Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s try to end 5-game skid as they open 5-game road trip Tuesday

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Photo credit: theathletic.com

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The A’s are in the midst of a six-game skid. The Houston Astros will do that for a club after the A’s took a three-game sweep.

#2 The series with the Astros saw two ejections on Saturday as the A’s Marcus Seimen was thrown out for arguing that a ball he hit was fair, but ruled foul, then on Sunday, the A’s Stephen Piscotty took a third strike that he protested and was thrown out arguing balls and strikes.

#3 The A’s got through a 10-game win streak and now have gone the other way. What does manager Bob Melvin tell the club at this point?

#4  The A’s Matt Chapman said after Sunday’s game that the Astros have had the A’s number all season long.

#5 The A’s open up a road trip in Los Angeles and Texas for Tuesday night in Anaheim. The A’s will start Frankie Montas (6-2, 2.81 ERA) vs. the Angels Griffin Canning (2-1, 3.06 ERA).

Charlie O does the Oakland A’s podcasts for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s start a 3-game series against the Angels in Anaheim on Tuesday

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Photo credit: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s kick off a nine-game three-city road trip on Tuesday against the Angels in Anaheim. The Angels took two out of three from the A’s last week and started the A’s on a five-game losing streak.  The teams are currently tied for third place in the AL West with identical records of 29-30. The Angels are playing the Chicago Cubs on Monday, and if they win, they will be 1/2 game ahead of the A’s. If they lose, they will be 1/2 game behind the A’s.

The A’s had won 10 in a row before losing two to the Angels last week in Oakland. The A’s then were swept by Houston Astros over the weekend and are hoping to regain their mojo. The A’s will have to find a way to quiet the bats of several of the Angels’ players. They know what Albert Pujols and Mike Trout can do. The Angels’ third baseman Tommy La Stella is having a career year. La Stella has been solid so far and can really handle the bat. David Fletcher is also another surprise. The young man is hitter over .300 and playing well at shortstop. Second baseman Luis Rengifo had several critical hits in the series last week. Right fielder Kole Calhoun and rookie Cesar Puello also came through for the Halos. Puello, in his first game as an Angel last Wednesday, had two singles and a home run in the Angels’ 12-7 win.

The pitching matchups for Tuesday will be Frankie Montas going against Griffin Canning. Montas, who is 6-2 with a 2.81 ERA, has been the A’s ace. Montas has allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 starts this year. Canning is 2-1, and his ERA is 3.06. He pitched very well against the A’s last week. He went six innings and allowed one run and three hits. On Wednesday, Daniel Mengden will pitch for the Green and Gold. Mengden is 1-1, and has a 3.05 ERA. Mengden came into the game last Wednesday after Liam Hendriks pitched the first inning. Mengden’s line was 4 1/2 innings of work and allowed just one run. The Angels will counter with Felix Pena. The Angels may also use an “opener” to start the game and bring in Pena after the first inning. Pena has come in six times in his last seven outings after the first inning.

Mike Fiers (4-3, 4,78 ERA) will go on Thursday. Fiers has a 2.82 ERA in his last seven starts. The Angels will send lefty Tyler Skaggs to the hill to pitch against the A’s. Skaggs had a rocky month in May as he posted a 5.29 ERA in six starts.

The games between the two teams are always entertaining. It’s Northern California against Southern California. The A’s want to get another winning streak going, while the Angels want to continue to make life miserable for the A’s. As always, it should be fun.

Frustration City: A’s ejected, then dejected in 6-4 loss to the Astros in 12 innings

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — For the A’s, losing to the Houston Astros is inherently frustrating enough without the exhausting efforts needed for extra innings, or the itchy umpires’ hair trigger ejections.

And the mood swings associated with winning and losing streaks, not to mention all four of the squandered, solo shots, along with the other big at-bats

Sunday was the conclusion of a cautionary tale in two parts, as the A’s fell to the Astros 6-4 in 12 innings, a real tooth-and-nail battle, on the heels of the Astros’ dominating 5-1 win Saturday night, starring the ageless Justin Verlander.

