Category: Oakland Athletics

A’s Beat Texas 4-0 and Head to the Playoffs

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Sonny Gray throws a shutout in Texas
Sonny Gray throws a shutout in Texas

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics needed a strong pitching performance from Sonny Gray on Sunday versus the Texas Rangers. What they got was a complete game shutout that propelled the A’s into the Wild Card Playoff Game on Tuesday in Kansas City.

Gray looked like the pitcher he was earlier in the season when he would dominate games with his curveball and wins seemed to be automatic. Gray pitched 9.0-innings giving up just six hits while striking out five Ranger hitters. The key to Gray’s performance was he issued no bases on balls in his complete game effort.

Given the availability of closer Sean Doolittle and the common practices of managers in Major League baseball, it was a bit of a surprise that Gray came out of the dugout for the bottom of the ninth-inning. Obviously A’s manager Bob Melvin saw that Gray had that something extra that was needed to go all the way in the game. Melvin’s instincts were right.

Elvis Andrus led off the ninth-inning for the Rangers.Gray induced Andrus to ground out third to first for out number one. Rougned Odor then flied out to left field for the second out. Adrian Beltre took a 1-2 pitch from Gray up the middled for a base hit. With Doolittle in the bullpen, everyone started looking for Melvin to come out of the dugout. Instead, Gray was allowed to stay in the game and face Jake Smolinski. Smolinski hit a 1-1 pitch to deep left field where Sam Fuld hauled it in for the final out  to give Gray the complete game victory.

The A’s generated all of the offense they would need for the win in the top of the second-inning. Brandon Moss led off the inning with a double to center field. Josh Reddick then hit a 1-0 pitch off the center field wall for a RBI-triple to give the A’s a 1-0 lead. Jed Lowrie popped out to second for the first out of inning. Stephen Vogt hit a bloop single to center that allowed Reddick to score. The inning ended with the A’s leading 2-0.

The A’s did not create another serious scoring threat until the ninth-inning. Frankly the way the game was going, a two-run lead did not feel like it would be enough to insure an Oakland victory.

The A’s made an offensive substitution to begin the top of the ninth-inning. Bob Melvin sent in the switch-hitting Alberto Callaspo to face the left-handed throwing Derek Holland. Callaspo reached base safely on a a throwing error by third baseman Adrian Beltre that allowed Callaspo to move up to second base. The speedy Billy Burns was brought in as a pinch-runner for Callaspo. Josh Donaldson flied out to center field. Jonny Gomes then entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Brandon Moss. The Rangers issued an intentional walk to Gomes. Sam Fuld entered the game to pinch run for Gomes. Josh Reddick reached base on a infield single that moved Burns to third and Fuld to second base. Jed Lowrie then hit a single to center that allowed Burns and Fuld to score giving the A’s a 4-0 lead. The two insurance runs are what made it possible for Sonny Gray to come out in the bottom of the ninth and notch the complete game victory.

The A’s left Texas for Kansas City where they will face the Royals in the one-game Wild Card contest on Tuesday night. That game will start at 5:00 PM PDT.

Rangers Deny A’s Celebration, Make Game 162 A Must-Win

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The celebration of clinching a playoff spot will have to wait another day for the Oakland Athletics following a 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park. The defeat, mixed with a walk-off Seattle Mariners win later in the evening, means the A’s (87-74) will now need to win or have the Mariners lose in the season finale Sunday to clinch a spot in the one-game Wild Card playoff and a date with the runner-up of the American League Central. The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals already clinched a playoff berths while boasting identical records, but must use the final day of the regular season to decide who will win the AL Central and who will host the Wild Card game Tuesday.

Oakland starter Jeff Samardzija (7-13, 2.99 ERA) suffered the loss after allowing five runs over seven innings despite striking out nine Rangers. The A’s Josh Donaldson hit his 29th home run of the season, while Jake Smolinski and Robinson Chirinos went deep for last-place Texas (67-94). Spencer Patton (1-0, 0.96) picked up his first career win, while Neftali Feliz nailed down his 13th save of the season at home.

Donaldson, whose status was in doubt after aggravating a knee injury Friday night, opened the game with a solo shot off Rangers starter spot starter Scott Baker in the first inning, but Texas struck back with run scoring singles by Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre in the bottom half of the frame for a 2-1 lead for their surprise starter.

