Category: Oakland Athletics

TORONTO, ON – JULY 26: Oakland Athletics Pitcher Paul Blackburn (58) throws a pitch during the MLB regular season game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics on July 26, 2017, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photograph by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

On the Oakland A’s Podcast with Jerry:

1 Santiago Casilla could be finished with Oakland after blowing his sixth save in Toronto Wednesday. The A’s lost a 3-2 decision after leading 2-0 when the Jays hit two homers in a walk off win in the ninth

2 Meanwhile starter Paul Blackburn is proving to be a worthy pitcher for the A’s going seven innings last Wednesday he pitched shutout ball for seven innings and pitched well enough to even complete that game although the pitch count and A’s manager Bob Melvin wouldn’t allow it

3 Casilla’s two home run pitches he gave up were to the Jays Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales

4 After Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson were dealt to Washington the A’s don’t have a really established reliever right now their going to take a look at Josh Smith, Frnakie Montas, Simon Castro, Ryan Dull and they just released John Axford.

5 No joshing- Josh Phegley complained of oblique tightness and says he can’t swing a bat and all indications look like Phegley is headed for the DL and the A’s have called up catcher Ryan Lavarnway from triple A affiliate Nashville to back up starter Bruce Maxwell

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

By Jerry Feitelberg

This Saturday, in Cooperstown, New York, Bill King, the former radio voice of the Oakland A’s, will be inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Bill, who passed away in 2005, was finally recognized as one of the All-Time baseball broadcasters. His family will be on hand for the ceremony.  The information below will give his fans and colleagues the opportunity to see the event.

For those interested in watching Bill King’s induction into the Hall of Fame this weekend, here are a few different ways you can see the ceremony. If you’re looking for your television listings, the Frick Award is technically part of the 2017 Hall of Fame Awards Presentation (as opposed to Sunday’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony).

• Facebook Live on Saturday, July 29 at 1:30 p.m. PT – https://www.facebook.com/baseballhall. This is the only way to watch Bill’s induction live.

• Taped on Sunday, July 30 at 8 a.m. PT  on MLB Network (and streamed simultaneously onhttp://www.mlb.com).

Toronto Blue Jays’ Steve Pearce tosses his bat in celebration after hitting the game-winning walk off grand slam to defeat the Oakland Athletics 8-4 in the 10th inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Thursday July 27, 2017. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Toronto- The Toronto Blue Jays completed the four-game sweep of the A’s on a walk off grand slam by Steve Pearce to win the game in the bottom of the tenth 8-4. It was the first time in Toronto’s franchise history to win two consecutive games on walk off homers.

The A’s Sean Manaea continued to pitch well. Manaea went seven plus innings and allowed three runs and seven hits. Manaea struck out seven but did not walk a single batter. He, however, allowed two solo homers, one to Josh Donaldson and one to Kendrys Morales. The Blue Jays’ starter, Marcus Stroman, was ejected in the top of the fifth inning by home plate umpire Will Little for questioning his calls of balls and strikes. More about the incident a little later in the report.

The A’s scored three times in the top of the first inning. Stroman walked leadoff hitter Matt Joyce to start the game.  Stroman appeared to not be happy with Little’s calls and was seen shaking his head several times in the inning.Marcus Semien followed with a single to put men on at first and second with no out. Stroman struck out Yonder Alonso for the first out, Stroman then walked Khris Davis to load the bases. Ryon Healy hit a slow roller to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo’s only play was at first, and Joyce crossed the plate with the A’s first run of the game. A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell singled to drive in Semien and Davis.  In the bottom of the first, Jays’ catcher Russell Martin was called out looking and he, too, had a few words with Little. With two out, Former A’s third baseman, Josh Donaldson, blasted his tenth dinger of the year to make it 3-1 after one inning of action.

In the top of the fifth, the displeasure with Will Little came to boil. Jay’s manager John Gibbons was tossed for questioning Little’s calls on balls and strikes. Two pitches later, Little threw both Stroman and Russell Martin out of the game on the same pitch. Stroman lost his cool and had to be restrained by Jays’ coach DaMarlo Hale. The Jays brought in Chris Smith to pitch. In the bottom of the fifth, the Jays’ DH Kendrys Morales hit the first pitch from Manaea into the seats in center field. The A’s still lead 3-2 but not for long as the Jays tied the game in the bottom of the sixth.  Jose Bautista led off with a double. Justin Smoak singled to drive in Bautista with the tying run.

