Tag: A’s

Burns makes a lot out of a little in the A’s big 3-2 win over the World Champion Royals

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Moustakas blast
Kansas City Royals’ Mike Moustakas (8) hits a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 17, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

 

By Morris Phillips

photo on the cover by AP: Coco Crisp (4) and Josh Reddick (22) jump for joy after the A’s win the series over the Kansas City Royals Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND–Billy Burns’ hard hit groundball in the eighth inning didn’t have the look of a game-changer, but it was, keying perhaps the biggest win of the young season to date for the A’s.

Facing Joakim Soria, Burns fought off a 2-2 pitch, sending a two-hopper over and past the first bag and into the visitor’s bullpen, allowing the speedy centerfielder to do what he does best… run. Reymond Fuentes raced over from right field, and bobbled the pickup, which allowed Burns to cruise into third base standing up. Most any other major leaguer—not gifted with Burns’ wheels—would have settled for two bases.

With the blessing of first base umpire Mark Carlson, and by a matter of inches, Burns had put the A’s in position to pull out a 3-2 win over the World Champion Royals, who just happen to be the current kings of pulling out close, low scoring ballgames.

“Fortunate to sneak one down the line there,” Burns said.

“Got it just enough inside the line and hit it just hard enough to get by (first baseman Eric Hosmer),” manager Bob Melvin said.

Burns’ big hit was followed by Josh Reddick’s sacrifice fly that broke a 2-2 tie that for the A’s was plenty hard earned. The A’s game-winning third run may not have been as hard earned as the first two runs, but it was surely a long shot. With the game tied late, Hosmer was hugging the line, and definitely not in the mood to let Burns get a shot for extra bases. But the ball shot past the diving Hosmer, evading his glove by inches.

Earlier the A’s were confounded by Royals’ starter Kris Medlen, who allowed just two hits, and kept the A’s from fully taking advantage of the four walks he issued. The one gift the A’s did benefit from was really on catcher Salvador Perez, who couldn’t snag Medlen’s strikeout pitch to Chris Coghlan, allowing Coghlan to reach on a passed ball, and Coco Crisp to score from third base.

That pulled the A’s within 2-1 in the fourth inning, but they’d get no closer until pinch hitter Jed Lowrie grabbed a bat in the seventh.

Coghlan delivered the hardest hit ball for the A’s on Medlin’s final pitch—one out into the seventh—a ground rule double that one-hopped the centerfield fence. Manager Ned Yost then called upon Kelvin Hererra, his prized setup man, to maintain the narrow lead.

But Lowrie delivered an RBI single on a 3-2 pitch after fighting off a pair of nasty sliders. Lowrie’s hit not only tied the game, but rendered the efficient Medlin to a no-decision.

A’s starter Chris Bassitt got deeper into the game than Medlin, pitching seven full, but also was saddled with a no-decision. Bassitt pitched well again, allowing five hits and two runs with a home run ball allowed to Mike Moustakas with two outs in the fourth the one pitch he wished he could get back.

“I was caught between pitches and wasn’t convicted to it at all,” Bassitt said. “And that’s kind of what happens when you throw a pitch that’s not really convicted against a good hitter. He makes you pay for it.”

Closer Ryan Doolittle was given the day off, and Ryan Madson stepped up in the ninth, earning his fourth save. John Axford pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and picked up the win.  Oakland took the final two against the Royals, after dropping four straight and seven of their first eight games this season at the Coliseum.

The A’s flew to the East Coast after the game and will open a 10-game road trip in New York on Tuesday. After three against the Yankees, the A’s travel to Toronto and then finish with four games in Detroit. Eric Surkamp will pitch the opener at Yankees Stadium, opposed by Michael Pineda in a 4:05pm EST start.

 

A’s end four-game losing streak, beat the Royals behind Gray, Reddick

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Reddick blast
Oakland Athletics’ Josh Reddick, right, is congratulated by Billy Burns and Marcus Semien (10) after hitting a three-run home run off Kansas City Royals pitcher Chris Young in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 16, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Morris Phillips

The Coliseum Complex hosted two reigning World Champs on Saturday afternoon in the NBA Warriors and the World Series Champion Royals, dwarfing the A’s and their early-season struggles at home.

Nonetheless, the Athletics—now 26 seasons removed from winning big—measured up by posting a big win, and avoiding their worst start to a season at home since 2001.

Josh Reddick hit a three-run shot in the first inning to back Sonny Gray, who labored through six innings in the A’s 5-3 win. The A’s improved to 5-7 on the season, and won for only the second time in eight games at the Coliseum.

“You never want to say this early in the season anything’s a ‘must’ win, but it was a big win for us,” manager Bob Melvin said.

