AP photo: Oakland A’s Josh Reddick shown plays the ball off the wall hit by Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez on Sunday was part of the deal sending him and pitcher Rich Hill to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday
OAKLAND–It’s pretty safe to say that “Careless Whisper” will not be heard inside the Oakland Coliseum for the foreseeable future.
That’s because the A’s sent outfielder Josh Reddick, who brought the George Michael-performed slow melody to the batter’s box with him a couple of years ago to much fanfare, to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with starting pitcher Rich Hill for three prospects.
For the A’s, unloading top players for prospects that the team hopes can contribute at some point down the road is nothing new, as they have had nothing to play for at this point in the past two seasons, and it does not looks like they will be playing for anything any time soon, either.
After a hot start to the second half, the A’s were swept in a weekend series by the Indians in Cleveland, which own one the second-best record in the American League at 60-43, and they followed the drubbing up by essentially throwing in the towel on their season yet again in an attempt to gain hope in a future that is, at this point anyway, murky at best.
For another example of that, one just needs to reference the trade of third baseman Josh Donaldson after the 2014 season, a deal that the A’s have yet to real any benefits at all, with the exception of the unloading of salary.
Donaldson, by the way, went on to win the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 2015 with his new team, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers are doing whatever they can to try and take down the Giants in the National League West, and adding Reddick and Hill went a long way toward accomplishing that goal. Expect Reddick, who is batting .296 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs after missing five weeks with a broken thumb, to start in right field, particularly after the Dodgers promptly sent immensely talented-yet-mightily troubled outfielder Yasiel Puig to the minors following Reddick’s acquisition.
Hill is expected to bolster an injury-plagued rotation that is desperately in need of a fifth starter. He is 9-3 this year with a 2.25 earned-run average, but he is currently battling a blister on his pitching hand himself. He is schedule to come off the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 20, on Saturday.
As for the A’s, they will get on with the rest of their season on Tuesday, when they travel to Anaheim for a three-game series with the Angels, who share last place with the A’s in the American League West.
They will then come back home to the Coliseum for a three-gamer with the Chicago Cubs, who are atop the National League Central before hosting the Baltimore Orioles for four games and then the Seattle Mariners for three more
The A’s indicated on Sunday they might go for a contract extension with pitcher Rich Hill rather than trade him. Either that was a smoke screen or the extension talks did not go well because Hill is now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hill is currently on the disabled listed due to a blister on his middle finger of his pitching hand. Hill was placed on the DL retroactive to July 20 on July 30. He can be reinstated on August 4. Hill was 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 14 starts for the Athletics.
Reddick had also been the focus of contract extension talks as he will become a free agent at the end of the season. Those contract talks were not fruitful or did not look promising as Reddick is also a Dodger as of today.
Reddick was hitting .296 with eight home runs and 28 RBI in 68 games for the A’s this season. Reddick spent May 20 to June 27 on the disabled list with a fractured thumb. He had been seen as a trade target by several teams as the trade deadline approached. The Dodgers remained at the top of the list of suitors for Reddick’s services.
As has been the Athletics style, they will receive prospects in return for Hill and Reddick. In this case, all three prospects are pitchers.
Jharel Cotton is a 24-year old right-hand pitcher who has been playing at the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City this season. He had appeared in 22 games (16 starts) with a record of 8-5. His 4.90 ERA is high but earned run averages tend to run high in the Pacific Coast League.
Cotton has an above average fastball.The speed of that fastball changes depending on whether he is starting or relieving. As a starter, he throws the fastball in the upper 80’s. As a reliever, he ups the speed of his number one pitch into the 90’s.
Cotton has a plus-change up that he uses frequently as an out pitch. He also throws a cutter and a curve but both are considered below average. He really needs to develop a third pitch.
At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Cotton’s size is more suited to being a relief pitcher rather than a starting pitcher in the major leagues. Cotton has been assigned to the A’s Triple-A team in Nashville.
Frankie Montas is a hard throwing right-hander who has seen some time in the big leagues with the Chicago White Sox. He appeared in seven games (two starts) for the Sox in 2015. Montas was traded to the Dodgers in a three-team trade that sent Trayce Thompson to Los Angeles.