And the message sent emphatically by the division-leading Astros, who were minus three of the American League’s most dynamic players?

Oakland, you’re not there yet.

“They’re running out great pitchers. They’ve got plenty of arms,” said Matt Chapman, who hit a big home run leading off the eighth inning that would ultimately send the game to extras. “We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. They’ve had our number obviously the last couple of years. It’s their division until somebody knocks them off their reign.”

The Astros swept the series, and increased their advantage over the third place A’s to 10 1/2 games. They’ve won seven of the first eight meetings this season between the clubs, after winning 12 of 19 last season.

And the A’s haven’t exactly sat idle during all this. They’ve fought, scrapped and more often that not, come up short. On the heels of a 10-game win streak, they’ve lost five in a row, and as talented as they are, the A’s can’t seem to put it together–within a game, or for an extended stretch.

“We had the 10 in a row going and couldn’t back it up. It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster for us,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We have to find a way to be a little more consistent.”

On Sunday, a lot of good things transpired for the A’s. They got a quality outing–and a return to form–from starter Chris Bassitt. The Oakland defense took a beating from the Astros’ running game, featuring dynamic fill-in Myles Straw, who was 3 for 4, stole second  base three times and scored three times. But the A’s relievers battled, and the entire lineup came up with big at-bats.

It just wasn’t enough.

The Astros first exhausted Blake Treinen then wore down Lou Trivino in the second of his two innings providing the visitors a breakthrough in the twelfth. Straw singled, then stole second. With one out, Michael Brantley and Yuri Gurriel came up with back-to-back RBI singles to give Houston a 6-4 lead.

“I think for any power pitcher, the second inning would be tough,” Melvin said. “We use him a lot and we have to find a way to maybe use him a little bit less. When you’re that good, you want to try to stay in the game and win it.”

After Chapman’s game-tying blast in the eighth, 10 of the final 18 A’s to bat struck out.  Of the eight that didn’t succumb to strikes, none drew a walk. And the highlight at-bat–Ramon Laureano’s 11-pitch battle with Ryan Pressly–ended with the centerfielder looking at strike three with two runners aboard to conclude the eighth.

Laureano’s reaction? A swift grab and slam of his batting helmet to the Coliseum turf.

Somehow, Laureano’s act of frustration flew below the radar of home plate umpire Alan Porter. Two innings later, Stephen Piscotty struck out to end the tenth. A magic word or two later, Piscotty was tossed, and Melvin too, coming to Piscotty’s aid.

Porter also ejected Marcus Semien on Saturday, an extension of the rancor built up by Semien’s pop down the left field line that drew chalk, but was ruled foul, then held up by replay.

Curiously, neither Piscotty or Semien had ever been ejected–at any level of their careers.

That should tell you a lot,” said Piscotty of the circumstances of Porter ejecting players with no previous history on consecutive days.

The A’s get Monday off before starting a road trip in Anaheim with the Angels on Tuesday night.

HOU 2
Photo/Graphic: @Astros

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Coming home to the Oakland Coliseum has not been a good thing for the Oakland Athletics. After winning 11 consecutive games, the A’s have now lost four games in a row at home. They have also lost a second consecutive series at home.

The first-place Houston Astros downed the A’s 5-1 on Saturday night at the Coliseum behind the “lights out” pitching of Justin Verlander (9-2, 2.27 ERA). The perennial All-Star pitcher worked 8.0-innings allowing just one run (earned) off four hits. Verlander struck out eight Oakland hitters while walking just two.

The A’s only run of the game came in the second inning when Stephen Piscotty hit the first pitch from Verlander over the wall in right field for his seventh home run of the season.

Brett Anderson (6-4, 3.95 ERA) made the start for Oakland. He worked 5.1-innings giving up three runs (all earned) on eight hits. Anderson struck out two and walked two.

The A’s used two relief pitchers in the contest. Yusmeiro Petit pitched 2.2-innings of perfect baseball while striking out two Astros. Joakim Soria closed out the game pitching the ninth inning and giving up two runs off two hits (1 HR).

A’s Spotlight

HOU3
Marcus Semien ejected Photo: @Athletics
  • Anderson has allowed five home runs in his last four starts after he gave up just one homer in his previous eight starts.
  • Ramon Laureano recorded his sixth assist of the year on Saturday. The center fielder threw Robinson Chirinos out as he attempted to advance to second base in the fourth inning.
  • Speaking of Laureano, he extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games when he singled off Verlander in the fifth inning.
  • Marcus Semien was ejected in the fifth inning of the game. It was the first time Semien has been ejected from a game in his career.
  • Stephen Piscotty has possessed the hot bat for the A’s during this homestand. He went 2-for-4 on Saturday and he is batting .417 (10-for-24) with five runs, two doubles, two home runs, and four RBI in the eight games.

Houston Notes

HOU 4
Graphic: @Astros
  • Justin Verlander passed Cy Young for 21st on the all-time strikeout list (that’s impressive). Verlander is now for tied for the most wins in the Major Leagues with nine victories.
  • Josh Reddick is happy to back in the Coliseum. He has hit home runs in consecutive games for the first time since September 15 and 16, 2018. Reddick is hitting .412 (7-for-17) with three home runs and five RBI in four games in the Coliseum this season.
  • Michael Brantley now leads the MLB in multi-hit games after going 2-for-3 with a walk on Saturday. He has posted 27 multi-hit games. Brantley has recorded 72 hits already this season and is tied for first in the American League.

Up Next

The Astros and A’s will wrap up their series on Sunday at 1:07 PM PDT. Houston will send RHP Gerrit Cole (5-5, 4.04 ERA) to the mound to try and make it a sweep over Oakland. The A’s will counter with RHP Chris Bassitt (3-1, 3.27 ERA) in order to try and stop their losing streak.

Thoughts About the Fairly Recent Past

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND — When I learned that Justin Verlander and Brett Anderson would start tonight’s contest between the A’s and the visiting Astros, I began to remember the AL Division Series of 2013.

That had been a banner season for Oakland. They not only won the western division title, finishing five and a half games ahead of the second place Rangers, but, at .593 they fell only six tenths of a percentage point behind the Red Sox’ .599 for the best record in the whole league. (Coincidentally, those were the winning percentages of the two top NL teams as well). Perhaps more impressive, given the A’s recently penchant for slow starts,  was that they posted a winning record every month. Indeed, there wasn’t one in which they had a losing record at home and only one in which opponents had been able to break even with them on the road.

2013 was not, however, a good baseball year for Anderson. It began auspiciously enough when Bob Melvin gave him the honor of starting the opening game. Anderson pitched well, giving up but two runs (both earned) in seven innings in a 2-0 loss to King Félix and his Mariners, but things went downhill for the promising lefty after that. Two weeks later, he suffered what was diagnosed as a sprained ankle, but turned out to be a stress fracture that necessitated a long stay on what was then called the disabled list. Anderson ended the season at 4-2, 2.57 ERA, respectable enough but not what he had every reason to expect going into April. In December, the A’s traded him to Colorado for Drew Pomeranz and a minor leaguer.

Meanwhile, Verlander combined with Max Scherzer to lead the Tigers to a 99-63 record, just good enough to edge out the Indians by one game for the central division crown. Scherzer, at 21-3, 2.90, with 240 strikeouts, was the team’s ace, but Verlander’s adequate 13-12, 3.46, accompanied by 217 Ks, was nothing to be sneezed at.

Anderson made one brief appearance in the ALDS, pitching a third of an inning in relief and giving up the final run in an 8-6 Tiger victory in Detroit.

Verlander, on the other hand, had a spectacular series against Oakland. In game two, at the Coliseum,  he hurled seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits while striking out 11, yielding but one base on balls. The A’s won that game on a walk-off single by Stephen Vogt that scored Yoenis Céspedes. Sonny Gray got the win, and Grant Balfour the save. (What nostalgia that combination of names invokes! And it was only a half a dozen years ago!)

Verlander’s next appearance was, like his previous one, at the Coliseum. This time, he won the deciding fifth game, holding Oakland to two hits over eight innings, fanning 10 and walking just one.

What I remember best about that tight series was that, after it was over, the home town fans gave the A’s such a thunderous ovation that they took a victory lap, and the Tigers paused in their celebration long enough to give their erstwhile opponents a chance to savor this acknowledgement of a hard fought and oh so close to a successful campaign.

How did these two veterans of the 2013 playoffs fare tonight? You’ll have to read Charlie O’s story to find out. But I’ll give you one hint. Another participant in that series, Josh Reddick, played a significant part in the outcome.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s have dropped three straight, what changed between now and their 10-game win streak?

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photo from houstonchronicle.com: The Houston Astros’ Derek Fisher (21) crosses the plate past Oakland A’s catcher Josh Phegley (19) after Fisher’s eighth inning home run at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night.

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The A’s lost again a tough one with A’s pitcher Mike Fiers going with a 2-0 lead, but the Astros touched him up in the top of the seventh for two runs to tie the game and he was then lifted for reliever Lou Trivino.

#2 The Houston Astros have a potent lineup and even with a two-run A’s lead, the Astros are very unpredictable when they could break out the bats.

#3 The A’s kept Astros hitter Michael Brantley ,who was hitting in three hole at bay. Brantley hit .329 and went 1-4 on Friday night.

#4 How tough is this third straight loss after the A’s had won 10 straight games?

#5 For Saturday night’s starters: Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander (8-2) vs. the A’s Brett Anderson (6-3)

Joey Friedman does the Oakland A’s podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s fall to Astros 3-2

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Photo credit: @sfnewsnow

By: Lewis Rubman

R | H | E
Houston: 3 | 8 | 0
Oakland: 2 | 6 | 1

OAKLAND — Both the division leading Houston Astros (37-20) and the second place Oakland Athletics (29-27) went into tonight’s contest facing problems that hadn’t existed a week ago. The Astros lost the services of Carlos Correa, the Rookie of the Year for 2015 and 2018 shortstop, when a massage therapist walked all over him, cracking his ribs. This came on the heels of José Altuve’s being placed on the injured list on May 11. The A’s saw their 11-game unbeated streak broken and initiated a two-game losing streak. In those games, the team showed an outstanding ability to overcome late inning deficits, but also experienced some distressing breakdowns in the back end of the their bullpen.

One of the unpleasant surprises of Wednesday’s 11-inning loss by the A’s to the Angels was a third inning error by the usually impeccable Gold and Platinum Glove winner, Matt Chapman. Tonight, the Astros mounted their first threat of the game in the top of the first when what would have been a double play ground ball by Robinson Chirinos went through Chapman’s legs, setting up a two men on, one man out situation. Fortunately for the hometown crew, starting pitcher Mike Fiers (4-3, 5.00 ERA) picked off an overeager Yuli Gurriel, who had advanced to second on the previous play, and then got Tyler White to fly out to Laureano in center.

It looked as if the A’s would get to Houston’s starter, Brad Peacock (5-2, 3.19 ERA) in the second, when Canha and Profar walked to open the inning. But Laureano hit into a 5-4-3 double play, and Phegley flew out to left.

An inning later, Chapman took the sting out of his error by blasting a home run, his 15th, into the left field bleachers, with Grossman on base to give Oakland the lead, 2-0.

One time A’s fan favorite Josh Reddick narrowed the gap with a one out solo homer to right off an 84 mph Fiers change up in the seventh. After a Chirinos ground out to third and a walk to White, Fiers gave way to Lou Trivino, who had a few demons from Wednesday’s debacle to exorcise. He didn’t manage to do that tonight. Kemp hit a double off the left field wall to drive in Mykes Straw, running for White, with the game-tying tally.

Laureano greeted Héctor Rondón, who relieved Peacock to start the bottom of the seventh, with a double down the left field line. Phegley moved him up with a sacrifice bunt. It looked as if Semien would bring in the speedy Laureano with a smash to the left side of the infield, but Jack Mayfield, who had just come into the game at short, made a diving catch of it and threw Semien out at first while Laureano had to remain at third. Grossman grounded out to second to end the threat.

Trivino’s troubles suddenly worsened as soon as the eighth inning began. Derek Fisher hit Trivino’s first pitch over the centerfield fence for his first round tripper of the year, and, all of a sudden, the A’s were behind, 3-2.

The pitching mound merry-go-round began to spin after Trivino put down the Astros in what was left of the eighth with a fly out and a ground out, interspersed by an infield single by Yuri Guerriel. Ryan Pressly relieved Rondón to open the eighth and put the A’s down 1, 2, 3. Joakim Soria relieved Trivino to open the ninth. He shut Houston down on a single, a called strike three, and a nifty double play, Olson unassisted to Semien to Olson. Then, Roberto Osuna came in to try to close out the win for the Astros.

He did. One. Two. Three. On 10 pitches.

The win went to Rondón, his third a against one loss. Osuna was credited with his 16th save. Trivino got the loss, which brought him to 2-2 with three blown saves.

Tomorrow night will see Brett Anderson (6-3, 3.86 ERA) duel against Justin Verlander (8-2, 2.38 ERA) in a battle of veterans. Game time will be 7:07 pm.

Preview of the A’s series with the Astros this weekend

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click2houston.com file photo: Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Houston Astros will be in town to play three games against the A’s this weekend. The Astros are in first place in the AL West. The Astros have a record of 37-20 and have a comfortable 7 1/2 game lead on the second-place Oakland A’s who are 29-27. The A’s and Astros have played five times this year, and the Astros lead the series 4-1.

The Astros, who won the 2017 World Series, are loaded. They have several All-Stars on the team, but they have been bitten by the injury bug. Jose Altuve, who was the 2017 MVP, is on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain. There are reports that he will be coming off the IL on Friday.

The strangest injury is to Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, who said he fractured his rib while getting a massage at his home.

“I’m extremely disappointed about not being on the field with my teammates. I sustained the rib fracture during a massage at my home on Tuesday,” Correa said.

Correa added that getting the injury the way he did was strange and unusual.

“To sustain an injury in such an unusual way makes it even more frustrating. However, I will work hard to get back on the field as quickly as possible to help our team achieve our goal of winning another championship.”

Correa is expected to miss four to six weeks of action.

The shortstop, went on the IL yesterday with a broken rib. The injury occurred while he was getting a massage in his Houston home. He will be out for four to six weeks.

Centerfielder George Springer has a grade two left hamstring strain and will not play this weekend.

Aledmys Diaz, who was filling in for Altuve at second base, is also on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain.

Nevertheless, the Astros are still an excellent team. They have a solid rotation featuring Justin Verlander, a former Cy Young award winner and MVP, Gerrit Cole, Brad Peacock, and Wade Miley. Their bullpen is solid with Will Harris, Chris Devenski, and closer Roberto Osuna.

The Astros probably will move Alex Bregman from third to shortstop. Bregman is a power hitter and will be a candidate for MVP this year. First baseman Yuli Guriel will move from first to third. The Astros brought up Jack Mayfield to play second. Tyler White will fill-in at first.

The Astros signed Michael Brantley as a free agent. He is playing well in left field. Jake Marisnick will be in centerfield, and former A’s fan favorite, Josh Reddick will be on patrol in right field. Reddick is having a solid season for Houston and is one of the reasons the Astros are in first place.

The A’s will face Brad Peacock on Friday night. The former A’s pitcher found a home in Houston and has really improved. Peacock is 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA. He pitches well in night games as he has an ERA of just 1.38. Peacock is 3-0 since going to a full windup. Mike Fiers will go for the A’s. Fiers is 4-3 with a 5.00 ERA. Fiers is 1-2 with a 7.32 ERA in four career starts against Houston.

The A’s will have to be on the top of their game as they face Justin Verlander on Saturday and Gerrit Cole on Sunday. Lefty Brett Anderson (6-3, 3.86 ERA) has been consistent for Oakland this year and has gone six innings or more in four of his last five starts. Chris Bassitt (3-1, 3.27 ERA) starts on Sunday.

The A’s, who won 10 in a row before being beaten in the last two games by the LA Angels, would like to get back on the winning track against the Astros. It may be difficult, but the A’s have players that can do a lot of damage. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Marcus Semien, Stephen Piscotty, Mark Canha, and Josh Phegley all can send the ball flying out of the park. The A’s DH Khris Davis may return soon.

The A’s have played solid defense this season, and the offense can be formidable. The starting rotation has been better of late. The bullpen has had its ups and downs, but it is still one of the better ones in the American League.

The A’s would like to take two out three from the Astros. The club would love to have the stand packed to see two good teams have a go at it.

Angels outlast the A’s to win a wild one 12-7

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Los Angeles Angels won the rubber match of the three-game series 12-7. The A’s never led in the game. They fought back from a 5-1 deficit to score two in the seventh and two in the eighth to tie the game. The Angels scored two in the ninth and Oakland came right back with two to knot it again and send the game into extra innings. The roof fell in in the eleventh when things went south for Oakland. The Angels’ first two runs in the inning came without the benefit of a hit. The Halos did have two hits in the eleventh, and that put three more on the board.

The A’s started Liam Hendriks as the “opener.” He struggled through his first and only inning of work on Wednesday. Hendriks threw over 30 pitches Tuesday night in two innings of action against the Angels. He retired the first hitter he faced. He gave up a single to Tommy LaStella and walked Shohei Ohtani and Jonathan Lucroy to load the bases. Hendriks retire Kole Calhoun for the second out. The Angels’ left-fielder, Cesar Puello, who was recalled from Salt Lake City before last night’s game, singled to right to put two on the board for LA. The Angels lead 2-0 midway through the first inning.

In the bottom of the third, with two out, A’s shortstop Marcus Semien blasted his seventh home run of the year into the seats in left field. The A’s trail 2-1 after three.

Daniel Mengden was sailing along nicely until the top of the fifth. With two out, Mengden issued a free pass to Kole Calhoun. Cesar Puello, who drove in the Angels first two runs, reached on an infield single. Brian Goodwin, playing center field in place of Mike Trout, singled to right-center-field to drive in Calhoun with the Angels third run. Mengden struck out Luis Rengifo to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh, the Angels’ Cesar Puello, who, in his first game against the A’s, has been the hitting star. With a man on first and no out, Puello slammed his first home run of the year into the left-field seats to give the Angels a 5-1 advantage. The A’s rallied to plate two runs in their half of the seventh. Justin Anderson was now pitching for Los Angeles. The first hitter he faced, Matt Olson, walked. Stephen Piscotty followed with a double to send Olson to third. Anderson plunked Mark Canha with a pitch to load the bases with no out. The next two hitters, Jurickson Profar and Ramon Laureano, each hit into a fielder’s choice and that enabled Olson and Piscotty to cross the plate. The A’s trail 5-3 after seven.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Marcus Semien led off the inning with a single. The Angels’ reliever Luis Garcia retired Robbie Grossman and Matt Chapman. A’s first baseman Matt Olson, who had struck out twice and walked in his first three plate appearances, took Garcia deep with his seventh bomb of the year. The game is tied 5-5 after eight.

The Angels broke the tie in the top of the ninth. A’s closer Blake Treinen hit Kole Calhoun with a pitch. He struck out Puello for the first out. The second out was recorded on a strange play. Brian Goodwin hit a slow roller to third baseman Matt Chapman. Chapman’s throw to second was grabbed by Marcus Semien. Calhoun was safe, but he strayed off the base and was tagged out by Semien. Treinen was not able to retire Luis Rengifo for the final out. The light-hitting (.206) shortstop doubled to drive in Goodwin. Jared Walsh singled to drive in Rengifo with the Angels’ seventh run of the game. The A’s were down to their last three outs. Mark Canha led off the bottom of the ninth with his ninth of the year to make it a 7-6 game. Jurickson Profar doubled, and Ramon Laureano singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Josh Phegley, who pinch-hit for Nick Hundley in the seventh, drove it Profar with a sacrifice fly to left that tied the game at seven.

