Category: Oakland Athletics

The A’s beat the Dodgers, End Losing Streak

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s ended their seven-game losing streak Tuesday night as they beat the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4. It was a very entertaining game. A’s starter, lefty Felix Doubront pitched six strong innings for Oakland. He gave up just one hit and one run. The run was unearned. Doubront walked six batters. A.J.Ellis and Joc Pederson received four of them. The Dodgers’ ace, Clayton Kershaw was not as sharp as usual, but he was still very impressive. Kershaw went seven innings, and he allowed just one run on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven. The switch-pitcher, Pat Venditte, pitched a strong seventh for Oakland and retired the first two batters in the eighth. The A’s brought in Fernando Rodriguez to finish the inning, but he couldn’t get anyone out. The Dodgers scored three times to take a 4-1 lead and it looked like Kershaw was in line for the win. The A’s, however, came back in their half of the eighth, and they scored three times to tie the game. The A’s then won it in the tenth. Much maligned designated hitter, Billy Butler won it for the A’s by hitting a double to drive in Canha with the winning run.Butler got the traditional pie in the face and the Gatorade dousing.

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning. Mark Canha, playing first base tonight, singled sharply to left field. Designated hitter Billy Butler walked to put men on at first and second with no out. A’s right fielder, Josh Reddick, laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Marcus Semien drove in Canha when he ground out to the second baseman. A’s lead 1-0 after two complete.

The Dodgers tied the game in the top of the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Doubront walked A.J.Ellis and Joc Pederson to start the inning. Ellis and Pederson walked to start the third, but Doubront escaped unscathed in that frame. Ellis and Pederson advanced on a passed ball. Dodger shortstop Jimmy Rollins ground out 4-3 driving in Ellis with the run. The official scorer ruled the run was unearned. The game is tied 1-1 in the middle of the fifth.

The Dodgers took a 4-1 lead in the top of the eighth. With two out, A’s manager Bob Melvin replaced switch-pitcher Pat Venditte. Fernando Rodriguez was brought in, and he could not get anyone out. Yasiel Puig singled; Andre Ethier also singled. Dodger catcher A.J.Ellis, who had walked three times in the game, drilled Rodriguez’s pitch into the left-field bleachers for his third home run of the year.

The A’s refused to quit. Kershaw was out of the game and the A’s attacked reliever Pedro Baez. Danny Valencia singled; Josh Phegley doubled to put men on at second and third with no out. Mark Canh, the hitting star of the night for Oakland, lined a double into the right field gap to drive in Valencia and Phegley. The Dodgers brought in lefty J.P. Howell to face Josh Reddick. Reddick reached on an infield single. The next hitter, Marcus Semien, singled to drive in Canha with the tying run. Howell retired Sogard for the second out. Don Mattingly brought in former A’s reliever Jim Johnson to face Billy Burns. Johnson entered the game with an ERA of 20.25, but he retired Burns to end the inning. Game tied at four heading to the ninth inning.

Neither team scored in the ninth, and the game went to extra innings. The A’s kept the Dodgers off the board in the top of the tenth. Yimi Garcia was on the mound for LA, and the A’s ended the game in dramatic fashion. Mark Canha led off the tenth with a double. Ir was the first four-hit game in Canha’s career. “country breakfast” Billy Butler won the game for Oakland with a double to right as the A’s won in a walk-off. Final score 5-4 in favor of the Green and Gold.

Game Notes- Mark Canha was the hitting star for the A’s. Canha had his first career four-hit game and his fifteenth multiple hit game of the year. Josh Reddick was 2-for-2. Danny Valencia was 2-for-5 and has three doubles and four home runs and nine RBIs in eleven games with the A’s.

Game two of the two-game series will be played Wednesday afternoon at 12:35 at the O.Co Coliseum.

Jesse Chavez will toil for Oakland, and Alex Wood will go for LA.

Time of game was 3 hours and 45 minutes, and there were 35,067 on hand to watch.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O Tue Aug 18, 2015

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Charlie O Mallonee

OAKLAND–Right now if your pulling for the Oakland A’s it’s tough to be optimistic their facing the Dodgers on Tuesday night and that can’t be too comforting after they dropped a series against the O’s in Oakland last week and dropped another series to them again this past weekend in Baltimore. The A’s dropped the last game of the set 4-2 on Monday night.

