Category: Oakland Athletics

Preview: Weekend series in Houston between A’s and Astros

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, following the blueprint developed by the Houston Astros, will meet the Astros for the first time this season for three games starting Friday night. The Astros, who were terrible and lost over 100 games for three straight years, are now the defending World Champion Astros who are at top of the baseball world. The Astros did not get to the top by signing expensive free agents. They did a fantastic job of scouting young players and mixing in a few veterans in order to become successful.

The Astros built the club around Jose Altuve. Altuve is 5-foot-6 and plays as if he was 6-foot-6. Altuve is a terrific hitter, and he became the American League’s Most Valuable Player last season. The Astros signed shortstop Carlo Correa, a Puerto Rico native, and he was Rookie of the Year in his first season. Other standouts on the Astros roster are center fielder George Springer, who played baseball at the University of Connecticut, second-year third baseman Alex Bregman, and Cuban refugee Yulieski Gurriel. Marwyn Gonzalez is a super-sub as he can play in the infield as well as the outfield. Derek Fisher plays in left field and former Athletic, Josh Reddick, plays in right. The catching chores are handled by Brian McCann. Evan Gattis, who can also catch, is the designated hitter.

The Astros bolstered their starting rotation when they acquired Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers last season. Verlander was instrumental in Houston win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. Over the winter the Astros made another move as they made a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the services of right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole. The rest of the rotation includes former Cy Young award winner Lance McCullers Jr., and the veteran hurler Charlie Morton.  Their long reliever is the former starter, Collin McHugh. Joe Smith, Will Harris, and Brad Peacock are the setup guys, and the Astros will use Ken Giles and Chris Devenski as their closers.

The A’s come into the series having won eight of the last 10 games played. They swept the White Sox and took two out three from the Red Sox and Texas Rangers. The A’s lineup can be and is formidable. They have guys with a lot of pop in their bats up and down the lineup. Marcus Semien, Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Matt Chapman, and Khris Davis are all threats to hit the ball out of the park at any time during the game. Jonathan Lucroy and Stephen Piscotty are also making contributions to the A’s offense. Matt Olson and Matt Joyce are the A’s power hitters from the left side of the plate. The hottest hitter of all the A’s players is the switch-hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie is hitting about .360 and has six homers and 24 RBIs. He has been very consistent and has come through with several clutch hits.

Sean Manaea is the ace of the A’s staff. He has gone over seven innings in all five of his starts, and he pitched a no-hitter last Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox. Manaea has been very consistent and is now brimming with confidence. He will have his work cut out for him as he faces the very formidable Houston Astro lineup. He will be opposed by Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.10. He won his first game of the season last week defeating the Chicago White Sox.

On Saturday, Daniel Mengden (2-2, 3.86 ERA) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Lance McCullers Jr. Mengden beat the Red Sox last Sunday and gave up just one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. McCullers is 3-1 with an ERA of 4.67. McCullers won his last two starts against Seattle and Chicago.

Sunday’s game will feature Trevor Cahill (1-0, 2.25 ERA) going against Gerrit Cole (2-1, 1.29 ERA). Cahill will be making his third start of the season. In his last start against Texas, Cahill went five innings and allowed three runs and four hits including a home run. Cole is the second pitcher in Astro history to throw at least seven innings while allowing two runs or less in his first five starts of the season.

The series should be a good one as the Astros want to show the A’s that they are the top dogs and the A’s want to show the Astros that they are on the way up and can not be taken lightly any longer.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s winning ways get them just three games out of first place

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Photo credit: @BleacherReport

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s, who swept the Chicago White Sox, took two of three from the Red Sox and won the first two games in Arlington from the Texas Rangers. They’re now only just three games out of first place.

#2 The A’s are getting the hitting now from Marcus Semien .269, Chad Pinder .281, Jed Lowrie .363, and Khris Davis .258.

#3 They just got by the Rangers on Tuesday night with a one-run 3-2 win and it took some good pitching this time to win that one from Andrew Triggs (2-0), going six innings, four hits, and one run.

#4 Looking ahead after this series, the A’s head to Minute Maid Field and face the Houston Astros, who are in first place in the AL West–ahead of the Los Angeles Angels.

#5 The A’s send out starter Sean Manaea (3-2) he’ll face the Astros Dallas Keuchel (1-3) on Friday night. With the A’s going strong right now, how do you see them matching up with Houston and after Manaea’s last start throwing a no-hitter last Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox?

