Category: Oakland Athletics

A’s six-game win streak ends with a thud; Indians rack up 20 hits in 15-3 blowout

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — Innings two through four were relative successes for the A’s on Sunday afternoon.

Innings five through nine were unmitigated disasters hand-delivered by the Cleveland Indians in the visitors 15-3 romp that sent journalists covering the game scrambling to check the record books.

The hitterish Indians racked up 20 hits–including two homers and 11 doubles–which basically turned the Coliseum into a pinball machine. The 11 doubles were the most one team has compiled in a major league game since 2003, and the most ever in a game at the Coliseum.

“Hopefully, this gets us going in the right direction,” said Indians’ star Francisco Lindor, who racked up two doubles and a home run. “Guys were on the right path. Guys felt very comfortable today.”

The A’s started the game with a six-game win streak (and wins in 12 of 14) and a bunch of momentum just from beating the first-place Indians two days in row. But this moment held even more significance: at 46-38 the A’s hadn’t held such a prominent spot in the American League standings (5th best record in the AL) since 2014.

Frankie Montas has played a nice role in the A’s recent surge, but to be fair, he’s had some rough outings at the Coliseum, and this one, in length and intensity was the roughest. But somehow, despite allowing seven doubles in five plus innings, Montas allowed just three runs by getting big outs with runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings.  Montas departed after allowing–what else–an RBI double to Jason Kipnis, but Yusmeiro Petit picked Montas up by striking out Rajai Davis to end the sixth.

And somehow the A’s were in a winnable game at that point, trailing 3-1. But over the final three innings, Cleveland went bonkers, perhaps a retaliatory shot for the Northeast Ohio city’s tough month of June at the Coliseum Complex in which they lost two NBA Finals games before baseball losses Friday and Saturday.

In laying waste to the A’s bullpen, the Indians squeezed 11 hits, three walks and a hit batter into their final 24 plate appearances of the game. After recording the last out in the sixth, Petit allowed two home runs in the seventh. In the eight run, Chris Hatcher and Josh Lucas allowed the first ten Indians to reach base.

And Santiago Casilla gave up two runs–and two doubles–in the ninth.

The Indians created so much traffic on the bases Sunday afternoon, 25 of their 51 plate appearances came with a runner in scoring position. Thankfully, the A’s recorded outs on two-thirds of those at-bats or a 25-3 loss could have transpired.

“It was nice to scratch one out here,” said Indians outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, who came up with an incredible, inning-ending catch in the first inning. “We got swept here last year. They’re a good team. They’ve been winning games.”

“When you haven’t pitched in six or seven (a week of inactivity) like some of them, it’s tough to locate,” manager Bob Melvin said of his leaky bullpen.

Melvin wasn’t happy with any of it, but he was understanding in that his club had endured a busy stretch of games without a day off. He said the team would benefit from having two of the next four days off ahead of a roadtrip that looks like a bear (at Cleveland, at Houston).

On Tuesday, the A’s welcome the Padres to the Coliseum with Chris Bassitt facing San Diego’s Clayton Richard.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame, Mural at the Oakland Coliseum

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Photo by Amaury Pi Gonzalez, Vice President of MLB Hispanic Heritage Museum: Mural for the MLB Hispanic Heritage Museum at the Oakland Coliseum

Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame, Mural at the Oakland Coliseum

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By: Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND — At the Club Entrance of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame has a mural for all fans to enjoy. The mural celebrates the 20th anniversary of the founding of the museum. In 1998 Mr. Gabriel “Tito” Avila Jr. founded the museum as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and since then, it has been traveling all across the country with exhibits at museums, Fanfest, All-Star Games and all kinds of baseball celebrations, including inductions in Major League parks of Hispanic players of all 30 teams.

“The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame thanks Mr.Dave Kaval, President of the Oakland Athletics, for welcoming us and giving us access so this Mural can be enjoyed by thousands of baseball fans” said Avila Jr.

The colorful mural is at the Club Level entrance of the Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland Athletics, inside the park. The concept of the mural was captured and put into Dagoberto Blanco “Campy” Campaneris, who is arguably the best shortstop in A’s history. One of the stars during the three of the four World Series championships of the A’s in 1972, 1973 and 1974. He is one of those players the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame has honored and inducted.

