MLB podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Covid 19 hits Reds Greene out for 7 days; Phils add Suarez and Pache to expanded roster; plus more news

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Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene works against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning Wed Aug 30, 2023 at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Greene was placed on the seven day Covid 19 list by the Reds on Fri Sep 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the MLB podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Covid 19 has hit Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene and he has been placed on the seven day Covid list with two other Reds pitchers Ben Lively and Fernando Cruz. Covid 19 cases have been on the rise and it was recommended that vaccines should be taken. The Reds were going good how does loosing Greene, Lively and Cruz impact the Reds.

#2 Stephen, Friday was the first day of the MLB expanded roster as the Philadelphia Phillies added left handed pitcher Ranger Suarez and outfielder Cristan Pache. Suarez had been out 15 days with a right hamstring strain and Pache had been out on the ten day IL with right elbow irritation. The Phils are in the hunt and have to be happy to get Suarez and Pache back on the active roster.

#3 The Los Angeles Angels a club that you will be seeing a little bit later tonight have called up six players to fill open positions infielder Kyren Paris, left hand pitcher Kolton Ingram, right hand pitchers Jimmy Herget, Gerardo Reyes, and Andrew Wantz, and infielder Michael Stefanic. The Angels replaced six players who were place on waivers.

#4 The Cleveland Guardians wasted no time they grabbed three of the waived players from the Angels, left handers Lucas Giolito and Matt Moore, and Rey Lopez. The Cincinnati Reds took outfielder Hunter Renfroe and pitcher Dominic Leone was picked up by the Seattle Mariners.

#5 MLB has opted to keep the pitch clock rules for the 2023 post season meaning the pitcher and the batter will be obligated to abide by the same time frame as they did during the 2023 regular season. MLB will not use the ghost runner for the post season.

Join Stephen Ruderman for the MLB podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Wild week for Braves Aucna Jr as he joins the 30-60 club; Angels mailing it in; plus more news

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Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr., right, hits a grand slam as Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith watches during the second inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thu Aug 31, 2023 (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What a week it’s been for Ronald Acuna Jr he was attacked and thrown down by two Colorado Rockies fans at Coors Field (he came out of it unscathed), he got married, and now he’s a member of the 30-60 club, Acuna also hit a grand slam home run at Dodger Stadium on Thursday.

#2 The Los Angeles Angels are mailing it in, they waived five players and still couldn’t get under the luxury tax threshold. The Angels took a gamble by waving the five players assuming they all get picked up but left fielder Randal Grichuk was not picked up and the Angels payroll is separating them from the other big spending clubs to the tune of $233 million.

#3 Evidence further showing the Angels are mailing it in they completely fell apart against the Oakland A’s on Friday night with a lack of hitting production and the A’s capitalized on Angels pitching with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.

#4 The Angels aren’t selling themselves on keeping superstar Shohei Ohtani whose been relegated to designated hitter after suffering his UCL injury and could end up getting a second Tommy John surgery. The A’s silenced his bat pretty much on Friday night.

#5 Amaury, the heat is getting turned up on Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco whose being accused of having a social media relationship with a 14 year. A second minor aged girl had said that she had a relationship with Franco since the Jul 17th accusation from the 14 year old which was filed weeks before the story became public. A third girl has come forward and also said she was in a relationship with Franco. The legal age of consent in the Dominican Republic is 18 years of age. Franco has not played with the Rays since Aug 12th right here in Oakland. A special prosecutor for the Dominican Republic is investigating.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice of the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford defeats Hawaii 37-24 in Honolulu

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Photo credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images. Stanford running back E.J. Smith.

By: Mary Anne

The Stanford Cardinal said “Aloha” to the 2023 NCAA season with a game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors under a new head coach, Troy Taylor, also known as Stanford’s 35th head coach in program history. Stanford defeated Hawaii 37-24 at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex on Friday night and said “Mahalo” for their first win of the season. Stanford’s now 1-0, while Hawaii’s now 0-2.

In the wake of the deadly Maui wildfires, Stanford wore Maui decals on their helmets for Friday’s game, and Hawaii initiated a Maui relief drive and collected non-perishable goods as part of a previously scheduled fan fest just days ago. A moment of silence was held to remember the Maui wildfire victims before kickoff.

After the opening kickoff, the Troy Taylor era was officially underway, and the Cardinal scored first. E.J. Smith rushed up the middle for a 1-yard gain for the rushing touchdown. Joshua Karty kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 7:25 left in the first quarter.

Just 49 seconds into the second quarter, Hawaii tied the game 7-7. Pofele Ashlock caught a 7-yard reception thrown by Brayden Schager for the passing touchdown. Matthew Shipley kicked the extra point for a 7-7 tie at 14:11.

The Cardinal responded a little over two minutes later. Benjamin Yurosek caught a 32-yard reception thrown by Ashton Daniels for the passing touchdown. Joshua Karty kicked the extra point for a 14-7 lead at 12:24.

The Cardinal extended their lead late in the second quarter. Bryce Farrell rushed for a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Joshua Karty kicked the extra point for a 21-7 lead with 4:25 left in the second.

Brayden Schager threw a 33-yard pass deep to the right to Karsyn Pupunu. The play was under review, and after further review, the ruling of a completed pass stood, and Hawaii’s 1st and 10 remained. Michael Shipley kicked a 32-yard field goal to cut the Cardinal’s lead to 21-10 at 0:00.

The Cardinal brought a 21-7 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half.

The Cardinal scored first to open the second half. Joshua Karty kicked a 25-yard field goal for a 24-10 lead at 11:07.

The Rainbow Warriors scored late in the third quarter. Steven McBride caught a 24-yard reception thrown by Brayden Schager for the passing touchdown. Rainbow Warriors head coach Timmy Chang attempted a two-point conversion, but it was no good. Hawaii cut Stanford’s lead to 27-16 at 14:52.

The Cardinal extended their lead midway through the fourth quarter. Joshua Karty kicked a 46-yard field goal for a 30-16 lead with 9:15 left in the fourth.

The Cardinal expanded their lead late in the fourth quarter. John Humphreys caught a 13-yard reception thrown by Ashton Daniels for the passing touchdown. Joshua Karty kicked the extra point for a 37-16 lead with 5:30 left in the fourth.

The Rainbow Warriors scored with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter. Pofele Ashlock caught a 16-yard reception thrown by Brayden Schager for the passing touchdown. Dalen Morris rushed the football for a successful 2-point conversion and cut the Cardinal’s lead 37-24 with 1:08 left in the fourth, but it was too little, too late.

Notes
Stanford accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in August 2024.

Up Next
Stanford will take on the No. 6 USC Trojans on Saturday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m. Pacific.

Padres Return Favor Beating Giants 7-3

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San Diego Padres’ Juan Soto, right, celebrates with third base coach Matt Williams after hitting a home run during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park in San Diego on Fri Sep 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Diego Padres (63-73) turned the tables on the San Francisco Giants (70-65) with a 7-3 win on Friday night at Petco Park in San Diego. The Giants clobbered the Padres on Thursday night 7-2 in game one of the series.

The Giants were the first team up on the scoreboard when Wilmer Flores hit a solo home run in the first inning for a 1-0 lead.

The Padres answered in not only the bottom of the first inning but in the second and third innings. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run home run followed by a Juan Soto solo home run in the first inning taking a 3-1 lead and San Diego was off and running.

The Padres added another run in the second inning taking a 4-1 lead. Trent Grisham singled Luis Campusano home. San Diego did not take their foot off the pedal scoring a couple more runs in the third inning extending their lead to 6-1.

San Francisco started to make a bit of noise scoring one run in the fourth inning when Brandon Crawford sacrificed and Patrick Bailey scored. The score now stood at 6-2 and the Giants were hoping to get their offense in this game going.

Through six innings they had six hits and they did load the bases in the sixth inning with 2 outs and were looking at a golden opportunity to tighten up this game. The Giants were unable to take advantage and add a few more runs to the score and the 6-2 score remained going into the bottom of the sixth. Leaving these runners stranded in the sixth could possibly have a lot to do with the outcome of this game.

San Diego added another run in the bottom of the sixth when Thairo Estrada had a fielding error and Tatis Jr. scored from third base. The Padres now led 7-2.

San Francisco was struggling on the mound from the start. Tristan Beck went 2.2 innings and gave up nine hits (two of them home runs) and six runs with no strikeouts. Alex Wood would relieve Beck in the third inning allowing 3 hits and no runs. He had at least stopped the bleeding through the next three innings.

This game would go into the eighth inning with San Diego still leading 7-2 and San Francisco was down to two innings left to make a move in this game. They were running out of time.

The Giants got something going in the ninth inning. Estrada singled followed by a Crawford single and San Francisco had two runners on base with no outs. Pinch hitter Blake Sabol was hit by a pitch and once again the Giants had the bases loaded.

The next at bat LaMonte Wade Jr. was also hit and the Padres walked in a run. San Diego was having a heck of a time closing out this game. After the walk-in run, the Padres pulled a double play and finished off this game 7-3

Giants post game notes: Thursday night the Giants decisively beat the Padres by the score of 7-2. San Francisco led 7-0 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. The Giants put out a great offensive effort and couldn’t get anymore of that same run production as they had in Thursday’s game in Friday night’s game two. The Padres on the other hand were looking for some payback and it was looking much like Thursday night’s game, the only caveat was that it was the Padres this time who took the early lead and after three innings had a 6-1 lead.

In Saturday’s game three the Giants will have two left-handers going at each other. Kyle Harrison will take the mound for San Francisco after a solid game in his debut at Oracle last Monday night. He was dominant in that game striking out the first five batters he faced. He’s 1-0 and ERA is 1.86. The Padres are going with Blake Snell with a 11-9 win/loss record and a 2.60 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 PM.

A’s kick off home series against Angels with offensive explosion 9-2

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Photo courtesy of Oakland Athletics Twitter. Ruiz, Butler, and Rooker celebrate in center field their victory over the Angels.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

OAKLAND- The A’s started their three-game home series against the Angels on a great note with a 9-2 win.

Tonight for the A’s was Glen Burke pride night at the coliseum and the attendance was 12,073.

Getting the start for the A’s was J.P. Sears who heading into this game had a 2-11 record and 4.73 era. While the Angels had Patrick Sandoval get the start who coming had a 7-10 record with a 3.89 era.

Making his major league debut tonight for the Angels at shortstop was 21 year-old Kyren Paris. He was drafted in 2019 and was picked in the second round at 55th overall.

The first went by smoothly for Sandoval while Sears had some troubles as he gave up a double and walked one but was able to get out of the inning allowing no runs.

Quickly though Sandoval found his pitch count getting high as by the end of the third inning he had already thrown 63 pitches. That pitch count was indicative of a lot of early at bats that consistently went to full counts and occasionally resulted in walks given up.

The defense for the A’s was clicking early as they turned two double plays before the fifth inning had even occurred.

The fourth saw Oaklands offense come alive as Brent Rooker lead things off with a double. Jordan Diaz followed that up with a single putting runners on the corners with only one out. The other DÍaz got a double bringing home Rooker and getting the A’s on the board. The momentum didn’t stop there as Nick Allen got another run in on a sac fly and Esteury Ruiz singled putting runners on the corners once again.

After the hit by Ruiz that ended the night for Sandoval who was replaced by Jimmy Herget. The stat-line for Sandoval is probably one he’ll want to forget as he only went 3.2 innings giving up five hits, five earned runs, and three walks.

Herget wasn’t able to stop the bleeding as Zack Gelof kept the lineup moving with a two-run double making it 5-0. Trying to keep adding on Ryan Noda came in to pinch hit for Carlos Pérez but he ended up lining out to end the fourth. Noda would stay in taking Pérez’s spot at first base.

The Angels in the sixth made another pitching change as Gerardo Reyes came in to replace Herget who was only making his sixth appearance of the season.

In the following inning the A’s made a change on the mound as well as Lucas Erceg came in making his 41st appearance. Unlike Sandoval, Sears had a stellar outing pitching six innings, giving up no earned runs, and striking out three. Erceg also got some help from the defense as they turned another double play their third of the game.

Looking for insurance the A’s got another run from Jordan Diaz who made it 6-0 with a double. The run came in the seventh with Jamie Barria pitching now for the Halos.

The eighth would see another new pitcher as Sean Newcomb came in to pitch for the A’s who was making only his fourth appearance of the season.

Newcomb would run into some trouble as Shohei Ohtani reached on a pitch-clock violation and then Brandon Drury got a double making it 6-1.

With Barria still on the mound for the Angels Allen got a single and then Ruiz absolutely crushed a 2-0 pitch to left field making it 8-1. It was Ruiz’s third home run of the season and exited the field at 104.1 mph. A Gelof double kept things going and Noda followed it up with a double of his own extending their lead to 9-1.

To close things out the A’s called on Spencer Patton and the first batter he faced took him deep to left field as Tyler O’Hoppe got his sixth home run of the season. Patton was able to fight through the early mistake and closed the inning out giving up only the one run.

Of note tonight was Jordan Diaz who went 3-4 with an rbi and Ruiz who went 3-5 with two rbis and a home run. Getting the win was J.P. Sears which improves his record to 3-11 and Sandoval took the loss bringing his record to 7-11.

The second game of this home series against the Angels happens tomorrow at 1:07 p.m.

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: Oakland Mayor wants to keep A’s name and wants an expansion team in exchange for lease extension

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Oakland Coliseum could be the home of the Oakland A’s from 2025-2027 if they can’t land either at Oracle Park in San Francisco or at the Las Vegas Ballpark while their new park at the Tropicana on the Las Vegas strip is under construction (AP file photo)

On the A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, the Oakland A’s will still be at the Oakland Coliseum next season, the Nevada Independent reported that the A’s could make an early leap for Las Vegas but that has not been determined yet. The A’s are considering many venue options one of them is using their minor league facility in Vegas which the Aviators are using. A’s president David Kaval that there needs to be upgrades and the A’s might re-think using the Aviators 10,000 seat facility.

#2 The A’s reportedly have explored playing at the Oakland Coliseum until their new ballpark at the Tropicana on the strip is ready. There in lies the problem as Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao wants some concessions before the A’s get committed to the Coliseum as a lame duck team, one is the city of Oakland keeps the team name A’s and MLB commits to expanding to Oakland when expansion opens up.

#3 Kaval said that the decision of where the A’s will play after 2024 is totally up to MLB Commissioner and Rob Manfred. Kaval did say that the A’s have looked at three locations Oracle Park in San Francisco and share the park with the Giants, Aviators Park/Las Vegas ballpark in Vegas, and the Oakland Coliseum.

#4 Some have said that it’s a bad idea for the A’s to play at Aviators park because it becomes a spoiler to the A’s 2028 arrival and it kind of blows the hype of the team after being there for three years in the making and sharing the ballpark with the Giants might not be a good idea because that’s a lot of wear on the turf for 162 games.

#5 Staying at the Oakland Coliseum from 2025-2027 might be the best place and they might as well finish up what they started and visiting teams have said they want to play in Major League facility rather than playing in a minor league facility like Las Vegas.

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

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s open series with Ohtani and Angels tonight at Coliseum

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Shohei Ohtani returns with the Los Angeles Angels to face the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum beginning Fri Sep 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s returned home from a seven-game road trip to Chicago and Seattle. The A’s won three and lost four. 

#2 The A’s split the four-game set with a Chicago White Sox team in turmoil. The Sox fired their team’s president and general manager. There were two women who were shot on Friday when the A’s opened the series in Chicago, one got hit in the abdomen and the other shot in the leg neither suffered life threatening injuries.

#3 The A’s lost two games to the red-hot Seattle Mariners. Two of the games were very competitive. The A’s won 3-1 on Tuesday and lost 5-4 on Wednesday. The M’s took game three by a run it was a close contest but the M’s as they always do held off the A’s to take the series.

#4 Up next for the A’s is the visiting Los Angeles Angels tonight at the Oakland Coliseum. The Angels had high hopes at the start of the season. Their roster includes two superstars, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Trout, a three-time AL MVP, has lost playing time the last couple of years due to injury. Trout, again his year, has been hit with another injury.

#5 The Angels will send Patrick Sandoval to the mound Friday night to face the A’s. Sandoval is 7-10 with a 3.95 ERA. The A’s will counter with J.P.Sears. Sears is having a tough season. His record is 2-11 and a 4.80 ERA a 6:40pm PT first pitch.

Join Jeremiah Salmonson each Friday for the Oakland A’s podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants Unload On Padres 7-2; SF’s Yastrzemski slugs a HR with two RBIs

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San Francisco Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski, right, celebrates with third base coach Mark Hallberg after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (70-64) took on the San Diego Padres (62-73) Thursday night starting a four game series and having had some successful games they kept it going with a 7-2 win at Petco Park in San Diego.

