Category: Oakland Athletics

Photo credit: @Twins

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Minnesota Twins and Oakland A’s struggled through 12 innings before the Twins were able to break through for a 4-3 win at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday night. The A’s took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, but the Twins held them scoreless the rest of the way. In the meantime, the Twins scored one in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to tie the game. The A’s had their chances, but failed to capitalize.

Mike Fiers started for Oakland and went six-plus innings and allowed five hits and two runs. Twins starter Kyle Gibson also worked six innings, and gave up five hits and three runs. Gibson’s only mistake was serving up a gopher ball to Ramon Laureano.

The A’s put three on the board in the second inning. A’s DH Khris Davis reached on an error. Kyle Gibson issued a walk to Mark Canha to put two men on with no out. Ramon Laureano followed with an Earl Weaver special, a three-run homer. Gibson finished the inning with no further damage.

The Twins scored their first run of the game in the top of the sixth. Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop led off with a single. Fiers retired Byron Buxton for the first out of the inning. Max Kepler singled to move Schoop to second. Both players advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Twins catcher Mitch Garver singled to drive in Schoop. Fiers retired the next two hitters. Ramon Laureano made a sliding catch to retire Jorge Polanco for the second out, and A’s third baseman showed off his fielding skills as he made a nice running catch to rob C.J. Cron of a hit and end the inning. The A’s lead 3-1 midway through the sixth.

The Twins scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh to close the gap to one. Rookie Luis Arraez led off with a single. The Twins were able to bring in Arraez for the score when Franklin Barreto made two errors on the same play. He failed to touch second for a force out and then threw the ball past Matt Olson at first. The A’s then caught former Giant Ehire Adrianza trying to steal home. A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit struck out Byron Buxton for the final out.

The Twins tied the game in the top of the eighth. With two out, the Twins’ DH Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star game, homered off Joakim Soria. The game was knotted at three apiece with the A’s coming to bat.

The Twins scored a  run in the 12th. Bob Melvin brought in Blake Treinen to pitch. Treinen came off the 10-day IL and was rusty. He struck out Schoop for the first out. He then walked Byron Buxton and Max Kepler to put a man in scoring position. Mitch Garver singled to drive in Buxton to put the Twins ahead 4-3. Melvin replaced Treinen with Brian Schlitter, and he got C.J. Cron to hit into an inning-ending double play. In the A’s half of the inning, Matt Chapman reached on an error. Twins’ reliever Taylor Rogers struck out Matt Olson for the first out. Jurickson Profar, who ran for Khris Davis earlier, singled to left. Chapman went to third on the play  Profar was called out at second after he was called safe. The Twins challenged the call, and it was overturned. Rogers struck out Mark Canha to preserve the win for the Twins. The Twins won 4-3.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the A’s drop to 47-40. They remain in second place in the AL West as the Texas Rangers lost to the Angels again. The Twins improved to 54-31.

Jorge Polanco’s home run in the eighth was the Twins’ 161st of the year. They have four games left to break the record they share with the Yanks for most home runs before the All-Star break. The A’s used seven pitchers. Treinen took the loss. Blake Parker was credited with the win.

The line score for Minnesota was four runs, 10 hits, and two errors. The A’s line was three runs, eight hits, and two errors.

Time of game was four hours and 40 minutes. 31,570 people saw the A’s lose.

Up Next: Game three of the series will be played on Thursday at 1:00 pm. Tanner Anderson will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Jose Berrios.

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s won their fourth straight to go eight games over the .500 mark with a record of 47-39. It was not easy as they were facing the AL Central first place Minnesota Twins. The Twins have a lineup loaded with guys that can hit the ball out of the park. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has the team playing well and the A’s were hoping their starter Daniel Mengden could subdue the Twins’ hitter. In addition, the A’s were facing the Twins’ best pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who entered the game with a sparkling record of 10-3 and an ERA of 2.73.

The Twins put two runs on the board in the top of the second inning. With two out, Twins rookie second baseman, 22-year-old Luis Arraez singled to start the rally. Third baseman Miguel Sano took Mengden deep for his 13th tater of the season. The Twins led 2-0 halfway through the second.

The Twins took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. The A’s came back with two in their half of the third. A’s second baseman Franklin Barreto led off with a double. He tagged up and went to third on Marcus Semien’s fly out to left. Matt Chapman struck out, but the other Matt, Matt Olson hammered his 17th homer to make it a 3-2 game.

The A’s took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth. A’s right fielder Mark Canha reached on an error. Twins starter Jake Odorizzi walked Ramon Laureano to put two men on with no out. Robbie Grossman followed with a bloop single to center to load the base, A’s catcher, Chris Herrmann, making his first start as an Oakland Athletic, made his first hit memorable. His hit is the stuff that players dream about when they were kids. Just imagine coming to the plate with the bases loaded and hitting a grand slam for your first hit with your new team. That is exactly what happened. Herrmann’s blast sent Odorizzi to the showers. The A’s now led 6-3.

The Twins, who were loaded with power hitters, cut the deficit to two when catcher Jason Castro homered off Mengden to make it 6-4. The A’s got the run back in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Mark Canha walked. Ramon Laureano doubled into the corner in left field. Third base coach Matt Williams waved Canha home. Twins’ left fielder Marwyn Gonzalez’s throw home nailed Canha. Laureano took third on the throw home. Grossman singled to drive in Laureano to give the A’s the lead 7-4 after five complete.

The Twins showed the reason they are in first place in the AL Central. With one out, Marwyn Gonzalez singled to start the rally. Gonzalez tormented the A’s when he was with Houston and he continued to do so Tuesday night. Mengden retired C.J.Cron for the second out. Luis Arraez, who singled in the second inning, slammed a  double to left-center-field to drive in Gonzalez with the Twins’ fifth run of the game. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch. Petit retired Sano for the third out. The A’s failed to score in the bottom of the sixth. They still led the Twins 7-5 after six.

