Category: Oakland Athletics

Angels rally to beat Graveman, A’s 10-8 and sweep the series

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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Kendall Graveman reacts after giving up a home run against Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols, background left, during the third inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Anaheim – The Los Angeles Angels rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the A’s 10-8 Wednesday night. Neither starting pitcher did well on a warm and humid night in the Southland. Kendall Graveman lasted five innings, but he gave up six hits and five runs. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols sent Graveman to the showers. Trout homered in his first at-bat after missing the first two games of the series, and Pujols hit two two-run dingers.

The Angels led 3-0 heading into the top of the fourth. The A’s exploded to score eight times on six hits, and they sent Angels’ starter Parker Bridwell to an early exit. The big hits in the inning were a three-run blast by Matt Olson and a two-run homer by Bruce Maxwell. The Angels plated two in the bottom of the fourth.  Trout tripled to start the rally and scored when Pujols hit his second homer of the night. It was the 57th time in Pujols’ career that he had a multi-homer game and has now hit 612 long balls in his career. The blast tied him with Jim Thome for 7th on the all-time list of home run hitters.

Bob Melvin was counting on his bullpen to hold the lead, but they failed. Ryan Dull pitched the sixth and kept the Angels off the board. With one out in the seventh, Trout singled to left. Dull hit Pujols with a pitch and with a left-handed hitter, Kole Calhoun, coming to the plate, Melvin brought in lefty Daniel Coulombe to pitch. Calhoun singled to right driving in Trout with the Angels’ sixth run. Melvin brought in Chris Hatcher to pitch. Hatcher walked Luis Valbuena to load the bases, and Hatcher served up a gopher ball to Angels’ shortstop Cliff Pennington. Pennington deposited his first career grand slam over the wall in right field. It had to be sweet for Pennington as he used to play for Oakland. The Angels now lead 10-8.

The Angels bullpen kept the A’s off the board in the eighth and ninth to win and keep pace with the Minnesota Twins in the AL Wild Card chase.

Game Notes- The A’s used five pitchers and the Angels used six. Blake Parker picked up the save for the Angels, and Chris Hatcher absorbed the loss for Oakland.

Trout was four-for four with two singles, a triple, and a home run. Albert Pujols went three-for-four with a single, two homers, and four RBIs.

After the game, A’s manager Bob Melvin said this about Pennington’s grand slam:”he put a good swing on it.” I guess that’s about all he could say about the hit that sent the A’s down to defeat. He also pointed out this about the relief pitching;”you can’t keep putting men on base.” Bad things usually happen when pitchers walk hitters or hit them with a pitch.  He also pointed out that “basically, two guys were doing all the damage.” Pujols and Trout did do most of the damage, but Pennington’s home run with the bases loaded was the blow that beat the A’s. Nonetheless, Melvin felt that while “our record isn’t great, we have to keep our spirits up.” He has a young team, and they are showing promise for the future but the A’s need to shore up the starting rotation as well as the bullpen if they hope to get better next year.

The A’s are off Thursday, and they travel to Seattle for a three-game set with the Mariners this weekend. Sean Manaea will go for Oakland, and The Mariners will send Yovani Gallardo to the mound. Game time is at 7:05 on Friday.

Angels hit three homer as they subdue A’s 8-2 for second night in a row

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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Chris Smith throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Anaheim- The Los Angels Angels, in a dogfight with the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, and Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card spot in the American League, beat the A’s Tuesday night by a score of 8-2 and remained just one game behind Minnesota. The A’s sent Chris Smith out to pitch, and the Angels countered with Troy Scribner.

The A’s starter, the 36-year old Chris Smith, gave up five runs to the Angels in the bottom of the first inning. Angels’ leadoff hitter, Cameron Maybin doubled to get things going for LA. The next batter, Ben Revere, singled to drive in Maybin. Smith walked Albert Pujols to put two men on with no out. Right-fielder Kole Calhoun hit a hard ground ball to Jed Lowrie at second. Lowrie misplayed the ball but was able to get a 4-6 force out on Pujols for the first out of the inning. Revere advanced to third on the play. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons hit a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Revere to come in with the Angels’ second run of the inning. A’s center fielder, Boog Powell, tried to nail Revere at home but Revere had to much speed to be thrown out. Calhoun was able to go to second on the throw. Smith then walked Luis Valbuena and Angels’ first baseman, C.J. Cron went yard to make it 5-0. It was Cron’s eleventh of the year, and for Smith, it was the thirteenth home run allowed in just 44 and 1/3rd innings of work.