The A’s finished the road trip at 0-7, they further were swept in Toronto and swept in Baltimore. We were projecting a week ago that they could pick up one win in Toronto and split the series in Baltimore and end up having a 3-4 road trip which wouldn’t be too bad. Never envisioning that it was going to be an 0-7 road trip.

Now this is their longest losing streak of the season, they have lost six games in a row twice and now seven games at the conclusion of the road trip on Monday night marking their longest losing streak they’ve had all season. The A’s drop their record down to 51-69 their 13.5 games behind first place Houston in the AL West standings.

They’re 11.5 games out of the wild card and I keep giving that stat because they still aren’t out of the wild card yet. There is a little something optimistic to look forward to. They’ve dropped 4.5 games behind Seattle in fourth place. The projections we made is that the A’s need not to be in last place when the season is over.

Physiologically there something huge about them getting out of fifth place and being able to leap frog in fourth place just to help them be in a better spot next season. It’s getting harder and harder all of the time because if you look at it right now they’ve played 120 games, you got 162 games on the schedule the chances of the A’s finishing at .500 for all practical purposes is gone.

Catch more discussion about the A’s on the podcast tonight with Charlie O right below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News, & Commentary: With US Embassy opened in Cuba expect nothing but the best in Cuban players to US

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–The US Embassy in Havana which had the flag raising last week is located in the same place where the last group of diplomats left it when the flag was lowered for the last time in 1961 when President Fidel Castro took over Cuba. I’m one of the few guys to live long enough to remember I was in Cuba when the US flag went down after Castro declared Cuba a communist country and he claimed he had been communist all his life.

That’s when the US and Cuba broke relations and a few months later I left Cuba to come to the US, my family sent me, then my younger brother and my family came in. I’m one of the few guys who can tell that story and I’ve seen it on TV and I haven’t been there but last week the flag was raised there at the Embassy. I was there in 1960-61 I was a young kid but I remember and that building the US Embassy is right on the waterfront in downtown Havana.

It’s a beautiful building where it’s located. The US Embassy when the flag came down in the early 60s and the diplomats left Cuba it was like an emergency evacuation, they weren’t chased out or put in jail but left under international interest. Cuba broke relations in haste that the diplomats had to leave the US Embassy and put the flag down.

It’s good that the people in Cuba probably benefited a lot Cuba is still a very repressive system, there’s no free press, there’s no free ownership, or private ownership. So hopefully things will change and Castro won’t live forever and that system will eventually collapse and hopefully Cuba will have freedom.

People don’t realize that Cubans don’t have access to the internet and their cell phones are being bugged or listened into by the Cuban government. Cuba is 90 miles from the US but they might as well be on another planet and they still live in the 50s. It’s good for the people of Cuba and of course the baseball players it’s a panacea. Basically they would be able to leave without any problems they won’t have to escape the island like the way they used to.

For example the Royals Kendrys Morales whose a great DH player, I get to talk to Morales all the time and he’s a great guy he’s the DH for the Royals whose got the best record in the American League. He tried to escape Cuba eight or nine times and in the end he succeeded so those days might be over. Players might be able to get on the plane and come over to the states and play MLB.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s, the TV Spanish voice for the Angels, and does Podcast, News, and Commentary weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Baltimore Orioles beat the A’s again, Sweep the four-game Series.

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for chris tillman

Monday night’s game in Baltimore was the last game of a seven-game road trip. The A’s had lost all six games in a row before the start of play and were hoping to get a win before heading home to Oakland. The A’s, however, played another sloppy game and they lost 4-2 to the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles completed a four-game sweep and, to make matters worse, the A’s have a long flight home and probably will be very tired when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers at the O.co Coliseum Tuesday night. The A’s sent their ace, Sonny Gray, out to pitch and they were hoping that Sonny could stop the losing streak. Gray, without a doubt, is one of the best pitchers in the American League.  The A’s took an early 1-0 lead on a Danny Valencia home run but the defense let Gray down in the fourth inning, Orioles first baseman, Chris Davis, reached on an error by Eric Sogard. Sogard knocked the ball down but couldn’t find it until it was too late and Davis reached first safely. The next batter, second baseman Johnathan Schoop singled and that was followed by a blast off the bat of Designated hitter Steve Clevenger to put the Orioles ahead 3-0. Marcus Semien made a throwing error in the inning, but it did not cost the A’s.

