Tag: A’s

On Eve of His Return to Oakland, Revisiting the Josh Donaldson Trade

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

When Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson steps into the O.Co Coliseum batter’s box for the first time as a visiting player against Kendall Graveman Tuesday night, it will be a moment months in the making.

The earth has long since stopped shaking since a ground shattering trade that saw A’s general manager sned the Oakland A’s most feared slugger in exchange for Graveman, starting third baseman Brett Lawrie and prospects Sean Nolin and Franklin Barreto in the offseason. That doesn’t mean the wound won’t still be fresh for A’s fans.

Donaldson has put up similar stats North of Border to the ones he produced for four seasons in Oakland, which is to say he’s been MVP-caliber for the Jays. Donaldson is fresh off his second-straight All-Star game appearance, hitting second for the American League in its 6-3 victory over the Senior Circuit Squad in Cincinnati.

The 29-year old is hitting .288 for the season after 92 games, is one shy of the AL lead in runs batted in with 62 and sits five homers back of Mike Trout’s 27 for the league lead in long balls. Not bad for a player making only $4.5 million dollars.

On its exterior, the trade looks like a clear win for the Jays, who added a power bat to line-up already loaded with thumpers like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin. But the return for Donaldson hasn’t exactly been failing the A’s.

If Cy Young Awards were handed out in Spring Training, Graveman would have been a candidate. The 24-year-old righty owned the desert competition, going 3-1 with a miniscule 0.36 earned run over 25 1/3 innings. If they handed out the awards in April, he’d probably have been last on the list. Graveman compiled an 8.27 ERA, walking 9 while striking out only 7 over 16 1/3 innings. It was clear that Graveman wasn’t ready for the major leagues just yet, so a return to Triple A Nashville was in the cards for the young hurler.

Perhaps not. Graveman returned to the parent club in late May, and has been lights out ever since. In ten starts, he’s gone at least 5 2/3 innings every time. He’s allowed only 16 runs in his second tour of duty, and had managed to shrink his ERA to 3.16 prior to his last outing where he was touched up for 4 runs. He’s ERA since returning is sub-3.00. More importantly, he’s only walked 18 while punching out 44 batters.

While Brett Lawrie, the other main piece of the trade, hasn’t produced like Donaldson did, no one has asked him to. Lawrie, a former first round pick (16th overall in 2008), hasn’t lived up to the hype that followed him before he even played a professional game, but he hasn’t been a slouch either.

The Langley, British Columbia native is on track for career-highs in most offensive categories including homers (current 8, high 12), RBI (37, high 48) and most importantly for the oft-injured Canadian, games played (88, high 125). While he won’t match his rookie season batting average of .293 over 43 games in 2011, he’s on pace to best his full-season high of .273. The right-handed batter enters play Tuesday with a .280 mark. While he hasn’t been outstanding, he’s been better than expected.

Factor in Barreto, named to the MLB.com weekly all-prospect team, and Nolin still being at least a season away and the A’s could wind up being big winners in this trade. They may not feel like it now, but a rotation with Nolin and Graveman at the head and Barreto and Lawrie on the left side of the infield winning an AL West title, and possibly even the pennant, may be on the horizon soon. But first comes Tuesday night, a chance for the A’s to top the Jays and win a little victory.

Power barrage: A’s hit five home runs and smash the Twins, 14-1

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Phlegley

By Morris Phillips

No one can say they’ve got a grasp on the confounding Oakland A’s.

The A’s went 20 innings scoreless as an opening act to their post All-Star-break and it wasn’t clear if the team knew that they would need to do more than put on their uniforms to be present and accounted for.

But then out of nowhere—and against a credible club in the Twins—the A’s responded with 13 runs over their next seven innings.  Two wins later, and sitting at 43-51, the A’s have escaped the cellar in the AL West (by percentage points), and remain in striking distance at nine games back.

Talk about a turnaround.  The A’s sleep-walked through the series opener, losing 5-0, but Sunday was a completely different story, a 14-1 win.  The A’s hit a season-best five home runs in the rout, and got a stellar start from rejuvenated Jesse Chavez, who allowed three hits in six innings.

Blindsided by the onslaught was former Athletic Tommy Milone, who made his first start against his former club, approximately a year after he demanded a trade from Oakland and was dealt to the Twins.  Milone’s been just as good in Minneapolis as he was in Oakland, but that changed dramatically on Sunday.  Milone allowed three of the five A’s home runs, and departed down 7-0 in the third inning.