Smolinski took Samardzija deep in the fourth for a 3-1 edge, but Oakland pulled within one after Nate Freiman’s double play off reliever Alex Claudio scored Josh Reddick.

Chirinos extended the lead in the seventh inning after his two-run homer off Samardzija. The A’s then came back in the next half inning with a pair of RBI singles by Reddick and Jed Lowrie off Roman Mendez. On Reddick’s single, Jonny Gomes managed to just beat out the tag on a play at the plate. Rangers interim manager Tim Bogar challenged the play, but the call of safe originally made on the field was upheld.

The Rangers are expected to send Saturday’s planned starter, Ace Derek Holland, to the mound Sunday looking to take the A’s postseason fate out of their own hands. The left-hander missed his regularly scheduled start after migraines derailed his ability to make the start. Manager Bob Melvin will tab the A’s Opening Day starter Sonny Gray with game 162 duties.

Giants and A’s commentary: Weight of season rests on Mad Bum’s shoulders; A’s can’t lose anymore ground

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by Michael Duca

San Francisco Giants update: The Giants are headed for the Wild Card playoffs and they’ll start there little adventure in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. The Giants have had trouble against the Pirates this season and that’s when the Pirates couldn’t win at home at PNC in Pittsburgh. Now their the best home team in the National League with a home record of 51-30 tied with the St.Louis Cardinals.

The Bucs are on a huge roll right now they’ve won 13 of their last 17 going into the playoffs. The Giants are going to Pittsburgh with half the line up that they had with no Angel Pagan for sure, no Micheal Morse, no Buster Posey maybe, Hector Sanchez, Matt Cain, and Brandon Belt are already gone for the season, Tim Lincecum has been used to set up and relieve there’s not too many weapons to go to war with for the Giants.

The Giants couldn’t ask for too much more than asking pitcher Madison Baumgarner to do what he has done all season and it’s nothing better than having your Willie McCovey Award winner and Cy Young contender start Wednesday’s wild card game. Nothing better than having Mad Bum going in a one game means everything situation. Unfortunately Baumgarner will be your best hitter in the line up on Wednesday.

There is only so much a pitcher can do for you in a scoreless tie, unfortunately baseball doesn’t go to a penalty kick. Mad Bum does remind you a little bit of former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson who used to pitch and hit the lights out of the ball. Baumgarner with three home runs has the Giants franchise record for a pitcher in San Francisco that is.

Lincecum got his 100th win off the Padres on Friday night and is in his eighth season with the team. Baumgarner can achieve that and he is a very, very special young man. 26 years old who dropped the B word on the Dodgers Yesil Puig and had the approval of his peers which means more.

Oakland A’s update: For the A’s to get the home advantage that would mean the Kansas City Royals would have to lose twice and the A’s would have to win twice. Recent history doesn’t suggest that’s likely to happen. The A’s also have a minuscule shot at not making the playoffs at all, if they lose twice and Seattle the Angels twice which imminently possible because the Angels are going to rest as many people as they can for the playoffs.

Then everything can go far south as possible and the A’s could find themselves waking up on the wrong side of the border.The A’s Josh Reddick said “go Angels” after their game with the Texas Rangers. The Angels are playing in Seattle but the A’s need to worry about themselves and not worry about getting help from anybody else. If the A’s don’t get in by winning a couple of games their not going to get in.

Right now with the A’s pitching they’ve got to handle games they won 6-2 on Friday night and have to keep things rolling. Earlier they couldn’t score any runs to speak of to support their pitching. A’s pitcher Jeff Samardzija had a number of one run loses this year, I’m sure nothing would please him more in taking the mound in the bottom of the first inning with a three or four run lead.

Sonny Gray starts for Oakland on Sunday and it could be a crucial game for Gray and the A’s and the A’s have to be a little concerned with what they’ve seen in the second half. Pitches are up and I don’t know what it could be but it seems like Gray has struggled as he approaches 180 innings. Maybe Gray will have to go for some strengthing conditioning in the off sesaon to get what he had back again.

Michael Duca does A’s and Giants commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s runs bring them to within one

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(Photo: Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports)

By Pearl Allison Lo

Scott Kazmir broke a four-game losing streak to bring Oakland one game away from playoff security, as they topped the Texas Rangers 6-2 Friday.

