Category: Oakland Athletics

Olson Homers Twice, A’s Crush Halos 7-2

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics mashed their way to a 7-2 win over the hosting Los Angeles Angels Friday night in SoCal, thanks to the bat of Matt Olson. The A’s Gold Glove first baseman hit two homers and knocked in five runs while designated hitter Mark Canha went deep as well. Mike Fiers went 6 2/3 innings, giving up only one run.

Olson opened the first inning with a bang, taking opener Noe Ramirez deep on an 0-1 pitch with a runner on and two outs for a 2-0 lead. After Ramirez (L, 3-1, 3.32 ERA) was removed after an inning for long reliever Felix Pena, Olson again would strike in his next at-bat. With runners on first and second, Olson this time went to right field for a 5-0 lead.

Fiers was dominant, working around six hits to only give up the one RBI on an Albert Pujols single in the 5th inning. Friday marked his eighth straight start of six-plus innings and three runs or fewer. In fact, of his last 12 starts, all were three-run or less affairs, though a May 13th outing only lasted five innings. Friday he went 6 2/3, while throwing 104 pitches to improve his record to 8-3 with a 4.01 ERA.

After Pena went five innings, only yielding the three-run shot to Olson, Luke Bard took over the seventh. Mark Canha tagged him with a two-run blast. Canha was filling in for Khris Davis who was hit by a pitch earlier in the week.

The A’s bullpen was almost flawless, but Lou Trivino gave up a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning off the bat of one-time Athletic Jonathan Lucroy. The run was unearned due to a passed ball earlier in the inning.

The A’s hope to have Davis back in the lineup Saturday when they send Brett Anderson to the mound. He’ll be opposed by Tyler Skaggs of the Halos.

Angels down the A’s 8-3 to win the series opener

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Photo credit: @Angels

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s dropped the opener of the four-game series to the LA Angels by a score of 8-3 at Angel Stadium on Thursday night. A’s starter Tanner Anderson had a rough outing Thursday night in Anaheim. The Angels rocked him for two runs in the second and five in the third.  Anderson went 2.2 innings and allowed eight hits, and seven runs (all earned).

Angels starter Griffin Canning went six innings and allowed three hits and two runs. Home runs by Ramon Laureano in the second and Matt Olson on the fourth were the only damage done by the A’s offense.

The Angels added a run in the sixth, and the A’s put their third run on the board in the eighth.

Anderson gave up two two-run homers to the Angels. Kole Calhoun hit his 17th in the bottom of the second to put the Angels ahead 2-1. In the bottom of the third, Shohei Ohtani hit his 10th with a man aboard to make it 4-1. The Angels scored three more before A’s manager removed Anderson from the game.

Game Notes: The A’s drop to 43-39 and the Angels improved to 42-40. The Angels have now won four in a row. The Angels have welcomed back two position players back to their lineup. Justin Upton was in left field Thursday. Upton missed over 70 games with a turf toe injury. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was back in the lineup after missing 39 games.

The A’s missed an opportunity to pick up a game on the Houston Astros as the Astros lost to Pittsburgh 10-0 Thursday. They trail the Astros by seven games in the race for first place in the AL West. The Texas Rangers are in second place with a 2 1/2 game lead over the A’s. The Angels are in fourth place, and they trail the A’s by one game.

Time of game was two hours and 46 minutes. 40,631 fans watched the Angels win the fourth in a row.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday night. Game time will be at 7:07 pm. Mike Fiers (7-3, 4.20 ERA) will go for Oakland. Fiers’ ERA is 2.51 in his last nine starts. The Angels will use an opener to start the game. Felix Pena will come in after the first or second inning. The Angels have used an opener in 10 of Pena’s 11 appearances.

The A’s line score was three runs, five hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was eight runs, 12 hits, and no errors.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s Mengden demonstrates the evolution of the comeback, shutout Red Birds 2-0

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mercurynews.com photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden serves up a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in a four hit shutout on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Oakland A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden is back from his rehab assignment from Las Vegas and pitched a shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 2-0 win.

