Category: Oakland Athletics

Oakland grinds out a win, defeat the Rockies 4-1.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

It wasn’t pretty nor was it a very exciting game but the A’s ground out a 4-1 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies. Jessie Hahn wasn’t at his best but he was good enough to pick up his sixth win of the year against six losses. The Rockies’ starter Chad Bettis took the loss and his record dropped to 4-3. Drew Pomeranz and Tyler Clippard were quite effective out of the bullpen to preserve the win for Oakland.

The A’s took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. A’s designated hitter Billy Butler lined a shot of the wall in deep left. Rockies’ left fielder Rafael Ynoa hit the wall and crumpled to the ground in pain. Butler made it to third with his first triple since 2012. Ynoa was able to get to his feet and after he was checked by the Rockies’ trainer, he resumed his position in left. Eric Sogard hit a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Butler with the run.

The A’s added a run in the third inning. Billy Burns lined a ball down the right field line that went for a triple. Rockies’ starter Chad Bettis retired Vogt and Zobrist. He did not get out of the inning unscathed as Josh Reddick drilled a single to right field to drive in Burns with the run. Reddick has driven in 32 when hitting with two out in an inning. 2-0 after three.

The Rockies scored a run in the fourth. With two out, back-to-back doubles by Ben Paulsen and Nick Hundley made it a one-run game. A’s still lead 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

The A’s had a chance to blow the game open in the fifth. They, however, had to settle for just one run. Billy Burns slashed a double down the left field line with one out. After, Stephen Vogt fllew out to left, Bettis walked Zobrist and Reddick to load the bases. Butler singled to right to drive in Burns but the ball was fielded quickly by Carlos Gonzalez and his throw home was on the mark. Ike Davis had an opportunity but he ground out to end the threat. 3-1 at the end of five in favor of the A’s.

The A’s put another run on the board in the seventh. Ben Zobrist singled to left and advanced to second when Ynoa overran the ball for an error. Reddick ground out with Zobrist taking third on the play. The Rockies issued Butler and intentional walk to set up a double play.. Mark Canha, batting for Ike Davis, lofted a bloop fly to center that Charlie Blackmon dropped. The play was ruled a fielder’s choice as Butler was out at second 8-6. Zobrist scored on the play. The run was ruled unearned. 4-1 after seven.

The A’s called on Tyler Clippard to get the last four outs of the game. Drew Pomeranz went 1.2 innings and allowed just one hit. Clippard retired the last four Rockies’ hitters in order to record his 14th save of the year. Final score A’s win 4-1.

Game Notes- The A’s took two out of three from the Rockies to win the series but are just 2-4 on the ten-game home stand. However, Oakland has won eleven of the last seventeen games and are 5-2 in inter league play.  The A’s starters are 19-11 with a 2.42 ERA over the last 37 games ( beginning May 23rd) and have allowed one run or fewer 19 times over that stretch.The A’s have committed 18 errors in their last 17 games and have 77 for the season.

Billy Burns had a double and triple Wednesday and has hit safely in 30 of his last 32 games.He recorded his 22nd multiple hit game of the year. Billy  Butler was 2-for-3 and hit his first triple since August, 9th, 2012 at Baltimore.  Butler is 14-for-40 over his last 13 games. Ben Zobrist was also 2-for-3 today.

Jesse Hahn is 5-2 with a 2.42 ERA over his last eight starts. His season record is now 6-6. After the game A’s manager had this to say about Hahn “he pitched well to beat a team like that. He was up in the zone but figured it out in later innings.” Melvin also said that Hahn had “more weapons against lefties and he had a better mix of pitches.”

Melvin, when asked about Josh Reddick’s performance this year said ” it’s All-Star status for a middle of the order guy.” Melvin said that A’s ace , Sonny Gray, is out of the hospital and at home. Melvin said that they do not know when Gray will return to the rotation.

