Chapman’s two home runs help propel A’s 9-3 win over Tigers at Comerica Park

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Oakland A’s Matt Chapman hits a top of the third inning home run against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit in the first of a three game series on Tue Aug 31, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (73-59) started a six-game road trip beating the Detroit Tigers (62-71) at Comerica Park in Detroit 9-3. The A’s swept the Tigers four straight when they met in Oakland in April. The Tigers started the season 8-19. A.J.Hinch, who won a World Series title in 2017 with Houston, helped turn the Tigers’ ship around.

The Tigers, entering Tuesday night’s game, were 54-51 since the slow start. The A’s knew the Tigers would love nothing better than upsetting the A’s applecart. 

The A’s won their last two games against the Yankees over the weekend. The offense was still in the doldrums, but they were able to eke out two wins. They beat the Yanks 3-2 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday.

Oakland’s skipper Bob Melvin was hoping the offense would come to life against Detroit. He got his wish as the A’s offense produce nine runs and 12 hits. Three of the hits were home runs.

The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Robbie Grossman, who was with Oakland the previous two seasons, slammed his 20th big fly of the year to give the Tigers the advantage. Grossman set a career-high with the blast. 

The A’s put three runs on the board in the top of the third. With one out, Starling Marte doubled to right field. Matt Olson followed with a double to drive in Marte with Oakland’s first run. Tiger starter, Tarik Skubal, retired Yan Gomes for the second out.

A’s third baseman Matt Chapman sent Skubal’s pitch over the fence in left field to give the A’s a 3-1 lead. It was Chappie’s 22nd homer of the year.

In the fifth, the A’s put three more on the board. Singles by Marte and Olson put men on at first and third with no out. Yan Gomes drove in Marte with Oakland’s fourth run on a sacrifice fly. Mark Canha hit an opposite-field dinger to put the A’s in the driver’s seat 6-1.

Cole Irvin ran into difficulty in the bottom of the fifth. Tigers’ catcher, Dustin Garneau, another former Athletic, led off the frame with his first homer of the season. Cole retired shortstop Zack Short for the first out. Tiger centerfielder Derek Hill homered to make it 6-3.

Cole retired Jonathan Schoop for the second out. Cole gave up a single to Grossman and walked Miguel Cabrera. Bob Melvin had seen enough. He brought in Deolis Guerra to pitch. Guerra retired Jeimer Candelario for the third out. 

The A’s added two more in the eighth. Chad Pinder started the frame with a single. Elvis Andrus’ double sent Pinder to third. Josh Harrison’s third hit of the night plated both of them. In the ninth, Matt Chapman sent Tigers’ reliever Derek Holland’s pitch over the wall in centerfield with two out. The A’s led 9-3.

The A’s bullpen of Guerra, Yusmeiro Petit, Andrew Chafin, and A.J. Puk gave up four hits and no runs to secure the win for Oakland.

Game Notes and stats: The A’s are now 73-59 for the year with the win. They picked a game on the Boston Red Sox as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Sox 8-5. The A’s are now one game behind Boston in the race for the second American League Wild Card slot. The Tigers are 62-71 for 2021.

The hitting stars for Oakland were Josh Harrison with a double, two singles, and two RBIs. Starling Marte had a double and a single. Matt Olson also had a double, single, and an RBI. Matt Chapman had two hits, both home runs. He drove in three with the two bombs. Chappie has 23 for the year. Mark Canha hit his 13th of the year and drove in two.

Cole Irvin went four and 2/3rds innings. He gave up seven hits and three runs. The Tigers hit three solo homers. Cole did not go the necessary five innings to get the win. Deolis Guerra was the winning pitcher. He went one and innings.

Derek Hill led the Tiger attack with three hits. He was three-for-five with a home run, double, and single. Former A’s players Robbie Grossman and Dustin Garneau each homered to torment their former mates. 

The A’s brought up Skye Bolt from Las Vegas to replace Mitch Moreland on the roster. Moreland is out with a sore wrist.

The second game of the series will start at 4:10 pm. The A’s will send righty, James Kaprielian, to the hill. Wily Peralta will pitch for Detroit.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s need to get hot to catch Yanks and Sox in AL Wild Card; Giants Covid problems continue Wood positive, Cueto flu symptoms

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Oakland A’s Mark Canha was dropped from the leadoff spot to the seventh position of the A’s line up after hitting for a .151 average after the New York Yankees series over last weekend (San Francisco Chronicle file photo)

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury, how much work do the Oakland A’s have in front of them after splitting the four game series with the New York Yankees over the weekend in their bid to sniff post season.

