Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, left, is congratulated by catcher Stephen Vogt, right, following a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, April 10, 2017. The Athletics defeated the Royals 2-0. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Oakland A’s starter Sonny Gray came back to start against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night but was rocked by key Twins hitting the way things were going out on the mound for Gray you have to really question if he was really over his lat injury.

#2  A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman was also tagged by Twins hitting on Wednesday night going three plus innings giving up five hits and six runs. Graveman whose spent his tine on the DL may also be questioned like the other A’s players who were activated but it remains suspect if these players are ready to come back yet are they still hurting and if it’s handicapping their performance and the team’s.

#3  A’s starter Jahrel Cotton improved his record to 3-3 with an 8-5 win over the Twins on Thursday afternoon at Target Field. Cotton went six plus, three hits, two earned and struck out nine. Not to mention he got run support.

#4 Reliever Santiago Casilla walked the high wire again pitching with the bases loaded and he was facing the Twins star hitter Miguel Sano the odds weren’t good and Casilla ran up a 3-0 count but came back to make it a full count. Casilla worked Sano and got him on strikes to end the ball game. Casilla improved his ERA to 3.27

#5  Sean Doolittle A’s reliever goes on the DL with a shoulder strain and catcher Josh Phegley whose suffering a concussion is looking at being on the DL for at least seven days

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

Oakland Athletics pitcher Santiago Casilla celebrates as Minnesota Twins’ Miguel Sano struck out swinging with the bases loaded to end the baseball game Thursday, May 4, 2017, in Minneapolis. The Athletics won 8-5. Casilla picked up the save. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Minneapolis- The Oakland A’s concluded the nine-game road trip with a win as they defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-5 Thursday afternoon. The A’s won just two games of the nine played and had lost three in a row.  The A’s return home to face the Detroit Tigers Friday night in Oakland.

The A’s offense, which had been in the doldrums, came to life Thursday. The A’s scored four runs in the first two innings of the game to take a 4-0 lead halfway through the second inning. The Twins, however, scored twice in the second to close the gap to 4-2. A’s starter, Jharel Cotton surrendered solo homers to Eddie Rosario and Danny Santana.

The A’s had a chance to plate some more runs in the fourth as they loaded the bases with just one out. However, Twins’ starter Kyle Gibson was able to escape with no damage done. The Twins tallied an unearned run in their half of the fourth. Eddie Rosario got the rally going when he walked. Catcher Chris Gimenez singled to center, and when A’s center fielder Jaff Decker let the ball bounce off his chest for an error, Rosario was able to scamper home all home from first base.

The A’s added a run in the fifth, a run in the seventh when Ryon Healy crushed his fourth homer of the year and two in the eighth. The A’s were able to load the bases again. Matt Joyce walked, and Jed Lowrie singled to put men on at first and second with no out. Khris Davis struck out, but the ball got past the catcher and both runners advanced. Yonder Alonso walked to load the bases, and Stephen Vogt came through with a double to drive in two to put the A’s ahead 8-3.

However, and this is where things got dicey for the A’s. With a five-run lead, A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Frankie Montas to pitch. Montas was able to record two outs, but he gave up a two-run dinger to Eduardo Escobar. Melvin brought in Ryan Madson who was able to get the last out of the inning.

Melvin brought in Santiago Casilla to close out the ninth. Casilla who was so successful with the San Francisco Giants until last year when he blew several saves, made Bob Melvin and all the players on the bench squirm through the entire inning. The Twins were able to load the bases without the benefit of a hit. Casilla walked Joe Maurer. He hit Max Kepler with a pitch to put men on at first and second with one out. Casilla now had to face Brian Dozier. Dozier hit 42 homers last year and hit two in Tuesday’s game. Casilla walked him to load the bases. Casilla retired Polanco for the second out and now had to face Miguel Sano. Sano is currently leading the American League in RBIs, and he hit a monster home run Tuesday night. The count had gone to 3-0 before he was able to get two strikes. With the count 3-2 and the runners moving on the pitch, Casilla retired Sano on a swinging strike three to end the game. Had Sano got a hit the game would have been tied but that did not happen, and Casilla earned his third save of the year.

Game Notes- Jharel Cotton, with the win, evened his record at 3-3. Cotton went six innings and allowed three hits, three runs, walked three and struck out nine. Two of the hits were dingers, and one run was unearned.