Home plate umpire Tom Hallion was hit by a foul ball of his mask and was forced to leave the game in the first inning. Alfonso Marquez took over as home plate umpire and the game was played with just three umpires.

The Seattle Mariners arrive Thursday for a four-game series with the A’s. Lefty Scott Kazmir will go for Oakland.Seattle counters with lefty Roenis Elias (4-5, 4.25 ERA).

Time of game was 3 hours and 14 minutes and there were 17,655 people in the house watching the game.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Angels GM Jerry DiPoto resigns amongst internal friction with Scioscia , coaches and players

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–Yesterday as I attended the regular “press Q & A” with Angels manager Mike Scioscia most of the questions were about the rift between him, his coaches and the team’s General Manager Jerry DiPoto. Scioscia wanted to talk baseball and he was awaiting to answer baseball questions, about pitching, hitting, guys on the disabled list, the regular mundane stuff managers talk from day to day during the long 162 game grind of the regular season, but Mike Scioscia got few of those questions, and many about the soap opera here that has been going on for a few years now.

Granted the Angels won more games than anybody else last season, 98, but that doesn’t mean anything if you do not win it all, and this owner Arturo Moreno, has spent the big bucks to make this happen, but it hasn’t.

During the off season the team picked up the option for one more year for Jerry DiPoto. This morning DiPoto resigned.

How did this happened? Things have gotten much more tense since DiPoto fired batting coach (and good friend of Mike Scioscia) Mickey Hatcher a couple of seasons ago, and hired Don Baylor.

This time the problem was scouting reports, DiPoto wanted them read to the players, Manager Scioscia and his coaches, for the most part have their own system approaching games.

The team veteran and super star Albert Pujols spoke and said that “the manager and coaches do a good work with us here, and they work very hard with us”. After Pujols spoke, and it was an endorsement of his manager and coaches. After that happened Jerry DiPoto had the choice of resigning, or probably getting fired by the owner.

Today we have a 4:05 game against the New York Yankees, the last of this three game series, and the Angels are going for the three game sweep, the Angels are holding second place 4 games out of the Houston Astros, who definitely are proving everybody wrong and look like they are not going to melt away. Weird, that usually with the NY Yankees in town with A-Rod and the whole circus atmosphere they bring, it seems to be some sense of harmony for a Yankee team that under manager Joe Girardi (his eighth season at the helm of the Bombers)the news and controversy was coming from the other side of the field.

Usually soap operas here in the LA area are produced about 35 miles north closer to Dodger Stadium, in the Hollywood and Burbank studios, but the Scioscia vs DiPoto soap came to its conclusion officially today. The Angels,(except from Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun)have not been hitting as well as last year, yet they are in the run. After today’s game they go on a road-trip to Texas, Colorado and Seattle to conclude the first half of the season, and then the All Star break. The Angels will probably be buyers before the July 31st deadline as it looks today, together with the Texas Rangers, with probably Oakland selling. I do not know what can Seattle do, they loaded and re-loaded during the last few months and they still not playing .500 ball. Houston is the one team(among all in this western division)that really has the most young talent to trade, so do not be surprised if the Astros pick up another starter, to go along their #1Dallas Keuchel and #2 Collin McHugh, and if they do, they could even win this division. Yes.

What is next for the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim? Stay tune.

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

Oakland loses another close game, this time to the Rockies.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

It was a pitcher’s duel Tuesday night at the Coliseum Tuesday night by a score of 2-1. The A’s starter, Chris Bassitt was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to fill in for A’s ace, Sony Gray. Gray was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms  Monday night and was not able to take his turn in the rotation. Bassitt pitched extremely well. He went five innings and gave up just five hits and just one run. He threw 84 pitches as he was working on three days rest. The Rockies’ starter, Jorge De La Rosa, was magnificent as he had was in the zone all night and kept the A’s hitters off-balance as he varied the speeds on his pitches. De La Rosa’s line was seven innings pitched, four hits and no runs. De La Rosa’s record is now 5-3 and Bassitt is 0-1 for the season.

