Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland A’s Friday game wrap: Red Sox Do “What They Do”, Score 16 Runs in Win Over A’s

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Dustin Pedroia comes into score for the Boston Red Sox is greeted by teammates against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. — When the Oakland Athletics pitching staff sleeps, their dreams are haunted by the Boston Red Sox prolific offense. The Red Sox (75-59) posted their fourth double-digit run total against the A’s this season, trouncing the A’s 16-2. David Ortiz, playing in his final series at the Oakland Coliseum, knocked in three runs and third baseman Travis Shaw hit a three-run homer for the Sox as part of a four RBI night for the Sox. Billy Butler and Stephen Vogt knocked in runs for the Athletics (57-77). Starter Andrew Triggs left the game early for the A’s with an injury.

The Red Sox demolished the A’s in a three-game sweep at Fenway Park May 9-11, outscoring the A’s 40-15 over that span. Friday night was more of the same with the A’s struggling to find answers against a Boston line-up boasting five .300 hitters.

“They’re first in the league in runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, everything,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “You have to make quality pitches to them, keep guys off base and keep the ball down.”

Starter Andrew Triggs fared well in his first inning against the Red Sox, allowing an unearned run after Xander Bogaerts reached on a Marcus Semien error and scored on one of two Ortiz RBI singles. Triggs , a long reliever forced into starting due to injuries, would exit the game after the inning however suffering from what the A’s medical staffed deemed to be back tightness.

“He’s pitched well,” said Melvin. “He’s trying to make a name for himself in the rotation. We’ve left him in there for a reason, because he’s pitched well. Hopefully it’s not too long before he’s back.”

Zach Neal would step in for Triggs and managed to surrender just one unearned run over his next three innings, allowing the A’s to tie the game against Sox starter David Price. Price held a no-hitter heading into the bottom of the fourth but gave up back-to-back singles to Jake Smolinski and Danny Valencia to open the frame. Khris Davis popped out to first baseman Hanley Ramirez deep in foul territory moving Smolinski to third base. Butler then popped out to plate Smolinski. Stephen Vogt would rip a double to bring Davis around.

Price (14-8, 3.92) would allow just one more hit, going seven innings with seven strikeouts and three walks. While Price cruised, Neal would begin to struggle in the fifth, getting two outs before yielding a double to Xander Bogaerts. Ortiz singled Bogaerts home, then Mookie Betts reached base with a single. Hanley Ramirez knocked them both in with a ringing double to give Boston a three-run edge 5-2 and chase Neal (2-4, 5.33) from the game.

“For a while there we were in the game,” said Melvin. “We came back to tie it. Then they did what they do and we made some mistakes.”

Daniel Coulombe was greeted with a Travis Shaw RBI double to make it 6-2. He managed to escape the fifth inning, but the Sox rallied again in the sixth. Coulumbe would load the bases before walking in a run to make it 7-2. Ortiz would add a sacrifice fly off Coulumbe before he departed trailing 8-2 with one out in the sixth.

J.B. Wendelken struggled mightily in his mop-up performance, allowing an RBI single to Hanley Ramirez before coughing up Shaw’s three-run long ball for an 12-2 deficit.  The Sox would add three more runs in the top of the eighth and another in the top of the 9th.

With rosters expanding on September 1st, the A’s did little to add to their bullpen depth, only activating reliever Sean Doolittle from the disabled list while adding starter Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Nashville. Mengden is expected to take Sean Manaea’s turn in the rotation after the south paw suffered an injury in his last start. Mengden, last a member of the A’s rotation in July, allowed 23 earned runs in 23 innings pitched that month. He failed to pitch more than 5 1/3 innings during that stretch, a troubling sign for an A’s team in desperate need of a deep performance Saturday. Mengden will be opposed by the Major League wins leader Rick Porcello. The sinker baller seeks out win number 19 on the season.

MLB podcast with Tony Renteria: Giants run into Cubs need this series at Wrigley; Will A’s use call ups or try to play spoiler in series with Red Sox

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AP photo: Cancer survivor Audrey Hughes throws out the first pitch before Friday’s game between the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field

On the MLB podcast with Tony the Chicago Cubs were going to be a challenge for the San Francisco Giants going into the current four game series in Wrigley. The Cubs who occupy first place in the NL Central are looking to take this series from the Giants with their line up, pitching, home field and manager Joe Maddon. Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija struggled in a short performance during Thursday’s outing going four innings, five hits, three runs, all earned, three walks, and three strike outs. Samardzija didn’t get the loss.

