Category: Oakland Athletics

Will Sacramento be the home of Giants Triple-A baseball in 2015?

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

ImagePhoto: Raley Field Sacramento

By Charlie O. Mallonee

 Rumors are flying that the owners of the Sacramento River Cats are looking to switch their affiliation from the Oakland Athletics to the San Francisco Giants. The rumor was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle who cited unnamed sources.

 The rumor has gained traction because the affiliation agreements for both the Giants and Athletics expire at the end of the season. Major League teams usually evaluate and sign agreements with minor league affiliates after the end of the regular season.

 The story has caused a flurry of responses from both Sacramento and Fresno.

 Mark Ling of the River Cats told KCRA-TV that it was just a rumor and no discussions are being held at this time. He went on to point out that Sacramento would be subject to tampering charges for talking to other teams during the season.

 The Fresno Bee talked with Derek Franks, executive vice president of the Fresno Grizzlies, who said his team believed that the Giants would renew their contract with his club. The Grizzlies have had a 17-year affiliation with the Giants.

 Both Sacramento and Fresno have first class facilities. Raley Field in West Sacramento opened in 2000 and seats 14,014 people with a beautiful view of downtown Sacramento from the stands. Sacramento leads the league in attendance.

 Chukchansi Park was built in 2002 in downtown Fresno and holds 12,500 fans with views of the downtown city center.

 This reporter has visited both parks and has found them to be comparable in all areas. Both facilities give fans a close up and personal experience at the games. The concessions are Major League quality. Ticket prices are affordable. Both clubs provide a very fan friendly experience.

 Why would the Giants want to change cities after a very successful run in Fresno? The fact is they might not be interested unless they get a better deal than they have in Fresno. It would be closer for team officials and players to shuttle back and forth to San Francisco. There might be a small bump in interest with the minor leaguers winding up with the Giants.

 The bottom line is the owners of the River Cats may see a potential monetary advantage by becoming an affiliate of the Giants. Sacramento is seen as a Giants town and the River Cats organization may want to exploit that association.

 The River Cats may also see the Athletics as a wounded team. No one knows where the team will be playing in the future. A new Bay Area stadium is just a pipe dream. At this point, who knows if the A’s will be in Northern California five years from now? The River Cats may want to bet on the sure thing which would be the San Francisco Giants at this time.

 Two areas favor the A’s when it comes to staying in Sacramento. First, the River Cats win. They are perennial favorites to win the PCL championship and are in first place in their division at this very moment. The Grizzlies have struggled to attain winning seasons let alone win a championship. Secondly, a starter – especially pitchers – in Sacramento tonight may be a starter in Oakland tomorrow night. Most of Oakland’s key players were once River Cats. Oakland is much more dependent on their farm system than are the Giants.

 The other possibility is the River Cats may be trying to get a better deal out of the Athletics. Sacramento may be setting up some competition to get more out of the miserly A’s. That is a very dangerous game to play with a team who believes less is more. The Athletics might be very happy to have their Triple-A team in Fresno in 2015.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: CA Chrome’s goal for Triple Crown is taking the band aid approach

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–This is great news for California Chrome that the New York Racing Association is allowing CA Chrome to wear a breathing strip for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday June 7th’s race in New York in his bid for a Triple Crown.

Chrome already the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, will have the chance to win the Triple Crown and the last Triple Crown winner was back in 1978 when Affirmed won the Belmont and became the 11th horse in the history of the Triple Crown to do it.

This is great news that the NY Racing Association has approved the breathing strip for CA Chrome because according to the Association it does not enhance the horse nor does it harm the horse according to the ruling. There is now a very good chance that CA Chrome can win the Triple Crown and again you have to go back to some of those great horses who won the Triple Crown with Affirmed (1978), Seattle Slew (1977), and the most famous horse of them all Secretariat (1973).

The announcement on Monday is very good news for horse racing and let’s face it this is one of the very oldest sports that there is and the first Triple Crown winner was in 1919 won by Sir Barton. There are millions of people who are going to follow this race on June 7th around the world.

