Category: Oakland Athletics

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: JD Davis designated for assignment; Soderstrom has got his swing going

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Oakland A’s third baseman JD Davis (5) was given re-assignment and outfielder Lawrence Butler was called up from triple A Las Vegas on Mon Jun 17, 2024 (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, the Oakland A’s are coming off a four game swept by the Minnesota Twins. Which included a doubleheader on Sunday which they got close in the second game of the doubleheader losing by a run 8-7.

#2 The A’s doubleheader sweep in Minneapolis handed the A’s their ninth straight loss and you knew changes would be eminent as the A’s announced on Monday they have designated third baseman JD Davis for assignment. The A’s have recalled Lawrence Butler from Triple A Sacramento.

#3 Davis journey to Oakland started when he won an arbitration case against the San Francisco Giants for $6.9 million. Under baseball rules arbitration isn’t fully guaranteed until opening day or unless Davis and the Giants had agreed to terms. The Giants had elected to release Davis and paid him $1.1 million upon his release while they had signed third baseman Matt Chapman.

#4 A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom who has been seeing the ball well has hit five solo home runs and is making good contact. Soderstrom is hitting .250, 21 hits and five home runs.

#5 Amaury talk about the series coming up as the A’s host the Kansas City Royals. Despite the Royals having lost six of their last ten games they’re a team to be on guard for they have it good on both hitting and pitching. Starting pitcher for the Royals RHP Alex March (5-3, ERA 3.63) for the A’s LHP Hogan Harris (0-0, ERA 2.49) first pitch 6:40pm PT.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Get Swept By the Minnesota Twins 8-7 In An Offensive Marathon

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Oakland A’s third base coach Eric Martins (3) congratulates JJ Bleday (33) for his top of the third inning solo home run in the second game of the doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Sun Jun 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (26-48) fought back in game four of their series with the Minnesota Twins (40-32) tying this game up three times. They hit a couple of home runs and finished the game with 11 hits. Tyler Soderstrom has shown up beautifully.

He has hit four home runs in a seven-game span. He shares that milestone with some heavy hitters the likes of Jose Canseco, Reggie Jackson, Jimmie Fox and Mickey Cochrane. This is the A’s ninth loss in a row the longest this season coming up short in this one 8-7 another one-run loss.

Sunday evening the A’s played the second game of their double header with the Twins and couldn’t avoid the sweep getting edged by one run. Oakland had a loss in the first game 6-2 of the doubleheader and the A’s ended up dropping all four games. The A’s are on a nine game losing streak and return back to the Coliseum on Tuesday night.

Game recap: Joey Estes took the mound for game four with a 5.97 ERA. The Twins Chris Paddack was on the hill for Minnesota. Neither pitcher lasted long in a marathon of hits for both teams in the early innings. Estes went 2.2 innings allowing eight hits, six earned runs and only two strikeouts. Paddack went 2.1 innings allowing five hits, five earned runs and no strikeouts. Not a great outing for either pitcher.

Royce Lewis got this game going hitting the first home run of the game, a two-run shot in the first inning to take the early 2-0 lead. The second inning was a wild affair with each team scoring three runs.

In the top of the second, Seth Brown doubled reaching third on two errors by the Twins that allowed Daz Cameron and Tyler Soderstrom to score. Zack Gelof came to the plate and he also hit a double and Seth Brown scored giving the A’s a 3-2 lead. That lead was short-lived when Trevor Larnach hit a three run home run taking back the lead 5-3.

The A’s apparently wanted in on the action hitting two home runs in the third inning. JJ Bleday and Tyler Soderstrom both hit solo home runs to tie up this game at five apiece. Minnesota took back the lead in the bottom of the third off an Austin Martin double and Carlos Santana scored for a 6-5 Twins lead. Both teams were enjoying a great offensive effort.

Minnesota would tack on another run in the 6th inning. Carlos Correa who was having an incredible series singled Royce Lewis home extending their lead to 7-5. Again Oakland would have to play catchup. The A’s made up those two runs tying the game back up at seven in the seventh inning. Tyler Soderstrom singled JJ Bleday home and Shea Langeliers singled Miguel Andujar home and it was a whole new ball game.

In the bottom of the eighth once again the tie was broken when the Twins Jose Miranda homered for Minnesota’s third home run of the game. The Twins had taken back the lead in this see-saw game. Through eight innings the Twins had 14 hits and the A’s had 11. There had been three ties in this game in a most productive offensive effort for both teams. The A’s could not muster any offense in the ninth inning and lost their ninth game in a row 8-7.