The A’s offense, which has been in a deep slumber, came to life Thursday. Matt Joyce, Jed Lowrie, Ryon Healy, Stephen Vogt, Chad Pinder, and Jaff Decker all had two hits in the game. Healy had a bunt single and a home run while Stephen Vogt recorded a triple and a double.

The A’s improve to 12-16, and the Twins fall to 14-12.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Kendall Graveman throws against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 3, 2017, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Minneapolis- The Oakland A’s appear to be what many thought they would be this year. They are a last place team and at the moment are not very good. They lost their third straight game, and eighth in the last nine played as the Twins beat them 7-4 Wednesday night.

Kendall Graveman started for Oakland. Graveman had been very consistent this season, but he was just a bit off Wednesday night. He was just missing the strike zone by an inch or so, and he threw 38 pitches in the first inning alone. Graveman walked Brian Dozier to start the game. Dozier went to third when a pickoff attempt by Graveman got past Yonder Alonso. With one out, Graveman walked Miguel Sano and Joe Maurer to load the bases. Twins designated hitter, Kennys Vargas, singled to drive in two to give the Twins an early 2-0 lead.

The A’s plated a run in the top of the third when Matt Joyce doubled to right. Rajai Davis singled advancing Joyce to third. Joyce scored on a Trevor Plouffe groundout. However, The Twins scored three more in the bottom of the third when Vargas homered with two men aboard to increase the lead to 5-1.

The A’s scored two in the fourth when Yonder Alonso hit his sixth homer of the year with a man aboard to make it 5-3. A’s manager Bob Melvin took Graveman out of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Graveman left with a man on third and one out. His pitch count was at 94 and Melvin had seen enough. Liam Hendriks was brought in to pitch. The man on third scored when Max Kepler grounded out. Graveman went 3 and 1/3rd innings and allowed 5 hits and six runs, all earned.

The Twins scored a run in the seventh, and the A’s countered with one in the ninth. The A’s loaded the bases with no out in the ninth but could score just one run. The game ended when Plouffe ground into a game-ending double play. Final score 7-4 in favor of Minnesota.

Game Notes- The A’s are mow five games under the .500 mark at 11-16. The Twins are now 14-11.

The A’s announced that lefty reliever Sean Doolittle has been placed on the 10-day DL with a left shoulder strain. Doolittle has pitched well this year, and this appears to be a setback for him as he has been plagued with shoulder issues over the last three seasons. The A’s Cesar Valdez was designated for assignment. Valdez can be claimed on waivers or traded within 10 days. If he clears waivers, he can be re-assigned to Nashville or become a free agent. The A’s recalled Josh Smith and Bobby Wahl from Nashville. Wahl made his Major League debut in the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s game, and he gave up a run to the Twins.

The A’s conclude the series and the nine-game road trip Thursday in Minnesota. Jharel Cotton pitched for the Green and Gold, and Kyle Gibson will go for the Twins. Cotton is 2-3 for the year and will be trying to regain his consistency while Gibson is 0-3 and needs a victory to stay in the Twins’ rotation. Game time is at 10 am. The A’s return home Friday to start a six-game homestand against the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Ervin Santana throws against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s, losers of six of the last seven games, sent their ace, Sonny Gray, to the hill in the hopes of ending their slide. Gray was making his 2017 season debut and was hoping to regain the form that he showed in the 2015 season. Gray had a bad year in 2016 as he was injured and there was concern that he was not the same Sonny Gray. The A’s were also hoping to get the offense going. That did not happen as Twins’ starter Ervin Santana was terrific. Santana went six innings and allowed just three hits and no runs. Santana is now 5-0 and his ERA is a minuscule 0.66. Santana has allowed one run or less and gone at six innings in all six of his starts. The Twins take Game one of the series 9-1.

The good news was that Gray went six innings and allowed just five hits. The bad news was that three of the hits left the yard. In the bottom of the third, Gray left a curveball hanging over the middle of the plate. Twins’ second baseman, Brian Dozier, did not miss and sent the ball into the left-field stands. Gray walked Max Kepler and then gave up a monster home run to third baseman Miguel Sano. Sano who is six feet four inches tall and weigh 260 pounds sent the baseball into the stratosphere. The ball was hit to dead center and traveled an estimated 456 feet. Gray gave up another home run in the fourth inning to catcher Jason Castro. He left the game trailing 4-0.