Horse racing is a huge business, it’s a humongous business, this is good news, and hopefully California Chrome can make history. This is great and with all the sports coverage with ESPN and FOX that has everything covered and horse racing is still going strong. I always get a kick out of these races and the races are only a couple of minutes long.

A’s are sizzling: The A’s are red hot after a successful series against Chicago at Oakland and sweeping Cleveland in three and now have a six game win streak going into Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.

On Friday the A’s Josh Reddick drove in six runs and Yoenis Cespedes drove in five runs on Sunday, and they go onto Tampa for a three game series. In Anaheim the Angels are very hot they’ve won eight out of the last ten games and are in second behind Oakland by three and half games.

The Angels took three out of four from Tampa Bay who have been very good and who had very good pitching from the Rays David Price. The Halos Albert Pujols hit two homers against Price, right now you have Oakland in first place and the second best record in the Majors.

Then you have the Angels just 3.5 games behind the A’s in the A.L.West and the Angels are playing very good ball. This will be a very interesting race. Texas and Seattle are falling behind. The Astros are in Anaheim for three games, but the A’s can’t be any hotter than this in Tampa Bay.

Breaking News: The Sacramento Rivercats are under consideration to become the San Francisco Giants Triple A minor league affiliate. The Rivercats are currently the A’s Triple A affiliate.

This would work well for the Giants because Sacramento is just a two and half hour drive from the City. Right now the Giants Triple A team is in Fresno which is a four hour drive to the City.

Minor League Baseball is very profitable, the Rivercats they’ve won for a bunch of years. The Cats are the best minor league organization in baseball. The Cats have a beautiful yard Raley Field right there by the Sacramento River.

The Giants are very interested in getting the Rivercats and the Rivercats are in a very good bargaining position. The A’s would love to stay with Sacramento of course and the Giants want to get the Rivercats.

So here’s a situation they might to try the Giants brand which is more popular right now since they have won two World Series in the last four years. So it would not be surprising if the Rivercats take the Giants because they’ve been with the A’s and have been very successful but the Giants would love to have the Rivercats and bump the A’s out of Sacramento for Triple A baseball.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland Athletics baseball and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s sweep Cleveland

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Photo credit: Tony Dejak/AP

By Pearl Allison Lo

The Oakland Athletics won their 9th in 10 games as prevailing trends continued with a 13-3 win over the Indians Sunday, the second 10-run win of the series.

No A’s player hit a home run this game but Brandon Moss and Josh Donaldson scored four runs apiece and Yoenis Cespedes drove in a career-high five RBIS. Moss was a perfect 3-for-3 as well.

The game winner came during Oakland’s highest-scoring inning, the fifth. They scored four runs on three hits to make it 7-1. Coco Crisp was initially walked and Justin Masterson’s start was called over.

Jesse Chavez (4-1) got his second straight win, pitching five innings while giving up six hits, two runs, three walks and striking out six.

Masterson (2-3) struggled again, pitching 4.1 innings while giving up seven hits and runs apiece, five walks and striking out one. The Indians went through five relief pitchers for the second time this series as well.

Cleveland scored first with the first chance they got, a leadoff home run by Michael Bourn in the bottom of the first.

The A’s tied it in the top of the second. Moss led off with a triple and scored on a throwing error.

They went up 3-1 in the top of the 4th thanks to two leadoff walks. After one out, John Jaso doubled in Donaldson and Reddick singled in Moss.

The Indians’ Michael Brantley made it 7-2 in the bottom of the 5th with a one-out home run.

In the top of the 6th, Cleveland got two outs but Nick Punto doubled, Donaldson was intentionally walked, moved over on a passed ball and both scored on a double by Brandon Moss to make it 9-2. That took out Josh Outman and brought in Scott Atchison

A’s also made a pitching change in the bottom of the inning, bringing in Jim Johnson for Chavez. However, Johnson struggled. He hit Lonnie Chisenhall but Chisenhall was called out at second, then walked three straight batters to load the bases and walked in a run. Fernando Abad came in to strike out Ryan Raburn to end the inning.