The Rockies scored the first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning. First baseman Ben Paulsen and catcher Michael McKenry singled to put men on at first and second with no out.  Bassitt retired the next two hitters but centerfielder Charlie Blackmon singled softly to center to drive in Paulsen. The inning ended when A’s catcher Josh Phegley threw out Blackmon as he attempted to steal second base. 1-0 in the middle of the fifth.

The A’s threatened to score in the bottom of the sixth. Billy Burns led off the inning with a single. Burns advanced to second on a passed ball and stole third when Stephen Vogt received a walk to put men on at first and third with no out. Ben Zobrist hit a rocket to third. Burns was running on the crack of the bat but that turned out to be a mistake as Rockies’ third baseman Nolan Arenado threw to home. Burns was caught in a rundown. The play went 5-2-5-1 with the Vogt being the man tagged out as the A’s had two men standing on third. De La Rosa struck out Phegley for the second out. Brett Lawrie hit into a 5-4 force out to end the threat. The Rockies still lead 1-0 after six.

The Rockies added a run in the top of the seventh. Wilin Rosario led off the frame with a single. Rodriguez retired the next two batters but left fielder Brandon Barnes singled to send him to third. Rodriguez uncorked a pitch that went to the backstop that allowed Rosario to score. Barnes took second on the play. D.J. Lemahieu struck out to end the inning. A’s trail 2-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

The Rockies replaced De La Rosa with Tommy Kahnle in the bottom of the eighth. Kahnle retired the first two batter that he faced. Ben Zobrist, however, doubled to right centerfield to put a man in scoring position with two out. The designated hitter, Billy “Country Breakfast” Butler singled sharply to right to drive in Zobrist with the first run of the game for Oakland. Kahnle struck out Josh Phegley to end the inning. A’s trail 2-1.

The ageless wonder, LaTroy Hawkins, set the A’s down 1-2-3 to close out the game for Colorado. He earned his second save of the year. Rockies win 2-1.

Game Notes – The A’s are 4-14 when the opponents start a left-handed pitcher as compared to 31-31 when they start a righty. After the game, A’s manager Bob Melvin replied that the A’s are “having a tougher time with lefties.”  Melvin also commented on Bassitt’s performance,” 85 pitches was the limit for him” and that he “couldn’t ask for more” from Bassitt. His pitches had good movement” and he “pitched well.” Melvin said that De La Rosa pitches “had lots of deception”and he threw “lots of splits and few fastballs.”

The A’s are 1-4 on the ten-game homestand and are ten games under .500 with a record of 35-45. Wednesday’s game will be game 81 of the season, the exact halfway point of the year.  The Rockies’ win was their first in interleague play this year, and they are now 1-7 against the American League.

The rubber game of the three-game series will be played Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum. Game time will be at 12:35 pm PT.  Jesse Hahn will pitch for the A’s. Hahn will be trying to even his record at six. Chad Bettis will pitch for Colorado.

Time of game was 2 hours and fifty-six minutes and 19,206 fans were on hand to watch the game.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Which A’s team is going to show up? Jekyll and Hyde club drop one after winning one

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by Charlie O Mallonee

OAKLAND–The A’s who crushed their guests the Colorado Rockies at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday night 7-1 got knicked and lost by a run 2-1 on Tuesday night. I said last week if the A’s could get one win in Texas maybe two wins at home against Kansas City things would be okay because they would be about .500 that was the thought during that three game stretch.

Never in my wildest imagination they’d go to Texas and the A’s would sweep them. Then I got optimistic I thought wow the A’s could take two out of three from Kansas City, whoops! that was a little optimistic. So the their .500 after that six game stretch, it’s just that they did the sweeping and then they got swept. It’s pretty much the pitching and no offense against Kansas City.