The A’s, to their credit, tallied two in the top of the second. With one out, Matt Joyce hit a solo home run into the seats in right field. For Joyce, it was his twentieth of the season, and it is a career-high. Matt Olson followed with his tenth big fly, also a solo homer, to make it a 5-2 game.

The Angels are treating this series as if it were the playoffs. At this point in the season, every game counts and Angels’ manager, Mike Scioscia, is not afraid to yank a pitcher if he suspects the pitcher will not be able to get the job done. Scioscia pulled Scribner in the third inning. Scribner had recorded two outs, but Scioscia removed him as a left-handed hitter was coming to the plate. He brought in lefty Jose Alvarez to get the final out of the third and Alvarez did his job. In the fourth, with two out, Alvarez gave up singles to Matt Chapman and Bruce Maxwell. Scioscia removed Alvarez and brought in the former Athletic, Jesse Chavez. Chavez came through as he struck out Chad Pinder to end the fourth. The Angels tacked on two more runs in their half of the inning. Martin Maldonado blasted his twelfth of the season into the left field seats. There was absolutely no doubt about it when it left the bat. The second run of the inning came when Maybin reached second on a two-base throwing error by Matt Chapman. Ben Revere singled again, and the Angels led 7-2.

The Angels added another run in the eighth when Cron hit his second homer of the night. Michael Brady was pitching for the A’s, and it was the fifth time in eleven games that Brady has allowed the first batter he faced to homer.

Blake Wood retired the A’s in order in the ninth to secure the win for the Angels.

Game Notes- The first five innings of the tilt were played at a glacial pace. It took one hour and fifty-five minutes, and it seemed the game would go on for two more hours. Jesse Chavez, to his credit, allowed just one hit and kept the A’ scoreless. Chavez was credited with the win. The Angels used five pitchers to beat the A’s. Chris Smith’s record is now 0-4. After the game, Bob Melvin remarked the Smith “made some mistakes, but he hung in there for a while.” Smith went 3 and 2/3rds innings and allowed seven runs, one of which was unearned.

The third game of the three-game series will be played Wednesday night in Anaheim at 7:05 pm. Kendall Graveman will pitch for Oakland, and the Halos’ Parker Bridwell will be on the hill for LA.

The Angels All-Star and reigning AL MVP, Mike Trout, did not play as he is bothered by soreness in his neck.

Time of game was two hours and fifty-three minutes and 36,229 fans watched the Angels slug their way to victory.

Angels down A’s 3-1 as Andrew Heaney outduels Daniel Gossett

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Oakland Athletics pitcher Daniel Gossett (48) in action during the first inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, on August 28, 2017, played at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Anaheim- the Los Angeles Angels beat the A’s 3-1 in the first game of the three-game series in Anaheim Monday night. The A’s Daniel Gossett, who had a bad outing in his last start against Baltimore, pitched very well. The A’s offense, however, did not give him much support as they had just four hits in the game and A’s hitters struck out fourteen times against the four pitchers used by the Angels. The A’s had their chances but failed to execute as they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Angels’ starter, Andrew Heaney, who had Tommy John surgery in 2016 was making his third start of the season, and it was a beauty. Heaney went six innings and allowed just two hits, one of which was Dustin Garneau’s solo homer in the third inning.

The Angels put one on the board in the first inning. Cameron Maybin doubled leading off for LA. Gossett retired the next two hitters, but Kole Calhoun singled to drive in Maybin. The A’s tied the game on Garneau’s home run. It was the first for Garneau as a member of the Athletics and fourth of his career as he had three with the Colorado Rockies.

The Angels grabbed the lead for good in the fourth. Angels’ catcher Martin Maldonado singled to get the rally going. Second baseman Kaleb Cowart doubled over Khris Davis’ head in left field to put the Angels up 2-1.

There was no more scoring until the bottom of the seventh. Maldonado led off the inning with his third hit of the night, a single to left field. Gossett retired the next two hitters but could not retire Ben Revere. Revere doubled to right field. The throw from Matt Joyce to Marcus Semien went awry, and that miscue allowed Maldonado to cross the plate with a huge insurance run for the Angels. A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Gossett from the game and brought in Ryan Dull to get the final out of the inning.

