Category: Oakland Athletics

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s Celebrate 2022 Class of Hall of Fame Inductees

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A’s Celebrate 2022 Class of Hall of Fame Inductees

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

From left to right Amaury Pi Gonzalez author (left), former Oakland A’s players Joe Rudi (center) and Shooty Mack Babbitt (left) enjoy the festivities at the 2022 Class of Hall of Fame Inductees at the Claremont Club Spa in Berkeley on Sun Aug 7, 2022 (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

OAKLAND–Sunday night, at the swanky and iconic Claremont Club and Spa in the Berkeley hills with breathtaking views of San Francisco, the Oakland Athletics celebrated their 2022 Class of Hall of Fame inductees with a bevy of past and present A’s stars.

A’s President Dave Kaval was master of ceremonies during a very happy group of players and their families representatives. 1972 World Champion Joe Rudi, Steve Vucinich, former A’s Clubhouse Manager, Keith Lieppman Special Advisor to Player Development, the family of “Captain Sal” Bando, family members of A’s third-baseman Eric Chávez, the wife and family of A’s broadcaster Ray Fosse. Ex-A’s owner Charlie Finley’s son and his family were also in attendance.

A’s Broadcasters Ken Korach, Vince Cotroneo, Glen Kuiper, Bip Roberts, Shooty Babitt, Chris Townsend, Manolo Hernández-Douen and yours truly sitting at the broadcasters tables. I had the chance of meeting the son of A’s owner Charlie Finley and his family.

My wife Gail night was made complete by a hug and kiss by A’s legend Rickey Henderson, in my opinion the best player ever in the history of the Oakland A’s. She thanked him for the great memories.

Rickey who is also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown looked as happy as ever, as well as Vida Blue and friends. With background music playing hits from the 1970’s and 1980’s everybody had a great time. Muchas gracias, and Kudos to Melissa Guzmán, A’s Manager Alumni and Family Relations.

Reminiscing with Rickey Henderson that first named “million dollar outfield” during his rookie season in 1979 when he played left field, Dwayne Murphy center, and Tony Armas right.

I was broadcasting A’s in 1979 and I told Rickey his stolen base record is safe, nobody in our lifetime is going to tie or break his record, Rickey responded, “they do not play like that now”. Which is true, who steals bases anymore?

Another ex-player (anonymous) told me “today’s game is boring, all they do is hit home runs”, when I said, yes and everybody hits .220 also, he smiled and say “you got it”.

The A’s “got it” Sunday night, celebrating their glorious past. When it comes to celebrating the history, baseball is the king of sports. The Library of Congress is the home of the largest baseball-related collection in the world. There are more books written about baseball than any other sport.

Just In:

Oakland A’s fans can now vote to help select a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Members of the Athletics Hall of Fame are also voted on by a committee of A’s front office personnel, Athletics Hall of Famers, and the media. Fans can cast a vote until Sunday, Sept. 11, at athletics.com/fans .

Former Oakland players on the 2023 fan ballot include Jose Canseco, Coco Crisp, Mark Ellis, Jason Giambi, Dick Green, Dave Henderson, Ramon Hernandez, Ken Holtzman, Rick Honeycutt, Tim Hudson, Carney Lansford, Mike Moore, Mark Mulder, Dwayne Murphy, Mike Norris, John “Blue Moon” Odom, Tony Phillips, Terry Steinbach, Gene Tenace, Miguel Tejada, Bob Welch, and Barry Zito.

The full Class of 2023 will be announced during A’s Fan Appreciation Weekend in September. Fans can vote now until Sunday, Sept. 11, at athletics.com/fans.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network and heard on flagship station Le Grande 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s coming off two game loss open up against Ohtani and Angels tonight at Coliseum

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Oakland A’s pitcher Adrian Martinez deals against the San Francisco Giants line up in the top of the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Aug 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 Allowing too many homers, and completely absent of hitting triples, the A’s were locked into their 2022 form on Sunday. Oh, and don’t dismiss the playing poorly at home at the Coliseum part as well.

