Category: Oakland Athletics

Rangers’ Manager Banister Defends Rougned Odor

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By Ben Leonard

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rantsports.com photo: Texas Rangers Jeff Banister said the now famous punch by the Rangers Rougned Odor was justified on the Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista as stated before the Rangers-A’s game on Monday
OAKLAND– The unwritten rules of baseball are tricky. Hit a home run and celebrate, and you get drilled. Take a hard slide to try to exact your pound of flesh in return, and you’ll get drilled again with a sucker punch. 

Jose Bautista learned it the hard way on Sunday after hitting a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning in an elimination game against the Texas Rangers last postseason, arguably the most enthralling in Blue Jays history. His crime? Dropping his bat emphatically and electrifying the Rogers Centre. 

On Sunday, Bautista came up to the dish in likely his final plate appearance against Texas in 2016, and finally got hit with the revenge the Rangers had been seeking, a Matt Bush fastball to the ribs. When Bautista slid hard into second base, Rangers’ second baseman Rougned Odor took exception, dealing Bautista a punch right to the face. The benches cleared, and the rest is history. 

The fiery Odor has a reputation for playing physically. According to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, when Odor came up to the majors, a scout had this to say about him: “The thing I love about him the most is you do not want to [expletive] with him.” Wild guess, but I think Bautista would agree with that.

Don’t count Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister as one of those coming down hard on Odor. The second-year manager thinks the media has been unfair in criticizing the second baseman.

“I’m not going to criticize a player for playing hard in those situations, on our side or on their side,” Banister said Monday before a game against the Oakland Athletics. “Things happen during those situations that are ugly, that look bad — it’s not good for anybody. But I think you’re getting a little one-sided on the view. That was not a pretty situation out on second base that got escalated because there were two guys that had a lot of passion for the game and played hard. Do you want that to happen? Absolutely not — I don’t want that.”

Banister also doesn’t think Odor should have to temper his emotions and passion in order to please others. “Does he need to walk a fine line, and what do we do, take his personality and passion away from him and now he’s not the same player?” Banister said. “I think he needs to continue to play. It’s how he plays the game  — he plays it hard, he runs hard, he swings the bat, he does things to try and help his team win ball games….I haven’t seen anything that is dirty. If playing hard is offensive, then it’s just offensive.”

Many believe that Bush intentionally hit Bautista to spark the brawl, but Banister once again dispelled the notions that his players were culpable. With a one-run lead and Bautista having logged just two hits that series, Banister thought Bush was just trying to help his team win the game.

“We’re in the business of winning baseball games,” Banister maintained. “We had a one-run lead. We’ve blown quite a few leads late from a shaky bullpen — why would we intentionally put ourselves in that situation? That’s the part of this I don’t understand. We would have been just as happy to move on and win a baseball game — which we did.”

Baseball scripture suggests that players new to the team, like Bush, would do anything to gain the approval of their teammates — especially plunk Bautista. Again, Banister defended his pitcher.

“When you’re on a team you’re part of the team, whether you’re a new guy or a veteran,” Banister said. “Earning your stripes is helping a team win games.”

 

 

 

 

A’s beat Rays 7-6 in comeback victory

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
MLB: Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays
Oakland Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics (16-22) closed out their nine-game road trip on a high note with a 7-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays (16-19) on Sunday. The victory also gave the A’s the series win two games to one.

Trailing the Rays 6-5 with two out in the top of the ninth inning the Athletics played like a team that refused to lose. With two out, Billy Burns hit a 1-2 pitch into center field for a double. That brought Danny Valencia to the plate. Valencia had already hit two home runs in the game. Valencia hit the first pitch to him from reliever Steve Geltz over the left center field wall for a two-run home and gave the A’s a 7-6 lead.

Oakland closer Ryan Madson came on in the bottom of the ninth and needed just four ptiches to retire the side and preserve the win for the A’s. It was save number 10 of the season for Madson.

This is a significant win for the A’s for three reasons. First, they won a game on day when their pitching ace Sonny Gray did not have a great outing. Second, the A’s had to come from behind to win on Sunday proving to themselves they can fight their way back into games. Third, Oakland won a one-run game. For whatever reason, this is a team that finds itself in one-run games frequently. The Sunday win works as a reminder they can win those close game.