Blake Parker picked up the save for LA as he struck out Ryon Healy, allowed a walk to Boog Powell, then struck out Matt Chapman and Matt Joyce to end the game.

Game Notes- Daniel Gossett’s line for the night was six and 2/3rds innings of work. He allowed eight hits and three runs, one of which was unearned. He threw a career high of 103 pitches.

The Angels improve to 67-65, and with the win, they picked up a half-game on the Minnesota Twins in the race for the second Wild Card slot in the American League.  The Twins, who were idle Monday night, lead the Angel by just one game.

Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05 pm. Chris Smith with a record of 0-3 will pitch for Oakland and Troy Scribner (2-1) will throw for LA. Scribner is the brother of Evan Scribner who used to pitch for Oakland.

Time of game was two hours and 53 minutes, and there was a nice crowd of 33,719 watching the Angels win.

Raiders host Seahawks Thursday in final preseason game; Lynch to play against former team

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Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch (24) has a laugh on the sideline during the 2017 NFL week 3 preseason football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017 in Arlington, Tex. The Cowboys won the game 24-20. (Paul Spinelli via AP)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND — With three preseason games now in the books, the Raiders (0-3) look to end the preseason on a high-note with a win over the visiting Seattle Seahawks Thursday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in both team’s preseason finale.

Seattle edged out the Raiders 23-21 in Oakland to close out the preseason schedule last year as both teams rested their starters, which should be the case again this preseason.

Sadly, Raider Nation won’t see new running back Marshawn Lynch carry the football against his former team. Lynch was the heartbeat for the Seahawks during his six seasons in Seattle where he help bring the franchise its first Super Bowl championship in 2013 before retiring after the 2015 season.

Lynch came out of retirement during the offseason and Seattle traded Lynch to his hometown team, where its been nothing but love for the former Oakland Technical High School and Berkeley running back.

Last week, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr looked sharp in Oakland’s 24-20 loss to the Cowboys in Dallas, completing 13-of-17 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to backup quarterback EJ Manuel late in the second quarter.

Carr, who saw the return of starting left tackle Donald Penn to the team following a 26-day holdout during training camp in search of a new contract, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson that capped off a 10-play, 81-yard drive on Oakland’s first possession of the game.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper hauled in Carr’s second touchdown pass of the game, a 48-yard score that culminated a 4-play, 60-yard drive, faked out the camera man during the television broadcast. Cooper, who looks noticeably bigger in the upper-body to help beat the jam from cornerbacks at the line of scrimmage, led Oakland with 78 yards receiving and tied with Patterson with four catches in the game.

Defensively, Oakland still had some mental gaps in pass coverage but did see their defensive line create some pressure on the quarterback that was seemingly absent this preseason.

Rookie defensive tackle Treyvon Hester continues to make it hard for the coaches to cut him, sacking Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on a third-and-13 for a 12-yard loss that led to Dallas’ first punt of the game.

Hester’s three sacks during the preseason is tied for most in the NFL.

Fellow rookie, linebacker LaTroy Lewis had one of the bigger plays on the night.

On second-and-5 from the Oakland 26-yard line, reserve cornerback Antonio Hamilton sacked Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush and the fumble was returned by Lewis 65 yards for a touchdown.

The final game of the preseason will give Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio and his coaching staff more film to review before all 32 NFL teams must trim their official roster from 90- to 53-man on Sept. 2.

That means, guys like Hester, Lewis, and even rookie middle linebacker Marquel Lee (who still struggles getting off of blocks from offensive lineman), have to make every snap count on Thursday night against Seattle at 7:00 p.m. PT in front of Raider Nation.

Connor Cook and EJ Manuel, who are battling for the backup quarterback job behind Carr, will get extensive action this week. Cook completed 9-of-16 passes for 89 yards, while Manuel was just 2-of-4 for 8 yards against the Cowboys.

Shouldn’t be a surprise if Cook gets the start over Manuel, who was signed in the offseason as the logical backup to Carr, but Cook, who did make NFL history last year by becoming the first quarterback to make his debut in a postseason game, appears to be the front-runner to backup Carr.

Against Seattle last year in the preseason, Cook came into the game in the second quarter in place of former Raiders backup Matt McGloin and played well completing 15-of-30 passes for 145 yards, but did throw an interception that was returned by the Seahawks 42 yards for a touchdown.

