Category: Oakland Athletics

Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman, right, and Carlos Correa (1) celebrate after scoring against the Oakland Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, April 14, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – In the battle of rebounding ace versus emerging rotation leader Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros scored the first victory, beating Kendall Graveman’s Oakland A’s 7-2 Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Keuchel (2-0, 0.86 ERA) pitched seven innings, giving up just four hits while striking out seven.

“He keeps the ball down,” said A’s Manager Bob Melvin. “When you feel like you get a decent swing on him the ball is down at the knees with decent movement and you’re beating the ball into the ground.”

Khris Davis hit his 5^th home run of the season and Trevor Plouffe added his first despite a rough night in the field and at the plate for the A’s (5-6), but Nori Aoki of the Astros answered with a homer of his own off Graveman as part of a two RBI night. Oakland’s bullpen, arguably its biggest strength, gave up six runs including three unearned in the seventh inning and two unearned in the eight to give Houston (7-4) the win.

Jose Altuve went 3-for-3 with two walks to reach base in 11 consecutive plate appearances over three games. Brian McCann (3 RBI) and Norichika Aoki (2 RBI) knocked in five runs combined.

“We’re not the only team that has that problem,” Said Melvin on keeping Altuve off base. “He uses the whole field, pulling the ball between the hole and third and short, hits one the other way to right field. On top of that you know he’s going to be able to steal bases and affect the pitchers tempo. He’s one of the better players in the league for a reason.”

Davis kept his McGwirean pace, launching his fifth homer of the season off the camera well in centerfield to open the second. Davis fell behind 2-2 but worked a full count before lifting Keuchel’s 88 mile-per-hour cutter to left center for a 1-0 lead. While Davis won’t likely maintain his 80 homer season pace, he may be the first Athletic to hit 50 in a season since Big Mac in 1996.

The Astros tagged Graveman back from a surprising source of power in the top of the fifth. The nine-hole hitter Norichika Aoki punished a belt-high sinker on a 1-0 count, hitting his first homer of the season onto the stairs over the right field wall. Aoki hit four long balls last year, with two coming against the A’s.

Graveman exited the game with the no-decision after just 5 innings and 74 pitches and one run. The opening day starter has given up just four runs over 18 innings this season, but Friday marked his shortest outing of the year after pitching 6-plus innings in his previous two starts.

“His first couple games, he threw a lot of pitches for the amount of time he was out there,” said Melvin. “He didn’t feel great. I wasn’t going to mess around with it.”

Graveman is expected to make his next scheduled start, but said that the cold was keeping him from getting and staying loose.

He gave way to Ryan Madson, another pitcher who had trouble with Nori Aoki. After the Astros put runners on second and third with two outs in the sixth, the light-hitting outfielder again picked up a run scoring hit for a 2-1 lead.

Madson (0-1, 2.25 ERA) exited the game with two outs in the sixth on the line for the loss, making way for Ryan Dull. A throwing error by Trevor Plouffe allowed Jose Altuve to score from second base. After Bregman reached base on a walk, Melvin went to the lefty Daniel Coulombe. Coulombe couldn’t escape the jam, giving up a two-run double to Brian McCann with two outs. In total, Houston scored 3 runs in the 7^th, all unearned to take a 5-1 lead.

“We’re always concerned about our defense,” said Melvin. “We haven’t been consistent, as a matter of fact we’ve been inconsistent here recently. IT’s an area of concern. You can’t give away runs and extra outs to a team like that.”

Chris Devenski came in for the Astros, pitching a scoreless eighth inning despite giving up a leadoff double to Marcus Semien. He then punched out Rajai Davis, Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis. Houston tacked on a run in the ninth after Altuve walked to open the inning, moved to second on a balk off Raul Alcantara and scored on Plouffe’s second throwing error of the game. McCann would pick up a sacrifice fly in the inning as well.

Plouffe atoned for his earlier errors, taking Michael Feliz deep for his first homer of the season with one out in the ninth. He was previously 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, two looking.

The A’s will look to get back to .500 Saturday, sending Sean Manaea to the mound for game two of the series. Manae is coming off a stellar start against the potent Texas Rangers, going seven innings and allowing just two hits and one run. He’ll be opposed by Lance McCullers Jr. The Houston lefty is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA.

Oakland Athletics’ Rajai Davis celebrates with third base coach Chip Hale after hitting a solo home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, April 13, 2017, in Kansas City, Mo. The Royals won 3-1. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Kansas City- The Kansas City Royals, behind a terrific pitching performance by lefty Jason Vargas, sent the A’s down to defeat Thursday night in Kansas City. Vargas went seven and 2/3rds innings and did not allow a run. Vargas walked just one hitter and recorded eight strikeouts. The Royals offense, led by Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez, plated two runs in the first inning. They would need no more but former Atheltic, Brandon Moss, drove in the third run in the third inning to put the Royals ahead 3-0. The A’s scored their lone run of the game in the ninth inning when Rajai Davis hit a solo homer off closer Kelvin Herrera. Jed Lowrie then doubled, but Herrera retired the next three hitters to secure the 3-1 victory for KC.