The A’s got a run back in the top of the sixth. Left fielder Mark Canha took a Chris Tillman pitch to right for a solo home run. The Orioles got the run back in their half of the inning. Shortstop J.J.Hardy singled and that was followed by a double by catcher Caleb Joseph. Gray walked Manny Machado and that was it for him. Drew Pomeranz finished the inning.

The A’s were done for the evening.  Tillman went seven innings in recording his ninth win of the year. Darren O’Day pitched a scoreless eighth for the Birds and Zach Britton pitched the ninth and picked up his 29th save of the season.

Game notes- Not too many highlights for the A’s Monday night as they lost for the seventh straight time. It is the longest losing streak of the year for Oakland. The A’s defense made three errors in the game to have a total of 99 in 2015 so far. A’s designated hitter, Billy Butler, grounded into two more rally-killing double plays. Butler’s average is below .240 and he seems to be in a fog at the plate.

Stats for the road trip are as follows. 0-7 record. Runs scored per game 2.9. Runs allowed per game 7.4. Team batting average was .240 and the pitchers had an abysmal ERA of 6.93.

The A’s manager Bob Melvin and center fielder Sam Fuld were ejected from the game in the fifth inning on a very rare batter interference call. Fuld laid down a bunt that went about two feet in front of home plate. Fuld, running hard, all the way down the baseline, appeared to interfere with Chris Davis’ attempt to catch the ball. The ball dropped to the ground, but home plate umpire Brian Knight called Fuld out. Melvin came rushing out of the dugout and was tossed after protesting the call vehemently. Fuld continued to argue with Knight even though Knight put up his hand as if to tell Fuld to stop. Fuld didn’t stop and he was tossed, too.

The A’s had just three hits in the game. Danny Valencia had a solo homer in the second inning to go along with Canha’s blast in the sixth.

Sonny Gray went 5 2/3rds innings allowing 7 hits and four runs. Only one of the runs was earned. His record is now 12-5 and his ERA actually dropped slightly.

The A’s are now eighteen games under .500 with a record of 51-69. Baltimore improved to 61-56 and would be the second Wild Card in the AL if the playoffs were to start.

The A’s face the Dodgers at 7:05 Tuesday night at the O.co. Clayton Kershaw, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, and NL MVP will pitch for LA. The A’s will have their hands full.

Bad Day in Baltimore: A’s lose 18-2

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Ike Davis on the mound for the A's
Ike Davis on the mound for the A’s

by Charlie O. Mallonee

It was an ugly game. That is all you really need to know about the A’s 18-2 loss in Baltimore on Sunday. Things for the A’s were ugly at the plate, on the mound and in the field. Oakland was out of the game early and really never had a chance to get back into the game.

The 16 run margin of loss was the most for the A’s this season. In other words, the A’s have not played a game this ugly all season.

The Orioles scored 18 runs on 26 hits. The A’s were not charged with an error so all 18 runs were earned. The A’s scored two runs on nine hits.

Oakland has now tied their longest losing streak of the season at six games. The A’s were swept by Toronto and are in danger of being swept by Baltimore.

On the Bump

The A’s used six pitchers on Sunday. One of those pitchers was first baseman Ike Davis who pitched the bottom of the eighth inning giving up no runs on one hit to go with a walk and a strike out.

Kendall Graveman (6-9) started the game for the A’s, and he took the loss. Graveman gave up six runs on eight hits. Two of those hits were home runs.

Graveman had his sinking fastball working in the game but could not establish his slider. The breaking ball continued to hang over the plate and the Orioles’ hitters continued to pound the ball.

In general, the A’s pitching staff was not aggressive on Sunday. The Baltimore hitters were not challenged inside and were able to sit on pitches middle to away.

The Oakland pitchers were not able to close out innings. The Orioles scored 13 runs with two outs in the inning.