#2 Mengden pitched for six innings giving up four hits and no runs striking out five. Not bad for his first game of the 2019 season.

#3 Mengden takes over for Frankie Montas’ spot and gets a great performance in after Mengden pitched lights out. The A’s are really looking for someone to also be an effective pitcher as well.

#4 The St. Louis Cardinals players got a chance to honor the St. Louis Blues before the game on Wednesday night by giving the Blues players a ride around the park with the Stanley Cup in the open convertible car.

#5 The A’s are back on the west coast after the St Louis trip and are in Anaheim tonight against the Los Angeles Angels. For the A’s, Tanner Anderson ,who is looking for his first win of 2019 (0-2, 4.20 ERA), and for the Angels, Griffin Canning (2-4, 3.88 ERA).

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

A’s beat the Cardinals 2-0 to sweep the 2-game series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s, behind Daniel Mengden’s outstanding outing, downed the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 at Busch Stadium on Wednesday. A’s catcher Beau Taylor hit a solo home run in the fourth, and Matt Chapman homered in the seventh to provide the offense the A’s needed.

The start of the game was delayed a few minutes due to a short rainstorm in the St. Louis area. The Cards gave some time to members of the St. Louis Blues to drive around the stadium with the Stanley Cup. The Blues won the cup for the first time in their history.

Mengden, who was called up from Las Vegas to take Frankie Montas’ position in the starting rotation, pitched exceptionally well. He gave the A’s six innings of work, and he allowed just four hits and no runs. Mengden walked one and struck out five. Yusmeiro Petit worked the seventh, and Joakim Soria the eighth. Both retired the Cardinals in order. Liam Hendriks worked the ninth. With one out, he gave up a double to Marcel Ozuna. Hendriks retired Jose Martinez and Yadier Molina to seal the win for the A’s. Mengden’s record improved to 2-1, and his ERA dropped to 4.09. Hendriks earned his second save. Hendriks is now the closer until Blake Treinen returns from the 10-day IL.

The Card Adam Wainwright also pitched well. He went 6 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits and two runs. Both runs came on home runs by Beau Taylor (#2) and Matt Chapman (#19). He walked one and struck out nine. He is now 5-7 for the season.

The A’s line was two runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Cards’ line was no runs, five hits, and no errors.

With the win, the A’s are now five games over the .500 mark with a record of 43-38. The Cards drop to 40-39. The A’s picked up a game on the Houston Astros and trail them by seven games. The Texas Rangers won their game, and they lead the A’s by 1 1/2 games in the race for second place in the AL West.

The A’s left for Anaheim after completion of the game. They begin a four-game series with the LA Angels starting Thursday night at 7:07 pm Tanner Anderson (0-2, 4.20 ERA) will go for Oakland, and Griffin Canning (2-4, 3,88 ERA) will pitch for LA.

Time of game was two hours and 46 minutes. 44,871 fans watched the game.

A’s put on a power display to beat the Cardinals 7-3

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s started the six-game road trip with a win over the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night. The A’s won the sixth of their last eight games and moved four games over the .500 mark with a 42-38 record.

The A’s put one on the board in the top of the second when first baseman Matt Olson bashed his 13th of the year. The lead didn’t last long as the Cardinals plated three off A’s starter Chris Bassitt. The Cards led 3-1 after two.

The A’s plated six in the top of the fifth. Josh Phegley led off with a double. Chad Pinder followed with his seventh big fly to tie the game. Marcus Semien hit a back-to-back jack to give Oakland the lead 4-3. The A’s scored three more in the inning. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson singled to put men on with one out. Cards starter Jack Flaherty retired Ramon Laureano for the second out. Former Cardinal, Stephen Piscotty, singled to drive in Chapman. Khris Davis entered the game as a pinch-hitter, and he came through with a double to drive in Olson and Piscotty. The A’s led 7-3.

