Category: Oakland Athletics

Hard to say goodbye San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo (54) is emotional after exiting his last game in his MLB career retiring to the applause of the Giants fans and players in a exhibition game against the Oakland A’s’ at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Mar 27, 2023 (@SFGiants photo)

Oakland. 2 2. 0. 0. 3. 4. 1. 0. 0. – 12. 15. 1

San Francisco. 1. 0. 1. 0. 0. 0 4. 0. 0 – 6. 7. 0

Time: 2:58

Attendance: 30,254

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–This evening’s closing pre-season game for both the A’s and the Giants was to have honored a player who was an important part of each team’s bullpen at various times over his 15 year MLB career, Sergio Romo. Romo’s having pitched on both sides of the bay mirrored his frontier background.

He was born in Brawley, but came from a baseball -playing Mexicali family. I once read an article in the Mexicali press (I wish I could locate it) that reported that when Romo was in Brawley, he was treated like a Mexican and that when he was in Mexicali, he was treated like an American.

In neither place did that mean he was treated like an honored guest. Maybe that explains why his walk up song, Préndeme el mechón (more or less, “Light My Fire”) celebrates always moving somewhere else.

I particularly remember one incident from Romo’s stint in Oakland. After a night game, a pair of youngsters, about 10 years old, were waiting in the cold by the exit to the players’ parking lot. Car after car zoomed past them, but none stopped or even slowed down.

Then a pick up (or maybe it was an SUV) whizzed by with the driver’s window open. One of the kids shouted out, “Romo!” The vehicle stopped abruptly, backed up, and two young fans were the proud owners of a Sergio Romo autograph.

The Giants honored Romo by signing him to a minor league contract and announcing they would plan to let him make a farewell performance sometime during this evening’s contest.

The A’s also added another veteran reliever to their roster, but this signing was less ceremonial. They agreed with Jeurys Familia on the terms of a a one-year contract shortly before yesterday’s ugly but, in a weird way hopeful, 9-5 defeat by the Giants.

Oakland placed left-handed pitcher Kirby Sneadon the injured list to make room for Familia on their roster. The familiar face pitched an inning, surrendering an unearned run on two hits while chalking up a pair of Ks. 16 of his 22 pitches qualified as strikes.

Ross Stripling, the Giants’ starter tonight, began the evening with a record that perfectly matched his team’s could-go-any-way condition. He has a lifetime major league record of 38-38, 3.78 with the Dodgers and Blue Jays and had gone 1-1, 5.00 in the Cactus League for San Francisco this spring.

The 33 year old righty got off to a rocky start, surrendering a first inning two run homer to Jesús Aguilar that travelled just over the glove of a leaping Bryce Johnson 399 feet in to center field gardens at the 391 foot sign. The just good enough blast came off an 89 mph four seamer.

Things didn’t get better for Stripling. He ended up pitching five innings, in which he surrendered nine runs, all of them earned, on 11 hits, three of them for the distance, and a walk. He also was charged with the loss.

Stripling’s mound rival, also throwing from the starboard side was James Kaprielian, who brought a big league balance sheet of 13-14, 2.40 and a spring training mark of 1-1, 2.53, with him. Last year he went 5-9 with a 4.23 ERA and .735 opponents OPS in 26 starts.

Kaprielian began his evening’s labor by coughing up half of the two run lead he’d been given. He hit LaMonte Wade, Jr., the Giants’ leadoff hitter. Wade advanced to second what was first considered an infield single by Michael Conforto. Oakland appealed first base umpire Bill Miller’s call, which was reversed upon review.

Joc Pedereson’s single to left drove Wade home. But he improved after that and ended up with a line of 5-1/3 innings pitched, two runs allowed, both earned, on five hits, two walks, and a hit batter, with six strike outs. He was the winning pitcher.

Undaunted, the green and gold tacked on two more tallies in the second on Ryan Noda’s single to left, a triple to right center by Shea Langeloiers, and Estury Ruíz’s sac fly to right center made it 4-1 in favor of the visitors. The orange and black countered with a run in their half of the third, Brandon Crawford’s single to right plating David Villar.

