Category: Oakland Athletics

Houston Astros’ Yainer Diaz (21) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning  at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Jul 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (56-44). 000 010 101. – 3. 5. 2

Oakland (28-74) 100 001 000 – 2 7. 0

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 11,231

Sunday, July 23, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Making a quick turnaround from last night’s upset 4-1 victory over the Astros, the Athletics sent rookie riight Luis Medina to the mound against the visitors from Texas. The home team lost, 3-2.

Medina, 3-7, 579 at game time, had been grand in his last start, which came on July 18 at the Coliseum, when he threw 5-2/3 shutout, three hit innings in a 3-0 win over. the Red Sox.

He kept the Astros at bay this afternoon, lasting five innings, in which he threw 93 pitches, 59 for strikes, and yielded just one run, which was earned and came on a homer, on two hits and three walks He struck out six and came away with a no decision that gave him a record of 3-7, 5.50.

The Astros went with Hunter Brown and his 6-7, 4.26 slate. He’d faced the Athletics a couple of times earlier in the season, both as a starter going 1-0, 2.08 with a WHIP of 0.77 against them. He got the win in the second start in which he went 5-1/3 frames and yielded four runs on eight hits.

He threw six strong innings In today’s contest, yielding two runs, both earned, on six hits, one of them out of the park, two walks,, and a hit batter while striking out four. He threw 88 pitches, 57 for strikes. Like Medina, he had to settle for a no decision, which left his season’s totals at 6-7, 4.19).

After Molina kept the ‘stros off the board in the top of the first, helped by a two out, two on marvelous diving catch of José Abreu’s sinking liner by Cody Thomas in right, JJ Belay sent a two out solo blast over the State Farm. advertisement in right center field for his eighth home run and 24th run batted in of the season. That put the A’s up, 1-0, practically from the get go.

Oakland loaded the bases with no one out in the home third after Jordán Díaz singled to right, Aledmys Díaz was hit by a pitch, and Tony Kemp reached base on an error by first baseman Bligh Madris. But the promising rookie Zack Gelof bounced into a 5-2-3 double play, and JJ Bleday flew out to left.

Yanier Díaz tied things up in the visitors’ half of the fifth, leading off with his 11th home run of ’23, a 398 foot shot to left center that came off an 82.9 mph slider.

Poor baserunning by Jordán Díaz fulfilled The Curse of the Leadoff Double when the A’s DH got caught in a brief rundown after trying to advance on a ground ball hit in front of him, but the Athletics pulled ahead in their next turn at bat. Bleday singled to center, stole second while Seth Brown was striking out, advanced to third on a throwing error by Houston catcher Díaz, and scored on Tyler Soderstrom’s two out single to center.

Sam Long relieved Medina to pitch a perfect top of the sixth for the A’s and was removed in favor of Tayler Scott when Madris led off the inning with a single to left center. It turned out to be an unfortunate decision.

Chas McCormick flew out to the warning track in center. Yanier Diaz, whose home run had tied the score, singled to left. Scott hit Peña with a pitch but recovered to fan Dubón but walked Julks to force in the tying run. That was it for Scott. It was Sam Moll to the rescue, getting Tucker out on a grounder to third.

Seth Martínez took over for Brown with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh and retired the side in order.

Chad Smith replaced Moll when Grae Kessinger was announced to bat for Madris with one out and Abreu, who had walked, on first in the eighth. The righty on righty move worked; Kessinger fouled out to left, and McCormick bounced out, third to first.

Gelof greeted Hector Neris in the home eighth, lining a double to left on the reliever’s second offering. Bleday followed him with a walk. Seth Brown moved both of them up with a sacrifice bunt. They had to stay there on Thomas’s checked swing ground out, 1-3. Soderstrom then flew out to right. The Curse of the Leadoff Double strikes again!

In the top of the ninth with two out, ex-Giant Mauricio Dubón jumped all over a hanging Chad Smith slider for a 404 foot tie breaking home run to left center.

That gave Bryan Abreu the opportunity to earn his third save. He succeeded, retiring the bottom third of the Athletics’ lineup in order.

The win went to Neris, who now owns a record of 6-2, 1.48. Chad Smith, now 2-1, 6.59, was tagged with the loss.

The disappointing defeat worsened the A’s season record to 28-74, .274.

The Yankees beat Kansas City, 8-5, this afternoon at The Stadium in the Bronx. The Royals now stand at 28-73, .277

On July 23, 299, Cleveland’s hapless Spiders, who ended their season at 20-134, .130, the all time worst in major league baseball, did not play, and so they remained at 15-68, .217. The 1962 New York Mets, like their predecessors in futility in 1899 Spiders, didn’t play on July 23rd, which left their record of 24-70, .255 intact.

