Category: Oakland Athletics

New York Yankees Aaron Judge is caught in a rundown by the Oakland A’s second baseman Max Schuemann in the bottom of the second inning at Yankee Stadium in New York on Thu Apr 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Oakland A’s closer Mason Miller retired four Yankee hitters in including Yankee slugger Aaron Judge to shut the door on the Yankees for a 3-1 win in New York on Thursday night.

#2 The A’s got offensive help when Nick Allen and Tyler Nevin both slugged third inning home runs off of Yankee starter Nestor Cortes in a three run inning that turned out to be all the A’s runs they needed for the win.

#3 One thing that can be said about Miller he can heave he throws over 100 MPH and struck out Jose Trevino the his first batter he faced when he came into relieve TJ McFarland.

#4 Miller pitched his eighth consecutive scoreless inning of relief. Miller has put out 31 of his last 38 hitters and has struck out 22 of those 38 batters. Miller is really putting up some Fireman of the Year numbers at this stage of the season.

#5 The A’s open up a series in Baltimore on Friday night. The A’s will start RHP Ross Stripling (0-5 ERA 5.34) whose looking for his first win. The Orioles will start RHP Corbin Burnes (3-0 ERA 2.76). Like the Yankees the Orioles are hot. They’re in first place in the AL East 16-8, they have won and have won eight of their last ten games.

Join Jeremiah for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s starter Alex Wood had one his best outings of the season pitching five plus innings giving up eight hits and one run against the first place New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Thu Apr 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

NEW YORK.—The Oakland Athletics’ Mason Miller retired Aaron Judge with his first four-out save and the visitors defeated the New York Yankees 3-1 on Thursday night, splitting the four-game series in the Bronx.

Winning the final game of the series at Yankee Stadium was a big confidence booster for the A’s, who were swept by the Cleveland Guardians to start their 10-game road trip and fell in the last two contests against the Yankees.

“It’s a great bounceback series for us. We knew going into this road trip, Cleveland, New York and now going now to Baltimore, that we had a challenge in front of us with some good baseball teams,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay. “After getting swept by Cleveland and coming here, to split a series with the AL East division leaders right now, it’s a good sign.”

In the second inning, Jose Trevino hit a home run on a fly ball to right field to put the Yankees up 1-0.

The A’s answered back in the third inning, as Nick Allen hit a homer on a fly ball to left field and tied the game. Then Tyler Nevin hit a home run on a fly ball to right field and Darnell Hernaiz scored, giving Oakland a 3-1 lead.

A’s starting pitcher Alex Wood earned his first win of the season after allowing one earned run in a season-high 5.2 innings pitched. He triumphed in bases loaded situations in the first and fourth innings.

“This game could’ve gotten out of hand in the first inning, especially against a lineup like that… so it just felt good,” said Wood.

In the eighth inning, A’s right-handed pitcher Mason Miller relieved TJ McFarland with a runner on first base and struck out Jose Trevino on a fastball. In the ninth, Miller got Oswaldo Cabrera out on a third strike, allowed a single to Anthony Volpe, and struck out Juan Soto. Judge flied to right on a slider and Miller notched his sixth save of the season.

“The kid is impressive. He’s a power pitcher but he’s got a good slider to go with it and he showed that tonight a couple times,” Kotsay said of Miller. “He’s really embraced this role, he loves it, and you can see just the energy when he comes into the game. This is the first time we’ve kind of used him in that four-out situation and for him to respond the way he did is a good sign.”

Miller, who averaged 100.8 mph with eight fastballs, affirmed that the fastball and slider combination is his go-to.

“Yeah that’s my mix,” he said. “Those are the pitches I’m going to come to the guys with.”

The A’s (10-16) continue their road trip with a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles starting on Friday at Camden Yards. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m. PT. Starting pitchers for the Oakland A’s RHP Ross Stripling (0-5 ERA 5.34) for the Orioles RHP Corbin Burnes (3-0 ERA 2.76).

“We’ve got a task in front of us with going to Baltimore now,” Kotsay said.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run in the bottom of the first inning at Yankee Stadium against the Oakland A’s on Wed Apr 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

NEW YORK.—The Oakland Athletics allowed Aaron Judge to hit a two-run homer to start the third of the four-game series in the Bronx and fell to the New York Yankees 7-3 on Wednesday night.

The A’s dropped to 2-1 in the series and 1-5 in their current 10-game road trip.

