Category: Oakland Athletics

Houston Astros’ Dallas Keuchel who will face the Oakland A’s in the upcoming series starting Friday night at Minute Maid Field smiles after being pulled in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s are in Houston to start a three-game series against the Astros this weekend. Friday’s game will feature a matchup of two lefties.  Sean Manaea will pitch for the A’s, and he has a career mark of 1-2 versus the Astros. Manaea had a terrible outing last Saturday against the Orioles as he did not survive the first inning and was able to record just one out. Dallas Keuchel, the former Cy Young award winner, will make his fourth start since coming off the DL. Keuchel was 9-0 before going on the DL and is 1-2 since his return, but he was his old self in his last start when he recorded his tenth win of the ear.

Kendall Graveman will pitch on Saturday, and Collin McHugh will do the honors for the Astros. McHugh has been on the DL for most of the year and is 0-2 since returning to action. The Astros are hoping he returns to form so that he will be ready for the playoffs. Sunday’s game will feature Jharel Cotton going against the former Athletic, Brad Peacock. Cotton has had a subpar season, and he is, in essence, auditioning for next year. The A’s are hoping he returns to the form that he showed last year after coming over from the Dodgers. Peacock, who has been an average pitcher thus far in his career, is having a wonderful year with a record of 10-1 and he beat the A’s the last time he faced them.

The Astros own the best record in the American League with a record of 74-46. They probably will end the season with home field advantage throughout the playoffs. However, they have not played well in August. Their record is 5-10, and they are hoping to continue their mastery over the A’s this weekend.

The Astros are loaded. They are led by Jose Altuve, George Springer, Marwin Gonzalez, Yulie Guriel, Brian McCann, Josh Reddick, and Carlos Correa. Correa is currently on the DL but should be back before the end of the season. The Astros have a strong bullpen led by Luke Gregerson, Chris Devenski, and Ken Giles. The Astros acquired Tyler Clippard and Francisco Liriano for additional help as they are hoping to head to the World Series.

The A’s continue the youth movement. Players such as Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Chad Pinder, and Bruce Maxwell will see a lot of playing time the last six weeks of the year as the A’s are formulating their plans for 2018.

The young A’s are showing that they can compete. They played the Kansas City Royals tough this week. They came back from a four-run deficit Tuesday night to win. They rallied on Wednesday to tie the game in the eighth but lost. The young players are gaining confidence every day as they prove that they can play and are here to stay.

The Astros will be looking to get back to winning, and the A’s will be looking to upset the applecart. Should be a fun series.

Kansas City Royals’ Alcides Escobar, right, celebrates with Drew Butera after scoring against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND- The A’s and Royal played another entertaining game as they beat the A’s 7-6 to take the series two games to one. There were a lot of mood swing for the fans as the A’s fell behind then regained the lead only to fall behind once more. The Royals surged to a 5-2 lead, but the A’s came back to close the gap to one. The Royals increased the lead to two, but the A’s came back for the third time to tie the game at six in the eighth. The Royals took the lead for good in the ninth, but the A’s still made an effort to tie the game. They had a chance, but the Royals were able to close out the game.

The Royals jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. WIth one out, Blackburn walked Lorenzo Cain. Eric Hosmer hit into a 4-6 force play, and he was safe at first as the A’s couldn’t complete the double play. Melky Cabrera singled sending Hosmer to third, and Mike Moustakas drove him in with an infield single.

Blackburn worked out a tight situation in the third.Lorenzo Cain singled to start the frame. He walked Eric Hosmer, and Melky Cabrera singled to load the bases with no out. Blackburn struck out the very dangerous Mike Moustakas for the first out and then got Brandon Moss, a former Athletic and a hitter with a lot of power, to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat. In the bottom of the inning, the A’s took the lead for the first time in the game. Royals’ starter Danny Duffy walked the leadoff hitter catcher Dustin Garneau. Duffy stuck out Rajai Davis for the first out. Duffy did not fare well against Marcus Semien as Semien blasted his 5th of the year over the scoreboard in left field to give the A’s a 2-1 lead.

The lead didn’t last long as the Royals plated three runs in the fourth. Alcides Escobar led off with an infield single. Matt Chapman, attempting to throw out the speedy Escobar threw the ball past first base and down the right field foul territory. Escobar motored all the way to third as the A’s didn’t get the ball back to the infield quickly.  The error ended a five-game errorless streak for the A’s who are the worst fielding team in all of baseball this year.Drew Butera singled to drive in Escobar with the tying run. The Royals untied the game when Lorenzo Cain blasted his thirteenth homer of the year to give the Royals a 4-2 advantage.