Game notes- The A’s starter Jesse Hahn pitched reasonably well. Hahn went six innings and allowed six hits, and three runs all earned. He walked  two and struck out seven, Hahn, although he took the loss, will receive credit for a “quality start.” Daniel Coloumbe pitched a scoreless seventh, and Ryan Madson finished the eighth for Oakland.  With the win, the Royals stopped an eight-game losing streak against the A’s. The A’s did not have a day game on getaway day and will arrive home early in the morning Friday. They will begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros Friday night. The game will feature the return of right fielder Josh Reddick. Reddick, a fan favorite, was traded to the LA Dodgers last year at the trade deadline. Reddick helped the Dodgers make the playoffs, but he did nor re-sign with them. Reddick as a free agent made a deal with the Astros and has returned to the American League. The game will feature the ace of each team’s pitching staff. Righty Kendall Graveman, who has had two terrific outings, will be seeking his third win. The Astros will counter with Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel, who had an off-year in 2016, was the Cy Young winner in 2015. Game time is at 7:05 pm.

Boston Red Sox Pedro Martinez(45) in action during a game from the 1998 season against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Pedro Martinez played for 18 years, with 5 different teams was a 8-time All-Star, 3-time Cy Young Award winner and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015(David Durochik via AP)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Oakland A’s starter Jharel Cotton who pitched a 2-0 shutout a three hitter against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night and Jerry talks about Cotton’s make up

#2 Former A’s first baseman Brandon Moss was using all the “Bull Durham” clichés when he talked about A’s reliever Sean Doolittle saying after striking out against him and what kind of pitches he saw that Doolittle throws all fastballs that “blew the doors” and “painted the heaters” guess Doolittle passed the audition on Monday night

#3 Jerry said that Hall of Famer, former Dodger and Red Sox Pedro Martinez was right that Cottton reminds him of Martinez same wind up, same grip on the ball, same look coming out of the hand, same velocity, same look of fear that a hitter standing in facing at the plate. Cotton who threw a three hit 2-0 shutout against the Royals could have himself a Cy Young type year if he keeps that up.

#4 A’s manager Bob Melvin dropped A’s designated hitter Ryon Healy whose been hitting .194 from third in the line up to the six hole in the A’s 8-3 win on Wednesday night. Healy is still trying to get used to the DH role after playing third base for the A’s much of last season

#5 The 8-3 win was one that blew the doors off of the Royals and the A’s starter Andrew Triggs had a hand in that role going six innings, four hits and three strikeouts

Jerry Feitelberg talks about it all and does the A’s podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Andrew Triggs throws during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Kansas City- The Oakland A’s received another impressive performance from, Andrew Triggs Wednesday night as the A’s downed the Kansas City Royals 8-3. Triggs who drafted by the Royals was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 2015. The O’s released him and the A’s claimed him. Triggs won his second game of the year to improve to 2-0.  Triggs went six innings and limited the Royals to jus four hits. Former Athletic, Jason Hammel did not fare well as the A’s touched him for three runs and sent him to the showers after just four and 2/3rds inning of work.

The A’s offense was led by Jed Lowrie. Lowrie drove in three runs, and it was his first three-RBI game since 9/13/15 when he was with the Houston Astros. The A’s scored one in the third, two in the fourth, one in the fifth, and four in the sixth.

Ryan Dull pitched a scoreless seventh inning for Oakland. The Royals rocked Liam Hendriks for two runs on three hits in the eighth and Raul Mondesi hit a solo dinger in the ninth off Frankie Montas.

Game Notes- Bob Melvin had this to say about Triggs” performance:””He’s been great,” “There are some pretty good left-handed hitters in that lineup. You expect him to make some of the righties take some bad swings, but he had some lefties taking some bad swings, so he’s off to a great start. Confidence-wise, that’s big for him to get off to this kind of start.” The A’s are now 5-4 for the year, and the Royals drop to 2-6.

The A’s will go for a sweep of the three-game series Thursday night in Kansas City. Jesse Hahn will handle the chores for Oakland. Hahn did well in relief last week in Texas and earned a start. Jason Vargas will go for the Royals. Game time will be at 5:05 pm.

AP file photo: Oakland Athletics’ Andrew Triggs works against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of an exhibition baseball game Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Kansas City- The Oakland A’s have an off-day on Tuesday. The A’s have played eight games so far this season and had a record of four wins and four losses. The A’s won the first game of the three-game series against the Royals behind Jharel Cotton’s seven innings of no runs and giving up just two hits. Santiago Casilla and Sean Doolittle each struck out the side as they helped close out the game for the A’s.

The A’s have the day off, and that means a lot of the players will be heading over to Arthur Bryant’s legendary Kansas City BBQ.  Bryant’s has been around a long time, and with a day off, the players can go over to the restaurant for a great meal. The players have other options. They can go out for a round of golf or go to a movie.   Whatever they do, it will be a nice break from the daily grind even if it comes early in the season.