Chris Bassitt was relieved in the bottom of the fourth. He went 3 1/3 innings in his shortest outing in 12 starts this year. Bob Melvin brought in J.B. Wendelken to pitch. Wendelken finished the fourth and was the pitcher of record. He was credited with his first Major League win. His record is now 1-1.  The A’s used four more relievers to finish the game. They held the Cards scoreless over the last five innings to seal the win for the A’s

Game two of the two-game series will be played Wednesday in St. Louis. The A’s will start Daniel Mengden, who was recalled from Las Vegas to take the spot in the rotation that was created when Frankie Montas was suspended for 80 games for the use of an illegal substance. The Cards will have the veteran pitcher, Adam Wainwright on the hill. Wainwright is 5-6 and has a 4.50 ERA. It will be his third career start against the A’s.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: NL opponents always set for Dodgers; Astros hold onto first, everyone out for them too; plus more

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Photo credit: @ChicagoSports

On Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, in the power rankings, everybody in the National League seems ready to chase the Dodgers as the team to beat every time they face the Dodgers.

#2 The Houston Astros the first place team in the AL West and have been giving their AL opponents some fits this season. Although they hit a rough patch, losing three of their last 10 games, they’ve been proving that opponents are going after them.

#3 The Milwaukee Brewers, who almost took out the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason last year, are another team who’s contending. They are just two games out of first place in the NL Central only trailing the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers are stocked with offense, including slugger Christian Yelich.

#4 Not too far in the distant future, the Tampa Bay Rays will be splitting their home games at Parc Olympic in Montreal. How much of a serious indication that their days in Tampa Bay are numbered?

#5 The Oakland City council are putting the Oakland A’s through the new stadium question test. Their main questions are paying for the new Howard Terminal location, and besides running a gondola from 12th Street BART to Howard Terminal, the council is looking for more answers to getting fans to the new stadium by other public transportation means.

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

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s get some light at the end of the tunnel with some pitchers returning

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley, right, tags out Tampa Bay Rays’ Austin Meadows, center, at home as umpire Jim Reynolds (77) watches during the third inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, June 23, 2019.

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 After the A’s loss of Frankie Montas and Blake Treinen, the A’s are looking at having some pitchers come back and others they will have to wait for and might be able to fill the void with Jesus Luzardo, Sean Manaea, Brian Schlitter, AJ Puk, Jharel Cotton, and Yusmeiro Petit.

#2 The A’s travel to St. Louis for two games starting on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. The A’s take a 41-38 record to start the road trip and are in third in the AL West. The Cardinals are in third place at 40-37 and just two games out of first place. Charlie O tells us how he sees this series.

#3  Charlie talks about some of the Cardinals that the A’s starters will be facing: first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, third baseman Matt Carpenter, outfielders Marcel Ozuna, Jose Martinez, Dexter Fowler, and Harrison Bader and catchers Yadier Molina and Matt Wieters.

#4 Charlie talked about the odd schedule that had the A’s in St Louis for just two games and they have to fly back to the west coast to Los Angeles for a four-game series starting on Thursday with no day off in between after playing the Cards on Wednesday’s get away game.

#5 Starting pitchers on Tuesday for the A’s Chris Bassitt (4-3, 3.64 ERA), and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Jack Flaherty (4-4, 4.24 ERA). Charlie O clues us in on the matchups.

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

Preview: A’s-Cards to open 2-game series starting Tuesday night

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

photo from the stltoday.com: St Louis Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina congratulates Los Angeles Angels star Albert Pujols in Pujols’ last appearance in Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Sunday.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, with a record of 41-38, travel to St.Louis to play two games against the Cardinals. The Cardinals are 40-37 and are in third place in the NL Central. They trail the Chicago Cubs by two games in the race for first place in the division. They are 1/2 game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for second place.