That’s pretty much what you get, right there, right now the Athletics are 35-45. Their still in fifth place ten games behind Houston but if they keep creeping up on Seattle the A’s are just a half game back of Seattle for fourth place and we talked about it before when they hit before that it’s really a tremendous physiological barrier.

If the A’s can just get out of the cellar and leapfrog over Seattle then they realistically can think about “lets get to .500” right now their nine games under .500 that’s not insurmountable if they get to .500 they then could start thinking about other things. Their 6-4 in their last ten games which a lot of teams would take 6-4 in their last ten. They’ve won one in a row starting on Monday night, the A’s have the third best record in the American League since May 23rd.

The A’s have been playing so much better over this stretch and they need to do something to get over the hump and getting out of last place is a big physiological jump that will lead them to better things. One thing they’ve got to be thinking positive about is playing interleague games right now their 4-1 in interleague play this season. They are second best in the majors with that record of course the A’s always as you know have done well in interleague play.

Charlie O does Oakland A’s commentary for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below

The A’s snap their losing streak, beat the Rockies 7-1.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s snapped their three-game losing streak by defeating the visiting Colorado Rockies 7-1 before 12,125 fans, the smallest crowd of the season. The story of the game was the pitching of Kendall Graveman. Graveman did not start the season well and was sent down to Nashville to get back in the groove. He did just that. With the win his record improved to 5-4 and he has now gone seven innings in each of his last five starts. Josh Reddick, Ike Davis and Billy Butler homered for the A’s and it was the eighth time this season that the A’s have had three home runs in a game.

The A’s used the long ball to score four times in the bottom of the first. Stephen Vogt singled to left with one out. After Ben Zobrist struck out swinging, Josh Reddick put the first pitch from Rockies’s pitcher, David Hale, over the right field wall to put the A’s up 2-0. For Reddick, it was his thirteenth home run of the season. The A’s weren’t finished. Designated hitter Billy Butler followed with a solid single to center. Ike Davis hit a long, long drive to deep right field that went about ten or twelve rows into the stands. Oakland has a 4-0 lead after one inning of play.

The A’s added a run in the bottom of the fourth on the strength of Billy Butler’s seventh home run of the year. 5-0 after four.

The Rockies scored a run in the top of the eighth. Kendall Graveman was no longer in the game. He went seven innings allowing just five hits and no runs. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Evan Scribner to pitch. Scribner gave up a home run to Charlie Blackmon on a 2-1 pitch leading off the inning.  Scribner retired two but gave up a single to Troy Tulowitzki. Lefty Drew Pomeranz came in to face the left-handed hitter, Carlos Gonzalez. Pomeranz did his job and struck out Cargo for the third out of the inning.

The A’s added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Josh Reddick walked. Billy Butler doubled to left to drive in Reddick all the way from first. Tulowitzki’s throw home got by the catcher and Butler reached third on the play. Butler scored on a triple to right off the bat of Brett Lawrie.

Tyler Clippard pitched the ninth to close out the win for the A’s.

Game Notes- The A’s starting pitchers are 18-10 with a 2.46 ERA over the last 35 games. The A’s are now 35-44 and are 15-11 so far in the month of June.

Billy Burns had his sixteen game hitting streak snapped as he went 0-for-4. Billy Butler had three hits and was a triple shy of the cycle.  Ike Davis was 2-for-4 and hit his first home run since May 7th at Minnesota. Stephen Vogt went 2-for-4 and is 21-for-50 in his last thirteen games.

Ben Zobrist’s wife Julianna sang the National Anthem.

Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05pm in Oakland. A’s ace Sonny Gray will pitch for the A’s. Gray will be seeking his tenth win of the year and will be opposed by Jorge De La Rosa.

One step forward, two steps back: A’s offense absent again as Royals sweep

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errant throw

By Morris Phillips

After scoring seven runs all weekend and getting swept by the Royals, the A’s were in a matter-of-fact mood after Sunday’s 5-3 loss. The five-game win streak they carried into the weekend was a distant memory, and they’ve still got a bunch of work to do to rejoin the best teams in the league. And that process didn’t get a jumpstart this weekend.