The A’s will resume play on Wednesday. Andrew Triggs will be on the hill for Oakland. Triggs, who stands six ft 4 inches tall, won his first start of the year against the Los Angels Angels last week in Oakland. He pitched five 2/3rd innings and looked sharp. He currently is the A’s fourth starter in the five-man rotation. The Royals, who won the World Series in 2015, have seen a fairly large turnover in both the starting rotation and the bullpen. Yordano Ventura, who was projected to be the Royals ace, was killed in an auto accident in the Dominican Republic in the off-season. Johnny Cueto left the Royals after 2015 to join the SF Giants. James Shields is now ith the White Sox.  Jason Hammel, who was with the A’s in 2014, came over as a free agent from the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. Hammel will pitch for the Royals Wednesday night. The Royals, who were AL champs in 2014 and World Series champs in 2015, had a terrific bullpen made up of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland. They were lights out in 2015. Holland, who was injured last year, moved on to the Colorado Rockies. Davis was traded to the Chicago Cubs. Herrera is the new closer for the Royals. Danny Duffy, Jason Vargas, Ian Kennedy, Nathan Karns, and Chris Young make up the new rotation.

2017 may be the last year that the Royal will be able to contend for the playoffs. Several of their big names will be free agents at the end of the year, and since the Royals are a small market team, they may not be able to retain them. Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, and Alcides Escobar could all be wearing different uniforms next year.

The A’s have had some bright spots so far. Khris Davis, who did not hit well last year when he arrived from the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League, is hitting .345 and has four home runs and six RBIs in eight games. Yonder Alonso leads the club in OBP, and  Jed Lowrie and Stephen Vogt are off to good starts, too. Kendall Graveman appears to be the ace of the staff. Graveman has won both of his starts and shut down the hard-hitting Texas Rangers last week. Jharel Cotton had a so-so start against the Rangers but was brilliant yesterday against the Royal. Sean Manaea has started slowly and, hopefully, he will improve. Triggs pitched Wednesday. Raul Alcantara was slated to be the fifth starter in the rotation but was roughed up in Texas. The A’s are planning to move him to long relief and will give Jesse Hahn a chance to start. Hahn was effective in relief. He pitched six innings allowing just two runs and seven hits. Alcantara is out of options, and the A’s will have to make a decision on his status when Sonny Gray returns to the team. The A’s could send Alcantara down, but he could be claimed by another team. However, if he pitches poorly, he would lose value and the A’s could send him to Nashville without losing him. Alcantara could be designated for assignment when Gray returns. They would have ten days to trade him or return him to Nashville if no one claims him.

Gray, according to A’s manager Bob Melvin, will throw two sets of fifteen pitches to two hitters on Thursday in Kansas City. Gray probably will rehab at Nashville and return to the club by the end od April.

Bob Melvin’s bullpen has looked pretty good up to this point in the season. He has the luxury of mixing and matching his closers and setup men. Sean Doolittle and Santiago Casilla each have a save and a hold. Ryan Madson, who had over 30 saves in  2016, own two holds. John Axford is on the 10-day DL but is expected back shortly. Axford has closed in the past but appears to be the guy that pitches the 7th inning. Ryan Dull, Liam Hendriks, and Frankie Montas round out the bullpen.

One area of concern for the A’s and Melvin has been the lack of hitting from four of the regulars. Marcus Semien, Matt Joyce, Ryon Healy, and Trevor Plouffe are all hitting below the Mendoza line (under .200). Melvin said that he knows the guys will come around and that they will be productive.

Wednesday night in Kansas City will be game two of the three-game series. Andrew Triggs goes for Oakland, and Jason Hammel will toil for the Royals. Game time will be 5:05 pm.

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jharel Cotton delivers to a Kansas City Royals batter during the first inning of a baseball game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, April 10, 2017. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Kansas City- The Oakland A’s downed the Kansas City Royals 2-0 to spoil the Royals’ first game at home this season. A’s pitcher Jharel Cotton was dominant as he went seven innings and allowed just 2 hits. He walked three but struck out six as he evened his record at 1-1. Cotton came to the A’s in the trade that sent Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. Cotton pitched well for the A’s but had a so-so outing against the LA Angels as he gave up five runs in just 4 and 1/3rd innings of work.

The A’s Khris Davis won the game for the A’s in the fourth inning. With one on and no out, Davis smoked his fourth homer of the young season to put the A’s up 2-0. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Santiago Casilla to pitch the eighth and Casilla struck out the side. Sean Doolittle closed out the game for Oakland. He allowed one hit but he, too, struck out the side to earn his first save. The A’s evened their record to 4-4 while KC dropped to 2-5.

The Royals Ian Kennedy pitched well but not well enough. Kennedy was charged with his second loss of the 2017 campaign.

The A’s and Royals are off on Tuesday and will resume play Wednesday night. The A’s Andrew Triggs with a record of 1-0 will pitch for the Green and Gold. The Royals will counter with Jason Hammell. Hammell pitched for the A’s in 2014 and won a championship ring last year with the Chicago Cubs. Game time will be at 5:05 pm