The museum’s main goal is to have its permanent location here in the Bay Area, one of most culturally diverse areas in the country. As of 2018, Latino/Hispanic players in the MLB make up around 30% of all players. The main baseball countries in Latin America are Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, México, Panamá, Nicaragua, Colombia, Curazao,and there are also players from Brazil, like Yan Gomes of the Cleveland Indians.

The popularity of baseball has grown in the past decades to the point that Major League games have been played in México and Puerto Rico, Japan. Next year, the Yankees and Red Sox will play in London, England. For the first time, MLB games will be played in Europe. Baseball has become much more international and the museum specially honors the contribution of Hispanic players to the game. The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame wants to thank Mauricio Segura, owner of Golden Bay Magazine, for bringing our concept of this mural to life. The first 20 years the museum became well-known and received recognition from commissioner Bud Selig, and the current commissioner Rob Manfred.

The A’s and the Mariners will open the 2019 season in Japan.

http://www.hispanicheritagebaseballmuseum.org/about/

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the MLB Hispanic Heritage Museum, the play by play radio talent for the Oakland A’s, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Former Oakland A’s pitcher Kilkenny dead at 73; Orioles pay tribute to shooting victims; Tiger coach calls clubhouse attendant “monkey” is fired

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file photo from thesocietyforamericanbaseballresearch.com: Former Oakland A’s pitcher the late Mike Kilkenny who passed away this weekend pitched for the A’s the year they won the World Series in 1972

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum

1 Orioles pay tribute in the press box to The Gazette shooting victims

2 Report: Tigers pitching coach fired for directing racial slur at clubhouse attendant

3 Giants take first two of weekend series in Phoenix, close gap in NL West

4 Swingin’ A’s sneak into the AL Wild Card race

5 RIP Mike Kilkenny former Oakland A’s pitcher, who passed away this weekend

Daniel Dullum does the MLB The Show podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The winning streak continues as the A’s crush the Indians 7-2 on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
IMG_4719
Canha bangs an RBI-double off the left field wall Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND, Calif. — The well-traveled veteran pitcher Edwin Jackson made his second start for the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, and he worked 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, while walking none to come away with his first victory in a Green and Gold uniform. Jackson’s teammates rewarded his efforts by coming from back from a 2-0 deficit to score seven runs off just eight hit to win their sixth consecutive game.

Neither starting pitcher allowed a hit or baserunner in the first three innings of the game. The Indians were the first to strike when they hit two home runs off Jackson in the top of the fourth inning. Francisco Lindor hit his 20th homer of the season into the right-field seats on a 1-1 count to lead off the inning. With one out, Jose Ramirez stepped up to the plate to face Jackson and jacked a 2-2 pitch over the center-field wall for his 24th round-tripper of 2018. Things were not looking good for Jackson at that moment.

Jackson settled down in the top of the fifth and he did not allow another baserunner in the remaining 1.2 innings he would pitch.

The A’s struck back in the home half of the sixth inning. Franklin Barreto led off with a double. Josh Phegley then hit his second home run of the year into the left field seats to tie the game at 2-2. Dustin Fowler followed up with a single through the hole at second. Mark Canha hit a line drive to left that hit at the top of the wall for a double that allowed the speedy Fowler to race home from first to score the A’s third run and give them the lead. Canha was thrown out trying to advance to third. Oakland took a lead 3-2 and would never trail in the game again.

Oakland would score four more times in the eighth inning to make the final score 7-2.

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Bob Melvin came out to congratulate and take starter Edwin Jackson out of the game Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Edwin Jackson (1-0) gets credit for the win. The Indians’ starter Adam Plutko (4-2) is tagged with the loss. A’s reliever Lou Trivino picked up his third save of the season.

Oakland’s record improves to 46-38, and they are now 8.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West. The Indians fall to 44-37, but maintain an 8.0 game lead over the second-place Twins.

Melvin talks about his team after the game

In the Batter’s Box

A’s

  • Dustin Fowler snapped an 0-for-9 hitless streak with his single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hitting his fifth home run of the year in the bottom of the eighth was just icing of the cake. Fowler was the only A’s player to have multiple hits in the game.
  • Matt Olson hit his 18th home run in the home half of the eighth inning as the A’s kept adding insurance runs to their lead. He has now hit 15 of his 18 home runs off right-handed pitching.
  • Mark Canha extended his hitting streak to nine games, which is the longest streak of his career. He has also reached base safely in his last 10 games.
  • Khris Davis hit a sacrifice fly to up his RBI total to 55 for the season.
  • The A’s went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left just three runners on base.