Montas had rib surgery in February and has been limited to 16.0 innings of work in 2016. There have been conflicting reports about when Montas will be able to pitch again. Some reports have him pitching again in September and others have him not returning to action until the Arizona Fall League gets underway.
Montas is 6-foot-2 and 255 pounds. His size may be a part of his power as a pitcher but it is also a concern about how it may impact his health in the long run.
Montas has an excellent fastball with some sink that he throws consistently in the 90’s and will ramp up to 102 mph on occasion. His number two pitch is a slider that he throws in the mid-80’s. Scouts say Montas needs to develop a third pitch.
Montas gets into trouble when he overthrows his pitches. His fastball straightens out and his slider flattens out which makes both pitches less effective.
The big question that has followed Montas is whether he is a starter or reliever. The early takes are that the A’s will work to make Montas a starter.
The final piece of this trade is a youngster. Grant Holmes is just 20-years old and is already in his third year of professional baseball. The Dodgers drafted him in the first round of the 2014 draft with number 22 overall pick.
Holmes is a 6-foot-1, 215 pound, right-hand throwing pitcher. He has a fastball that runs up near 100 mph on a regular basis. Holmes also has a hard, sharp breaking curve ball. He also is working on what is considered a very promising change up.
Holmes is 8-4 with a 4.02 ERA for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga this season. He has appeared in 20 games (18 starts). Despite those impressive numbers as a starter, many experts see Holmes as a reliever by the time he reaches the big leagues.
The A’s have not announced what team Holmes will be assigned to in the organization.
AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Rich Hill part of the deal that sent him and Josh Reddick to the Los Angeles Dodgers for four prospects
On the A’s podcast with Jerry the A’s without Josh Reddick and Rich Hill will definitely be a different team. A’s general manager Billy Beane who had players like Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson and dealt them at the trade deadline did not hesitate to deal Reddick and Hill to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospects. How this effects the A’s is Reddick was a great clubhouse presence for the team and with the A’s struggling he was an important piece to that roster. Hill had recently suffered from having a blister on his finger and was a dependable starter in the rotation and he now adds to the Dodgers rotation.
The A’s are just coming off a three game sweep in Cleveland and are headed to Anaheim for three games with the Angels. The A’s return back to the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night to face the Cubs for a three game series. Trivia note the last time the A’s and Cubs met each other in the World Series was in 1929 when the A’s were the Philadelphia A’s.
Tough day for Sonny Gray in Cleveland. Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Cleveland Indians completed a three-game sweep of Oakland on Sunday by shutting out the Athletics 8-0. The Indians rode the strong starting pitching of Corey Kluber and the well timed hitting of the bottom third of the order to close out the A’s trip to Cleveland out on a down note.
The victory was the Indians 60th of season against 42 losses. The “Tribe” has now won three games in-a-row and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The win gives them a 4.5 game lead over second-place Detroit in the AL Central.
The loss drops the A’s record to 47-58 – 11 games under the key goal of getting to the .500 mark. The A’s have lost three straight games and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Oakland has dropped into last place in the AL West – 14.0 games back of Texas and 0.5 games back of the Angels in fourth place.
On the Bump
Sonny Gray looked strong in the first two innings of the game. He sat the side down in order in each inning and it appeared Gray was on track for a strong outing. Then came the third inning and the wheels came off for Gray.
Gray loaded the bases and then with one out, gave up single to right field to Jason Kipnis that was good for two RBI. Francisco Lindor then hit a sacrifice fly to center field that drove in Roberto Perez. Designated Hitter Mike Napoli then hit a two-run home run over the left center field wall to make it a 5-0 game in favor of the Indians.
The A’s were unable to find any runs in the top of the fourth to help Gray as he headed back to the mound to face the Cleveland batters.
Gray gave up another run on two singles and walk and his day on the hill was over. Daniel Coulombe came on in relief and gave up a sacrifice fly (run charged to Gray) before getting the final out. The Indians led 7-0 after four complete innings.
The Indians would score once more in the bottom of the fifth-inning.
Sonny Gray’s record fell to 5-10 for the year. Even more alarming his ERA rose to 5.84. On Sunday, Gray worked just 3.1 innings giving up seven runs (all earned) on eight hits. He struck out three and walked two. Gray threw 64 pitches (43 strikes).