Oakland A’s got a day off on Thursday rest in important with all the injuries they’ve had and they needed going into this three game series with the Boston Red Sox who are just two games back in the AL East behind the first place Toronto Blue Jays. The A’s have a clubhouse full of call ups so this is a series where manager Bob Melvin wants to win and a series where A’s vice president and co-owner Billy Beane wants to see whose coming up from their triple A farm system in Nashville.

Tony Renteria does the MLB podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland A’s-Boston Red Sox Thursday preview: The Red Sox are in town to play the A’s Labor Day weekend.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Xander Bogaerts jumps for joy with Boston Red Sox teammate David Ortiz (34) after hitting a first inning home run against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are in Oakland starting Friday night.

OAKLAND- The powerful Boston Red Sox will be here in Oakland Friday to start a three-game series with the lowly Oakland Athletics. The Red Sox are in second-place in the AL East and are two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the top spot in the division. The Sox hold the first Wild Card slot, but the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles are right behind. They trail the Sox by two games as of Thursday.

The Red Sox, skippered by John Farrell, are loaded with hitters all over the field. Their weakness has been pitching, both starting and relieving. David Price, Rick Porcello, Drew Pomeranz, Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez make up the starting five. Price, who will pitch Friday night, got off to a slow start with Boston, but he has pitched well lately. His record is 13-8, and he has an ERA of 3.97. Rick Porcello will pitch Saturday. Porcello is having a terrific season. His record is 18-3, and his ERA is 3.26. The Red Sox will send lefty Eduardo Rodriguez to the hill on Sunday. Rodriguez owns a record of 2-6, and his ERA is 5.35. He sprained a knee early in the season and had not been consistent. The Sox hope that the big ballpark in Oakland will be to his liking. The Sox bullpen has also had problems. Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, and Craig Kimbrel have all been on the DL this season. Kimbrel is back, but Uehara is still not available, and Tazawa has been inconsistent. Former starter Clay Buchholz has been used in relief, and he has been quite effective. Other stalwarts are Matt Barnes, former Athletic Fernando Abad, Robbie Ross and another former Athletic Brad Ziegler.

The Red Sox offense is potent. They lead the league in runs scored. The infield features Xander Bogaerts at short, Dustin Pedroia at second, Hanley Ramirez at first and Travis Shaw and Aaron Hill platoon at third. Bogaerts is hitting .306 with 17 homers and 77 ribbies. Pedroia is hitting .323 with 12 dingers and 58 RBIs. Ramirez, who had a terrible season last year playing left field, is playing first, and he owns a .281 batting average and good power numbers-19 dingers and 84 runs batted in. Shaw was hot earlier in the year, and the Sox acquired Hill to alternate with Shaw at third.Both players cannot be taken lightly as they both have a lot of pop in their bats.

Mookie Betts, who is just twenty-three years old, is having a sensational year and is the running for the Most Valuable Player award. Betts is hitting .320 and has thirty home runs and ninety-six RBIs. He is just the third Red Sox player under the age of twenty-four to hit 30 homers in a season. Who were the other two? One was Ted Williams, and the other was Tony Conigliaro.Jackie Bradley Jr patrols center field for the Sox and Bradley, who was a number one prospect, finally has put it all together and is a wonderful defensive player and his offense shows a batting average of .273, and he has hit twenty-two balls out of the park, and knocked in seventy-five. The left fielders are Brock Holt and Chris Young. Young is another former Oakland Athletic on the Boston roster. Both Young and Holt spent time on the DL, but both possess power and can do damage.

Sandy Leon is the Boston catcher, and he has shown that he has a very potent bat. Leon is hitting .350 with seven long balls and twenty-eight knocked in in just 177 at-bats this year.

We now come to talk about Boston’s designated hitter, the incomparable David “Big Papi” Ortiz. This visit to Oakland will be his last one as an active player. Ortiz is going out with a bang. He sent 31 balls out of the park and has 102 runs batted in. He is hitting .313 and has an OPS of 1.022 Fans should flock to the ballpark to Ortiz play this weekend. The fans in Boston love him and who could forget him when he spoke to the fans after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Boston Strong became the symbol of the Red Sox and Boston that year. The A’s and everyone involved in Major League Baseball will miss the big guy.

