Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Surkamp talks about tough outing; Hahn looking to be called for bullpen

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg A’s starter Eric Surkamp was not in the best of moods after getting rocked by the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday ending the three game series with the mighty Toronto Blue Jays. This also impacted with the Surkamp picking up his second loss of the season. Surkamp pitched for 4.2 innings surrendered nine hits and six runs. He gave up four runs in the bottom of the third and two in the bottom of the fourth inning.

“I just got my ass kicked pretty much all day. That’s all there is to it. They’re a good line up, and if you make mistakes they’re going to make you pay for it.” said Surkamp. The A’s are looking to bring reliever Jessie Hahn up to shore up their relief help. The A’s have four games that started on Monday night with the Detroit Tigers.

Jerry has your complete A’s coverage listen to the podcast below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Jays beat the A’s 6-3 to take the series

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
MLB: Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Eric Surkamp Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

There is nothing harder to do in Major League Baseball than to try to establish a winning streak on the road. After winning six games in a row, the A’s lost on Saturday to the Toronto Blue Jays.

On Sunday, the A’s wanted to get back into the win column and take the series from the Jays. The A’s were unable to accomplish either of those goals.

The A’s starting pitching left much to be desired on Sunday allowing Toronto to score six runs in 4.2 innings.

The A’s hitters showed some power hitting three home runs. The only problem with those round-trippers were that all three were solo shots.

The Jays starting pitching was not overwhelming but was just good enough to get the win.

Toronto used a combination of power and productive two-out hitting to score six runs which was more than enough to win the game.

On the hill

LHP Eric Surkamp (0-2, 5.59) started the game for the Athletics. Surkamp came into the game looking for his first win of the season. Instead, he was charged with his second loss of the year.

Surkamp gave up all six Toronto runs in his 4.2 innings of work. He gave up two home runs and two doubles. Surkamp threw 97 pitches (54 strikes), walked three and struck out just two Blue Jays. He face 26 batters in his time on the hill.

The Oakland relief corps did its job. Marc Rzepczynski, Ryan Dull and Fernando Rodriguez held the Jays scoreless in their 3.1 innings of work. The relievers allowed only three base runners in closing out the game for Oakland.

Drew Hutchison (1-0, 3.18) started the game for Toronto and picked up his first victory of the season. Hutchison was not over powering on the mound as he gave up two runs (both earned) on four hits in his 5.2 innings of work. Two of those hits were home runs. Hutchison struck out five and walked three A’s hitters.

Former Oakland Athletic Jesse Chavez relieved Hutchison in the top of the sixth inning inning. Chavez returned to the mound in the seventh and issued a home run to the A’s lead off hitter Chris Coghlan.

Brett Cecil, Drew Storen and Roberto Osuna finished off the game for the Jays holding the A’s without a hit. Osuna picked up his sixth save of the season.

In the batter’s box

The A’s were had only five hits in the game. Josh Reddick had the only multi-hit game going 2-for-4 including a home run. Khris Davis and Chris Coghland hit the other home runs for Oakland. Yonder Alonso recorded a base hit for the A’s.

Oakland was 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left just three men on base.

Three Blue Jays had multi-hit games. Ezequiel Carrera went 2-for-4 including hitting his first home run of the season. Kevin Pillar hit a double and scored a run in going 2-for-4. Darwin Barney also had a two-hit game for the Jays.

The Jays went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

Up next

The Athletics head to Detroit for a four-game series that begins at 4:10 PM on Monday in Northern California. It could be an opportunity for the A’s to get back on the winning track.

The Tigers have lost four games in a row and have record of just 2-5 at home this season. They were just swept by the Cleveland Indians.

The A’s must achieve at least a 2-2 split in the four-game series. To come home 1-3 or heaven forbid 0-4 in the final series of this road trip would be devastating for the psyche of this team.

 

 

 

A’s Bassitt runs into red-hot Josh Donaldson with predictable results

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

Chris Bassitt wasn’t himself on Saturday, and it was apparent from the start.

Absent the normal velocity on his fastball, and struggling with location, Bassitt needed more than 30 pitches to finish the first inning. By the end of the second inning, and after Josh Donaldson’s majestic drive landed behind the center field wall, Bassitt was effectively done, trailing 5-1 in a game the A’s would go on to lose to the Blue Jays, 9-3.

“It’s a starter’s job to make them feel uncomfortable, and that was the very last thing I was doing,” Bassitt said.

The loss ended what the team hopes is a defining run, a six-game win streak, and a seven-game road winning streak that made the A’s the last big-league club to lose away from home in 2016. With the rest of the AL West experiencing early-season struggles, Oakland was able to maintain its perch atop the division—tied with Texas with a 10-8 record.