In the batter’s box

Danny Valencia was the man with the bat today for the Athletics. He hit three home runs on Sunday to bring his total to five for the series in Tampa Bay and for the season to date. Valencia drove in five runs and scored three. He hit in the number three spot Sunday as Josh Reddick was given the day off versus a left-handed starter.

Coco Crisp played center field and hit lead off Sunday. Crisp went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored.

With Reddick given the day off, Billy Burns played right field. Burns went 1-for-5 with one run scored. That one hit was the double in the top of the ninth that kept the inning alive for Valencia to hit what became the game-winning home run.

Chris Coghlan was brought in to pinch hit for Tyler Ladendorf in the top the seventh inning. Coghlan took a 0-1 pitch over the left center field wall for his fifth home run of the year.

The A’s scored seven runs on 12 hits while leaving six men on base. They struck out eight times and walked twice.

Brandon Guyer was the leader at the plate for the Rays on Sunday. He had a lead off home run in the bottom of first inning off Sonny Gray to tie the game at 1-1. Guyer came to bat in the bottom of the second with two runners on when the inning was extended by a two-out error. Guyer hit the ball into the left field stands for a three-run home run. Guyer finished with five RBI on the day.

Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 for the game. Longoria hit his seventh home run and a double on Sunday.

The Rays scored six runs on six hits and left four runners on base. Rays batters struck out nine times and walked two times.

On the mound

A’s starter Sonny Gray had another tough outing on Sunday. Gray has not recorded a win in his last four starts. He had a no decision on Sunday. Gray worked 5.2-innings giving up six runs (three earned) on six hits. He struck out four and walked two. Gray gave up three home runs (Guyer 2, Longoria). He threw 99 pitches (67 strikes). Gray’s ERA now stands at 5.84.

The A’s bullpen came in and did the job for their team on Sunday. Ryan Dull relieved Gray in the sixth and worked 1.1-innings. Dull allowed no runs or hits. He struck out four and walked none.

John Axford pitched the eighth inning for Oakland. Axford gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and struck out one. Axford (3-1) is credited with the win as he was pitcher of record when the A’s scored in the top of the ninth.

Ryan Madson threw a perfect ninth inning needing just four pitches to retire the side. Madson now has 10 saves for the A’s.

Defense

The A’s were able to overcome a defensive miscue that took place in the bottom of the second inning. With two out and catcher Hank Conger at bat, the A’s defense went into a shift overloading the infield to the right. Second baseman Tyler Ladendorf was playing in shallow right field. Conger hit the ball to where the second baseman would normally be stationed. Ladendorf charged the ball and was unable to field it. Conger was safe. The next hitter Guyer hit a three-run home run. The error resulted in three unearned runs.

The A’s lead the American League in errors with 28.

Up next

The A’s return home to begin a three-game home series with the Texas Rangers on Monday night. LHP Derek Holland (3-2, 6.09) will start for Texas while the A’s will go with LHP Sean Manaea (0-1, 11.37).

On Tuesday, Texas will send LHP Cole Hamels to the mound to face the A’s LHP Eric Surkamp.

In the finale on Wednesday afternoon, LHP Martin Perez will start for the Rangers while LHP Rich Hill will take the hill for Oakland.

 

 

Rays’ Andriese shuts down the A’s in complete game, two-hit shutout

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Andriese showered

By Morris Phillips

Enough of I-95 South for Matt Andriese.

The Rays’ reliever/starter who has bounced between Triple-A Durham and Tampa the last two seasons, pitched a complete game shutout in a 6-0 win over the A’s Saturday night, just six days after he stymied the Angels in his 2016 big league debut.

Suddenly, but deservedly, Andriese would appear to have a spot in the Rays’ rotation as the No. 5 starter going forward. His quality pitches that stopped the A’s on just two hits clearly said as much.

“When I got called up for my last start, I told myself I want to be here for good,” Andriese said. “I’ve been taking that mentality and building off that each outing.”

