Category: Oakland Athletics

MLB podcast with Tony Renteria: Giants comeback win on Sox lends to momentum into LA series

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sfgate.com photo: The San Francisco Giants Mac Williamson rounds third base after hitting his first big league home run on Monday night against the Boston Red Sox

On the MLB podcast with Tony, It was a big night for the Giants Hunter Strickland reliever who had come in after the Giants used three other relievers. The Boston Red Sox had two on with two outs in the top of the ninth and the Giants up 2-1. Strickland got the Sox hitter Marco Hernandez to ground out and picked up the save. Meanwhile earlier in the game the Giants Mac Williamson hit his first big league homer to put the Giants on top by a run which proved to be the game winner on Monday night.

The Oakland A’s continue to struggle as they got shutout 4-0 in Milwaukee losing that series and back to back series on this last road trip. The A’s have now lost five straight games and A’s pitcher Sonny Gray looked ahead to the baseball draft to see if there was any help on the way “I don’t think anyone in the front offices of every team, actually knows what’s going to happen , except for maybe the first and second teams to pick. But other than that, I don’t think anyone has a clue.”

Tony Renteria does the A’s podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

The A’s meet the Cincinnati Reds as Inter-League play continues

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s will meet the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game series starting Friday night in Cincinnati. This will be the final stop on an eight-game, ten-day road trip that saw the A’s lose three in Houston and two more in Milwaukee. The A’s hope to get back on the winning track and they will send Sonny Gray to the mound. Gray’s season has not been going well for him as he did not pitch well. Gray went on the DL when the medical staff discovered that he was suffering from a strained right trapezius muscle. Gray returned to action last weekend in Houston and pitched very well. Gray went five innings and allowed just one run and five hits.

The Cincinnati Reds are another team that is trying to rebuild. The Reds own a record of 22-37 and are in last place in the NL Central trailing the division-leading Chicago Cubs by 19 1/2 games. The Reds are managed by Bryan Price. Price is a Bay Area product. He graduated from Tamalpais High School and went to UC Berkeley. Price was the pitching coach for the Reds when they were managed by Dusty Baker. The Reds, like the A’s, seem to be either very good or very bad. The Reds, in their long history, have won nine NL Pennants and five World Series. The last time the Reds were in the World Series was 1990 and they swept the favored Oakland Athletics four games to none. Since 199o, the Reds have made the playoffs four times, and three of those were under the tutelage of the aforementioned Dusty Baker. The A’s, on the other hand, have also not been to the World Series since 1990. They made the playoffs nine times, the last being the Wild Card game against the Royals in 2014.

The A’s best starter this year, Rich Hill, has been placed on the Disabled List due to a groin strain. Hill seemed to be making progress, but he aggravated the injury during a bullpen session. Third baseman Danny Valencia missed the Milwaukee series due to illness and hopes to play Friday night. Leftfielder Khris Davis has numbness in a finger due to an elbow injury.Davis did not play in Milwaukee either but did pinch-hit in one of the games. The A’s need both those players in the lineup.

The Reds infield shapes up this way. Former NL MVP, Joey Votto will be at first. Votto is hitting just .230 but has eleven homers and 39 RBIs to his credit. The veteran, Brandon Phillips will be at second, and Zach Cozart will be at short. Cozart is having a terrific season so far. He is hitting .303 with nine dingers and twenty-five RBIs. Rounding out the infield is Eugenio Suarez. Suarez, while not hitting for average (.234) has a lot of power. He has hit thirteen home runs and driven in thirty-nine.

Adam Duvall, the former San Francisco Giant, patrols left field for the Reds. Duvall was sent to Cincinnati last year when the Giants acquired Mike Leake. Duvall is having a big year for the Reds. He is hitting .268 and has hit seventeen home runs and knocked in thirty-nine. The speedy Billy Hamilton is in center. Hamilton is hitting .268 and has sixteen stolen bases. The steady Jay Bruce plays in right, and he also has put up good numbers. He owns a batting average of .284 and has put thirteen balls out of the park. Bruce has driven in forty-one so far.

The Reds starting rotation, as the A’s, leaves a lot to be desired. The pitchers are Anthony De Sclafani, Dan Straily, Alfredo Simon, lefty John Lamb and another lefty Brandon Finegan. De Sclafani will pitch Friday night against Oakland and has no record this year. Dan Straily, the former Oakland Athletic, and Houston Astro gets the ball on Saturday, and John Lamb will pitch Sunday. Sonny Gray pitches Friday night for Oakland. Kendall Graveman will follow on Saturday. Graveman has a record of 2-6 and an ERA of 5.49. Graveman’s last outing against Houston was  a no-decision. He allowed five runs on seven hits in just 4.1 innings of work. Graveman has not been able to complete the sixth inning in seven of his eleven starts. Sunday will feature two left-handed pitchers. Sean Manaea (2-4,6.20ERA) has pitched better in his last two outings. He beat the Twins but took the loss in his last start against the Brewers. John Lamb(1-3, 4.74 ERA) goes for the Reds.