Bassitt had pitched effectively in each of his three previous April starts, but after the game he complained of arm fatigue. His fastball, normally 95-96mph, topped out at 94mph on Saturday, and that along with his body language and his poor track record in the first inning, had the Toronto lineup salivating.

The first two Blue Jays reached, but Bassitt had a chance to put the dangerous Jose Bautista away after starting him 0-2. But the right hander missed with his next three pitches, the last of which ended up at the backstop for a wild pitch, allowing the two baserunners to advance. When Bautista then grounded out, it was an RBI sacrifice tying the game 1-1, instead of an inning-changing double play.

Three batters later, the A’s fell behind when third baseman Chris Coghlan couldn’t cleanly field Russell Martin’s grounder, allowing Josh Donaldson to score. Curiously, the official scorer ruled Martin’s grounder an infield hit, but in the real world, it was an instance of the Oakland defense letting its pitcher down at a critical juncture.

In the second, Bassitt again let the first two hitters reach. Then on a 2-0 pitch to the reigning AL MVP, the ball grabbed too much the strike zone and Donaldson, true to form, sent it soaring. After hitting a career-best 84 extra-base hits in 2015, the former Athletic is at again this season, with 13 extra-base hits and a major-league best seven homers already.

Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak, and did what they could to change the tenor of the conversation away from the 80-game suspension for PED use handed down to their first baseman, Chris Colabello. Justin Smoak, an experienced veteran replaced Colabello, but the Blue Jays murderer’s row of Donaldson, Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki remains intact.

Tulowitzki missed Friday’s game against the A’s, but returned in force with a pair of solo shots, the first of which came off Bassitt in the fifth.

Mark Canha got the A’s off to a fast start with a home run in the first. And Coco Crisp and Josh Phegley came up with timely, two-out RBI singles later in the game. But the A’s lineup was largely ineffective, drawing just one walk, and grounding into three double plays.

J.A. Happ pitched seven innings and picked up the win. The veteran was plenty familiar to the A’s, but they couldn’t damage him, outside of Canha’s blast. Happ’s doing something right; he placed himself on a very short list of Toronto starters to begin a season with four consecutive quality starts in the last 20 years.

The A’s turn to Eric Surkamp in Sunday’s series finale. Surkamp will be opposed by Drew Hutchinson, who was recalled from the minors for the assignment, a move, according to manager John Gibbons, made to give his entire rotation an extra day of rest.

A’s Trump Jays 8-5

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Canadian Press photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray delivers to the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning of Friday’s game at the Sky Dome in Toronto

The Oakland Athletics hit parade thumped the Blue Jays and starter Aaron Sanchez to a 8-5 victory North of the Border Friday night. Sonny Gray pitched seven innings of 3-run ball and Chris Coghlan picked up three RBIs.

Stephen Vogt doubled home Chris Coghlan in the first to give the A’s a 1-0 lead, then Coghlan hit his third homer of the season with a pair of runners on in the top of the second. Darwin Barney’s solo homer in the bottom of the third made the game 4-1.
Jed Lowrie scampered home on a Sanchez wild pitch in the top of the fifth, then Jose Bautsita knocked in a run for a 6-2 oakland lead in the bottom of the sixth. Gray would give up an RBI single to Barney in the seventh to finish his night.

The A’s ace pitched seven innings, allowing three earned runs with six strikeouts. Ryan Dull would surrender two more runs but Sean Doolittle would pick up his second hold of the season. Ryan Madson pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning for his seventh save of the season. Game two of the series opens Saturday with Chris Bassitt facing off against J.A. Happ.

MLB podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Bonds coaching against his former club ignite Giants?; A’s getting plenty of help from good pitching

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo credit talkers.com: MLB logo

On the MLB podcast with Tony Renteria with the San Francisco Giants pitching staff their going to go through spells where their going to get cold. It’s still early, it’s been 17 games, it’s still April. They’re looking forward to the series with the Marlins and you have the return of former Giant Barry Bonds returning. Maybe the return of Bonds might fire up the Giants and they’ll get some pitching and some hitting and win some games.

On the Oakland A’s when players get hot and a series like they had against the Kansas Royals last week can turn a ball club around and they wound up sweeping the New York Yankees. This is a team that has some great bats and they got some great pitching out of Sonny Gray, Rich Hill, Kendall Graveman, Chris Bassitt, and Eric Surkamp.

