Category: Oakland Athletics

The Rangers beat the A’s again, Sweep the Series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish looks at the plate from the mound in the seventh had command over the Oakland A’s on Wednesday night at the Ball Park in Arlington

Arlington, Texas- The Texas Rangers, behind a terrific pitching performance by Yu Darvish and clutch hitting by Ian Desmond and Jonathan Lucroy, beat the A’s 6-2 to sweep the three-game series. Darvish earned his second win ever over the A’s. The A’s, in the past, owned Darvish. Darvish won his first start against the A’s in a rookie season and was 0-8 against them until Wednesday night. The A’s rookie lefty, Sean Manaea, pitched well for four innings. The Rangers scored twice in the fifth and three in the seventh. Manaea absorbed his eighth loss of the year. He went six-plus innings and allowed nine hits and five runs.

The A’s got off to a good start in the first inning. Coco Crisp hit a solo homer on just the second pitch of the game. It was his eleventh homer of the year. The Rangers tied the game in the bottom of then fourth when Jonathan Lucroy slammed a pitch into the left-field seats. Lucroy, an All-Star in Milwaukee, is thriving in Texas since his arrival at the trade deadline.  The game is even at one after four innings of play.

The A’s regained the lead in the fifth. Jake Smolinski hit his seventh homer of the year leading off the inning. The lead didn’t last long as the Rangers scored two in their half of the fifth. Ranger shortstop, Elvis Andrus, led off with a single. With one out, Delino DeShields doubled to put men on at second and third with one out. Ian Desmond followed with a single to put the Rangers in the lead 3-2.

The Rangers score three more in the seventh. Ian Desmond had a single with the bases loaded to drive in the Rangers’ fourth run. Carlos Beltran hit into a 4-2-3 double play. The A’s issued a free pass to Adrian Beltre to load the bases for the second time in the inning. Lucroy doubled down the right field line to drive in the final two runs of the game. The Ranger bullpen shut the A’s down in the eighth and ninth to secure the win for Texas.

Game Notes- The hitting stars for Texas were Jonathan Lucroy and Ian Desmond. Lucroy had a homer and double and knocked in three.Desmond had two singles, and he also had three ribbies.Yu Darvish improved to 4-3. Darvish pitched seven-plus innings and allowed eight hits and two runs.

The A’s have lost five straight and six of the last seven. The A’s were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position Wednesday and 2-for- 23 in the last two games. The A’s are now 52-69 and are seventeen games under .500.

The A’s made some roster moves Wednesday.The A’s called up Chad Pinder from Triple-A Nashville. Pinder can fill in at either shortstop or second base.  The A’s placedTyler Ladendorf on the 15-day DL with a sprained wrist and Jed Lowrie was moved to the 60-day DL.

The A’s are off on Thursday and will face the Chicago White Sox in Chicago for three games in Chicago.

Time of game was two hours and fifty-four minutes, and 26,743 people were on hand to see the Rangers complete the sweep.

 

 

New Athletics infielder Chad Pinder

A’s Update: Pinder promoted; Doolittle and Hahn pitch in Nashville; Lowrie to have surgery; Chapman to Triple-A

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
New Athletics infielder Chad Pinder
New Athletics infielder Chad Pinder

 

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Doolittle throws nine pitches to get three outs

On Monday in Nashville, the A’s left-handed reliever Sean Doolittle made a rehab appearance for the Triple-A Sounds. It was his first competitive pitching opportunity since going on the disabled list on June 30 – retroactive to June 26 – with a left shoulder strain.

Doolittle pitched the eighth inning against the Reno Aces. He struck out the lead off batter. IIdemaro Vargas – the second man up – hit a double to left field. The third hitter – Ed Lucas – grounded out to first but Vargas advanced to third with two out. Doolitte then induced Zach Borenstein to ground out to second for the final out of the inning.

Doolittle worked one inning and gave up no runs on one hit. He threw nine pitches of which eight were strikes. Doolittle had one strikeout and two groundouts to retire the side.

The plan is for Doolittle to pitch at least once more in Nashville before rejoining the A’s. The target is for him to come off the disabled list and be available for the Cleveland series that begins next Monday night in Oakland.

