Category: Oakland Athletics

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s begin a three-city, 10-game road trip Friday night with a visit to the Texas Rangers Friday night. The A’s would love nothing better than to play the role of spoiler and upset the Rangers’ apple cart. The A’s helped the Rangers out by winning two of the three games played with the Houston Astros this week. The Astros were two games ahead of the Rangers before the series with the A’s and left Oakland still ahead by two games.for the division lead. The Rangers lost to Seattle Wednesday and Thursday and now trail Houston by 2 1/2 games. Houston plays a big series with the Los Angeles Angels this weekend, and the Rangers have to face the A’s. The Rangers and Astros then play each other starting Monday in Arlington.

The A’s, without question, are not going to be in the playoffs this year, but they could play a role in determining the division champ as well as the second Wild Card team. The Rangers are currently the second Wild Card, but the lead over the Minnesota Twins is just one game. The Rangers cannot take the A’s lightly this weekend. The A’s, as mentioned earlier, are not having a great season, but A’s manager Bob Melvin will not let them lay down. There is no question that the A’s are in a rebuild mode and disappointments. Injuries have affected the A’s, too, but the Rangers were not exempt either. Coco Crisp, known as the engine that drives the team, missed most of the season. A’s starting pitching has seen Jesse Hahn, Kendall Graveman, Chris Bassitt go down with an injury. Jarrod Parker and A.J.Griffith had Tommy John surgery last year, and both players were lost 2015. Parker also had a setback to fix an elbow issue.

The A’s offense, however, is not bad. The A’s don’t have any player with more than 18 home runs, but the many of the players are solid. Billy Burns, taking over for Coco, has been a force.He is hitting a shade below .300 but once he reaches base, he can create havoc with his speed. The infield of Danny Valencia, Marcus Semien, Brett Lawrie and Mark Canha all contribute to the offense, and they all have pop in their bats. In fact, every one of them had double-digit home run performance. Catching is solid with Stephen Vogt and Josh Phegley. Josh Reddick made a nice comeback this year from injury, and he has hit sixteen dingers and knocked in sixty-eight to lead the team. Left Field has been a problem, but Coco is back and still contributes. The big problem for Oakland has been the arson squad, the bullpen.

So, the A’s have a chance to do damage in Texas with the potential to derail their playoff hopes. The Rangers made one pitching change for the weekend series. The Rangers are pushing back Cole Hamels one day. Hamels will start Monday against Houston, and he will be available to face the Astros when they play in Houston a few days later. The Ranger bullpen is solid. The Rangers have had success with Sam Freeman, Sam Dyson, James Diekman, Keone, Kela, Tanner Scheppers and their closer Shawn Tolleson. Tolleson has recorded thirty-one saves in thirty-three chances.

The Rangers have Colby Lewis (14-8) pitching Friday night. Yovani Gallardo (12-9) will go on Saturday and Chi Chi Gonzalez is set for Sunday. The A’s pitchers are Jesse Chavez, Sean Nolin, and Felix Doubront. Rangers’ manager Jeff Bannister, in his first year, is doing a great job in Texas. The Rangers lost Derk Holland and Matt Harrison last year. This year, they lost their ace, Yu Darvish, to Tommy John surgery. Holland has returned and is 3-2. Darvish is out but Harrison was traded to Philadelphia in the deal that brought Hamels to Texas. The Rangers have played well since Hamels arrived and they have shocked everyone as they are within grasp of not only the Wild Card slot but the AL West crown as well.
Adrian Beltre, Mitch Moreland, Prince Fielder, Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor and Mike Napoli are the big boppers for the Rangers on offense. The A’s pitchers will have to work hard this weekend to keep those bats quiet.

Notes-

OAKLAND -– The Oakland A’s acquired left-handed pitcher Daniel Coulombe from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations, the club announced today. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A’s placed right-handed pitcher Evan Scribner on the 60-day disabled list with a torn right lat muscle.

Coulombe appeared in five games over five stints with Los Angeles and had no decisions and a 7.56 ERA. He walked six batters in 8.1 innings and allowed a .265 opponents batting average. The 25-year-old left-hander was most recently with the Dodgers for a one-day stint July 5 when he pitched two innings and allowed a run on three hits and a walk against the Mets. Coulombe spent the balance of the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City where he compiled a 3-1 record, one save and a 3.27 ERA in 38 relief appearances. He was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 20th round of the 2012 draft and made his Major League debut with Los Angeles in 2014.

The A’s also Bought up Max Muncy and Craig Gentry from Nashville.Also, the A’s announced that manager Bob Melvin has been given a two-year contract extension that will keep him at the helm through the 2018 season.

