Category: Oakland Athletics

A’s hitters torch Rangers’ pitchers in 15-3 laugher in Arlington

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

It was a very warm night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Monday night as the Oakland A’s started a seven-game road trip against the Texas Rangers. The temperature at the start of the game was over 100 degrees, but that did not faze the A’s hitters one bit.

The Rangers had their best pitcher, Cole Hamels, on the mound. Hamels, a four-time All-Star and 2008 World Champion (with the Philadelphia Phillies), is having an off year so far this season. The 34-year old lefty was 5-8 for the year, but his home record was 1-6 at home.

The A’s countered with their lefty, Brett Anderson, who started the game with a record of 1-2 and has spent a lot of time on the DL. A’s manager Bob Melvin was hoping to get some innings from Anderson to not use his bullpen. Anderson did his job as he went six innings and allowed just two runs and six hits. That, baseball fans, is a quality start.

The A’s torched Hamels for five runs in the top of the second inning. Hamels walked Matt Olson to start the inning. Chapman reached on an infield single. Rougned Odor made a gallant effort trying to stop Chapman’s grounder from going into centerfield. Odor flipped the ball to shortstop Elvis Andrus. Andrus stretched to grab the ball for the out, but he did not control of the ball as Olson’s slid in safely. Mark Canha singled sharply to right field to load the bases with no out.

Jonathan Lucroy was the next hitter. Lucroy was traded to the Rangers in 2016 and was with them until the trade deadline last year when the Rangers sent him to the Colorado Rockies. Lucroy had been with Hamels, who had a winning record when Lucroy was his catcher. Lucroy had hit only one home run so far the year but his second of the season was a grand salami. The ball was hit to deep center-field and barely made it over the fence. Statcast said the ball went 408 feet. The A’s were on the board, and it was just the beginning of the fireworks. The A’s plated another run to make it 5-0. Semien walked. Chad Pinder, who was 8-for-9 with three home runs in his career against Hamels, singled. Hamels retired Jed Lowrie, but was touched for a double by Khris Davis.

The Rangers scored two in the bottom of the third. Odor doubled and scored when Elvis Andrus homered. The A’s lead 5-2 after three. The A’s got the two runs back in the top of the fifth to take a 7-2 lead. With one out, Matt Olson singled. Stephen Piscotty homered for the thirteenth time this year to give the A’s a five-run lead. Hamels was done for the night. He went five innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits. He walked two, struck out five, and gave up two dingers.

Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister brought in another lefty, Matt Moore (former San Francisco Giant), to pitch the sixth inning. Moore set the A’s down in order. Banister should have given him the night off after that. Moore’s second inning of work was a disaster. The A’s scored six times on five hits. The big hit of the inning was a three-run blast off the bat of Matt Chapman. Moore gave up doubles to Lucroy and Semien to make it a 12-2 game. Banister brought in another lefty, Alex Claudio, who did not fare any better as Chad Pinder doubled on Claudio’s first pitch to drive in the sixth run of the game.

The A’s scored two more in the eighth, while the Rangers tallied just one. The A’s took game one by a lopsided score of 15-3.

Game Notes: The A’s continue to play well. They are now 24-7 in their last 31 games and are now 2 1/2 games behind the idle Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card slot.

The line score for Oakland was 15 runs, 18 hits including four home runs, and no errors.

The line for Texas was three runs, eight hits, and no errors.

The A’s are now 58-43, and Texas falls to 42-59.

Khris Davis hit his 24th home run of the run and his third in the last two games.

Matt Olson had two hits. Steven Piscotty had two hits, three RBIs, and a home run. Matt Chapman had three hits, four RBIs, and a three-run homer. Lucroy hit a grand slam to go along with a double.

Up Next: The A’s and Rangers will meet again on Tuesday at 5:05 pm PDT.

Texas will send left Mike Minor (6-6) to the hill, and Oakland will counter with Frankie Montas (5-2).

Red hot, know-it-alls: Giants pose questions, A’s provide answers in second, straight, extra-inning win, 6-5

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — If the next 60 games are like the last 30, the A’s are marching into the postseason, dragging naysayers and whatever left by the side of the road supporters along with them. Not only have the A’s won 23 of 30, they’ve developed an unmistakable swagger and belief.

Late game deficit? Just hold on. Late game deficit along with a slumbering offense? No problem. World class opponent like the Astros–or Indians, Giants and faltering Padres for that matter? The A’s elevate their game accordingly.