#2 The A’s are 5 1/2 games behind first place Houston Astros in the AL West and in the AL Wild Card they are 2 1/2 game back behind the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees with a month left in the regular season the A’s have a huge task in front of them if they plan to get back into post season hunt.

#3 A’s leftfielder Mark Canha has been moved from the leadoff spot to the seven hole of the line up because his numbers have dwindled Canha is hitting .151 and said that when he’s off and getting o-fers it’s not a fun place to be. Canha said he needs to relax a little bit easier mentally.

#4 On other baseball news the San Francisco Giants had to switch out pitchers Alex Wood and Johnny Cueto Monday night because it was revealed that Wood had come down positive with Covid 19 and Cueto has the flu symptoms. Giants Donavon Solano and hitting coach Justin Viele are still back in a New York hotel quarantined after testing positive for Coronavirus.

#5 Cueto was scheduled to pitch on Monday against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers and with Wood out for Tuesday. Giants pitcher Jose Alvarez started on Monday for the Giants a big task after the Giants lost last Sunday in Atlanta 9-0 and opening up for four home games against another first place team like the Brewers.

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

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Lance out 7 days finger injury; Relief mixing is in the mix for Garoppolo and Lance at quarterback

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance who suffered a micro chip fracture against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sun Aug 29, 2021 will be out for seven days but is expected back for the 49ers opener in Detroit on Sep 12th at Ford Field in Detroit (AP News photo)

#1 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has suffered a chip fracture on his finger after hitting his hand on Las Vegas Raiders defender Max Richardson’s helmet on Sunday and will be sidelined in what is being a call a micro chip bone fracture and should be back by Sep 12th for the 49ers opener in Detroit.

#1 Dave, all the talk has been about week 1 versus the Detroit Lions in Detroit as 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is considering mixing quarterbacks as Jimmy Garoppolo will start and and Trey Lance would be doing work on the mid series.

#2 Dave, with the 49ers mixing series between Garoppolo and Lance is this another strategy to keep opposing defenses off balance because each quarterback has their own individual way of staying in the pocket and running the football?

#4 Dave, talking about the Detroit Lions the oddsmakers have the 49ers picked to run up the score on them, the Lions are coached by Dan Campbell, at right tackle is first round pick Penei Sewell, and former Cal quarterback Jared Goff under center how do you see this first game kicking off?

Join David for the 49ers podcasts Wednesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants’ bats silent in 3-1 loss to the Brewers

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The playoff atmosphere was present at Oracle Park on Monday night, but the Giants were minus a few, key pieces.

For the first time in 28 years, the Giants are exceptional, and so are their opponents. The Giants, Brewers and Dodgers are all more than 25 games above .500, setting up a week of playoff preview showdowns. Now, the dinged up Giants have to show they’re ready to answer the bell.

Instead of focusing in on the challenge of facing one of the NL’s premiere starters in Corbin Burnes, the Giants were preoccupied with making themselves whole heading up to the first pitch. Starting pitchers Alex Wood and Johnny Cueto were placed on the injured list with COVID complications, and both players saying they were likely experiencing effects from the virus. Reliever John Brebbia and Jason Vosler were recalled from Sacramento, and Jose Quintana, the 2016 All-Star with the Cubs was claimed off waivers from the Angels.

So for the second, straight game, the Giants were forced to turn to their bullpen from the start with Jose Alvarez as the starter, and Jarlin Garcia seeing the most activity. In all, seven Giants relievers took a turn and the Brewers essentially picked the group apart, scoring single runs in the first, second and eighth innings to pull out a 3-1 win.

Afterwards manager Gabe Kapler was philosophical, feeling that his bullpen group did what they could under difficult circumstances. He singled out Garcia, who went 3 2/3 innings, needing just 40 pitches to complete the stretch and keep the Giants within striking distance, down 2-0.

“It was a pretty impressive performance by Jarlin and the expectation is when he comes in after Alvarez, we need him to throw up zeroes,” Kapler said. “Alvarez, we expect him to throw up zeroes too. He wasn’t able to do that so you really need to stretch the next few guys in a bullpen game and Jarlin did just that for us.”