The hitting that we saw from Oakland was encouraging with the 11 hits but the team has lost so many one run games in the late innings lately. Having to come from behind so often is discouraging for this team. Oakland has now figured out a way to get back into games and now they need to close out those games.

Oakland will have the day off . They begin a three-game series Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals at the Coliseum. Probable pitchers will be Hogan Harris for the A’s with a record of 0-0, 2.49 ERA and Alec March for the Royals with a record of 5-3, 3.63 ERA. First pitch for the Tuesday matchup is scheduled for 6:40 PM.

A’s-Twins rained out; playing two on Sunday

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Minnesota Twins Target Field in Minneapolis was inudated with rain forcing the cancelation of the Oakland A’s-Twins Sat Jun 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, June 15, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS – Though Saturday morning’s rain had let up by the scheduled start time of 1:10 p.m., more showers were on the way, and the AL game between the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins was postponed.

The game has been rescheduled as part of a day-night split admission doubleheader for Father’s Day on Sunday at Target Field. The first game will start at 1:10 p.m. (11 a.m. Pacific) and the second game is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. (4:40 p.m. Pacific).

Though it was not raining when the decision to call the game was made at 1:45 p.m., rain resumed falling by 2 p.m., as the National Weather Service reported at radar indicated a storm was approaching the Twin Cities.

For the re-scheduled double-header, the Athletics are expected to start right-hander Joey Estes (2-2,4.78) in the first game, and left-hander JP Sears (4-5, 5.02) in the second game. Then Twins are expected to go with a pair of right-handers – Bailey Ober (5-4, 5.13) and Chris Paddack (5-3, 4.79).

After Saturday’s storm system rolled through the Twin Cities on Saturday, an extreme heat advisory is issued for Sunday, A daytime high of 92 degrees is in the forecast, with a heat index of 100.

The Athletics are looking to snap a seven-game losing streak – 10 of their last 12 and 13 of their last 16. Oakland dropped a heartbreaker on Friday, losing 6-5 in 10 innings to the Twins. The A’s have been walked off in three of their last four games.

Oakland has two positive notes from Friday – Shea Longeliers hit the A’s first grand slam of the season, and leads MLB catchers with 13 home runs. Closer Mason Miller is tied for 10th in saves with 12, tops for MLB rookies. Miller’s 12 saves is fourth-best by an Oakland reliever.

Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s have escape clause out of Las Vegas

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Rending of the Armadillo ball park the Oakland A’s plan to build at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino expected to be finished by 2028 at Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd on the strip. (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Daniel:

#1 The Oakland A’s have an escape clause out of their 30 year deal at the Tropicana if the A’s were to be taxed. The idea of not taxing the A’s is to keep them in Las Vegas for the 30 years commitment.

#2 The Clause is that if the A’s are taxed different than any other business the will have an out. For example if you go to a show in Vegas your taxed 9% but if you go to a sporting event there is no sales tax on the ticket.

#3 You might recall last year during the Nevada State Legislation A’s team president David Kaval was asked if the A’s were willing to pay the tax. Kaval did not give a yes or no answer but said he and the A’s do not contemplate getting taxed. If A’s players or opposing players are taxed the A’s can exercise the right to move from Las Vegas.

#4 During last year’s presentation to the State Legislature Steven Hill who was one of the key sportspersons to sell the idea of moving the A’s to Vegas said that the projected annual profit the A’s will bring in the neighborhood of $1.3 billion. Most economists have said that is optimistic over reach.

#5 Lastly it should be noted that the Bay Area will be hosting World Cup and the Super Bowl in 2026. What does that say in the face of it for a market this size the sixth largest as the A’s walk away from the Bay Area after this season and will play three years in the 35th TV market in Sacramento and move to Las Vegas in 2028 the 40th sized market.

Daniel Dullum does the Oakland A’s Relocation podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s look to snap six game losing streak Friday against Twins

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The Oakland A’s Tyler Soderstrom (21) is congratulated by Shea Langeliers (23) after hitting a two run home run in the top of the second inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thu Jun 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s found the Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan to be too much throwing seven innings and striking out five batters at Target Field on Thursday night in a 6-2 loss.

#2 The Twins Carlos Correa hit for two home runs and got three hits. The Twins are a swinging club on Wednesday they had 24 hits against the Colorado Rockies. On Thursday they got 13 hits 12 for singles.