The Giants got their rough introduction to the transformation over the weekend in a pair of bitter, extra-inning defeats capped by Sunday’s 6-5 nail biter that swung on the unpredictable path of a high chopper on the infield. When the otherwise out of this world shortstop Brandon Crawford failed to come up with the ball, Marcus Semien (aboard on a leadoff walk issued by reliever Ty Blach) just happened to be in the right place, flying around third base and bearing down on home plate.

“The more we do this–since we’ve been on this run–the more confidence we gain,” said manager Bob Melvin. “And I think it’s important too that we lost the first game of the series both ends of this. And end up coming back and winning both. It kept the momentum as far as that preserverance trait goes.  And they expect to win.”

Expect to win? More like they forgot how to lose.

The A’s have won 10 times in this streak by scoring the winning run in the eighth inning or later. They’re 39-0 when leading after seven innings, and 47-0 when leading after eight. Neither of those last two numbers got a bump Sunday because the Giants staged a spirited rally with three runs in the seventh to tie, and another run in the eighth to take a short-lived lead.

But the first number on the list did get a bump, and it did so with the slimmest of advantages in the form of Matt Chapman’s game-winning, infield single.

Sunday, the A’s melded together eight hits in 10 innings and somehow, that added up to six runs. Hits with runners in scoring position? Just one in eight opportunities. On Saturday, it was six base hits and a double in 11 innings, along with nine walks issued by Giants’ pitchers, and the support of 56,310 partially supportive fans to etch together a win.

The A’s should open a new-age sewing factory: provide the materials, and the A’s will stitch together a win.

“It just shows the character of our team,” said Chapman. “We’re able to keep fighting until the last pitch, no matter whether we’re down or not. We always feel like we’re one swing away.”

GAME NOTES: Reliever Jeurys Familia, acquired from the Mets in a deal for two minor league prospects and cash considerations, made his A’s debut Sunday, throwing two scoreless innings which matched the longest outing of the pitcher’s season to date. Melvin gushed after the game at the A’s bullpen depth that allowed the manager to extend closer Blake Treinen on Saturday, while knowing a well-rested Familia would be available for an extended run on Sunday.

Familia was 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA and 17 saves in 40 appearances with New York. The 28 year-old, right-hander piled up 43 strikeouts while walking 14.

A’s starter Sean Manaea retired the first 14 batters he faced on Sunday, and limited his adversity to one run allowed in the fifth. Manaea struck out five batters, the first time he’s struck out more than four batters in a start since June 22 when he struck out seven in a start at the White Sox.

UP NEXT: The A’s will open a four-game series against the Texas Rangers on Monday at 5:05 pm PDT.

Bay Bridge Series: A’s and Giants–Two Teams Going in Different Directions

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Photo credit: twitter.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s took four out the six games from the San Francisco Giants these past two weekends and the A’s won the first ever Bay Bridge Series trophy. The A’s won two out of three at AT&T Park and did the same at the Oakland Coliseum. The two Bay Area teams crossed path like two ships in the open sea with one full steam ahead and the other one just trying to stay afloat.

The A’s acquired Mets closer Jeurys Familia, and on his first day with the A’s on Sunday, the Dominican native saw action as he pitched two effective innings in relief and won the game. Now, Familia is 5-4 and comes from the Mets–a team going nowhere with perhaps a seize of taking the cellar-dweller status away from the Marlins–with 17 saves in 21 opportunities. The A’s are contenders and still looking to land a starter.

On Saturday, a new attendance record was set at the Oakland Coliseum since 1968–a record-setting 56,318 in attendance as Mount Davis was opened to the public for the first time in 13 years. On Friday, 45,606 followed by Sunday’s 44,379. A grand total of 146,303 attended for part two of the Bay Bridge Series.

It is good to see this great rivalry. Also, the Bay Area Champion Trophy was a great idea. At the Coliseum this weekend, a lot of families were in attendance–many of whom had different loyalties. So it was not rare to see,some A’s fans and some Giants fans in the same family. As I walked around for an hour before game time, I noticed nothing but joy among the fans during this great series, the first in Oakland since the All-Star Break, with good weather.

Right now, the Giants have a much different look. Right now, the A’s are young, aggressive and exciting as they’re hitting home runs in bunches, while the Giants are pretty much a veteran ball club trying to hold on and return to the form of their most recent odd-year dynasty.

The Giants have a superb fan base and likely do not want to mention the word “rebuild” and they are hoping against hope that their team have enough to make a comeback. They’re playing in a division, where it looks like the Dodgers (now with Manny Machado) are the favorites to win for a six straight time and maybe earn themselves another trip to another World Series. Duggar, Slater, Moronta and Suárez are some of the young blood on the Giants’ roster trying to make an impression compared to the veterans. Only time will tell, but if the Giants continue to hover around the .500 mark, the powers-to-be might have to star selling players before July 31. In a way, they are very lucky to be playing in the NL West, where nobody has gotten really hot, taken first place and opened a big lead.