The Royals kept the pressure on as they added another run in the fifth. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Simon Castro to pitch. For Blackburn, the four innings pitched was the shortest outing of his big-league career. Mike Moustakas singled and went to second when Castro walked Alcides Escobar. Alex Gordon, mired in a season-long funk, singled to drive in Moustakas. Castro retired the next two hitters to end the inning. The Royals lead by three 5-2 in the middle of the fifth. The A’s rallied to put two more runs on the board and made it a one-run game 5-4. Dustin Garneau started the rally by walking for the second time. He went to third on the double by Rajai Davis, and both scored when Jed Lowrie singled.

The Royals tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Ryan Dull was now pitching for Oakland. Dull walked Drew Butera to start the inning. Whit Merrifield hit into a force out. Merrifield promptly stole second. Dull hit Cain with a pitch to put two men on with one out. Eric Hosmer drove in Merrifield with a single. Dull retired Cabrera and Brandon Moss to end the inning. The young A’s came back and tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Ryan Healy started the rally with his first hit of the day, a single to right. A’s third baseman Matt Chapman atoned for making an error earlier in the day when he blasted a 418-foot dinger way over the fence in left-center field. The A’s loaded the bases with two out, but Royals’ reliever Brandon Maurer was able to retire Semien on a ground out. The score is tied at 6 after eight.

The Royals wasted no time breaking the tie. In the ninth, with Blake Treinen pitching, the Royals regained the lead. Treinen, who did not have a good night on Tuesday, gave up a double to the leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar. For Escobar, it was his third hit of the day and his fourth time on base. The next hitter Alex Gordon, who is hitting a woeful a buck ninety-eight, singled to drive in Escobar. Treinen finished the inning with no further damage. Kelvin Herrera, making his first appearance of the series, Escobar retired the first two hitters on fly balls to center. Ryon Healy reached on an infield single. It was a very close play at first, and the Royals challenged the call. After a 2 minute and twenty-five minute delay, the review upheld the call. Healy went to second on a wild pitch but was left stranded as Herrera struck out Chad Pinder to end the game. The Royals win the rubber game of the series 7-6.

Game Notes- It was a huge win for the Royals as they increased their record to 61-59. They were a game behind the Los Angeles Angels for the second Wild Card slot in the American League. The Angels beat the Washington Nationals on Wednesday and with the win, the Royals did not lose ground.

The line score for the Royals was seven runs on fourteen hits and one error. The A’s line was six runs on twelve hits, and they made one error, too. Kelvin Herrera recorded his 26th save of the season, and Blake Treinen absorbed the loss. The A’s hit two home runs Wednesday. Marcus Semien hit one in the second, and Matt Chapman hit his ninth of the year in the eighth.

The A’s used five pitchers in the game as did the Royals.

The A’s are off Thursday as they travel to Houston, Texas to face the Astros for three games over the weekend. Sean Manaea will pitch on Friday, Kendall Graveman on Saturday, and Jharel Cotton on Sunday. The Astros have not announced who will be their starting pitchers for the series.

Time of game was three hours and thirty-seven minutes and 15,239 people were on hand on a nice sunny day in Oakland.

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- It was Jewish Heritage night at the Coliseum Tuesday night, and the A’s needed a little mazel (luck) as the rallied in the bottom of the eighth to win a thriller 10-8 over the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals scored three runs in the first inning off A’s starter Chris Smith. Smith settled down and kept the Royals off the board, and he left the game with one out in the sixth. The A’s scored one in the first, two in the second, and one in the third to take a 4-3 lead. The A’s bullpen did their job and kept the Royals scoreless until the fateful eighth inning and what an inning it was. The Royals scored five runs off A’s off Santiago Casilla and Blake Treinen and took a comfortable 8-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth. The A’s stormed back sending ten men to the plate, and they plated six runs on six hits off Royals’ relievers Joakim Soria and Mike Minor. Treinen pitched the ninth, and he was able to secure the win for Oakland.

The Royals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, A’s starter Chris Smith walked Whit Merrifield to start the game. Merrifield then stole second. Smith nailed Lorenzo Cain with a pitch to men on at first and second with no out. Eric Hosmer doubled to right driving in both runners. Melky Cabrera followed with a single and Hosmer was able to make it home safely. Smith retired Moustakas on a fly to deep right field and then got a strike-them-out and throw -them-out double play to end the inning. The A’s Matt Joyce put the A’s on the board in the bottom of the first. He blasted his seventeenth homer of the year. It was the fourth time this season that Joyce led off a game with a home run. The A’s trail 3-1 after one.