Indians

  • Francisco Lindor is on fire. In his last 19 games, he is batting .306 (23-for-75) with six home runs, five doubles, 11 RBI and 20 runs scored.
  • Since the start of the 2017 season, Jose Ramirez leads the major leagues with 136 extra base hits. He entered the game on Saturday tied for fourth in the MLB with his teammate Francisco Lindor with 44 extra base hits so far this season.
  • Jason Kipnis has now reached base safely in each of his last 13 games. In those 13 games, he is batting .312 with three homers and eight runs scored.

On the Hill

A’s

  • Edwin Jackson still has not walked a batter since joining the A’s. He worked 6.2 innings giving up two runs (earned) off two hits (both HRs). He struck out six Cleveland hitters. Jackson threw 86 pitches (52 strikes).
  • The A’s used four relief pitchers to close out the game. Ryan Butcher, Emilio Pagan, Yusmeiro Petit and Lou Trivino worked the final 2.1 innings.
  • The plan was to have Petit close it out, but he looked a bit rusty when got up on the mound. Manager Bob Melvin said that was on him for not getting him into some games earlier in the week.

Indians

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Terry Francona has a little chat with umpire Tony Randazzo Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
  • Indians starter Adam Plutko looked brilliant in the opening three innings but the wheels came off in the sixth inning. He pitched 5.2 innings allowing three runs (earned) on five hits. He walked one and struck out three.
  • The Indians used five pitchers in the contest.
  • Dan Otero and Josh Tomlin really struggled in the eighth inning when the A’s sealed the game by scoring four runs on just three hits. Two walks and two home runs were the fatal flaws for the relievers.
  • A familiar face to Bay Area baseball fans came into the game to shut down the A’s in the eighth inning, former Giant George Kontos was brought in to do the job.

Up Next

The A’s will try to complete their second consecutive series sweep on Sunday when they will close out this three-game series with the Indians. The Indians will start RHP Mike Clevinger (6-3, 3.03). The A’s will counter with RHP Frankie Montas (4-1, 3.68). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM PDT.

Blackburn Deals: A’s Win 5th Straight, 3-1 Over Indians

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: sfexaminer.com

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — The potential All-Stars were great for the Oakland Athletics Friday night, but it was Antioch’s own Paul Blackburn that stood out the most in the A’s 3-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Blackburn (2-2, 6.46 ERA) fired 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball to give the A’s the edge over the Central Division leaders at home.

Darkhorse MVP candidate Jed Lowrie continued to be the best player in baseball no-one is talking about, mashing his 14th homer of the season. Blake Treinen nailed down his 18th straight save and the A’s won their fifth-straight game. Marcus Semien and potential American League All-Star Khris Davis knocked in a run each. Francisco Lindor knocked in the Tribe’s lone run.

Matt Olson scored the first run after doubling with one out in the second inning. Semien then came up to the plate against Indians starter Trevor Bauer and, after taking a knuckle curve for a ball, slapped the next one into left field for a 1-0 lead.

Davis, who has openly mulled his participation in the Home Run Derby, jumped on Bauer early in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs and Matt Joyce on second, Davis took the first pitch he saw to left field for a run-scoring double. Bauer would finish off the inning and pitch two thirds of the seventh before coming out of the game after compiling eight strikeouts.

While Bauer (7-6, 2.45) was strong, he wound up the loser, thanks to Blackburn’s bounce back. In his previous outing, the righty went five innings while giving up six runs to the woeful Chiacgo White Sox. He was diealed in Friday, scattering three hits with five punch-outs in an outing that surely saved him from a trip to Nashville.

After Blackburn departed after 6 1/3 innings, Ryan Butcher took over. The Indians touched him up for one earned run on a double in the eighth by Lindor, but Lowrie tagged Zach McAllister in the bottom of the inning to preserve the two-run lead.

Treinen walked the tight rope in the ninth, opening the inning with a single to another MVP candidate, Jose Ramirez. Edwin Encarnacion mashed a ball to center field that looked like a game-tying shot, but his fly ran out of room and Mark Canha made the catch. Former Athletic Yonder Alonso struck out Rajai Davis walked. Jason Kipnis flew out to end the game and move the A’s seven games over .500.