The A’s will be facing a team that is always in the mix for a post-season berth. The Cardinals have a lineup with players that can send the ball out of the park. The key players for the Cardinals are first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, third baseman Matt Carpenter, outfielders Marcel Ozuna, Jose Martinez, Dexter Fowler, and Harrison Bader. The catching chores are shared by Yadier Molina and Matt Wieters.

The Cardinals obtained Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks last winter. So far, Goldschmidt is hitting .260 and has 14 home runs and 31 RBIs. Carpenter is having an off-year hitting .218, but has hit 10 dingers. Left-fielder Marcel Ozuna is the big power man on the team. Ozuna, in his second year in St. Louis, has 20 homers and 62 RBIs so far.

The pitching matchups will see Chris Bassitt going for Oakland on Tuesday. Bassitt (4-3, 3.64 ERA) pitched well last week against Baltimore. The A’s are hoping the magic rubs off against the Cardinals. Jack Flaherty (4-4, 4.24 ERA) will be the Cardinals’ starter. On Wednesday, Tanner Anderson will be the A’s choice to pitch, and the Cardinals will counter with the veteran Adam Wainwright.

The Cardinals’ bullpen will feature Andrew Miller and Genesis Cabrera from the left side. Their righties are John Brebbia, Giovanny Gallegos, John Gant, Jordan Hicks, and Carlos Martinez. Martinez has been designated as the team’s closer.

Since the game is being played in a National League Park, the A’s will not be able to use the Designated Hitter. A’s right-fielder- Stephen Piscotty will be making his first trip back to St. Louis. Piscotty was traded to the A’s before the start of the 2018 season.

On paper, the teams appear to be evenly matched. The A’s are having problems dealing with the loss of Frankie Montas and Blake Treinen. Montas is gone for 80 games, and Treinen has been placed on the 10-day IL with a shoulder issue.

The A’s finish the six-game road trip with four with the LA Angels in Anaheim. The Cardinals will play the A’s again in Oakland on August 3rd and 4th.

Analytics Make Them Tick: Rays blow past the A’s 8-2 in the series finale

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — With openers, featured pitchers, defensive shifts and situational hitting, the Tampa Bay Rays had their analytics game working on Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum.

All that number crunching, along with a heavy dose of bat dexterity, meant bad news for the A’s, 8-2 losers in the finale of their 10-game home stand. The A’s finished their lengthiest stint at home this season with an underwhelming 6-4 record that could have gained some juice with a win over wild card leader Tampa Bay in the series finale.

“It’s frustrating from my end that we could have taken a series from a team ahead of us in the standing,” said starting pitcher Brett Anderson, who was lifted during the Rays’ big fourth inning that broke the game open.

The Rays took control with three runs in the third, and five runs on seven hits in the fourth, but they built momentum in the first inning courtesy of Ryne Stanek, baseball’s premiere opener in 2019. Stanek has already started 22 games for the Rays, assuming the task of navigating the opposing teams’ meat of the order the first time through, while never lasting as long as the first two innings of a ballgame.

The hard throwing Stanek isn’t averse to walking a batter or two (18 walks allowed in 43 2/3 innings) to get to a favorable matchup. On Sunday, in his 51st stint as an opener in the last two seasons, he looked comfortable in the face of adversity, facing five batters in the first, allowing a hit and a walk, and striking out three, including an inning-ending punch out of Ramon Laureano with two runners on.

Then after throwing 26 pitches in the first inning, issuing a four-pitch walk to Mark Canha leading off the second, Stanek was gone.

But Ryan Yarbrough, the featured pitcher, picked Stanek up immediately, assuming a baserunner in the second, then pitching six innings in an innocuous manner as possible, befitting a guy asked to neither start or finish a game

“It was big to give our bullpen some time off and take a big day like this into the off-day,” manager Kevin Cash of Yarbrough.

Yarbrough allowed a run on five hits in his six innings, but the key spot came right away, facing Matt Olson with runners on second and third with two outs and the first run of the ballgame in. Olson had previously homered against Yarbrough, adding to the tension of the moment.