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

 

Rangers snap A’s four-game win streak with 4-2 victory

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

There was good news and bad news in the loss the A’s suffered Wednesday night at the hands of the Texas Rangers.

The good news was that A’s starter Kendall Graveman went six innings, threw 112 pitches, struck out seven and allowed just three earned runs on six hits. The bad news was that it wasn’t good enough to get his first win of the year. Graveman took the loss and is now 0-5, but his ERA improved to 8.89.

Doug Fister made his first start since April 9 and didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. The A’s had chances to score early in the game but couldn’t get a needed hit to put runs on the board. Fister threw 105 pitches in 4 2/3 inning of work and left the game trailing 2-1.

The A’s put two runs on the board in the top of the third. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien singled with one out. Fister retired the hot-hitting Jed Lowrie, but could not get by A’s DH Khris Davis. Khrush sent a Fister pitch over the fence in right center field to give the A’s the lead. Texas scored a run in the bottom of the fourth. Joey Gallo started the rally with a single to right. Ranger first baseman Ronald Guzman singled to send Gallo to third. Catcher Juan Centeno hit a ground ball to Jed Lowrie, who got the force out at second, but Centeno beat the relay to first. The A’s challenged the call, but the call was upheld and the run was scored. The A’s lead 2-1 after four.

In the bottom of the fifth, Graveman retired the first two hitters he faced. Jurickson Profar doubled and scored on a single by Nomar Mazara, who went to second on the throw home. Graveman walked Joey Gallo to put men on at first and second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, playing third base in place of the injured Andre Beltre, singled to drive in Mazara to put the Rangers ahead 3-2.

The Rangers added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. The big hit was a triple by Guzman to drive in the Rangers’ fourth run.

The A’s could do nothing in the ninth, and their four-game winning streak was over.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s record is now 13-12. The Rangers improve to 9-17

The line score for Oakland was two runs, four hits, and two errors. Texas improves to 9-17. Their line was four runs, eight hits, and one error.

Khris Davis’ home run was the seventh of the season and the 19th in 44 games against Texas.

Reliever Ryan Buchter left the game in the seventh inning after facing one hitter. Buchter complained about shoulder stiffness.

Up Next: The A’s are off Thursday, and they head to Houston to face the World Champion Houston Astros for a three-game series. Friday night’s game will be a battle of two excellent pitchers. The A’s Sean Manaea will be making his first start since he threw a no-hitter last Saturday night against Boston. Manaea is 3-2 and has an ERA of just 1.23. The A’s will face Houston’s Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is a former Cy Young award winner and is 1-3 for the year, but he has a respectable ERA of 3.10. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT.

A’s win fourth in a row as they escape with a 3-2 victory over the Rangers

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By Jerry Feitelberg

It was an old-fashioned pitching duel for the first five innings of the Tuesday night game between the Oakland A’s and the Texas Rangers. Andrew Triggs, who did not have a good outing last week against the White Sox last week, was on the top of his game as he and the Rangers’ Cole Hamels each shut down their opponents’ offense for the first five innings.

Things changed in the sixth. Hamels retired the first two hitters he faced. Mark Canha, who has played well since his recall from Nashville, hit a flyball to deep right field. Rangers’ right fielder, Nomar Mazara, appeared to have made the catch but his wrist hit the wall, and the ball dropped out of his glove, and the A’s had the lead 1-0. For Canha, it was his third big fly of the season. The Rangers tied the game in their half of the sixth. Delino DeShields reached safely when he laid down a rarely seen push bunt. The ball was placed between first baseman Matt Olson and Triggs. Olson fielded the bunt but no one covered first, and DeShields was safe. Triggs nailed Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch to put men on at first and second with no out. With Mazara at-bat, Triggs and A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy got mixed up on what pitch was coming, and the ball got past Lucroy to advance the runners. Lucroy was charged with a passed ball. Triggs walked Mazara to load the bases. Rangers’ veteran third baseman hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in DeShields with the tying run.