In the top of the fifth, Ramón Laureano got ahold of an 82 mph change up and turned it into a 392 foot home run to left, his first round tripper of the pre-se soon, giving Oakland a 7-2 lead, which became 9-2 in the next inning a two run 396 foot blast to left center that ended Stripling’s stint on the mound.

Although the crowd chanted “Romo, Romo,” it was Tyler Rogers who entered the fray. Just to shake things up a bit, the two run homer he gave up to Brown went to right field. Believe it or not, the rag tag bunch from the east bay was leading, 11-2.

After the A’s finally were retired in the sixth and Zach Jackson had disposed of the Giants in their half of inning. Romo made his entry to the thunderous applause of the 30,254 fans whip were watching.

Although left as he had arrived, to thunderous applause, it was the A’s batters who supplied most of the thunder to his brief mound activity. He didn’t retire a single man he faced but gave up a run on a pair of hits and a walk. Oakland led 12-2 at his departure, and Mauricio Rivera kept it that way.

The Giants staged a modest uprising in the home seventh, but like Oakland’s ninth inning flare up, it fell short. Trevor May was tagged for four runs on four hits and four walks before minor leaguer Rico García for Oakland put an end to the threat. Tyler Rogers’ brother Taylor pitched a scoreless top of the eighth for the Giants.

Domingo Acevedo struck out the side in the home half of the inning, and Camino Duval set the A’s down in order in the top of the ninth. Calvin Coker, an extra like García, from the minor league camp,

The A’s season starts this Thursday, the 30th, at the Coliseum. The promising Kyler Muller will try to strut his stuff against the Angels, who will send Shoei Ohtani to the mound in what promises to be a–shall we call it “interesting”–match up. The an action is scheduled to start at 7:07, and we’ll be there. Meanwhile, Giants will fly to New York to test their mettle against the Yankees. Logan Webb will start for San Francisco, and Gerritt Cole will take the mound for the Yanks at Yankee Stadium a 10:05 AM first pitch.

Oakland A’s left fielder Seth Brown (15) sets up in the batters’ box against San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart (21) at the Oakland Coliseum in pre season action on Sun Mar 26, 2023 (@Athletics photo)

San Francisco. 0 3 0 2 2 0 1 1 0. – 9. 8 2

Oakland 0 3 0 00 0 0 0 2 – 5 7 1

Time: 3:0-1

Attendance: 11,325

Oakland March 26

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–It hasn’t been a pleasant spring training for the Athletics this year. Returning to the bay area, their win and loss record of 10-16, with three ties, was the worst in the Cactus League and third worst among all major leagues teams for the spring. Of course, these figures aren’t of overwhelming significance.

It’s often said that escaping major injuries is the most important task a team can accomplish in the Cactus or Grapefruit League. Oakland–if that still is the proper adjective to modify “Athletics”–didn’t fare particularly well in that endeavour either.

A torn fingernail has kept Paul Blackburn from throwing a pitch in anger since March 10. He’s expected to return to action some time in April, but the right handed starter already has missed over two weeks of full preparation.

Tightness in his left hamstring has kept Drew Rucinsk, another righty expected to figure in the A’s starting rotation, out of action since the 14th. Like Blackburn, he’s expected to be available next month, but he’ll be on the on the injured list until then.

Manny Piña underwent surgery on his left wrist last May, and the wrist has been inflamed for the last two weeks. No one knows when or what to expect from the back up catcher. He’s likely to be on the opening day IL.

Number nine prospect Freddy Tarnok hasn’t pitched since March 8 and is undergoing diagnostic testing to see what’s been causing the tingling sensation in the thumb of his right, pitching, hand. The date of his return, and where he’ll be assigned are unknown.

Southpaw hurler Kirby Snead has been shut down until further notice. He won’t start throwing again until he’s free from the discomfort caused by the shoulder strain he suffered a month ago.