Seattle (3-0) defeated Oakland’s bitter rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, 26-13, last week at CenturyLink Field. Super Bowl winning quarterback Russell Wilson completed 13-of-19 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown for Seattle in the first half of the game.

The Seahawks have won three of the last four NFC West crowns and enter 2017 as the favorite to win the division this year, thanks to a stout defense led by the “Legion of Boom” and the aforementioned Wilson, who has won at least one playoff game in each of his first five seasons as the starting quarterback for Seattle.

Both teams open up the 2017 regular season on the road, with Oakland traveling to Tennessee to take on the Titans in Nashville, and Seattle kicking off their schedule in Green Bay against the Packers.

 

Not mailing it in: A’s sweep the Rangers behind resurgent Cotton

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Oakland Athletics pitcher Jharel Cotton works against the Texas Rangers in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Players Weekend was a resounding success for the Oakland A’s.

From the colorful uniforms and socks to the not always brilliantly inventive nicknames, and the familiar v-necks, the A’s made the three-day run their own with three, impressive wins over the Rangers, a team in the playoff hunt intent on using the Athletics as a stepping stone.

But it was the A’s that pitched and muscled their way through the weekend, and their youthful trade acquisitions and call-ups led the way.

The A’s are always looking for something to build on, and this was undoubtedly it. The team came in struggling through August, long presumed to become their team-record, tenth consecutive month with a losing record.

But with their first three-game win streak in almost a month, that losing record is no longer a certainty.

Jharel Cotton pitched six innings and struck out a career-best nine batters, and Matt Chapman had a career-best three hit game, a home run, and the game’s key play defensively as the A’s turned a close game into a 8-3 win.

Cotton’s second quality start in a row alone was good news for the A’s, who have been patient with their acquisition from the Dodgers in the Josh Riddick, Rich Hill trade through a season of ups and downs. That Cotton performed at the Coliseum was significant since his stats at home were among the worst among AL starters coming in.

“I’ve just been going game by game, trying to get better,” Cotton said. “I’ve found how to get better and better myself, and I’m doing that right now. It feels really good.”

Sporting the nickname “Squeaky,” a nod to Cotton’s overly noticeable bicycle of his youth, the 25-year old pitched hitters away on Sunday, a move born out of stubbornness aimed at reducing the numbers of home runs he’s allowed. But more importantly, according to manager Bob Melvin, Cotton expertly kept the difference between his heater and his changeup at or in excess of 10 mph, creating a conundrum for opposing hitters.

 

A’s power up and chase Hamels to the showers beating the Rangers 8-3 on Saturday

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A's nickname jerseys

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sean Manaea works five strong innings for Oakland

All eyes were on the big lefty as the A’s had given him extra rest to see if he could get back to his previous form after having been knocked around by Baltimore and not having a stellar outing versus Houston. The concern really was over how his arm was holding up over the long season.

It looked like the Athletics were in for a long afternoon when Manaea gave up two runs (both earned) on three hits in the top of the first inning. No team wants to be down two runs before they have a chance to come to bat. It appeared Manaea was in for a short day.

The A’s and Manaea got a real shot in the arm in the home-half of the first when “Chi” Chad Pinder hit a 2-0 pitch from Texas starter Cole Hamels over the center field fence for his 11th home run of the year. With his team down by just a run, Manaea went back out with renewed confidence.

Manaea would go on to work four additional innings of scoreless baseball for the A’s. He did get into a major jam in the top of the fifth inning when Texas loaded up the bases but he managed to get “Porterhouse” Mike Napoli to strikeout to end the inning without the Rangers scoring a run.

Manaea worked 5.0-innings allowing two runs (both earned) on seven hits. He walked just one and struck out two Rangers. Manaea threw 102 pitches (60 strikes).

Manaea earned the win and improved his record to 9-8 for 2017.

The Oakland Relievers did their job putting up some “Goose Eggs”

This reporter is a disciple of Matt Silver and FiveThirtyEight.com. They have recently proposed that the concept of the save is outdated with the way relievers are being used in baseball. They have come with the concept of “Goose Eggs” to measure how relievers do for a team in a game.

On Saturday, four A’s relievers were asked to handle the final four innings of the game. They gave up one run (earned) on two hits. The relievers walked two Texas hitters and struck out five. It was a very good outing for the relief corps.

