Category: Oakland Athletics

A’s outlast the Rangers 8-6 in a slugfest on Saturday at the Coliseum

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics’ 61-0 winning streak when they held a lead after seven innings was on the line Saturday versus the Texas Rangers. The A’s had a 6-4 lead after seven innings, but Texas veteran third baseman Adrian Beltre had other ideas about Oakland continuing that winning streak.

Beltre came to bat in the top of the eighth inning with teammate Nomar Mazara at first and his team trailing by two runs. With the count at 0-2, Beltre hit a Fernando Rodney pitch down the left-field line into the seats for a two-run home run to tie the game at 6-6. It was home run No. 11 of the season for Beltre and his second of the game (his first multiple home run game of the season). The crowd of 20,504 became very concerned.

The Rangers brought RHP Chris Martin into the game from the bullpen. The first batter he had to face was Matt Olson who entered the game in the seventh inning for Mark Canha. Olson hit the 0-1 pitch from Martin over the fence in left field for his 25th home run of the year to give the A’s a 7-5 lead. After Chad Pinder flied out, Jonathan Lucroy singled. Ramon Laureano struck out for the second out of the inning. Matt Chapman, who leads the majors in doubles since the All-Star Break, hit an RBI-double to right field that allowed Lucroy to score the A’s eighth run of the game to give them an 8-6 lead.

The A’s went to the top of the ninth with an 8-6 lead which meant it was “Treinen Time.” Treinen took the mound and struck out the first two hitters he faced. Shin-Soo Choo then stepped into the batter’s box and hit a soft line drive to Marcus Semien for the final out of the game.

The A’s won the game 8-6 and upped their record for the season to 86-57. They have now won three consecutive games and have guaranteed that they will win this series with the Rangers. The A’s are now 11-0-2 in their previous 13 home series which is the longest single-season home series unbeaten streak in Oakland history.

Ryan Buchter (4-0) received credit for the victory and Blake Treinen of the A’s picked up his 37th save. Chris Martin (1-4) of the Rangers was hung with the loss.

The Astros beat the Red Sox on Saturday 5-3 in Boston so the A’s will stay 3.5 games back of Houston. The Mariners host the Yankees on Saturday night.

Bob Melvin analyzes the game

Performances worth remembering

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  • Khris Davis hit his 41st home run of the season in the home half of the first inning. He now has 10 round-trippers off Rangers pitching.
  • Jed Lowrie hit his 36th double of the year in this contest, which ties him with Nick Swisher for third most for switch hitters in A’s history.
  • Stephen Piscotty doubled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
  • Matt Olson’s 25 home runs lead the American League for most HR’s by a first baseman.
  • Chad Pinder hit his 11th home run of 2018 in the sixth inning – a solo shot.
  • The Rangers Shin-Soo Choo has reached base in 15 out of 17 games versus the A’s this year.
  • Jurickson Profar hit his 16th home run of the season in the fourth inning off Jackson.

Pitching was a group effort in this game

A’s

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  • Starter Edwin Jackson was credited for just 3.0 innings and was dinged for four runs (all earned) off five hits. He struck out five and walked just one but gave up two home runs.
  • Shawn Kelley was back after his kitchen accident and pitched a perfect inning with two K’s.
  • Lou Trivino worked a perfect inning of relief.
  • Fernando Rodney was charged with blown save for giving up the two-run shot to Beltre.
  • The A’s used eight pitchers.
  • Oakland pitching gave up six runs (all earned) off six hits. They walked just one batter. A’s pitchers struck out 12 Texas hitters. They did give up three home runs.

Rangers

  • The Rangers used five pitchers in the game.
  • All but one of those hurlers gave up at least one earned one. Ouch!
  • Eddie Butler was the only reliever not to give up a run.
  • Texas pitchers gave up eight runs (all earned) on nine hits. They struck out seven and walked six. The Rangers also issued three home runs to A’s hitters.

Up next

The series wraps tomorrow at 1:05 PM when the Rangers send RHP Ariel Jurado (2-4, 6.00) to the mound to face the A’s RHP Trevor Cahill (6-3, 3.60).

Laureano Better Than Big Mac, Canseco in A’s 8-4 Win over Texas

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SportingGreenSF

By: Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND–Just think where the Oakland Athletics might be if they’d called Ramon Laureano up sooner. Maybe a 3.5 game division deficit is actually a division lead at this time. The 24 year old rookie has won games for the A’s with his glove, his arm, his baserunning and his bat since getting the call August 3rd and Friday night was no different.