Stephen Vogt homered for the second consecutive game, and the A’s pounded out double-digit hits for the first time in 2016. But this one was won in the middle innings as Kansas City tried to mount a comeback, challenging Gray with lengthy at-bats in the fourth and fifth inning, but denting the A’s ace for just one run.

Gray’s pitch count mounted in the first three innings, and the fourth and the fifth put him at 100 pitches for the game. Just like they did in their post-season run to the World Series crown, the Royals were battling at the plate, while Gray felt his stuff was good, he was missing location more often than what he would find comfortable .  The A’s defense behind Gray gave, but occasionally took, with second baseman Jed Lowrie committing a pair of errors.

“Today he dug deep for us to get through that sixth inning,” Melvin said of Gray.

“They’re really pesky and make you work for every single out,” Gray said, basically describing each of the first five innings.

With a run in, and two on in the fourth, Gray induced a ground ball from Alcides Escobar that ended the inning. In the fifth, Kendrys Morales looked at a pair of called strikes before grounding into an inning-ending double play with two more runners aboard.

Eager to compete—and win—Gray made sure he avoided eye contact with Melvin when entering the dugout after the fourth and fifth, in fear that the manager would lift his starter. Melvin took Gray’s cue and sent him back out for the sixth.

“Obviously, I’d like to get deeper. But I’m glad they gave me the opportunity to go back out there,” Gray said.

Gray rewarded that faith with a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth that required his final 14 pitches of the afternoon. The A’s bullpen took it from there as John Axford, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson recorded the final nine outs.

Chris Young took the loss for Kansas City, falling to 0-3.  The 6’10” veteran looked like a mechanical mess, allowing Reddick’s blast, walking a couple, and getting pulled in the fifth with the Royals trailing 4-2.

The win ended a four-game losing streak dating back to their sweep last weekend in Seattle. Lucky for Oakland, the AL West hasn’t set the world on fire in the first two weeks, and the first place Rangers—just 7-6—are comfortably within reach.

The A’s look for a series win on Sunday with Chris Bassitt on the mound opposite Kansas City’s Kris Medlin at 1:05pm.

DOOLITTLE SAYS HE FINE, AND MELVIN CONCURS: Sean Doolittle pitched to just one batter, and wasn’t in his familiar closers’ role on Saturday, one day after allowing Eric Hosmer’s mammoth home run over the center field wall, just part of his early struggles that have his ERA sitting at 6.35. Melvin made it clear that his closer hadn’t been demoted, but had earned a reduced role on Saturday after working the previous two days.

Doolittle retired Alex Gordon on seven pitches to end the eighth.

He spoke afterwards, and after looking at video, and speaking to catcher Stephen Vogt, felt encouraged that he hasn’t compounded his trouble by not getting out of innings after allowing some damage. Still, he understands the anxiousness of the fans and others, especially with the team struggling and the specter of Jim Johnson’s awful April two years ago.

“Against the backdrop of what’s been happening this season, it looks way worse than it is,” Doolittle said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get out the brooms, The Angels sweep the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Fear the Beard the LA Angels Matt Shoemaker makes work of the Oakland A’s and did wonders for lowering his 18.00 ERA with a win over the A’s on Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND–The A’s entered the game with the Angels hoping to rebound from Tuesday night’s loss and get a much-needed win. That, however, did not happen as the Angels defeated the A’s 5-1 to sweep the three-game series. The Angels starter, Matt Shoemaker, entered the game with an ERA of 18.00, but he stopped the A’s cold. He went six innings and allowed just one hit. Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia used four more pitchers who allowed just two more hits. The A’s big blow was a home run by Marcus Semien that averted a shutout. Eric Surkamp pitched okay, and he was a bit wild as he walked four, hit a batter and uncorked a wild pitch. He threw ninety-six pitches in just four and 2/3rds innings of work. He left the game trailing 2-0, and he absorbed his first loss of the year.

The Angels drew first blood in the top of the third inning. Mike Trout singled to lead off the frame. He stole second to get into scoring position. Surkamp retired Albert Pujols and C.J.Cron but was not able to retire Kole Calhoun. Calhoun singled to right to drive in Trout.

In the top of the fifth, it was the Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun show again. Trout led off with a double to left. He advanced to third on an Eric Surkamp wild pitch and scored on a single off the bat of Kole Calhoun. A’s trail 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. The Angels’ starter Matt Shoemaker has been masterful allowing the A’s just one hit through the first five innings of play.