In the first inning, Judge hit a home run on a fly ball to right field and Juan Soto scored, putting the Yankees up 2-0. With that, he surpassed former captain Derek Jeter to earn the ninth spot in the Yankees all-time home run list.

Judge seemed to take a third strike call and was walking back to the dugout when A’s starting pitcher Joe Boyle was charged with a balk. Judge proceeded to hit a fastball. A’s manager Mark Kotsay said it was an “umpire judgement call, it was close”.

“You don’t see that call that often and in that moment, it gives Judge another pitch and he capitalized on it,” said Kotsay. “So it’s definitely umpire discretion and you can’t argue box, so you have to kind of have to stick with that.”

Boyle laughed when asked what exactly happened.

“They called a balk,” he said. “So what I was doing, the clock was running down, probably should have stepped off but tried to squeeze a pitch in and I felt like I stopped, but obviously they saw it differently and I haven’t watched the video or anything yet so I don’t really know what it looks like.”

In the fourth inning, Anthony Volpe tripled on a sharp line drive to center fielder JJ Bleday that was deflected by right fielder Lawrence Butler and Austin Wells scored, expanding New York’s lead to 3-0. Then Soto went out on a sacrifice fly to center field and Volpe scored, boosting the Yankees up 4-0.

In the fifth inning, Anthony Rizzo homered on a fly ball to right center field and gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead.

The A’s would not go out without putting up a fight and in the sixth inning, Brent Rooker hit a home run on a line drive to left field and Ryan Noda and Tyler Nevin scored, cutting the Yankees’ lead to 5-3. In the same inning, Soto responded with a home run on a fly ball to center field and put the Yankees up 6-3.

In the seventh inning, Alex Verdugo went out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Seth Brown and Giancarlo Stanton scored, giving New York a 7-3 lead.

Boyle allowed two runs and three hits, struck out six and walked four in three innings pitched. It was his fifth start in the season and his fourth loss – to right-handed pitcher Clarked Schmidt on Wednesday.

A’s second baseman Zack Gelof was a late scratch due to left abdominal soreness.

“Zack came in a little sore, went through his pregame. After ground ball routine we talked about it, decided to scratch him,” Kotsay said. “He did go for imaging. Zack does have a left oblique strain and most likely will be heading to the IL.”

The finale of the four-game series at Yankee Stadium takes place Thursday with A’s (9-16) left-handed pitcher Alex Wood matching up against Yankees (17-8) left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m. PT.

The New York Yankees Anthony Rizzo (right) celebrates his home run with the Giancarlo Stanton (48) as Oakland A’s catcher Shea Langeliers stands in the background in the bottom of the first inning at Yankee Stadium on Tue Apr 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

NEW YORK.—The Oakland Athletics allowed four runs in the first inning by the New York Yankees and were unable to overcome that on Tuesday night, falling 4-3 in the second of the four-game series that is now tied in the Bronx.

Oakland was the first to score – Seth Brown doubled on a line drive to right fielder Juan Soto and Brent Rooker scored, putting them up 1-0.

But the Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton responded by doubling on a sharp line drive to center fielder Esteury Ruiz and Soto and Aaron Judge scored, and New York was up 2-1. Then Anthony Rizzo hit a home run to right center field and Stanton scored, expanding the Yankees’ lead to 4-1.

A’s starting pitcher Paul Blackburn said he felt like he “made two bad pitches all night” and there were “two good hitters that made me pay for it”.

“I feel like we kind of settled in there and we were fighting back, we just kind of ran out of time. It was just one of those outings where you keep your team in it as long as you can,” said Blackburn. “Once you kind of give up four in the first, you’re just trying to go out there and put up as many zeros as you can.”

A’s manager Mark Kotsay felt that Blackburn performed well after the first inning.

“We did have our chances to get a big hit and you know, Paul’s job tonight after the first inning, I mean he put up zeros and gave us a chance to get back in it,” said Kotsay. “And so it was a nice night after that.”

In the second inning, Shea Langeliers answered back with a homer of his own on a fly ball to center field, to cut the Yankees’ lead to 4-2.

Then in the fourth inning, Lawrence Butler hit a home run on a line drive to right center field, putting the A’s within one run of the Yankees. Kotsay called it a “great, great sign”.

“He’s got power to hit it out and swung it the right one that time and it was nice to see a home run from him,” Kotsay said.