The speedy center fielder became the first Athletic to have two multi-homer games in his first thirty big league appearances, going deep twice in the A’s 8-4 win over the Rangers at the Coliseum on Friday night. He joins the Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco as the only players in A’s history to accomplish the feat in the first 50 games of their careers.

The A’s needed the win with the Astros rallying past the Red Sox and the New York Yankees dispatching of the team directly below the A’s in the Wild Card standings. A loss would have pushed Oakland 4 1/2 games back of each team. The A’s pounced on Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo, plating five runs of him in just 4 1/3 innings.

Laureano put the Rangers on the ropes in his first at bat of the game, working his way into the leadoff spot after earning manager Bob Melvin’s trust over a first cup of coffee that includes a .309 batting average in 81 at-bats. Laureano rewarded his manager with a solo shot to center field, his 4th homer of the year already, to give the A’s a 1-0 lead just one batter into their licks at the dish.

Marcus Semien hit his 12th long ball of the season with a runner on in the bottom of the 2nd inning, then the rally continued till Matt Chapman’s two-run single made it 5-0 A’s.

Joey Gallo did what he does best, crushing two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the top of the 4th. Bassitt, the second man out of the pen after Liam Hendriks served as “opener” once again, allowed three runs over his three innings of work.

Yusmeiro Petit was credited with the win for his work pitching the fifth and sixth innings despite the A’s already being up 5-2. He got some major run support when Laureano blasted another solo shot, this time off reliever Adrian Sampson. Sampson would get tagged for another pair after an error and three straight singles put Oakland up 8-3.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the A’s. Fernando Rodney labored for his appearance in the seventh inning. He gave up one run, his fourth of September in just 2 2/3 innings and it could have been much worse. Ronald Guzman hit a ball that appeared to hit the top of the wall in right, but was ruled a double and scored only one run. Rodney walked the bases loaded with two outs, but Ryan Buchter came in and got the deep fly out from Rougned Odor to escape the big inning.

Jeurys Familia also struggled in his inning of work after getting one out, but giving up a hit to Nomar Mazara, a walk to Adrian Beltre and an RBI double to  Gallo to pull Texas within four at 8-4. He’d get the final to outs and turn the game over to the closer Blake Treinen. Treinen, a dark horse Cy Young candidate, finished off the ninth in his usual dominant fashion to give the A’s the final 8-4 lead.

The A’s and Rangers will continue their series with game two on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

The A’s will send one of their few true starters to the hill, Edwin Jackson, a journeyman with a 5-3 record and 2.91 ERA. He’s locked in a battle with Mike Fiers to determine who will pitch in the one-game playoff come October if needed. He’ll be opposed by Yohander Mendez, a southpaw with a 1-1 record and 5.59 ERA.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s need every win in this Rangers series starting tonight

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The Houston Astros never quit. They’re just 3 1/2 games ahead of the A’s with five straight wins and a convincing win over the Minnesota Twins 9-1 on Wednesday at Minute Maid Field.

#2 Alex Bergman hit for five RBIs on Wednesday as the Astros have some different player to come through every other day and they manage to stay ahead of the A’s in what can be called a real race in the AL West.

#3 The A’s meanwhile beat the New York Yankees two out of three and they out foxed and outbombed the Bronx Bombers’ best pitcher Luis Severino 8-2 with some early hitting.

#4 The A’s go up against the Texas Rangers tonight. The Rangers are 26 games out of first place. The season is finished for the Rangers, but as they say in the show, anything can happen on any given day and the A’s need every game of this series.

#5 The A’s need this series if they want to continue to chip away at the Astros. It starts Friday night at the Coliseum, the Rangers will start Yovani Gallardo (8-3) and the A’s will start Chris Bassitt (2-3).

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Exclusive Interview With WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman

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Photo credit: @NYDNSports

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The New York Yankees paid their recent visit to the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum. Prior to the last game of the three-game series, I spoke with WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman, who handles commentary on all Yankee games with play-by-play man John Sterling.

Suzyn has been broadcasting sports for 32 years. This interview was conducted inside her broadcast booth at the Coliseum a good three hours prior to the game that night.

Q: Suzyn, how did you got started in sports broadcasting after 30 years of doing this?