Jesse Hahn performs well in rehab start

A’s right-handed starting pitcher Jesse Hahn made a rehab start in Nashville on Tuesday. It was his first game experience since going on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain on August 5.

Hahn set the tone of the night by sitting the Tacoma Rainiers down in order in the top of the first inning. In the second inning, Hahn faced seven batters and gave up a run. He settled down in the third inning getting three consecutive outs after allowing a lead-off walk. In his fourth and final inning, Hahn sat the side down in order once again.

Hahn threw 79 pitches in his four innings of work. Hahn was most likely on target to throw approximately 80 pitches. Of his 79 pitches, 40 were strikes. He faced 17 batters in his four innings of work. Hahn was able to get five of those batters to groundout and one to flyout.

The plan for Hahn -assuming he feels well after resting up from the start – is to travel to Chicago and meet up with the A’s. He can come off the disabled list on August 21, so Hahn could start the final game of the series with the White Sox in Chicago.

The season is over for Jed Lowrie

Infielder Jed Lowrie and the Athletics have decided that he should go ahead with surgery to remove a bunion from his big toe on the left foot. Lowrie had tried to play through the injury but finally had to be shutdown in early August.

According to reports, Lowrie received several different medical opinions before deciding on season-ending surgery. The recovery – rehabilitation time is approximately three months.

Lowrie played 87 games this season and hit .263  with 12 doubles, one triple, 2 home runs and 27 rbi. He is signed through 2017 so Lowrie will return to the team next season.

Lowrie is currently on the 15-day disabled list. He will probably be transferred to the 60-day disabled list which will allow the A’s to make some moves with the 40-man roster.

Chad Pinder moves up to the show

The Oakland Athletics have promoted Chad Pinder from Triple-A Nashville to the big club as they have placed infielder Tyler Ladendorf on the 15-day disabled list. Ladendorf has a sprained left wrist. Ladendorf was batting .083 with .102 on base percentage.

In order to make this move, the A’s transferred Jed Lowrie to the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster for Pinder. Lowrie is out for the rest of the season and will soon have surgery on his left big toe.

Pinder also gives the A’s some flexibility in the infield that they are going to need very soon. Starting shortstop Marcus Semien is about to go on maternity leave and the A’s will need someone to fill in at the number six spot. Pinder is a shortstop who was moved to that position last year from second base.

Pinder is a 6-foot-2, 195 pound, 24 year-old who was drafted 79th overall in 2013 by Oakland out of Virginia Tech. He has progressed each year to the next higher level of the farm system for the last four years.

Pinder has played in 107 games for Nashville this season and has a .258 batting average, a .310 on base percentage and .425 slugging percentage. He has hit 23 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs and has driven in 51 runs.

The Athletics have now used the disabled list a record-breaking 26 times this season eclipsing the old mark of 25 times set in 2008.

Matt Chapman gets promoted

Last week, third baseman Matt Chapman batted .318 with .424 on base percentage and an .864 slugging percentage going 7-for-22 in six games for the Midland RockHounds. Chapman hit three doubles, three home runs, drove in eight runs and scored five runs. He was named the Texas League Offensive Player of the Week.

As a reward for his great week, the A’s told Chapman to pack his bags and get out of town. The 2014 first-round draft pick has been promoted to Triple-A Nashville. That means Chapman has gone from the Rookie League to Triple-A in less than three years. That is very impressive indeed.

Many prognosticators are projecting that by next season Matt Chapman and Ryon Healy will be the corner infielders for the Oakland A’s. Who will be at third and who will be at first? That is still to be determined, but the A’s may have found a power hitting duo that will lead their youth movement for years to come.