#3 The A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom hit his third home run in four games it wasn’t enough however as the A’s lost their sixth consecutive game.

#4 A’s pitcher Luis Medina gave up four runs in five innings of work and dropped his record to 0-2. Medina has now started three games for Oakland.

#5 The A’s take on the Twins for game two of this four game series with starting RHP Mitch Spence (4-3, ERA 3.68) the Twins will start RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-1, ERA 2.84) first pitch at 5:10pm PT at Target Field.

Join Jeremiah for the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Drop Game One At Target Field To Twins 6-2; Oakland extends losing streak to six

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Oakland A’s starting pitcher Luis Medina winds up against the Minnesota Twins in the bottom of the third inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thu Jun 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Although the Oakland A’s (26-45) scored first in game one of their series with the Minnesota Twins (37-32), they failed to score for the rest of the game after the second inning. The Twin won the game 6-2 scoring runs in four innings. Oakland only had four hits in the game while the Twins had 13 on Thursday night.

Game recap: The Oakland A’s are struggling. While they can hold their own defensively, the problem seems to be with their offense. In fact they have the second best record, on the mound, in major league baseball with 689 strikeouts. Only the Seattle Mariners have more with 694. The problem with the offense is that they need to be able to put the ball in play. When they do string a few hits together often times they leave runners stranded and this has persisted all season. They need to get on the board early and keep those bats working for more than an inning or two.

The A’s had a nice start scoring two runs in the second inning taking the early 2-0 lead. Tyler Soderstrom who has been solid hit a home run with Miguel Andujar aboard. The Twins answered right back in the same inning to tie up the game. Byron Buxton singled both Max Kepler and Carlos Correa home for the tie 2-2.

Minnesota kept the pressure on scoring runs in the third and fourth innings. In the third inning Carlos Correa singled driving Trevor Larnach home taking a 3-2 lead. The fourth inning saw Austin Martin ground into a fielder’s choice allowing Byron Buxton to extend the Twins lead 4-2.

The Twins continued to drive up the score in the seventh inning extending their lead to 6-2. Carlos Correa hit a two-run home run which would be the final. Oakland did not score another run for the rest of the game now having lost six games in a row. Minnesota got some amazing pitching from Joe Ryan who went 7 innings allowing only 3 hits and the 2 runs with 5 strikeouts. He made Oakland put the ball in play mixing his pitches beautifully.

Luis Medina went 5 innings for Oakland allowing 8 hits, 4 earned runs and 3 strikeouts. At times his focus wanders and he is unable to lock down innings. The Twins took full advantage of those lapses.

The A’s were only able to score in one frame, the second inning. They only managed 4 hits in the game to the Twins 13. The great pitching job that Joe Ryan brought to this game had a lot to do with the lack of success offensively for Oakland.

Game notes:The A’s are coming off a couple of heart wrenching losses at the hands of the San Diego Padres earlier this week. They fought hard in games two and three of this series. They fought back in game two to tie the game up in the eighth only to watch Kyle Higashoika hit a home run in the ninth for the 4-3 win. Deja Vu is a tough customer take it from Oakland. In the final game of the series the game was tied going into the ninth inning.

The A’s couldn’t muster the offense needed to take the lead in the top of the ninth. The Padres Jackson Merrill hit his second home run of game three for their second walk off in a row beating Oakland 5-4. The A’s have those two devastating losses under their belt and added another loss losing to the Twins at Target Field 6-2.

Oakland will send Mitch Spence (4-3, ERA 3.68) to the mound in game two tomorrow evening. The Twins Simeon Wood Richardson will start for Minnesota with a 2-1, 2.84 ERA. First pitch for the game is scheduled for 5:10 PM.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Soderstrom getting around on the baseball; Erceg is back from strain injury; plus more news

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Oakland A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom who hit home runs in back to back games last Sunday and Monday has impressed manager Mark Kotsay with his improved hitting. (AP News file photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Oakland A’s first baseman Tyler Soderstrom hit back to back home runs one Sunday against Toronto and another Monday in San Diego. A’s manager Mark Kotsay is encouraged by Soderstrom’s improvement at the plate saying he’s getting better. Soderstrom is hitting .222 has 14 hits, 8 RBIs, and three home runs.

#2 Jerry, A’s reliever Lucas Erceg threw a 20 pitch bullpen session on Sunday. Erceg said he’s feeling healthy Kotsay said since Sunday Erceg has had no issues with the right forearm strain and came into relieve in Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Padres.