Each reliever worked one inning. Ryan Dull put up all zeros and struck out three. Santiago Casilla allowed a run off two hits; however he was hit on a “comebacker”. Not trying to make excuses for Casilla but that may have affected his performance. Daniel Coulombe posted zeros except for one walk. Liam “Slydah” Hendriks worked the ninth inning allowing no runs or hits. He did walk one and strike one batter out.

A’s manager Bob Melvin was pleased with his pitching and his offense on Saturday

It was good to be Chad “Chi” Pinder on Saturday

Pinder not only hit a home run off Cole Hamels in the bottom of the first inning but he added insult to injury by taking Hamels yard in bottom of the third with a booming shot over the left-center field fence for his 12th round-tripper of the season. It was also the second multi-home run game of the season (and career) for Pinder. He did it versus the Indians in Cleveland back in May.

Pinder went 2-for-4 on the day scoring three runs, posting three Rbi and adding one walk. He upped his Rbi total to 31.

The young infielder also got the start on Saturday in right field. The A’s are flush with young infield talent. Pinder can really help his cause if he can add playing strong outfield to his resume.

The A’s produced runs today in multiple ways

Jed Lowrie hit his 39th and 40th doubles of the season in the game. He is now tied for the league lead in that category. Lowrie went 2-for-3 with three Rbi and a run scored. It is no wonder the A’s have been so reluctant to part ways with the very productive veteran.

Marcus Semien had a 2-for-4 game scoring two runs. One of his hits was a double.

Matt Chapman continues to be productive. He went 2-for-4 at the plate on Saturday with a run scored.

Oakland scored eight runs on 11 hits. They recorded four doubles and two home runs. They drew eight base-on-balls while striking out just four times. The A’s left six men on base and were 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

A’s hitters were not kind to Cole Hamels

Hamels came into the game on Saturday with a record of 9-1. He lasted only 4.1-innings which was his shortest start of the year. It was just third time this season that Hamels allowed multiple home runs to be hit against him. He gave up six runs (all earned) off nine hits (two home runs). He walked three A’s and struck out two. Hamels was charged with the loss so his record drops to 9-2.

Same two teams on Sunday

The Athletics go for the series sweep on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PDT at the Oakland Coliseum. Former Oakland Athletic RHP A.J. Griffin (6-4, 5.10) will start for the Rangers. Griffin lost his last start against the White Sox last Sunday. The A’s will send RHP Jharel Cotton (6-10, 5.63) to the mound in the series finale. Cotton beat the Astros in his last start a week ago on Sunday in Houston.

‘Khrush’ Crushes ‘Tricky’ Pitcher, ‘Digger’ Buries Rangers Bats in 3-1 A’s Win

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Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis, right, is congratulated by third base coach Steve Scarsone (15) after hitting a home run off Texas Rangers’ Nick Martinez during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum Khrush raked a pair of homers off Tricky and Digger pitched a masterful outing to lift the A’s over the Texas Rangers 3-1. B-Locky nailed down his 9th save, and no, this contest wasn’t decided by professional wrestlers, monster trucks or wackily-named mascots.

With the inaugural Players’ weekend underway, Major Leaguers wore special uniforms with the nicknames of their choosing on the back and a patch of the player’s favorite charity on the sleeve to raise awareness. So while any other day, Khris Davis would have picked up the double-dinger night and Kendall Graveman the win, instead we get the Khrush and Digger show.

“I better live up to that name,” said Davis of his moniker. “It was fun. I’d just like to turn into that character when I’m on the field.”

Graveman (4-4, 4.24 ERA) pitched a strong 7 innings, allowing 9 hits while striking out 6 Rangers. He gave up an RBI single to Adrian Beltre in the first inning, but was sparkling over the remainder of his outing for the win.

He had to battle Rangers starter Nick Martinez (3-5, 5.26) all night though. “Tricky” lived up to his name, allowing only one hit over the first 6 innings. That lone hit would be Davis’ 35th homer, a shot that barely cleared the yellow line over the left centerfield out-of-town scoreboard.

Three innings later, Davis would take Martinez out to the deepest part of the part, launching a 2-0 fastball just next to the Holy Toledo sign in centerfield for a 2-1 A’s lead.
“He’s always one swing away from doing what he does best,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin

Matt Chapman also tagged Martinez for a run after singling home Matt Joyce after the outfield doubled earlier in the inning. Chapman would be thrown out at second trying to stretch the single, closing the book on Martinez after going 7 innings with just 4 hits.