#2 The Giants came across the Bay on life support, but left with a couple of deep breaths, after beating the hosts 6-4 on Sunday, and sweeping the brief, two-game Bay Bridge series affair.

#3 The A’s built momentum surrounding the All-Star break, winning 10 of 14, but that’s officially lost. They’ve dropped three straight, and six of eight following that two weeks of encouraging progress. 

#4 A’s Starter Adrian Martinez had Mike Yastrzemski in an 0-2 hole in the third inning when the first long ball was struck. Unfortunately, his pitch location on a potential strikeout pitch wasn’t near what it needed to be.

#5 The Los Angeles Angels and A’s open up a three game series at the Coliseum Monday night Angels starter Jose Suarez (3-4, 4.55) he’ll be opposed by A’s starter Cole Irvin (6-8, 4.40) a 6:40pm PDT first pitch.

Join Barbara Mason Mondays for the Oakland A’s podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Triple Bad: A’s fall 6-4 to the Giants, lose Bay series and set a frustrating ML record

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Allowing too many homers, and completely absent of hitting triples, the A’s were locked into their 2022 form on Sunday. Oh, and don’t dismiss the playing poorly at home at the Coliseum part as well.

The Giants came across the Bay on life support, but left with a couple of deep breaths, after beating the hosts 6-4 on Sunday, and sweeping the brief, two-game Bay Bridge series affair.

The A’s built momentum surrounding the All-Star break, winning 10 of 14, but that’s officially lost. They’ve dropped three straight, and six of eight following that two weeks of encouraging progress. Lately, the A’s have given up too many home runs, with three coming on Sunday, and a total of 13 homers allowed in the last three games.

Starter Adrian Martinez had Mike Yastrzemski in an 0-2 hole in the third inning when the first long ball was struck. Unfortunately, his pitch location on a potential strikeout pitch wasn’t near what it needed to be.

“It shows how slim the margin for error is,” catcher Sean Murphy said. “Those hurt.”

Reliever A.J. Puk was also in an advantageous 0-2 spot facing Thairo Estrada in the sixth, but he too caught to much of the plate with his next pitch, and the Giants’ lead increased to 4-1. Yastrzemski struck again in the eighth off Austin Pruitt, not on an 0-2 pitch, but that capped the A’s hat trick of bumbles.

Other than that, A’s pitching competed. Martinez picked it up, leaving the door open for another start for the prospect that was acquired from the Padres in the Sean Manaea deal.

“He was more in line. His change-up had a lot of depth to it,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Martinez. “His slider had more depth, it wasn’t side to side. I think he’s moving in the right direction.”

Pitching actually kept the A’s in it, as they sliced the deficit to 6-4 in the eighth when Seth Brown connected. Overall, the A’s limited the Giants to 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight base runners.

The A’s went a 69th consecutive game without a triple which is lengthiest stretch for any Major League club since 1901. The A’s set the AL record on Saturday, and surpassed the 2021 Mets on Sunday for eliminating a key piece of offense from their repertoire. Hitting just .216 as a team with a .276 on-base percentage has the A’s poised to break a few more records for offensive futility, which hopefully doesn’t come to pass. In winning 12 of their previous 20 prior to Sunday, the A’s hit .244 which shows a little improvement not only goes a long way, it could keep you out of the unsightly portions of the record book.

On Monday, the A’s draw the Angels which is significant in that it may be their last chance to avoid a last place finish in the AL West. Cole Irvin will face Anaheim’s Jose Suarez in the 6:40pm opener.

A’s HALL OF FAME CEREMONY:

Joe Rudi, Eric Chavez, Sal Bando, executive Keith Lieppman, clubhouse man Steve Vucinich and the late Ray Fosse were inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony. Present for the occasion were Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart, a subtle reminder of the better days for Oakland’s baseball jewel.

Oakland A’s report: Wade and Davis hit back to back home runs in Giants 4 run sixth to defeat A’s 7-3

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Oakland A’s starter Adam Oller delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)

San Francisco (52-55). 7. 11. 0

Oakland (41-67) 3.10.0

Saturday, August 6, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–This past Thursday night, I took in a game between the Modesto Nuts and the Stockton Ports (and incidentally misreported Stockton’s losing pitcher as Clark Cota when the loss went to Ports’ Ed Baram).

