Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis (2) celebrates his two-run home run with Yonder Alonso (17) as Jed Lowrie, left, who also scored on the play, watches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics started off the weekend series with a bang, using a pair of homeruns to down the host Chicago White Sox 3-0 Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field. Khris Davis launched his 19^th homer of the year while the red-hot Matt Joyce launched a solo shot for the Green and Gold. Jharel Cotton (5-7) fired a sharp but brief three hit, five inning performance for the win. Santiago Casilla collected his 12^th save of the year. Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson and Manager Rick Renteria were ejected in the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes.

Jed Lowrie coaxed a two-out walk from White Sox starter Mike Pelfrey, setting the table for Davis’ two-run shot. Joyce tagged Pelfrey (3-6) for a solo homer in the fifth to hand the veteran righty the loss. The A’s managed five hits to seven for the Pale Hose.

Three of Chicago’s hits came off starter Cotton who started the sixth inning with three K’s and only one walk. After allowing a single, Cotton showed discomfort in his hand. He was pulled after just 66 pitches. Reliever Liam Hendriks fired a scoreless sixth, then Ryan Madson and the recently returned Sean Doolittle followed suit.

Casilla got the job done in the ninth, but not without giving up no-out singles to Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu. The A’s closer coaxed a pop-out from the AL batting average leader Avisail Garcia, then managed to get the second out on Todd Frazier’s fielder’s choice that forced out Abreu. Designated hitter Matt Davidson lined out to end the game and snap a four-game losing streak for the A’s.

Daniel Gossett takes the mound for his third start of his career. He’ll be opposed by veteran James Shields in game two.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Houston Astros pounded the A’s  12-9 on Thursday afternoon. The A’s starter, Jesse Hahn, hit the leadoff batter, George Springer, with a pitch that appeared to have struck him high on the shoulder. Springer fell to the ground, and after being attended to by the Astros’ trainer had to leave the game. Hahn was visibly disturbed by what happened and could not regain his confidence. Hahn took the loss and is now 3-5 for the ear. Hahn has been inconsistent all year, and his outing on Thursday could have been caused possibly by the departure of Stephen Vogt or the fact that he got unnerved when he hit Springer with a pitch in the first inning. David Paulino improved to 2-0.

The Astros scored two runs in the top of the first without the benefit of a hit. Hahn walked the next two hitters to load the bases, and two sacrifice flies drove in the runs. Hahn totally lost it in the second inning as Houston sent eleven men to the plate and scored eight runs on six hits. Two three-run homers highlighted the inning for Houston. Jake Marisnick and Marwin Gonzalez were the hitters that sent the ball out of the park. The late Baltimore Orioles skipper, Earl Weaver loved the three-run homer. Wherever Earl is these days, he has to be smiling at what the Astros did in the second inning. The Astros sent eleven men to the plate and led 10-0 after two innings of play. The A’s scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth to trail 10-1.

The Astros added a run in the sixth when former A’s star, Josh Reddick, hammered a Michael Brady pitch over the fence in right field for his seventh of the season. After the game, Reddick had this to say about the win over the A’s:”you always want to do well against your former team. I enjoy beating them, whether I go 0-for-4 or I go 4-for-four. So it is fun.” Reddick finished the day a single short of the cycle.. The A’s scored two more in the sixth to trail 11-3. The Astros scored another run in the eighth and led 12-3, and at the time it appeared that the A’s were cooked. However, the young A’s had other thoughts. In their half of the eighth, they rallied to score six times to make it a 12-9 game. Bruce Maxwell and Matt Olson had key hits in the inning. The Astros brought in Chris Devenski to pitch the ninth. Devenski retired the side in order as he struck out the side to preserve the win for Houston

Game Notes- The A’s announced on Thursday that they have designated catcher Stephen Vogt for assignment. Vogt, a two-time All-Star, will either be waived, traded, or released in the next 10 days. Vogt was, not only a fan favorite but a leader on the club, will be missed. He was alway gracious to talk to the media and could be counted on for a quote about the day’s game. Vogt was always willing to bring the young players under his wing in the clubhouse. He helped Bruce Maxwell, the player who replaced Vogt at the catcher’s position. The A’s traded for Vogt as he is the type of player that personifies the A’s. Perhaps undervalued by his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, Vogt arrived in Oakland in 2013 and played on two teams that made the playoffs. Vogt made the All-Star team in 2015 and 2016 but the team finished last in the AL West both years. The 2017 team is also headed for the basement again and the front office has decided to go with younger players as the continue to rebuild the club for the umpteenth time. Vogt’s departure will no doubt displease the fans and his teammates but baseball can be a cruel business. All the writers at Sports Radio Service wish Stephen the best of luck and we all hope he catches(no pun intended) on with a contender.