Chris Hatcher pitched a scoreless 8th, then Blake Treinen closed out the game with pair of punchouts in the 9th for his 9th save of the season.

Saturday Melvin turns to Da Kid, Sean Manaea to help the A’s take the W in the weekend series. Texas sends Cole Hamels to the mound with Hollywood looking for his 10th win of the year.

Oakland A’s Podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Davis appreciated playing in Oakland and looks forward to helping the Sox in post season

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Boston Red Sox’s Rajai Davis smiles during batting practice before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

1 The Boston Red Sox picked up Rajai Davis. Davis goes to the Sox for Domincan outfielder Rafael Rincones an 18 year old

2 Davis 36, is hiting .233, five homers, and 49 runs scored so far this season. He says he appreciated playing for Oakland for the second time

3 Davis was told during extra innings of Wednesday’s night game in Baltimore that he had been traded to the Orioles but had to keep it quiet until the end of the game. He could not be used during the game since he was Baltimore’s property

4 The A’s open a three game series at the Oakland Coliseum with the Rangers AJ Griffin pitching (6-4) and the A’s are starting Kendall Graveman (3-4)

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

 

 

 

 

Oakland A’s Preview of the A’s – Rangers series this weekend in Oakland

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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Kendall Graveman (49) will start tonight against the visiting Texas Rangers is shown here throwing in the first inning during a Major League Baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX on August 19. Chris Brown/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are off today, August 24th. They returned home from a six-day road trip to Houston and Baltimore. Houston continued its mastery of the A’s as they took two out three. The A’s won the last game of the series after A’s manager Bob Melvin talked to the young players and convinced they that they can compete with the better teams. The A’s took the message to heart against Baltimore. They went 1-2 against the O’s, but they played hard and could have won the series. The young guys hit home runs and battled the O’s as they came back from a five-run deficit on Wednesday to tie the game in the ninth only to lose in overtime. The A’s fans know that the A’s are not going anywhere this year but are sensing good times may not be too far away.

With that said, The A’s will be facing their division rivals, the Texas Rangers, this weekend in Oakland. The Rangers are 63-63 for the season. Their record does not include the game they are playing with the LA Angels in Anaheim on Thursday. The Rangers find themselves with a chance to make the playoffs as the second Wild Card team. They are just two games behind the Minnesota Twins in the race for that spot.

The A’s goal, this weekend is to upset the Rangers’ applecart. They would love to sweep the series, or, at least take two-out of three from Texas. The Rangers don’t want that to happen. They will be sending A.J.Griffin, Cole Hamels, and Tyson Ross out to stop the A’s. Griffin beat the A’s the last time he faced them. Hamels is always one tough cookie to beat and he his record of 9-1 shows how tough he is. Tyson Ross began his career with the A’s. Ross has been on the DL but when he is on his game can be hard to beat.

The Rangers have players that can hit and hit with power. Their offense is led by third baseman Adrian Beltre. Beltre also spent time on the DL in 2017, but he is back and producing. He is hitting .311 with 16 homers and 59 RBIs. Shortstop Elvis Andrus leads the team in hitting and right-fielder Nomar Mazara leads the Rangers with 83 RBIs.

Other players with a lot of pop in their bats include second baseman, Rougned Odor. Odor is hitting.222 but has hit 27 homers and driven in 61. Mike Napoli, who is not hitting for average and strikes out a lot, has 26 homers on his resume and he has brought 59 runners home for Texas. The team leader in home runs, Joey Gallo, is on the 7-day concussion protocol and will not play this weekend. Gallo, like Napoli and Rob Deer, is not hitting for average. Gallo is hitting .202 but has 35 bombs to his credit so far.

The A’s pitchers will have their hands full trying to contain the Rangers’ big bats. Kendall Graveman, Seas Manaea, and Jharel Cotton will pitch for Oakland. Graveman is starting to show the form that he had in the second half of last year. Graveman won 10 games for the A’s last season, but he has struggled this year as he has had two stints on the DL. If he has command and can locate his pitches, he is tough to beat. Manaea was moved back as the A’s felt that he was beginning to wear down as he lost velocity on his pitches and had a couple of bad outings. He will go this weekend and the extra days of rest should help him. Jharel Cotton is looking to regain the magic that he showed at the end of the season last year. Cotton had a good outing the last time he pitched, and he will need to improve so that he can stay in the rotation and in the plans for the future.