When I returned after midnight from the sweltering banks of the San Joaquin Delta to Oakland’s benign breezes, I began to muse about what it would be like if the big leagues followed the minor league model of a split season.

The A’s before this evening’s nationally televised contest with the San Francisco Giants had a horrendous record of 41-66. But if, like the California League, we wiped the slate clean at the season’s half-way point, Oakland would have a respectable mark of 15-11 in the second half and a decent shot at a playoff berth.

Not that I’m advocating for such a radical change; I’m no fan of the existing open door playoff system, and opening the door even wider would just make the situation worse. But it’s a pleasant thought….

Giant backers don’t have even that consolation. The team that won 107 games last season was 41-41, the definition of mediocrity, in the first half of 2022. At 51-55, they came to the Coliseum a 10-14 team for the season’s second half. It’s nothing for the Athletics´faithful to gloat about, but a bit of schadenfreude can be tonic in the world of fandom.

Game recap: In the end, the tardily rebounding Athletics were trounced by the faltering Giants to the tune of 7-3.

The green and gold sent Adam Oller, a 27 year old righthander, who himself was rather green; his season record of 1-4,7.88 also constituting his lifetime mark. He has commuted between Oakland and Las Vegas, returning here most recently on July 27 to defeat Houston for his first big league victory.

He was up against Carlos Rodón, who had somehow escaped the orange and black’s August 2 yard sale and faced the A’s with a mark of 9-6, 3.00 at game time.

The experienced 29 year old southpaw throws twice as many four seamers as sliders, and the two of them account for about 93% of his deliveries. The other 7% or so is made up of curves and changeups. There’s a more than 10 mph difference between his fastball and change of pace.

Before the game started, the Giants restored Brandon Crawford and Joc Pederson to active duty. Both were in the starting lineup for San Francisco. To make room for them on the roster, the orange and black DFA’d Dixon Machado and optioned David Villar to Sacramento.

The A’s rookie lasted five plus innings and surrendered four runs, all earned although one was posthumous. The Giants touched him for eight hits, one of which was a home run, and a walk. He threw 93 pitches, 31 of which were balls. He took the loss and now has a record of 1-5, 7.63.

The Giants’ veteran, on the other hand, allowed only one run in his 5-1/3 innings of work. It was earned and came on five hits. Rodón struck out three without issuing a free pass. He threw 98 pitches, 38 of them balls. He earned his tenth victory against six defeats, and his ERA dropped to 2.95.

Oller began unpropitiously. He got two quick strikes on each of his first two hitters, Pederson and Luis González, only to walk both of them. He settled down to retire Wilmer Flores and Brandon Belt. But then Mike Yastrzemski laid down a beautiful bunt between the mound and third to load the bases. Brandon Crawford followed by drawing a walk on, you guessed it, another full count, and when Joey Bart flew out to center to end the inning, San Francisco was leading 1-0.

Chad Pinder blasted a one out double just to the right on the Craftsman sign in the right center field, but they wasted that opportunity to even the score.

The Giants’ didn’t waste LaMonte Wade, Jr.’s lead off double against the State Farm sign above and a little to the left of where Pinder’s shot had bounced. After Tommy LaStella grounded out to second, Pederson notched his 44th RBI of the season with a single to left center, bringing Wade home with the run that brought SF’s advantage to 2-0.

The home team drew close in the third with Nick Allen opening the frame with a single to right and, after Jonah Bride flew out to center, taking second on Sean Pinder’s ground out to third. Sean Murphy then sent a sinking liner that fell to the grass in center for an RBI single that brought Oakland to within a run of the Giants.

Oller held the Giants in check through the fifth but gave up a lead off single to Bart in the sixth. The count went to 1-2 on Wade. Oller offered him a 93 mh four seamer and the Giants’ DH took it deep, 385 to right for his fourth dinger of the year, a two run blast that put the Giants up 4-1.