But I notice that these two teams are going in different directions. The A’s are playing four games starting tomorrow at Arlington, Texas, against the last-place Texas Rangers, three at Denver against the contending Colorado Rockies, and then return home on July 30 for a eight-game homestand over 10 days–three versus the Toronto Blue Jays, three versus the Detroit Tigers, and finally, a two-game set versus the Dodgers.

The Giants head to Seattle for a couple of games at Safeco Field against the Mariners next Tuesday and Wednesday, travel back to San Francisco to host the contending Milwaukee Brewers for four games and then fly to San Diego to close out July against the Padres for a brief two-game series.

Will the Giants ‘back up the truck’ if by then? If they have not made a run? Only the shadow knows. Stay tuned.

Obviously, the Giants want to continue with this cast and hope that Joe Panik and Evan Longoria get back to play and roll the dice! It’s interesting enough that the Giants’ No. 1 pitcher Madison Bumgarner and No. 2 pitcher Johnny Cueto have not fared that well after coming out of the DL. This Sunday, Cueto gave up four home runs–two to Khris Davis and two to Matt Olson. When Cueto was pitching this week, he doesn’t give the long-ball with that frequency, but the A’s continue to hit home runs with the best of teams in baseball this season.

The Giants have a lot of big contracts locked to players like Cueto, Samardzija and Melancon, while they will have to make a decision with Bumgarner…to extend his contract or even trade him in the current market where everybody is looking for pitchers. We will also find out if other guys like veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen will say ‘adios’ to San Francisco.

Amaury Pi-González is on his 41st season of broadcasting the MLB. He’s currently broadcasting for the A’s (his first team in 1977) and has also broadcasted the Giants, Angels and Mariners. In 2010, the Cuban-born broadcaster was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame (BARHOD) alongside Jon Miller and Gary Radnich. As far as baseball in Spanish, Pi-Gonzalez is only the second broadcaster in the country as the longtime Spanish voice of the Dodgers, trailing Jaime Jarrin, who has been broadcasting for over 50 years.

Chapman’s walk-off single wins it for the A’s 6-5 over the Giants in extras

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Matt Chapman ended the weekend with one swing of the bat, and gave the Bay Bridge Series to the Oakland A’s.

Chapman hit a single off of Brandon Crawford’s foot and bounced into the outfield, to give the A’s a thrilling 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants in 10 innings before a sellout crowd of 44,374 at the Coliseum on Sunday.

Marcus Semien led off the bottom of the 10th with a walk off of eventual losing pitcher Ty Blach, Semien stole second with Stephen Piscotty at the plate. Piscotty then flew out for the first out and then Blach intentionally walked Khris Davis to get to Matt Olson, who flew out for the second out and then Chapman ended it with his single.

With the loss, the Giants are now just one game over .500 at 51-50, and are now five games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

This game went back and forth in the later innings, as Andrew McCutchen hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning that gave the Giants a 5-4 lead. However, that lead was short-lived, as Davis hit his second home run of the afternoon in the bottom half of the inning to tie up the game.

Sean Manaea was outstanding for the A’s, as he did not allow a base runner until Nick Hundley singled with one out in the top of the fifth inning and then two batters later, Austin Slater broke up the shutout for Manaea, as he doubled off the right-center field wall.

Manaea went 6.2 innings, allowing just two run, while scattering four hits, not walking a batter and striking out five, but he did not fare in the decision.

Johnny Cueto went seven innings, allowing four runs, on six hits, walking two and striking out three, but did not fare in the decision.

Cueto struggled to get to seven innings pitched, as he gave up three home runs, before giving way to Melancon in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Davis hit a home run, a two-run blast and that was the first of three home runs allowed by Cueto on the afternoon, as he gave up two home runs to Matt Olson in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.

Nick Martini got the A’s first inning going, as he legged out an infield single and then three batters later, Davis hit the first pitch he saw from Cueto into the left field seats to give the A’s an early 2-0 lead.

Olson extended the lead up to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he took a Cueto offering and put it into the right field seats for his 20th home run of the season.

After the Slater double that scored Hundley in the top of the fifth inning, Olson launched his second home run of the game and 21st of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning.

It was the second two-homer game of the season for Olson, and the fourth of his career.

The Giants put together a rally in the top of the seventh inning, as Hundley picked up his second hit of the afternoon, and then two batters later, Slater followed up his second hit of the afternoon.