After the Reds series, the A’s return home to start a nine-game homestand against the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angeles and the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

The Brewers sweep the two-game series, A’s lose fifth in a row

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Milwaukee Brewers Scooter Gennett connects for a single bringing in two runners in the fourth against the Oakland A’s at Miller Park on Wednesday

The Oakland A’s lost their fifth straight game Wednesday night as the Milwaukee Brewers, behind the strong effort of righty Chase Anderson, downed the Green and Gold 4-0. The A’s starter Jesse Hahn, looking to rebound after an absolute horrendous outing last Friday night in Houston, failed again. Hahn pitched just three and two-thirds innings and allowed four runs and seven hits. Hahn’s record for the season is now 2-4 and his spot in the rotation may be in jeopardy. The A’s are now nine games under .500 and have a season record of 25-34.

The story of the night was the pitching of Chase Anderson. For the second night in a row, the A’s were held hitless until deep in the game. The A’s finally got a hit in the sixth when Jake Smolinski beat the shift and reached on a single that barely made out of the infield.The A’s managed two more hits but the were shutout for the second time this year.

The Brewers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Brewers’ shortstop, Jonathan Villar, led off the inning with a single.  With Scooter Gennett at bat, Villar stole second. It was Villar’s twenty-second steal of the year and he leads the Majors in that department. Gennett singled to left to drive in Villar who was running on the play. Hahn got Ryan Braun to hit into a double play and then retired Jonathan Lucroy to end the inning.

The Brewers added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth.Kirk Nieuwenhuis led off the inning with a single. Hahn walked Ramon Flores to put men on at first and second with no out.The pitcher, Chase Anderson laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. The A’s walked Jonathan Villar to load the bases. Scooter Gennett singled to drive in two more runs for the Brewers.Gennett drove in three of the four runs scored by Milwaukee.  Brewers lead 4-0 after fours

There was no more scoring in the game for either team. The A’s bullpen did a great job keeping the Brewers scoreless. Anderson left the game in the seventh. He pitched six and two-thirds innings and allowed just two hits and no runs. He threw 93 pitches in his winning effort. His record improved to 4-6.

Time of game was two hours and forty-four minutes and the game was watched by 18,188 fans. The A’s have on off-day Thursday and resume play Friday evening in Cincinnati.

 

 

The Brewers send the A’s down to their fourth loss in a row.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Zach Davies pitches to the Oakland A’s in the first inning at Miller Park on Tuesday night

It was the Zach Davies and Chris Carter show Tuesday night in Milwaukee as the Brewers downed the A’s 5-4. The A’s received a strong performance from rookie Sean Manaea, but he gave up two big home runs to former A’s first baseman Chris Carter. Manaea pitched seven innings and allowed just six hits and five runs. Two of the hits were homers by Carter, and he drove in all five Milwaukee runs.The Brewer starter Davies, who is twenty-three and of slim build, no-hit the A’s for six and 2/3rds innings and won his fourth game of the year.

Chris Carter hit a two-run blast in the second and hit a three-run job in the sixth to cement the win. The A’s scored two in the top of the seventh to creep a little closer. Davies walked Jed Lowrie then Billy Butler, playing first, broke the spell with a blast to centerfield for the A’s first hit. Brewers skipper, Craig Counsell let Davies finish the inning, and he left the game to a standing ovation by the fans.

The A’s rallied to score two more in the ninth but Brewers closer Jeremy Jeffress struck out Marcus Semien and retired Chris Coghlan to end the game. Final score 5-4 in favor Milwaukee.

Game notes- The A’s are now eight games under .500 and their record is 25-33. The Brewers are 27-31. Sean Manaea pitched well but took the loss. Manaea is now 2-4 for the year. Zach Davies won his fourth of the year. Ryan Braun notched his 1500th career hit, and he also received a standing ovation. Brewer Reliever Tyler Thornburg retired the A’s in order in the seventh and has now retired twenty-six straight batters in his last thirteen games.