Kazmir issued a similar line to his start on 9/11, but got the win this time as he went seven innings, giving up four hits and one earned run.  Two of Kazmir’s strikeouts came when a runner was on second base. No opposing player got more than one hit.

The A’s Josh Reddick provided the pivotal offense. After going 0-for-5 Thursday, he had three RBIs, the most he’s had since May 16.

The Rangers coach went to the mound four times. Nick Tepesch issued four walks and five earned runs in 4.1 innings, but only one of the issued walks resulted in a run.

Texas’ Leonys Martin used his speed to steal second for the second game in a row, after leading off with a single in the bottom of the first. That put him in position to score after Ryan Rua hit a double, the only time the Rangers led.

The A’s went ahead for good in the top of the third. Eric Sogard walked after one out and Coco Crisp reached on an error by Adam Rosales. An Adam Dunn double brought Sogard and Crisp home to make it 2-1.

Reddick led off the fourth with a homer for the game winning run, to make it 3-1.

The top of the fifth was the worst inning for the Rangers. With one out, Josh Donaldson singled and Brandon Moss walked. There was a coach visit at the mound, then Jed Lowrie doubled to make it 4-1. Tepesch left for Robbie Ross Jr. before another coach visit, but Reddick hit a two-run single to make it 6-1.

Texas’ last run started with an error in the bottom of the fifth.

1-2-3 innings ensued until the end of the game with the exception of the bottom of the ninth.

Game notes: Donaldson hurt his knee in the third inning but played the whole game. Oakland will be gunning against the Rangers again tomorrow at 5:05pm and Sunday.

Thats Amaury’s News and Commentary: Former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart to be named General Manager of the Diamondbacks

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–Dave Stewart who became a star pitcher for the Oakland A’s of Tony LaRussa during their championship years is about to get a job with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League as their General Manager. Last night I ran into Dave Henderson, at the Oakland A’s game as he was in town with his good friend Stewart.

I asked Henderson what was he doing in town? (since he doesn’t comes often to the A’s games) he told me “it is close to playoff time and I wanted to see a game”, but I knew there was more than that,after I found out why Stewart was in Oakland.

Affectionately known as Stew, he is one of a kind. He always had a great baseball mind. He was also in the front office for the Toronto Blue Jays not very long ago. He is turning over his job as players agent to former A’s outfielder Dave Henderson. Among Stewart’s biggest clients is Matt Kemp the All-Star outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yes, it is true that Tony LaRussa, now with the Diamondbacks is the guy that is bringing Stewart to Arizona for that GM position, but it is also true -I believe- Dave Stewart is very qualified to run a Major League Baseball team; and he deserves the opportunity. Some say that most people do not get what they deserve in life, and that might be true, but in Dave Stewart’s case it is about time he is afforded that opportunity, to run an organization that is ending a disastrous 2014 season.

A minority manager, that I will not mention here, once told me” “all that minority managers and General Managers wants is to get an interview, to have the opportunity”. It looks like Dave Stewart moment has arrived and we wish Stew all the very best in his new endeavor.

He is 57 years old, born and raised in Oakland, California, from 1987 to 1990, four years in a row he won 20 or more games and was the star of the Oakland Athletics on the mound for those Championships and World Series years.

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

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The A’s Woes Continue, Lose to the Angels

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v Oakland Athletics : News Photo

The Oakland A’s lost the final home game of the year to the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 Wednesday at the O.co Coliseum. The A’s needed a win to either stay even with the Kansas City Royals or take the lead in the race for the number one Wild Card spot that would give them the opportunity to have the play-in game played here in Oakland. The A’s lost so things changed slightly. If the KC Royals should lose their game, the two teams would be tied and KC holds the tiebreaker. That means that The Royals will host the one game playoff. At the time of this writing, the Indians took a 5-4 lead after five innings complete.

The A’s ace, Jon Lester , was the choice to start and his mission was to stop the Angels. He pitched well but the Angels take a 3-0 lead after three innings and the A’s defense collapsed giving the Angels two unearned runs to put them in a 5-0 hole. The A’s rallied for four in the bottom of the seventh but they could not break through against the Angels bullpen and it was another tough loss for the Green and Gold.