In the top of the 7th, Jaso made it to first on a fielding error and scored on a double by Reddick to get the bottom of the 6th run back.

The Indians’ Cody Allen replaced Atchison in the top of the 8th inning, but didn’t record a single out. Allen gave up a leadoff single, two straight walks to load the bases and a double to bring in two more runs. Kyle Crockett then came in and Jaso ground out to make it 13-3, Crockett struck out Reddick and got Alberto Callaspo to line out.

Game notes: Oakland’s Jed Lowrie strained his neck and had to leave the game. The A’s get a day off before facing the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday at 4:10pm.

 

No Kazmir, no problem: A’s beat Cleveland, 6-2

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

 

If Saturday’s meeting of Athletics and Indians at Cleveland’s Progressive Field boiled down to some rudimentary mathematical equation, it would probably read like this:

Rally Squirrel to the Indians greater than Scott Kazmir to the A’s.

The defenseless, plenty scared critter that ran on the field in the third inning of the A’s 6-2 win over the Indians was more influential to the outcome than the A’s starting pitcher with the 5-1 record coming in.

Don’t believe it?  Well, do the math.  When Kazmir grew frustrated with home plate umpire Jerry Layne and his shrinking strike zone in the second inning, Kazmir fussed which earned the veteran pitcher an early shower.  Kazmir walked a batter in each of the first two innings with Layne ruling that a couple of close pitches were balls.  Then after Asdrubal Cabrera drew a free pass, Kazmir allowed Yan Gomes’ double, threw a wild pitch that allowed the Indians score a run, and then he walked rookie Jesus Aguilar.

As Aguilar trotted to first, Kazmir gestured and Layne immediately threw up the ejection sign.  Afterwards, Kazmir would say that Layne never issued a warning before throwing him out, and manager Bob Melvin rushed out of the dugout to argue that point.

Meanwhile, Kazmir took his frustration out on the nearest garbage can, and the A’s were without their outstanding, starting pitcher less than three innings in, trailing 1-0 after reliever Dan Otero induced an inning-ending double play.

Kazmir was gone, but Otero was in.  The reliever would go on to pitch three plus innings—getting the A’s through the fifth—without suffering any damage.

But while the A’s were none the worse for wear without Kazmir, all hell broke loose after Rally Squirrel’s cameo appearance in the top of third.  With John Jaso at the plate, and Coco Crisp on second after a one-out double, Rally Squirrel—or Rally Squirrel’s cousin—came running on to the field searching for something, although that something wasn’t immediately apparent.  First, he ran past center fielder Michael Bourne, and after a decision-making moment, quickly moved toward the infield. 

Progressive Field’s public address crew had seen Rally Squirrel’s act on April 21 in another impromptu appearance, and this time responded with the sounds of barking dogs on the stadium’s sound system.  That clearly spooked Rally Squirrel and he did some crazy jump on and off the rolled up tarp on the third-base side of the field.  Then with his internal clock ticking, Rally Squirrel retreated into the stands down the left field line.

Right after Squirrel’s departure, Jaso struck out, Josh Donaldson singled home Crisp, and Brandon Moss homered to put Oakland up, 3-1.

See the math?

While Saturday’s game could have been about Rally Squirrel, Kazmir, Jerry Layne or the Indians’ abysmal defense (43 errors in 43 games, which leads the AL), it really was about Otero and the A’s deep and effective bullpen.  Otero induced the double play on his entrance, threw first pitch strikes to nine of the 12 hitters he faced, and quickly got the A’s into the sixth on just 32 pitches without walking anyone.  The 29-year old right hander picked up the win and is 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in 19 appearances.

Fernando Abad pitched the sixth, and allowed two hits and a run that got the Indians to within 3-2.  But Luke Gregerson pitched the seventh and eighth, striking out three and Sean Doolittle retired the side in the ninth.