The A’s also placed Matt Chapman on the 10-day DL. Chapman has an infection in his knee, and the team hopes that antibiotic treatment will clear up the infection. Matt Olson was brought up from Nashville and Olson had two hits and two RBIs in the game. Chad Pinder had two hits and one RBI, and Bruce Maxwell hit safely three times and he, too, had one RBI. Bob Melvin said this about the players. “It was good to see these youngster battle back, too. Guys were putting together some really good at-bats at the end of the game.”

The A’ record for the 8-game homestand was 4-4. They swept the Yankees but then were swept by the Astros. Oakland is 31-42 for the year while Houston owns a record of 50-24. The Astros have now won ten straight at the Oakland Coliseum and 15 of the last 16 against the A’s.

The A’s are on their way to Chicago to play the White Sox for three games. Jharel Cotton will pitch for Oakland, and Mike Pelfrey will go for Chicago. Game time is at 5:10 pm.

Oakland Athletics’ Andrew Triggs pitches to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 9, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s have been trying to find their way since 2014 when they traded Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson. This has been a consistent pattern for the A’s the team is to put mildly floundering last place in the AL West. Their ten games under .500 and their not going to contend. The A’s will be taking a look at their personnel to see what direction the team wants to go.

The A’s this year the starting rotation all five starters have been on the DL and currently pitcher Andrew Triggs is on the DL and the A’s aren’t sure when Triggs is coming back. Sonny Gray was on the DL with a lat sprang he came back and didn’t pitch not so well in some of the other starts. In his last start against the Astros Gray started the game by throwing the ball back to the back stop. It didn’t look like he had any control and he had a rough outing.

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

Houston Astros’ Jake Marisnick, left, slides to score behind Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND– The Houston Astros continued their mastery of the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum as they beat the A’s 5-1 Wednesday night. The A’s Sean Manaea and Houston’s Mike Fiers were locked in a pitcher’s duel for the first five innings of the game. The Astros broke through in the sixth when they sent eight men to bat and scored three runs on five hits, all singles. Fiers went six-plus innings, and the Houston bullpen allowed the A’s just one run and one hit the rest of the way.

Sean Manaea was cruising along with a two-hit shutout through the first five innings against Houston. The Astros, with the best record in the American League, touched Manaea for five hits and three runs in the sixth. Jose Altuve led off the inning with a single. Carlos Correa also singled sending Altuve to third. Correa advanced to second when the throw from the outfield missed the cutoff man. The next hitter Evan Gattis, who loves to kill the A’s, singled to drive in Altuve and Correa. Gattis went to second on a single by Yuli Gurriel and then scored on a single by Jake Marisnick. The A’s failed to score in their half of the six and now trail 3-0. Sean Manaea night was over as Bob Melvin brought in Ryan Madson to pitch in the top of the seventh.

The A’s scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to send Fiers to the showers. Yonder Alonso led off the inning with a double to right. Ryon Healy walked to put men on at first nd second. Astros’ manager A.J.Hinch brought in lefty Tony Sipp to pitch to Jaycob Brugman. Brugman hit into a fielder’s choice, and that allowed Alonso to advance to third. Stephen Vogt, pinch-hitting for Rajai Davis, hit a slow roller that Jose Altuve had to field and Altuve threw to the pitcher for the out, Alonso scored on the play. Houston still leads 3-1 after seven innings of play.

The Astros scored an insurance run in the top of the eighth. With one out, Yuli Furriel singled to left. Third baseman Alex Bregman followed with another single to left sending Gurriel to third. Gurriel scored on a sacrifice fly. Houston’s Carlos Correa hit a solo homer with two out in the top of the ninth off Josh Smith. It was Correa’s 14th of the year and upped Houston’s lead to 5-1. The A’s failed to score in the bottom of the ninth and fall to Houston for the third game in a row.

Game Notes-Mike Fiers was the winning pitcher, and his record is now 5-2. Fiers is 4-0 in his last five starts. The Astros have now won 9 straight games at the Oakland Coliseum and 14 of the last 15 against the A’s. The Astros are now 49-24, and that is the best record in all of baseball.