The Giants have a lot on their plate right now. While they are in second place in the NL West and trail the Los Angels Dodgers by 14 games, the Dodgers are not their problem right now. It’s more like the Phillies, the Cubs, the Reds , the Marlins and the Diamondbacks.

Six contenders all vying for a wild card spot. San Francisco has been struggling for awhile now. It wasn’t really that long ago that the Giants trailed the Dodgers by a single game. So the Giants have some work to do and it needs to happen sooner rather than later with roughly 29 games left in the regular season.

Thursday game recap: San Francisco went into this game with purpose and determination. Neither team scored in the first two innings but the Giants were first up on the board in the third inning scoring not only early but often. When the dust had settled San Francisco had a 6-0 lead. The Giants hit a slew of singles in the inning.

Joc Pederson singled LaMonte Wade Jr. home for the first run of the inning taking a 1-0 lead and the hits just kept on coming. Mike Yastrzemski singled Thairo Estrada home. Joc Pederson scored on a Padre error followed by another single, a bunt single off the bat of Wade Meckler and Yastrzemski scored.

Blake Sabol got another run on the board when he doubled and J.D. Davis scored. They would finish off the inning when Casey Schmitt sacrificed and Meckler scored for an amazing offensive inning leading 6-0. San Francisco would add one more run when Mike Yastrzemski homered in the fifth inning, a solo shot and a 7-0 Giants lead.

Through four innings the Padres were looking for their first hit. Starting pitcher for San Francisco Jakob Junis went four innings not allowing a single hit with three strikeouts. Sean Manea would relieve Junis in the fifth inning.

Through six innings the Padres had only managed two hits. Manea did get into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the sixth loading the bases. Manea made the pitches when he needed to striking out Garrett Cooper for the third out of the inning and it was on to the seventh inning.

The Padres got a couple of base runners in the bottom of the eighth inning threatening to deny the shut out. San Diego did get on the board in the inning, a single run. Garrett Cooper doubled and Juan Soto scored for a 7-1 Giants lead.

Scott Alexander came to the mound to try and close out this game. The Padres were able to score one run but that would be all they got. San Francisco will be back on the field in game two Friday night with first pitch at 6:40 PM.

Starting pitchers for San Francisco TBA and for San Diego Michael Wacha (10-2 ERA 2.84) first pitch 6:40pm PT.

Aces snap two game losing streak, beat Mystics, 84-75

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Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson (22) guards Mytics’ Elena Delle Donne (11) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay on Thursday, August 31, 2023. (Shawn McCullough/Sports Radio Service)

By Shawn McCullough

The Aces got back on the winning track with an 84-75 win over the Washington Mystics at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“We got tired of losing,” said forward A’ja Wilson. “It feels like we have lost 30 in a row.”

Wilson led the Aces with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

“My teammates just found me in spots,” said Wilson. “I was just going with the flow and my teammates helped me.”

Chelsea Gray scored 21 points, while guard Kelsey Plum registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“She [Plum] has multiple ways to impact the game,” said head coach Becky Hammon. “She was just dicing people and had all the right reads tonight.”

The Aces recently have struggled, losing three of their last five games.

“Us going through this roller coaster of games and weathering the storm, helps us to get ready for playoffs,” said Wilson.

With the win, the Aces improved to 31-6 on the season heading into their next game at home on Saturday against the Seattle Storm.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

The Aces shot 46.8% from the field.
Las Vegas went 10 for 28 from three-point range.
The Mystics out-rebounded the Aces, 37-33.

Game Starters:

C – 41 Kiah Stokes
F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum
G – 12 Chelsea Gray

Aces Injury Report:

Candace Parker, Out – Foot

Oakland A’s Preview: A’s open series against Los Angeles Angels at Coliseum Friday night

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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher JP Sears will get the start against the Los Angeles Angels on Fri Sep 1, 2023 at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s returned home from a seven-game road trip to Chicago and Seattle. The A’s won three and lost four. They split the four-game set with a Chicago White Sox team in turmoil. The Sox fired their team’s president and general manager.