That was it for Oller. Kirby Snead relieved (if that’s the word) him, letting pinch hitting JD Davis take his first pitch, a 92 mph sinker, a full 437 feet into center. The back to back homers came on back to back pitches from two different pitchers. But the Giants weren’t done. Austin Slater hit for Pederson and walked and stole second, scoring on a two out single to right by Belt that left Oakland behind by five.

Submariner Tyler Rogers took over for Rodón with one down and no one on base in the home sixth. A two out double by Lowrie didn’t prevent Rogers from A’s off the board.

In spite of his ineffective job in the sixth frame. Snead still was on the mound when the Giants came to bat in the seventh. He looked good striking out Crawford. He didn’t look good yielding Bart’s second round tripper of the afternoon, a solo shot that travelled 406 feet into center field. It boosted the Giants’ catcher’s batting average to .213 and his HR total to 10. Bart certainly is on track to coming out of his long slump. He finished the day at .211.

The A’s trailed 7-1 when everyone had sung “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and Yuniór Marte was on the mound for SF. All he allowed was a base on balls to Nick Allen. Jarlín García held the Athletics to a swinging bunt single by Murphy in the eighth.

Austin Pruitt held the Giants scoreless on a walk in the eighth. Sam Selman did the same in the ninth.

Oakland showed some signs of life against García in their last turn at bat. Elvis Andrus hit a bouncer back to the mound that got past the Giant pitcher and that Flores couldn’t handle at second. Skye Bolt, who had pinch hit for Piscotty in the seventh, jolted a 94 mph four seamer 368 feet into left to close the gap to 7-3, where it stayed until the bitter end.

The A’s haven’t announced who will start for them in tomorrow’s 1:07 meeting with their cross bay rivals. The Giants will send Logan Webb (9-5, 3.20) to the mound.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Frustration building up SF has lost 11 of last 14

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon makes the start on Sat Aug 6, 2022 at the Oakland Coliseum against the Oakland A’s to open a two game series (NBC Bay Area photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Michael just how badly is the wild card slipping away from this team?

#2 If you had to point to any two things that have gone wrong in these last 11 out 14 games what would it be?’

#3 Is Gabe Kapler’s managing in question or part of the problem that the Giants are having?

#4 What do you make of the trading of gestures between Giants pitcher Jarin Garcia and Los Angeles Dodgers Mookie Betts causing Betts and James Outman to jaw at Garcia?

#5 Taking a look at the starting pitchers for this Saturday’s contest Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00) he’ll be opposed by A’s starter Adam Oller (1-4, 7.68) a 4:07 pm PDT first pitch at the Oakland Coliseum how do you see this series for the Giants?

Join Michael for the Giants Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s preview: A’s host Giants for brief two game series at Coliseum beginning Saturday night

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Oakland A’s slugger Ramon Laureano get congratulated upon returning to the Oakland dugout after hitting a two run home run against the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim on Thu Aug 4, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The annual Bay Bridge series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants resume this Saturday in Oakland. The team split the two-game series played at Oracle Park in late April.

Both Bay Area teams are not having a good season. The A’s are in a rebuild mode as they traded away three of the best pitchers. They sent Matt Olson to Atlanta and Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays. The team has the worst record in the American League.

The A’s, however, have played better since the All-Star break. Oakland won their last two games and are 6-4 in the last ten. The Giants, winners of 107 games last year, entered the season with high hopes.

They lost Buster Posey to retirement, and Kevin Gausman signed a free-agent deal with Toronto. The Giants had most of the players back for the 2022 season. In his third year at the helm, Giants’ manager Gabe Kapler has not seen his team play as well as they did last year.

The Giants are 51-55 and are in third place in the National League West Division. They currently trail the Philadelphia Phillies by six and 1/2 games in the race for the third Wild Card slot. The Giants have lost four in a row to the hated Dodgers and are 3-7 in their last ten games.

The Giants are hoping to get back on track this weekend in Oakland. They will send their best two pitchers to face the A’s. Lefty Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00 ERA) will pitch on Saturday. Righty Logan Webb (9-5, 3.20 ERA) will be on the mound on Sunday.