The A’s are now ten games under .500 with a record of 31-41 and have lost three in a row. Houston will o for the sweep Thursday. Righty David Paulino (1-0, 5.03 ERA) will pitch for the Astros, and the A’s will counter with Jesse Hahn. Hahn pitched well against the Yankees last week, and he is 3-4 with a 3.56 ERA. The A’s leave after the game for a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox and then off to Houston to play the Astros for three more.

The line score for Oakland was one run on four hits and one error. It was the 67th error of the year for Oakland.Houston’s line was five runs on ten hits and one error.

Time of game was three hours and six minutes and a small crowd of 12,277 people watched the A’s lose for the 41st time this year.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Houston Astros bombed A’s starter, Sonny Gray, for five runs in the first inning. Gray recovered and pitched well for the next four innings, but the A’s offense couldn’t get Sonny off the hook as the Astros beat the A’s 8-4. The A’s did rally and trailed at one point 5-4, but the Astros scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to win their 48th game of the year. Francis Martes won his second game of the year for Houston, and he is now 2-0. Gray’s record dropped to 2-3

.The Astros jumped all over Sonny Gray in the very first inning as they sent ten men to the plate and scored five runs on five hits. Right fielder George Springer got things going when he led off the game with his twenty-first homer of the year. Gray walked the next hitter, former Athletic Josh Reddick Jose Altuve reached on a bunt to put men on at first and second with no out. Carlos Correa hit into a double play to send Reddick to third. It was at this point that it appeared that Sonny was going to escape without any further damage, The Astros had other ideas. Catcher Brian McCann doubled to drive in Reddick with the second run of the inning. Gray walked Carlos Beltran to put men on at first and second for the second time in the inning. First baseman Yuli Gurriel doubled to drive in McCann. Alex Bregman singled to drive in Beltran and Gurriel.

The A’s scored a run in the bottom of the first. With two out, Jed Lowrie beat, hitting left-handed, beat the shift as he singled through the hole on the left side of the infield. He scored when Khris Davis hit a towering fly ball to right field that went off the wall for a double. Astros lead 5-1 after just the first inning of play.

The A’s Chad Pinder hit a solo homer in the bottom of the third. Pinder’s blast traveled about 400 feet and landed well into the bleachers in left field.  For Pinder, it was his ninth dinger of the season.The A’s now trail 5-2.

The A’s added another run in the fourth. Khris Davis singled sharply to left field to get the rally started. He went to third on a double by Yonder Alonso. Ryan Healy hit a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Davis to tag up and score. Stephen Vogt walked, but the rally ended when the Astros’ second baseman, Jose Altuve, made a fantastic diving stop of a ball heading into centerfield and started a 4-6-3 double play to end the A’s threat.

The A’s continued to chip away at the Astros’ lead. They plated one more run in the seventh. Rajai Davis, playing left field, doubled to start the inning. With one out, Jaycob Brugman singled to drive in Rajai with the fourth run of the night for Oakland. After seven innings of play, Houston is clinging to a 5-4 advantage as the game heads into the eighth inning.

The Astros parlayed a double, two walks and a single to score two more runs to take the lead 7-4 in the middle of the eighth inning.  The Astros added another run in the top of the ninth. Michael Brady, making his Major League Debut at age 30, served up a gopher ball to the first batter he faced. Who was the hitter? None other than Carlos Beltran. Beltran, who has over 400 career homers, hit his tenth of the season. The A’s threatened in the bottom of the ninth but Houston’s reliever, Dayan Diaz, was able to get out of the inning unscathed and Houston won by a final score of 8-4.

Game Notes- The A’s are now nine games under the .500 mark with a record of 31-40. The Astros won their eighth straight game at the Oakland Coliseum and have won 12 of the last 13 against the A’s. The A’s are now 22-15 at home compared to 9-25 on the road. The A’s committed another error and now gave 66 for the season. The A’s have not had a complete game pitched since August 19th of last year.

Game three of the four-game series will be played Wednesday night at the Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05 pm. Sean Manaea with a record of 6-3 will be looking to win his seventh of the year and the Astros will have Mike Fiers pitching for them.

Time of game was three hours and twenty-eight minutes and 15,352 people watched as the A’s went down to defeat.