The A’s regained the lead in the top of the seventh. Lucroy doubled to start the inning but was thrown out at third. Marcus Semien followed with a double and that hit ended Hamels’ night. Matt Bush walked Matt Joyce who was pinch-hitting for Chad Pinder. The next hitter, Jed Lowrie doubled to drive in Semien with the A’s second run. With Khris Davis hitting, Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos saw Joyce a little too far off third base and nailed him with a throw to Beltre for the second out of the frame. Davis then grounded out to end the threat.

The A’s scored another run in the eightth when Matt Olson doubled to drive in Matt Chapman from first base. The Rangers got a run back in the bottom of the eighth. Blake Treinen relieved Ryan Dull with one out. Rangers’ DH Shin-Soo Choo lined a shot of Treinen’s leg for a single. Treinen had to leave the game, and there was no word on the extent of the injury. Bob Melvin brought in Lou Trivino to pitch. Trivino struck out Mazara for the second out, but Adrian Beltre singled to deep right-center field to drive in Shoo. Beltre pulled up limping as he injured a hamstring and had to leave the game.

The A’s called on the veteran Santiago Casilla to close out the game. Casilla retired the side to preserve the win for Oakland. The A’s win 3-2.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 13-11, and the Rangers fall to 8-17. Andrew Triggs improved to 2-0, and his ERA lowered to 4.70. Cole Hamels took the loss for Texas and is now 1-4 with an ERA of 4.41. Casilla picked his first save of the season.

Up Next: Game 3 of the three-game series will feature Kendall Graveman (0-4, 10.07 ERA) will be looking for his first win, and he will be opposed by the tall righty Doug Fister who will be making his first start since April 9th. Fister is 1-2 with an 3.59 ERA. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: A’s continue roll; go 7 out of 8 to start road trip

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Photo credit: @lonestarball

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 The A’s have got red-hot, winning seven of their last eight games with a win to start the nine-game road trip over the Texas Rangers on Monday night 9-4 in Arlington last night.

#2 The A’s, if they aren’t getting great pitching, they’re getting great hitting and last night they got contributions from Marcus Semien, two runs and two hits, Stephen Piscotty scored a run, Jed Lowrie two hits a run scored, Khris Davis, two RBIs and a run scored.

#3 MLB records: MLB baseball had a record 32,884 strikeouts in 2008. In 2018, baseball will surpass that record on a pace of 43,163 if the swinging for the fence hitters keep this up.

#4 The LA Angels’ Shohei Ohtani pitched two innings against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, but had to leave due to a blister on his throwing hand.

#5 The Pittsburgh Pirates are off to their best start since 1992. Third place in the central only a game and a half out of first just behind St. Louis and Milwaukee.

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

 

 

A’s back over .500 after 9-4 rout of Rangers

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s defeated the Texas Rangers 9-4 to start the nine-game road trip on a high note. A’s pitcher Trevor Cahill made his second start of the year, going five innings and allowing seven hits and three runs. He was opposed by lefty Matt Moore, the former San Francisco Giant, in his first year as a Ranger. Moore also went five innings and allowed three runs.

The A’s put two runs on the board in the top of the third. Marcus Semien singled to start the inning. Moore walked Stephen Piscotty to put men on at first and second with no out. Moore retired Jed Lowrie for the first out. Designated hitter Khris Davis doubled down the left field line to drive in Semien and Piscotty with the first two runs of the night.

The Rangers cut the deficit to one in their half of the third. With men on at second and third, Cahill uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Isiah Kiner-Falefa to score. The A’s got the run back in the fourth. Mark Canha doubled and scored on Chad Pinder’s single to center. The lead didn’t last long as the Rangers tied the game when Cahill made a mistake to Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos. Chirinos, hitting a buck 53, hung a curveball and with Jurickson Profar on base, tied the game.

There was no more scoring until the ninth inning.

Marcus Semien, on the first pitch from Kevin Jepsen, homered to give the A’s the lead 4-3. The A’s scored five more times to make it 9-3. A’s manager Bob Melvin let Ryan Buchter start the ninth. Buchter retired the first hitter and then was replaced by Chris Hatcher.

The Rangers were able to score a run, but Hatcher was able to retire Profar and Chirinos to end the game.

Game Notes: The A’s line score was nine runs on 14 hits and one error.

The Rangers line was four runs, seven hits and no errors.

Ryan Buchter received credit for the A’s win. Jepsen took the loss for the Rangers.