The Twins’ Jason Castro led off the seventh with his second solo dinger of the game to make it a one-run contest. Oakland still led 7-6 midway through the seventh. The A’s Mark Canha responded with his 12th homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the A’s a two-run cushion 8-6 heading into the eighth inning.

The Twins failed to score in the eighth. In the ninth, the A’s brought in Liam Hendriks to close out the game. Hendriks gave up a single to Miguel Sano.  Hendriks settled down and struck out Jason Castro for the first out. Castro had a double and two solo home runs and getting a strikeout was just the tonic Hendriks needed. He struck out Byron Buxton for the second out. Hendriks had to deal with the dangerous left-handed hitter Max Kepler. Kepler has hit 21 homers to lead the Twins in that department and also represented the tying run at the plate. Hendriks won the battle as he got Kepler to fly out to center for the final out of the game. The A’s won 8-6.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s won their fourth game in a row to improve to 47-39. The A’s moved into second place in the AL West as the LA Angels beat the Texas Rangers 9-4. The A’s did not gain any ground on the Houston Astros as they rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8. The Twins drop to 53-31 for the year.

Daniel Mengen was the winning pitcher and his record improved to 3-1. Liam Hendriks earned his third save. The loss went to Jake Odorizzi. Odorizzi is now 10-4 for 2019.

The A’s line score was eight runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Twins’ line score was six runs, 10 hits, and one error.

The A’s observed a moment of silence to honor the memory of Angels’ pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs passed away yesterday in Texas. He was 27-years-old. A very sad time for his family, the Angels, and everyone that loves baseball.

The A’s hit three homes to increase their total for the season to 136.  They have seven players with 10 or more home runs which are second-most in the majors. The Twins have eight. The Twins also hit three homers and now have 160 with five games remaining before the All-Star break. The Yankees set the record last year with 161.

Time of game was three hours and 20 minutes and a crowd of 13,926 people went home happy as the A’s won 8-6.

Up Next: Game two will start at 6:07 pm Wednesday. Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA) will go for Oakland and Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) will go to the mound for the Twins.

Following Wednesday night’s game, the A’s will have a fireworks show that will honor the military and the Fourth of July.

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s are enjoying an off-day on Monday after finishing a six-game road trip with a 5-1 record. The A’s are now just 1/2 game behind the Texas Rangers for second place in the AL West and for the second slot in the Wild Card race.

The A’s will play the next three games at home with the AL Central Division leading Minnesota Twins. The Twins, under first-year manager Rocco Baldelli, have a record of 53-30 and own an eight-game lead over the second place Cleveland Indians.

The Twins have a power-packed lineup. Six of the nine hitters in the lineup have hit more than 10 home runs so far this season. The other three need just one or two more dingers to reach that level. The Twins star left fielder, Eddie Rosario, will not play in the series. Rosario is hitting .280 and has 20 homers and 60 RBIs so far. He is on the 10-day IL with a sprained left ankle. Marwyn Gonzalez, the former Astro, will take his place. The A’s will see Byron Buxton in center and Max Kepler in right. The German-born Kepler leads the team with 21 dingers. All the infielders can hit the ball out of the park. Former LA Angels first baseman, C.J. Cron, is hitting .271, and has hit 17 big flies, and knocked in 52. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop is playing well with a .251  average and has hit 13 out of the park. Shortstop Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star Game in Cleveland, leads the team in hitting with a .320 average and he has 11 homers and 39 RBIs on his resume. Miguel Sano is a third. He is not hitting for average, but he is a power threat every time he goes to the plate. Jason Castro will handle the catching. Nelson Cruz will be the DH. Cruz, who loves to hit against Oakland, is having an excellent season with 16 homers and 46 runs batted in.

On Tuesday, the Twins will send their All-Star starter, Jake Odorizzi, to the hill. Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA) pitched exceptionally well in May. In June, however, Odorizzi has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings of work over his last three starts. The A’s Daniel Mengden will be making his second start since being recalled from Las Vegas last month. Mengden was sensational in his start against the St. Louis Cardinals last week in St. Louis. He pitched six innings of shutout baseball. Mengden will be making his first career start against Minnesota.

Wednesday’s game will feature the Twins’ Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) going against the A’s Tanner Anderson (0-3, 7.13 ERA). Anderson was roughed up in his last start last Thursday against the LA Angels. He, too, will be making his first career start against the Twins.

On Thursday, the Fourth of July, the A’s will and the ball to Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA). Fiers has an ERA of 2.61 in his last 12 starts, which is the sixth lowest in the AL over that span. He has a record of 6-1 and an ERA of 2.77 in 11 (10 starts) games against the Twins. Jose Berrios (8-4, 2.89 ERA) pitches for Minnesota. Berrios pitched last Friday and was tagged for six runs (three earned) against the White Sox in six innings of work. That effort allowed the Twins’ bullpen to get some rest after an 18-inning game the night before.

The Twins have two pitchers that have 10 save each for the team. The Twins will use either righty Blake Parker or lefty Taylor Rogers as the closer. Pitchers that will see action in the series include Trevor May, Matt Magill, Ryne Harper, Mike Morin, Tyler Duffey, and lefty Lewis Thorpe.

The A’s will be without the services of Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty injured his right knee sliding into second base Saturday night. Piscotty had an MRI done on Monday to see the extent of the damage if any. He is on the 10-day IL.

Following the three-game set with the Twins, the A’s travel to Seattle for three with the Mariners. The A’s will resume play at home against the Chicago White Sox after a four-day break for the MLB All-Star game that will be played in Cleveland. A’s third baseman Matt Chapman will be making his first appearance as an All-Star.