The Angels didn’t get a double to lead off the game Wednesday as they did in the first two games but that did not stop them from scoring a run in the first inning. Angels wunderkind, Mike Trout singled with one out. He then stole second and was driven in on a Howie Kendrick single to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead.

The Angels took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. Kole Calhoun singled and that was followed by doubles by Albert Pojuls and Howie Kendrick. Kendrick has driven in the all three Angel runs.

A key play occurred in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Donaldson reached on a three base error when Mike Trout dropped his fly ball in center field with no out. Jonny Gomes popped out and that was followed by a short fly ball to short right field. Donaldson, trying to inject some life into the A’s offense, tagged up and sprinted for home. The throw came up the line and it looked like Donaldson avoided the tag but he slid past home and really hustled to get to the plate safely but he was called out. The play is explained in the notes below.

The Angels scored an unearned run in the fifth. Luis Jimenez led off with double and advanced to third when usually reliable Josh Reddick dropped a fly ball for an error that allowed Jimenez to advance to third. Albert Pujols hit a sacrifice fly to right and Jimenez scored. 4-0 in the middle of the fifth.

The Angels scored another unearned run in the 7th. Gordon Beckham singled to start things off for the Halos. Colin Cowgill laid down a bunt that Josh Donaldson threw past first base and down the right field line allowing Beckham to score all the way from first. Cowgill was out trying to make it to third. The play was ruled a single, error on Donaldson and the putout at third went 4-6. Angels own a 5-0 lead with the A’s coming up to hit.

The A’s finally got something going. Derek Norris and Jed Lowrie singled to put men on first and third.

Josh Reddick doubled to drive both of them in. The next batter, Nick Punto, tripled to drive in Reddick with the third run of the inning with one out. After a pitching change, Coco crisp singled to drive in Punto with the A’s fourth run of the inning. Adam Dunn, pinch hitting for Callaspo, struck out to end the inning. A’s trail 5-4 after seven complete.

The Angels bullpen was up to the task and they kept the A’s from scoring in the eighth and ninth to win 5-4.

Game notes- The A’s lost their 26th one-run game of the season which is the most by an A’s team in the last 27 years. The A’s finished the regular season with a total home attendance of 2,003,628. First time since the 2005 season that the A’s reached the 2 million mark. Jon Lester took the loss and his record is now 16-11 for the year and his ERA was 2.46 which is the best of his career. Josh Reddick went 2 for 4 and was 9 for 16 on the home stand.

After the game A’s Manager Bob Melvin said that the play on which Josh Donaldson was tagged out on a play that looked like the catcher missed the tag. Melvin did not have to ask for a review as the umpires decided to look at the entire play which included rule 7.1.3 which looked to see if the catcher blocked the lane as well as the missed tag. If Melvin asked for the review, the only thing the umps could have considered was the tag. In any case, the call was sustained and Donaldson was out. That play turned out to be huge. Had he scored the A’s would have tied the game in the seventh and who knows how the game would have turned out.

The A’s are now ½ game behind Kansas City. Kansas City plays Cleveland later. A win for KC will give them a one game lead and a loss will keep the A’s tied with them for the first Wild Card spot.

The A’s travel to Texas for the final four games of the season. Jason Hammel will pitch against Colby Lewis. Scott Kazmir goes on Friday. Jeff Samardzija on Saturday and Sonny Gray on Sunday. If the A’s make the playoffs, Jon Lester will go for the A’s as they hope to advance to the AL Division Series which will be against the Angels.

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Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

A’s-Angels Rivalry?

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by Jerry Feitelberg]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v Oakland Athletics : News Photo

The Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels have been competing against each other since 1961

when the Angels entered the American League as an expansion team in 1961. The A’s were still in Kansas City then until 1968 when they moved to Oakland. Division play started in 1969. At that time until 1994, there were just two divisions in each league, the AL East and West. The A’s and Angels were,of course,in the AL West. division. In 1994, baseball, due to expansion, increased the number of divisions to three. The American League had 14 teams while the National League had 16. The A’ played in the four team West which included the Angels, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners. In 2013,

the Houston Astros moved from the National to the American League West and each league now had three division of five teams each.