The A’s will counter with Adam Oller (1-4, 7.68 ERA). The A’s have not announced their starter for Sunday. There is speculation that the A’s will use one of the pitchers acquired in the trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the New York Yankees. The platers are Ken Waldichuk and J.P.Sears. Both are currently with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.

The Giants have a lot of familiar names on their roster. They won’t see Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, Thairo Estrada, or Joc Pedersen. All those players are on the IL. However, Brandon Belt will be at first base, as usual.

Belt has missed a lot of playing time this season to injury. Tommy La Stella or the versatile Wilmer Flores will play second. Dixon Machado will be the shortstop. J.D Davis, acquired from the New York Mets for Darrin Ruf, or rookie David Villar will be at third.

Luis Gonzalez will patrol left field for the Giants. Mike Yazstremski or Austin Slater will be in center. LaMonte Wade, Jr will play in right. Yaz or Slater can also play there if needed. The Giants have four players that can be the DH. La Stella, Flores, Davis, And Yermin Merceded will be inserted as the DH when needed.

The A’s big three power guys right now are Ramon Laureano, Sean Murphy, and Seth Brown. Brown and Murphy had two RBIs in the wild win over the Angels on Thursday. Laureano had four RBIs in the game.

The A’s are using Nick Allen, Jonah Bride, and Vimael Machin in three different infield spots as needed. Tony Kemp has played second base and left field for Oakland. Chad Pinder, Skye Bolt, and Stephen Piscotty have played in different outfield positions.

The outcome of the games will depend on the bullpens. Right now, the A’s pen has pitched well. The Giants are using Camilo Doval as the closer.

The A’s Zach Jackson earned a save Wednesday night against the A’s. He may not remain in that role as Dany Jimenez is off the IL. Jimenez pitched the eighth inning against the Angels Thursday. He struck out the side.

The A’s are expecting large crowds for the series. The teams love to beat each other and win bragging rights. It should be a fun weekend.

A’s win a wild one over LA ; Angels hit seven home runs and still lost 8-7

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By Jerry Feitelberg

An adage in baseball says, “you never know what is going to happen in a game.” The A’s and Angels played a wild one Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The Angels hit seven solo home runs and lost 8-7.

It was the sixth time in baseball history that a team has hit seven home runs in a game and lost. Angels fans left the stadium, shaking their heads in disbelief. How could this happen? Yet it did. The A’s offense produced six runs in the third and two in the fourth. The Angels’ bullpen allowed the a’s just one hit over the next five innings.

The Angels’ DH, Shohei Ohtani, started the homer parade by hitting his 23rd of the year to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead. Former A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki made it 2-0 in favor of LA when he blasted his third dinger of the year in the bottom of the second inning.

The A’s offense came to life in the top of the third. A’s second baseman Jonah Bride got things going with a single. Third baseman Vimael Machin reached on a fielder’s choice. Bride was out at second. Angels’ starter Janson Junk walked Nick Allen and Tony Kemp to load the bases.

Ramon Laureano doubled to drive in Machin and Allen. Sean Murphy doubled to drive in Kemp and Laureano. Seth Brown hit his 16th home run of the year to put the A’s ahead 6-2. The A’s sent 11 hitters to the plate in the third. Tayloe Ward led off the bottom of the third with his 14th big fly to make it 8-3.

The A’s put two more runs on the board in the fourth. With one out, Tony Kemp bunted for a single. Laureano homered to make it an 8-3 ball game. In the bottom of the fourth, Blackburn gave up a solo home run to the Angels’ left fielder Jo Adell. It was the first time in Blackburn’s career that he gave up four home runs in a game. The A’s led 8-4

Blackburn left the game after pitching five innings. Lefty Sam Moll was on the hill for Oakland. Angels’ first baseman Jared Walsh homered with one out to close the gap to 8-5. Lefty Kirby Snead was brought in to pitch the seventh.

