’ve got that have helped the along the way.

#3 Going into the second half, the A’s will continue to try and figure their nemesis, the Houston Astros. The Astros are chalked with talent up and down their lineup, the A’s face the Astros in a couple of weeks, and when that time comes, the Astros will be an important series.

#4 The A’s are in need to get some starting pitching they won’t get Jharel Cotton is reportedly developing well on his come back while Daniel Mengden, who made a comeback, threw an outstanding game on his return to the A’s.

#5 Second half of the season getting ready to get started the A’s are opening things up hosting the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. For the Sox, Ivan Nova (4-7, 5.58 ERA), and for Oakland, Mike Fiers (8-3, 3.87 ERA).

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s start the race to the playoffs on Friday

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The A’s start the second half of the season with a record of 50-41. The A’s have played 91 and have 71 games left to play. As fans know, it’s not how you start, it’s where you finish.

The A’s won 97 games last year with a so-so starting rotation, but, had a bullpen that was lights out. They lost second baseman Jed Lowrie to free agency. Lowry had a career-high 99 RBIs last year, and the team had to fill the hole. They traded for Jurickson Profar, and the young man has yet to show that he can play every day. The A’s have brought up Franklin Barreto to see if he can do the job, and the jury is still out on him.

The A’s starting rotation has surprised the pundits so far this year. Mike Fiers started slowly, but he has pitched well since May. Brett Anderson is healthy, and he has done the job. Chris Bassitt has thrown well, and Daniel Mengden has won a couple of games since being recalled. The fifth starter is a work in progress. Tanner Anderson is 0-3 and has yet to show that he can stay in the rotation. The A’s are hoping that Sean Manaea will be back in the rotation in early August. The A’s relievers Lou Trivino and Blake Treinen have not performed as well as they did last year. Trivino started well but has been rocked lately. Treinen has not had his control. He does have 16 saves, but he has walked too many hitters when he comes in to close. Yusmeiro Petit and Joakim Soria have pitched well all year. The big surprise is Liam Hendriks. Hendriks was designated for assignment last year. No one signed him, and he went back to Triple-A. This year, things have turned completely around. Hendriks was named to the AL All-Star squad, and he has done the job when called upon.

The A’s offense has power hitters all through the lineup. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Khris Davis, Stephen Piscotty, Ramon Laureano, Marcus Semien, and Profar all can send the ball into the seats. Catchers Josh Phegley, Chris Herrman, and Nick Hundley can also blast a baseball into the stands. The A’s defense has been superb.

The A’s have put together a team that could possibly go deep into the playoffs. They need to improve the starting rotation. Will the A’s make a trade for a starter? No one knows what Billy Beane or David Forst will do. They have not hesitated to pull the trigger on a deal if they think that it will improve the team. They don’t want to give up any of their key players as Beane or Forst remember what happened in 2014 when they sent Yoenis Cespedes to Boston for John Lester. The team went into a spiral and barely made the playoffs that year. The A’s may feel that the players coming off the Il will be sufficient to get them there. Manaea and Jharel Cotton should be back soon.

The A’s lost starting pitcher Frankie Montas for 80 games due to using of an illegal substance. Montas may make it back in late September, but he is not eligible to play in the postseason.

The ingredients are there. They have pitching, offense, and defense. They start the second half at home with three against the Chicago White Sox, and two against the Seattle Mariners. Following that, they go on the road for four with the Minnesota Twins and three with the Houston Astros. The A’s took two out of three from the Twins last week in Oakland. The Twins, in first place in the AL Central, played well against the A’s and they will give the A’s a tussle when they meet next week. The A’s then have to play the Astros in Houston. The Astros have one of the best teams in baseball. The Astros won the World Series two years ago and want to win another. They also have a potent lineup. They have two terrific starters, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. The A’s have not had success against Houston so far this year.

The A’s will have quite a race to the finish line. The Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox are teams that will be competing for the second Wild Card slot in the American League. It should be fun.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: All-Star Game? A’s Hendriks and Giants’ Smith both give up the home run ball in relief; A’s Chapman scores on DP ball

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 After all the talk about the home run ball and plenty of them, the All-Star Game in Cleveland was a low scoring affair before the American League scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it 4-1. Earlier, the American League scored a single run in the second and fifth innings and the American League got two runs in the top of the sixth. The National League tried to make a come back with two runs in the top of the eight but just couldn’t pass the AL in the 4-3 one run AL win.

#2 Representing the San Francisco Giants at the All-Star Game was reliever Will Smith, who got his 23rd save on Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres, which translate to a great first half, despite the Giants struggling in last place in the NL West. At the All-Star Game, Smith gave up a home run in the seventh.

#3 Representing the Oakland A’s were A’s third baseman Matt Chapman, who hit .265, 90 RBIs and 21 home runs, and relief pitcher Liam Hendriks, who is 3-0 with a 1.27 ERA.

#4 For Hendriks, he has saved 23 straight games without a blown save. The A’s are in the hunt for a wild card and are just seven games behind first place Houston and Hendriks closing games will be crucial in the home stretch. Hendriks — in the All-Star Game — gave up a home run for an earned run and struck out three batters.

#5 Meanwhile, the A’s Matt Chapman had some better luck scoring a run from third when the Boston Red Sox Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play.

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