#3 Ross Stripling who has struggled all season with a 1-9 record and an ERA 5.82 is expected back in July his injury update is he’s a on a throwing program. Stripling is looking forward to increase the distance of his throws as Kotsay and the pitching coaches will determine when Stripling will be ready to see live action.

#4 Everybody is asking about Esteury Ruiz who last season lead the American League in stolen bases with 67. Ruiz is not having that kind of season this year. He’s battling a wrist injury he incurred when diving for a fly ball in the outfield in May. He was sent down to triple A Las Vegas to start the season. The A’s said there is no timetable for Ruiz’ return but he could return as soon as sometime this month.

#5 The A’s announced last week that they will be playing 10 percent of their home games away from Las Vegas to improve the team’s and the MLB brand. The A’s would play neutral site games anywhere from other minor league parks but the one top choice is they would play internationally where baseball wants to market and maybe expand.

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

A’s Fall In Yet Another Padre Walk Off 5-4

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Oakland A’s starter Hogan Harris pitches to the San Diego Padres line up in the top of the first inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

This game was a re-play of Tueday’s game ending in major disappointment for Oakland (26-44). The Padres (37-35) celebrated their second walk off in a row winning this game 5-4. Jackson Merrill hit a home run off a Mason Miller slider to finish off the A’s. The A’s are struggling with getting the ball in play. This has plagued them all season as they missed cashing in on a bases loaded with one out sixth inning.

Game recap: Through four innings the only offense was a home run off the bat of the Padres’ Donovan Solano. Neither team were generating a whole lot of offense with two hits apiece for the two teams. Just a testament of the great job both Hogan Harris and Michael King were showcasing. King was having an especially outstanding game with 12 punch outs through five innings.

The Padres would extend their lead in the fifth inning with another home run; this time off the bat of Jackson Merrill. Oakland still had not hit a long ball in the game with four innings remaining.

The sixth inning was productive for the A’s scoring three runs and taking a 3-2 lead. Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers both hit singles driving runners home to tie up the game. Seth Brown reached first base with a bunt single and Soderstrom scored to give the A’s the lead. With only one out Oakland had the bases loaded but were unable to extend their lead. The A’s now had eight hits to their credit.

Oakland struck again in the eighth inning scoring that all-important insurance run. Zach Gelof doubled and Seth Brown beat the throw home to score for a 4-2 Oakland lead.

Just when it was looking so very good for Oakland disaster struck in the bottom of the eighth inning. Donovan Solano connected with a fast ball knocking it out of the park, a two-run homer to tie up the game 4-4. This was his second home run of the game, the first one coming in the first inning and it was back to square one for the A’s going into the ninth inning.

Oakland had worked so hard to take the lead only to watch it dissolve in the eighth inning. The A’s skipper was ejected in the beginning of the ninth inning, the A’s were unable to take back the lead and Oakland now needed to keep the tie intact to avoid yet another San Diego walk off. Mason Miller took the mound in the bottom of the ninth looking to keep this game tied.

In a repeat of Tueday’s game, the Padres Jackson Merrill took advantage of a Mason Miller slider sending the ball out of the yard winning their second walk off in a row 5-4. This was Merrills second home run of the game. San Diego hit four home runs in this game. This was a major disappointment for Oakland after having rallied to take the lead only to watch the Padres celebrate their first sweep of the season. Oakland had ten hits in this game but it was San Diego with 6 hits that won this game with that all-important sixth hit.

The sixth inning came back to bite Oakland after they had tied up the game. They had the bases loaded with only one out and failed to score a single run, an opportunity that you cannot squander. This offense needs to be able to put the ball in play. Their defense is solid. They lead the league with 689 strikeouts. They just have to be able to put the ball in play which is falling short right now.

Game notes: Wednesday afternoon the A’s finished up their series with the Padres before heading to Minnesota for a date with the Twins. Oakland made a nice comeback in game two of this series on Wednesday. They tied up this game in the eighth after trailing 3-1. The offense that they needed in the ninth inning never came to be and the A’s lost a heartbreaker in the bottom of the ninth inning when Kyle Higashioka hit the ball out of the park off the first pitch he faced for the walk-off 4-3. Oakland couldn’t salvage the series with at least one win losing to the Padres on Wednesday 5-4. They also got close Wednesday but just fell short.