He hit the first batter he faced with a pitch. He got Taylor Ward to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. The next hitter was Shohei Ohtani. Snead threw Ohtani a pitch that appeared to be about three inches inside. Ohtani turned on the pitch and sent the ball out of the park for his 24th of the year. It was now an 8-6 game.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought Dany Jimenez to pitch the eighth inning. Jimenez was making his first appearance since coming off the 10-day IL. How did he do? He struck out the side. Zach Jackson, who earned his third save of the year yesterday, had the task of getting the last three outs of the game. Jackson struck out Kurt Suzuki for the first out.

The next hitter, Mickey Moniak, recently acquired in a trade with the Phillies, hit his first home run as an Angel. It was the seventh solo Angel Home run. Jackson walked pinch-hitter, Max Stassi. Jackson struck out Ward for the second out.

Shohei Ohtani came to the plate as the potential winning run. Mark Kotsay brought the very tall A.J.Puk to pitch to Ohtani. It was a very tense moment in the game. The suspense ended when Ohtani popped out on Puk’s first pitch. The A’s win 8-7.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 41-66. Oakland ended the six-game road trip 3-3. The Angels dropped to 44-61. Paul Blackburn was the winning pitcher. His record is now 7-6. His line was five innings pitched, six hits, four runs, one walk, three strikeouts, and four home runs. The losing pitcher was Janson Junk. Junk is now 1-1.

The A’s line was eight runs, eight hits, and no errors. Ramon Laureano had a double, home run, and four RBIs. Sean Murphy drove in two, and Seth Brown’s 16th of the year put two more on the board for Oakland.
Shohei Ohtani had three hits for the Angels. He had a single and two home runs. It was the 11th time in his career that he had two homers in a game. The Line score for the Angels was seven runs, nine hits, and no errors.
The A’s are off on Friday. They return home to face the San Francisco Giants on Saturday and Sunday. Then, they face the Angels for three more games starting on Monday. Starting pitchers for Saturday’s game for San Francisco Carlos Rodon (9-6, 3.00) for Oakland (1-4, 7.68) 7:07 pm PDT first pitch.

The time of the game was 3:25. 23,849 fans watched nine balls fly out of the park as the A’s outlasted the Angels 8-7.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Will latest lawsuit be the one to stop A’s move to Howard Terminal?

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Oakland A’s team president David Kaval in green shirt said that the lawsuit filed by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association could stop the Howard Terminal project (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Bay Conservation and Development Commission who voted for the Howard Terminal project is now facing a lawsuit brought on by the East Oakland Stadium Alliance and Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, the Harbor Trucking Association and the California Trucking Association the plaintiffs say that the vote by the BCDC was too fast with not enough thought process going into the project.

#2 Pacific Merchant lawyer and vice president Mike Jacob said that the A’s are only interested in doing something fast where the plaintiffs want to do something right.

#3 MLB and David Kaval the A’s team president have made it clear if the A’s don’t get to move to Howard Terminal there headed to Las Vegas and Kaval stated that he has visited several potential sites and said that it’s easy to build in Vegas than in Oakland.

#4 Jerry, with the trades of Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino how much of a setback will it be for Oakland going forward.

#5 For today’s fourth and final contest in Anaheim going for the A’s Paul Blackburn (6-6, 4.15) and for the Angels Janson Junk (1-0, 0.00) a 12:07 pm PDT fist pitch.

Join Jerry for the A’s podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s get solid performance from Kaprielian down Angels 3-1

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Elvis Andrus (17) and Sean Murphy (12) share a forearm bash after Murphy’s two run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum as Ramon Luareano (22) looks on against the Los Angeles Angels at the Big A in Anaheim on Wed Aug 3, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s bounced back to beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. The A’s had to face the Angels’ ace, Shohei Ohtani. The young man from Japan entered the game with a record of 9-6 and an ERA of 2.81.

Ohtani was in the Angels’ lineup as the designated hitter. Ohtani is hitting .255 with 22 homers and 62 RBIs. The A’s sent James Kaprielian out to do the pitching for Oakland. Kaprielian got off to a slow start as he had to deal with a shoulder issue early in the season. He was 0-5 entering July. In July, he was 2-0 with an ERA of 1.03.