Listen to the rest of Tony’s MLB commentary click below for the podcast and every week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

The A’s sweep the Yankees, beat them 7-3

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s starter Rich Hill delivers at the New York Yankees in the second inning of Thursday’s game at Yankee Stadium

The Oakland A’s did something Thursday night that hasn’t happened since 2006. They swept a three-game series from the Yankees in New York. Lefty Rich Hill had a very impressive performance as he won his second game of the year. Hill went six innings and allowed just three hits and two runs and had ten strikeouts. Only one of the runs allowed by Hill was earned. The Yankees Luis Severino also pitched well. Severino also went six innings giving up seven hits and two runs. The big difference in the game was the Oakland offense. The A’s hit four home runs in the contest. Three were solo jobs, and the big blast was a two-run homer by Chris Coghlan that iced the game for the A’s. Khris Davis, Coco Crisp and Mark Canha hit solo homers. The other big difference was the bullpen. TheYankee bullpen allowed five runs in the last three innings of the game. The Yanks were able to break through for one run, but the A’s relievers continue to shut opponents down.

The Yankees scored the first run of the game for the third time in the three-game series. A’s starter Rich Hall walked Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to start the bottom of the second. Hill got Chase Headley to ground out to Jed Lowrie for the first out. Lowrie was positioned just to the left of second base and able to keep Headley’s ball from going into center field. Lowrie threw to first for the out, but he could have possibly nailed A-Rod at second, and Semien could have completed the double play. However, He was reacting and didn’t see that Rodriguez would have been out easily. The run scored when Aaron Hicks singled softly to center driving in Teixeira for the score.

The A’s scored in the top of the fourth to tie the game at one. The tie didn’t last long as the Yankees scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth.With one out, Rich Hill walked Alex Rodriguez. Hill attempted to pick A-Rod off, but his throw went wild past first. Since A-Rod was on the move, he received credit for a stolen base, and Hill was charged with an error allowing A-Rod to advance to third. Aaron Hicks singled softly to center to drive in Rodriguez and give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Mark Canha took Severino deep for his second home run of the year. The blast came on a 0-2 count with two out. The A’s scored twice in the top of the seventh. Lefty Chasen Shreve took over for Severino in the seventh. His first two pitches were hit out of the park. Khris Davis hit the first pitch he saw from Shreve into the left-center field bleachers. Coco Crisp hit the next pitch into the left-field seats to put the A’s ahead 4-2. The Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one-run game. Fernando Rodriguez gave up the run. Bob Melvin brought in John Axford to get the final out of the inning. Axford retired the ever dangerous Carlos Beltran for the third out.

The A’s put two more runs on the board in the eighth. Chris Coghlan homered with a man on to make it 6-3 and they added the seventh run in the ninth. Liam Hendricks and Ryan Madson worked the ninth. Madson recorded his sixth save of the year. The A’s win their fifth in a row 7-3.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are now 9-7 for the season and have won five straight. They have also won all six games they have played on the road so far this year. The Yankees fall to 5-9 and are 1-8 in their last nine games.

After the game, Chris Coghlan that the A’s were motivated by comments made by the Yankee announcers who said: ” the A’s are just above a Triple-A team and that they didn’t know our names.” It looks like they know the players names now.

The A’s travel to Toronto to face the best offensive unit in the American League. Sonny Gray will pitch on Friday, Chris Bassitt on Saturday, and Eric Surkamp on Sunday. Toronto will counter with Aaron Sanchez, J.A.Happ, and Marcus Stroman.

Attendance was 33,818.

The A’s win their fourth in a row, beat the Yankees again.

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Doolittle gets the save and is congratulated by A’s catcher Stephen Vogt in the A’s second win in the three game series in Yankee Stadium Wednesday night

The A’s won their fourth game in a row Wednesday night as they beat the Yankees 5-2. Kendall Graveman pitched his best game of the year. Graveman went six and a third innings allowing just one run and three hits. He struck out a career-high eight men and had the Yankee hitters befuddled all night long. Nathan Eovaldi started for New York and took the loss. Eovaldi allowed just one hit in the first three innings of the game but lost it in the fourth. The A’s appear to be road warriors this year. They have won all five games they have played away from the Coliseum. The A’s are now 8-7 for 2016 and will be going for the sweep Thursday night.

The Yankees scored the first run of the game for the second night in a row. With one out in the second inning, Yankee shortstop, Didi Gregorius, hit a home run that went down the right field line and barely cleared the wall over the 314-foot marker.