The Rangers’ pitching will focus on shutting down the young A’s hitters. The A’s have guy in the lineup with a lot of power. Ryon Healy, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, Matt Joyce, Chad Pinder, and Khris Davis all can hit the ball out of the yard. The A’s veteran, Jed Lowrie, has hit twelve homers and has hit 37 doubles, as he rebounds from a foot injury that limited his play last year.

It looks like it will be a fun series to watch. The players will have the nickname uniforms, and it will be Dennis Eckersley bobblehead day on Saturday. Lots of good reasons to come out to the ballpark.

 

Orioles win in 12 as Machado hits walk off homer to beat the A’s 8-7

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Baltimore Orioles’ Manny Machado smiles after teammate Adam Jones hit him in the face with a pie after a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Baltimore, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Baltimore- Tha A’s and Orioles concluded their three-game series Wednesday. The two teams played a very entertaining game as the Orioles jumped out to a big lead early while the A’s clawed their way back to tie the game in the ninth inning.The game went into overtime and ended when Manny Machado hit a walk off home run to win the game for the O’s by a score of 8-7.

The A’s righty, Daniel Gossett, making his first start since being recalled from Nashville, went five plus innings. Gossett held the powerful O’s scoreless for the first three innings of the game. The O’s scored four times in the top of the fourth. Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones singled. Gossett served up a gopher ball to Trey Mancini, and the O’s led 3-0. Gossett walked Mark Trumbo and gave up singles to Wellington Castillo and Ryan Flaherty. Flaherty’s single produced the fourth run of the game for the O’s

The A’s put one on the board in the sixth. Boog Powell singled and scored on a double by Marcus Semien to left-center. The O’s came back in the bottom of the frame after a walk to Mancini, Castillo homered. O’s lead 6-1 after six.

The A’s, much to the pleasure of A’s manager Bob Melvin, mounted a comeback. The young A’s scored two in the seventh to make it 6-3. They score two in the eighth on the strength of Matt Joyce’s blast with a man on to cut the deficit to just one 6-5. The O’s Chris Davis homered for an insurance run. The O’s owned a two-run advantage 7-5 after eight innings of play, and they had their closer Zach Britton coming in to pitch the ninth. Britton has a streak of 60 games without a blown save.

The A’s upset Britton’s applecart in the ninth as they scored two more runs to tie the game. Jed Lowrie started the rally with a single. Powell followed with a double sending Lowrie to third. Marcus Semien singled driving in Lowrie  Powell moved to third. Powell scored the tying run on a Matt Joyce sacrifice fly. The Orioles failed to score in their half of the inning, and the game went to overtime.

The Orioles had Miguel Castro pitching for them and the A’s used, Simon Castro. There was no scoring in the tenth or eleventh innings. The A’s failed to score in the twelfth as well. Everything changed in the bottom of the twelfth. Simon Castro grooved a 1-1 slider to Manny Machado. The Orioles All-Star third baseman hammered it and won the game for Baltimore. The Orioles win 8-7.

Game Notes Daniel Gossett went five plus innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. He struck out six. He was not involved in the decision as the A’s battled back and took him off the hook. The hitting stars for Oakland were Boog Powell and Marcus Semien. Each had three hits in the game. Matt Joyce drove in three runs with a homer and sacrifice fly.

The Orioles’ Dylan Bundy also did not figure in the decision. Bundy went six plus innings, and he allowed seven hits and three runs. He did not walk a batter and struck out eight. Tim Beckham had three hits, and Machado had two, including the game-winning blast.  The A’s snapped Zach Britton’s streak of 60 games without a blown save. The winning pitcher was Miguel Castro while the A’s Simon Castro took the loss.

The A’s are off on Thursday as they return home to Oakland to face the Texas Rangers this weekend for three games.  A.J. Griffin, a former Athletic,  Cole Hamels, and another former A’s pitcher, Tyson Ross will go for Texas, and the A’s will send Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea, and Jharel Cotton to the mound to handle the pitching chores.

The teams will be wearing the uniform with the players’ nicknames. Should be fun to watch.