 

 

 

 

 

The Rangers find a way to beat the A’s in ten innings

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Rougned Odor gets in a headlock from Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos, Elvis Andrus left, AJ Griffin center right, and Nomar Mazara right celebrate the walk off hit by thrown by the Oakland A’s reliever Marc Rzepczynski in the tenth inning that hit Odor with the bases loaded at the Ball Park in Arlington on Tuesday night

Arlington, Texas – The Texas Rangers rallied from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the tenth when A’s reliever Marc Rzepczynski hit Rangers’ second baseman, Rougned Odor, with a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the winning run. The final score was 5-4. There is a saying in sports that says bad teams will find a way to lose and good teams will find a way to win. The A’s had their chances to put the game in the win column, but they couldn’t capitalize when necessary. The Rangers should have lost the game but the A’s bullpen failed them in the bottom of the tenth, and they gave the game to the Rangers.

The A’s scored first in the top of the second. With the bases loaded, Rangers’ starter Lucas Harrell walked Danny Valencia to force in a run. Harrell had to leave the game after the inning as he suffered a right groin strain. Andrew Triggs started for Oakland, and he pitched very well. Triggs went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just one run and two hits. He threw just seventy-five pitches in the contest. Triggs left with Robinson Chirinos in scoring position. Bob Melvin brought in Ryan Dull to face the very dangerous Carlos Beltran. Beltran greeted him with a single to tie the game. In the seventh, the Rangers scored their second run of the night to take a 2-1 lead. Rougned Odor walked to start the rally. He went to third on a Mitch Moreland single off the glove of Yonder Alonso. Elvis Andrus hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Odor.

The Rangers Alex Claudio pitched four shutout innings in relief of Harrell. Claudio had three speeds- slow, slower and slowest. He confused the A’s hitters with pitches that registered just sixty-five miles an hour on the speed gone. His fastball, when he threw one, came in at 85 mph. The Rangers closer, Sam Dyson, could not get the job done in the ninth. The A’s tied the game at two. Max Muncy singled. The A’s had Tyler Ladendorf pinch run for him. Ladendorf stole second when Coco Crisp struck out and then scored on a single by Danny Valencia. Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth and the game went into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, the A’s scored twice, and it looked like a win for the Green and Gold. BoMel gave the nod to John Axford to finish the game. Guess what? It did not happen. Axford walked Chirinos, Jonathan Lucroy, and Ian Desmond. That set the stage for Carlos Beltran. Beltran did not disappoint the Ranger fans as he singled to drive in two and tie the game. Melvin replaced Axford with lefty Marc Rzepczynski. Rzepczynski issued an intentional walk to Adrian Beltre to load the bases for the second time in the game. The next batter was Rougned Odor. Odor has been a thorn in the side of the A’s for a couple of seasons and Rzepczynski wanted to be very careful with him. That did not happen as Rzepczynski nailed him with a pitch to force in a run and the Rangers celebrated a walk-off victory. Final score 5-4 for Texas.

Game notes – The Rangers won their thirty-eighth come-from-behind game this season and improved to 71-50 and are in first place in the AL West and have the best record in the American League. The A’s drop to 52-68 and are sixteen games under .500.

Carlos Beltran was the hitting star for the Rangers Tuesday night. The Rangers acquired Beltran from the Yankees at the trade deadline. The thirty-nine-year-old Beltran, who has over 2500 hits and more than 400 homers on his resume, had four hits and three ribbies in the game.

The Rangers and A’s will conclude the three-game series at 5:05 pm Wednesday night at the Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The A’s Sean Manaea will be on the hill, and Yu Darvish will pitch for the Rangers. The Rangers will be going for a sweep.

21,877 watched the Rangers win in extra innings.

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Keeping Coco out of the line up is not a new kind of controversy

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AP file photo: Oakland A’s Coco Crisp dives into the Angels Stadium crowd for a Ji Man Choi of the Los Angeles Angels ball that Crisp wound up catching preventing a home run in the Thursday August 4th game

On the Oakland A’s with Charlie O, Keeping Coco Crisp out of the A’s line up is not something new in MLB. Coco says the Athletics and manager Bob Melvin are keeping him out of the line up to avoid having him fulfill the 130 games to reach vesting on part of his $13 million contract which expires this season. Crisp needs to play in 130 games to reach bonuses from hits, runs, home runs, and defensive play accumulated.