The A’s regained the lead in the top of the eighth. The Toronto bullpen, which had handcuffed the A’s for three straight games, finally faltered.  With Ryan Tepera on the hill, Jaycob Brugman singled with one out. Brugman went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Marcus Semien single. The A’s needed their bullpen to come through and shut down the Jays in the eighth and ninth. The A’s behind Ryan Dull and Blake Treinen made it through the eighth unscathed. The ninth inning was a different story.

In the ninth, that man, Kendrys Morales, continued his onslaught on A’s pitching. He homered off Treinen o tie the game. Morales hit his 19th and 290th homers of the year Thursday, and he hit the walk off homer Wednesday night to beat Oakland.

In the fateful tenth, the A’s called on Liam Hendriks to pitch. Hendriks had, and this is being charitable, a bad day. He did record two outs, but he walked three hitters to load the bases. The Jays’ Steve Pearce worked the count to 3-2. With two outs and the runners on the move, Pearce made sure that the ball would not be caught as he took Hendriks deep to end the game on a walk off grand slam. The Jays win 8-4 and sweep the A’s.

Game notes- The A’s lost for the twelfth time in their last thirteen tries in Toronto. The Jays hit four home runs Thursday, two off the bat of Morales. The A’s did score four runs in the game, but they need to do better. The team batting average is just .235 which is the lowest in all of baseball. The A’s did not make an error, but they also lead the Majors with 85 errors and have allowed 60 unearned runs. The A’s are now fourteen games under the .500 mark with a record of 44-58.

The A’s announced that they designated for assignment veteran reliever John Axford. Axford had control problems all season long and was very inconsistent. Ryan Dull took his spot on the roster. The A’s also recalled catcher Ryan Lavarnway from Triple-A Nashville to fill in for Josh Phegley who went on the 10-day DL.

The A’s return home to face the Minnesota Twins Friday night at the Coliseum at 7:05 pm. Daniel Gossett, with a record of 2-5, will pitch for Oakland and the Twins counter with newly acquired lefty Jaime Garcia.Garcia is 4-7, and his ERA is 4.30.

by Jerry Feitelberg

Toronto- The Oakland A’s did everything almost right Wednesday night in Toronto. The A’s starter, Paul Blackburn, pitched extremely well. The A’s, mired in a team slump, managed to give Blackburn a 2-0 lead. Blake Treinen did his job and kept Toronto off the board. However, Santiago Casilla did not do the job as he blew the save and took the loss as the Blue Jays rallied to score three times in the bottom of the ninth to send 41,000 fans home very happy as they won 3-2.

Blackburn and Jays’ starter Marco Estrada were engaged in a pitcher’s duel. Estrada’s effort was good but not good enough. Estrada went just five innings and allowed three hits and two runs. Estrada threw 100 pitches in just 5 innings of work. The A’s scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the fifth. With two out, Estrada walked Matt Joyce. Marcus Semien followed with his third homer of the year to put the A’s on the board. Blackburn, on the other hand, went seven innings and allowed no runs and just two hits.

Blake Treinen pitched the eighth and gave up just one knock. Casilla, who had a bad year with the Giants last season and was hoping to redeem himself this year with Oakland, came out of the bullpen to start the ninth. He had a count of 1-2 on Josh Donaldson to start the inning. He threw the next three pitches way out of the strike zone to walk Donaldson. He violated one of the unwritten rules of baseball. Don’t walk the leadoff hitter to start the ninth inning. Casilla walked the plank when the next batter, Justin Smoak, sent a 93 mph fastball into the second tier of seats in right field. That blast tied the game. The next hitter, Kendrys Morales, wasted no time as he sent another one of Casilla’s offerings out of the park to win it for Toronto.

Game notes- The Toronto bullpen performed well for the third game in a row. The A’s did not record a hit after the fifth inning, and that effort kept Toronto in the game.  The line score for Oakland was two runs on three hits and no errors. Toronto’s line was three runs on five hits and no errors.