The Angels scored another run in the top of the eighth. That man, Kole Calhoun, continued to torment the A’s. Calhoun doubled to left and then scored on a single by Andrelton Simmons to increase the lead to three. Calhoun has three hits and two RBIs to lead the Halos attack. The A’s Marcus Semien led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run to make it a 3-1 game. It was just the second hit of the game for Oakland. For Semien, it was his fourth home run of the year. He leads the A’s in that department.

The Angels put the game away in the ninth. With one out, former Athletic Craig Gentry singled. Mike Trout followed with his third of the afternoon to put men on at first and second. They advanced to second and third on a Liam Hendricks’ wild pitch. Albert Pujols singled to drive in both runners.  Angels in the driver’s seat 5-1 as the game heads into the bottom of the ninth.

Game Notes- The A’s have played seven games at home so far this year and have lost six of them. They won three in Seattle, and their record stands at 4-6. They face the defending World Champs, the Kansas City Royals for three games starting Friday night at the Coliseum. The A’s send lefty Rich Hill to the mound and he will be opposed by Kansas City’s Edinson Volquez. Game time will be at 7:05 PM Friday

Time of game was three hours and three minutes, and there was a small crowd of 11,216on hand to watch the proceedings.

 

Hill rebounds with strong outing in A’s 6-1 win over the Mariners

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Coco slide

By Morris Phillips

Rich Hill has experienced a bunch of adversity on and off the diamond since October 6, 2007, the day he made his one and only post-season appearance, giving up a home run to Chris Young on the first pitch of the game, and lasting just three innings in the Cubs sobering, season-ending 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks in the NLDS.

For the purpose of capsulizing the A’s eye-opening 6-1 win over the Mariners as opposed to retelling Hill’s decade-long saga, here’s what’s important to know: While most baseball decision makers were mixed at best on Hill’s ability to be a major league reliever, the 6’5” left hander steadfastly, and quietly, felt he could once again be a quality big league starter.

That difference of opinion lasted nearly eight years until Hill, on his third, abbreviated stint with the Red Sox made four career-altering starts, throwing 23 innings, striking out 36, walking five and winning three times, including a complete game, two-hit shutout against the Orioles.   In each of Hill’s first three starts in September, he pitched at least seven innings and struck out 10.

At 36 years old, having pitched just 182 major league innings in the eight seasons following his 11-win 2007 campaign, Hill qualifies as the A’s high risk/high reward signing of 2016, and in the sixth inning on Saturday night, Oakland got an indication if the $6 million gambit will pay off.

Leading 5-1, Hill was dealing to that point, allowing four hits and a run, while striking out seven. Distanced from the circumstances of his first start as an Athletic, on Opening Night in which he was a game day replacement for the under-the-weather Sonny Gray, Hill had all his pitches working in Seattle from his signature sweeping curveball to his above average fastball and occasional slider.

In the opener, all of the pitcher’s negatives culled over the previous eight years resurfaced: no sweeping break on his curve, which he threw 16 times, poor control as evidenced by two hit batters and a walk, and just three strikeouts. Lifted in the third, Hill was charged with all four runs in the A’s 4-3 loss. Hill’s line for the opener ominously mirrored his 2007 playoff start right down to the premature exit.

But on Saturday, Hill was in control, pitching briskly, and even varying his release point with an occasional sidearm delivery. Then in the sixth, with his pitching count rising, he faced some adversity.

First, Hill hit the speedy Ketel Marte with a 3-2 curve ball that broke too sharply–busting Marte on his mid-thigh—putting the leadoff man aboard. The veteran recovered quickly, completely fooling Robinson Cano on two-strike curve that had the slugger lunging across the plate. Nelson Cruz followed with a solid single that prompted pitching coach Curt Young to visit, no doubt to remind Hill that he would be lifted if he allowed another batter to reach with his pitch count approaching 100.

But the lefty finished strong, fanning Kyle Seager on a 2-2 pitch, and getting Chris Iannetta to swing and miss a hard slider with the count full. For Hill, a step in the right direction, for the Mariners, who have faced four lefty starters in five games, and lost three times, a step back.

“Rich Hill has a good curveball,” Mariners manager, Scott Servais said. “He finished us off late in counts and went to it often. And we weren’t able to adjust.”

In all, Hill threw his curveball 52 times in 99 pitches. But it wasn’t the same pitch every time. Hill varied his arm angles, as well as the break.

“It was his go-to pitch in big situations, early in the count he was using it and he was very versatile with it too,” Iannetta said.

Only Iannetta figured out Hill, homering in the second in response to the A’s two, first inning runs off Nathan Karns. Josh Reddick gave the A’s some breathing room with his two-run shot in the fifth. And the A’s finished off Seattle with a run in the sixth, and then another on Stephen Vogt’s double in the seventh.