The A’s have a 406-329 advantage over the Angels since moving to Oakland and a record of 455-406

all-time. People would think that there should be a huge rivalry between the two teams like the one that exists between the Dodgers and Giants or Red Sox and Yankees. The natural rivalry is Northern California vs.Southern California but it just doesn’t happen with the A’s and Angels. It used to happen in pro football with the Niners and Rams but that’s not the same since the Rams moved St.Louis. Stanford vs USC in College football is big but the rivalry just isn’t there between the A’s and the Angels.

One school of thought is that the A’s have been so good since they move here to Oakland. The A’s have

won six pennants and four World Series titles while the Angels have one just one pennant and one World Series crown. The Angels have had good teams but the A’s were just better over the years.

The Angels have been competitive the last few years but were not able to win the pennant. Same story

for the A’s. The A’s have made the playoffs a few times since 2000 but have been eliminated in the ALDS each time except for 2006 . The lost four straight to the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.

2014 has been an interesting race between the A’s and the Angels. The A’s played well for the first four months of the season. The Angels got off to a slow start but took over the division lead as the A’s went into a deep slide and , while the A’s have two games left with the Angels, the Angels won the AL West by a large margin. If the A’s make the playoffs and win the play in game, they will have to face the Angels in the ALDS. That series should be a doozy as the competitive juices will be flowing.

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Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

A’s Samardzija “Coming for Blood” With Another Stretch Run Gem

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – For the first time since August 25th, the Oakland Athletics’ Jeff Samardzija saw something by his name Monday night he hadn’t seen in a while; a W.

“This last month has been fun for me,” said Samardzija, thrilled on being in a playoff race despite a recent lack of personal results. “It’s something I’ve been asking for for a long time. I haven’t been in this situation before. I want to take advantage of it. Opportunities aren’t guaranteed; they don’t come around too often, so you don’t want to waste them.”

The July 4th trade acquisition wasted little Monday night, firing seven five-hit innings, allowing only one run to the visiting Los Angeles Angels (96-61) to lead Oakland to an 8-4 win over the 2014 American League West winners. The A’s (86-70) staked Samardzija to an early cushion, scoring six runs on only two hits in the bottom of the first to maintain a one-game lead over the Kansas City Royals for home field advantage as the top AL Wild Card team. The A’s magic number is now down to four.

“I feel like I have thrown 210 innings, that’s for sure,” joked Samardzija. “That doesn’t’ matter at this point. It doesn’t matter how you feel. You owe more to your teammates and to yourself to go out and do your job and do it to the best of your abilities. I feel great.”

Geovany Soto and Stephen Vogt each collected two-run hits in the contest for the A’s. Soto now has five RBIs over his last two games.

Over his previous four starts, Samardzija (5-5, 2.92 ERA) received a scant five runs of support from his offense. The righty went 0-2 over that stretch despite allowing only five runs in 30 innings. He entered play Monday night without allowing a run over his last 16 innings, but saw the scoreless stretch snapped after a Mike Trout sacrifice fly plated an unearned run in the first inning. He has not allowed an earned run over 23 innings.

“He’s aggressive, he’s coming at you,” said Soto of his batterymate. “He’s a shark, he’s coming for blood. Good or bad, he’s coming after you.”

The solitary run came after the LA leadoff man Kole Calhoun reached base on a double, then took third while Jonny Gomes struggled to corral the wall ball. Samardzija would bounce back from his left fielder’s error to retire the next three hitters, but not before conceding the final 90 feet to Calhoun on Trout’s RBI pop out.

After a fielder’s choice found Sam Fuld on first base with one out in the first, Halos starter C.J. Wilson lost any semblance of control over the strike zone. The southpaw issued walks to Josh Donaldson and Jonny Gomes to load the bases, then handed out run-scoring free passes to Derek Norris and Nate Freiman to put the A’s ahead 2-1 with two outs.

After Freiman, Geovany Soto coaxed a full count out of Wilson before knocking in two runs on a single, effectively knocking the southpaw out of the game.

“He’s had some big hits,” said Melvin of his backstop. “You can walk and walk, a run here, a run there. Next thing you know, we pop up. He’s the guy who really came up with the big hit of the inning.”