Daniel Coulombe threw 1.2 innings in relief giving up one run (earned) on one hit while striking out two and walking two hitters. J.B. Wendelken worked three scoreless innings of long relief giving up just one hit, striking out three and issuing one walk.
It really was Corey Kluber’s day on the bump. The 2014 Cy Young winner was in great form as he threw 7.0 scorless innings distributing just five hits, walking just two A’s while striking out seven hitters. Kluber threw 103 pitches (67 strikes). It was the kind of performance that one would expect out of the number one man in the rotation of a first-place team.
The Indians used three pitchers to cover the eighth and ninth innings to close out the game.
In the Batter’s Box
Yonder Alonso had the only multi-hit game for the A’s. He had a double and a single in the game to raise his average to .250. Stephen Vogt, Jake Smolinski and Marcus Semien all hit doubles in the contest.
The A’s left eight runners on base and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
DH Mike Napoli was the man at the plate for Cleveland on Sunday. He went 1-for-3 with a 2-run home run, scored two runs, had two RBI and added a walk.
The number seven, eight and nine hitters in the order collected five of Cleveland’s 10 hits and scored five of their eight runs. That is a pretty productive bottom third of the order.
The Indians left six runners on base and were 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
On Defense
In the bottom of the fourth, Lonnie Chisenhall was at first when Tyler Naquin singled to right field. Josh Reddick fielded the ball and then threw a bullet to third base to try to cut down Chisenhall who decided to challenge Reddick’s arm. Rookie Ryon Healy took the throw, put down the tag and Chisenhall became the first out of the inning.
Who goes – who stays
The clock is ticking and the phones are ringing as teams are desperately trying to make deals before the non-wavier trade deadline hits at 1:00 PM PDT on Monday. There are several A’s players that the “experts” think could be on the move.
The two most prominent names are still pitcher Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick. The new wrinkle involving these two players is that several teams are trying to pick them up as a package. Peter Gammons of MLB Network says the Dodgers have asked about the two as a package deal. Ken Rosenthal of Fox is reporting that the Blue Jays are also pursuing the pair as a package.
With Hill on the DL due the blister on pitching hand, some teams have asked about a conditional trade that would reduce the compensation to the A’s if Hill is unable to become competitive for the rest of the season. The word is the A’s have said no to those proposals. Hill is a “as is” with “no warranty” trade. You buy it – you own it.
The name of Danny Valencia has dropped off the radar in the last 72 hours but do not be surprised to hear Valencia has packed his bags and is on his way to a contender tomorrow afternoon. His productive bat is too good to be ignored.
Up Next
The A’s traveled to Southern California after the game on Sunday and will have a day off before beginning a three-game series with the Angels on Tuesday.
Tue 8/2 @LAA LHP Sean Manaea (3-5,4.57) vs. RHP Matt Shoemaker (5-11,4.17) 7:05 PM PDT
Wed 8/3 @LAA RHP Kendall Graveman (7-7,4.15) vs. RHP Jared Weaver (8-8,5.14) 7:05 PM PDT
Thu 8/4 @LAA To Be Announced for Oakland vs. RHP Tim Lincecum (2-5,8.49) 4:05 PM PDT
The Indians will stay in Cleveland and will begin a four-game series with the Twins on Monday night.
Surrendering hard hit balls in play, including three that cleared the fences, made Saturday’s lesson in baseball’s finer points a particularly tough one for Dillon Overstreet.
The fast-rising rookie who has excelled throughout the A’s minor league system was promoted for the third time this season, a nice reward for a 24-year old who has big league talent, if not at this point, big league chops.
Overstreet’s biggest issue with missing pitch locations was plastered over Cleveland’s scouting reports and brought home by his Oakland coaches entering his outing at Progressive Field. Miss, and like his struggles in his first three major league starts, home runs could result. That aspect of Overstreet’s game cropped up early on Saturday, while he was warming up.
“I could tell a little bit in the bullpen I wasn’t as crisp as I was when I was up here a couple weeks ago,” Overstreet said. “I could tell I was just a little off. Obviously it went into the game.”
Overstreet went on to surrender five runs on 10 hits, and he was removed in the fourth inning of the Indians 6-3 win over the A’s. The A’s have dropped the first two games in Cleveland, after winning two of three games in each of their previous three series.