Coco Crisp got the start in center, and showed that he’s not done. Crisp compiled two knocks, scored twice and stole two bases, including the 300th of his career.

The A’s moved into a first place tie in the AL West with Texas at 3-3. While the division’s had a rough first week as a whole, the A’s will take their early perch, given they’re coming of a 90-loss season in 2015, and three losses in their first four home games.

On Sunday, the A’s look for the sweep, but it will be a tricky proposition with King Felix Hernandez looking for his 23rd career win against the A’s in a matchup with Chris Bassitt. Bassitt was 0-2 in four starts against Seattle in 2015.

 

 

 

Oakland A’s Thursday game wrap: The White Sox beat the A’s again, win the series three games to one.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for chicago white sox

photo courtesy of Google images

front page photo AP: The Chicago White Sox Jose Abreu hit a sixth inning home run off Oakland A’s starter Kendall Graveman is congratulated by teammates Todd Fraiser (21) and Melky Cabrera (53)

OAKLAND–The Chicago White Sox beat the A’s 6-1 Thursday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. A’s starter, Kendall Graveman, and Chisox starter, Mat Latos, engaged in an old-fashioned pitching duel for the first five innings of the game.  Graveman gave up just two hits in the first five innings. Graveman faced three batters in the sixth. He walked Melky Cabrera and then gave up a home run to Jose Abreu. Graveman retired Todd Frazier, but the damage had been done. The White Sox would score four in the ninth, but all they needed was two to win the game. The A’s bullpen pitched well until the ninth. Bob Melvin brought in Liam Hendricks for the ninth, but he was no match for the Sox today. After the game, Melvin said he did not want to use Axford, Madson, or Doolittle. Chicago’s Mat Latos was superb. He pitched six innings and allowed just two hits as he picked up his first win of the year.

In the top of the sixth, the White Sox scored the first two runs of the game. Chicago DH, Melky Cabrera led off with a single. The next batter, Jose Abreu, sent a Kendall Graveman pitch over the out-of-town scoreboard in right field for his first home run of the year. A’s manager Bob Melvin let Graveman pitch to one more hitter before replacing him with Fernando Rodriguez.

The A’s bullpen kept the Chisox in check until the ninth inning. A’s reliever Liam Hendricks did not have a good outing as the Sox sent nine men to the plate. They scored four times on six singles. All the runs were earned, and they hold a commanding 6-0 lead as the A’s come to bat in the bottom of the ninth.

The A’s scored a run in the ninth as they avoided being shut out. White Sox win 6-1 and take the series three games to one.

Game Notes- The A’s used five pitchers in the loss to Chicago. Relievers Fernando Rodriguez, Marc Rzepczynski and Ryan Dull, pitched well and kept the A’s in the game until the ninth inning.

The A’s finished the opening homestand 1-3. The last time they started a season 1-3 was 2012. A’s utility man, Chris Coghlan started the game at second base and had two hits and a run batted in. The A’s defense was a bit wobbly as they made two errors. However, neither of the errors caused them any damage.

The A’s travel to Seattle to face the Mariners. Lefty Eric Surkamp will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by right Taijuan Walker. Pitching matchups for Saturday will be Rich Hill for Oakland and Nathan Karns for Seattle. On Sunday, Chris Bassitt will make his second start of the year, and King Felix Hernandez will be hurling fo the Mariners. The A’s return home after the Seattle series to face another division rival, the Los Angeles Angels.

There were 12,577 fans watching the game Thursday afternoon, and the game lasted three hours and six minutes.

Oakland A’s Wednesday post game wrap: The A’s play another one-run game, this time they win.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Oakland A’s Billy Burns trots across home plate in the first inning to put the A’s on the board past Chicago White Sox  catcher Dioner Navarro

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s and Chicago White Sox played their third consecutive one-run game. This time, however, the A’s won 2-1 behind a strong effort by Sonny Gray. Gray, who was not able to pitch Monday or Tuesday, went seven innings, allowed just three hits and received credit for his first win of the year. The A’s bullpen did their job again; John Axford pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Ryan Madson closed out the game to earn his first save as a member of the A’s. Jed Lowrie drove in a run in the first and Mark Canha homered in the second to give the A’s all the runs they would need.The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Singles by Billy Burns and Khris Davis put men on at first and third with no out. The A’s leading RBI man, Jed Lowrie, hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Burns. Lowrie has knocked in five of the eight runs the A’s have scored so far this season. Carlos Rodon took the loss for the White Sox.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Singles by Billy Burns and Khris Davis put men on at first and third with no out. The A’s leading RBI man, Jed Lowrie, hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Burns. Lowrie has knocked in five of the eight runs the A’s have scored so far this season.

The A’s scored again in the second inning. Big Mark Canha, playing right field in place of Josh Reddick, hit his first home run, and the A’s first home run, of te season. With one out, Canha hit a big fly to deep right field that hit the wall just over the scoreboard. A’s lead 2-0.

The White Sox scored their first run of the game in the top of the third. Center fielder Austin Jackson led off with a double. He advanced to third on a ground out and then scored on a sacrifice fly to short left field.

There was no more scoring after the third inning. Carlos Rodon pitched well for Chicago, but Sonny Gray pitched better for Oakland as the A’s won their first game of the year 2-1.

Game notes- The line score for Oakland was two runs on seven hits and no errors. The White Sox line was one run, six hits, and no errors.

After the game, A’s manager Bob Melvin was pleased with his team’s efforts Wednesday night. He took Gray out after seven innings of work. He remarked that “after Sonny had got the first out, he was dragging, and that was going to be the last inning” of work. When talking about the bullpen, Melvin said that his guys ” aren’t afraid to pitch with guys on base. He also said that John Axford was ” really good about being quicker to the plate and was very effective.” Sean Doolittle was not available to pitch, and Melvin elected to bring in Ryan Madsen to close out the game. Melvin, when asked about the stellar defensive effort and particularly the play of Marcus Semien had this to say. Semien’s play “was about as good as we have seen him play.”

The A’s conclude the four-game series with the White Sox Thursday afternoon. Game time will be 12:35 PM PT. Kendall Graveman will start for Oakland, and they will face the well-travelled Mat Latos. Latos will be making his first start as a member of the White Sox.

The Golden State Warriors’ Festus Ezeli was in the crowd, and he received a nice ovation from the fans. Former A’s pitcher, Dallas Braden, was here to broadcast the game on ESPN and visited with the fans in right field beating on a drum to get a little excitement going.

Attendance was 16,468 and time of game was two hours and fifty-four minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oakland A’s Tuesday game wrap:The White Sox beat the A’s again, win second one-run game to start the season

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by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit San Francisco Chronicle: The Chicago White Sox Jimmy Rollins crosses home plate after hitting a ninth inning homer off A’s reliever Sean Doolittle

OAKLAND–The A’s were hoping to even the series with the Chicago White Sox at one-apiece Tuesday night. The A’s found themselves down by two runs late in the game but rallied in the eighth to tie the game. The White Sox behind a home run by Jimmy Rollins in the ninth defeated the A’s 5-4 to win their second one-run game in a row. The A’s were led by Jed Lowrie’s two clutch hits that drove in two runs and by Yonder Alonso’s key hit, with two out in the eighth to drive in two and tie the game. A’s closer Sean Doolittle gave up the home run to Rollins. After the game, A’s manager Bob Melvin said that Doolittle had his pitches working, but Rollins just beat him. The game summary follows below.

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third. A’s catcher, Josh Phegley, beat the shift by hitting the ball into right field for a single. Phegley advanced to second on a ball in the dirt. Shortstop Marcus Semien singled sharply to center, and Phegley had to stop at third. After Coco Crisp struck out, Jed Lowrie singled on the first pitch from Quintana to drive in Phegley with the run.

The White Sox scored three runs on two hits in the top of the fifth. Chisox right fielder Adam Eaton singled with one out. The next hitter, Jimmy Rollins, hit a slow ground ball to second. Jed Lowrie attempted to get Eaton at second, but Eaton beat the throw and Rollins reached on a fielder’s choice. Bassitt struck out Jose Abreu for the second out. Bassitt had Todd Frazier in a 0-2 count, but Frazier sent his next pitch over the left-field wall for his first home run of the year and first as a member of the White Sox. Sox have a 3-1 lead in the middle of the fifth. The A’s rallied as they picked up a run on three hits to narrow the gap to just one run. Josh Phegley led off the inning with a double. Marcus Semien had an infield single, but Phegley could not advance. Coco Crisp flew out to right field. Phegley tagged and advanced to third. Jed Lowrie singled to drive in Phegley with the A’s second run of the night. Chisox in the lead 3-2 after five innings.

The White Sox regained the two-run margin in the top of the sixth. With one out, former Athletic, Brett Lawrie singled to get it going for Chicago. Alex Avila singled to advance Lawrie to third. Lawrie scored on an Austin Jackson single. Adam Eaton singled to load the bases. Liam Hendricks, the third pitcher of the inning, got Jimmy Rollins to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. A’s trail the White Sox 4-2.