The A’s are now 1-5 on the seven-game road trip. They play the finale Thursday morning at 9:35 am. Bob Melvin has named Sean Manaea to pitch for Oakland. Manaea is 8-5 and has an ERA of 3.82. Toronto will send their ace, Marcus Stroman, to the hill. Stroman’s record is 9-5, and his ERA is a sparkling 2.98.

Had the A’s won, it would have been Bob Melvin’s 1000th win as a big league manager. Hopefully, the A’s will avoid getting swept on Thursday and Melvin will achieve that milestone.

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 25, 2017, in Toronto. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

The other team that continues to pop up in the Sonny Gray sweepstakes is the Toronto Blue Jays right where the Oakland A’s are right now with two games left with the Blue Jays the A’s can still swing a deal with either the Jays or the other named suitors the Nationals, Cubs, Astros, Yankees before the road trip is over on Wednesday or Thursday.

This is ironic since the A’s are in Toronto right now and everybody kind of looks at you strangely when you mention the possibility of Gray going to the Jays and why would the Jays figure in the sweepstakes right now anyhow? The Jays are in last place, the answer is the Jays really believe they have a team when everybody is healthy and is back together that their going to be very competitive in 2018.

The attractiveness of Gray for the Jays is that not only is he a great front line pitcher but he’s also under team control and the Jays are hoping to get Sonny and get him under team control for 2018 and 2019. Charlie O has more tune in below.

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

by Jerry Feitelberg

Toronto- Having followed baseball for many years, I have come to expect the unexpected. Toronto’s starter, Cesar Valdez, is 32-years old and had started the season with Oakland. He made a start in April for Oakland, but the journeyman pitcher somehow made his way onto the Blue Jay roster. Toronto used Valdez mainly in relief, but due to injuries to the Jays’ starters, Valdez was pressed into service and did he ever come through big time as he dazzled the A’s and won his first game of the year. The Blue Jays downed the ‘s 4-1 The A’s starter, Sonny Gray, had pitched well in his last five starts and looked dominant at times in his six innings of work.

The game was decided in the second inning, With a man on first, Sonny fielded a ball that went past the mound on the first base side of the diamond. Instead of getting the sure out at first base, Sonny wheeled and made an awkward throw that sailed into center field to put men on at first and third with no out. Troy Tulowitzki drove in the first run of the game when he grounded out to third base. Justin Smoak scored on the play. Ryan Goins, who has killed the A’s in both games played so far, doubled to drive in two more Jays. Joey “Bats” Bautista hit a ball to right field that bounced into the stands for a ground rule double. Goins scored on the play. All four runs were unearned.

The A’s scored their only run in the fourth inning. Khris Davis drove in Matt Joyce for the A’s only tally.  Valdez went six plus innings allowing just one run and five hits. He walked one and struck out four. This was the first victory for Valdez in seven years. Sonny Gray’s line was six innings of work, and he allowed five hits, four runs, all unearned, and walked two and struck out nine. The A’s are now 1-4 on the seven-game road trip.

Sonny had this to say about his wayward throw:”I made a costly mistake. It was such a big hole early in the game and (it was) to deep to dig out of. I just airmailed (the throw” to second.” “I made a quick decision.” and it was one the sank the A’s ship Tuesday night in Toronto.

The trade rumors about Sonny and Yonder Alonso are flying all over MLB. There were six scouts in attendance at the game, and the big news was that the talks between the A’s and the New York Yankees have heated up. The Yankees apparently need Alonso to play first for them and the loss of Michael Pineda for the rest of the season has created an urgent need for a right-handed starting pitcher.

Game three of the four-game series will be played Wednesday night in Toronto. Paul Blackburn will go for Oakland and Toronto will have Marco Estrada will handle the chores for the Blue Jays. Game time will be at 4:05 pm.

Game Notes- The A’s have taken Chris Bassitt off the 60-day DL and added him to the 40-man roster. Bassitt, recovering from Tommy John surgery, has finished his rehab work and has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville. To make room for him, the A’s transferred Bobby Wahl to the 60-day DL.

Commentary- One of our colleagues, Paul Gackle, was stabbed in his home last night in San Jose by a woman. The report by the San Jose Mercury-News stated that Gackle was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The assailant escaped and has not been caught at the time of this report. Everyone at Sports Radio Service wishes Paul a speedy recovery and we all hope to see him at his regular spot in the press box at the Sharks and Barracuda games.