As manager Bob Melvin explained afterwards, Overstreet was over the plate and the Indians, with just one home run hit in their previous six games, in turn went over the wall. Melvin got specific, saying his rookie pitcher needed to bust hitters inside with pitches just tantalizingly off the plate, then build on that with swing and miss strikes away. Instead, the hyped-up Overstreet was in between and elevated on home runs hit by Jason Kipnis and Jose Ramirez, the second and sixth batters of the night.
With the game tied at 2 in the fourth, Abraham Almonte hit a 442-foot bomb off Overstreet. It was Almonte’s first home run of the season, a sign that the Cleveland outfielder knew what to look for and where against Overstreet. In four starts, Overstreet has now given up nine home runs, a number that likely will insure he makes his next start at AAA Nashville, not with the A’s. According to Melvin, Overstreet appears to lost some confidence after allowing so many round trippers.
Josh Tomlin did the job against the Oakland offense, holding the A’s to six hits and two runs in seven innings of work. The veteran pitcher got a nice assist from Almonte, who threw out Bruce Maxwell at second base trying to stretch a single in the fifth.
Billy Butler and Marcus Semien hit home runs for the A’s, with Semien’s coming with two outs in the ninth inning and the A’s trailing by four. Butler’s tied the game in the fourth inning, and may have fired up the Indians.
A couple of pitches before Butler connected, he and Cleveland catcher Chris Giminez had words about some of the verbal jockeying Giminez was doing in attempts to influence umpire Tripp Gibson. The jawing continued as Butler flipped his bat before rounding the bases, and Gibson got between the players as Butler crossed the plate.
The Indians’ response came in their next at-bat with a four-run outburst that chased Overstreet, and effectively put the game away.
On the trade front, rumors persist regarding Josh Reddick and Rich Hill, even as Hill was placed on the disabled list with his blister issue that forced him from his last outing after just five pitches. Billy Burns, however, was moved on Saturday, traded to the Royals for outfielder Brett Eibner. Both Eibner and Burns are currently playing at the AAA level.
On Sunday, Sonny Gray goes for the A’s, attempting to win for the second time on the road trip. Corey Kluber will pitch for the Indians with the first pitch at 10:10am.
AP photo: Cleveland’s Carlos Santana celebrates after going deep on Oakland A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman in the sixth inning as plate umpire Scott Barry watches in Cleveland on Friday night
The Oakland Athletics entered play Friday night as one of the hottest teams in the American League, going 9-4 since the All-Star break. Their hot run was derailed Friday night in Cleveland after the Indians (58-42) rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 5-3 victory at Progressive Field, scoring four runs in the seventh inning.
Kendall Graveman (7-7, 4.15 ERA) appeared on the verge of another solid outing after allowing only one run over the first six innings, but he and Mark Rzepcynski failed to quell an Indians rally. Josh Reddick, rumored to be on the move at the trade deadline, went deep back-to-back with Khris Davis, but the A’s (47-56) couldn’t scratch a run off the Tribe bullpen.
Billy Butler singled home the first run of the game on a two-out hit that plated Reddick. Reddick reached base earlier to open the inning on a throwing error by Mike Napoli. Reddick (8th homer of the season) and Davis (26th) hit their consecutive dingers to open the sixth inning.
Bauer bounced back to strike Stephen Vogt out but issued a walk to Billy Butler and coughed up a Yonder Alonso single before making way for former Athletic Dan Otero. Otero induced a flyout from Marcus Semien then forced Ryon Healey to bounce out to end the inning.
Graveman opened the sixth inning by surrendering a homer to Cleveland’s unconventional leadoff hitter, Carlos Santana. He’d allow a Francisco Lindor walk but escape the inning without any further damage.
Cody Anderson (2-4 7.09 ERA) pitched the top of the seventh, winding up the winner thanks to the Cleveland comeback in the bottom half of the frame. Lonnie Chisenhall popped out to open the inning, but Rajai Davis reached on an error by Marcus Semien. Rookie Tyler Naquin singled to advance Davis to second, then pinch-hitter Abraham Almonte drove him in with a base hit, chasing Graveman in the process.