Oakland will now head to Minnesota taking on Carlos Correa and the Twins in a four-game series that gets underway on Thursday. Luis Medina will take the mound for the A’s with a 5.23 ERA. The twins will assign Joe Ryan who comes in with a 4-5 win/loss record and a 3.30 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 4:40 PM.

Machado hip flexor- aggrevated late yesterday but onboard today

Oakland A’s podcast with Stephen Ruderman: A’s-Padres conclude series today at Petco Park

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Oakland A’s starter JP Sears fires off a pitch to the San Diego Padre line up in the bottom of the first inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Tue Jun 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 The San Diego Padres Kyle Higashioka belted a walk off home run as the lead off hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Oakland A’s at Petco Park on Tuesday night 4-3.

#2 The Padres Fernando Tatis kept his hitting streak alive at 17. But the Padres Jurickson Profar took a swing at a pitch so hard that he hurt himself landing on the ground in the bottom of the eighth inning and was replaced by David Peralta who flew out to center.

#3 With the loss on Tuesday the A’s have now lost 10 of their last 13 games and have really hit the skids they are now 17 games below .500.

#4 The A’s Tyler Soderstrom tied up the ball game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning with one out. Soderstrom hit a two run homer scoring Miguel Andujar ahead of him. For Soderstrom it was his third home run of the season.

#5 The A’s are back to the drawing board again and will start RHP Hogan Harris (0-0, ERA 2.21) and for the Padres RHP Michael King (5-4, ERA 3.58) first pitch at Petco 1:10pm PT. This will conclude the three game series between the two teams.

Stephen Ruderman is a MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Tie Up Game In the Eighth Only to Lose to Padres in a Walkoff 4-3

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San Diego Padres Fernando Tatis celebrates scoring on Jurickson Profar’s base hit against the Oakland A’s in the bottom of the fifth inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Tue Jun 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After tying up this game in the eighth inning 3-3 off a 2-run homer from Tyler Soderstrom, the Oakland A’s (26-43) were gunning to take the lead in the top of the ninth inning. The team worked hard to tie up the game only to lose it in the bottom of the ninth when the San Diego Padres (36-35) walked it off; the final score 4-3. This was a very competitive game for Oakland that ended on a very sour note. The A’s Scott Alexander gave up the home run to Kyle Higashioka for the San Diego win.

Game recap: As in Monday nights game, the A’s took the early lead, a 1-0 score going into the bottom of the fifth inning. The A’s continue hitting home runs, the first one in this game off the bat of Abraham Toro on the first pitch of the game.

There was not a lot of offense through the next three innings. for either team. The Padres had a productive fifth inning scoring three runs and taking a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning. Luis Arraez hit an infield single and Ha-Seong Kim scored to tie up the game 1-1. The Padres followed that up with a Jurickson Profar single bringing two runners home, Luis Arraez and Fernando Tatis Jr taking a 3-1 lead.

In the eighth inning the A’s fought back tying up this game with yet another Oakland home run. Tyler Soderstom hit a two-run homer with Miguel Andujar on base to tie up this game 3-3. Oakland kept the Padres off the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth and they would need some offense in the ninth inning.

They didn’t get the offense they so desperately needed. Abraham Toro lined out, Shea Langeliers flied out and Max Schuemann fouled out and that was the top of the ninth. They had to keep this game going and that meant keeping the Padres off the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth, preventing the walk-off.

It all went so horribly wrong when Scott Alexander’s first pitch in the bottom of the ninth, a changeup, sailed out of the ball park off the bat of Kyle Higashioka. This was his first walk-off home run. The Padres had pulled off the walk-off winning the game 4-3.

The A’s were within striking distance in the later innings only to watch the long ball that would end any hope for a win for Oakland. This was one crazy game where the first pitch of the game and the last pitch of the game resulted in balls leaving the yard.

Game notes: After losing the first game of their series with the Padres , the A’s lost another one to the Padres at Petco Park. JP Sears who started for Oakland pitched five innings and gave up seven hits and three runs and yet it wasn’t enough for the A’s to get in the win column on Tuesday night. Oakland hung in Monday’s game taking an early lead in the second inning but fell apart for the rest of the game getting crushed 6-1.

The third game of the series is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 PM as the A’s try to salvage this series with at least one win. Probable pitchers for this game will be Hogan Harris for Oakland with a 0-0, 2.21 ERA. The Padres will probably assign Michael King with a 5-4 win/loss record and a 3.58 ERA.