Semien, Canha, Davis, Matt Chapman, Jake Smolinski, and Jonathan Lucroy all drove in runs for Oakland. For Smolinski, it was his first RBI since late in the 2016 season. Jed Lowrie continued his hot hitting as he had two more hits.

The A’s have won seven of the last eight games played and are now 12-11 for the year. The Rangers drop to 8-16.

Sad News: The A’s announced that former owner Ken Hofmann passed away at age 95. Hofmann purchased the team along with Steve Schott, in late 1995 and sold the team in 2005. The A’s went to the playoffs three times during his tenure.

Up Next: Game two of the series will be played Tuesday night in Texas. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT. Andrew Triggs will pitch for Oakland. The Rangers’ ace, Cole Hamels, will be on the hill for Texas.

A’s double down, hold the Red Sox in check for a second, consecutive day, win 4-1

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khris_davis

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Things don’t always work out for the Boston Red Sox when they come to the Oakland Coliseum.

The last 52 games in Oakland have resulted in 35 Red Sox’s defeats–in a period spanning more than a decade, and two of the three most recent Boston World Series titles (2004, 2007, 2013). That’s a tough run for a club with a loaded roster and a fanbase that routinely snaps up a bunch of tickets when their team descends in the East Bay.

During that same period the A’s have been up and more often down, but somehow successful at home against Red Sox nation. In Boston’s defense, they’ve been extremely tough on the A’s at Fenway Park during this same period, most recently taking two of three at Fenway in September 2017.

But this time, the A’s grew that roadblock placed in front of the Bosox to the dimensions of a Great Wall by shutting down the team with the hottest start to a season in the last 30 years on consecutive days. After Friday’s 7-3 win, the Red Sox were winners of nine straight, and 17-2 on the season. After Sunday’s 4-1 loss, the Red Sox had been no-hit, gone 18 innings without scoring a run, and lost two straight for the first time all season.

The 18 innings without scoring a run might be the biggest surprise, as Boston had scored 123 runs coming in, and hit five grand slams in a period of just 13 games, which concluded Friday night.

But everything changed when Sean Manaea no-hit the Sox on Saturday, and Daniel Mengden was nearly as stellar on Sunday in a 4-1 win.

“We’ve just got to ride the wave out as long as we can,” said Khris Davis, who hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in the eighth inning on Sunday. “The pitching has been fantastic. Anytime the pitching is on, we want to be putting up runs.”

After losing four of five, the A’s have won six of seven to even their record (11-11) for the first time since they were 1-1. The timing of their improved play couldn’t be any better with a big, three-city, AL West road trip starting Tuesday in Arlington, Texas. After playing a AL-high 14 home games, the improving A’s have to show they can get it done on the road too.

“5-1 is a nice homestand,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We didn’t have a great homestand to (open the season), and we’ve got a lot of road games.”

This early–with a roster this unproven–how you win is important. And the A’s have opened some eyes this week, starting with a rout of the White Sox on Tuesday in front of a full house, then gutting out a six-hour marathon Wednesday to sweep Chicago. The last two days, they’ve defeated perenial All-Star pitchers Chris Sale, and now David Price.

“It starts with us holding them down. If you look at their numbers, they’re basically first in the league in everything (offensively) so it’s holding them down and giving yourself a chance to score some runs because you know you’re not going to score too many off those two guys,” Melvin said.

After Sean Manaea stood up to Sale, who was hardly off his game, striking out 10, and walking one, on Saturday, starter Daniel Mengden outworked Price, who’s bounced back nicely from his disappointing 2017 season. Mengden pitched into the seventh, by either recording quick outs, or surviving at-bats that looked like mini-versions of Brandon Belt’s 21-pitch opus in Anaheim. To wit: Mengden started 15 of the 25 batters he faced with strikes, but expended 102 pitches to record 19 outs, despite the fact he didn’t walk anyone. A whopping 27 pitches–more than 25 percent of the total–were fouled off by the dialed in, discerning Sox, even with AL batting leader Mookie Betts getting a day off.

Despite all the rigmarole, Mengden put up zeros in the first six frames, and didn’t allow a run until the final pitch of his afternoon, an RBI double of Brock Holt’s bat in the seventh.

“What Sean did last night was remarkable. I tried to follow up as best I could,” said Mengden.

The A’s will have Trevor Cahill on the mound in Tuesday’s opener against the Rangers. Former Giant Matt Moore will start for Texas, looking to improve on his 1-3 record, and 5.59 ERA.