The A’s will have their work cut out for them this weekend. The A’s are bringing up their young players and are in the process of rebuilding. Josh Reddick,  Rich Hill, and Coco Crisp are gone. Sonny Gray, DannyFelix Dubrount, Sean Doolittle, Jesse Hahn, Sean Manaea all have been on the DL one time or another this DannyValencia, Khris Davis, Marcus Semien, Stephen Vogt and Yonder Alonso have produced, but they are good players, not great ones. The A’s will be playing Jake Smolinski, Bruce Maxwell, Chad Pinder, Joey Wendle, Brett Eibner, and Ryon Healy along with some of the older veterans.

The A’s are currently in the cellar in the AL West. However, A’s manager Bob Melvin will not let these guys quit. They will be playing for not only pride but for their jobs with the team next year. Look for the A’s to put up a good fight this weekend and as they say in baseball” you never know what’s going to happen.”

Oakland A’s Wednesday game wrap: The Astros find a way to win, sweep the A’s in one run loss 4-3

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s Jake Smolinski (5) is greeted by teammate Chad Pinder (18) after scoring in the second inning off the Houston Astros on Wednesday at Minute Maid Field

Houston- The Houston Astros swept the three-game series with the A’s Wednesday afternoon in Houston as they came-from-behind in the bottom of the eighth to beat the A’s 4-3. The A’s starter, Ross Detwiler, had an excellent outing. He pitched seven innings and allowed just three hits and one run while striking out seven. Detwiler, in his five starts with Oakland, has had three terrific games. He also had two poor starts, too.Detwiler pitched well enough to win, but Liam Hendriks could not get the job done. Hendriks, who had improved his game after being on the DL earlier this year, gave up the three runs that propelled the Astros to victory. The Houston starter, Mike Fiers, went five innings, allowed eight hits and three runs, two of which were unearned. As  Bob Melvin would say, doesn’t matter if they are earned or unearned, we’ll take them. However, the A’s neither scored nor got a hit after the fifth inning as the Houston bullpen stopped them cold.

The A’s scored three runs in the second inning. The key play was a Carlos Correa error that led to two unearned runs for Oakland. Jake Smolinski drove in two with a triple, and Bruce Maxwell had a single to drive another run.  The ‘Stros scored one in the bottom of the fourth as Correa made up for his error by driving in the first run of the game for Houston.

Bob Melvin summoned Liam Hendriks from the bullpen to start the eighth inning. Hendriks retired the first two hitters but then the roof caved in on him. George Springer tripled to put a man on third with two out. The next hitter, Alex Bregman, struck out swinging, but the ball got by catcher Bruce Maxwell. Springer scored, and Bregman reached first safely. Jose Altuve tripled to drive in Bregman, and Altuve scored on an Evan Gattis single to put Houston ahead 4-3. Ken Giles earned his seventh save of the year as he closed out the game to secure the win for Houston.

Game Notes- The Astros now lead the A’s 10-6 for the season. The two teams will conclude play against each other when the Astros visit the Oakland Coliseum September 19,20 and 21.

The A’s recalled Joey Wendle from Triple-A Nashville to replace the departed Coco Crisp. Wendle, 26-years old, made his Major League Debut Wednesday in Houston. Wendle went hitless but did score a run.

The A’s are off on Thursday as they return home for a three-game series this weekend with the Boston Red Sox. David Ortiz will be visiting the Coliseum for the last time as he is retiring at the end of the season. The A’s then play the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners to conclude the homestand.

It’s official: Coco goes to back to Cleveland for minor league pitcher

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

coco hair

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Coco Crisp era in Oakland has come to an end. The A’s and the Cleveland Indians have reached an agreement on a trade that sends Crisp back to his original major league team.

In return, the Athletics will receive minor league left-handed pitcher Colt Hynes.

Cleveland has been looking for outfield help since Michael Brantley went out for the rest of the season due to surgery on his right biceps. The Indians have been using a group of five players to platoon against right-handed and left-handed pitching. The switch-hitting Crisp can be used in all situations.