All together, the A’s bullpen logged 7 2/3 innings on Saturday and only needed 81 pitches to finish the job.  Collectively, they stayed ahead in counts, by starting 22 of 26 batters faced with a strike.  Walks or further issues with Layne?  Nope, the A’s relievers didn’t walk anyone.

In the seventh, the A’s added on with Donaldson’s two-run triple and Moss’ RBI double.  The duo had a big day, combining for five hits and six runs batted in. 

The A’s have won seven of eight, and maintained their 3 ½ game lead in the AL West over the Angels, who blanked the Blue Jays in Anaheim on Saturday.

The A’s look for the sweep on Sunday with Jesse Chavez on the mound.  The Indians will give the ball to Justin Masterson who has a 2-2 record in nine starts thus far this season.

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary:Exclusive interview with Chicago rookie sensation Jose Abreu

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

ANAHEIM–It is only the middle of May, but Cuban first baseman, and sometimes designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox, Jose Abreu has a large lead to win the 2014 American League Rookie of the Year. During the White Sox only visit to Oakland and prior to a game I sat down with Abreu and spoke with him.

Q: Coming from Cuba, a closed society type of government, where there are still no relations with the United States for over 50 years, this is the first time you are in the United States; what impressed you the most about the Major Leagues?

Abreu: “Everything, it is a great huge country, great people, and in baseball this is it, the Big Leagues, this is where everybody in the world that plays baseball aspires to be, I thank God for the opportunity and the privilege to let me do what I do, I am new here, but I hope I can keep helping this team the whole season, baseball has been my favorite thing to do all my life and I thank God for the privilege to play here”

Q: How do you feel about the new crop of Cuban players (like you) your friend Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig, Jose Fernandez and others that are now arriving and making the rosters of some of the teams here and having great success? (I mentioned to him the great Cuban born star still working for the White Sox Orestes(Minnie) Minoso?

Abreu: “First of all, I like to thank the older Cuban players that opened the way for us,and in one way or the other are responsible for our success, in the case in my team Alexei Ramirez Dayan, and others, it is great to see many players here that are coming from my country, I feel good about all the Cuban players that today are having the great results here in the big leagues and they have to maintain a very strong mind, because there are going to be highs and lows during the whole season, you have to be strong in your head”.

Q: Are you still in touch with the Cuban players, and families of the Cuban players that you know and that are still left in Cuba?

Abreu: “No, not with the players, because of the regime there and, you know, I do not want to give them any problems, but with some of their families and friends, yes, I am in contact with then everyday and they are very happy with my success”

Q: You had great success so far, but what do you think you still need to work to polish your skills?

A: “I have to work every day, as far as my hitting, trying to correct my weaknesses and my mistakes, I am working on some of my holes when I come to the plate, but most of all we have to keep our mind strong and believe on what I can do”

Q: You have a very smooth but powerful swing. Who taught you that swing?

Abreu: “Believe me, that is something that I had to learned by myself. But my father was the most responsible for that, because since I was a little kid in Cuba my father would fill a bag (java) and filled it with rocks, and he also gave me a small piece of wood, and I would hit those rocks, day after day after day, and told me about my swing my swing my swing”.

Q: When you got here to the Oakland Coliseum, first thing you did is talk with Yoenis Cespedes, are you guys good friends?

Abreu: “Yes, we are good friends, we knew each other from the Cuban leagues, we spoke about a lot of things, especially the baseball played here at the parks, the cities, everything. He is a very good friend and I am happy he is doing very well here with Oakland”

Abreu is a very inquisitive guy, he noticed my 1989 A’s World Series Championship ring and asked me, “Is that one of the rings from here?” I replied: “Yes, that is my 1989 World Series Championship ring” He replied” “Very nice”, and asked me if this ring was from the days of the names of the players listed on the upper deck at the Coliseum”. I said yes, those are some of the great Oakland Athletics players in the history of the team and I told him I also have the 1988 and 1990 rings of the A’s. He smiled and said “muy bueno” “very good”.