Andriese threw 106 pitches, 78 for strikes, didn’t walk anybody, struck out five, allowing base hits to Matt McBride in the third, and Danny Valencia in the seventh. After Valencia’s hit, Andriese induced Stephen Vogt to hit into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s got some deception, a good curveball, a good cutter to both sides of the plate, a good changeup,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Fastball gets on you a little bit.”

The A’s fell to 2-6 on a three-city road trip that can’t end soon enough. At 15-21, the A’s are a half-game removed from last place in the AL West, a spot that they will no doubt be motivated to avoid in the final game of the trip Sunday morning.

Brandon Guyer’s single preceded Brad Miller’s two-run homer off A’s starter Kendall Graveman in the third giving the Rays all the offense they would need. Graveman lost his fourth consecutive start, allowing six hits and four runs before Melvin lifted him in the sixth. At 1-5, Graveman’s up-and-down, brief history as a starter in Oakland, has been mostly down in 2016.

For Graveman, however, there was a silver lining.

“I wanted to get the shape of my pitches back,” the pitcher said. “We worked really hard this week to really get back on top of the baseball and get that sink, and it showed up.”

Graveman utlitized his sinker to induce groundballs on roughly half of the 17 outs he recorded. But he walked three, and only struck out one, while four of the six hits he allowed went for extra bases.

The A’s close the trip with Sonny Gray on the mound in a matchup with Tampa’s Matt Moore. Gray’s due for a bounce back, he’s seen his ERA soar in losing each of his three previous starts.

Posey, Pence power Giants past D-Backs

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, May 14, 2016

photo credit: USA Today

San Francisco’s bats woke up in style on Saturday at Chase Field in Phoenix. Buster Posey hit a two-run double in the ninth inning, Hunter Pence hit his 200th career home run, and the Giants defeated Arizona 5-3.

Giants starter Jake Peavy threw six quality innings, but Hunter Strickland (1-0) got the win in relief. Cory Gearrin earned his first save.

The loss went to Diamondbacks reliever Daniel Hudson (1-1).

Hot-hitting Jean Segura had an RBI groundout, and pinch-hitter Phil Gosselin tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning off Strickland. Slumping Paul Goldschmidt scored on the sac fly after ending an 0-11 stretch with a base hit.

In the San Francisco ninth, the Giants loaded the bases against Hudson, setting the table for Posey’s ground-rule double into the pool area.

Denard Span had four of the Giants’ 12 hits.

MLB Podcast with Matt Harrington: Valencia returns after two games off with two home runs

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AP photo: Oakland A’s Danny Valencia hits one of two home runs in Friday night’s game vs. the Tampa Bay Rays this one in the sixth at Tropicana Field

On the MLB podcast Matt takes a look at the San Francisco Giants Joe Panik who hit a homer in each of the two games Thursday and Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Panik home runs gave the Giants and starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija a nice cushion in the 5-2 victory at Chase Field. Samardzija gave up two runs, eight hits and 112 pitches and had command over most of his pitches.

The Oakland A’s snapped their five game losing streak with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field getting offensive production from Danny Valencia who was out with an injury on Tuesday and Wednesday the A’s had a day off on Thursday. Valencia made up for lost time with two home runs on Friday night. Also teammates Khris Davis and Marcus Semien both had a home run a piece.

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

A’s Homer Away 5 Game Skid Against Rays

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s Yonder Alonso slides ahead of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria’s tag in the sixth inning at Tropicana Field on Friday

One thing was missing from the Oakland Athletics makeshift lineup after falling victim to a three-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. With Danny Valencia, among others, out of the lineup the Green and Gold lacked a bopper at the heart of their order. With Valencia returning to action after missing two straight games, the A’s received a dose of much needed pop as they opened a weekend series with the Rays (15-18) in Tampa Bay.

Oakland rode a pair of homers from Valencia to best the Rays 6-3, snapping a 5 game losing streak. Khris Davis and Marcus Semien also homered for the A’s (15-21), while Rich Hill pitched 6 innings, striking out 7 Rays. Ryan Madson shut the door for his 9th save of the year.

Davis was the first Athletic to exit the yard, taking eventual losing pitcher Jake Odorizzi (0-2, 3.83 ERA) deep on a full count offering with two runners on for his 8th homer of the season. Like Davis, Valencia worked the count full, then lifted a ball to deep left field for a solo homer, his first dinger of the year, and a 4-0 lead before Hill could even take the mound.