The Indians will lose one of the outfielders they are using in post-season play. Abraham Almonte is not eligible for the post-season because he was suspended for the first 81 games of the season due to a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance. He is not allowed to participate in the post-season as a part of his punishment.

Crisp gives the Indians a player with post-season experience. He has participated in divisional and championship play with Boston and Oakland. Crisp was also a member of the 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox team.

Crisp was batting .234 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 102 games for the A’s this season. He leads the majors with a .424 batting average with runners in scoring position. Crisp can play all three outfield positions.

Crisp had recently expressed his unhappiness with the A’s over the way he was being used as a player. Crisp has an incentive based $13-million contract for 2017 that would automatically vest if he plays 130 or more games this season. He felt the A’s were deliberately platooning him in the outfield to avoid having the final year of the contract go into force.

LHP Colt Hynes has been well traveled this year. He started the season with the Toronto organization and was traded to Cleveland on August 3rd. Hynes has pitched at the Double-A and Triple-A level this year with a combined record of 3-1 with two saves and an ERA of 3.99 in 38 relief appearances. He has pitched in the Major Leagues for San Diego and Toronto.

Infielder Joey Wendle has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take Crisp’s place on the roster. He was battling .279 with 12 home runs and 61 RBI for the Sounds. Wendle came to the A’s from Cleveland in 2014 as part of the Brandon Moss trade

Oakland A’s Tuesday game wrap: The Astros beat the A’s again 3-1

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Kendall Graveman Oakland A’s pitcher in the seventh inning gives up a home run to Evan Gattis of the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Field

Houston- The Astros took the second game of the three-game set 3-1 Tuesday night in Houston. The victory meant the Astros would win the series, and they go for the sweep Wednesday afternoon. The Astro’s starter Collin McHugh pitched six scoreless innings and allowed the A’s just four hits. The A’s Kendall Graveman also pitched well but not well enough to win. Graveman went seven innings and allowed three runs on four hits. Unfortunately, two of those hits were solo home runs.

Colby Rasmus hit a solo homer in the second to give the Astros the lead 1-0.  It was Rasmus’ first plate appearance since he came off the DL. Houston scored a single run in the third on a RBI single by Alex Bregman. Evan Gattis unloaded his twenty-second of the year in the seventh to extend the lead to 3-0. The A’s scored an unearned run in the top of the eighth but it wasn’t quite enough to catch the Astros and they fall to Houston 3-1.

Game Notes- With the loss, Graveman’s record fall to 10-9. He leads the A’s staff with ten wins.  “We just didn’t do enough offensively to give [Graveman] support,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ll take that stuff every night.”

“Those are the games where you save two runs there, make a couple better pitches and then you’re 1-1, so they did a good job of neutralizing our offense, and you get that feeling where you need to keep it where it’s at, but to go out and eat some innings was good,” Graveman said. “But I still feel like there’s work to be done.”

The Astros have now won nine of the last eleven games played, and they find themselves in the thick of the race for either the first or second Wild Card slot. The Red Sox are currently in the first slot. They lead the Orioles by two games. The Orioles lead the Tigers by one, and the Royals and Astros are also two back of Baltimore.

The A’s meet the Astros again Wednesday for the final game of the series. Game time will be at 11:10 am PT. Lefty Ross Detwiler(1-3) will make his fifth start as an Athletic, and Mike Fiers(9-6) will throw for Houston.

In other news, there are reports that the A’s have traded Coco Crisp to the Cleveland Indians. Coco was not in the lineup Tuesday night, and he cleaned out his locker and left the park before the start of the game. The formal announcement will be made Wednesday after approval of the trade by Major League Baseball.

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News, and Commentary: Kaepernick will do a sit down anthem in heavily militarized San Diego this Thursday nite

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AP file photo: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers meet at midfield following their pre season game August 26th

On That’s Amaury’s podcast this Thursday is the highly anticipated game and it’s not the exhibition game with the San Francisco 49ers in San Diego that is of discussion but 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick who made it known that he will sit down during the national anthem before this coming Thursday’s final pre season game at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego against the Chargers. San Diego is a heavily militarized city with a number of veterans who are based in San Diego this should be a real cluster when the fans are all over Kaepernick for not standing during the anthem.