The Yankee starter, Nathan Eovaldi allowed just one hit in the first three innings of work. The A’s however, scored three times on five hits in the fourth inning. Billy  Burns, leading off the inning, doubled to left centerfield.  Chris Coghlan followed with a double to drive in Burns. Josh Reddick singled to short left field. The throw from Aaron Hicks appeared to nail Coghlan at the plate. However, Brian McCann couldn’t handle the throw cleanly, and Coghlan scored. Reddick took second on the play. Reddick advanced to third on a Danny Valencia single. Stephen Vogt flew out, and that allowed Reddick to tag up and score the A’s third run of the inning.The A’s loaded the bases with one out but the inning ended when Yonder Alonso flew out to left, and Danny Valencia was throw out at home trying to score.

The Yankees threatened in the bottom of the seventh but failed to score. With one out. Graveman walked Chase Headley. Bob Melvin decided to take Graveman out of the game and replaced him with Marc Rzepczynski. Didi Gregorius followed with a single that sent Headley to third and Gregorius advanced to second when A’s center fielder, Billy Burns, committed an error when he bobbled the ball. The next hitter, Aaron Hicks, hit a ground ball to Coghlan at third. Coughlan tagged Gregorius and then threw to first to get Hicks and complete the double play to end the inning.  The Yankees requested a review of the play, and the umpires upheld the call as there was not conclusive proof that Coghlan missed the tag.

The A’s scored two more runs in the top of the eighth. Billy Butler and Stephen Vogt singled to start the inning. Jed Lowrie walked to load the bases with no out. Khris Davis singled sharply past the drawn-in infield to drive in Butler and Vogt. For Davis, it was his second hit of the game. The Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the eighth when Carlos Beltran put a Ryan Dull pitch into the second deck in right field. For Beltran, it was his fourth home run of the year and the 396th of his career. Ryan Dull had allowed no hits and no runs so far this year until Beltran hit the home run. The A’s lead 5-2 heading into the ninth. Bob Melvin brought in his closer, Sean Doolittle, to pitch the bottom the ninth. Doolittle gave up a single to Brian McCann to start the inning but then retired Alex Rodriguez, Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius to p[ick up his second save of the year and Kendall Graveman recorded his first win of the year and his first win since July 4th, 2015. The A’s win 5-2.

Game Notes-There were some strange doings in the contest. In the second inning, Jacoby Ellsbury was awarded first base when A’s catcher Stephen Vogt was called for catcher interference. Ellsbury appeared to hit a foul, but the umpire ruled that Vogt’s hand or glove touched Ellsbury’s bat and sent him to first. Later in the game, A’s third baseman, Danny Valencia appeared to hurt his hamstring attempting to score. Chris Coghlan moved over to third from second and Jed Lowrie, who was the designated hitter, went to second. That meant that the pitcher had to hit, and Graveman went to the plate as he had to bat fourth. He did not get a hit, but it was strange to see a pitcher in the game as a hitter.

Billy Burns led the A’s with two singles and a double. Khris Davis, who has had a tough start to the season, had two hits in the game and drove in two.

The A’s announced that Eric Sogard underwent successful knee surgery Wednesday and will miss significant time this season. Sogard hopes to return later this summer.

The A’s and Yankees conclude the three-game series Thursday night. Lefty Rich Hill will pitch for Oakland, and the Yankees will counter with Luis Severino.

Time of game was two hours and fifty-seven minutes. 37,386 people watched the A’s beat the Yankees.

 

 

The A’s start the road trip with a win, beat the Yankees 3-2.

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s hitter Josh Reddick splinters the bat to fly out while New York Yankee catcher Brian McCann is behind the plate

NEW YORK–The Oakland A’s received a terrific performance from lefty Eric Surkamp Wednesday night in New York. Surkamp did not get out of the fifth inning in his first two starts with Oakland. He managed to work into the sixth but did not get the decision. His opponent, Michael Pineda also gave up two runs and did not have a decision, either.The A’s bullpen was terrific as was the Yankee’s. However, the A’s was better as the A’s won 3-2. The Yankees used Chasen Shreve, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Johnny Barbato. Barbato gave up the winning run to the A’s in the eleventh. The A’s bullpen kept the Yanks off the board to secure the win. The A’s improved to 7-7 and the Yankees fell to 5-7.

The Yankees put one on the board in the bottom of the first. Surkamp retired the first two batters he faced. The third hitter, the veteran Carlos Beltran, doubled to left. Surkamp walked Mark Teixeira to put men on at first and second. The designated hitter, Alex Rodriguez hit a single to left to drive in Beltran with the first run of the game. The pitch was right over the middle of the plate, and A-Rod did not miss. Surkamp struck out catcher Brian McCann to end the inning. Surkamp threw twenty-four pitches in the frame.