The A’s cut the deficit to just one when Matt Olson led off the second inning with a solo homer. It was Olson’s eighth of the year. The A’s took the lead in the bottom of the third. With one out Jed Lowrie singled. Khris Davis followed with a blast over the left-center field wall for his thirty-third round tripper of the year. The A’s lead 4-3 after three innings of play.

There was no more scoring until the top of the eighth. A’s pitchers had retired thirteen in a row until Santiago Casilla was called in to do the pitching. He walked Alex Gordon and then Royals’ catcher Drew Butera sent a Casilla pitch down the left field line for his third home run of the year. Casilla retired Whit Merrifield but gave up a single to Lorenzo Cain. Bob Melvin rushed out and removed Casilla. Blake Treinen was brought in to pitch to Hosmer. Hosmer went yard with his 20th of the year and the Royals now own a 7-4 lead. Melky Cabrera grounded out, but Mike Moustakas followed with his 35th to make it 8-4. The Royals, in the inning, scored five runs on four hits, three of which were home runs. The lead didn’t last long as the A’s sent ten men to the plate and scored six runs on six hits, one walk, and a wild pitch. Jed Lowrie started the rally with a double. Khris Davis, Ryan Healy, and Matt Olson all singled to cut the deficit to two. Healy and Olson advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. The Royals issued an intentional walk to Rajai Davis to load the bases and set up a possible double play. Royals’ manager Ned Yost brought in lefty Mike Minor to pitch to left-handed hitter Matt Joyce. The strategy backfired as Joyce doubled to left field and cleared the bases, Marcus Semien followed with a single to drive in Joyce to put the A’s ahead 10-8. Blake Treinen gave up an infield single to Alcides Escobar to start the ninth but he retired the next three hitters to preserve the win for the A’s.

Game Notes- The two teams had ten hits and produced eleven runs in the eighth inning which took forty-four minutes to play. The Royals hit three homers in the inning while the A’s had two doubles and four singles.

The line score for Oakland was ten runs, fourteen hits, and no errors. The Royals line was eight runs, eight hits, and no errors.

The rubber game of the series will be Wednesday game will be played at 12:35 pm at the Coliseum. Paul Blackburn will pitch for the A’s and left Danny Duffey will go for Kansas City.

Time of game was three hours and sixteen minutes and 13,675 fans went home very happy as they saw a very entertaining ball game.

Kansas City Royals’ Cam Gallagher (36) is congratulated by Melky Cabrera, left, after hitting a grand slam off Oakland Athletics’ Jharel Cotton in the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Kansas City Royals, who are in a nine-team race for the Wild Card slots in the American League. The Royals defeated the A’s Monday 6-2 behind an outstanding performance by pitcher Jake Kunis. Jumis went six innings and allowed just four hits and two runs to win his fifth game of the year. A’s starter Jharel Cotton did well for five innings, but he ran into trouble in the sixth and gave up four runs with the key hit being a grand slam off the bat of Royals’ catcher Cam Gallagher

The Royals tallied a run in the top of the first. Royals’ second baseman, Whit Merrifield, led off with a single to center field. Merrifield stole second and went to third on a ground out and scored on a single by Eric Hosmer. Cotton got out of the inning when he Melky Cabrera hit into a 5-4-3 double play. The A’s tied the game in their half of the inning. With one out, Marcus Semien just missed hitting a home run. The ball bounced off the top of the fence near the Rickey Henderson Field sign in left-center. Semien motored into third with a triple and scored on a fielder’s choice.

The Royals regained the lead in the second. With no out, singles by Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon put men on at first and third. Cotton, with a 3-2 count on catcher Cam Gallagher, uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Escobar to cross the plate with the Royals second run.

The Royals put four runs on the board in the sixth. The Royals loaded the bases on a walk to Melky Cabrera and singles to Moustakas and Escobar. Cam Gallagher, who had just one hit in eight trips to the plate this season, again worked the count to 3-2. This time, however, he did not walk, Hh took Cotton’s pitch and sent it over the fence in left field for his first homer in the big leagues. Not only was it his first dinger, but it was also a grand slam. He will be telling his grandkids about this moment in the future. The A’s scored a run in the bottom of the inning. Rookie center fielder, Boog Powell, singled. Matt Joyce also singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Junis retired Marcus Semien for the first out. Junis then hit Ryon Healy with a pitch to load the bases and then hit Khris Davis with a pitch that forced in the A’s second run. After six innings of play, the Royals are ahead 6-2.

There was no more scoring in the game. The Royals bullpen held the A’s justb to one hit in the last three innings of the game. The A’s bullpen also did the job as they allowed the Royals just two hits and kept them off the board the last three innings, too.

Game Notes- The A’s are now fifteen games under the .500 mark with a record of 52-67. The Royals, with the win, are just one-half game behind the Los Angeles Angels for the second Wild Card spot. The Royals are now 60-58 for the season.

The A’s and Royals go at it again Tuesday night at the Coliseum. The A’s will send Chris Smith (0-2, ERA 5.29) to the hill and Kansas City will counter with former Athletic, Jason Hammel. Hammel’s record is 5-9, and his ERA is 4.68. Time of game will be at 7:05 pm.

Time of game was two hours and forty minutes and the second smallest crowd of 9848 were in attendance.

By Morris Phillips

Most impactful trade deadline acquisition? That’s a no-brainer. It’s Tim Beckham, moving from the Rays and into the leadoff spot for the Orioles. Beckham had a leadoff walk and a rally-capping two-run double in the Orioles’ seven-run, first inning that chased A’s starter Sean Manaea, who recorded just one out. The A’s found some balance after the first, but went on to lose 12-5 in the third of this four-game series.

Beckham hit .259 for the Rays in 87 games, but since the Orioles acquired him on July 31 to help replace the injured J. J. Hardy, the shortstop has hit .531 (26 for 49). On Saturday, Beckham actually got hotter than hot with three doubles, four hits total, three runs batted in and a walk.

“Timmy likes playing outside it looks like,” manager Buck Showalter said.

How did the O’s realize this type of impact? And a trade within MLB’s most competitive division between clubs with wild card aspirations and no separation between them in the standings?

First and foremost, Beckham was not a .531 hitter in Tampa, he was a high profile prospect who never realized his potential while clashing with team management over chunks of four seasons since 2014. Looking for a consistent on-base guy, the Rays acquired Adeiny Hechevarria from Miami to play short and set the table, something the strikeout-prone Beckman had shown he could not do.

That slid Beckman over to second base, where he would platoon with Brad Miller, but the right-handed hitter’s numbers–low on walks, high on strikeouts–didn’t justify his inclusion in such an arrangement once Miller became healthy enough to resume playing.

So a deadline deal suited Tampa but the market was soft for a guy with underwhelming numbers and a questionable reputation. So while almost all clubs passed on Beckham, the Orioles did not, feeling that they had a plan and a structure to turn the 27-year old into a consistent force defensively at the game’s most challenging position.

The 34-year old Hardy, a true pro, but unlikely to return to Baltimore on a $14 million club option for 2018, would become Beckman’s mentor, helping him harness his physical skills while bringing a more cerebral approach to the position, something Hardy has mastered while winning multiple Gold Gloves without the athleticism Beckham possesses.

With Hardy still disabled and promised his spot by Showalter once he’s healthy, Beckham has been a willing student, learning to calm down his movements and move more assuredly to batted balls. In 12 games, Beckham has committed three errors, so that process continues.

But at the plate, Beckham’s impact has historic dimensions. Already selected as the AL Player of the Week, Beckham has seven doubles, two triples, three home runs, and 14 runs scored in 12 games with the Orioles.

Amazingly, he has nine multi-hits games, and three of those with three hits. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Beckham is the first player since 1900 to record 13 hits and three home runs in his first five games with a club.

Oakland Athletics’ Jed Lowrie watches his RBI double against the Baltimore Orioles during the eighth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. The Athletics won 5-4. (AP Photo/Ben Margot

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics erased a two-run deficit in the eighth inning Friday night, beating the visiting Baltimore Orioles 5-4. Matt Olson knocked in two runs while the 3-4-5 hitters of Jed Lowrie, Khris Davis and Chad Pinder all knocked in a run. Jonathan Scoop knocked in a pair of runs and Adam Jones launched a solo shot for the Birds. Starter Ubaldo Jimenez retired ten straight A’s by punchout but exited his start with an injury in the sixth inning.

The Orioles crept out to a 1-0 in the second inning after Jones launched his 22^nd homer of the year over the out of town scoreboard after starter Paul Blackburn grooved an 89 mph fastball over the heart of the plate.

Jones would add the second run of the game in the fourth inning, but would only wind up with the one RBI. After Manny Machado doubled, Jonathan Schoop singled for first and third with no outs. Jones bounced into the double-play but Machado scored for a 2-0 lead.

The A’s answered back in the bottom half of the inning when Jed Lowrie led off the inning with his league-leading 36^th double. Khris Davis followed up with a double of his own off Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez to break up the shutout. Jimenez punched out Chad Pinder, but rookie Matt Olson clubbed a 91 mile-per-hour fastball over the wall in centerfield for a 3-2 lead.

Blackburn wouldn’t hold the lead for long, giving up back-to-back one out singles to bring Schoop up to the plate with runners on first and second. Schoop hit a wall-ball double to knock in both runs and hand Jimenez a 4-3 advantage. He would depart after 5 1/3 innings after taking a line drive to the body with one out.

The Orioles vaunted pen couldn’t hold the lead for long though after an eighth inning rally from the A’s. Brad Brach opened the inning by coughing up a double to Matt Joyce. Marcus Semien doubled to put runners at the corners. Jed Lowrie tied the game, fighting off rumors of an impending waiver trade to ground-rule double home Joyce and move Semien to third^. Khris Davis flew out in shallow left, but Chad Pinder’s sacrifice to deep right field brought home the winning run. Pinder nearly popped out to first baseman Chris Davis, but the O’s slugger dropped the fly ball in foul territory to get a second chance for the A’s infielder.

Sanitago Casilla picked up the win after pitching a rare 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth. Blake Treinen also fired a perfect frame to nail down his sixth save and an A’s win.

Saturday’s contest features of pair of talented young arms, with the O’s Dylan Bundy squaring off against Sean Manaea for the A’s. Both starters boast an identical 4.15 ERA heading into the tilt.

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland – The visiting Baltimore Orioles started the four-game series with a win as they pounded the A’s starting pitcher Chris Smith and won 7-2. Smith went six innings and gave up five runs and seven hits. All of the Oriole hits were for extra bases. He gave up four solo homers, two doubles, and a triple. The Orioles finished the night with ten hits, nine were four extra bases. They hit just one single in the game. The A’s did not have a good night. Their offense was inept as lefty Wade Miley held them to just three hits in seven innings of work. The A’s first run of the game was unearned. They did score a run in the eighth, but the game was well in hand for Baltimore.

The Orioles shortstop, Tim Beckham who was recently acquired by Baltimore in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, led off the first inning with a booming triple that bounced high off the center-field wall. The next hitter, Manny Machado, drove him in when he grounded out. The A’s tied the game in their half of the first. Rajai Davis led off with a single. The O’s pitcher, lefty Wade Miley, appeared to have picked off Rajai. Miley threw to first but the throw to second hit Rajai and went into center-field. Rajai motored to third. Rajai scored on a Jed Lowrie sacrifice fly to right-field. The run was unearned, but it still counted, and the score was 1-1 after one.

The Orioles’ Adam Jones and Trey Mancini hit back-to-back solo homers in the fourth. Jones led with a blast to left-field, and Mancini’s went over the wall in right-field. It was the eighth time this season that O’s hitters have homered back-to-back. The O’s lead 3-1 midway through the fourth.

In the sixth, the O’s continued to pummel the A’s, Chris Smith.  With one out, Trey Mancini hit his second homer of the night. This time he hit it into the seats in left-field. The ball left the bat at 111 miles-per-hour and traveled 438 feet. It was Mancini’s fourth career multi-homer game. Mark Trumbo, on the very pitch from Smith, blasted his 18th of the year to give the Orioles a 5-1 advantage. Trumbo broke a 0-for-24 slump with the hit. The back-to-back homers were the ninth time that happened this season and the second time in Thursday night’s contest.

The O’s scored two unearned runs in the seventh. Tim Beckham doubled with one out. Jonathan Schoop reached on a Marcus Semien throwing error, and both scored when Adam Jones doubled.

The A’s scored a run in the eighth. Marcus Semien led off with a single and scored on Jed Lowrie’s second double of the night. For Lowrie, it was his 35th double of the year, and he leads the American League in that department. O’s ahead 7-2.

The A’s loaded the bases with two out in the ninth. With two out, Orioles manager Buck Showalter brought in his closer to pitch to Jed Lowrie. Lowrie battled, but Britton got him to fly out to right-field to earn his 10th save of the year.

Game Notes- With the win, Baltimore improved to 57-58 and picked up a game on the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot in the AL. The Orioles had two innings in which they hit back-to-back solo home runs. The homers, in both instances, came on consecutive pitches. The only bright spot for the A’s offense was Jed Lowrie’s two doubles.

The A’s and Orioles go at it again Friday night at the Coliseum. Paul Blackburn (3-1, ERA 2.60) will pitch for the A’s, and the Orioles will have righty Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7, ERA 6.31) on the mound.