The A’s and Brewers play the finale of the two-game set Wednesday night in Milwaukee. Jesse Hahn will go for Oakland, and Chris Anderson will pitch for the Brewers. Game time will be at 5:10 PM. The A’s are off on Thursday and then will travel to Cincinnati for a three-game set with the lowly Reds before returning home to face the Texas Rangers.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Brewers and Reds playing well at home in games A’s need to get

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AP photo: Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun tips his helmet to the crowd after getting his 1500th career hit on Tuesday night at Miller Park

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O, traditionally for the Oakland A’s interleague has been a good thing as you look over the body of work for the A’s their one of the top five teams in winning percentage when it comes to interleague games. The A’s would hope that these interleague game that stretch over five games coming up would be a good thing for the A’s. The A’s have the two games in Milwaukee with the Brewers.

They have the Tuesday and Wednesday games in Milwaukee then they have Thursday off and then they go for three games in Cincinnati both Milwaukee and Cincinnati in the Central division of the National League so you would hope they would do well against them. One caveat you have to look at is that both Milwaukee and Cincinnati are playing about above .500 ball at home. So Brewers and Reds have been better teams at home.

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

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Gray showing signs of improvement

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On the A’s podcast with Jerry, A’s pitcher Sonny Gray turned it around on Sunday going five innings and held the Houston Astros to only a run after he was lifted by A’s manager Bob Melvin. He did pretty good, he had his velocity and he looked great. The A’s got Rich Hill back out on the mound that’s with two pitchers. Then the A’s have just three pitchers that they have to worry about. Because those three guys have been totally inconsistent Sean Manaea, Jesse Hahn and Kendall Graveman.

On Friday against the Astros Hahn went 2.3 of an inning and the Astros touched up the A’s for seven runs and the game was over. The bad thing was the bullpen pitched the rest of the way with 7.1 innings. That’s why Graveman ended up pitching Saturday his usual 4.1 innings of work and the bullpen had to come in.

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

Preview of the A’s-Brewers Series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are off Monday as they try to recover from a three-game sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros over the weekend in Houston. The A’s are en route to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to play a two-game set with the Brewers.

The Brew Crew and the A’s had identical records last year. They both went 68-94 in 2015, and both teams are trying to rebuild their franchise to become more competitive in 2016. The Brewers fired manager Ron Roenicke mid-season and replaced him with Craig Counsell.

So far this year, the Brewers are five games under .500 with a record of 26-31. The A’s will be at a disadvantage as Milwaukee is in the National League and the A’s will not be able to use the designated hitter. The A’s have lost three straight and are hoping to get on the winning track Tuesday night. Sean Manaea will pitch for Oakland.Manaea has a record of 2-3 and an ERA of 6.16. Manaea had the best start of his career last week beating the Minnesota Twins. Zach Davies will be on the mound for the Brewers. Davies is coming off the best start of his career. He pitched eight shutout innings against the very potent St. Louis Cardinal offense. Davies is 3-3 and has an ERA of 4.53

The Wednesday game will feature Jesse Hahn for Oakland and Chase Anderson for Milwaukee. Hahn had the worst start of his career Friday night against the Houston Astros. Hahn faced ten batters and recorded just two outs. He allowed seven runs on six hits and two walks. Hahn’s record is 2-3, and his ERA is 6.10. Anderson has a 2.97 ERA in his last five starts, and his record overall is 3-6 and an ERA of 4.68.

The Brewers offense is led by Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun. Both players have been All-Stars in the past, and trade rumors are swirling around both of them Lucroy is signed through 2016, but the club has an option for 2017. Braun, the former NL MVP, is signed through 2020 and the club holds an option for 2021. The Brewers owe Braun 105 million over the next five years, and that might be a problem if and when the Brewers decide to move him.

The Brewer infield is consists of Chris Carter at first, Scooter Gennett at second, Jonathan Villar at short and the veteran Aaron Hill at third base. Carter, the former Athletic, continues to hit for a low average(.222)but has fourteen homers and Thirty-four RBIs on his resume so far this year. Shortstop Jonathan Villar, getting a chance to play after being a backup in Houston, is hitting .306 with five homers and twenty-five ribbies. Villar owns an OPS of .861.

The Brewers bullpen is manned by Will Smith, Junior Guerra, Carlos Torres, Tyler Thornburg and Jeremy Jeffries. Thornburg set a Milwaukee record by retiring twenty-three consecutive batter in his last twelve appearances. His velocity is improved, and his strikeout  average per nine innings is 12.58 Jeremy Jeffries is the closer and has recorded fifteen saves in sixteen opportunities.