Abreu hit two home runs in the three game series at the Oakland Coliseum,and the last of the two marked his 15th home runs of the season. A majestic shot, three run homer in the eight inning and the White Sox snapped a four game losing streak, as they beat the Athletics 4-2. His shot to left field was his 15th home run of the season. The Cuban rookie slugger is the fourth player in major league history to hit 15 home runs in his first 42 games. joining Wally Berger, Kevin Mass and Wally Joyner.

As we said good bye and I wished him good luck, he smiled and told me one of his wishes is for all the Cuban players to get together in Miami, for just a fun game and memories. I told him that was a great idea, he replied: “Lo haremos ya veras” ‘We will do it, you will see”.

Amaur Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Reddick’s 6 RBI Night Propels A’s Victory Over Cleveland 11-1

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CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 16: Jed Lowrie #8 Derek Norris #36 Yoenis Cespedes #52 and Josh Reddick #16 of the Oakland Athletics celebrate after all scored on a grand slam by Reddick during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 16, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 16: Jed Lowrie #8 Derek Norris #36 Yoenis Cespedes #52 and Josh Reddick #16 of the Oakland Athletics celebrate after all scored on a grand slam by Reddick during the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 16, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

 

By Kahlil Najar

CLEVELAND – Josh Reddick blasted a grand slam in the second and a two run shot in the seventh to provide the A’s six of their eleven runs. Josh Donaldson hit his tenth homer of the year in the second when he drove in three runs to provide the other big contribution to the A’s offense tonight.

“I was getting some pitches to handle and not missing them,” said Reddick. “That’s how you keep a hot streak going, you don’t miss pitches.”

Bob Melvin said, “It’s nice to see him drive some balls. The first one obviously puts four runs on the board and opens it up in a hurry. The second one was one of the more aggressive swings I’ve seen him have in a while.”

On his three run shot, Donaldson said, “That’s probably one of the best swings I’ve had this year.”

Some how lost in the mix is Sonny Gray’s great performance as he went for six innings and only gave up two hits and the lone run of the game. He also tied a career high in strikeouts with nine.

Cleveland actually had the lead in the bottom of the first after a home run from former Oakland Athletic Nick Swicher went over the right field fences and gave the Indians a 1-0 lead. The A’s then went to work in the second. Brandon Moss started the inning with his seventh double of the year to right field and then he was moved to third on a Yoenis Cesepedes single to left field. Jed Lowrie then hit a sharp grounder to center field that scored Moss and moved Cesepedes to second. Derek Norris walked to load the bases and Reddick came up and blasted his first homer of the game and gave the A’s a 5-1 lead. After a Sogard ground out and a Crisp walk, Josh Reddick hit his team leading 10th homer of the year to left field and made it 8-1. Lowrie hit his third home run of the year in the top of the third and Reddick hit a two run shot in th top of the 7th to give the game a 11-1 final score.

Fun fact of the game is that the A’s hit for the “cycle” on homers – Lowrie hit his solo shot, Reddick’s homer in the 7th brought in two, Donaldson has a 3 run homer in the second and of course Reddick has his grand slam that brought in four runs.

Oakland and Cleveland head back at it tomorrow night as the A’s send up Scott Kazmir (5-1, 2.28 ERA) against Josh Tomlin (2-0, 2.13), game time 4:05pm PST.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Duca on A’s and Giants:Giants Blanco stole three and scored three; Sox Abreu bringing up average

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by Michael Duca

Giants update: The Giants are performing up to their own expectations but above other teams right now. Gregor Blanco on Wednesday stole three bases and scored three runs to help the Giants in their 10-4 laugher over the Braves. Blanco had been hitting .150 all season.

The Giants seem to hit good pitching better than they hit bad pitching, and not that the Braves pitcher Mike Minor is not a bad pitcher but he came away with a 4.24 ERA and shut the Giants out on Tuesday. Then you get the Braves pitcher Julio Teheran whose ERA is 2.20 on Wednesday.