This afternoon game wrapped up the series with Houston. The Athletics have Monday off and will open a two game set against the Giants at Oracle Park at 6:45pm PT Tuesday evening. Ken Waldichuk (2-6 ERA 6.75) will pitch for Oakland, and Alex Cobb (6-3, ERA 3.15) is scheduled to go for the Giants. There will be a large vocal and visible contingent A’s fans protesting their team’s abandonment of The Town. They expect many Giant fans to join them in the United the Bay phase of the Stay and Sell campaign.

Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof gets the force on the Houston Astros runner Jose Abreau (79) but Gelof makes a throwing error to first in the top of the fourth inning. Gelof made up for it later breaking up Astros pitcher Cristian Javier’s no hitter in the sixth inning and getting his first MLB home run in the seventh inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Jul 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

OAKLAND, Calif.– The World Champion Houston Astros (55-44) took an “L” from the struggling Oakland Athletics (28-73) , losing 4-1 on a Saturday Evening in the Bay. Oakland snapped their eight game skid with the victory.

In Game # 99 for the Astros, the first five innings were uneventful and scoreless. As for the Athletics, they weren’t able to even get a hit through that segment of time. After five complete innings, 0-0.

The Top of the sixth changed the theme of the game, when Houston’s third baseman Alex Bregman belted a homer to left field, chasing A’s Paul Blackburn from the game after a base hit and walk. However, the Oakland relief pitcher, Austin Pruitt forced an inning-ending double play, keeping the game close, 1-0 Astros.

In the Bottom of Stanza Number six, the A’s flipped the script, by ending the no-hitter (Zack Gelof), chasing the starting pitcher, and taking a lead 2-1 on a two-RBI base hit by third baseman Jace Peterson. He knocked in Gelof and first baseman Seth Brown.

Gelof was at it again in the bottom of the seventh, as he blasted a solo dinger to right center to give Oakland a comfortable 3-1 lead after seven.

The Athletics were not finished scoring, as they tallied another run on the scoreboard on a home run blast by Seth Brown. After 8, 4-1 Oakland.

That was all Oakland needed, as they slammed the door shut in the top of the ninth, despite a near three-run homer by the Astros. Athletics win 4-1!

The two teams will play the series finale Sunday Afternoon (1:07 PDT), with projected starters: Astros RHP Hunter Brown (6-7, 4.24) vs. A’s Luis Medina (3-7, 5.79).

Oakland A’s outfielders Tony Kemp (5) and JJ Bleday (33) watch the trajectory of the baseball as it sails over the fence hit by the Houston Astros Alex Bergman in the top of the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Jul 21, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (55-43). 102 020 100. – 6. 9. 0

Oakland (27-72) 001 030 000 – 4 7. 0

Time: 2:40

Attendance: 6,810

Friday, July 21, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Brent Rooker, the Oakland Athletic’s (27-73) nominal all star, was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to illness. This required a massive change in the batting order, but Seth Brown, batting eighth and in right field, was the only player added to the original list, giving the A’s one less right handed hitter and one more lefty to face Houston Astros (55-43) southpaw starter, Framber Valdéz (7-6, 2.76 at game time). There are no switch hitters on the A’s’ current active roster.

Valdéz, who left his previous start, on the 15th in Anaheim, with a cramp in his left calf, has been Houston’s opening day starter for the last two years and threw a complete game shutout against the A’s on May 21, wasn’t in shutout shape tonight.

Valdez pitched well enough for four frames, but fell apart in the fifth. In all, he went five innings and gave up four runs, all earned, on six hits and two walks, striking out four and walking two and hitting one batter. He got the win beating the A’s 6-4 and went back to the team’s hotel at 8-6, 2.94.

The A’s also sent a lefty to the mound, JP Sears (1-6, 3.99 as of the first pitch). Opposing right handed batters had been batting .199 with an OPS of .687 against him, while lefties had gone .193, .768. Yet Houston skipper Dusty Baker had put eight right handed batsmen in his starting lineup.

The lone lefty was Kyle Tucker. There weren’t any more because there’s only one other left handed position player on the team, and he joined it on June 23 and has hit .130 since then. Sears wasn’t sharp tonight, and Tucker led the attack against him.

But the lefty held on for 5-2/3 frames, in which he threw 95 pitches, 62 for strikes. He allowed five runs, all earned, and left a runner on first when he exited the game. He logged only one strikeout but issued only one walk. He took the loss; his balance sheet now reads 1-7, 4.19.