Amaury said on his podcast that one thing that unites this country is the national anthem and the flag. Amaury wrote about this and he said  this is not the right decision by Kaepernick. There is free speech in this country Kap can say whatever he wants however on Tuesday the Chief of Police of San Francisco is asking for an apology from Kaepernick which he and his department didn’t receive. Kaepernick says he’s protesting the anthem because of the discrimination that blacks face and for those who were shot by police without just cause. Kaepernick who is not having a great pre season could get cut by the 49ers after Thursday’s game and quarterback Blaine Gabbert has been named the starting quarterback for the season opener on September 12 vs. The Los Angeles Rams.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV talent for the Angels, the Spanish radio talent for the A’s, and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: With Manaea out A’s look to Nashville for more help

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AP file photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea pitches against the Texas Rangers on August 17th

On the A’s podcast any injury that a team encounters is serious right now because they have been the walking wounded all season long. Literally they have an entire starting rotation on the disabled list already. They listed the injuries for A’s pitcher Sean Manaea as a left rhomboid muscle strain and I have learned more about anatomy this year that I ever wanted to learn in my entire life because of the A’s.

So this works with other muscle groups as the rhomboid in all we know about it forms in what we know as the scapular it ties into the trapezius muscle. Where did we hear trapezius? Oh yeah that would be with A’s pitcher Sonny Gray that would be correct. It ties all in there. It has a lot to do with the exceleration of the shoulder in the release of the ball as it would come through. It’s not a real serious injury it’s one that they talk a lot about having rest, massage, and anti-inflammatory and it looks like one of those kinds of things where a guy can bounce back from it relatively quickly.

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

Oakland A’s trade report: The A’s traded Coco Crisp to the Indians

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by Jerry Feitelberg

thenewssickstadium.BlogSpot.com file photo: A favorite Coco Crisp photo during happier days with the Oakland A’s

HOUSTON–Fan favorite Coco Crisp is no longer an Oakland Athletic. Crisp was not in the lineup Tuesday night in Houston and  he packed up his locker and took his gear and left the ballpark.  The trade was announced by the A’s. Coco had the right to reject the trade as he was a 10-5 man. Coco spent the last five years with the A’s and waived the right to reject the trade.

Oakland A’s Monday game wrap: The A’s fall to the Astros, Manaea injured

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea pitches to the Houston Astros on Monday night at Minute Field in the second inning

Houston- The Houston Astros shutout the Oakland A’s 6-0 behind a strong performance by rookie Joe Musgrove. Musgrove, whose last two starts were a disaster, got back on track and blanked the A’s over five and 1/3rd innings of work. Musgrove allowed just three hits while walking three and striking out seven. He had retired eleven of the first thirteen A’s batters before Khris Davis singled in the fourth. The A’s lefty Sean Manaea took the loss. Manaea is now 5-9 for the season. Manaea went just three and 1/3rd innings and gave up two unearned runs. He allowed just one hit and struck out four. Manaea left the game with a left rhomboid strain. The rhomboid muscle is located between the spine and the scapula. Manaea is listed as day-to-day. Manaea said it is “just frustrating from where I’m at. I have “already been on the DL once and to me, it feels like I’m letting everyone down.I hate being hurt and just getting taken out early.” Chris Smith took over, and he was touched up for four Houston runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Houston scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead. Manaea walked a man with the bases loaded twice to plate the two Houston runs.The Astros’ All-Star second baseman, Jose Altuve homered off Chris Smith in the sixth to put the ‘Stros up 3-0. They scored two more in the seventh to put the game away 6-0. They key hits were a single by Alex Bregman that drove in two and a RBI single off the bat of Carlos Correa.

Game Notes- The A’s reinstated Billy Butler off the 7-day concussion DL Monday. Reliever Sean Doolittle, who is out with a shoulder strain, will have a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Nashville. Former All-Star, Henderson Alvarez, recovering from shoulder surgery, is set to start a rehab assignment in Stockton. Jesse Hahn will pitch Wednesday for Nashville.

The A’s meet the Astros Tuesday night for the second game of the three-game series. Kendall Graveman(10-8) will pitch for Oakland, and Collin McHugh (8-10) will handle the pitching chores for the Astros. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT.