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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s completed the three-game sweep over the Baltimore Orioles by beating them 8-3 at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday.

The O’s have now lost eight in a row, and the team is floundering at the bottom of the AL with a record of 21-53. They seem to be channeling the 2013 Houston Astros. The Astros, in their first year in the AL, lost over 100 games. They made great draft selections and made it to the top of the baseball world in 2017 when they won their first World Series. The O’s were not a good team last year, and they are on the same path this year. To make matters worse, the O’s best player, Trey Mancini, was hit on his left elbow with a 92-MPH sinker thrown by Chris Bassitt. Mancini left the game, and the MRI showed that he had an elbow contusion.

Bassitt pitched very well Wednesday afternoon. Bassitt went 5 and 2/3rds innings and allowed two hits and two runs, Bassitt almost came out of the game in the first inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin noticed that something might be wrong with Bassitt’s finger. Bassitt had a loose piece of skin, and that hampered his throwing motion. The A’s trainer came out and clipped off the skin.

“I felt a whole lot better than I have the last couple of outings,” Bassitt said. “For a couple outings, I went into this weird mode where I was trying to throw strikes, and that’s not me. I’m just trying to throw a fastball by you 80 times a game.”

Bassitt retired 16 of the 18 hitters he faced and did not allow a hit until Jonathan Villar singled with one out in the sixth.

The A’s put three runs on the board in the fifth, one in the sixth, and four in the seventh. Josh Phegley homered with two on to put the A’s ahead 3-0 after five complete. The Orioles scored two in the top of the sixth. The A’s responded with one in their half of the inning. The O’s scored one in the top of the seventh to make it 4-3.

The A’s put the game out of reach when they scored four times off O’s reliever Shaun Armstrong. The A’s win 8-3.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 39-36. The O’s drop to 21-53. The O’s have also lost eight in a row.

The A’s hitting stars were Josh Phegley with a three-run blast, Stephen Piscotty with two doubles, and Marcus Semien with two hits to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. Bassitt is now 4-3 for the year and lefty Josh Rogers is 0-1. Jimmy Yacabonis started for the O’s and went two innings before giving way to Rogers.

Up Next: The A’s begin a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday night in Oakland. The A’s won two out of three from the Rays last weekend in Tampa Bay. The Rays were swept by the Yankees in New York and are now 3 1/2 games behind New York for first place in the AL East.

Frankie Montas (9-2, 2.85 ERA) will go for the A’s, and he will be opposed by the crafty right-handed veteran pitcher Charlie Morton. Morton beat the A’s last week in Tampa. Morton is 8-1 and has an ERA of just 2.37. Morton lost his first game to the Angels last week. Morton is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.27 in six career starts against the A’s.

Game time will be at 7:07 pm.

The A’s will be celebrating African American Heritage night, and fans will receive an Oakland Larks replica cap.

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s bats came alive Tuesday night as they pummeled the Baltimore Orioles 16-2. The A’s led the whole way. A’s starter Brett Anderson was in cruise control until the top of the fifth. Anderson had allowed the O’s just one hit in his first four innings of work. The O’s scored two in the fifth to make it a 4-2 game. The roof came crashing down on them in the bottom of the sixth when the A’s scored 10 runs. They had three homers in the inning, and the game was just about over as they led the O’s 14-2. The A’s tacked on two more in the eighth and 14,310 fans went home very happy.

The A’s drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, A’s catcher Beau Taylor, hitting from the left side, blasted his first career home run to put the A’s on the board. The Green and Gold led 1-0 after three.

The A’s added three more in the fourth. First baseman Matt Olson led off with a booming double off the wall in left field. Orioles’ pitcher Gabriel Ynoa hit Khris Davis with a pitch to put men on at first and second with no out. The next hitter, Ramon Laureano, who robbed former Athletic Renato Nunez of an extra-base hit in deep center field, hit his 11th dinger of the year to drive in Olson and Davis. The A’s now led 4-0.

The O’s cut the deficit to two in the top of the fifth. Brett Anderson, who had given up just one hit in the first four innings, was burned by Orioles’ second baseman, Jonathan Villar. Villar sent Anderson’s pitch over the wall in center field wall for the O’s first run. Keon Broxton followed with a single and then stole second to get into scoring position. Orioles’ third baseman Rio Ruiz hit a sharp ground ball that was fielded by Marcus Semien. Semien tried to nail Broxton at third, but his throw got by Matt Chapman at third. Broxton scored, and Ruiz ended up at second base. Only one run was earned. The A’s still led 4-2.

The A’s blew the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth. They sent thirteen men to the plate. They had eight hits, including a two-run blast and two three-run round trippers as they scored 10 times. Three runs were earned, and seven were unearned. Robbie Grossman hit the two-run blast and Khris Davis and Stephen Piscotty each hit a three-run job. Marcus Semien drove in a run with a triple to extend his hitting streak to fifteen games.

The A’s scored two more in the eighth when Chad Pinder hit a pinch-hit home run with a man on board to make it 16-2.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 38-36. The O’s fell to 21-52. They have the worst record in the American League East.

Brett Anderson improved to 7-4 and O’s starter Gabriel Ynoa dropped to 0-4.

The A’s hit six home runs in the game. It was the first time at the Coliseum since September 2003 when they did it against the Los Angeles Angels.

Up Next: The A’s conclude the three-game series against the O’s Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum. Chris Bassitt will pitch for the A’s, and the O’s have not announced their starter. Game time is at 12:37 pm.