The Brewers won for the 80th time on the season, and the anticipation of what matchups may materialize in October were present in their minds throughout the evening.

“That was definitely a playoff atmosphere and something that could be foreshadowing of what we see in the postseason,” said Burnes, who cruised through six innings to pick up the win. “It’s always good to get the first one of the series. That was definitely a big one tonight.”

Burnes allowed just four hits and no walks. His first taste of adversity didn’t come until the seventh when he let the first two batters reach. But manager Craig Counsell turned to his bullpen and they shut the door after Brandon Crawford’s RBI single pulled the Giants within 2-1.

Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth and picked up his 28th save.

The Giants saw their cushion in the NL West shrink to 1 1/2 games as the Dodgers handled the Braves in Los Angeles. Also, it’s no longer a foregone conclusion that the Dodgers or Giants will finish with the NL’s best record, not with the Brewers in the mix, and holding a commanding lead in the NL Central. That possibility gives pause to the playoff matchups that seem to have the two West Coast rivals on a collision course for October.

On Tuesday, the Giants are hopeful they will have Cueto available to start in a matchup with Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff.

Brewers Burnes silences Giants bats in 3-1 win at Oracle

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Milwaukee Brewers starter Corbin Burnes throws to the San Francisco Giants line up in the bottom of the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The NL West first place San Francisco Giants (84-47) owners of the best record in baseball have been slowly in meltdown they lost two out of three in Atlanta and opened Monday’s four game series against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers (80-52) with a 3-1 loss at Oracle Park.

The Giants ran into Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes who pitched into the seventh inning and had a shutout going until Brandon Belt doubled and Kris Bryant hit a single to get the Giants on the scoreboard and Burnes was lifted for reliever Brad Boxberger. At the time the run cut the Brewers lead in half 2-1.

Boxberger gave up a double to Brandon Crawford in the bottom of the seventh inning but that would be all the scoring the Giants would get for the rest of the game. In the bottom of the ninth Bryant hit a double off Brewers closer Josh Hader who pitched for his tenth scoreless appearance and picked up is 28th save.

The Giants had to scramble before Monday’s game, scheduled starter Johnny Cueto was a scratch because of flu like symptoms. Jose Alvarez started for the Giants. Alvarez lasted only 1.2 innings four hits and two runs. Giants pitcher Alex Wood who says he was experiencing headaches and a sore throat tested positive for the Coronavirus with no need to be hospitalized.

Starting pitchers for Tuesday night’s game for the Brewers Brandon Woodruff (8-7 ERA 2.38) and the Giants have have not announced a starter yet.

Preview: Oakland A’s vs. Detroit Tigers three game series starts Tuesday night

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Oakland A’s pitcher Cole Irvin is seen here on Aug 19, 2021 at Guarantee Rate Field Chicago throwing against the White Sox. Irvin will get the start on Tue Aug 31, 2021 at Comerica Park in Detroit against the Detroit Tigers in the first of a three games series. (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are heading to Detroit to start a three-game series with the Tigers (62-69) starting Tuesday night. The A’s had a must-win game Sunday afternoon against the red-hot New York Yankees. After losing the first two games of the series, the A’s, behind terrific performances by Frankie Montas, Paul Blackburn, and the bullpen, won the final two games by scores of 3-2 and 3-1.

The A’s are now 72-59 for the season. They trail Houston by five and 1/2games in the AL West. The A’s picked up a game on Boston and are now two and 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the second AL Wild Card quest. The Detroit Tigers, under manager A.J.Hinch, are at 62-69 for the year.

The Tigers are playing a makeup game Monday night against the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers got off to a slow start this year. They are playing better now and have a goal of finishing the season with a mark of .500 or better. The A’s beat the Tigers four straight in April during their 13-game win streak.

The A’s would love nothing better than sweeping the three-game set. The road to the playoffs doesn’t get any easier as the A’s meet the Blue Jays in Toronto for three games this weekend. The A’s split the four-game series with Toronto in Oakland.

The Blue Jays have a powerful lineup featuring Vladamir Guerrero, Jr., George Springer, Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Lourdes Guriel, Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, and former former former Oakland A’s shortstop Marcus Semien. The A’s return home to face the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox took three out of four from Oakland. If the A’s are to make the playoffs, how they do in the next nine games could make or break the season for the A’s.