Baltimore broke the A’s back in the fifth inning when they sent 13 batters to the plate, collected 10 hits and scored 9 runs.

Wei-Yin Chen (7-6) started the game for Baltimore and posted the victory. Chen worked six innings and gave up two runs (both earned) on eight hits. Chen struck seven Athletics and walked none.

In the Batters Box

Coco Crisp and Brett Lawrie led the way on offense for the A’s. Crisp went 2-for-4 including a double. Crisp has gone 6-for-10 so far in the series.

Brett Lawrie went 2-for-4 Sunday. One of the hits was his 11th home run of the season. Lawrie is now 3-for-14 in the series.

Gerardo Parra was the man with the big bat for the O’s on Sunday. Parra went 5-for-6 with three runs scored and three RBI. Parra hit his 12th home run of the season off Graveman in the bottom of the first inning.

In the Field

The A’s did not commit a charged error in the game. There were however some less than spectacular plays in the outfield. It was obvious that the A’s had lost focus in the game early on.

Gray to the Rescue

The A’s are hoping that Sonny Gray will be able to keep them from being swept on the seven-game road trip when he takes the hill on Monday night. Gray missed his last start due to back spasms.

Fans were looking forward to a Clayton Kershaw versus Sonny Gray match up on Tuesday night when the Dodgers visit Oakland. That will not happen and the A’s starter for Tuesday is still to be determined.

Frankly, the A’s cannot afford to hold Gray out of the lineup until Tuesday. Oakland is in a death spiral and has to do something to stop it … now. The best chance the A’s have to get back into the win column is to have Sonny Gray and his 2.06 ERA on the mound on Monday night. Gray has not faced the Orioles this season.

Not again! A’s lose in Baltimore on Davis’ walkoff

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

Maybe free-agent to-be Chris Davis will consider a true change of scenery in the off-season and sign with a National League contender after spending all seven of big league seasons with Baltimore and Texas.

The A’s bullpen probably hopes that’s Davis’ preference, with Japan as his backup plan.

The big slugger outdid himself Saturday, with a pair of homers including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth—a circus shot if you will, with Davis reaching across the plate and finishing his swing with one hand.

Switch-pitching reliever Pat Venditte watched with disbelief and disgust as Davis’ shot ended up in the first row of seats in right center.  While Venditte’s location on the pitch—low and away—was desirable, his choice lacked originality.  Venditte had thrown similar sliders on the two previous pitches, and Davis appeared ready to attack with force on the final pitch.

“I had a pretty good scouting report after I saw Parra’s at-bat,” Davis said. “The last pitch I hit was actually a good pitch.  I was just trying to put the barrel on it and give myself a chance.”

“It’s off the plate away, and he ended up one-handing it out of the park,” manager Bob Melvin said.

Davis has six homers in his last six games.  He’s second in home runs to Nelson Cruz and leads all of baseball with 88 RBI.  Davis also victimized the A’s on August 5 with his 10th inning, grand slam that propelled Baltimore past the A’s, 7-3.

The A’s lost a close one on the game’s final swing for the second consecutive night.  Manny Machado’s 13th inning blast decided Friday’s series opener.  The results left the A’s weary and uncomfortable being saddled with the major’s worst record in one-run games.  The A’s fell to a big-league worst 13-27 in one-run games.

The A’s fell to 0-5 on a road trip that’s didn’t figure to comfy, and has turned out to be downright rough.  Danny Valencia was a late scratch Saturday with hamstring tightness.  And Sonny Gray hasn’t pitched at all on this road swing—a terrible spot for the Cy Young candidate to miss out on valuable East Coast media exposure—although he is a possibility for a start in Monday’s wraparound finale in Baltimore.

Then when you throw in whatever weather front is hoovering over the Eastern seaboard that obviously visited Boston earlier Saturday (final score: Boston 22, Seattle 10) and seemed to gravitate to Baltimore Saturday night, you know that local nine is anticpating their flight into Oakland Tuesday morning.

After the first run Saturday night was scored on Mark Canha’s ground out with the speedy Billy Burns breaking from third, the final six runs of the ballgame all came on home runs.