It wasn’t a festive Sunday afternoon for the A’s and their fans when they fell, 9-5 to the enigmatic Giants, who had come to play with a Cactus League record of 13-14 in the first of a two game, home and home exhibition series just before the season starts on Thursday, the 30th. Our two local teams had split the games they played earlier this month in Arizona.

Portsider Ken Waldichuk stood at 0-3, 9.58 (!) for the spring when he toed the rubber for the home team. Fellow lefty Alex Wood was 1-1, 3.72 when he went to the mound for the visitors in the bottom of the first. The Athletics’ started lasted 3-1/3 innings, in which he surrendered five runs, all earned, on four hits, an equal number of free passes, and a wild pitch. He threw 80 pitches,, 42 of which were considered strikes. Wood’s outing was more successful and more complicated.

The Giants got to Waldichuk early. He walked two men in the first and allowed a single and a walk and unleashed his wild pitch in the second before David Villar, in his second at bat, jumped on a 91 mph four seamer and sent it flying 403’ onto the stairs separating the main grandstand from structure housing Mt. Davis, putting the visitors up, 3-0.

Oakland came roaring back in their half of the frame thanks to some sloppy San Francisco fielding and some speedy base running by Seth Brown and Nick Allen, and Estreury Ruîz and some opportune hitting by Tony Kemp. With one down, Brown drew a full count walk. Allen hit a grounder to the mound that Wood threw into center field, putting runners on the corners.

Kemp followed with a fly to deep center that eluded Brett Wisely’s outstretched glove on the warning track as the runners raced home to erase the Giants’ advantage Esteury Ruíz walked, and Kemp doubled to the center field warning track, advancing and to third when short stop Casey Schmidt mishandled the relay. Manager Gabe Kapler pulled Wood in favor of Ryan Walker, who got Ramón Laureano to ground out, ending the inning.

This being spring training, Wood returned to pitch the bottom of the third and strike out the side. When he finally exited for good, his line stood at 5-1/3 innings pitched; three runs, two earned; three hits and three walks; ten strike outs

The tie was short lived, as Bryce Johnson led off the top of the fourth with a walk and went to third on Brett Auberbach’s one out two bagger to left. Both scored on Wisely’s single tonight center. That’s when Chad Smith relieved Waldichuk. Smith stifled the Giants for the rest of the inning, giving way to Adam Oller at the start of the fifth

The Giants picked cup two more tallies in the fifth, thanks to Brett Auberbach’s two out single and the three walks Oller allowed in the frame.

Sam Moll joined the party with one out and no one on in the sixth, to hold the score at 7-3, Giants, before turning pitching duties over to Juerys Familia in the top of the seventh, when the spring training avalanche of late inning substitutes played havoc with my score sheet. He allowed an unearned run, courtesy of a lead off throwing error by Jace Peterson, who had just entered the game at third, that was driven in by Brett Auberbach’s single.

Although by the top of the eighth, the game had lost interest for anyone who didn’t enjoy farce, it’s worth noting that Joc Peterson, who’d taken over at first base in the fifth frame, slamed a humongous solo home run, 414 feet deep into the center field seats. It came off Dany Jiménez.

At long last, with two out in the bottom of the ninth, Pablo Reyes took John Brebbia 390 feet deep to left center, and Carlos Perez followed a 374 foot blast to left, and the score was 9-5. When Ryan Nona singled to right, it almost seemed as if the A’s had a chance. They didn’t; Kyle McCann took a third strike, and that was that.

Wood got the win; Waldiichuk, the loss.

Monday’s encounter will take place across the bridge in Oracle Park. The Giants will be honoring Sergio Romo, who pitched for both of the teams in his 15 year big league career and will retire after the afternoon’s tribute to him. His one day contract grants him membership in an exclusive club whose members range from the sublime Satchel Paige to the trivial Eddie Gaedel, whose lifetime on base percentage never will be surpassed.