Melvin counters saying that Crisp will not be facing left handed pitching and Crisp says that’s cutting down not only on his playing time but his vesting time. This is pretty common kind of option that happens in a lot of contracts and what it does it puts in incentives usually these kind of contracts include a number of at bats, average, number of innings played, number of games played. Crisp had sat during Sunday vs. Seattle and Monday game vs. Texas. Crisp played the extra inning game in Texas leading off and going 1-5 on Tuesday.

Charlie O covers the A’s and does weekly podcasts on A’s baseball at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: With a number of A’s pitchers injured guys up from minors have to prove they can pitch in the big leagues

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AP photo: The Texas Rangers Elvis Andrus stands in at the plate facing Oakland A’s starter Ross Detwiler in the fourth inning Monday night at the Ball Park in Arlington to open a three game series

On the podcast with Jerry, Oakland A’s starter Zach Neal on Sunday pitching against the Seattle Mariners wasn’t pitching like he was before he gave up all five runs all earned, eight hits in 5.1 innings, he threw 74 pitches 45 for strikes, and took the loss he is now 2-2. So the A’s have some pitchers that are showing they can’t pitch in the Major Leagues not consistently. They have some good outings and not so good outings.

Once they get going and they can be more consistent it should be interesting going forward in the future for the A’s while they have to battle through adversity with injuries to the pitching staff the guys who are here now like Ross Detwiler that was picked off the scrap heap and Andrew Treggs and Neal they have to show that they can pitch to belong in the big leagues.

Jerry Feitelberg does the Oakland A’s podcasts each week right here on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

The Rangers down the A’s behind Beltre’s Grand Slam.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Texas Rangers Adrian Beltre takes Oakland A’s starter Ross Detwiler deep for a grand slam in the fifth inning as A’s catcher Stephen Vogt looks on Monday night at the Ball Park in Arlington

Arlington, Texas -The Oakland A’s began a six-game road trip with a loss to the Texas Rangers Monday night in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers, behind a strong effort by lefty Martin Perez, beat the A’s 5-2. The A’s have now lost four of the last five and are fifteen games under .500 for the year  Ross Detwiler, another lefty, started for the A’s and he absorbed his first loss of the year. Detwiler, released by the Rangers last year, was hoping to repeat his performance when he beat the Baltimore Orioles last week. That, however, did not happen, and Detwiler pitched just 4 and 2/3rds innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits. The Rangers’ third baseman, Adrian Beltre, hit a grand slam to put the Rangers ahead 5-2 in the fifth.

The A’s scored one in the first and one in the second when A’s rookie third baseman, Ryon Healy, hit his sixth tater of the year. The Rangers scored one in the fourth and then Beltre’s big blast in the fifth that propelled the Rangers to victory. Beltre has 432 career dingers and ten grand salamis. Without a doubt, he is on his way to Cooperstown.

Game Notes- The Rangers won their 70th game of the year are lead the AL West bu at least 5.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.The Rangers added catcher Jonathan Lucroy from Milwaukee and Carlos Beltran from New York as they want to win home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The A’s, on the other hand, went with a youth movement. Jake Smolinski was in center, Brett Eibner was in right, Ryon Healy at third and Tyler Ladendorf played second. Ladendorf made a sensational leaping catch to rob Rougned Odor of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning. Liam Hendriks, John Axford, and Marc Rzepczynski allowed just three hits and no runs and kept the A’s in the game. The A’s, however, could not solve Perez, Matt Bush or Sam Dyson. Bush earned a hold and Dyson recorded his twenty-seventh save of the season.

Detwiler hit Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch in the fifth. Choo suffered a broken forearm and probably will not play again this season.Choo will be making his fourth trip to the DL this year after just playing in forty-five games. Nomar Mazara will replace him in left field.

The A’s announced that Jed Lowrie would have season-ending surgery to remove a bunion.

Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at GlobeLife Stadium. Andrew Triggs will start for Oakland, and Lucas Harrell will be on the mound for Texas.

 

 

 

Seattle beats the A’s 8-4 to win the weekend series 2-1

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

neal

Photo by Associated Press Oakland A’s pitcher Zach Neal deals to the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of Sunday’s game at the Oakland Coliseum

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics lost on Sunday to the Seattle Mariners by the score of 8-4. The loss also meant that the A’s lost the series to M’s 2-1. After the success the Athletics had versus the Orioles earlier in the week, losing the weekend series has to be a major disappointment especially as they have to head out on a six-game road trip.