The Steve’s, Pierce and De Souza, would each single in a run in the bottom half of the frame to cut Oakland’s lead in half, but it’d be the last bit of damage Tampa would do off Hill until Evan Longoria hit a 5th inning RBI double. By then, the game was already locked up 5-3, with Semien hitting a solo shot in the top of the 4th. Semien’s 9th homer of the season is an A’s record out of the 9th place in the batting order.

Hill (5-3, 2.68) only allowed one other hit besides the 3 run-scoring knocks over his 6 innings of work. His finesse attempt yielding 4 walks, but his 7 punchouts were enough to keep the Rays off the board. Fernando Rodriguez and Sean Doolittle picked up holds for their scoreless innings, bridging the gap to Madson.

Valencia hit his second round-tripper of the game in the top of the 6th off reliever Dana Eveland, crushing a 0-1 pitch to right field. It’s the third baseman’s 1st multi-homer game since September 18th of last season.

Valencia will look to stay hot against rookie Matt Andriese Saturday. The Rays starter comes into his 2nd start with a 1.29 ERA. Oakland counters with Kendall Graveman.

Preview of the A’s -Rays Series in Tampa Bay

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by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit sbnation.com: Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray is having his struggles of late

The A’s are off Thursdays as they are traveling to the Tampa St.Petersburg area to play the final three games of the nine-game road trip. The A’s are 1-5 on the trip, and things are not going well for the Oaktown boys. The starting rotation is a trainwreck right now. The A’s ace, Sonny Gray, is not pitching well and needs to get back on track soon.Gray’s record is 3-4, and his ERA is 6.00 Kendall Graveman has been rocked in his last three starts and may be in jeopardy of being sent to the bullpen as the long relief guy or, perhaps, sent  to Nashville, to get his game back on track. His record is 1-4, and his ERA is 5.74 Righty Jesse Hahn started the season in Nashville, called back to Oakland and pitched well in one game and not-so-well in another is back in Nashville trying to find the recipe for success. Lefty Sean Manaea, the prospect the A’s received when they traded Ben Zobrist to Kansas City, has made three starts, and his performance indicates that he may not be ready to pitch at the Major League level. His record is 0-1, but his ERA is an astounding 11.37. Lefty Eric Surkamp does not appear to be the answer in the starting rotation either. Surkamp is 0-3, and his ERA is 6.55.  The only consistent performer the A’s have is the veteran Rich Hill. Hill has made seven starts and owns a record of 4-3 and a very respectable ERA of 2.39. Hill is scheduled to pitch against the Rays’Jake Odorizzi Friday night. Jarred Parker, Felix Doubront, Chris Bassit, and Liam Hendricks are all on the DL. Position players Mark Canha and Jed Lowrie are also on the 15-day DL. A’s manager Bob Melvin has had to get imaginative in his lineups. Danny Valencia is also hurt. Melvin has Yonder Alonso playing third and Billy Butler playing first.

Josh Reddick leads the A’s offense.  Reddick has been very reliable so far this season. Reddick, however, will be a free agent at the end of the year, and he may find himself a new home for the 2017 season. The A’s could continue their pattern of trading him before the trade deadline to get more prospects, or they could give him a qualifying offer of over 16 million dollars for one year. The A’s probably think that Josh will reject the QO and then the A’s would receive a draft pick if some other club signed him. The A’s have another trade chip. However, the A’s have been adamant saying that Sonny Gray will not be traded. Sonny doesn’t cost the A’s a lot of money yet but he will in a couple of years.

The Tampa Bay Rays are almost a mirror image of the A’s. They play in a ballpark that is a nightmare. They are the only team in baseball that plays in an indoor stadium. Balls are lost in the lights, or they land on catwalks. Attendance is also the pits in St. Petersburg. The Rays would like to move but have a lease with the stadium that expires in 2027.