A: Oh boy, well when I started I was in theater before I did this and musical theater it was changing and the only other thing I knew was sports, because I had my own season-tickets at baseball games with my grandfather when I was three and I was a sports person, but it was always my avocation, because little girls didn’t do that, and I was on Broadway and I sang and dance did all that and I go to ballgames, and…a friend of mine who used to be the announcer for the Boston Red Sox, Ken Coleman–we were very very close friends he said, “you know I have a friend and this next year they are starting this thing in New York it’s going to be called WFAN…and I told him he’s going to meet you, because you know more about sports than anybody I know and you’re female and they’re going to need a woman so I made a tape.

I didn’t know what I was doing and I was hired to do updates, I was actually the first voice on WFAN in 1987 so that’s the beginning, but then I realized that nobody wanted me there because I was female, so then it became something else and it became don’t you dare to talk to me like that, and don’t you tell me I don’t know because I am female…and so that’s how that started with people saying “no.”

Q: How do you feel being a pioneer? Actually there still not that many women in sports broadcasting in baseball like, say Jessica Mendoza, anymore.

A: Well I wasn’t trying to be a pioneer, I was just trying to make a living and I didn’t like being told I didn’t know anything…to tell you the truth I expected there to be a lot more women, it is just me in the broadcast booth, I know Jessica does ESPN, but it is only one game a week … it is just me and I am waiting for someone else to do this I know there are women down in the minor leagues trying to to this to get a chance or whether or not they give up, I think there is no failures. It’s just people that give up too soon.

Q: Is this more fun that playing Dulcinea in Man of LaMancha?

A: Nothing is more fun that being Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha. You know I did get over theater, although I miss it everyday, but I am still on stage. This a different stage, but I’m still performing. I don’t sing and dance anymore and I don’t get applause … Yeah, I miss theater everyday … but this is important and this is where I should be”

Q: Your best message for a young female that aspires to be in sports broadcasting like you maybe in baseball.

A: Think of what you can do that’s difference from everybody else go and look in the mirror and say to yourself, “I have a different way of looking at this, and I am going to do this, don’t let anybody stop you, because people are going to say no, you do commercials on television, you’ll get 200 no, before you get a commercial, but don’t let people tell you ‘no.'” You will know … and don’t want to be me, don’t want to be Jessica, just be you, because if you take my job is just one, but if it’s you, then there are two of us. Don’t let anybody stop you.

It was truly a pleasure to interview Suzyn for the first time, despite the fact we’ve known each other for decades during baseball games at many parks across the country.

Amaury Pi-González is the Spanish voice of the A’s and since 2016, he’s in the Advisory Board of the American Sportscasters Association in New York City.

A’s to host Rangers in weekend series starting Friday night

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Photo credit: markmoneyhoffman.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s will host the Texas Rangers at the Coliseum for three games beginning Friday night. It will be the final time the teams will meet this season.

The Rangers find themselves in last place in the AL West with a 61-79 record. The Rangers had hoped to have had a better record as they put together a lineup with hitters that could put runs on the board. On the other hand, their pitching could not keep the other team from putting more runs on the board.

The A’s, who have an off-day on Thursday, after 20 consecutive games, find themselves in a race for either one of two possibilities. The A’s are 3.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the race for first place in the AL West.

If the A’s were to win the division, they would not have to play in the one-game playoff between the two Wild Card teams. They are also 3.5 games behind the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card slot. The first Wild Card hosts the game at their home park. If the A’s finish in the second spot, they would have to fly to New York for the game.

Also, history is not on the side of the second Wild Card. The home team usually, but not always, prevails when the one-game playoff is held at their home stadium.

The A’s have a lot to play for this weekend. While they have successfully handled the Rangers so far this year, they cannot take them lightly. The Rangers would love nothing more than upsetting the A’s apple cart.

Below are the A’s and Rangers pitching matchups:

On Friday night, The A’s will send Chris Bassitt to the hill. Bassitt has pitched well at times, but he has not been as consistent as the team had hoped. However, in his last start against Minnesota, he went 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run. The A’s could potentially use an “opener” when a bullpen pitcher to start the game and then bring in Bassitt after the first or second innings.

The Rangers will counter with the veteran hurler Yovani Gallardo who has a 8-3 record and a 5.97 ERA. Gallardo beat the Twins 7-4 in his last start. His line was pitched five innings and gave up three runs. Gallardo has a 5-2 record with a 4.07 ERA in his last eight starts.

On Saturday, the A’s Edwin Jackson will pitch for the Green and Gold. Jackson has a 5-3 record and a 2.91 ERA so far this year. In his last start, Jackson went six innings and allowed just one run and three hits.