Scribner was 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 54 games with the A’s. He struck out 64 batters in 60.0 innings but also allowed 14 home runs, which were the most among ML relievers.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Houston Astros avoided a sweep as they beat the A’s 11-5 Wednesday night. It was a big win for Houston as they increased their lead in the AL West to two games over the hard-charging Texas Rangers. The Seattle Mariners beat the Rangers to help them out. The Astros travel to Anaheim and Texas for two big series before returning home. The A’s lost for the eightieth time this year and are twenty games under .500 and have just twenty-two games left to play. Aaron Brooks started for Oakland, and he lost his third straight start. He lasted just four-plus innings and saw his record drop to 1-3, and his earned run average is now an astronomical 7.74. Houston starter Collin McHugh won his sixteenth win of the year. The A’s used six pitchers in the game and five worked for Houston.

The Astros drew first blood in the top of the second when left fielder Colby Rasmus deposited an Aaron Brooks fastball into the second deck in right field with no one aboard. For Rasmus, it was his nineteenth homer of the season. 1-0 after two complete.

The Astros scored three runs in the fourth as they touched Brooks for four hits including two singles and two doubles.  They scored three more in the fifth. Brooks was charged with another run in the fifth after Carlos Gomez doubled leading off the inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin saw enough and brought in switch-pitcher Pat Venditte to handle the pitching. Venditte retired Jed Lowrie on a fly ball to right, but Evan Gattis went yard to put Houston ahead  6-0. Venditte walked Colby Rasmus and gave up a double to Marwin Gonzalez to put men on at second and third with one out. Rasmus scored the seventh run on the night on a sacrifice fly. 7-0 in the middle of the fifth.

The A’s answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Billy Butler led off the inning with an opposite-field home run. Marcus Semien followed with a single. Semien advanced y=to second on a ground out and then scored the second run of the game for Oakland on a single by Billy Burns. Josh Reddick broke a 0-for-10 slump with his sixteenth home run of the year to bring the A’s back into the game. A’s trail 7-4 after five,

The Astros made it 8-4 in the sixth. R.J.Alvarez retired the first two hitters, but Astros center fielder hit his third home run since coming to the Astros in July. Oakland got a run back in their half of the sixth. Brett Lawrie reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Billy Butler singled to drive in Lawrie with the fifth run of the game for the A’s.

The Astros made it a four-run game in the seventh. Fernando Abad struck out the first two hitters he faced. The Astros first baseman, Marwin Gonzalez, batting right-handed, hit a solo homer to left. Fourth home run of the game for Houston. The A’s put two men on in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t score. Houston leads 9-5 heading into the eighth.

The Astros put another run on the board in the eighth without the benefit of a hit. Dan Otero hit George Springer with a pitch. Springer went to second on a wild pitch and made it to third on a ground out. The A’s brought the infield in to cut off the run at the plate, but Springer was able to beat the strategy. Carlos Correa hit a grounder to Marcus Semien. Semien checked him at third and threw to first for the out. Springer took off, and he beat Canha’s throw home with a head-first slide that enabled him to elude the tag. The Astros were at it again in the ninth. The A’s defense made two errors in the inning and that led to an unearned run. Astros lead 11-5 as the A’s come to bat in the ninth. The A’s went down 1-2-3 to end the game.

Game Notes- The Oakland A’s are now 33-42 at home this season. They have now homered in fifteen consecutive games and are 8-8 against Houston this season. Aaron Brooks is 0-2 with a 9.49 ERA in his last three starts. Billy Burns was 2-for5 and is hitting .348 in his last fifteen games. Billy Butler was 2-for 3 and now has a ten-game hitting streak.

The probable pitchers for the three-game series in Texas are Jesse Chavez against Colby Lewis on Friday. Sean Nolin will face Yovani Gallardo on Saturday, and Felix Doubront pitches Sunday against Cole Hamels.

The A’s announced that that manager Bob Melvin has received a contract extension that will take him through the 2018 season.

The A’s have an off-day Thursday and resume play Friday when they meet the Texas Rangers. They travel to Chicago for four with the White Sox then return to Houston for three more games with the Astros.

Game time was three hours and thirty-eight minutes. There were 13,387 diehard fans in the stands to watch the A’s go down to defeat.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The game between the Houston Astros took almost four hours to play. The A’s and Astros entered the sixth inning tied at two apiece.  From the sixth to the ninth the two teams scored fifteen times. The A’s had eight and Houston scored seven. Four of the five home runs hit occurred after the sixth inning. It was a the hottest day of the year at O.co. The temperature at the start of the game was eighty-three degrees and probably got two or three degrees warmer later in the afternoon. The A’s sent Left Felix Doubront out to pitch. Doubront went six-plus innings allowing four runs on eight hits. Doubront earned his third win of the season. Mike Fiers, who pitched a no-hitter against the LA Dodgers about ten days ago, started for Houston. Fiers took the loss and his record with the Astros is now 2-1.

The ball was flying all over the park Monday. The A’s hit two home runs while Houston hit three. The A’s bullpen couldn’t keep the Astros down as they kept coming back. The A’s responded each time to hold on for the win.