The story of the game was really about starting pitching. The Mariners started left-hander Wade LeBlanc who they acquired from Toronto for a player to be named later or cash considerations. He had made six starts coming into today’s game and had a record of 1-0.

LeBlanc worked six innings giving up 3 runs (all earned) on five hits. He struck out seven A’s batters and walked just one. LeBlanc pitched well enough to get his team to into the seventh inning where the bullpen could take over and put the game away. LeBlanc did get the win and is now 2-0.

Zach Neal – who has moved from reliever to starter – made his second start of August on Sunday. Neal struggled as he had to deal with baserunners in every inning. His pitches were elevated and flat which hurt him against the Mariners strong hitters.

Neal gave up five runs (all earned) on eight hits in 5.1 innings of work. He threw 74 pitches (45 strikes). Neal worked hard but was never able to take command of the game on the mound. He was hung with the loss and is now 2-2 for the year.

Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager was an A’s killer on Sunday as he hit two doubles, drove in four runs and scored a run in his five trips to the plate.

For the Athletics, it was all about the long ball. Khris Davis hit his 30th home run of the season – a two-run shot. Ryon Healy hit his fifth round-tripper since being called up from Triple-A, and Brett Eibner hit his second home run in A’s uniform on Sunday.

Seattle scored eight runs off 12 hits and left seven runners on base. The A’s scored four runs on nine hits and left six men on base.

Seattle is now 62-54 on the season. Oakland is 52-66 for the year.

A Game of Challenges

One the more unusual challenges to an umpiring call was made in the top of fourth inning. Everyone in the Oakland Coliseum – including the Athletics – thought inning was over when they completed a six – four – three double play. Players had left the field. The in-between innings music and videos were playing.

Slowly players, fans, reporters and others began to notice that the umpires had the headsets on to the video replay center. Seattle manager Scott Servais had challenged the double play call saying A’s second baseman Tyler Ladendorf had not touched the base with his foot before throwing to first. Prior to video replay, this was known as the “in the neighborhood play”. If the shortstop or second baseman’s foot was “the neighborhood” or near the base, the defense got the call. With video replay, “in the neighborhood” is a thing of the past. The game was delayed three minutes and 50 seconds for the replay decision to be made.

Video replay overturned the out at second. The A’s had to retake the field as the top of the fourth inning would continue. With Dae-Ho Lee at second base, shortstop Shawn O’Malley came to the plate with two out for the Mariners. O’Malley hit the first pitch from Neal up the middle into center field driving home Lee for fourth run of the game.

As you might expect, the partisan A’s crowd let the umpires at the Coliseum and the video replay officials back East know what they thought of their decision to overturn the call at second when the runner came home to score.

The Athletics also made a successful challenge of their own in the game. In the top of the third inning, Robinson Cano was on first for Seattle with one out. Nelson Cruz hit a ground ball on the left side of the infield that was fielded by Oakland third baseman Ryon Healy. Healy threw the ball to Tyler Ladendorf who stepped on second base but then dropped the ball as he began transfer the ball from his glove to his throwing hand. Second base umpire Marty Foster called the runner safe.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin challenged the call saying Ladendorf had possession of the ball when he touched the bag therefore the runner should be out. It took the MLB Video Replay Center one minute and 21 seconds to agree with Melvin and overturn Foster’s call.

On the Bump

Zach Neal is now 1-2 as a starting pitcher for Oakland this season. He has a 7.28 ERA in those three starts.

Neal’s nightmare with Adam Lind is finally over. Coming into the game on Sunday, Lind had faced Neal twice and had hit two home runs off the right-hander. Lind came to the plate in the second inning of the game on Sunday and hit a 1-2 pitch from Neal into the second deck down the right field line. At that point Lind was 3-for-3 versus Neal with all three hits being home runs. Neal finally induced Lind to fly out to the left fielder in the top of the third inning. Nightmare over.