The Rangers will start Yohender Mendez. Mendez recorded his first MLB win last Sunday when he beat the Twins. He pitched six scoreless innings and allowed three hits while walking one and striking out three. He has a 1-1 record and a 5.59 ERA for the season.

On Sunday, Trevor Cahill will start for the A’s, and Texas has not yet announced their pitcher. Cahill has a 6-3 record and a 3.60 ERA. The big righty has pitched extremely well at the Coliseum this year. In his nine starts at home, he has a 5-0 record and a 1.09 ERA. He beat the Yankees last Monday before 41,000 fans. He allowed the Yanks’ three runs (two earned) and five hits while walking one and striking out three.

The A’s pitching will have their hands full as they try to stop the Rangers’ hitters. The Rangers’ infield consists of Ronald Guzman at first, Rougned Odor at second, Elvis Andrus at short, and Adrian Beltre at third. The Rangers’ outfield will be patrolled by Shin-Soo-Choo, Joey Gallo, and Nomar Mazara. Robinson Chirinos will handle the catching. Every one of these players can hit the ball out of the park.

The A’s also have big boppers. They have five guys that have hit 20 or more balls out of the park this season. Part-time players such as Mark Canha and Chad Pinder are in double figures in that department.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the A’s cannot let their guard down. The team knows what’s at stake and their manager Bob Melvin will prepare them. The A’s are 84-57 and have 21 games left to play. They have to keep winning, and they will need help from other teams if they are to move up in the standings.

The Boston Red Sox could really help the A’s as they host the Astros at Fenway Park this weekend, and have six more, three at home and three in New York, against the Yanks. The Red Sox would love nothing more than upsetting the Yanks’ apple cart.

The surprise team and feel good story of the 2018 season have been the A’s. The players know they are good and they are showing the world what they can do.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s honor their very best in the Hall of Fame class, then go out and beat Yanks 8-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Big night for the Oakland A’s honoring their Hall of Fame class of 2018 of ex-owner Charlie O Finley, Jim Catfish Hunter, Dave Stewart, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson, and Dennis Eckersley.

#2 You gotta love it when Rickey gave his speech and said, “I’m the youngest player up here” and “I’ve been called back here four or five times already.”

#3 Everybody got one of those green jackets that were for the honorees in the A’s Hall of Fame. There’s a lot of hard work that went into earning that jacket.

#4 The A’s got an 8-2 win over the New York Yankees and got great pitching out of starter Mike Fiers to take the series 2-1.

#5 The A’s open up a three-game series with the Texas Rangers. Each series is important as the A’s are trying to chip away at the Astros and Yankees in the AL West and Wild Card races.

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

A’s rout the Yankees 8-2 to take 2 out of 3 from New York

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s beat the Yankees 8-2 at the Coliseum on Wednesday night to take two out of three and even the season series at three apiece.

The A’s had several legends in the ballpark. The A’s honored former greats Reggie Jackson, Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, who was represented by his wife. Charlie Finley’s son Paul was in attendance for the Finley family.

The A’s sent Mike Fiers to take care of the pitching duties. The Yanks had an opportunity to do damage in the first inning. Fiers retired leadoff hitter Brett Gardner for the first out. Yanks’ DH Mike Stanton blasted a double to deep right center field. Fiers got Andrew McCutchen to fly out to center for the second out. Fiers walked the next two hitters, Aaron Hicks and Gary Sanchez, to load the bases. Fiers was laboring as his pitch count was now in the 20s. He now had to face the Yanks’ first baseman Luke Voit. Voit has been on a tear since being recalled from the minors as he has homered seven times in his last 12 games. Fiers retired Voit for the third out as he hit a ground ball to Matt Chapman. Chapman stepped on third for the force out. Fiers regained his composure and allowed the Yankees just one hit over the next five innings. A’s manager Bob Melvin allowed him to start the seventh. He walked the first batter Aaron Hicks and then Gary Sanchez took him deep for the Yanks’ only runs of the game.

The Yanks had their ace, Luis Severino, going for them. Severino came into the game tied for the most wins in the AL with 17. The Yanks were 22-6 in games started for Severino, but that didn’t faze the A’s one bit. They put six runs on the board in Severino 2 2/3 innings of work and sent him down to his seventh loss of the year.