Santana drew a walk off the newly inserted Rzepcynski, then Jason Kipnis knocked in Naquin to tie the game with a single of his own. Ryan Dull, the baserunner-stranding specialist, replaced the lefty with one out and the bases loaded. He uncorked a wild pitch to bring home a run and surrendered another on a Lindor sacrifice fly for a 5-3 A’s deficit. He would escape the inning without any further damage.
Neither pen would be scored on for the rest of the contest, with Cody Allen working his way around two baserunners and one out for his 20th save of the season.
Saturday the A’s send Dillon Overton to the mound for his fourth career major league start. The Indians send Josh Tomlin to the hill to try to take game two of three.
The Oakland Athletics have announced they are extending their player development contract with the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League through 2018. The New York-Penn League is a short-season Class-A league that plays 79 regular season games from mid-June to Labor Day. A playoff schedule runs through September 15th.
The league is made up of 13 teams that are divided up into three divisions. Teams play in small towns like Burlington, Vermont to large cities like Brooklyn, New York.
“We are pleased to extend our partnership with the Vermont Lake Monsters. A number of our organization’s most talented players have thrived during their time with the Lake Monsters before advancing through our system,” said A’s General Manager David Forst. “Over the past six seasons, we’ve enjoyed a great working relationship with Ray Pecor, Kyle Bostwick, and the entire Lake Monsters organization, as well as with the City of Burlington. We look forward to future success.”
“The Oakland Athletics have been great partners, both on and off the field,” said Vermont Lake Monsters Vice President Kyle Bostwick. “We are excited to continue to work together to help develop ballplayers into future Major Leaguers.”
The Athletics have five players on their current 40-man roster that played for the Lake Monsters during their minor league career. Ryan Dull, Ryon Healy, Bruce Maxwell, Dillon Overton and Jake Smolinski (as a member of the Nationals organization) all played in Vermont.
The Lake Monsters are currently in fourth place in the Stedler Division with record of 17-22 which puts them six games out of first place. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games and are currently battling a five game losing streak.
The manager of the Lake Monsters is Aaron Nieckula who has been with the A’s minor league organization as a manager at Class-A and Double-A levels. He is also Minor League Field Coordinator for the A’s.
AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Rich Hill gets a look from the trainer at his finger that has a blister against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday July 17th at the Oakland Coliseum
The Oakland A’s meet the AL Central Division leaders for a three-game set starting Friday night in Cleveland.The A’s are 9-4 to start the second half of the season and have won five of the last six games. The A’s starting rotation, although beset by injury all season long, is beginning to go deep into games and the A’s are getting strong performances from Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea, and Sonny Gray, to a degree. Rich Hill has been sidelined by a blister on his middle finger. Hill is scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Tribe but only if he is 100% healthy. Righty Jesse Hahn pitched very well in his last outing but was sent back to Nashville. He, however, might be recalled to join the rotation. Dillon Overton, a lefty, will pitch on Saturday.
The Indians, under manager Terry Francona, own a 4 and 1/2 game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. The Indians have a strong rotation led by Danny Salazar, Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, Trevor Bauer, and Corey Kluber. The A’s won’t face Salazar and Carrasco this weekend, but they will have their work cut out for them as they face Bauer, Tomlin and former Cy Young winner, Corey Kluber.
The A’s offense has been rolling. It seems like all the pieces are coming together for Oakland. Josh Reddick is healthy. Khris Davis has twenty-five homers, and he leads the club in RBIs. Shortstop Marcus Semien is coming of age this year. His fielding is vastly improved and he has twenty-one dingers to his credit. Danny Valencia, who was replaced at third by Ryon Healy, is playing first, and when he not in the field, he is the designated hitter. Billy Butler, who has been playing sparingly, has come through with several timely extra base hits to help the Oakland offense. Coco Crisp, Jake Smolinski, Jed Lowrie, Yonder Alonso and Stephen Vogt have all made contributions to the Oakland attack.