“We just don’t all of a sudden after five games lose our intensity and our focus,” manager Bob Melvin said when asked what caused his A’s to lose the momentum of the win streak. “We just got beat. They played better than we did.”

“That’s a pretty good team over there and they came through when they needed to and we gave them extra opportunities when we shouldn’t have,” Stephen Vogt said as a piggy back to Melvin’s thoughts.

One thing’s abudantly clear: when the best and arguably hottest team in the American League comes to town, you need to be on top of your game, and the A’s cleary were not.

Start with the lack of offense, but quickly detour to the lack of quality mid-game pitching where the A’s saw their starter falter or the first reliever in the ballgame give it up. In the three games after the fifth inning, the Royals scored eight of their 13 runs. On Sunday, Jesse Chavez was cruising, leading 2-0, when the Royals struck for a three-spot. Max Muncey’s errant throw home allowed Mike Moustakas to score the initial Kansas City run, as well allowing two other baserunners advance.

Muncey’s error opened the door, but the Royals took it from there with Alex Rios’ run-scoring, sacrifice fly and Omar Infante’s RBI single. Just like that, the A’s were trailing 3-2.

After that, the A’s offensive struggles once again ran square into the Royals’ red-hot bullpen, and the results were predictable. The A’s did manage two hits and a run off Kelvin Hererra in the eighth, but closer Wade Davis closed the door in the ninth, befitting his microscopic 0.27 ERA.

The Oakland bullpen had a much rougher ride as Edward Mujica pitched the eighth only to allow Salvador Perez’s two-run homer that gave Kansas City a 5-2 lead and stood as the difference in the game. The A’s have dropped 30 of the 40 games they’ve been in decided by two runs or less.

The A’s went without the key hit for almost the entirety of the three-game series. Oakland batters were 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position.

Billy Burns returned to the A’s lineup and hit in his 16th consecutive game. Burns had a pair of hits as did Vogt and Ben Zobrist, but that along with the A’s 11-hit total didn’t add up to much without the big hit.

Royals’ starter Jeremy Guthrie created a few situations for the A’s but he found his way out, allowing just one walk while striking out seven. Guthrie struck out Ike Davis in the second inning to give him 1,000 K’s in his big league career.

Kendall Graveman gets the start on Monday at the Coliseum when the Rockies visit for a three-game set. David Hale is scheduled to get the start for Colorado for the 7:15 start.

A’s offense stymied by the Royals’ bullpen after blowing a 2-1 lead late

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By Morris Phillips

The A’s want to escape the AL West cellar in the worst way, but they’ll need to play better baseball at the O.co Coliseum first.

Oakland dropped its second straight to the Royals Saturday afternoon, 3-2, after blowing their slim 2-1 lead in the sixth inning. With the loss, the A’s are just 14-22 at home, the worst home record in the American League.

Of course, the surging Royals have a lot to do with ails the A’s right now. Kansas City has won nine of 12 and surged to the league’s best record. Like last year’s run to the World Series, the Royals’ bullpen has been terrific as three relievers didn’t allow the A’s a hit after the Royals took the lead on Saturday.

The loss was Oakland’s 19th this season by one run, especially frustrating with top starter Scott Kazmir dealing as usual with the exception of Kendrys Morales’ two-run single in the sixth that put the Royals in front.

“The key today was they got big hits when they needed to and we didn’t,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We had a couple of opportunities and we couldn’t get the hits that they did.”

“We’ve been playing great baseball the last couple weeks,” Kazmir said. “For us to fall two straight to a team like that it’s tough.”

Reliever Wade Davis walked the first two A’s batters in the eighth providing hope the A’s could push across a game-tying run.  But Davis recovered, striking out Stephen Vogt and inducing Ben Zobrist to hit into an inning-ending double play.