The outfield is led by Braun. Braun did not play Sunday as the Brewers decided to give him the day off. Braun will reach the 1500 hit plateau Tuesday night with his first hit. Braun is hitting .337. He has nine home runs and thirty-three RBIs. His OPS is .959.

The A’s , as mentioned earlier, will be trying to snap a three-game losing streak.The A’s offense is led by third baseman Danny Valencia, catcher Stephen Vogt and former Brewer Khris Davis. For Davis, the trip to Milwaukee will be a homecoming of sorts. He played three seasons for the Brewers before coming to Oakland. Davis has turned the page and is now an Athletic and he will be doing his best to send his former team down to defeat. Another former Brewer on the A’s roster is John Axford. Axford is second in career saves for the Brew Crew. Axford record 106 saves as a Brewer and is second to Dan Plesac who recorded 133 for Milwaukee.

The A’s and Brewers will have to make decisions if they will be sellers or buyers. At the moment, neither team appears to be in the mix for a playoff spot. That could change but many people are speculating that both teams will be sellers. The A’s assets are Danny Valencia, Khris Davis, Stephen Vogt, Josh Reddick and Sonny Gray. Reddick, Davis, and Valencia will be free agents at the end of the season and the A’s might want to continue their practice of trading players that might cost them money for prospects. The A’s have stated repeatedly that Gray is not on the trade market but never say never when dealing with Oakland. The Brewers’ chips are Lucroy and Braun. Lucroy’s probably would be easier to move but Braun is a proven slugger and might be attractive to clubs that have a lot of money.

After the two-game set, the A’s have an off-day before flying to Cincinnati to finish the eight-game-ten-day road trip . The A’s then return home to face the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and play two more interleague games with the Brewers on June 21st and 22nd.

 

 

 

Gray looks like old self in his return, but the A’s are swept in Houston

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By Morris Phillips

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Marc Rzepczynski reacts after committing a fielding error on Houston Astros Colby Rasmus at Minute Field on Sunday

Sonny Gray’s performance and the circumstances surrounding his appearance may have perked up A’s fans, but the team did little else to raise spirits in a 5-2 loss to the Astros on Sunday.

Gray returned from the disabled list in far better shape than when he left, throwing 69 pitches and looking like a No. 1 starter now that he’s recovered from the strain of his right trapezius that sidelined him for 16 days. The 26-year old right hander let it rip, hitting 96 mph with his fastball and consistently throwing his heater in the mid-90’s as he pitched five innings, allowing five hits and a run.

The A’s staked Gray to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and after a Carlos Gomez solo shot in the fifth, they led 2-1 to start the sixth. But three different Oakland relievers allowed runs while the A’s offense disappeared after the first inning, allowing the Astros to complete a three-game sweep in the series.

With the loss, the A’s fell a season-worst 9 ½ games off the pace in the AL West, and they’ll need to wait at least until Tuesday in Milwaukee to get their first win on this eight-game road trip.

But at least Gray provided hope.

The A’s top starter was scheduled for a rehab start with Single A Stockton before rejoining the parent club on Friday in Cincinnati. But when Gray got wind of Rich Hill’s injured groin and the decision to shelve the veteran for at least the weekend, he called head trainer Nick Paparesta and lobbied to rejoin the club without doing the stint for Stockton. Gray then spoke to both manager Bob Melvin and pitching coach Curt Young, explaining that he was feeling good and capable of making a start.

Once everyone involved signed off, Gray jumped on a plane to Houston, arriving on Saturday. And based on the crispness and velocity on his pitches, it appears that the decision to reinstate Gray was the right one.

“Just the conviction and the freeness he was throwing with, I thought looked like him,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “He had his movement down in the zone and was getting ground balls… and swing-and-misses with his breaking balls. That’s Sonny. He looked outstanding.”

 

 

A’s get dramatic, ninth inning home run from Jed Lowrie, but fall in 12, 6-5

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By Morris Phillips

The last thing the A’s wanted was another losing streak, but there it was staring at them after more than four hours of baseball in Houston at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.

A dramatic home run with two outs in the ninth inning from Jed Lowrie got the A’s even, but Carlos Correa’s RBI single in the 12th allowed the Astros to get past the A’s 6-5. The streaky A’s have consecutive losses after winning five straight, and fell back into sole possession of last place in the AL West.

Lowrie’s game-tying home run was his first of the season and a convergence of circumstances. The A’s second baseman has now had two stints with Oakland and Houston in his career, and been a teammate of Astros’ closer Luke Gregerson—the guy he homered against on Saturday—in both places.

But until Saturday, Lowrie and Gregerson had never faced each other in a game.