After Brandon Crawford made the second out of the inning, Manaea was replaced by Emilio, who immediately gave up a single to Slater and that was all for Pagan, as Leo Trivino came on to face pinch hitter Pablo Sandoval, who then cut the A’s lead down to 4-3, as he doubled off the right-center field wall.

The Giants were not done, as pinch-hitter Alen Hanson then singled to score pinch runner Steven Duggar to tie up the game.

NOTES: This is the second meeting of the season between the two teams, as they split a two-game series at AT&T Park on April 3 and 4.

UP NEXT: After an off day on Monday, the Giants continue to play the American League West on the road, as they travel to Seattle and open a brief two-game series against the Mariners on Tuesday night at 7:10 pm PDT. Andrew Suarez will take the ball in the opener, while the Mariners will send James Paxton to the mound.

A’s walk it off in 11 innings beating the Giants 4-3 on Saturday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Jonathan Lucroy rounds the bases in triumph Photo @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — Game five of the 2018 Bay Bridge Series – the second of three to be played in Oakland – was played before the largest crowd to witness a Major League Baseball this season. The A’s (56-43) decided to take the tarps off the seats in the upper deck known as “Mount Davis” for the first time since 2006. The result was 56,310 Bay Area baseball fans were treated to a “wild and woolly” affair.

The top the ninth arrived at the Oakland Coliseum, and as usual, it was Treinen time. The A’s held a slim 3-2 lead over the Giants, but the A’s have been the masters of winning one-run games (15-8) in 2018. Treinen retired the first two batters — Posey and Sandoval on groundouts. The third hitter of the inning – Alen Hanson – struck out, but the strike three pitch was wild, got by the catcher and Hanson wound up safe at first (this is now the first paragraph of a Stephen King novel).

Hunter Pence then hit a pitch into right field that rolled into foul territory and into the Giants bullpen for a double, and Alen Hanson scored on the play. As right fielder Stephen Piscotty charged the ball, a member of the Giants bullpen picked up a chair and made contact with the outfielder. The Athletics contended that it should have been a “dead ball” at that point which would have kept the run from scoring. There is no rule that umpires could invoke, so the A’s challenged the play on a boundary call. A video review of the play upheld the call on the field. When the top of the ninth inning was over, the game was tied at 3-3.

The A’s were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth, so it was on to extra innings.

There was no scoring in the 10th inning and the Giants (51-49) failed to produce any runs in the top of the 11th frame.

The A’s are late inning battlers

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Chapman at the plate Photo Charlie O. Mallonee

Teams are learning that they cannot let the A’s hang around late in games and continue to have chances to score – because they will. That is exactly what happened on Saturday night.

In the bottom of the 11th inning, the Giants put LHP Will Smith on the mound. Piscotty grounded out to lead off the inning for Oakland. Dustin Fowler was then robbed of a hit when he lifted a “flare” to shallow right-center and shortstop Brandon Crawford made an outstanding sliding catch beyond the bag at second.

With two out, Matt Chapman picked up his third hit of the game with a single up the middle. Chad Pinder followed up with a single to left-center that moved Chapman up to second. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy – who did not enter the game until the 10th inning – singled to right-center field and Chapman never had any thoughts of doing anything but crossing home plate to score the winning run which he did.

The A’s won the game 4-3 to even the series in Oakland at 1-1 and to take a 3-2 lead in the six-game series after five games.

The walk off single was Lucroy’s second of the season. The Athletics are now 7-4 in extra inning games for the season and improved to 14-6 in games decided in the last at bat.

On the Hill

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At meeting at the mound on Saturday night Photo Charlie O. Mallonee

The Giants started their one-time superstar – LHP Madison Bumgarner – who has struggled since coming back from a broken finger on his pitching hand. “MadBum” looked strong in the opening four innings, but the A’s hitters got patient and things went south for Bumgarner in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Bumgarner loaded the bases and walked two runs in to give the A’s the lead 2-1 which ended his night. Sam Dyson came in to relieve Bumgarner and induced Mark Canha to hit into a double play but Chad Pinder scored the A’s third run on the play.

Bumgarner worked 4.0-plus innings giving up three runs (earned). He walked six and struck out five.

Will Smith (0-1) took the loss.

Trevor Cahill started the game for Oakland. It was his second start since coming off the disabled list. He worked 5.2-innings and gave up one run (earned) on a home run to Brandon Belt. Cahill struck out five and walked three.

Blake Treinen was charged with his fourth blown save of the season as he gave up the tying run when Hunter Pence hit the RBI-double into the bullpen along the right field line.

Yusmeiro Petit picks up his fifth win of the year as he was the pitcher of record after working a perfect top of the 11th inning for the A’s.