With Cesar Valdez pitching in the seventh, the Twins scored four times on the strength of three more home runs. Byron Buxton, hitting about a buck forty, nailed Valdez for his first tater of the season. Brian Dozier followed with his second home run of the night to make it 6-0. Joe Maurer, with a man on, hit his first homer of the year to blow the game open. The Twins scored another run to go up 9-0, but the A’s Yonder Alonso homered to make it 9-1.

Game notes- The A’s have now lost seven of the last eight games played and are now 11-15 for 2017. The Twins have won three in a row and five of the last six to improve to 13-11. The Twins had the worst record in baseball last year.

Sonny Gray had this to say after the game: “”My body feels good,”  ”I felt like I threw the ball OK. Just three hitters in a row was the story of the game. It kind of felt like once they put up that three-spot it was going to be an uphill battle the rest of the way.”

The A’s also announced some very sad news. A’s prospect Casey Thomas died unexpectedly at the age of 24. All of the writers at SportsRadioService extend their condolences to the Thomas family.

The A’s and Twins go at it again Wednesday night at Target Field in Minneapolis. Game time will be at 5 pm.

Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis (2) hits a home run as Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann reaches for the pitch during the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 29, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, losers of six of the last seven games played, are on their way to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Twins for three games. The A’s ended the month of April with a record of 11-14. The Twins, on the other hand, went 12-11 for the month and are playing better baseball than they did last year when the finished last in the AL Central.

The A’s will face the Twins’ Ervin Santana Tuesday night. Hector Santiago will pitch Wednesday, and Kyle Gibson goes for Minnesota on Thursday. The A’s will counter with Sonny Gray, Kendall Graveman, and Jharel Cotton. Santana is off to a great start as he owns a record of 4-0 and an ERA of just 0.77. Santiago is 2-1, and his ERA is 2.43. Gibson is winless and is in jeopardy of losing his spot in the rotation. His record for 2017 is 0-3 and is ERA is a woeful 8.06.

The Twins’ offense is led by Joe Maurer, Brian Dozier, Max Kepler, and Eddie Rosario. However, Maurer and Dozier are off to slow starts. Dozier, who had over 40 homers last year, is hitting just .242 and has 2 homers and 8 RBIs so far this year. Joe Maurer, a former batting champion who is now 34-years old, appears to be in decline. The Twins are paying him 23 million dollars a year, but his production is way down. Maurer is batting just .225. He has not hit a home run yet this season, and he has knocked in just 8 runs. His OBP(on base percentage) is a meager .271. The player the A’s will have to contain is third baseman, Miguel Sano. Sano, who had a terrific season in 2015 but had the sophomore slump in 2016, is off to great start in 2017. he is hitting .316 and has seven big flys (homers) on his resume to go along with 25 ribbies. Hopefully, the A’s pitchers can handle him.

The Twins’ bullpen is headlined by closer Brandon Kintzler. Kintzler has 7 saves to his credit. Reliever Ryan Pressley was knocked around earlier in the season but is pitching better now.  There in not a lot of talent in the bullpen and that should bode well for the A’s.

The A’s announced that they have activated Sonny Gray from the DL. Gray had two sparkling stints at the minor-league level in his 2 rehab starts. Gray had a tough year last season, and all eyes will be on him as he wants to re-establish himself as the ace of the A’s staff. Gray will be pitching Tuesday night, and he will be opposed by the Twins’ Ervin Santana. Santana has been very tough for the A’s to solve over the years and Oakland will be looking to break the spell. Kendall Graveman(2-1, 2.25 ERA) will pitch Wednesday, and Hector Santiago will go for the Twins. Santiago has pitched well for Minnesota. His record is 2-1, and his ERA is 2.43.  Thursday’s game will feature Jharel Cotton (2-3, 5.0 ERA) going against Kyle Gibson (0-3, 8.06 ERA). Cotton did not fare well in his last outing against Houston. He has been up and down up to this point in the season, and the A’s may send him down to Nashville if he does not do well. Gibson is not pitching well at all. He has yet to go six innings in any of his starts this season. He also may be pitching for a spot in the rotation.

The series begins Tuesday night at Target Field in Minneapolis at 5 pm.

Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis (2) hits a home run as Houston Astros catcher Evan Gattis reaches for the pitch during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, April 28, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Two home runs from Khris Davis weren’t enough for the Oakland A’s to snap a four-game losing streak Friday night in Houston, with the Astros erasing a 3-0 deficit to win 9-4. Jharel Cotton (2-3, 5.00 ERA) gave up 6 runs over 4 1/3 innings for the A’s, being outdueled by Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.50 ERA) and his 10 K’s.