But with the shift deployed and second baseman Joey Wendle playing in shallow right, Olson was retired by the aggressiveness of the defense.

A’s enjoy Saturday at the park, down the Rays 4-2

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Rays Scoreboard
Scoreboard celebrates the win Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The A’s jumped back into the win column on Saturday as they beat the  Tampa Bay/Montreal Rays 4-2. The win upped the A’s record to 41-37 on the season and makes them 6-3 for the homestand. The loss drops the Rays to 44-33 for the year.

Mike Fiers made the start for the A’s, and he fought for six tough innings on the mound. Fiers allowed just one run (earned) off four hits. He struck out two Rays and walked three. Fiers also hit three Tampa Bay batters which put him some peril that his defense helped put down several times. For all of his efforts, Fiers wound up with a no-decision for the outing.

Ryan Buchter relieved Fiers in the seventh inning but was ineffective, and Yusmeiro Petit was brought into the contest with two out and a runner at third. Petit struck out Kevin Kiermaier to end the inning.

Petit would come back out for the top of the eighth inning. Petit made short work of the Rays as he struck out the side. He faced four hitters and struck out all four. Petit would also pick up the win to make his record 2-1 for 2019.

Liam Hendricks entered the game in the ninth to close things out for the A’s. He sat the Rays down in order to earn his first save of the season.

Focus on the A’s

Rays Bobblehead
It was Matt Olson Bobblehead Day Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

  • Matt Chapman continued to give Oakland big hits as launched his 18th home run of the season off Yonny Chirinos in the third inning. He then hit a double (20) in the seventh that drove Josh Phegley home to score the go-ahead run in the game. It was his 43rd RBI of the season. Bob Melvin said in his postgame comments that he really intended to give Chapman the day off, but his third baseman would not have anything to do with sitting on the bench.
  • Ramon Laureano went 2-for-2 in the game and was hit twice by pitches. In fact, a total of five batters were hit pitches in the game on Saturday (Rays 3, A’s 2). Laureano also made two fine defensive plays in center field. In the top of the third inning, he caught a fly ball off the bat of Austin Meadows. Brandon Lowe was at third and thought about tagging up then heading home. Laureano gunned the ball to Beau Taylor. Lowe had to hold at third. Then in the fourth inning, Joey Wendle hit a ball into the gap in left-center field. Laureano fielded the ball while Wendle decided to stretch his single into a double. The A’s centerfielder threw Wendle out at second base.
  • The A’s moved two runners up in the game twice via the steal. One was a steal of second. The other was a steal of third base by Laureano.
  • The A’s were 2-for-11 with Runners in Scoring Position. They left eight runners on base.

Tampa Bay notes

  • The Rays did not use an “opener” in the game on Saturday. Yonny Chirinos made the start and worked 6.0-innings giving up two runs (both earned) on two hits. He struck out three and walked two. Chirinos did not figure into the decision.
  • Diego Castillo came on in relief of Chirinos. He gave up two runs off two hits. Castillo (1-6) was tagged with the loss. Castillo was also the loser on Thursday night.
  • Ji-Man Choi has hit six home runs in his last 25 games. His home run (9) on Saturday off Buchter was his first versus a left-handed pitcher this season.
  • Avisail Garcia was hit by a pitch in each of his first two plate appearances.

Injury news update from the A’s

Rays Melvin
Melvin after the 4-2 win over the Rays Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Manager Bob Melvin announced during his postgame press conference that closer Blake Treinen has been placed on the Injury List for a “mild shoulder issue”. More details will follow.

Up next on the schedule

The A’s will send LHP Brett Anderson (7-4, 3.68 ERA) to the mound on Sunday to close out the 10-day homestand. The Rays are going with infamous “To Be Determined”. That probably means an opener followed by a group of relievers.

Twitter: @Charlieo1320