At the Plate

Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 with two runs scored to lead the A’s with the bat. He is now hitting at a .253 clip.

Stephen Piscotty hit his 26th double of the year off Bumgarner.

Phegley (10), Semien (34) and Lucroy (28) all recorded RBI for the A’s.

Oakland went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

Hunter Pence likes being a DH. He went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI as the Giants DH Saturday night.

The Giants also went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left 8 men on base.

Let the buying begin

Familia
Jeurys Familia Photo MLB.com

The question has been answered. The A’s are going to be buyers as the non-wavier trade deadline approaches. Oakland has acquired RHP relief pitcher Jeurys Familia from the New York Mets for two minor leaguers and $1-million in international slot money. Familia appeared in 40 games for NYM posting a 2.88 ERA with a 1.230 WHIP. He has struck out 43 in 40.2-innings and walked just 14. Familia has given up just one home run. He will be a free agent at the end of the 2018 season.

Get those suitcases packed

The A’s will head out on the road after the game on Sunday for a seven-game, two-city road trip. They will play four games in hot, humid Arlington, Texas versus the Rangers. All four games are night contests. There is no thought of day baseball this time of year in the Metroplex. After the four games in Texas, Oakland heads to Denver to play three games at Coors Field with the Colorado Rockies. The power hitting Athletics may find batting at a mile-high just to their liking.

Lonnnnng homestand coming

The A’s will return home from their road trip on Monday, July 30 to begin a stretch where 17 of their next 20 games will be played in Oakland. The only break in the homestand is three games in Anaheim with the Angels. Oakland will host the Blue Jays, Tigers, Dodgers, Mariners, Astros and Rangers in those 17 home games.

A belated parade for the 1989 World Champions

The 1989 World Champion Oakland Athletics were honored with long overdue parade to celebrate their 1989 World Series sweep of the San Francisco Giants. The team did not receive the parade because they did not want to show disrespect to those who lost loved ones in the tragic earthquake that disrupted the series. The celebration before the game was very nice. The one sad thing was there are several players that have passed on who could be there to be a part of the pregame honor.

Up next

The sixth and final game of the 2018 Bay Bridge Series will be played on Sunday at the Coliseum at 1:05 PM. The Giants will send RHP Johnny Cueto to the mound for his third start since coming off the disabled list on July 5th. He is 3-1 on the year with a 2.36 ERA. Cueto is 2-0 in Interleague games this season.

The A’s will counter with LHP Sean Manaea who 4-0 with a 3.14 ERA in eight starts since the beginning of June. His overall record this season is 9-6 with a 3.42 ERA. Manaea has an 11-game winning streak when pitching in day games that dates back to May 20, 2017. He is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three career starts versus the Giants.

Lucroy’s walk-off single lifts A’s past Giants 4-3 in extras

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Jonathan Lucroy ended the game with one swing of the bat when the Oakland A’s needed it the most.

Lucroy hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning, helping the A’s to a 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a sellout crowd of 56,310 at the Coliseum on Saturday night.

“Hard fought game,” said manager Bruce Bochy.

It was the second walk-off of the season for Lucroy, with his first coming on June 17 against the Los Angeles Angels and it was the seventh game-ending RBI of Lucroy’s career.

Things looked bleak for the Giants in the top of the ninth inning, as A’s closer Blake Treinen came to close it out; however, a funny thing happened on the way to the game ending.

Treinen was able to retire Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval, but then Alen Hanson reached on a wild pitch after he struck out with the game on the line.

Hunter Pence then tied up the game with a double down the right field line that easily scored the speedy Hanson from first base.

A’s manager Bob Melvin came out to argue that the Pence ball was interfered with in the bullpen area; however, after a 1:18 review, the play stood and the game was tied.

“It is a ground-rule, and Hanson scored easily,” said Bochy.

The A’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Tony Watson gave up back-to-back singles to Matt Olson and Matt Chapman and then Reyes Moronta came on to replace Watson.

Moronta then got Chad Pinder to sacrifice Olson and Chapman to second and third, and then after an intentional walk to pinch hitter Nick Martini, Moronta then got Marcus Semien to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Andrew McCutchen drew walk against Treinen in the top of the 10th inning with one out, but Treinen struck out both Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey to end the inning.

Madison Bumgarner gave up four walks and a base hit in the bottom of the fifth inning that gave the A’s a 3-1 lead on the Giants.

Olson led off the fifth with a single, then Chapman, Chad Pinder, Josh Phegley and Marcus Siemen all walked against Bumgarner and that was the end of the night for the left-hander.