 

“Hey, Boston. How rare is this?” A’s Manaea stops baseball’s hottest team with memorable, dominating no-hitter

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MLB: Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea (55) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Oakland Coliseum. Courtesy of Kiel Maddox-USA TODAY Sports

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–A whole lot transpired at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday night, and Sean Manaea admittedly wasn’t tuned in to all of it. But he did have a handle on the important stuff.

Like? Like handling 27 Red Sox’ batters (excepting two walks) one at a time.

Manaea not only threw a no-hitter, he stopped baseball’s hottest team dead in its tracks. So call it the rarest of no-hitters.

How rare? Rare.

Only seven major league teams since 1900 have won 17 of 19 games to start a season. Before the Red Sox this season, the ’87 Brewers were the last to do it. The Red Sox hadn’t been no-hit since 1993–25 seasons ago–the second longest streak ever for one franchise avoiding being no-hit.  And the A’s hadn’t produced  a no-no since Dallas Braden’s Mother’s Day masterpiece in 2010. That’s a total of just seven no-hitters in the 50-year history of the Oakland A’s.

“It still doesn’t feel real,” Manaea said. “I can’t imagine throwing a no-hitter in the big leagues, especially against a team like the Red Sox.”

Manaea’s battery mate, catcher Jonathan Lucroy, envisioned the no-hitter as it was happening. Superstitious manager Bob Melvin started doing weird baseball stuff in the sixth inning. Didn’t make eye contact with Manaea in the dugout between innings, made sure his conversations with pitching coach Scott Emerson regarding Manaea’s pitch count were done privately. And in the ninth inning, Melvin hoped that he wouldn’t distract his pitcher by being forced to get a reliever up in the bullpen.

Meanwhile, Manaea didn’t have any extraneous thoughts going on. When Boston’s Sandy Leon lazy, but well-placed pop up in the fifth glanced off Marcus Semien’s glove for an error, Manaea assumed it was ruled a base hit. It wasn’t until he retired six more batters, before the start of the eighth inning, that he realized otherwise.

“I just thought it was a hit,” he said. “So from them until the eighth or ninth, I thought it was just a one-hitter. I didn’t think it was a no-hitter. And then I looked up in the eighth and ninth, and I saw that there were still zeros. I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s weird.’”

What wasn’t weird was Manaea’s methodical approach to mowing down Red Sox hitters. In Lucroy, the A’s have one of baseball’s most analytical catchers, addicted to watching opposing hitters on video, taking notes and developing game plans. Manaea, in his third year in Oakland, has admitted to coasting in regards to preparation in his first, two big league seasons. That’s no longer the case as the Midwesterner has developed a mental approach and philosophy to his pitching assignments that incorporates all of the resources available to him.

“Talking to people, talking to pitchers, talking to coaches, you have to put your foot on the gas pedal the whole time,” Manaea explained to the MLB Network on Friday afternoon, when interviewed on Ballpark Cam. “If you shy away from things or if you get scared, or if you’re not sure what’s going on on the mound, teams are going to exploit that.”

Throughout, whatever pitch Lucroy summoned, Manaea delivered. Mookie Betts, the hottest of hot Red Sox hitters, and the owner of two, laser shot home runs over the Green Monster against Manaea walked to start the game. But his remaining three at-bats were drama-less outs.

The Red Sox were without the injured Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts, their normal double play combination, and struggling catcher Christian Vazquez (hitting .208) got a day off, replaced by Leon. But the Red Sox were hardly destitute; they came in leading MLB in runs scored with 123 in 19 games.

But Manaea handled them, adroitly moving the ball around the strike zone, and deploying his vastly improved slider and changeup as out pitches. The Red Sox had struck out in just 16 percent of their official at-bats coming in. Against Manaea, they struck out 10 times–eight of those in the first five innings.

“I’ve caught a lot of great pitchers, but that was the best-pitched and most prepared-pitched game I’ve ever seen. We were giving them different looks,” Lucroy said. “That’s one of the best offenses in the league and Sean no-hit them. Watching their swings, they weren’t very comfortable.”