Oakland starter Chris Bassitt appeared most immune to all of the flying baseballs eventhough he admitted after the game he was under the weather.  Along with reliever Fernando Abad, Bassitt has become the Athletic of the moment to watch with his confounding curveball and consistent performances.  Bassitt went a career-best eight innings Saturday, and for the most part kept the sellout crowd at Camden Yards stuck to their sticky seats.

But even Bassitt had issues, allowing Davis’ first home run of the night on a poorly-located fastball, and and a solo shot to Gerardo Parra in the sixth.  Other than that, Bassitt barely allowed a baserunner, and may have had his finest outing to date.

But all went to waste when Davis’ unlikely home run was launched.

On the A’s postgame show telecast, Bip Roberts felt that given the same pitch and location from Venditte, Davis would only be able to muscle one out on one of ten swings.  Unfortunately, that one swing was the one from Saturday night.

On Sunday, Kendall Graveman gets a shot to end his four-game slide in a matchup with Wei-Yin Chin at 10:35am in the Bay Area.

Oakland Falls To Baltimore In Extras 8-6

Published on by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 14: Umpire Vic Carapazza and catcher Caleb Joseph #36 of the Baltimore Orioles look on as Josh Reddick #22 of the Oakland Athletics tosses his bat after striking out looking for the third out of the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 14, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 14: Umpire Vic Carapazza and catcher Caleb Joseph #36 of the Baltimore Orioles look on as Josh Reddick #22 of the Oakland Athletics tosses his bat after striking out looking for the third out of the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 14, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

 

By Kahlil Najar

BALTIMORE – Manny Machado hit his 25th homer of the year to beat the A’s 8-6. At one point the A’s had a 4-0 lead but then gave up six unanswered runs.

“Anytime you have a 4-0 lead, you feel you’re in a pretty good position to win the game,” said manager Bob Melvin. “Just a three-run homer..and that’s what they do is hit home runs… got them right back in it.”

Melvin is referring to a three-run homer by Adam Jones in the bottom of the fifth off of starting pitcher Brad Mills.

“I would have loved to get through another inning or two, especially if you’d told me it would go extras like that, but I gave it my best,” said Mills on his performance tonight.

The A’s got on the board in the top of the second when Coco Crisp hit a line drive single to center field and scored Brett Lawrie who had singled earlier in the inning. Billy Burns grabbed his 26th RBI of the year in the fourth inning when he drove in Billy Butler to make it a 2-0 Oakland lead.

The A’s added two more runs in the top of the fifth when Stephen Vogt hit his sixteenth homer of the year with Josh Reddick on board to make it 4-0.

In the bottom of the fifth is when Jones hit his three-run homer and in the bottom of the seventh the Orioles grabbed three more runs on the back of a Chris Davis home run to make it a 6-4 game.

Oakland showed signs of life in the ninth when they earned two run to tie the game on Phegley ground out and a Danny Valencia single to make it a 6-6 game and have the game go into extras.

In the bottom of the 13th Aaron Brooks came in to replace Drew Pomeranz who appeared to be injured and promptly gave up the two run shot to end the game.

The A’s are now 51-66 and Drew Pomeranz was charged with the loss to take him to a 4-5 record.

Both teams head back at it tomorrow when Chris Bassitt (1-4, 2.48) takes on Miguel Gonzalez (9-8, 4.45).

 

 

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland Athletics 2015 “This is the business we have chosen”

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–Unless the Athletics win 40 of their next 45 games of the season and the four teams on top totally collapse, there will be not World Series in Oakland this year.

This 2015 season has been a disappointment from the very beginning. Somebody once said that you cannot win the pennant in April and May, but you sure can lose it. The Athletics fell into a hole so deep, so early, that they just have not been able to get out of it.