The Detroit series’s pitching matchups will see Cole Irvin (9-12, 3.68 ERA) going for the A’s. The Tigers will counter with lefty Tarik Skubal, who is from the Bay Area. The A’s beat Skubal earlier this year. James Kaprielian pitches on Wednesday, and Willy Peralta will be on the Hill for Detroit. On Thursday, the A’s will send Sean Manaea to the hill, and his opponent will be Matt Manning.

Some of the key players for Detroit are first baseman/ Designated hitter Miguel Cabrera, first baseman/second baseman Jonathan Schoop, third baseman Jeimer Candelario, outfielders Robbie Grossman and Akil Baddoo. Miguel Cabrera, who is now 38 years old, is on his way to baseball’s Hall of Fame. Cabrera, this year, is hitting .251 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs.

For his career, Cabrera is a lifetime .311 hitter. He is the last player to win baseball’s Triple Crown. He has 501 home runs, 1787 RBIs, and 2961 hits in his illustrious career. He won a World Series championship with the Florid Marlins in 2003. He helped the Tigers win two American League pennants in 2006 and 2012. Jonathan Schoop has found a home with the Tigers.

Schoop is hitting .284 and has 18 dingers and 70 RBIs. Robbie Grossman, who played with the A’s for a couple of seasons, has hit 19 big flys and has 57 RBIs for the Tigers. Candelario is at .275 with ten dingers and has driven in 48. Baddoo’s numbers are .258, ten homers, and 45 ribbies.

Lefty Gregory Soto is the closer for the Tigers. He has recorded 16 saves this season. Other bullpen members that will see action in the series include former starter Michael Fulmer, Jose Cisneros, Kyle Funkhouser, Joe Jimenez, former SF Giant Derek Holland, Alex Lange, and Miguel del Pozo.

The A’s are in the homestretch. How they do in the next two weeks will determine their season. They need to get the offense going. A’s manager Bob Melvin can add two more players to the roster after September 1st. They will not be available for the playoffs.

The A’s are considering bringing back Khris Davis to Oakland. Currently, at Triple-A Las Vegas, Davis has hit nine home runs with the Aviators. The A’s need his bat in the lineup. They are hoping that there is still life in his bat. It should be interesting to see what happens.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Charlie O: Giants face another first place team as Brewers open 3 game series tonight

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Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Rowdy Tellez (11) argues with umpire Jeremy Riggs as the Brewers come to Oracle Park in San Francisco tonight to open a four game series with the San Francisco Giants (USA Today file photo)

On the Giants podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie O Giants going well they have won eight of their last 11 games and when they got into Cobb County at Suntrust Park on Friday were met by a Atlanta Braves club that showed them why their a first place team taking the first game of the three game series 6-5.

#2 The Giants answered right back on Saturday getting a 5-0 shutout victory behind starter Logan Webb who pitched seven innings and gave up five hits. Webb had all his stuff working against the Braves line up on Saturday

#3 Sunday the Giants got shutout in a laugher 9-0 the Braves used five pitchers to accomplish the shutout.

#4 Charlie this is a Braves club that the Giants could very well end up meeting in the post season seeing the Braves at this juncture of the season does that give the Giants a leg up with one more month to go until the post season starts?

#5 Kris Bryant has been a huge help especially with the bat since he’s joined the Giants. The Giants would like him to sign on and stay with the club for next season but everything boils down to money and a good contract. How important do you see it for the Giants to have Bryant sign on and be at spring training for the Giants next season?

#6 The Giants will be facing another first place club the Milwaukee Brewers who hold a 7.5 game lead on the second place Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers have won five of their last ten as they pay a visit to the Giants at Oracle Park for the first of four games which starts tonight at 6:40pm PDT.

Charlie O is filling in for Morris Phillips who does the San Francisco Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: Bassitt wants back in before end of regular season

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Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt wants to return to his starting role before the end of the regular season. Bassitt met with the media before Sat Aug 28th’s game at the Oakland Coliseum against the New York Yankees (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 How important was it for the club to see and be able to talk with A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt before the start of Saturday’s game against the Yankees?

#2 Morale is such an important thing in baseball and the A’s had been going bad with a five losing streak they ended up snapping and the Bassitt visit might have done wonders he was on the players minds ever since he took a line drive to the face off Chicago White Sox Brian Goodwin’s at bat on Aug 17th.