The A’s were without the services of Billy Burns for the second straight day due to a hip flexor issue. Burns is hitting .322 and Melvin hopes that the speedy leadoff man can return as early as Sunday.

Kazmir’s thin margin for error was further paired in the third when home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth charged him with a balk as he was trying to approach catcher Josh Phlegley to discuss strategy. The call allowed baserunner Omar Infante to advance to third, and he later scored on Mike Moustakas’ sacrifice fly.

“I didn’t see a balk. To me, he stepped off,” Melvin said. “That was a big run.”

Royals’ starter Chris Young pitched masterfully allowing the A’s two runs on four hits to pick up his seventh win. Young has never had more than 12 wins in a season or posted an ERA as low as his current 2.71. The 6’10” starter initially pitched out of the bullpen this season before assuming a starting role.

The A’s look to avoid the sweep on Sunday with Jesse Chavez on the mound. Chavez will be attempting to win three consecutive games in a row for the first time, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Jeremy Guthrie.

Oakland Snaps 5-Game Winning Streak, Lose To Royals 5-2

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OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 26: Kendrys Morales #25 of the Kansas City Royals trots around the bases after hitting a solo home run off of Jesse Hahn #32 of the Oakland Athletics in the top of the second inning at O.co Coliseum on June 26, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 26: Kendrys Morales #25 of the Kansas City Royals trots around the bases after hitting a solo home run off of Jesse Hahn #32 of the Oakland Athletics in the top of the second inning at O.co Coliseum on June 26, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

Oakland –

In the first meeting in Oakland this year, the Kansas City Royals defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-2. The Royals were powered by a pair home runs from Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon.

Coming into the game Oaklands starting pitchers had been been credited with the win for the A’s last five games which was the first time that had happened since 2013. Unfortunately Jesse Hahn (5-6) had a mediocre night as he went six innings and gave up 5 runs although three were unearned. Offensively the A’s 1 through 4 hitters went 1 for 14 and the A’s were only able to get four hits for the whole game.

Kansas City got on the board first when in the top of the second on a 1-0 pitch Kendrys Morales hit his ninth homer of the year to put the Royals up 1-0.

Then to start the third Hahn gave up three singles to the Royals which included a single by Lorenzo Cain who was able to score Alex Rios who singled early in the inning and make it a 2-0 game.

Then the error bug came out again for Oakland.

As Hahn was pitching to Eric Hosmer, he threw a ball that snuck pass Vogt and bounced against the back stop and allowed Escobar and Cain to advance to second and third.

Then on an off-speed hit by Hosmer to first base, Ike Davis charged the ball then tried to flip the ball to Hahn who was trying to cover first but the ball ended up being thrown into the ground and allowed Escobar and Cain to score to give the Royals a 4-0 lead.

Davis’ error was the A’s 73 error of the year. A category that the A’s still lead the league.

The A’s were able to get one run in the bottom of the third when Sam Fuld hit his 10th double of the year and scored Marcus Semien who had landed at first earlier.

In the top of the sixth Alex Gordon hit a monster shot to right center field that gave the Royals a 5-1 lead.

The hated Kelvin Herrera came out in the bottom of the eighth to a shower of boo’s from A’s fans who are still sour from when Herrera threw at Brett Lawrie earlier in the year in Kansas City. If you remember, Herrera was suspended for five games when after he threw a 99 mph fastball behind Lawrie and then pointed to his head as if to warn the A’s of what would happen next.

Herrera had the last laugh as he was able to get the A’s down in order with a strike out, ground out and fly out.

In the bottom the ninth inning Stephen Vogt was hit in the elbow by closer Franklin Morales and was awarded first base. It looked like Vogt wouldn’t be able to make it so Melvin substituted Josh Phegley in to pinch run for Bogt. Zobrist then hit his 13th double of the year and brought Phegley in to bring the game to only a three run lead. Josh Reddick came up and hit a deep line shot to left field that was tracked down by Gordon to leave the A’s with one out left in the game. Billy Butler then struck out to end the game and make it a 5-2 victory for Kansas City.