2015 is not as bad as 1979(I remember that) when they won 54 games and lost 108. Nobody (that I know)picked the A’s to win their division this season, but most people in the baseball world picked them to be a competitive team. And they can be competitive, especially when Sonny Gray is starting a game, he is one of the very best young hurlers in the game today, and he will be in sole possession of the Athletics for a few years to come, until he can become a free agent, and then everybody and their grandmother, knows what happens. Adalberto, aka Ucho, is a good friend of mine who has been an A’s fan and followed the A’S since they moved to Oakland in 1968, he told me last winter that the A’s should sell their Jerseys blank- with no specific name of a player– and sell the names of the players individually in Velcro so fans can buy the Jerseys and then just inter-change the name of the players as they come and leave. He told me he had just bought a Céspedes jersey and two weeks later he got traded. Maybe I will tell that to the A’s marketing department, but then…

So is the life in Oaktown these days. I do feel for A’s skipper Bob Melvin, a very good manager and a class human being. Like in the movie The Godfather Part II, Melvin will be like Hayman Roth telling Michael Corleone: “this is the business we have chosen!”. Melvin knows that from the first moment he took the job as manager of the A’s, Players are discarded regularly in the A’s system when things do not work, players in Oakland have to do well in a short amount of time, or they are gone. Right now the way Josh Donaldson and the Toronto Blue Jays are playing(they beat the A’s today and have an 11-game winning streak, second 11-game winning streak for them in 2015)Josh could be the favorite, with the Angels Mike Trout to win the American League Most Valuable Player. Yes, that same Josh Donaldson that played here, has talent, star-power and lots of class and I feel great for him.

Just like a strike out for a player these days is not really a dishonor, a team finishing in the cellar is also no big deal, because we live in times when you can finish last one year and win it all the next. The Oakland Athletics could finish last this season and that is not a regular situation for them these past few years, but then that would not be that bad at all. The American League west doesn’t have a perfect team, and I could easily see the A’s competing in 2016, with some more trades and some luck, all is possible.

Athletics fanaticos have to put things in perspective, there are teams that have never even been in a World Series; right in their division. The Seattle Mariners, who in the last two off seasons spent enough money to bail out Greece, are competing with the A’s to finish out of last place. And then the Chicago Cubs, of course, who are looking like a postseason team this year, they are the biggest example of long time suffering, since 1908. Manager Joe Maddon(first season with the Cubs) was the perfect RX for this organization, he brought a winning culture to the north side of Chicago, but most important the Cubs ownership cultivated some great young talent and the Cubs look deep and very much competitive for the near future.

Soon in time, the A’s will be the only residents at the OCO. I cannot see the Raiders staying much longer at Oakland, they are a prime candidate to move and return to Los Angeles, for a second time, and this time to stay.

The Oakland A’s organization and the stadium situation is hanging on like a bad disease, although the Oakland Coliseum is not the oldest park in major league baseball, Dodger Stadium is older, so is Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago. Still the Coliseum at Oakland is not a positive for the organization, when you win, that is forgotten, but when you do not win, that plays another part into the problem. Some say that they need a new ballpark so they can increase their revenues and build a winning organization, while others would say, they have been winning in the recent past and doing decently at the gate, and always making money.

I have friend that tells me the ownership is fine, because it is a business and they’re in business to make money, others tell me, this ownership is happy finishing over .500 even if they do not play deep in October. The problem is that this year there is a very good chance they will finish under.500.

In the end baseball is entertainment. When you go to a movie and you pay $10 to see a first run movie, you expect the movie to be good, but if it isn’t you are not allowed to ask for your money back, same principle in baseball. A’s fans hope the 2015 A’S movie is not back in 2016.

Finally, the best thing to say about the Oakland A’S of 2015 is a very common saying these days: “It is what it is.”

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and Spanish TV voice for the Angels and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Toronto stay hot, Sweep the A’s

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

It was another tough day in Toronto for the A’s as the Jays beat them 4-2 to sweep the three-game series. Jesse Chavez pitched well but not well enough to win. He had one bad inning, the second. The Jays, for the third game in a row, scored enough runs to put the game away. Chavez went six innings allowing four runs on six hits. Chavez struck out nine but still came away with a loss. Jays’ starter, Mark Buehrle won his thirteenth game of the season. He went seven-plus innings, allowing seven hits and two runs.

The A’s had a chance to do damage in the first inning. They loaded the bases with no out, but could not score. Buehrle got out of the jam by getting Danny Valencia to hit into a 1-2-3 double play. He then retired Josh Phegley for the third out.