Daniel Coulombe worked 2.2 innings of relief for Oakland. He gave up three runs (all earned) on four hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Chris Smith worked the ninth inning for the A’s. He gave up no runs or hits while striking out one and walking one.

The Mariners used three relief pitchers – Storen, Caminero and Vincent. Combined they gave up one run on four hits in three innings of work. They struck out two hitters and walked none.

In the Batter’s Box

Marcus Semien who went 1-for-5 on Sunday (double) is batting.300 (15-for-50) for the month of August.

Khris Davis hit a home run in every game of the weekend series with Seattle. 17 of his 30 home runs have been hit in the Oakland Coliseum.

Danny Valencia had a 2-for-4 day at the plate and scored a run.

Norichika Aoki had a 3-for-5 day for Seattle and has now hit safely in 19 of his 20 games with an at bat against the Oakland A’s.

Seattle shortstop Shawn O’Malley went 2-for-5 at the plate including a double, a rbi and a run scored.

Defense

A’s third baseman Ryon Healy made nice diving catch in the top of first inning. With infield in a shift to the right side of the infield for left-handed hitter Kyle Seager, Healy was alone on the left side. Seager hit a flare to left field. Healy turned and ran into left field following the ball over his shoulder while fighting the sun. He stretched out and made a diving catch for the first out of the inning.

Not to be outdone, Khris Davis had a defensive gem of his own in the top of the second inning. Leonys Martin hit a fly ball into shallow left center field making Davis dive, stretch and slide in order to make the catch.

The Athletics did not commit an error in the game.

Doolittle to Rehab in Music City

Sean Doolittle – who has been on the disabled list with a strained left shoulder – is headed to Nashville for a rehab pitching assignment. The plan is to have Doolittle pitch on Wednesday and then again on Saturday. If everything goes as planned, Doolittle would rejoin the big club in Oakland for the Cleveland series that begins on Monday, August 22.

Jesse Hahn Update

Right-handed pitcher Jesse Hahn has been on the disabled list since August 5 due to a right shoulder strain. Hahn threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Saturday and if everything is deemed positive medically, he could be headed off to a minor league rehab pitching assignment. If things go well, the plan is for Hahn to start the final game of the road trip in Chicago next Sunday against the White Sox.

Up Next

The A’s left for Texas after the game where they will begin a six-game seven-day road trip on Monday night. Unlike the last several series, the Athletics know their pitching rotation for the Texas games, and there will be no call ups of starting pitchers from Triple-A Nashville. The probable pitching match ups are:

Mon. 8/15 @ Texas LHP Ross Detwiler (1-0, 2.13) vs. LHP Martin Perez (7-8, 4.22) 5:05 PM

Tue. 8/16 @ Texas RHP Andrew Triggs (0-1, 5.50) vs. RHP Lucas Harrell (1-0, 5.74) 5:05 PM

Wed 8/17 @ Texas LHP Sean Manaea (4-7, 4.57) vs. RHP Yu Darvish (3-3, 2.77) 5:05 PM

Seattle moves on to Anaheim where they will start a four-game series with the Angels on Monday night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruz, Cano homer in the Mariners’ 4-3 win over the A’s

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By Morris Phillips

AP photo: Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners rounds third greeted by third base coach Manny Acta (14) after hitting a two run home run in the fifth off Oakland A’s starter Kendall Graveman at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday night

OAKLAND–Kendall Graveman ranks as the most experienced starter the A’s currently have to offer, but that’s hardly enough cache to keep the right hander from getting schooled by Seattle’s grey beard, sluggers Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano.

Cruz and Cano both homered off Graveman, the difference in a narrow, 4-3 loss for the A’s at the Coliseum on Saturday night. Catcher Stephen Vogt noticed the similarity in the home run pitches, both cutters on the first pitch of the at-bat.

“I’m surprised they put such good swings on them,” Vogt said. “It’s almost like they were sitting on it.”

“For the most part I thought I threw the ball well, maybe not commanding it early as well as I wanted to, to get ahead. But that’s the way it goes,” Graveman said.

Graveman’s record fell to 8-8, his first loss at the Coliseum since May 19. The homers were surprising as well, he hadn’t allowed a round tripper at home since July 18. But Cruz and Cano, with 55 home runs between them, have made careers of spoiling the plans of pitchers.