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Chris Smith throws to Toronto Blue Jays’ Russell Martin hits for a home run during first-inning baseball game action in Toronto, Monday, July 24, 2017. (Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press via AP)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Toronto- The A’s continued their seven-game road trip Monday night in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The A’s, who have not been very good on the road this year, lost to the Jays by a score of 4-2.  The A’s have lost three of the four games played so far on the trip. The A’s starter, Chris Smith, pitched well as he went six innings and allowed three runs and six hits.  Smith was looking for his first win since June 24th, 2008 when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox. The A’s offense, on the other hand, was held to just two hits. Francisco Liriano, pitching on three days rest, baffled the A’s as he went five innings and was touched for a single and a home run. Liriano retired twelve hitters in a row after giving up a run in the first inning. Matt Chapman broke the spell with a home run in the top of the fifth.

The A’s scored a run in the first inning. Liriano walked Rajai Davis and Marcus Semien to put men on at first and second with no out. Jays’ catcher Russell Martin threw out Davis at third base as the A’s attempted a double steal. Former A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson blocked the bag with his knee and Davis, sliding in head first, was easily tagged out. A’s DH, Ryon Healy, singled sharply to left field and the left fielder, Steve Pearce, misplayed the ball for an error. Semien scored on the play. Liriano settled down and went on to retire the next twelve hitters in a row.

The Jays tied the game when Russell Martin blasted his tenth round tripper of the year into the seats in left field in the Jays half of the first inning.

The Blue Jays scored twice in the fourth. Josh Donaldson led off the frame with a double to left-center field. Smith walked the next two hitters Justin Smoak and Tro Tulowitzki. With one out, Ezekiel Carrera singled sharply to center driving in Donaldson. The bases were still loaded. Smith got Kevin Pillar to hit a popup for the second out. Second baseman Ryan Goins singled to drive in Smoak with the Jays third run of the game, and the bases were loaded once more. Smith then retired Joey Bautista 1-3 to end the inning.

In the top of the fifth, with one out, A’s rookie third baseman, Matt Chapman sent and 86 miles per hour changeup way into the stratosphere at the Rogers Centre. It was Chapman’s fifth of the year. Liriano retired the next two hitters and was done for the night. The Jays scored their fourth run of the game in the seventh. Bob Melvin brought in John Axford to pitch. Axford, who has been inconsistent all season, walked Bautista, gave up a single to Martin, and walked Donaldson to load the bases. Melvin yanked him and replaced him with Josh Smith. Smith forced in a run when he walked Smoak. Smith settled down and struck out Pearce and got Tulowitzki to hit into a 5-4=3 double play. Chapman made the fielding play of the game as he dove to stop the ball, got up and spun around as he threw, on one knee, to Jed Lowrie at second. Lowrie made the turn and threw the ball to Alonso at first to complete the double play.

The A’s did not score after the fifth and lost to Toronto 4-2.

Game Notes- Both teams entered the game with a record of 44-54. The A’s are now 44-55, and Toronto improves to 45-54.

The A’s announced that they recalled Josh Smith earlier in the day from Nashville and to make room for him, they sent Matt Olson back to the Triple-A Sounders. Olson has done the NAshville shuffle five times this year.

Chris Smith took the loss for Oakland and is now 0-1 for the year. Liriano improves to 6-5. The Blue Jays bullpen of Joe Biagini, Ryan Tepera, and Roberto Ozuna did not allow a hit in the last four innings of the game. The 22-year old Ozuna, who is from Mexico, recorded his twenty-fifth save of the season.

The hitting starts for Toronto were Ezekiel Carrera, Ryan Goins, and Russell Martin.

After the game, Bob Melvin had this to say about John Axford’s poor outing:” Every now and then he has a good outing. The walks have been killing him. He has a history of throwing the ball over the plate but is having trouble doing that now.”

Game Two of the four-game set will start at 4:05 pm Tuesday night in Toronto. Sonny Gray, who has pitched well his last six outings, will pitch for Oakland. Toronto will counter with Cesar Valdez. Valdez will be making his first start ever for the Blue Jays. He has been used as a reliever for all of the season up until now.