Lowrie fell behind 0-1, but golfed Gregerson’s curveball two rows into the right field seats, an economical home run that traveled just 349 feet, but allowed the A’s to get even after falling behind 5-3 in the fifth. For Gregerson, Lowrie’s homer meant a second consecutive blown save. For Lowrie, it meant his career-worst 40-game streak without a round tripper was over.

But it didn’t mean the game was over.

The A’s mounted rallies in the 10th and 12th without breaking through for a tie-breaking run. In the 10th, with runners at second and third, Chris Coghlan grounded out to end the inning. In the 12th, Marcus Semien was retired to end the inning with a pair of runners aboard.

Ryan Madson came on for Oakland to pitch the bottom of the 12th, the seventh pitcher used by the A’s, and he was greeted by George Springer’s double. Jose Altuve sacrificed Springer to third, and Correa singled him home. Call it a lighting rally, Madson and the A’s were undone in just five pitches in the 12th.

The A’s have suffered a five-game losing streak, three four-game losing streaks and a pair of three-game slides. Add a trio of two-game losing streaks and all but two of the team’s losses this season are accounted for. The A’s have been streaky with wins as well with a six-game win streak in April, the five-game streak earlier this week and a four-game streak as well.

Kendall Graveman started Saturday’s game, but didn’t survive the fifth inning, allowing seven hits and five runs. Graveman’s ERA sits at 5.49 after the short outing leading to speculation that he may be dropped from the rotation once Henderson Alvarez is ready in the coming weeks.

On Sunday, Sonny Gray comes off the disabled list to start for the A’s in a matchup with Houston’s Lance McCullers at 11:10 PST.

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Astros Carlos Correa is the type of player the A’s should, but never develop or acquire

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
ftw.usatoday.com photo: Houston Astros Carlos Correa who singled in the game winning run in the 12th inning off the Oakland A’s at Minute Maid Field on Saturday night
Wonder why the Oakland Athletics never have a player like Carlos Correa? He was the Rookie of the Year last season and one of the most talented and exciting players in the game. Why can’t the Athletics draft young players like that? You have to ask Billy Beane, he is supposed to be a genius in many people’s minds, not in my mind, to be a genius a General Manager he has to at least win consistently and I mean take the team to the World Series. That Billy Beane has not done, since he arrived as the Athletics General Manager and part owner(small part).
Bay Area baseball media in general, is very lame when it comes to criticizing Beane, some are probably star struck, they believe the propaganda, like the movie Moneyball, that is out there about how much money does he save the owners, by signing basically marginal players, trading them frequently, and then when he gets real star players like Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson, last year’s Most Valuable Player of the American League, with the Toronto Blue Jays; he let them go on deals or just do not re-sign them.
It is an interesting system of management, that of Mr Beane, and obviously one that the main owners agree with, or he would have been fired long time ago. Taking his 3% and his marbles and gone home.  I never expected much from the A’s of this 2016, in my predictions I actually picked them to finish last again, what else could I have done? Should I be honest, or should I be like a regular politician, always spinning the truth. I hope to be proven wrong, but I could not pick the A’s to finish any higher.
I sympathize with the Athletics fans, there’s not that many anymore, because in today’s sports world (especially here in the Bay Area) you must win so you can recruit new young fans,as we have seen with other local professional teams recently, in all sports, not only baseball. If the A’s do not move (like they want) and do not build a new park, the only other way they could fill the Oakland Coliseum (aside when the Yankees, Cubs, Giants, Red Sox come to town or on opening night) is on a bobblehead  or fireworks night.
The Bay Area market is a very competitive one when it comes to entertainment. This is not Kansas City or Cincinnatti, there are many things to do in the beautiful Bay Area and people are not obliged to go to a baseball game consistently to support a losing proposition. Here in the Bay Area there are many options on where you can spent your entertainment dollars.
There are only two ways in baseball to build a winning team, by trading smart or by developing smart. If you are a team like the A’s, who doesn’t pay high salaries, the only other way is to develop young players. The problem for the A’s is basically a “catch 22′; they do not buy big free agent players, they have developed good players, but when they become established stars, they let them go, because they do not want to pay them.
I think Charlie O. Finley in a way would have been proud of Billy Beane, because Charlie was cheap, but on-the-other-hand remember under Charlie Finley (who also didn’t paid anybody the big bucks),the Oakland Athletics were one of the few teams to win three consecutive World Series, 1972-73-74.
Yes, I know this is a different time. Also I know a very old American saying in history that I learned when I was teenager; “you get what you pay for.”
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish play by play voice for the Angels and the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com