Cruz connected in the fourth inning, erasing the A’s early 1-0 lead. Cano’s shot came in the fifth, capping a three-run rally that put the Mariners up 4-1. The A’s would respond with a pair of runs in the sixth, but they couldn’t tie it, despite getting a leadoff hit from Coco Crisp in the seventh.

In the end, a frustrating loss for the A’s, who had 11 hits, and a bunch of opportunities, but just one hit and opportunity after the sixth inning when the Seattle bullpen took over. With runners in scoring position, the A’s squandered nine of their 11 at-bats.

The A’s are 14-14 since the All-Star break, after failing to win a fifth in the last six games of their home stand. With the disabled list (14 players currently) as populated as their dugout on most nights, the A’s are just trying to tread water while playing a string of opponents that have designs on the post-season.

Billy Butler had three hits and scored twice, as Melvin has found ways to get his part-time slugger in the lineup in the absence of a few other options. Vogt and Crisp combined for five hits, but both top-of-the-lineup hitters failed to score a run.

The A’s look to grab the rubber game of the series on Sunday with Zach Neal facing Seattle’s Wade LeBlanc.

A’s Stifle Surging Mariners 6-3, Stop Seattle at Six

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: There’s a celebration going on after the Oakland A’s defeat the Seattle Mariners at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night

OAKLAND, Calif. – One of the coolest teams in baseball managed to down the hottest team in the American League Friday night when the Oakland Athletics bested the visiting Seattle Mariners 6-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s, winners of just four of their last ten entering play, snapped a six game win streak for Seattle. The Mariners came into play winners in eight of their last ten games.

“They’re a very hot team,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin on his Friday foes. “They’ve won six in a row and put themselves back in the thick of the Wild Card race. They’ve transformed their bullpen, they got some guys at the deadline they can mix-and-match. You never really feel at ease at any part of their lineup. They’re a good team, it was a good win for us.”

Sean Manaea picked up his first win since June 29th, Khris Davis his 28th homerun of the year and Yonder Alonso knocked in a pair of runs to down the surging Mariners (60-54). Marcus Semien went four-for-four and Ryan Madson converted his 25th save for the Athletics (52-64).

The A’s scored three runs in the first, with catcher Stephen Vogt knocking in the first run before Davis’ two-run shot. Davis curled a Joe Wieland offering fair down the right field line for his 28th homer, a new career best, good for a 3-0 A’s lead.

“Nobody hits the ball down the right field line like that as a right-handed hitter,” said Melvin. “He really doesn’t even hit (the ball) all the way. Guys just don’t do that. He’s opposite field power is similar to a guy like (Miguel) Cabrera.”

The lead looked like it would be safe in Manaea’s hands, with the rookie south paw firing four innings of no-hit ball including three inning-ending double plays.

“I would have wanted to avoid a fourth time,” said Manaea. “But I would have taken it.”

The twin killings helped offset Manaea’s issues with finding the plate, with the lefty issuing three walks over the first three frames.

“My body felt good,” said Manaea. “It wasn’t a mechanics thing either. The ball just wasn’t coming out of my hand right.”

A fifth inning mistake over the plate, not off it, to Mariners’ third baseman Kyle Seager would prove costly for the “Throwin’ Samoan”. With a full count, Seager ruined Manaea’s date with history, crushing a line driver homer to pull Seattle within two at 3-1.

The Mariners would get to Manaea again in the sixth, opening the inning with a Ketel Marte single. Left fielder Shawn O’Malley tripled him home, then was brought home on a Franklin Gutierrez sacrifice fly to tie the game. Manaea would finish off the inning, turning the game over to the pen after just 75 pitches.

“It’s not often that we’ve seen his command off,” said Melvin. “That’s why I took him out when I did. It’s not that I want to cut him short this late in the year as far as pitches. We had a rested bullpen. He battled. These are the type of learning experiences that are good for him”

A rally in the bottom of the inning put Manaea (4-7, 4.57 ERA) in line for his first victory since the Bay Bridge Series at the end of June. Over his six starts since the 7-1 win over the Giants, Manaea has given up more than three runs only twice while receiving 20 runs of support from his offense.