Teheran got lit up on Wednesday and threw for 40 pitches in the first innning and Blanco walked and stole two bases and came home and wound up stealing a third base later in the game and that set the tone. They were going to be as miserably hot and still as energy sapping as it was yesterday the Giants had the plan to be patient, and grinding it out their at bats they just didn’t impose their will on the Braves on Wednesday.

The Giants have beaten the Braves five out six games this year and the Giants can gaurantee that when the season is over nobody would have done that.

A’s update: The White Sox won their first game at the Colisuem on Wednesday for the first time since 2012. The Sox complied a seven game loss streak against the A’s in Coliseum visits but ended it with a 4-2 win. The Sox Jose Abreu has been making big contact with the ball of late and hit out his 15th to help beat the A’s.

The Sox brought this kid out of Cuba and their are 29 other teams that are seeing Abreu and wondering “why didn’t we go get this guy?” He already in the short span of a month and half has 15 home runs. Abreu loves hittting at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago because it’s a hitters ball park.

The way the Sox won in Oakland on Wednesday was not cheap it was a three run shot and Abreu hit it up the staircase in left field and help give the Sox a two run win. Abreu has just shown that there is really no adjustment period for him in the show. He learned how Major League pitchers are going to pitch him, Abreu has not scuffled or struggled at all at the plate he’s now hitting .271.

Michael Duca covers the A’s and Giants for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Pomeraz and the A’s Hitting On All Cylinders Destroy White Sox 11-0

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Oakland Athletics' Josh Reddick, right, is congratulated by Derek Norris (36) after Reddick hit a two -un home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher Scott Carroll in the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo)
Oakland Athletics’ Josh Reddick, right, is congratulated by Derek Norris (36) after Reddick hit a two -un home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher Scott Carroll in the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Drew Pomeraz (3-1) threw five scoreless innings and struck out a career high eight batters and gave the A’s (25-15) an 11-0 win over the Chicago White Sox (19-22) and extended the A’s win streak to six. The A’s offense was also impressive as they sprayed 17 hits over eight innings with Brandon Moss providing a big push as he hit two deep home runs tonight and drove in five runs. John Jaso had three hits on the night and Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes and Craig Gentry each had a pair of hits to round out the A’s hitting.

“The offense was terrific across the board,” said head coach Bob Melvin. “Moss is really hitting the ball well. Cespedes has a big hit. Norris had a big hit. Reddick and his music. A lot of good performers.”

Melvin is referring to how Josh Reddick changed his walk up music to 80’s Icons Wham’s hit single Careless Whisper.

“I thought it was great. And the fans got a little upset at his last at bat and they didn’t play it. They started booing a bit. You know our fans are always paying attention.”

“It takes everything in my body to hold back a smile. When it didn’t happen in the 8th and everyone booed it was pretty funny,” said Reddick. Apparently the song came on in the clubhouse a few days and it just stuck.

Pomeranz who has now pitched 10 scoreless innings in his last two starts is now a solid man in the rotation with Strailey now optioned to Sacramento.

“He was able to navigate through all right handed hitters (tonight). All guys with power. He strikes out the first three hitters of the game and set the tone,” said Melvin.

“That’s that mentality, I’m kind of just trying to go right after people. That’s what I was doing out of the bullpen and I had success doing that. I don’t see any reason to change that,” said Pomeranz on his execution tonight.

The A’s got the scoring started in the first when Brandon Moss hit his sixth double of the year to left field and scored Cespedes who was on base after a single of his own. The A’s made it a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a Gentry single to center field scored Reddick who was standing on second base. In the fifth and sixth inning the A’s scored seven runs on four doubles and two home runs. Reddick hit a two run homer to center field that bounced off the top part of the wall to give the A’s a  6-0 lead. Then in the bottom of the sixth Moss hit a deep home run to right field that brought the lead to 9-0.