Wilson toiled through just 2/3 of an inning and 35 pitches, 19 of which were balls, while allowing four walks and six runs (four earned). Wilson (13-10, 4.61), the losing pitcher Monday night, had won his previous four decisions in the limits of Alameda County. He is now 5-2 as a member of the Angels on Oakland A’s home turf over seven starts.

“That’s been something we’ve done very well in the past,” said Melvin. “It was good to see us take some walks, not try to be too aggressive, which maybe we have been a little bit too much recently. We made him work, next thing you know we’re up 6-1.”

Angels reliever Mike Morin appeared to have the third out on a Nick Punto bouncer down the third base, but a poor throw by David Freese found Punto at third base with another two runs across for the home team.

The A’s added another pair of runs in the seventh inning after Stephen Vogt ripped a bases loaded single off Michael Roth. Vogt entered the game as a pinch hitter for Nate Freiman in the third inning and remained in the game at first base.

“When we just put that one up, then put the second on up, I was excited,” said Samardzija. “It felt like, with the way we were going, that was going to be enough. We add four more to that, add some more later in the game. It felt good. When we score early, as I pitcher you get to take a deep breath and pound the zone. You know they need to work at bats and get back in the game. It’s ideal. Any time they want to give me eight, I’ll accept it.”

Los Angeles pulled within four in the eighth inning after Albert Pujols rocketed an Evan Scribner 1-2 delivery into the bleachers in deep left field. Pujols 28th blast of the season, coming with two runners on and two outs, pushed him past the 1,600 mark in career runs batted in. His 1,602 RBIs ranks 33rd all-time.

The A’s seek a third-straight win Tuesday night for the first time since August 7-9, sending Opening Day starter Sonny Gray to the mound. The babyfaced fireballer looks to bounce back from a September 18th 7-2 loss to the Texas Rangers that saw the righty cough up five runs over just five innings. He’ll face LA’s Wade LeBlanc for game two of Oakland’s final three-game homestand of the season.

“We’ve been through a lot this last month,” said Samardzija. “It’s nice to see everyone come together and start clicking. We’ve had great defense, great at bats. Our pitchers have been pitching. That’s what you want. I think we’re doing it at the right time.”

Thats Amaury’s News and Commentary: Playoff fever is here as Giants and A’s battle for top spot in wild card

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–Right now the A’s are trying to win one of the two wild cards competing with the Royals but Seattle and Kansas City are not too far behind. There’s a total of six games left in the season and with just two wild cards left. The rotation for this series reads like a playoff series for Los Angeles CJ Wilson and for Oakland Jeff Samardzija, for Tuesday the Angels start Wade LeBlanc (0-1 ERA 5.24) and for the A’s Sonny Gray (13-9 ERA 3.28) and on Wednesday for LA Hector Santiago (5-9 ERA 3.13) for Oakland Jon Lester (16-10 ERA 2.41).

This is an unpredictable series and it’s baseball anything can happen and the Angles swept the A’s not too long ago. The A’s got swept recently by Texas so anything can happen but this first game is the best chance for the Angels. On Tuesday Gray is the favorite although Gray in the second half of the season and has not been winning and his ERA has been raised but the Angels LeBlanc is a guy from the bullpen.

The Angels have two pitchers out hurt Matt Shoemaker a right handed pitcher is out and of course they lost Garrett Richards so their having problems with injuries in the rotation but the A’s on Tuesday will have the upperhand. Jon Lester is going for Oakland on Wednesday night and he’s the best pitcher the A’s have (16-10 ERA 2.41) he wasn’t with Oakland in the first half of the season and it was a controversal trade sending the A’s Yoenis Cespedes to Boston for Lester.

I would have to say the A’s would be favored as Lester should win the game on Wednesday just on Lester’s pitching. Angels starter Hector Santiago who is up and down he was actually suppose to be the third starter for the Angels and didn’t amount to much. He went to the bull pen because the Angels needed him to shore up his pitching. This is a critical series for the A’s but it should be one for the ages playing against the Angels in a crunch time situation like this.

San Francisco Giants update: The Giants who started out Monday tied for first place in the National League wild card.Giant pitcher Jake Peavy matched up against the LA Dodgers Dan Haren. The rest of the series rotation for the Giants on Tuesday Madison Baumgarner (18-9) vs. the Dodgers Zack Grenike (15-8)and on Thursday the Giants started Tim Hudson (9-12) vs. the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (20-3).