The Rays made the 2008 World Series with pitchers such as James Shields and David Price. Shields is now in San Diego, and Price is in Boston. Their lineup is made up of players that are either prospects or journeymen. The team is led by the veteran third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria is hitting just .233 but has six home runs and seventeen RBIs. Right fielder Steve Souza, Jr has a batting average of .252, and he has eight dingers and fifteen RBIs. Left fielder Desmond Jennings is hitting a buck sixty-three and center fielder Kirk Kiermaier is just above the Mendoza line at .208. Brad Miller is the shortstop. Logan Forsythe plays second for the Rays, and the other Logan(Morrison) is at first. Forsythe is leading the club in hitting with an average of .308 but is listed as day-to-day due to a shoulder bruise. Curt Casali and the ex-Angel Hank Conger handle the catching chores.

The Rays, like the A’s, have prided themselves on good pitching.  However, the rotation of Chris Arche, Matt Andriese, Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, and Drew Smyly have a won-lost record of 5-12 so far this season. Starter Alex Cobb is on the DL and may return later this year. The bullpen is manned by former Athletic Dana Eveland, Erasmo Ramirez, Ryan Webb, Enny Romero, Steve Geltz, Xavier Cedeno and closer Alex Colome. Ramirez has a record of 6-1 and Colome has recorded nine saves. Last year’s closer, Brad Boxberger is on the DL and may return in mid-May as he recovers from core muscle surgery.Boxberger recorded forty-four saves for the Rays in 2015. The Rays record for 2016 is 15-17 and are returning from a swing to the West Coast. The last three games of the trip were in Seattle and the Mariners swept them.

The A’s will send Rich Hill to pitch Friday night. He will be opposed by Jake Odorizzi. Kendall Graveman will pitch on Saturday and Matt Andriese will go for Tampa Bay. The A’s need to get well in Tampa as the return to face the potent Texas Rangers for three in Oakland. The New York Yankees arrive to play four, and they will be seeking to avenge the three-game sweep by the A’s earlier this year. The Yankees are playing better ball as their veteran players are starting to come around.  The A’s then go to Seattle for three and then return home to face the Detroit Tigers. They have their work cut out for them.

 

 

The A’s woes continue as the Red Sox complete the sweep.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Boston Red Sox Jackie Bradley Jr gets an early shower after hitting two big flies against the Oakland A’s Wednesday night at Fenway Park

The Boston Red Sox continued to punish the A’s pitching as they scored thirteen times and has seventeen hits Wednesday night to defeat the A’s 13-3. The Red Sox outscored the A’s 40-15 in the three-game series and the A’s own a new record for futility as they allowed forty runs in the three games. That had never happened in the A’s history. The A’s also have allowed more than eleven runs in a game for the fourth straight time. They have lost five in a row, nine out of the last ten and fourteen of the last eighteen. Their record now stands at 14-21 for the season. A’s manager Bob Melvin needs to right the ship soon or the season could be lost.

Lefty Eric Surkamp started for the A’s Wednesday night. A’s manager Bob Melvin hoped that Surkamp could give the A’s at least five innings of work and let the bullpen get some rest. That did not happen. The A’s scored the first run of the game in the top of the second. The lead did not last long as Boston scored three times in their half of the inning.The big blow was by Jackie Bradley. Bradley hit a three-run dinger to propel Boston into the lead. The A’s tied the game in the top of the third. Khris Davis singled to drive in two to knot the score. Surkamp could not keep the Red Sox down. They scored their fourth run of the game in the bottom of the third. Melvin removed Surkamp with two out in the inning. Surkamp went two and 2/3rd innings and allowed four runs and four hits. The Red Sox own a 4-3 lead after three innings of play.

The Red Sox punished the A’s bullpen in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. In the fifth, with Mookie Betts aboard, Dustin Pedroia homered to make it 6-3. In the sixth the Sox scored five times to give them an 11-3 lead. In the eighth, Jackie Bradley hit his second home run of the game to make it 13-3. Bradley had six RBIs in the game and was 8-for-14 in the series. He had three home runs and drove in thirteen runs.

Game Notes- The A’s have an off-day on Thursday as they travel to Tampa Bay to face the Rays in the final three games of the nine-game road trip.