In the bottom of the eighth, Moss added some more insurance runs as he hit another towering shot to right center field with a man on base and brought the score to its final of 11-0.

The White Sox send Andre Rienzo (3-0) to the mound tomorrow against Tommy Milone, game time 12:35pm.

Press conference audio:

Despite Rough Ninth, A’s Preserve A Chavez Gem

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By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics made it five straight wins Monday night at O.Co Coliseum, but they didn’t make it easy on themselves against the Chicago White Sox. Despite a dominant performance from starter Jesse Chavez, the green and gold needed four different pitchers to get through a three-run ninth inning to hang on for a 5-4 win. Jed Lowrie and Josh Donaldson connected on two-run hits each and Sean Doolittle collected his second save in three opportunities to anoint Chavez the winning pitcher.

Jesse Chavez (3-1, 2.44 ERA) turned in a masterpiece, pitching 8-plus strong innings highlighted by seven strikeouts and only two walks. The lone mistakes were solo home runs issued to Dayan Viciedo & Jose Abreu, Chavez’s fourth and fifth home runs allowed on the year. All five long balls on the campaign have come with the bases empty for the righthander, a runner-up for the American League Pitcher of the Month in April.

“He’s been doing it all year for us,” said manager Bob Melvin. “I tried to get him all the way through it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. Seeing eight strong innings again, he’s consistent in that regard.”

The journeyman reliever-turned-starter has found new life in Oakland after stops in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Kansas and Toronto. Monday night proved a reason why, with the Southern California native pitching an effective game, using 93 pitches to retire 24 batters. 68 of Chavez’s deliveries were strikes.

“It’s amazing,” said fellow pitcher Sean Doolittle. “It’s amazing the way he can pitch to both sides of the plate with both a cutter and a sinker and obviously that big curveball he had tonight. He really pitches. The way he adds and subtracts, moves the ball around. It’s really fun to watch. That’s the guy that over the last few years has really reinvented himself.”

Dayan Viciedo took a 2-1 delivery from Chavez to the opposite field over the wall in right center, his third long ball of the season, to give Chicago (19-21) a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The A’s (24-15) responded in their next turn at the plate, with right fielder Josh Reddick skying a fly ball to straight-away center field for an RBI triple. The ball carried over center fielder Leury Garcia’s head and a foot below the top of the wall, giving Nick Punto plenty of time to score from first base and tie the game.

Third basemen Josh Donaldson enter play scuffling through the month of May, hitting .194 with no home runs and a lonely pair of RBIs over 36 at-bats. He turned around his May misfortunes in the bottom of the fifth by about-facing an 87 mph 2-1 delivery from Danks. Donaldson pulled a line drive just inside the left field foul pole for a two-run home run, giving him what appeared to be his league-leading 10th go ahead RBI at the time. Reddick walked to open the inning but Danks struck out the next two Athletics to bring Donaldson to the dish with two down for the homer. Danks (3-3, 4.88) retired Cespedes on strikes to end the inning and close the book on his outing after three runs over six innings with five outs coming on strike threes.

Shortstop Jed Lowrie added what at the time appeared to be a pair of insurance runs on his 500th career hit, a double in the gap in left off reliever Daniel Webb in the seventh. Leadoff man Craig Gentry scored from first on the hit, nipping on the heels of Reddick who came around on the play to create a 5-1 Oakland edge. Reddick singled with one out to start the rally then advanced to second on Gentry’s four-pitch walk.

Lowrie advanced to third on a wild pitch with Yoenis Cespedes at the plate, but the Oakland clean-up hitter grounded into an inning double play after second basemen Gordon Beckham snag the grounder on the shortstop side of second. Beckham flipped the ball to Alexei Ramirez who pirouetted over the bag before relaying to first to gun down Cespedes by a step and avoid the big blow and set up a tense finish.