The A’s rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game. Josh Reddick led off with a single. Danny Valencia hit a line shot but right to the center fielder for the out. Khris Davis was hit by a pitch. Billy Butler also hit a sharp line drive, but it was, again, right at the center fielder. The A’s loaded the bases when Vogt was hit by a pitch. A’s first baseman, Yonder Alonso, singled for his first hit as a member of the A’s to drive in Reddick and Davis. Tie score after eight.

In the top of the ninth, Chisox shortstop, Jimmy Rollins, sent a Sean Doolittle pitch over the left field wall to give the White Sox a 5-4 lead in the middle of the ninth. For Rollins, it was his first home run of the year and his first in the American League. Whites Sox closer, David Robertson, retired the A’s in order in the ninth to secure the win for Chicago. White Sox win 5-4.

Game Notes- The A’s start the season 0-2 for the fourth time in the last ten years. Sean Doolittle took the loss and White Sox reliever Nate Jones picked up the win.

Game three of the four-game series will be played Wednesday night at the Oakland Coliseum A’s ace, Sonny Gray, will make his first start of the year and Carlos Rodon will handle the chores for Chicago. Game time is at 7:05 pm PT

Attendance for Tuesday night’s game was 10,478 and time of game was 3 hours and twenty-eight minutes.

 

 

Oakland Athletics: Day Off Report

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Where will they finish?

One of the rituals of every baseball season is predicting where your team will finish in the standings come October. With a 162-game schedule, baseball has to be the toughest sport to predict the outcome for of all the sports.

Unfortunately for A’s fans, the predictions of the experts are not positive when it comes to Oakland:

  • Fangraphs predicts the A’s will finish in a tie for fourth place with the Texas Rangers
  • Baseball Prospectus sees Oakland in fifth and final place after 162 games
  • USA Today also has the A’s finishing in last place (5th place)
  • Sports Illustrated concurs and has the A’s finishing fifth
  • CBS Sports agrees and says the A’s will finish the season in the cellar

The prognosticators see the A’s winning as few as 66 games on the low end and 80 games on the high end.

One run games

The Athletics had a 19-35 record in one-run games in 2015. Improving that record to .500 in 2016 would add at least eight wins for the team. The A’s must improve their record in one-run contests in 2016 if they are to beat the predictions of the experts.

Cut down on the errors

The A’s led the American League in errors with 126 miscues in 2015. Winning a baseball game is tough enough and it is made even harder when you make mistakes that allow your opponent to put men on base or move them into scoring position. Oakland has to reduce the error total if they are to win more games this season.

The Athletics need to see real improvement from shortstop Marcus Semien. Semien was charged with 35 errors in 2015. He is an outfielder that the team is trying to convert to an infielder “on the fly”. That is a difficult task at any level but especially at the major league level.

By all reports, Semien has been working very hard with Coach Ron Washington to improve at the position and to cut down on the errors.

Jarrod Parker Update

Parker underwent successful surgery on his right elbow on Friday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neil ElAttrache at the Kerlan Jobe Clinic.

This was a revision of a UCL graft that was performed on Parker’s elbow two years ago. He has returned to Arizona.

Opening Day items

  • The parking lot will open at noon for you who want have big and long tailgate party
  • Stadium gates will open at 5:00 pm
  • 32,000 magnet schedules will be given out
  • Special tributes along with a moment of silence will be observed for Dave Henderson and Tony Phillips

Take BART on Tuesday

  • There is a Warriors game on Tuesday as well as the A’s game. Parking will cost $30. If you have ever thought about taking BART to a game, Tuesday night would be an ideal time to give it a try.

Last opening day for Sonny?

Many “experts” are speculating that this will be Sonny Gray’s final opening day outing as a member of the Oakland Athletics. Most feel that other teams will be making offers for Gray that A’s “cannot refuse” at the 2016 trade deadline.

What’s happening down on the farm

Make sure to listen to out weekly Oakland A’s podcast. We will keep you up to date on what is happening with A’s farm teams. Who will be the next call up from Nashville? Who will be the opening day starter in 2018? How is the number three draft pick doing in A-ball in Stockton? We will answer those questions and more on the Farm Report.

 

Oakland A’s Saturday post game wrap: A’s tap into a couple of power sources to avoid a sweep in the Bay Bridge Series

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A's swing
Oakland Athletics’ Jed Lowrie, right, celebrates with Josh Reddick, left, and Marcus Semien (10) after scoring on an inside the park two run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the third inning of an exhibition baseball game Saturday, April 2, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

 

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Both guys played collegiately at Cal State Fullerton, can hit with power, and have the potential to help the A’s in a major way. Both guys suited up in green and gold for the first time at the O.co Coliseum on Saturday and didn’t waste much time introducing themselves to the home crowd with a taste of that home run ability. But both guys don’t fit on an opening day roster that only has 25 spots.