 

 

 

Moreland’s Grand Slam Continues Graveman’s Not-So-Grand 2018, A’s Fall to Red-Hot Red Sox 7-3

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — Kendall Graveman’s woes continued Friday night at the Coliseum. The Oakland A’s opening day starter failed to record an out deeper than the fifth inning for the fifth time in as many 2018 starts. Graveman gave up six runs to the Majors’ best offense, the Boston Red Sox, in a 7-3 A’s loss. The Red Sox (17-2) continue to hold the best record in baseball.

The A’s (9-11) took a three-run lead off former Athletic Drew Pomeranz, who was making his 2018 debut in the first inning, but the Red Sox rode a three-run Jackie Bradley Jr. homer and a Mitch Moreland grand slam to continue an eight-game win streak. Jed Lowrie went 4-5, adding to his American League lead in RBIs with 22.

Graveman (0-4, 10.07 ERA) entered play with a 9.87 ERA, more than a run an inning, and somehow managed to see it rise to 10.07. He lasted longer Friday night than he had in his previous two starts. The sinkerballer went four innings in a 10-8 loss to the Mariners April 14th and lasted just 3 1/3 innings in a 6-1 defeat to the Angels on April 8th. He departed the game Friday with the bases loaded after coughing up four straight hits with no outs in the 6th after retiring 11 straight batters to enter the inning.

Manager Bob Melvin called for reliever Emilio Pagan with the score tied 3-3 and Graveman responsible for the three runners on base. It didn’t take long for Graveman to learn his fate on the night, with Pagan grooving an 83 miles per hour slider that Mitch Moreland crushed to the right field bleachers for a 7-3 Red Sox lead. The Red Sox lead the majors with five grand slams after hitting zero in 2017.

The Red Sox found it easy to string together hits off Graveman, using a trio of hits in consecutive bats to erase their early 3-0 deficit. After Graveman got Mitch Moreland out on strikes to open the second, Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nunez hit back-to-back singles. Bradley Jr. then squared up on a 2-2 cutter, taking the righty to right field for his second long ball of the year.

The A’s had Pomeranz on the ropes early, with the lefty looking like he wasn’t going to last more than an inning in his first start after returning from a mild flexor strain that sidelined him since mid-Spring Training. Stephen Piscotty scored on Jed Lowrie’s RBI double, Matt Chapman knocked in Lowrie with a single and Mark Canha singled home Chapman for a 3-0 lead.

Pomeranz returned to form too late to factor into the outcome, finishing the game with 3 2/3 innings in the books and seven strikeouts. He gave way to eventual winner Hector Velazquez (3-0, 2.70), the Red Sox starter turned long man. Oakland wouldn’t score again the rest of the game despite loading the bases in the seventh inning off the right hander from Mexico. Matt Barnes came in to the inning with two outs, striking out pinch-hitter Matt Joyce to end the threat. The A’s wouldn’t pose a threat the rest of the night.

Oakland’s best shot at taking a piece out of the league’s best team standings-wise comes Saturday night at the Coliseum. Lefty Sean Manaea takes the bump for the Green and Gold. The Throwin’ Samoan enters play with a scant 1.63 ERA after a brilliant start to the year and an early delivery on the promise that made him the center piece of the Ben Zobrist trade. He’ll draw up against early Cy Young contender Chris Sale. Sale has a 1-0 record and a 1.23 ERA.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s open series Friday against Red Sox (15-2) toughest team in the AL

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Boston.com Boston News file photo: April 12th photo shows Rick Porcello throwing a no hitter going into the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have one of the most successful pitching staff in MLB and have lost only two games this season

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Down 9-4 Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum the Oakland A’s came back from the five run deficit to defeat the Chicago White Sox in 14 innings 12-11. The A’s Jed Lowrie got a late inning homer that helped keep the A’s in the ball game and they later tied up the ball game.

#2 The A’s through the first of the two games defeated the Sox by scores of 8-1 and 10-1 but in the third game the A’s had to work to get the sweep past the White Sox batting the Sox in 14 innings for the third longest game in A’s history and went 5:48 long.

#3 The White Sox have now lost eight of their last nine games they were a club that came in that cured the A’s ills

#4 The A’s have got good pitching in recent outings from starter Sean Manaea they will really be defending on to get some good starts.

#5 The A’s now host the Boston Red Sox the hottest team in baseball coming in at 15-2 Jerry takes a look at how the A’s match up for the series starting Friday night.

Jerry will have a preview of the Red Sox and A’s series and podcasts every Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com