The A’s are now tied for last place in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners.

The A’s head back at it tomorrow when they send Scott Kazmir (4-4, 2.70) against the Royals Chris Young (6-3, 2.83). Game time 1:05 pm.

The A’s stay hot, sweep the Rangers.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for sonny gray

The Oakland A’s are definitely on a roll. Must be something in the water. Maybe it’s the pixie dust from being near the Golden State Warriors but the A’s have seemingly started to turn the season around as they won for the fifth time in a row by coming from behind to beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 Thursday afternoon. The A’s ace, Sonny Gray was not at his best but was still good enough to beat the Rangers and A’s nemesis, Colby Lewis. Gray went six innings allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out seven to notch his ninth win. Gray was the pitcher of record when the A’s scored three times in the seventh to take a 6-3 lead. The much-maligned bullpen performed well again as Drew Pomeranz, and Edward Mujica combined to pitch two scoreless innings. Closer Tyler Clippard pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his thirteenth save of the year.

The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Mitch Moreland hit a solo homer to center field that traveled some 412 feet. Joey Gallo doubled, and came home on a Robinson Chirinos single to left field. The A’s came back in the top of the fifth to tie the game. Rangers’ starter Colby Lewis may have been affected by the heat as he walked Ben Zobrist, Brent Lawrie, and Ike Davis to load the bases with one out. After Marcus Semien had lined out to short, Sam Fuld singled to center to drive in Zobrist and Lawrie.

The lead didn’t last long. The Rangers scored their third run of the game to take a 3-2 lead in their half of the inning. Prince Fielder reached on a double and scored on a Mitch Moreland single.

The A’s took the lead for good in the seventh. Lewis was done after six innings and was replaced by Keone Kela. Kela retired the first two batters that he faced. Billy Burns started the rally going by hitting a single to left. Eric Sogard and Stephen Vogt singled to load the bases. Lefty Sam Freeman was now pitching for Texas, and he walked Ben Zobrist to force in a run and the bases remained loaded. Josh Reddick singled off  Freeman to drive in Sogard and Vogt. Pomeranz, Mejica, and Clippard kept the Rangers off the board to win the game for Oakland.

Game Notes – The A’s have won five games in a row, the longest winning streak of the year and have won nine of the last eleven games played.The A’s are now 34-41 and are in fourth place in the AL West. After the game Josh Reddick commented on the three-game sweep of the Rangers “this is the kind of run we need to stay on, we’ve gotten to the point where we’re clicking on all cylinders.” Billy Burns’ hit in the seventh extended his hitting streak to fifteen games.

A’s manager Bob Melvin said he got no argument from Sonny Gray when he took him out of the game. “He knew it was the right thing. He battles himself sometimes. He can be as tough on himself as opposed to battling the opponent, and there are periods during the season when you just don’t feel completely locked in, which is odd to hear about him.”The A’s return to Oakland to start a ten game homestand against the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, and the Seattle Mariners and will play fifteen of the next eighteen at home.

The A’s series with the Royals should be interesting. There was a lot of bad blood between the teams when the A’s played in Kansas City earlier in the season. Melvin said, “water under the bridge, Just baseball, that’s the way I look at it.”

Jesse Hahn (5-5, 3.40ERA ) will pitch for the Green and Gold Friday night. Hahn has been very effective as he is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.25 in his last six starts.

Game time will be 7:05 at the O.co Coliseum.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Exclusive interview with LA Angels Albert Pujols

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Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Angel Stadium, Anaheim.

During night games, usually around 4PM every afternoon here in Anaheim, when the Angels are playing at home, manager Mike Scioscia speaks to the media, and around that same time Albert Pujols and other Angels players also come out to the field for practice.