“First four innings, I was cruising and then in the fifth, I could not find the corner,” said Bumgarner.

Phegley’s walk tied up the game, then Semien’s walk gave the A’s lead for the first time and after Bumgarner was lifted for Sam Dyson, Mark Canha grounded into a double play that scored Pinder with the final run of the inning.

“Dyson kept it close for us,” said Bochy, as the reliever went two innings, and allowed a walk and a strikeout before being replaced by Ray Black in the top of the seventh inning.

The combined five walks in the fifth inning are the most in an inning for the Giants since they walked five in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds on July 3, 2007 at Great American Ballpark. Barry Zito allowed the five walks in that fourth inning, a game that the Giants would lose 7-3 to the Reds.

Bumgarner went just four innings, allowing three runs on two hits, walking six and striking out and he did not fare in the decision. The streak of 89 consecutive starts that Bumgarner went at least five innings came to an end, the 89 consecutive starts were a major league high.

The six walks by Bumgarner were a career-high, as he gave up five walks four times in his career, with the last time coming against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 4, 2016 at Miller Park.

Brandon Belt returned from the paternity list after the birth of his son August (Augie), and hit his 14th home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

The Belt home run was the first hit that the Giants got off of Trevor Cahill on the evening, and was just the second runner that Cahill allowed to reach prior to the sixth inning, which was the end of the line for Cahill.

In all, Cahill went 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on two hits, but he did not fare in the decision.

Cahill got into a jam in the top of the sixth inning, as he gave up a leadoff single to Hunter Pence, then Cahill regrouped to strikeout both Gorkys Hernandez and Steven Duggar consecutively. Unfortunately, Cahill then walked to load the bases and Cahill’s night was done and Ryan Buchter came on to replace Cahill.

Buchter then was able to get Crawford to strikeout to end the inning and the threat for the Giants.

Crawford made the defensive play of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he ran from his position at shortstop to make a running catch off of foul ball from Olson. Pablo Sandoval was in the shift, and nowhere near third base and Crawford reached out to make the running catch in the Coliseum’s very deep foul territory.

In the bottom of the 11thinning, Crawford made another great defensive play, as he slid to catch an Olson fly ball that would have easily fallen in for an easy double for Olson with one out.

As fate would have it, Will Smith then gave up back-to-back singles to Chapman and Pinder and then Lucroy ended it with a single.

Pence got the Giants within one in the top of the seventh inning, as he singled up the middle to score Posey easily from third base.

The Pence single came off of Leo Trivino, after he replaced Buchter with one out in the inning after Hanson hit a single that sent Posey to third base.

All in all, Pence went 3-for-5 at the plate, including that double in the top of the ninth inning that tied up the game.

“Nice game by Hunter,” said Bochy.

Trivino was able to get out of the jam, as he struck out Hernandez and then was able to get Duggar to ground out to Jed Lowrie at second base to end the inning.

Treinen came on in the top of the ninth inning, and was unable to pick-up his 25thsave in 28 opportunities. In all, Treinen threw 44 pitches, the most by the reliever since April 18 against the Chicago White Sox and it was the sixth time in his career that he threw 40 or more pitches in a game in his career that spans 254 games.

NOTES: Ryder Jones was optioned back to Sacramento after Belt was activated from the Paternity List to the game.

Belt’s newborn’s full name is August “Augie” Kyle Belt, and he joins older brother Grayson, who will be four years old in August.

The baby is named after Belt’s former head coach at the University of Texas, the late Augie Garrido, whom Belt played for in 2008 and 2009.

Garrido, who passed away in March of 2018 was the winningest coach in NCAA Baseball history until current Florida State Head Coach Mike Martin passed him. The veteran coach led both Cal State Fullerton and Texas to the College World Series 15 times, winning five of them for the Titans and Longhorns.

The 56,310 in attendance broke the record of 55,989 that packed the Coliseum on June 26, 2004, when the A’s’ defeated the Giants 8-7 in 10 innings, when Marco Scutaro singled in Bobby Kielty. Octavio Dotel picked the win for the A’s, while Jim Brower took the loss for the Giants. This was also the largest crowd in the Major Leagues during the 2018 season.

UP NEXT: The Giants and A’s will meet again Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Johnny Cueto looks for his fourth win on Sunday afternoon, as he takes the mound for the Giants in the last regular season meeting against the A’s this year. Sean Manaea will go for the A’s, as he looks for his 10th win of the season.

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: Giants’ Rodriguez dominates A’s; Manfred ready for the universal DH; Red Sox red-hot blank Tigers; plus more

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Photo credit: @EMISports

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 San Francisco Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez went 6.1 innings Friday night against the Oakland A’s and held the A’s to just one run in the Giants’ 5-1 win at AT&T Park.