The Astros lost no time in taking the lead. Sears retired the first two batters he faced, needing only five pitches to do so. Then Tucker launched Sears’ sixth offering over the right center field fence, 406 feet deep, for his 15th home run and 65th RBI of the season It came off a 94.8 mph four seamer and left Tucker’s bat at 106.2 mph.

Tony Kemp, moved up from the number six slot in the lineup shakeup, led off the home first with a leg double to center, and The Curse of the Leadoff Double took its toll, with Kemp dying on third.

The much booed Alex Bregman ended an 1-1 pitch at bat in the top of the third with his 15th homer of ’23, a two run blast 392 feet to left center. It turned an 85.4 change up into a 3-0 lead for the visitors.

The green and gold narrowed that to 3-1 in the bottom of the third. With two down, Valdéz plunked Kemp, the only Athletic who had reached base safely at that point. Zach Gelof followed with a walk, and Jordán Díaz laced an RBI single to left.

Tucker struck again in the fifth. With one away and a man onboard, the Astros’ right fielder hit his second round tripper of the evening and 16th of the year, sending the spheroid 396 feet deep, this time to right center. The score now was 5-1, Astros, and Tucker had driven in three of Houston’s five runs.

The A’s offense came alive in the bottom of that inning. Nick Allen, Kemp, and Gelof got three straight singles to load the bases with no one out. Jordan Díaz drew an RBI walk, Aledmys Díaz hit a sacrifice fly to center that plated Kemp and advanced Gelof to third. Then Bleday’s 3-1 groundout brought Gelof home, and Oakland was back in the game, trailing by only one run, 5-4.

Taylor Scott relieved Sears after he’d walked David Hensley with two out in the top of the sixth. Scott struck Martín Maldonado looking to end the inning.

Phil Maton was on the mound for Houston when the bottom of the sixth began. Cody Thomas, pinch hitting for Bleday greeted him with a double to right. After Brown popped out, a wild pitch allowed Thomas to reach third. But, like Kemp in the first, he was stranded there. The Curse strikes again.

Tucker had the righty-lefty equation in his favor when he faced Scott in the top of the seventh and turned it to his advantage with his third dinger of the game and number 17 of the season, a two out solo shot to right that extended the Astros lead to 6-4.

Rafael Montero, who’s been struggling recently preserved that margin in the bottom of the seventh, retiring the side in order.

Austin Pruitt did the same to the ‘stros in the top of the eighth, in spite of a two out warning track shot to center by Corey Julks.

It was Héctor Neris’s turn to face the A’s in the bottom of the ninth. He walked Bleday and Langeliers to open the episode, but an infield fly to the catcher, Maldonado, and a pitcher’s best friend on Brown’s grounder to second put the threat to rest.

Pruitt had no trouble achieving a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

When Ryan Pressly went to the mound in the bottom of the ninth, he was looking for his 100th career save. He got it, his 23rd of the year

The loss lowered Oakland’s record to 27-73, .270. Kansas City lost to the Yankees, 5-4, in the Bronx this afternoon. The Royals now are 28-71, .283.

July 21, 1899 found the Cleveland Spiders in the Nation’s Capital, where they split a doubleheader with the Senators. Both games ended in a score of 5-3, and what was until this year the losingest team in major league baseball history escaped town with a record of 15-68, .217.

On this date in baseball infamy, the Cincinnati Reds stepped right up and beat the Mets, 5-3, in a day game at Crosley Field. The defeat left the dazed Amanzin’s at 24-68, .261

Saturday evening’s game between the A’s and the Astros is scheduled to start at 6:07 and will be the third of the current four game series between the two. Houston’s Christian Javier (7-1, 4.39) will face Oakland’s Paul Blackburn (1-2, 5.48) in a battle of right handers.

Houston Astros starter JP France throws into the seventh inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu Jul 20, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Houston Astros rookie JP France struck out five hitters going into the bottom of the eighth inning for the first time this season at the Oakland Coliseum Thursday night and picked up his third win.

#2 The Oakland A’s who had a 1-0 lead couldn’t hold onto the lead as the Astros scored twice in the top of the sixth inning and never back from that point.

#3 The Astros Alex Bergman’s home run gave the Astros some insurance in the top of the ninth and a two run cushion as the A’s just didn’t have anything in the tank in trying to get anymore offense going.

#4 A’s starter Hogan Harris surrendered the two runs in the top of the six on when the Astros Mauricio Dubon and Jeremy Pena hit RBI doubles to knock in a run each. Hogan however pitched well going six inning giving up four hits striking out six in the cause.

#5 The Astros will be starting Framber Valdez (7-6 ERA 2.76) against the A’s JP Sears (1-6 ERA 3.99) for tonight’s second game of this four game series at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s after winning two in a row against Boston opened the series with the Astros with a loss and hope to get back in the win column tonight.

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