The Indians have some solid players, too. Their second baseman, Jason Kipnis, is an All-Star. Kipnis is hitting .283 with sixteen homers and fifty-two ribbies. The shortstop, Francisco Lindor, was a runner-up to Carlos Correa of the Astros as Rookie of the Year last year. Lindor owns a batting average of .302, twelve homers, and fifty RBIs. First baseman Mike Napoli has rebounded from a couple of poor seasons with Boston and Texas and has twenty-two bombs to his credit and sixty-eight RBIs. Carlos Santana is the DH. Santana and Napoli are available to handle the catching chores as Yan Gomes is out with an injury, and the Indians are reportedly hot on the trail to acquire Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Bucks. Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis, a former Athletic, and Tyler Naquin will handle the outfield chores.
The A’s will face Trevor Bauer Friday night. Bauer is 7-4 for the year and owns an ERA of 3.65. On Saturday, Josh Tomlin(10-3 3.48 ERA) will pitch and Corey Kluber (9-8, 3.44 ERA0 goes on Sunday. Graveman and Overton will pitch on Friday and Saturday for Oakland. For the Sunday finale, it will be either Rich Hill or Sonny Gray.
The trade winds are swirling around both teams. The Indians are going to be buyers. They need a catcher and a third baseman. Their third baseman, the veteran Juan Uribe, is slumping. Yan Gomes, the regular catcher, is out with an injury and Michael Brantley is on the DL. The A’s, reported to be sellers, will have to make some decisions regarding key players. The A’s are playing much better since the return of Josh Reddick. Reddick will be a free agent at the end of the season. The A’s could trade him for prospects. They have done this with other players in the past. They could, however, wait to the end of the season and then offer Reddick a one-year qualifying offer or they could sign him to a new contract. Rich Hill may also be on the move. Hill is thirty-six years old and doesn’t figure in the A’s long-term plans. The A’s have shuttled Jesse Hahn, Daniel Menden and Dillon Overton between Nashville and Oakland, and those three look like they may be the real deal next season.They have pitched well but have not been consistent. Sonny Gray and Kendall Graveman, at the moment, are the A’s number one and number two stars in the rotation. The phones are ringing in Cleveland and Oakland as well as all the other teams as the August 1st deadline will be here this coming Monday. Stay tuned.
AP photo: Oakland A’s Coco Crisp swings for the fences with an eighth inning homer off Texas Rangers pitching on Wednesday night in Arlington
The Oakland A’s behind a good effort by lefty Sean Manaea, Ryan Dull, and Ryan Madson beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas. The A’s backed the pitching with three home runs for a come-from-behind win. Manaea continued to pitch well. He went six and 2/3rds innings and allowed eleven hits and three runs. Manaea struck out a career- high nine batters and did not walk anyone. Manaea has now pitched twenty-seven straight innings without walking a single batter. The Rangers’ Yu Darvish also pitched very well. Darvish has not been successful against Oakland since his arrival in the big leagues in 2012. Darvish won the first game he pitched against Oakland but has lost eight straight since then. The A’s scored two in the first, but Darvish settled down and was in line for the win when he left the game after the sixth inning.
The A’s took a 2-0 lead in the first. Coco Crisp led off with a triple and scored on a Jed Lowrie sacrifice fly. Khris Davis, who loves to hit Ranger pitching, crushed his twenty-fourth of the year for the second run of the inning. The Rangers scored their first run of the night in the third and then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Ian Desmond hit a two-run blast off Manaea to put Texas ahead 3-2. Darvish had settled down and allowed the A’s just two more hits before his exit after the sixth inning. Darvish was on a strict pitch count as he had Tommy John surgery last year and shoulder soreness earlier in the season.
The A’s took advantage of the weak Texas bullpen as they scored four in the top of the eighth. Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer off Matt Bush and then Khris Davis also hit a two-run dinger. It was Davis’ twenty-fifth of the year.
Ryan Dull relieved Manaea with two out in the seventh, and he finished the seventh and eighth for the A’s and picked up the win. Ryan Madson gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth but was able to get the job done and secured the win for Oakland.
The A’s are now 9-4 since the All-Star break and have won their last four series. They are 47-55 and are just eight games under the .500 mark. The Rangers fall to 58-44 and lead the second-place Houston Astros by just 2 1/2 games in the AL West. The A’s are off on Thursday and resume play on Friday against the Cleveland Indians who are in first place in the AL Central. Kendall Graveman, who is 6-0 with an ERA of 3.25 in his last ten starts, will pitch for Oakland. The Indians will counter with Trevor Bauer.