Friday they would supply six runs, picking up another three in the sixth inning after the trio of scores to open the game. The A’s loaded the bases off Seattle starter Joe Wieland (0-1, 10.80 ERA) with no outs then scored two runs on Yonder Alonso’s single to chase the rookie making his first start of the 2016 season.

“The last three weeks his probably swung the bat better than anybody we have, him and Billy Butler,” said Melvin of Alonso. “He’s coming up big in situations. We win a game one to nothing the other night  and he knocks in that  run. He’s putting together some good at bats with guys on base and being very productive.”

Danny Valencia greeted reliever Drew Storen to the game by singling on the first pitch he saw, plating the sixth run of the game charged to Wieland.

The A’s wouldn’t score again off the Mariners pen, but they wouldn’t have to thanks to the work of relievers Liam Hendriks, Ryan Dull and closer Ryan Madson. Hendriks dominated in his inning of work, fanning three, while Dull surrendered just one hit and no runs during his frame. Ryan Madson went 1-2-3, popping out Dae-Ho Lee to end the game.

Oakland will look to make another rookie a winner for the first time in a number of starts in Saturday’s contest at the Coliseum. Kendall Graveman takes the hill looking for his first win since notching a third-straight decision on Independence Day. The ground ball pitcher has had mixed results since then, allowing four runs or more in five of eight outings. He’ll be opposed by Hisashi Iwakuma.

 

 

Put those brooms away: A’s fail to sweep Orioles despite comeback bid

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment
The A's couldn't sweep the Orioles on Thursday, losing 9-6 (Kelley L Cox / USA Today Sports)
The A’s couldn’t sweep the Orioles on Thursday, losing 9-6 (Kelley L Cox / USA Today Sports)

By: Eric He

AP photo: The Baltimore Orioles Mark Trumbo swings for the fences for a fifth inning grand slam against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday afternoon

OAKLAND — The A’s couldn’t finish off a sweep of the Orioles at home on Thursday afternoon, falling 9-6 at the Coliseum.

Down 7-0 at one point, the A’s snuck closer in the later innings with four runs in the eighth. Entering the inning trailing by six, Max Muncy hit a solo home run to right. A double by Yonder Alonso into the game scored two runs, and Billy Butler added an RBI single to draw the A’s within three.

They had the tying run on base in the ninth, as the bases were loaded with two out for Danny Valencia, but he grounded out to second to end the game.

After squeaking out one-run wins in each of the first three games of the series, the A’s showed fight in battling back from a large deficit, according to manager Bob Melvin.

“We showed good fight as much as anything,” he said. “The whole series, we won some close games. To be able to come back and knowing that their best relievers are going to come in the game late, we really never quit.”

He continued: “That’s good to see. It’s easy to let down when you’re down by seven runs at one point, but that wasn’t the case. We continued to fight.”

Neither team made much noise until the fourth inning, when the Orioles finally got to A’s spot starter Andrew Triggs. Manny Machado and Chris Davis singled to put runners at the corners with one out. A single by Mark Trumbo and a double to the gap by Pedro Alvarez scored three runs and ended Triggs’ day after 66 pitches.

Triggs said he was “happy” with his outing, but ran into some “speed bumps” in the fourth. He admitted his worst pitch was the 1-0 to Trumbo that resulted in the first run of the game.

“I was lucky in that situation to just get out of it with the single, and you get the double by Alvarez that breaks it open,” he said. “Overall, I was happy with the pitches I was making, for the most part.”

Daniel Coloumbe did not fare much better in relief in the fifth inning. He loaded the bases with two outs, and then allowed a grand slam to Trumbo who hit it out to straightaway center.

The A’s got on the board in the fifth inning on a two-run homer by Ryon Healy, but that was negated in the seventh by two runs by the Orioles – a home run by Adam Jones and another RBI by Alvarez.

Oakland, now 51-63 overall, is 3-4 on its 10-game homestand, which wraps up with a three-game series against the Mariners starting Friday at the Coliseum.