The A’s put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Rookie Ramon Laureano started the rally with a solid double to left. Laureano went to third on a passed ball and scored on Jed Lowrie’s single. A’s DH Khris Davis doubled to right. Lowrie stopped at third. Severino uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Lowrie to score and Davis motored to third. First baseman Matt Olson doubled to left to drive in Davis with the A’s third run of the inning. Olson went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.  It was a very strange inning that featured two passed balls and two wild pitches.

The A’s added two more in the third and one more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. Matt Chapman walked to start the third. Lowrie singled to met on at first and second. Both advanced a base when Davis’s ground ball to third was momentarily bobbled by Neil Walker. Davis was out at first. Both scored on Stephen Piscotty’s single. The A’s added another run after Chad Pinder singled. Josh Phegley walked to put men on at first and second with no out. Laureano reached on a fielder’s choice. Phegley was out at second, and Pinder moved to third on the play. Matt Chapman ground out to first on a checked swing and Pinder crossed the plate for the score.

The A’s plated another tally in the bottom of the sixth. Yanks’ reliever Luis Cessa retired the first two hitters he faced. Laureano then lined a double to right-center. Matt Chapman followed with a rocket past third baseman Neil Walker to drive in Laureano to give the A’s a commanding 8-0 advantage after six complete.

The Yanks finally put two on the board in the top of the seventh. Fiers walked the leadoff hitter to start the frame. Yanks’ catcher Gary Sanchez slammed Fiers’ pitch into the left-field seats to make it an 8-2 game. It was just the third hit of the game that Fiers had allowed. Melvin replaced Fiers with Yusmeiro Petit. Petit retired the first hitter, Gave up a single to Neil Walker but was able to get the next two outs to the end the Yanks’ seventh.

The A’s bullpen continued to shine as Lou Trivino set the Yanks down in order in the eighth and Cory Gearrin closed the door on them in the ninth. The A’s won their 84th game of the year.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 84-57 and remain 3.5 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. The Astros beat Minnesota again on Wednesday. The Astros travel to Boston for three with the Red Sox and, hopefully, Boston can help the A’s gain ground on the Astros.

The Yanks lead the A’s by 3.5 games in the race for the first Wild Card spot in the AL. The Yanks are off on Thursday and then finish the West Coast swing with a three-game series with the Mariners. Then they play three in Minnesota and three in Toronto. Their last 12 games of the year consist of six with Boston, three with Baltimore, and three with Tampa Bay. The A’s will need help from these teams if they hope to finish either first in the division or first in the Wild Card race.

Mike Fiers was the winning pitcher, and he is now 11-6 for 2018. The A’s are now 60-0 when leading after the seventh inning. The A’s are 50-21 since June 16th which is the best record in baseball.

A’s hitting stars were Khris Davis and Ramon Laureano with two doubles each. Jed Lowrie had two singles.

The A’s line score was 8 runs, 11 hits, and no errors.

The Yanks’ line was 2 runs, five hits, and no errors.

Time of game was two hours and 53 minutes, and there were 21,001 fans watching the A’s continue their magical ride.

Up Next: The A’s welcome the Rangers for a three-game series starting this Friday at 7:05 pm PDT.

Khris Davis is the other KD that people should be talking about

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND, Calif. — I think it’s pretty obvious that Khris Davis is the other KD in the Bay Area that people should be talking about. But, just in case you need a couple of reasons on why Davis deserves a similar amount of praise like Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, I’ll give you a couple of reasons.

Davis, a Lakewood, Calif. native, has been piling up the hits and RBIs on the field as the A’s designated hitter. The Coliseum’s playing surface, Rickey Henderson Field, is a gorgeous reflection of the Green and Gold. But, as you may already know, Davis has a shot at becoming a big A’s star. The 30-year-old bats and throws right and recently has joined quality company alongside Jimmie Foxx and Mark McGwire with his third straight year with 40 or more home runs.

“It’s just miraculous [the kind of] numbers that he puts up,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told NBC Sports Bay Area. “We’ve had a long history of power hitters here, and to be with Jimmie Foxx in that kind of company and we’re still looking at close to a month left … He’s been as consistent a power hitter as anyone’s been in Oakland.”

Davis also joined Foxx as the second player in A’s history to go back-to-back with 40 homers. Davis needs eight more homers to pass Terry Steinbach for 15th place on the A’s all-time home runs list.

Davis has been dubbed as “the most consistent hitter in baseball history” by FiveThirtyEight.com. Davis’ batting average is consistent to the point where it’s scary.

Davis’ opposite is Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper, who’s currently tied as the third most volatile hitter over a five-year span. Harper’s batting average has taken quite the roller coaster ride, but it’s obvious that inconsistency doesn’t automatically mean that a hitter is subpar. Harper’s team, however, tends to fall apart in the postseason, thanks to the so-called Washington D.C. sports curse.

In my opinion, Davis’ other nickname could be “Mr. Reliable” since he provides a ray of consistency in the midst of random batting averages among MLB players.

Additionally, Davis’ actions off the field speak volumes that he’s not just a respectable DH, but also an all-around good guy. Last month, Davis asked a young male fan, Anthony Slocumb, from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to sign his jersey. Slocumb is a sixth grader from Oakland. Slocumb had been in remission from a rare cancer called Langerhans cell histiocytosis, but attended an A’s vs. Rangers game at the Coliseum with a group from the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Greater Bay Area chapter.

Davis kept Slocumb in his memory while out and about on the field. Davis also slugged a homer for the A’s 9-0 shutout win over the Rangers that day.

“I thought about him around the bases. There’s not a better feeling than hitting a home run, so hopefully he got some excitement and joy from watching that,” Davis told ESPN. “They’re really the stars. … He was excited. I could tell that he was just happy to be here and wanted to have some fun. It was amazing, the look on his face.”

Davis never thought once about changing uniform shirts either.

Slocumb’s mother was pleased by Davis’ kind gesture, as it’s not everyday where an average person or group of persons crosses paths with a talented and kind-hearted MLB player.

With all that said, Davis may not become this year’s MVP, but he has been a large chunk of the A’s renaissance; and this why he’s the other KD that people should be talking about.

Playoff premiere atmosphere more conducive to the Yankees in 5-1 win over the A’s

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — Mathematicians and Major League managers would have reached the same, logical conclusion on Tuesday night: two hits aren’t enough to qualify a team for critical, postseason analysis.

In a tightly contested ballgame between the two American League teams on a collision course to meet October 3 in a win-or-go-home, wild card scenario, the Yankees and A’s had everyone’s attention, but the A’s managed just two hits, and that ended the playoff preview assessment before it could get started.

“We just didn’t do enough offensively tonight,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “No matter what we give up, even if it’s two runs, when you get two hits, it’s going to be a tough time winning.”

Make no mistake: in their 19th game in 19 days, the A’s came to play, and their patchwork approach to pitching to the Yankees was executed brilliantly for six innings. Reliever Liam Hendricks started, and Daniel Mengden followed by allowing just one of the first 14 batters he faced to reach, before a base hit by Gleyber Torres on the last of his 51 pitches. Ryan Buchter picked Torres off first just three pitches into his appearance, and that kept the Bombers quiet for six innings.

Buchter allowed a Brett Gardner base hit leading off the seventh, and that was Melvin’s signal to turn to his top guys, starting with Jeurys Familia. But the former Mets’ closer allowed Giancarlo Stanton a base hit, and then walked Andrew McCutchen to load the bases. Then Aaron Hicks walked to force in a run and tie the game.

Familia escaped further damage by striking out the next two batters before Fernando Rodney induced Neil Walker into a foul pop that ended the inning.

With one front line reliever off his game, the A’s couldn’t afford two, and that’s what they suffered when Rodney elevated a pitch to Luke Voit leading off the eighth. That pitch was quickly deposited in the left field corner pocket for a 2-1 Yankees lead, courtesy of their lineup’s hottest hitter.

Voit’s shot was his seventh homer in 12 games dating back to August 24. The hot hitter quickly transformed into a galvanizing cheerleader greeting his teammates in the dugout.

“The whole Sammy Sosa hop, I don’t… it just happens,” Voit said. “I don’t know, I play with excitement, and like some of you guys say, it just feeds the team, ignites the team and, you know, we end up scoring three more runs. It’s huge and it’s like a playoff game and it’s fun to have emotions for those games.”

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s drop 4.5 games back in wild card; 3.5 back in AL West after loss to Yankees

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

The Oakland A’s are closing in on everybody. They’re 4 1/2 games back of the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card race. The A’s are 3 1/2 games back and wouldn’t they love to win the division? The A’s are certainly getting a good mix of pitching from the starters and relievers.

The A’s will be introducing all their living Hall of Fame inductees: Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley, and Helen Hunter (Jim Catfish Hunter’s widow) will be on hand on Wednesday night at the Oakland Coliseum for the tribute.

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