#2 MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has talked about the universal designated hitter, while there are a good number of players in the National League who do not like the DH Manfred said momentum is gaining that the DH will be enacted sooner than later.

#3 The Boston Red Sox got a 1-0 shutout over the Detroit Tigers on Friday. The Red Sox Steve Pearce hit an RBI double and David Price pitched a four hitter past the Bengals.

#4 The Seattle Mariners gained a full game on the Oakland A’s with a 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Mariners starter Wade LeBlanc and two relievers helped stop the Sox for five hits in the win.

#5 Cleveland keeps rolling now–8.5 on top of the Minnesota Twins. The Twins who were defeated by Cleveland on Friday night 6-5 need these games to knock down some of  Cleveland’s lead.

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

 

A’s Offense Still on Break in 5-1 Loss to Giants

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s offense still thinks the All-Star break is ongoing. That’d be the only explanation for the A’s 5-1 loss to the Giants at home in round two of the Bay Bridge Series.

Rookie Dereck Rodriguez (5-1, 2.72 ERA) stymied the A’s hitters to just one run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings, while home runs from fellow rookie Ryder Jones and Pablo Sandoval handed starter Edwin Jackson (1-2, 2.93) the loss. Mark Canha, the hero of Saturday’s tilt at AT&T Park, knocked in the lone run for the Green and Gold.

Two of the three A’s hits of Pudge’s kid came in the top of the second. Khris Davis hit a double and scored on Canha’s sacrifice and Dustin Fowler also singled in the inning. Rodriguez struck out five batters and walked none to tie the season series at two games apiece.

Jackson pitched well, and on most nights the potent A’s offense would back his outing. He held a 1-0 lead into the fourth, and was no-hitting the Giants before Andrew McCutchen broke up the no-no with a one-out double. After Brandon Crawford pushed McCutchen to third, Buster Posey singled him in for the two-out RBI and a tie game.

San Francisco took the lead in the next inning after Ryder Jones took a Jackson offering off the foul pole in right field for a solo homer. Sandoval tagged Jackson with another solo blast in the top of the seventh to send the righty to the showers down 3-1.

The Giants tacked a pair of runs off the A’s bullpen in the top of the eighth after former Giant Yusmeiro Petit allowed back-to-back singles to open the inning. He would the game with a runner on third, two out and a run in on a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly. Ryan Butcher would yield an RBI single to Brandon Crawford to close the book on Petit with two earned runs. The bullpen struggles further stoke the fire of a rumored trade between the A’s and Mets for closer Jeurys Familia.

The Giants’ bullpen, minus a comeback liner that bounced off Mark Melancon’s foot, cruised with relatively little incident. Reyes Moronta, Melancon and Tony Watson combined for one hit on 2 2/3 innings of work to finish out the game.

The Bridge Trophy will now come down to the winner of Sunday’s game, thanks to a bizarre tie-breaking criterium. Both teams are tied at two wins apiece, meaning regardless of who wins Saturday’s contest, Sunday’s winner would take home the hardware. In the event of a series split, the winner of the final game gets the trophy.

Oakland feels confident for Saturday’s matchup, a showdown between Johnny Cueto and Sean Manaea, but may be trailing the series 3-2 with Saturday’s Madison Bumgarner and Brett Anderson match-up at 6:05 pm PDT.

Rodriguez helps Giants even Bay Bridge Series en route to 5-1 rout of A’s

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — In his first ever appearance against the Oakland A’s, Dereck Rodriguez showed one of the hottest teams in baseball that he is for real.

Ryder Jones hit a solo home run off of Edwin Jackson leading off the top of the fifth inning, helping the San Francisco Giants to a 5-1 victory over the Oakland A’s before a sellout crowd of 45,606 at the Coliseum on Friday night.

Jones, called up from Sacramento to take the place of Brandon Belt, who was placed on the paternity list, as his wife Haylee gave birth to their second child, a boy named August Kyle. It is the second boy, as Haylee gave birth to a baby boy during the 2014 World Series Championship season.

Andrew McCutchen came up huge for the Giants both offensively and defensively, as he broke up Jackson’s no-hit bid by doubling in the top of the fourth inning with one out. McCutchen then scored the tying run, as Buster Posey singled into shallow center field, two batters later.

McCutchen made two great catches in the outfield, as he robbed Matt Chapman of potential extra bases to end the fourth inning and did it again in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he robbed Jonathan Lucroy of an extra base hit.

Pablo Sandoval extended the Giants lead up to 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning as he took a Jackson offering and put it into the right field seats to extend the Giants lead.