Davis continued his red-hot 2017 season, launching a three-run shot in the top of the first inning for his 8^th homer of the year. The Astros erased the 3-0 lead though with Carlos Beltran, Yuli Gurriel and Evan Gattis all plating runs.

Davis took Morton deep again in the top of the 3^rd, this time with the bases empty to give Oakland a 4-3 lead. It’d be the last run Morton gave up on the night, finishing the game with 7 innings, 5 hits and a dozen punchouts.

Cotton, however, yielded a single in the bottom of the 4^th, then couldn’t escape the fifth inning after giving up an RBI single to Evan Gattis and watching as Ryan Dull let an inherited runner score on a sacrifice fly by Alex Bregman. Cotton’s night was over after 4 1/3 innings and six runs, half earned, while striking out four.

Dull closed out the rest of the 5^th inning, then made way for longman Cesar Valdez to close out the final three innings of the game with Oakland down 6-4. Gurriel tagged Valdez for a solo homer in the bottom of the 7^th, then Carlos Correa doubled in a pair in the 8^th to hand Houston the decisive lead. For Houston, former Athletic Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles pitched scoreless innings to hand Oakland a fifth-straight loss.

The A’s will call on Andrew Triggs to right the ship Saturday. Triggs recently fell victim to an 11-1 drubbing from the Seattle Mariners Sunday in what has otherwise been a surprising start. The reliever turned starter has gone 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA this season. He’s opposed by Joe Musgrove for Houston.

~ AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM– Los Angeles completed a three game sweep over the A’s Thursday to move back to .500 as the Halos in the final game of the series get a 2-1 win.

It was the Angels’ fourth straight win and the A’s fourth straight loss. Oakland has only produced one run in three of their last four games.

Both starting pitchers kept the game close like the first game of the series, but the scoring started early, unlike that game. This game was the only game of the series with no home runs.

Los Angeles’ Ricky Nolasco (2-2) was the winner this time in a rematch of this year’s Opening Day starters. He had a solid performance with help at the end. Nolasco worked 5.2 innings, giving up three hits and one run while walking two and striking out four. He threw 98 pitches.

A’s starter Kendall Graveman (2-1) was also strong, as he pitched six innings, giving up a season-tying six hits, two runs and four strikeouts while making 84 pitches. It was his first loss.

The Angels’ first inning strike would be all they needed. With two outs, Mike Trout doubled, Albert Pujols brought him in with a single and C.J. Cron brought Pujols in with a double to make it 2-0. Trout now has hits in 11 games and Pujols’ RBI put him at 15th overall with Rafael Palmeiro. Cron went 2 for 3 with the RBI.

On Pujols, Manager Mike Scioscia replied, “Albert, he just keeps going, and everytime he does something, it’s fun to watch the Hall of Famers, the immortals, that he’s in the same conversation with.”

Oakland did not get a hit until their sixth batter. Ryon Healy’s ball got past shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

In the fourth inning, the A’s started the scoring the same way as the Angels. With two outs, Jed Lowrie doubled and Khris Davis put Oakland on the board when his hit dropped in front of Kole Calhoun in right field, making it 2-1.

Graveman saved himself from a jam in the fifth using a rare move. With no outs and runners on the corners, Graveman made a double play around third base when he tagged both Ben Revere and then Cliff Pennington, who both got caught in between bases in the fifth inning. Scioscia said, “I don’t know if I’ve seen a pitcher do that. That’s a tremendous effort on his part.”

With two outs in the sixth, Nolasco got a little loose, walking his first two batters. He got Yonder Alonso into an 0-2 count and then later might have escaped earlier, but Pennington misplayed the ball. With the bases then loaded, Scioscia brought in Blake Parker. Fortunately for the Angels, Parker struck out Healy to end the threat. Nolasco had gone 17 innings without walking a batter.

Graveman struck out Trout and Pujols in the bottom of the inning.

In relief, each side saw a batter get on base. For Los Angeles, Yunel Escobar singled against Daniel Coulombe. For the A’s, with one out, Alonso drew a walk. One out later, Stephen Voght pinch hit and ground out to Bud Norris to end the game.

It was Norris’ fourth save in his last four appearances.

Game notes: Oakland will play the Houston Astros in a three-game series starting Friday at 5:10pm. Nolasco struck out a batter in each of the second through fifth innings. Each of the four relievers that followed him also had a strikeout.