Oakland sends Edwin Jackson to the hill Saturday in what already has been a historic season for the righty. By donning the Green and Gold, he tied Octavio Dotel for most teams played for with 13. He pitched well in his previous outing, holding the Detroit Tigers to one run over six innings. He’ll be opposed by Adam Plutko, who has gone 4-1 stepping into the rotation due to injuries to Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s could be dealing the big names

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file photo by beyond the boxscore: Sean Manaea Oakland A’s starter threw a six inning game giving up two runs. The A’s open up against Cleveland tonight

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

Will the A’s shop third baseman Jed Lowrie, outfielder Khris Davis, or catcher Jonathan Lucroy before the trade deadline? The A’s are rolling. They’ve won four straight in a sweep over the Detroit Tigers. Although, they’re 10.5 games out. They’re just seven games back for a wild card berth.

A’s starter Sean Manaea had a good outing on Thursday, going six innings, five hits, two runs, one walk and two strikeouts. Although, pitcher Paul Blackburn had a rough outing in his last pitching appearance in Chicago, A’s pitching coach Scott Emerson likes what he can do. He saw him throwing his best stuff in the bullpen and he’ll get another start against Cleveland tonight at the Coliseum.

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

A’s beat the Tigers 4-2 to sweep the 4-game series

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s, led by the hitting of Jed Lowrie and the pitching of lefty Sean Manaea, defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-2 at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon. The A’s did not hit any home runs, but they scored three times in the third and once in the fourth to defeat the Tigers’ Michael Fulmer.

Manaea did not appear to be in sync in the first inning. He issued his only walk of the game to the Tigers’ leadoff hitter Jeimer Candelario. He settled down and retired Jose Iglesias for the first out. The Tigers’ leading hitter, right fielder Nick Castellanos, blasted his 11th dinger of the year over Stephen Piscotty’s outstretched glove to give the Tigers an early 2-0 advantage. Manaea regained his composure and held the Tigers scoreless in his next five innings of work. Manaea was hoping that the A’s offense would get going and get him a win.

The A’s offense did what Manaea wanted. In the top of the third, they put together five singles and plated three runs. Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder singled to start the rally. Mark Canha blooped a single to right to drive in Semien. Pinder went to third on the play. Lowrie continued his hot hitting and torment of the Tigers with a single to drive in Pinder with the second run of the inning. Canha advanced to third. A’s designated hitter Khris Davis singled to drive in Canha to make it a 3-2 game.

The A’s tacked on an insurance run in the fourth. Stephen Piscotty led off with a single. Jonathan Lucroy hit a slow roller to Tigers’ shortstop Jose Iglesias. Iglesias’ only play was at first. Piscotty made it safely to second. Pinder had his second hit of the game when he doubled to deep centerfield to drive in Piscotty. The A’s led 4-2.

There was no more scoring in the game. Manaea left after six innings of work. He allowed two runs and five hits. He walked one and struck out two. The A’s used Emilio Pagan in the seventh, Lou Trivino in the eighth, and Blake Treinen in the ninth. The relievers did not allow the Tigers a hit. Treinen earned his 20th save of the year. The A’s won 4-2.

Game Notes: The A’s have won their last nine games against Detroit, their longest streak against the Tigers since Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx led the Philadelphia Athletics to 10 straight wins over Detroit in 1931. The Tigers have also lost their last nine games played. The A’s improve to 44-38 and are six games over the .500 mark. Detroit falls to 36-46.

Sean Manaea received credit for the win, and his record is now 8-6. Fulmer took the loss, and he is 3-7 for the year.

Jed Lowrie had a single and double in the game including his 24th double. He has driven in 55 so far this year. Lowrie was 9-for-17 in the series. He hit two home runs and had three doubles and drove in at least one run in all four games. It is possible that Lowrie and Treinen will represent the A’s at this year’s All-Star game in Washington, DC on July 17th.

Up Next: The A’s finished the 10-game road trip with a record of 8-2 and will return home to face the Cleveland Indians for three games starting Friday night at 7:05 pm PDT.

Paul Blackburn (1-2, 8.83) will pitch for Oakland, and Trevor Bauer (7-5, 2.44) will go for the Indians.

On Saturday, it will be Edwin Jackson going against rookie Adam Plutko, and Sunday will feature Frankie Montas for Oakland and Mike Clevinger for Cleveland.