Rodriguez pitched a great game for the Giants, as he went 6.1 innings, allowing one run, on three hits, walking no one and striking out five.

“It started with Rodríguez, what another nice job he did,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “A nice job pitching, got us into the seventh there and really had all of his pitches going again.”

After hitting his second batter of the night, Rodriguez was able to Matt Chapman to fly out to McCutchen in right field and that was the end of the night for Rodriguez.

Reyes Moronta came on to replace Rodriguez, and he got Mark Canha to pop out to Sandoval and then Dustin Fowler grounded out to Alen Hanson to end the inning and the threat.

“We know, it’s a group of guys that have been around for a while and we’ve got to get these guys some run support,” Posey said.

The bullpen trio of Moronta, Mark Melancon and Tony Watson allowed no runs, one hit, one walk and no strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work.

The A’s got to Rodriguez in the bottom of the second inning, as Khris Davis doubled to lead off the inning, after Olson flew out for the first out of the inning to send Davis to third base, then Chapman was hit by a pitch. Canha then hit a sacrifice fly to Gorkys Hernandez in left field to score Davis with the A’s first run of the evening.

“After I signed with the Giants in the offseason, I felt like it was a fresh start and I wanted to make a good impression,” Rodríguez said.

Jackson also went 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, walking one and striking out six.

McCutchen drove in the fourth run of the evening for the Giants, as he hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning off of former Giants reliever Yusmeiro Petit.

The Giants got the eighth inning rally started in the top of the inning, as Gorkys Hernandez led off the inning with a single, then Steven Duggar singled for the first time tonight, following a Alen Hanson sacrifice bunt back to Petit, McCutchen’s sacrifice fly to Fowler, easily scored Hernandez.

Brandon Crawford got in on the act, as he singled to right field to score Duggar from third base to put the game away.

Sandoval just missed his second home run in the top of the ninth inning, as he hit a double high off the wall in the left-center field.

NOTES: The two home runs by the Giants tonight bring their total for the month up to eight. It was the third home run of the month for Sandoval, two for Chase d’Arnaud, and for Hernandez, Hanson and Jones.

This was the A’s first sellout of the season, as they drew a season-high in the opener of the three-game series.

Evan Longoria began his rehab assignment with the Sacramento Rivercats, as they traveled to El Paso to face the Chihuahuas. Longoria went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI before being replaced by Myles Schroder at third base.

McCutchen ended the game with eight putouts, the most in a nine-inning game by a Giants right fielder since Randy Winn ended with eight on April 7, 2006 against the Atlanta Braves.

It was the sixth time in McCutchen’s career that he ended a game with eight-or-more putouts in the same game. McCutchen’s career high is nine, that he did twice with the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 19, 2014 versus the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park and on May 11, 2015 on the road versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

With his run-scoring single in the top of the third inning that scored McCutchen, Posey extended his hitting streak at the Coliseum up to seven games.

Jeff Samardzija, currently on the disabled list underwent an MRI on Monday and also received a PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) injection on Monday as well.

“We’re just trying to avoid those flare ups that we’ve had all year,” Samardzija said. “I guess there’s good news and bad news and the bad news is that we’re back here where we’re at. But the good news is after doing this once or twice, we’ve got a really good plan moving forward.”

Samardzija is on the disabled list for the third time this season with inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

“This team has put me in the situation to have the ability to come back and wait until I’m 100 percent with how great the young kids have been pitching,” Samardzija said.

UP NEXT: The Giants and A’s will continue the Bay Bridge Series Saturday night at 6:05 pm PT.

Madison Bumgarner will make his ninth start of the season, on Saturday evening, as he looks for his fourth win of the season. Trevor Cahill will take the mound for the A’s, as he looks for his second win of the season.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s Jackson tries to avenge from last week’s loss to Giants tonight

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey:

The Oakland A’s open up a three-game series starting tonight at the Oakland Coliseum with A’s starter Edwin Jackson 1-1, who is on the upside of his career, when you compare it with San Francisco Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez, who is 4-1 and the son of former catcher and Hall of Famer Pudge Rodriguez.

Jackson, who’s on his 13th MLB team, has done a very nice job in the starting role for the A’s, and in his last start, he faced the Giants at AT&T Park last weekend in game one of the Bay Bridge Series before the All-Star Break.

Jackson pitched for six innings and gave up two runs and ended up losing that game to the Giants. Jackson looks to improve his performance against the Giants. Jackson doesn’t have the best numbers against the Giants, but it’ll be interesting to see what Jackson can do against the Giants to open the Bay Bridge Series at the Coliseum tonight.

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