The Angels put five on the board in the top of the eleventh. Murphy’s Law was in effect as whatever could go wrong for A’s pitcher, Lou Trivino. Trivino hit a batter, walked three, one intentionally, threw a wild pitch, saw his catcher have a passed ball and have two runs score without the benefit of a hit. The Angels did have two hits later in the inning. Tommy LaStella’s single drove in the third run of the inning for the Angels. Jonathan Lucroy also singled to drive in two more to torture his former teammates. The A’s could do nothing in the bottom of the eleventh, and they lose to the Angels 12-7.

Game Notes-The time of game was four hours and thirty-six minutes. 21, 185 fans were on hand to witness a very wild and woolly affair.

The Angels improved to 26-29 while Oakland fell to 29-27. The A’s used, eight pitchers. Lou Trivino was the losing pitcher.  The Angels used six, and their reliever, Noe Ramirez, was the winning pitcher.

Ramon Laureano extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Stephen Piscotty reached safely in a career-high 25 consecutive games.

Former A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy recorded his 1100th career hit with a single in the tenth inning.

The Angels did not play Mike Trout Wednesday is his out with a sore foot. The Angels also gave Albert Pujols the day off, too.

 

The line score for the Angels was 12 runs, 16 hits, and no errors. The A’s line was 7 runs, 12 hits, and two significant errors.

The A’s are off Thursday and will face the AL West Division leaders, the Houston Astros, at the Coliseum for three games starting Friday night. Mike Fiers (4-3, 5.00 ERA) will pitch for Oakland and Houston will counter with former Athletic Brad Peacock (5-2, 3.19 ERA) Game time is at 7:07 pm.

 

 

 

 

Will the A’s go on a new 10-game winning streak?

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND — The A’s were red-hot and recorded a 10-game winning streak after an 8-5 win over the Angels on Monday. The A’s achieved 10 straight wins for the first time since 2006. Then, the A’s winning streak snapped following the Angels’ 6-4 win on Tuesday. But it wasn’t a genuine Angels win as most, if not all, folks said the umpires cost the A’s. That was one of the worst ways to lose a game.

The A’s are currently in second place in the AL West, trailing the first place Astros by 7 1/2 games. The A’s should be just fine, so let’s get to the umpires. In case you missed it, Joakim Soria thought he was out of the inning. The A’s relief pitcher delivered what appeared to be strike three to Angels DH Shohei Ohtani. However, Josh Phegley was unable to hold onto Soria’s curveball, which caused home plate umpire James Hoye to flinch like he was going to ring up Ohtani. Instead, Hoye called it ball two. Two pitches later, Ohtani singled home two go-ahead runs and the Angels won 6-4 to snap the A’s winning streak.

Soria wasn’t happy with Hoye and argued balls and strikes with Hoye. Apparently, Hoye had enough of the shenanigans and threw Soria out of the game.

“There’s a human factor in the game and that’s the beauty of the game. I understand he’s human,” Soria told the Associated Press. “He thought it was a ball, he called it. The only problem is because of the mistake I gave up two runs and we lost the game. … In that specific situation you cannot miss. I understand he’s human. He’s there for a reason, too.”

But the pitch remains in question and there’s not much you or I could do about it unless if the MLB confesses their wrongdoing and apologizes for their mistake in the game.

Anyways, I believe the A’s can go on a new 10-game winning streak. The A’s put themselves in a good spot with their recent surge and the bottom of their lineup has impressed and perhaps shocked the downers as Jurickson Profar, Ramon Laureano and Josh Phegley have heated things up during the red-hot streak. Phegley made a solid case to be considered as an All-Star. Phegley’s seven homers and 32 RBI could support his cause.

The A’s can punch their tickets to the postseason like they did last year, but can they survive the playoffs? That’s the question and we’ll see what happens down the stretch.

Meanwhile, A’s DH Khris Davis has been progressing and taking some swings, but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to play against the Astros this weekend at the Coliseum. If he continues to progress, then he might get off the IL and head out onto the field.