The A’s lost two games to the red-hot Seattle Mariners. Two of the games were very competitive. The A’s won 3-1 on Tuesday and lost 5-4 on Wednesday. The A’s will host another troubled franchise, the Los Angeles Angels, for three games starting Friday night.

The Angels had high hopes at the start of the season. Their roster includes two superstars, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Trout, a three-time AL MVP, has lost playing time the last couple of years due to injury. Trout, again his year, has been hit with another injury.

Trout suffered a broken hamate bone and has not fully recovered. He is due back on September 15th. Shohei Ohtani, the most remarkable player in baseball, also suffered an injury. Ohtani is both a pitcher and a designated hitter.

Ohtani is in line for another AL MVP and Cy Young awards. However, it is unlikely that Ohtani will win the Cy Young trophy as he suffered an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament, and he will not pitch again this year.

Ohtani, as a designated hitter, leads the American League with 44 home runs and has driven in 95. Ohtani had Tommy John surgery a few years ago, and no decision has been made regarding a second surgery.

The Angels made news yesterday as they placed six players on waivers. Two of the six came to the Angels at the trade deadline. It was clear that these moves were a salary dump. Five of the six players were claimed by other teams.

The Cleveland Guardians claimed pitchers Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore, and Reynaldo Lopez. Giolito came to the Angels from the White Sox at the trade deadline. The Cincinnati Reds claimed outfielder Hunter Renfroe. The other player placed on waivers, Randal Grichuk, was not selected by another team and remains with the Angels.

The A’s are 2-5 against the Angels this year. The A’s met the Angels in the opening series of the 2023 season. The teams have yet to meet since April 27th. A lot of things have happened to both teams in that interval.

The A’s are in the midst of a rebuild. Their starting rotation is a work in progress. The A’s have used Kyle Muller, Hohan Harris, and Mason Miller in the rotation. Muller has been with the A’s and the Tripe-A LAs Vegas Aviators this year.

The same goes for Harris. Miller was injured and may return to the club in September. The current rotation of Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk, J.P. Sears, Paul Blackburn, and Zach Neal is a study of mediocrity. Neal is the only pitcher with a winning record. 1-0. Hardly sensational.

The A’s bullpen is also a work in progress. A’s closer, Trevor May, has been reliable. Austin Pruitt did a good job but is out for the season with an injury.

There are some bright spots on the A’s roster. Rookie second baseman Zack Gelof has played well. Gelof has hit ten homers in his short time with the A’s. His average has dropped slightly, but he is a good hitter and has done well at second base.

Catcher Shea Langeliers does not hit for average, but he has hit four homers in his last six games. He is on track to finish the season with 20 or more home runs. First baseman Ryan Noda has a great eye at the plate. Noda is a leader in the league by drawing walks and has a good on-base percentage.

Outfielders Esteury Ruiz and Lawrence Butler have played well. Ruiz leads the AL in stolen bases. Ruiz stole two bases Wednesday against the Mariners. He has stolen 53 this season. Butler hit his second big league home run in the loss to Seattle on Wednesday.

Butler is 22 years -old and has a tremendous upside to his game. Third baseman Jordan Diaz is another player who looks to be with the A’s for a while. Outfielder Brent Rooker is having a career year, and the A’s will want to keep him on the roster.

The Angels will send Patrick Sandoval to the mound Friday night to face the A’s. Sandoval is 7-10 with a 3.95 ERA. The A’s will counter with J.P.Sears. Sears is having a tough season. His record is 2-11 and a 4.80 ERA. Sears has given up too many gopher balls this season. He is among the leaders in home runs allowed with 31. Sears pitches well for about three innings before the roof caves in on him.

Some Angel players who will perform this weekend were missing from the roster at the start of the season. Nolan Schanuel will be at first base. Schanuel has played ten games and is hitting. 324. Mike Moustakas will be at third base, filling in for the injured Anthony Rendon. Rendon, signed as a free agent after 2019, has been a disappointment.

It will be interesting to see if the A’s can win the series this weekend. The Angels are going to finish in fourth place in the AL West. The A’s will be in last place in the division. A’s skipper Mark Kotsay always has his team primed to play their best irrespective of the place in the standings. The Angels’ manager, Phil Nevin, also wants his players to give 100%. It will be interesting to see how the series goes this weekend.