Blackburn took his first loss of the season after allowing four earned runs in six innings pitched. After starting their 10-game roadtrip getting swept by the Cleveland Guardians, the series against the Yankees standing at 1-1 is an improvement.

“It’s always nice to obviously win the first game of the series. And then coming in today, just the way that we fought – it was a good pitcher and a good bullpen they have over there – I think It just shows a lot about the guys here,” Blackburn said. “That we’re never going to quit no matter the situation or the score or anything like that.”

The A’s fell to 9-15 this season and are 7-15 in 22 games against the Yankees (16-8) since the beginning of the 2021 season.

Game three of the four-game series at Yankee Stadium continues on Wednesday. A’s right-handed pitcher Joe Boyle will match up against Yankees right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m PT.

Oakland A’s Zack Gelof hits a two run home run for all the A’s runs in the top of the ninth inning to give the A’s the lead against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Mon Apr 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

#1 Oakland A’s Zack Gelof hit a two run home run in the top of the ninth inning that put the A’s over the top for a 2-0 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday afternoon.

#2 Previous to the Gelof home run Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected from the game. Earlier Boone had come out of the dugout to question plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt whether or not A’s lead off hitter Esteury Ruiz had swung at a pitch that hit Ruiz in the back of the foot. Boone returned the dugout when a fan behind the dugout shouted something and ejected Boone.

#3 Yankees pitcher Carlos Rondon had a great effort today but no run support. Rondon pitching seven innings and giving up just one hit.

#4 A’s starter JP Sears pitched lights out as well going six innings giving up three hits and no runs. He all his pitches working for him.

#5 The A’s will try and see if they can pick up another win against the Yankees on Tuesday the A’s will start Paul Blackburn (2-0 ERA 1.08) for the Yankees Marcus Stroman (1-1 ERA 2.42) both pitchers with decent ERAs how do you see this match up at 4:05pm PDT.

Join Barbara for the Oakland A’s podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

By Jessica Kwong

NEW YORK–The Oakland Athletics snapped an eight-game losing streak at Yankee Stadium with a 2-0 win over the New York Yankees in the series opener on Monday afternoon.

Both teams were scoreless through eight innings in the matinee. The game started in a dramatic fashion, with Yankees manager Aaron Boone getting ejected only five pitches in over a fan’s remark directed at the home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.

Boone questioned whether Esteury Ruiz swung at the pitch before being hit on the back foot by Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodón’s slider. After a fan from behind the dugout shouted at Wendelstedt, he ejected Boone.

“In the entirety of my career, I have never ejected a player or a manager for something a fan has said. I understand that’s going to be part of a story or something like that because that’s what Aaron was portraying,” stated Wendelstedt.

“I heard something come from the far end of the dugout, had nothing to do with his area but he’s the manager of the Yankees. So he’s the one that had to go.”

Rodón and Oakland’s starting pitcher JP Sears were both working toward shutouts.

Sears, who pitched six innings, said it was “obviously a good day, feeling good”. Sears said he was “trying to mix it up really well. I think it worked out early on. I was able to get my sinker in there kind of middle of the game to the righty, and I just feel like I used that to the point really well.”

At the top of the ninth inning, the A’s edged their opponent out.

Zack Gelof hit a home run on a fly ball to right center field, allowing Abraham Toro to score and putting Oakland up 2-0. A’s manager Mark Kotsay said he dropped Gelof down the order to try to get him comfortable and relaxed, and the result was great.

“I say Zack’s been grinding and hasn’t had the success he started out with last year but a big day for him,” said Kotsay. “You know he’s had his issues with lefties as well, so to see him go off on a lefty, on a really good lefty, is a good sign.”

Gelof, who came in 3-for-19 against left-handed pitchers, said “it’s something that I focused on in the offseason”.

Mason Miller earned his fifth save this season after striking out three batters and pitching a scoreless ninth inning. It was his first time tossing at Yankee Stadium.

“Walking around before the game, it’s got a different air about it, for sure,” said Miller.

The A’s (9-14) are 1-3 to start their 10-game road trip. They are 7-14 in 21 games against the Yankees (15-8) since the beginning of the 2021 season.

A crowd of 30,366 was in attendance at Yankee Stadium for the first in the four-game series.

Starting pitchers for game two for Tuesday at Yankee Stadium for the A’s Paul Blackburn (2-0 ERA 1.08) for the Yankees Marcus Stroman (1-1 ERA 2.42) both pitchers with decent ERAs first pitch is at 4:05 p.m PDT.