For the Giants going into this series it’s going to be a lot of work to get this one and they have alot riding on this one. Peavy was a good acquisition it was a very good move for Giants General Manager Brian Sabean. The three games at Dodgers Stadium are sold out. The Giants are in rough waters they’re going to have to win, their going to have to win two out of three they just got swept by the San Diego Padres so it’s going to be very tough for them these last few days.

In the National League West if you don’t beat the Padres or the Rockies then your going to have to beat a team like the Dodgers who are very tough. Look at Kershaw he’s going to be the Cy Young winner he’s already going to be the MVP also. He going to win his fourth ERA in a row. It’s a tough postion for the Giants it looks like their running out of gas we’ll have to see how they fair in this series in Los Angeles.

The Giants will really depend on Giants slugger Buster Posey hitting .309 with 21 homers, and 86 RBIs, Pablo Sandoval is very inconsistent, Joe Panik has done a good job at second base but still without Angel Pagan they don’t have that dynomo that spark plug but Posey is the team’s superstar.

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

 

A’s win in extras on Donaldson’s homer to maintain slim lead over two wild-card pursuers

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By Morris Phillips

Things haven’t been pretty around the O.co Coliseum lately, but that hasn’t affected Josh Donaldson’s picture perfect swing.

Donaldson’s two-run homer decided a tense, close ballgame for the A’s on Sunday, 8-6 in 10 innings. The A’s All-Star third baseman homered to win a game for the third time this season off reliever Miguel Gonzalez. No surprise that Donaldson’s shot landed beyond the centerfield wall as his ability to square up mistake pitches has carried the A’s all season.

“He’s a tough customer in big at-bats,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He embraces it.”

“Ever since I was a kid, that’s just the moment I’ve always wanted to be in,” Donaldson said.

The near four-hour affair saw Oakland take three leads only to have the Phillies respond with game-tying rallies. Both starting pitchers—Philadelphia’s A.J. Burnett and Oakland’s Scott Kazmir—have had better days and left fortunate to not be saddled with a loss.

Burnett allowed the A’s the early jump allowing a pair of hits and supplementing it with a walk and a hit batter in a three-run first inning that ended a string of 15 innings without a run scored. Burnett was still pitching and generous when the A’s broke a 3-3 tie in the third and rallied again in the fifth. In all, Burnett allowed six walks and three hits which translated into a 6-4 A’s lead after five innings.

Kazmir wasn’t much better with the exception of allowing free passes. The lefty blew all three leads gifted him by allowing 11 hits in five plus innings of work.   After an All-Star start to his first season in Oakland, Kazmir has mirrored the A’s slide by going 1-5 in his last eight starts.

Kazmir gave a pair of RBI doubles to Marlon Byrd to account for the Phillies’ first three runs and another RBI double to Carlos Ruiz that got Philadelphia even in the fourth. While Kazmir had his strike out pitch working, he couldn’t finish innings, allowing a pair of damaging, two-out rallies.

The A’s bullpen fared much better following Kazmir’s departure as four relievers gave up just two hits and no runs. Sean Doolittle stood out by throwing the final two innings and striking out four in the process.

While the A’s were winning, the Mariners suffered a critical loss at Houston to fall two games behind Oakland. In between the two AL West rivals, the Royals avoided a sweep by the Tigers, winning 5-2 at home to remain a half-game off Oakland’s pace.

With a week remaining in the season, the A’s clearly have the easier path to hosting a one-game playoff game for the right to qualify for the AL Division Series with the Angels being the most likely opponent at that stage. The Royals finish the season by playing on each of the final 10 days with the seven remaining all on the road, three in Cleveland then four in Chicago against the White Sox. The Royals also must complete a game against the Indians that was suspended by rain on August 31. Kansas City trails 4-2 in that game with their at-bat in the bottom of the tenth inning left to play.

The Mariners must travel to Toronto for four games before returning home for a three-game series against the Angels.

The A’s finish with three games at home against the Angels, followed by a trip to Texas for the final four games.

On Monday, Jeff Samardzija faces C.J. Wilson in a 7:05pm start at the Coliseum.