Albert Pujols is leading the American League with 23 Homeruns, and currently is #16 in the All-Time Homerun list with 543 Homeruns. This interview took place around 4:30PM, prior to the game on Wednesday night that took 13 innings and the Angels won 2-1 over the first place Houston Astros. The Angels won the 3-game series and now are 4.5 games behind the Astros.

Sat in the corner of the Angel dugout with Albert Pujols.

Q: What you have been doing these past two weeks is really remarkable, and especially during this month of June, you have been hitting Homeruns with great frequency.

Pujols: I do not think much of that, I just want to help this team win, that has been my mission which I have been focused since I signed with the team four years ago.

Q: I see you always hanging with shortstop Erick Aybar(also Dominican like you) and you are always talking with him. What do you guys talk about?

Pujols: Everything…but mostly baseball all the time, we are always talking about the game that day, what do we see in a particular, the pitcher we are facing, some other times we just talk about our approach at the plate, Erick is a great competitor and he always gives this team a great at bat.

Q: What is your best advice for a young hitter?

Albert: If he is lucky to make it to this level, he has to keep working all the time, stay in good shape(I have been hurt in the past here in Anaheim, but the trainers here do a sensational job)and I have been blessed to have the good people around me. But basically you need to play the game correctly and always have a good approach and work very hard to accomplish what you want for you and for your team.

Q; You have seen for the first time in this series the young Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, (born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, same town as Orlando Cepeda)the #1 pick of the draft, he has been here just for a couple of weeks, and he has impressed everybody. What can you tell me about him?

Pujols: He is already a very good player and at his age of 20 years, he looks like a guy that is going to be here for a long long time, I like the way he swings the bat and his approach at the plate, he is a great young talent.

Q: You have 543 Homeruns as of today, this season you have passed a bunch o great sluggers, guys like Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Mickey Mantle and others, and today you are just a handful of Homeruns behind Mike Schmidt for the 15th place on the All Time Homerun list. Can you talk about that?

Pujols: I really do not like to talk about that. When I am finished and I retired we can talk about that, but not now, I really do not follow that stuff, I try to play and approach every game the same way…I will talk about that when I am done playing.

Q: Tony LaRussa was here last homestand with the Arizona Diamondbacks, you once said you have a special place for Tony in your life. Can you expand on that?

Pujols: He has been my favorite manager, he was like a father to me in St Louis, I was very happy last year when he went into the Hall of Fame, everytime I see him we talk about the times there and also about our families and all that, Tony is a special person for me.

Q: Your young 14-year old son A.J sits with us in the Fox Sports Spanish TV booth here at Anaheim, and we see him before the games shagging balls in the outfield during batting practice. Do you want him to follow your steps?

Pujols: He knows that as long as he does well in school, he can come here, and sometimes he travels with me, but it all depends on his grades in school. If he wants to be a player, I would help him and always be there for him, but whatever he wants to do in life, I will support him.

Albert Pujols is the ultimate professional, usually if somebody wants to interview him, you would have to ask the media relations person for the team, and usually if you ask in advance you can get an interview. Here in Anaheim Mike Trout is the player(reigning MVP)that gets more demands for interviews, and we have talked before prior to our telecast in the past, but during the past few weeks, Albert Pujols, whose 23 Homeruns to lead the league, prior to the All Star Game is the most he ever had since the 2009 season in St Louis when he won that year the MVP.He is getting a lot of attention, even from reporters that are coming from out of the area. Pujols has done it all, MVP, Gold Gloves, hitting records, All Star games, World Series and he shall be someday after he retires(5 years after he retires)a unanimous choice for Cooperstown.

Tomorrow, Thursday, the Angels have the day off, and Friday they will host the first of a three game series against division rival Seattle Mariners.

This Angels homestand is the last one prior to the All Star Break, and the team will finish the first half of the season on a roadtrip to Texas, Colorado and Seattle.

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

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