#3 Bassitt winningest pitcher on the A’s staff at 12-4 ERA 3.22 has been impressive all year but can he be the same when he gets back, will he be off track, rusty and wobbly when he returns. His spirits are great, he’s healing fast, and he’s got a real go get em attitude about returning.

#4 Bassitt sat in the A’s dugout before Saturday’s game speaking with the media before last Saturday’s game and said he hopes everything progresses, that he can impress manager Bob Melvin in bullpen sessions whenever that starts he’s ready to get back in. Doctors who performed the surgery on Bassitt in Chicago said it will take two weeks. Bassitt hopes to get back in sooner.

#5 The A’s have the day off today and are in Detroit on Tuesday for a 4:10 pm PDT first pitch at Comerica Park. The A’s snapped a five game losing streak on Saturday defeating the New York Yankees 3-2, the A’s trail the Yankees in the AL Wild Card standings by 3.5 games. The Tigers who are out of the Wild Card hunt by 12.5 games have lost six of their last ten going into Tuesday night’s game.

Join Barbara for the A’s podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco finishes off Las Vegas 34-10

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Jimmy Garoppolo scores on a quarterback keeper for the San Francisco 49ers against the Las Vegas Raiders at Levis Stadium in Las Vegas (AP News photo)

San Francisco Finishes Off Las Vegas 34-10

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the San Francisco 49ers took on the Las Vegas Raiders in their third and final pre-season game. In this pre-season the 49ers dropped their first to the Kansas City Chiefs in a close contest followed by another close win over the Chargers.

The first quarter of this game was all San Francisco. They took the early lead when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo scored on a one yard rush 7-0. Going into the second quarter the team picked up where they left off in the first quarter.

The 49ers had their second touchdown on a 2 yard rush by, of course, quarterback Trey Lance and the QB shuffle continued to yield some nice benefits.

They now led 14-0. Mid-way through the quarter Las Vegas got on the board via a 51 yard field goal. San Francisco would kick two field goals before the half. A 21 yard and a 19 yard field goal gave the 49ers a 20-3 lead at halftime.

The third quarter was an impressive one for running back JaMycal Hasty. He ran for a 35 yard touchdown and another 3 yard rush for a td giving San Francisco a 34-10 lead. Earlier in the third quarter Las Vegas scored on a pass from Nick Bowers to Nathan Peterman for 16 yards.

Neither team would score in the fourth quarter. The 49ers came away with the 34-10 win as they now prepare for the regular season.

San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo finished 4 of 7 for 64 yards and Trey Lance was 6 of 13 for 46 yards. San Francisco had a great day in the air with 133 passing yards and on the ground as well with 242 rushing yards.

The team will now head to Detroit for their first regular season game on Sunday September 12. They will be taking on former Ram’s quarterback Jared Goff as they prepare to showcase their QB platoon. Kickoff is schedule for 10:00AM. San Francisco is favored to win their first game of the 2021 season 61.3% to 38.4%.

Raiders backup struggle against the Niners 34-10

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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was hoping for some offense to move past the San Francisco 49ers in the second half at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara (AP News photo)

Raiders backups struggle against the Niners 34-10.

By Rich Perez LV Raiders Media & Sports Radio Service

BAY AREA-The Raiders returned to the Bay Area with second and third teams , as they came in to impress Coach Gruden before the cuts this week ,in Santa Clara vs the 49ers today.

Unfortunately for the Raiders they lost 34 to 10 , but overall coach Gruden got to see some key players who may make the team as the roster cuts come on Tuesday ,down to 53.

Nathan Peterman threw for 149 yards overall , 1-TD with 1-interception and 13 rushing yards. Peterman played all three preseason games for the Raiders who also started and finished all three games. Overall 2-1.

RB Trey Ragas ran for 39 yards of the Raiders 63 yards overall Rushing.

The Raiders did show glimpses on many plays scoring on a touchdown on the left side line in the third quarter by the big TE target Nick Bowers.

The Raiders officially did not play these starters all pre season: Derek Carr, Darren Waller, Josh Jacobs , Kenyon Drake , Henry Ruggs, Bryan Edwards, Kolten Miller, Brad Goode and Richie Incognito.

*NEXT-The Raiders will return home for the next two weeks in preparation for the Baltimore Ravens.