A’s continue to roll behind Chris Bassitt’s terrific start in a 3-0 shutout of Tigers

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s beat the Tigers Wednesday evening in Detroit by a score of 3-0. The A’s recalled Chris Bassitt from Nashville to pitch due to the injury to Daniel Mengden. Bassitt was making his fourth start of the season for Oakland. He pitched well in his first start but had two bad games and was 0-3 for the season and had spent a lot of time shuttling between Oakland and Nashville. Bassitt his best game of the year as he went six innings and allowed no runs and just two hits. He struck out five and the only negative was the five walks he issued to the Tiger hitters. Bassitt had to be just as good as Tigers’ starter Mike Fiers also pitched very well.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning. The A’s put the first run of the game on the board when Matt Joyce led off with a single to get things going. Fiers had to pitch to the A’s hottest hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie, who has been on a tear, doubled to right field. A’s third base coach Matt Williams did not hesitate as he did not put the stop sign up for Matt Joyce. Joyce scored, and Lowrie recorded his 22nd double and 54th RBI of the season to give the A’s the lead 1-0.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch the seventh. Petit did his job and kept the Tigers scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings.

The A’s scored two insurance runs in the ninth. Alex Wilson was pitching for Detroit. With one out, Franklin Barreto reached on an infield single. Josh Phegley followed with a line shot down the left field line. The speedy Barreto scored all the way from first. The next hitter, Dustin Fowler, blasted a ball to that hit high off the right-field wall to drive in Phegley. The A’s led 3-0.

Bob Melvin was not able to use his closer, Blake Treinen, to finish the game. Treinen had worked the last two games. Melvin brought in rookie Lou Trivino to face the Tigers. Trivino set the Tigers down in order to earn his second save of the year.

Game Notes: The A’s are 7-2 on the road trip and go for the sweep Thursday afternoon in Detroit. The A’s improve to 43-38 and are five games over the .500 mark for the first time since the 2014 season. Chriss Bassitt is now 1-3, and he won his first game since the 2015 season. Bassitt missed the 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery, and his recovery was much longer than expected.

The A’s did not hit a home run, and their 27 consecutive game streak of hitting at least one home run in road games came to an end. The 27-game streak is a new Major League record.

“We put home run swings on them,” Melvin said. “We just didn’t get rewarded for them.”

Time of game was 3 hours and 11 minutes and 23,961 fans watched the game.

Up Next: The A’s Sean Manaea will go to the mound seeking his eighth win of the year on Thursday. Manaea’ record is 7-6. He will be opposed by Michael Fulmer. Fulmer is 3-6 and has a 4.17 ERA. The game will start at 10:10 am PDT on MLB Network.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s shuttling players back and forth from Nashville; A’s have an offense that can be improved

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

How do the A’s find ways to continue to replace injured players going to Nashville and back to Oakland again and still win games? They were down six runs and came back to beat the Detroit Tigers 9-7 on Tuesday night.

Jed Lowrie was key in the win with a bloop single in the ninth inning, which Lowrie would steal a base then come in and score to win it for the A’s. Lowrie’s had some great at-bats this season. The question is will the A’s trade Lowrie and get some value for him before the trade deadline in July?

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

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s turnstiles keep turning with call ups from Nashville; Can A’s get the Environmental Impact protection to expedite building a new park?

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usatoday file photo: Oakland A’s Franklin Barreto is hoping to continue his hitting surge like he demonstrated over the weekend in Chicago.

On the A’s podcast with Charlie:

An incredible volume of players are going from Nashville to Oakland. The recent placement of Matt Chapman going on the D.L. and bringing up second baseman Franklin Barreto and moving Jed Lowrie to third. The A’s and many other Major League teams have been dipping into their farm systems.

Also, a look at the Environmental Impact Protection Report similar to what the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings used to build their arenas and the A’s would like to use that same statute to expedite getting in their new location and speed up ground breaking for a new park.

How practical is the idea to move the A’s Triple A affiliate Nashville and have the Sounders to maybe rename the Oakland Oaks and have them share the Coliseum with the A’s? The A’s love to save money. This might be an idea that owner John Fisher would like and team vice president Billy Beane would like to get a call ups from just calling down the hallway at the Coliseum.

Charlie O covers the Oakland A’s home and away each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com