His record for the season before Wednesday’s game was 2-5 with an ERA of 4.50. The smart money probably would be putting money on Ohtani to win the game.

Kaprielian had other ideas and outpitched Ohtani to win his third game of the year. Kaprielian went five and 1/3rd innings and allowed just one run. Ohtani was the losing pitcher. Ohtani was touched for three runs as he absorbed his seventh loss of the season.

The A’s drew first blood in the top of the fourth. Ramon Laureano reached safely on Angels’ third baseman Luis Rengifo’s throwing error. Laureano went to second on a wild pitcher. A’s catcher Sean Murphy singled to drive in Laureano with the A’s first run.

The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Their center-fielder, Magneuris Sierra, led off the inning with a single. Kaprielian retired David Fletcher on a ground-out. Sierra advanced to second on the play.

Kaprielian retired Shohei Ohtani on another ground-out. Sierra motored to third on the play. Luis Rengifo atoned for an error in the previous inning by hitting a double to drive in Sierra with the tying run. The score was 1-1 after five complete.

The A’s put two more runs on the board in the top of the sixth. Ramon Laureano led off the sixth with a single. The next hitter, Sean Murphy, blasted his 13th home run over the fence in left field to put the A’s in the lead 3-1. Ohtani retired the next two hitters. He walked Jed Lowrie and gave up a single to Chad Pinder. Angels’ manager Phil Nevin brought Aaron Loup to get the final out of the inning.

Neither team scored after the sixth inning. The A’s used Sam Moll to finish the sixth, A.J.Puk in the seventh, Domingo Acevedo in the eighth, and Zach Jackson earned his third save by setting the Angels down 1-2-3 in the ninth. The A’ win 3-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 40-66. The Angels fall to 44-60. 

Kaprielian won his third game of the season. He is now 3-5. His line was five and 1/3rd innings, one run, six hits, and walked one and four strikeouts. Kaprielian threw 83 pitches. Ohtani was the losing pitcher. His record is 9-7. Ohtani has lost his last three starts.

His line was five and 2/3rds innings of work. He allowed seven hits, three runs(two earned), one walk, and seven strikeouts. Ohtani did not stay in the game as the DH even though he was done pitching. 

The hitting star for Oakland was Sean Murphy. Murph had a single and a home run. He drove in all three Oakland runs.

The teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The game will start at 1:07 pm.

Paul Blackburn (6-6, 4.15) will go for Oakland. Janson Junk (1-0, 0.00) pitches for the Angels.

The time of the game was 3:08. 25,190 fans watched as the A’s beat the Angels 3-1.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: New Lawsuit Against Howard Terminal

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Mr. Mike Jacob (in photo), vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association which represents port workers, said the San Francisco Bay Area Conservation and Development commission failed to properly evaluate the impacts of the project before they voted in favor of the A’s request. (photo from pmsaship.com)

New Lawsuit Against Howard Terminal

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–This June the San Francisco Bay Area Conservation and Development approved the Howard Terminal project, ruling it will not negatively affect the Port of Oakland Operations.

Now the group of Port operators and trucking disagree with the June ruling claiming the commission did not adequately assess the environmental impact of the project as mandatory by law.

In a recent statement Mr. Mike Jacob, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association which represents port workers, said the San Francisco Bay Area Conservation and Development commission failed to properly evaluate the impacts of the project before they voted in favor of the A’s request. Mr.Jacob claims the commission should have allowed their advisory group to do further analysis on their recommendation prior to taking a vote.

How many lawsuits now?

Three (including this one) of the legal opposition to the project is coming from an argument that the project has not received the proper level of analysis about the environmental impact. That is the key to this most recent lawsuit. According to the law, all these lawsuits need to be decided within 270 days of the lawsuit being filed. The opposition to Howard Terminal is basically claiming that not enough environmental studies have been done and that more is needed.

How do the courts consider this lawsuit? Depends on how the courts interpret an evaluation of the economic impact of the project.

This November 8 the elections for Mayor and other positions in the Oakland government. Do not be surprised if we still talking about the Howard Terminal project by then.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play announcer on the Oakland A’s flagship station Le Grande KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com