No sooner did Chavez get A’s fans on their feet by taking the mound to try to finish off the game did Jose Abreu put fans back in their seats stunned. Entering the ninth inning, Chavez managed to void the presence of dangerous designated hitter, holding him to a pair of strikeouts and a fielder’s choice in three plate appearances. Abreu finally managed to display his raw power, taking a well-pitched 0-2 offering to deep right field for his MLB best 14th homer to chase Chavez trailing 5-2.

Melvin tabbed Fernando Abad to face Adam Dunn, but the lefty specialist failed to finish the White Sox first basemen off, getting him to two strikes before issuing a walk. Chicago manager Robin Ventura replaced Dunn with the speedy Moises Sierra who moved to third position on a double by Viciedo off Jim Johnson with no outs. Alexie Ramirez, tied for the American League lead in batting average Monday morning at .333, added to his total by picking up a run-scoring single off Johnson to trim the A’s lead to two.

“Once Chavez gave up the first hit, we knew it was going to be Abad for the next guy,” said Melvin. “After that it was going to be Johnson against the righty. If we needed the backstop we had (Sean Doolittle).”

Melvin elected to utilize the backstopper Doolittle to try to neutralize pinch hitter Paul Konerko with the tying run on first base and no outs. Instead, Konerko popped the first pitch he saw to center field for a sacrifice fly, plating Viciedo from third to make it a slim 5-4 lead.

“It’s situations like that where you look at the bigger picture,” said Doolittle. “It really breaks down to, it sounds cliché to say, but one pitch at a time. There were so many things going on, Runners on first and third, a guy like Paul Konerko at the plate. I was focused on making a quality pitch right from the very start. Getting that first out was really big.”

Ramirez stole his seventh base of the season to move into scoring position but pinch hitter Tyler Flowers struck out swinging then Doolittle overpowered Leury Garcia, forcing him to chase a fastball at the eyes to convert his second save of the season.

“I really did want to get the save,” said Doolittle. “I wasn’t really thinking about it. When we were high-fiving and going through the line after the game I was really happy with preserving the game.”

While the ninth inning proved exciting for one reason, Josh Reddick’s plate appearance in the fifth was a memorable one for a different reason. Reddick finished the day 2-3 with a walk, two runs and a run batted in, but most of the talk postgame was on his switch in walk-up music in his second at-bat. The professional wrestling enthusiast ditched the entrance music of recently deceased WWE Hall of Famer The Ultimate Warrior for George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”. It certainly was a far departure from the guitar-heavy anthems players usually employ in their approach to the plate. It caught some of his teammates off guard.

“It’s just an awesome song,” said Doolittle with a straight face after the game. “It puts everyone in a good mood. I hope he keeps it up. “

Doolittle won’t be switching his battle hymn from Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” if he’s called upon tomorrow night against the White Sox to close out Drew Pomeranz’s first start as a full-time member of the rotation against Scott Carroll.

“Sometimes last year I thought about changing it,” said Doolittle. “But every time I hear it, it riles me up. I’m sticking with it for a while.”

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary:Texas’ Yu Darvish can’t figure out Latino batters in near no-hit bids

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–In just his third season in the Major Leagues, Texas right hander Yu Darvish has not been able to pitch a no hitter in three different occasions, because of Latino hitters.

Here is the actual list for Yu Darvish, who in the past two season 2012 and 2013 has struck out more hitters than anybody in baseball.

-August 12, 2013 Minute Maid Park, Houston(9th inning) Darvish came within one out of a no hitter, but Houston catcher Carlos Corporan(Puerto Rico)hit a Home Run.

-April 2, 2014 Minute Maid Park, Houston(9th inning)Darvish came within one of a “perfecto” but Houston’s Marwin González(Venezuela) broke it, with a single.-

-May 9, 2014.Fenway Park, Boston(9th inning) Darvish came within one out of a no hitter,but Red Sox David Ortíz(Dominican Republic)broke it with a single.

In three different occasions, in less than two full seasons, Yu Darvish no hitter or Perfecto, has gone Sayonara against Latino hitters.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Vice President of the Major League Baseball Latino Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com