There were several key hits for the A’s. Coco Crisp had a pinch-hit double to drive in two. Billy Burns singled in the sixth to also drive in two. Josh Phegley hit a key two-run blast. They A’s needed all the offense output as the bullpen gave up five runs in relief of Doubront. Lawrie’s error in the eighth opened the door for Houston as they scored three unearned runs.

The Astros took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Astros’ right fielder, George Springer, led off with a double. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jose Altuve. Springer scored on a Carlos Correa ground out to short. A’s first baseman, Mark Canha, tied the game at one with a solo home run into the left-field seats about six rows back of the BBQ Terrace. Thirteenth homer of the year for Canha.

The Astros regained the lead in the second. Marwin Gonzalez led off with a double. Chris Carter walked to put men on at first and second with no out. Former A, catcher Max Stassi laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Jake Marisnick flew out to Josh Redick in right. Reddick’s throw home was not in time, and Gonzalez slid in safely under the tag. Brett Lawrie almost caused Reddick to drop the ball and as a result, Reddick had to double clutch the throw.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Danny Valencia, who just missed a double down the left field line by an inch, walked leading off the inning. Brett Lawrie drilled a ball to left-center that made it past the Houston outfielders to the wall. Left fielder Jake Marisnick blocked Carlos Gomez view of the ball, and that allowed Lawrie to reach third with a triple.

The A’s scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth to take an 8-2 lead. The A’s benefited from four walks and four hits to score the runs. The key hits were a pinch hit double by Coco Crisp. Crisp doubled off the wall in deep right field with the bases loaded to drive in two. The A’s loaded the bases again with just out. Billy Burns singles to drive in two more. Mark Canha drove in the fifth run of the game with a single. Danny Valencia ground out into a force out to drive in Burns with the sixth run of the frame. A’s lead 8-2 after six.

The Astros scored four times in the seventh. Jonath Villar, pinch-hitting for Chris Carter, sent a Doubront pitch into the second deck in left field. Max Stassi singled to bring out Bob Melvin. Melvin took Doubront out of the game and brought in Fernando Rodriguez to pitch. Rodriguez struck out Marisnick but walked George Springer to put two men on with two out. Astros’ shortstop, Carlos Correa, took Rodriguez deep for a three-run dinger to bring the Astros within two of tying the game. Rodriguez retired Carlos Gomez for the final out. A’s lead 8-6 in the middle of the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh. A’s catcher, Josh Phegley, hit a towering blast with a man aboard, to put the A’s ahead 10-6. The Astros scored an unearned run in the top of the eighth. Evan Gattis popped up to short right field. Brett Lawrie, shading his eyes from the sun, dropped the ball for a two-base error. Gattis tagged and took third on a fly ball out to deep left field. Gattis scored on a ground ball out to second. Jed Lowrie hit a pinch-hit single, and that was followed by a Jake Maresnick home run to left centerfield. Pomeranz is done, and Edward Mujica is brought in to get the last out of the inning. A’s now own a precarious 10-9 lead in the top of the eighth. Astros have hit three homers in the last 1 and 2/3rds innings. Pomeranz was done in by the error. He went just 2/3rds of an inning allowing two hits and three runs. All the runs were unearned.

The A’s brought in Sean Doolittle to close out the game. Doolittle has missed most of the season due to shoulder problem. He worked hard to get his velocity and location back, and Bob Melvin rewarded him bringing him to close out the game. Doolittle delivered. He retired Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa on just two pitches. Doolittle then struck out Carlos Gomez to seal the win for Oakland. 10-9 Final.

Game Notes- With the win, The A’s snap a five-game losing streak and snap a season-high five-game losing streak at home. The A’s have homered in their thirteenth consecutive games (seventeen home runs in that span) The A’s are 21-23 on Labor Day since moving to Oakland. Billy Burns was 2-for-5 and recorded his 41st multiple hit game. Burns also has fifty hits on the first pitch and is just four behind Carney Lansford’s team record.

The Astros have lost four of the last six games. Last year’s chumps are trying to become this year’s AL West champs, but they are just 29-26 against the AL West and are 27-39 on the road. Today was Game one of an eleven-day, ten-game road trip. Houston goes to Anaheim and Texas after the three-game set with Oakland.

Sean Doolittle earned his first save of 2015. He threw five pitches, all strikes. Retired Altuve and Correa on Popups and then struck out Carlos Gomez to end the game.After the game Doolittle said “it was great to do this at home.”

Game two of the three-game series will be played at the O.co at 7:05 pm. The A’s ace, Sonny Gray will pitch for Oakland, and he will be opposed by former A’s star, left Scott Kazmir. Gray wants to get back on the winning track and Kazmir would like nothing better than to beat his old team.

Time of game was three hours and fifty-three minutes. It is the longest nine-inning game of the year at home for Oakland. 22,215 people were on hand on the hot Labor Day holiday to watch the A’s prevail.