So while 28-year old Khris Davis will likely land in Bob Melvin’s starting lineup on Monday night, 22-year old Matt Chapman’s time isn’t now, and he was reassigned to Minor League camp following the Bay Bridge series finale.

The A’s powered up to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Giants, winning 4-1 as both Davis and Chapman hit solo shots, and Eric Surkamp turned long man supreme by pitching seven innings in relief to get the win. Felix Dubrount, who was slated to begin the season as the A’s fifth starter was injured, and left the game after an inning, putting his first start at Seattle on Friday in doubt.

Davis was acquired in an off-season trade from Milwaukee, and after hitting .314 with a pair of homers in spring, appears to be ready to supplant veteran Coco Crisp as the team’s everyday guy in left field. Crisp and utility outfielder Sam Fuld were Davis’ competition for the spot, so it figured Davis would claim the competition, given his career-best 27 home runs for the Brewers in 2015.

Davis, the son of a longtime major league scout, Rodney Davis, is the latest in a line of sluggers that don’t necessarily impress you with any other facet of their game other than their ability to run into one frequently enough to justify their spot in an everyday major league starting role. The stout slugger handles fastballs with ease, homering at a rate off of fastballs that rivals Bryce Harper and the top sluggers in the game. But while Davis increased his ability to be discerning at the plate in 2015, drawing more walks, he still struck out 122 times in 392 official at-bats.

On Saturday, Davis homered of a 2-2 pitch from Matt Cain, which surely will be noticed by an organization that puts great value on hitting deep in counts. The newest Athletic has an impressive 60 home runs in 1092 big league-at bats, and he hit significantly higher average in spring than the .250 over his first three big league seasons. But maybe most importantly, he’s naturally gregarious, and happy to have been dealt from rebuilding Milwaukee to reloading Oakland, where good things have happened to players in Davis’ age range and skill set.

“I do what I do and take the elements out,” Davis said in explaining the dynamics of his homer off Cain.

Chapman, the A’s 2014 first-round pick, hit .295 in spring with a team-best six homers, including his eighth inning shot off Josh Osich that came on the first pitch. Despite his surprising spring as a non-roster invitee, Chapman will begin 2016 at Double A Midland. Defensively, he’s not nearly where he needs to be to earn a big league spot playing third base, but he’s put the organization on notice that his time is coming soon.

“The big thing for me, it’s kind of a boost in confidence,” he said. “To know that no matter what kind of slump you hit, or no matter what happens here on out, wherever you go, to know that you can compete at the highest level.”

NOTES: The A’s placed Eric Sogard on the disabled list with a neck strain, leaving Chris Coghlan in Sogard’s role as the team’s primary utility infielder. In fact, Coghlan is listed at five different positions on the A’s Opening Day depth chart, including all three outfield spots.

Yonder Alonso will be the starter at first base, and Danny Valencia has claimed the third base job. Crisp figures to see most of his time as a pinch hitter as Coghlan will be the primary backup to center fielder Billy Burns, and Mark Canha will back Davis in left.

The A’s set in pencil rotation has Sonny Gray followed by Rich Hill, Chris Bassitt, Kendall Graveman and Dubrount with Jesse Hahn on speed dial if the former Boston reliever/starter injured on Saturday misses any significant time.

Sean Doolittle, John Axford, Ryan Madson and 27-year old Australian Liam Hendriks will comprise the back end of the Oakland bullpen.

 

 

In the battle of Northern California the Kings lose to the Warriors 103-94

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Rocky Widner/NBAE
Rocky Widner/NBAE

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings had to face the undefeated Golden State Warriors without DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison on Saturday night. The result should have a very predictable “blow out” by the Warriors, but it was not walk over win for the defending NBA Champions.

Golden State defeated the Sacramento Kings 103 to 94. It was a two-point game with four minutes to go in the contest. No one – Warriors fans or Kings fans – could believe this game was so close at the end.

The Kings played tough, hard-nosed basketball, but in the end, the talent of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green and Iguodala proved to be too much for Sacramento to handle with a short-handed team.

Frankly, the Warriors came out flat or overlooking the Kings in the first half. The Kings took an early lead in the first period and held that lead until the 3:35 mark in the quarter. Golden State stepped up their play with scoring from former King Jason Thompson, Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. The Warriors established a 20 to 14 lead after one quarter. Most people in the building expected them to just continue to stretch that lead in the second period.

Golden State did open up a 14-point lead with scoring from Klay Thompson (8), Iguodala (4) and Marreese Speights (4). Just as the game appeared to be headed for a runaway, the Kings came back with a 3-point basket from Marco Belinelli. Belinelli was then fouled attempting a 3-pointer and converted three free throws to cut the Warrior lead to eight.