In the fateful second inning, Jays’ catcher Dioner Navarro singled with one out. He went to third on a long single to right off the bat of Justin Smoak. Kevin Pillar followed with the third hit in a row to drive in Navarro with the first run of the game. The next batter, Shortstop Ryan Goins, made Chavez and the A’s pay as he put a Chavez mistake into the right field seats for a three-run homer. Jays lead 4-0 after two.

Chavez settled down and kept the Jays off the board for the rest of the time he was in the game. He went six innings giving up just six hits and four runs. It was his twelfth loss of the year.

Buehrle was cruising until the top of the eighth. Marcus Semien led off with a single. He scored all the way from first when Billy Burns’ line drive got by Kevin Pillar for a triple. The Jays brought in Aaron Sanchez to pitch. He got A’s first baseman Mark Canha to ground out. Burns scored on the play, and that was all the A’s could do. Roberto Osuna closed out the game for Toronto. Jays win 4-2.

Game Notes- The red-hot Blue Jays won their eleventh game in a row and fourteenth of the last fifteen played and picked up 1/2 game on the New York Yankees. The Yankees play Cleveland later in the day.

The A’s announced that Sonny Gray was scratched from Thursday’s game due to back spasms, and he will not pitch Friday night in Baltimore. The A’s start a four-game series with the Orioles Friday night. Ubaldo Jiminez will pitch for the Orioles. Game time will be 4:05 pm.

Time of game was two hours and twenty-five minutes. 46,902 were in attendance.

The BLue Jays offense pummels the A’s

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for R.A.Dickey

It was another tough night for the A’s in Toronto Wednesday night as they were trounced by the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3. Aaron Brooks started for the A’s. His last two outings for Oakland were very impressive but on this night, Brooks lasted just 1 and 2/3rds innings, and he allowed six hits that produced eight runs. Toronto’s R.A.Dickey, one of the few knuckleball pitchers in baseball, was not on the top of his game but went six innings allowing the A’s just three runs.

The Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Brooks walked Troy Tulowitzki to start the inning. Josh Donaldson singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Brooks retired the dangerous Joey Bautista for the first out but threw a belt-high fastball with a 2-0 count to Chris Colabello that hit off the facade over the second deck of Rogers Center.

The A’s scored two runs in the top of the second. Danny Valencia hit a solo dinger to left to get the A’s on the board. Valencia has knocked in seven runs in six games since joining the club. Billy Butler singled and went to third on a ground-rule double off the bat of Mark Canha. Eric Sogard hit a slow grounder to second to drive in Butler.

The Blue Jays put the game out of reach as they exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second inning. They sent eleven men to the plate and had seven hits that produced seven runs. With the score at 7-2, A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Lefty Felix Doubront to pitch against his former team. Doubrount gave up a single, and a home run to Justin Smoak, and another hit before getting the third out of the inning.
Toronto leads 10-2 after two.

The Jays did not score the rest of the way, but the A’s picked up another run in the top of the fourth. Dickey walked Valencia and Stephen Vogt to start the inning. Butler hit into a 5-4-3 double play with Valencia advancing to third. Canha hit his second double of the night to drive in Valencia with the third and final run of the game for Oakland.
Final score 10-3 in favor of Toronto.

Game Notes – The Toronto Blue are smoking hot. They have won ten games in a row, and thirteen out of the last fourteen played. Also, they have moved into first place by a half-game over the Yankees, who lost to Cleveland Wednesday night. New York has now lost five in a row,
and they come to Toronto for a three-game series starting Friday night.

Mark Canha was the hitting star for the A’s with three hits, including two doubles. Chris Colabello was Toronto’s star with two hits, including a three-run dinger and four RBIs for the night.

Felix Doubront pitched extremely well for Oakland. After giving up three hits to the first three batters he faced, Doubront went 6 and 1/3rd innings and did not allow any further damage by the potent Toronto offense. He threw 95 pitches giving up five hits and two runs.

Game three of the series will start at 9:30 am Thursday. Sonny Gray (12-4, 2.06ERA) will go for Oakland, and Mark Buehrle (12-5, 3.34ERA) will toil for Toronto. It will be a matchup of two quality pitchers. Don’t miss it.