In the top of the second, the A’s tied the game at one. Jed Lowrie and Yonder Alonso singled to put runners on at first and second. Marcus Semien, swinging on a 3-0 pitch, singled to left to drive in Lowrie with the tying run.

The Yankees regained the lead in their half of the fifth inning. Shortstop Didi Gregorius led off with a single. The A’s got Gregorius in a rundown as he took off on a 3-2 count to avoid a double play. Gregorius appeared to make it back to first safely, but, he was ruled out as he ran out of the basepath. Brett Gardner walked on the next pitch. Starlin Castro doubled to left. Gardner stopped at third and then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Carlos Beltran. Yankees lead 2-1 after five.

The A’s  answered in the top of sixth. Danny Valencia, leading off, tripled into the gap in left-centerfield. Brett Gardner got his glove on the ball but couldn’t make the catch. The Yankees brought the infield in to cut off the run at home. Stephen Vogt struck out. With the infield still drawn in, Jed Lowrie singled to right to drive in Valencia with the A’s second run of the game.

There was no more scoring in regulation, and the game went to extra innings. The A’s broke through in the eleventh to win the game. Jed Lowrie doubled with one out. Khris Davis grounded out, and that allowed Lowrie to advance to third. Mark Canha singled past Yankee shortstop Didi Gregorius to drive in Lowrie with the winning run. The A’s win the first game of the three-game series 3-2.

Game Notes- Eric Surkamp, who did not get a decision, pitched very well Tuesday night. He went five and 2/3rd innings and allowed two runs and seven hits. He threw a career-high ninety-nine pitches. Marc Rzepczynski retired one batter to close out the sixth. The bullpen allowed just one hit in 5 1/3rd innings of work.John Axford retired the side in order in the seventh. Sean Doolittle did the same in the eighth. Fernando Rodriguez pitched the ninth and tenth. He allowed just one hit in the ninth and set the Yanks down in order in the tenth.Ryan Madsen closed out the game for the A’s as he put the Yanks down 1-2-3 in the eleventh. Rodriguez received credit for the win and Madson the save.

Jed Lowrie was the hitting star for Oakland. He had three singles and a double. He scored one run and drove in another.

There was a celebrity sighting at the game Tuesday night. Larry David, creator of “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was in the front row in back of home plate. David played the voice of George Steinbrenner in the Seinfeld series.

Game two will be played in New York Wednesday night at 4:05 pm PT.Kendall Graveman will go for Oakland, and Nathan Eovaldi will be on the hill for New York.

Time of game was three hours and thirty minutes, and 31,952 watched the A’s beat the Yankees.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s expect great pitching performances in tough road trip ahead

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo credit pinrterest.com: Charlie O the Mule A’s former mascot in the 1970s

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O The A’s are doing alright and it’ the beginning of the season everybody is baseball seems to be doing about the same nobody doing anything really exciting. It looked like one of the first road trips to Seattle folks thought “who are these guys?” the A’s went to Seattle and they swept the Mariners.

That was a good start for Oakland and that’s a lot better than what people expected from the A’s. Then they came home to face the Los Angeles Angels and what did they do? They got swept. So you sweep and then you get swept. It’s not the scenario that you want to have happen. Then after they got swept by the Angels then they had to tough task of facing the World Champion Kansas City Royals.

The Royals came in beat them last Friday night so now the A’s have lost four games in a row and what did the A’s do they turned around and won the final two games in the series with the Royals. So they were 2-4 in the six game homestand that’s not what you want to do.

Charlie O talks more A’s in the podcast below and every week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: A’s begin a very tough road in the Bronx a true test of grit

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

espn.com photo: Oakland A’s Sonny Gray is Oakland’s number one ace and other teams would like to have him on their staff

On That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News, and Commentary the Oakland A’s start a very rough road trip and it all begins in New York on Tuesday night and the A’s who got swept by the Angels last week at home but when the World Champion Kansas City Royals came to town the A’s got their act together they started hit with men in scoring position taking two out of three from KC. Pitching was solid and it all started with the A’s starter Sonny Gray and in the third game with Chris Bassitt.

The A’s will play the Yankees and they go to Toronto, and finish the trip up in Detroit. These are three teams who can hit the ball you better have good hitting and you better have good pitching with someone who can pitch the ball otherwise this could be a long, long, hard road trip.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez also discusses the future of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Museum which is planned for construction near AT&T Park in downtown San Francisco. Amaury is the Museum vice president and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com