The A’s made some more moves on Wednesday. Jed Lowrie went on the 15-day DL. He hit a ball off his ankle in Baltimore. X-Rays were negative but Lowrie was on crutches and needs a few days to recover. The A’s recalled RHP Zach Neal from Nashville to fill a spot in the bullpen and made his Major League debut Wednesday night. He pitched three innings and gave up three runs. Eric Surkamp was also called up from Nashville. He Did not pitch well and took his third loss of the season

Ryan Dull, Marc Rzepczynski, and Zach Neal pitched batting practice as the bullpen is showing signs of weariness as the starters continue to pitch poorly.

Line score for Oakland was three runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Red Sox line was thirteen runs,seventeen hits, and no errors.

Time of game was three hours and seventeen minutes. 33,283 watched Red Sox win the final game of the series and sweep the A’s.

 

 

MLB Podcast with Tony Renteria: Giants Cain’s pitching show encouragement; A’s Manaea struggles in debut

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On the MLB podcast with Tony Renteria Giants pitcher Matt Cain broke out with a fine pitching performance but lost the game dropping his record to 0-5. Cain had one of his best outings in years going eight innings, six hits, two runs, two earned, seven strikeouts. The Toronto Blue Jays only scored twice on Cain in the second and eight innings. Also Cain had his teammates believing in him played great defense behind Cain.

The Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea struggled on Tuesday night pitching 2 1/2 innings, giving up ten hits and eight runs all earned and striking out just one batter at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. The A’s pitching has suffered of late Kendall Graveman struggled against the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend and the A’s have over a half dozen pitchers out on the DL.

Tony Renteria does the MLB podcast each week right here on http://www.sportsradioservice.com take a listen below

The Red Sox continue to pound the A’s Starters.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea heads to the dugout after being lifted in he third inning of Tuesday night’s game at Fenway Park

The Boston Red Sox, for the second straight night, pounded the A’s starting pitcher. The Red Sox won a laugher 13-5. The A’s were hoping to have their starting pitcher, Sean Manaea, go deep into the game so that the overtaxed bullpen could get a rest. That did not happen as the Red Sox scored early and often to send the A’s down to their thirteenth loss in their last seventeen games. The A’s find themselves at 14-20, and the A’s starters are finding themselves pitching batting practice. The A’s starters, in the last seventeen games, have yielded seventy-six earned runs in their last eighty-three innings to produce a dismal 8.24 ERA. It is no accident that they have lost thirteen of those games.

The Red Sox wasted no time in solving Sean Manaea. Mookie Betts led off the bottom of the first with a home run on a 2-2 pitch. Xander Bogaerts singled with one out. Red Sox first baseman, Hanley Ramirez hit a monster shot that went way over the Green Monster to put the Red Sox in the lead 3-0. The ball traveled an estimated 468 feet. It was the second longest home run of the season.

In the bottom of the third, the Red Sox scored five times to send Manaea to an early shower. Manaea pitched just 2 and 2/3rds of an inning and gave up eight runs and ten hits.The Red Sox scored three more in the bottom of the fifth to take an 11-0 lead. The big blow was a three-run dinger by Travis Shaw over the Monster. The A’s scored four times in the top of the sixth to end Sean Sullivan’s night. The A’s added another run in the seventh, but the Red Sox scored two in their half of the frame. There was no more scoring as the Red Sox won going away 13-5.

Game Notes- There were not too many bright spots for the A’s and manager Bob Melvin. The A’s did manage to score five times and had fifteen hits, but the pitching has to be a major concern. The starters are not going deep into the game, and the bullpen is being heavily taxed. The bullpen leads the league in most innings pitched, and that is not a good sign so early in the season.

The A’s have allowed eleven or more runs in three straight games. The last time that happened was August 9-11 against the New York Yankees in 2001.

The A’s made several roster moves Tuesday. Mark Canha went on the 15-day disabled list with a back strain. He was joined on the DL by pitcher Liam Hendricks, who has a right triceps strain. J.B.Wendelken was optioned to Triple-A Nashville. The A’s recalled infielder Tyler Ladendorf, pitchers  Andrew Triggs and lefty Daniel Coulombe.

Eric Surkamp was also recalled from Nashville, and he will face The Red Sox Wednesday night. Rick Porcello will go for Boston

Tuesday night’s game lasted three hours and two minutes, and 32,167 fans filled the seats at Fenway to see their beloved Bosox down the A’s.

Game time will be at4:10 PM PT