At the half, Golden State led the Kings 46 to 38.

Sacramento came out strong in the third quarter as center Kosta Koufos scored six unanswered points. The Kings cut the Warrior lead to one on a Koufos lay-up at the 7:31 mark. Sacramento then took the lead when Belinelli sank another 3-point basket from 25-feet out. Golden State then went on 12-0 run that again threatened to put the Kings away. Again the Kings – led by Belinelli – closed the gap to four points. After three quarters, the Warriors led the Kings 72 to 68.

The Kings continued to keep the game close early in the fourth quarter. Sacramento took the lead 79 to 78 on a Rajon Rondo 19-foot jump shot with 6:37 to play. The game stayed close until the Warriors opened up a 10-point lead with under two minutes to play. The teams traded baskets and fouls, but the Kings were unable to find that something extra to propel them back into the game.

The Warriors defeated the Kings by nine points, 103 to 94.

Kings

Marco Belinelli on Saturday night showed why the Kings signed him to a 3-year contract. He scored 22 points shooting 5-for-11 from the floor. The Italian sharp-shooter was 3-for-6 from 3-point range. He went 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Twice Belinelli converted 3-point plays from the charity stripe after being fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer.

Rudy Gay stepped up for Sacramento against the Warriors. He shot 10-for-25 from the field scoring 22 points for his team. Gay showed an aggressiveness that George Karl would like to see more of on a nightly basis.

Rajon Rondo handled the point for 44 minutes against Golden State. With Darren Collison inactive due to a hamstring issue, Rondo was the only point guard on the floor for Sacramento. He put together a rare triple-double scoring 14 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists. After the game Kings head coach George Karl said, “He knows how to do that, he has great history of leading teams and tonight he was very special.”

Center Kosta Koufos recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Omri Casspi put up 10 points. Willie Cauley-Stein added six points with two nice finishes off lob passes under the basket.

The Kings shot .437 (38-for-87) from the field. They went 6-for-19 (.316) from 3-point range. The team continued to improve from the free throw line making 12 of 16 attempts (.750).

Sacramento turned the ball over 22 times which resulted in 29 Golden State points. The Kings were out-rebounded 46 to 45.

Warriors

Steph Curry led the Golden State scoring with 24 points. Curry scored 21 of those points in the second half of the game. He did not have a great game from beyond the 3-point line shooting just 2-for10 from long distance.

The much anticipated Curry versus Curry match up did not occur as Seth Curry did not play for the Kings. Seth Curry was nursing an ankle sprain coming into the game.

Klay Thompson put up 18 points shooting 7-for-16 from the floor and hitting on 4 of 11 3-point opportunities.

Harrison Barnes (13), Draymond Green (10), Festus Ezeli (10), and Andre Iguodala (14) all scored in double figures for the Warriors. Ezeli made it a double-double game by recording 12 rebounds.

As a team, Golden State shot .413 (38-for-92) from the field. They were a dismal .205 (8-for-39) from 3-point land. The Warriors were impressive at the free throw line converting 19 of 22 opportunities (.864).

The Warriors scored 19 points off second chance opportunities. The Kings scored nine second chance points.

What they said after the game

“It was a pretty impressive game, but they (Kings) have fought through four games in five nights. Obviously there was some fatigue there (shown by) our turnovers in the first half. They kept fighting. I thought our leader was Rondo. Rondo was incredibly into the game, incredibly intense. His defense on (Stephen) Curry was first class. I just wish we would have (had) more gas in the tank to finish off the game,” said Coach George Karl.

“There’s a lot of good we can take out of it (the game) as a team,” explained Rudy Gay. “But I think we’re overdue for a win – we need one bad. It’s another game I thought we could’ve had.”

“Our guys played hard and we knew it would be a tough game coming in,” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton.”Sacramento – they compete. Like I said before the game, they haven’t been winning a lot of games but they’ve been playing hard and (been) in the games. We couldn’t get out shots to go in tonight which happens but we found a way like you said to grind it out and come out with a victory.”

“Definitely not pretty but we overcame missed shots, turnovers, kind of a sluggish first half,” said Stephen Curry after the game. “With our defense, we gave ourselves an opportunity to have some minute runs. Pretty much had control of the game the whole way through. They made a decent run to take the lead by one in the fourth. Made some plays down the stretch and pulled it out. That defense allowed us to overcome a poor shooting night.”

Up next

The Kings have Sunday off, but their day of rest will be short lived. Sacramento will host the very talented San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. DeMarcus Cousins is expected to be available for that game.

The Warriors will also have Sunday off and return to action on Monday night hosting the Detroit Pistons.