“He never looks like he has nerves,” manager Bob Melvin said when questioned about Milone’s performance.  “He’s usually in control of what he’s doing out there. And a couple of the pitches really weren’t bad pitches.  I can’t see in and out as much, but I can see where the catcher sets up and two of the home runs were one-handed swings that looked like they might have been away.”

Jesse Chavez had an afternoon quite different from Milone’s.  The A’s starter cruised through six innings of work with nine strikeouts and only one walk allowed.  From Melvin’s perspective, the slightly-built pitcher benefitted greatly from the All-Star break.

“I saw a couple of 93’s today, life on the cutter again.  Good changeup today to be able to slow them down with that,” Melvin said.  “It was similar to what we’ve been seeing most of the year from him.”

“The break was great, it was just a good reset mentally—not physically—just mentally,” Chavez said.

Jake Smolinski—with just nine at-bats under his belt in Oakland—has made quite a first impression.  On the heels of his seeing-eye, game-tying hit on Saturday, Smolinski homered twice on Sunday.  Acquired from the Rangers with the thought he could provide quality at-bats against left-handed pitching, Smolinski has been that guy—at least in the last 24 hours.

Billy Butler homered for the second consecutive day, and Josh Reddick contributed a grand slam in the fourth to make the score 11-0.  Josh Phlegley had the other home run, off Milone, immediately following a throwing error that extended the third inning, and barely clearing the left field wall on a line.

Given all the conflicting play, where do the A’s go from here?  They won 29 of 50, an extended run of success, that seems more indicative of the club’s ability than their disastrous 14-30 start.  If they can win games within the AL West—31 of their remaining 68 games are against division opponents—they could become a factor in the race pretty quickly.  But the equation changes dramatically if Scott Kazmir is dealt before the trade deadline.

On Tuesday, the A’s continue their homestand against the Blue Jays and former teammate Josh Donaldson, having a breakout season in his first year in Toronto.  The Jays offer veteran starter Mark Buehrle in a matchup with Oakland’s Kendall Graveman at 7:15pm.

Hahn Sidelined Longer Than Expected As Oakland Opens Second Half

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Oakland Athletics might know their fate as buyers or sellers when the trade deadline comes sooner than they’d imagine. According to an interview with the Bay Area News Group’s John Hickey, A’s general manager Billy Beane does not expect Jesse Hahn to return from his flexor tendon injury anytime soon.

With the young righty, acquired from San Diego in the Derek Norris deal in the offseason, shelved for a significant period of time, the A’s rotation is now Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir, Kendall Graveman, Jesse Chavez and either Drew Pomeranz filling in as a spot starter or another call-up for Chris Bassitt. With the trade deadline looming at the end of the month, it’s almost guaranteed that Kazmir will be out of that equation and pitching for another club come August.

Bassitt, in 8 games (3 starts), has compiled a 2.93 ERA with 17 punchouts over 27.2 innings. The sophomore righty has started in his last three consecutive outings, going 5 innings or more in all three starts. He’s surrendered 5 earned runs over 17 innings as a starter, striking out 9 while walking just a pair batters. The 26-year-old hurler came to the A’s in the offseason deal that shipped Jeff Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox, with Rangel Ravelo also coming to Oakland in the deal.

The absence of Hahn, who has compiled a 6-6 record with a 3.35 earned run average this year, hurts more due to its timing. The Oakland A’s open the second half of the season facing the Minnesota Twins for three games at O.Co Coliseum. The Twins are riding a three-game winning streak and are looking to add to their four-game wild card lead.

Once the resilient Twins leave town, the Toronto Blue Jays potent offense comes to Oakland. The Jays are trying to gain ground on the Yankees in a wide-open American League East. After that, the A’s “travel” across the Bay for the Bay Bridge series before facing the National League West leaders the Los Angeles Dodgers in Southern California.

Sonny Days No More? Why Trading Sonny Gray Makes Sense for Oakland

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Oakland Athletics have officially become Sonny Gray’s team. No player donning the Green and Gold will mean more to his team’s success and no individual in Oakland’s 25-man roster has an equal skillset and pedigree as the 25-year-old ace. That makes it all the easier to trade the fire-balling Commodore out of Vanderbilt University striking while the iron is blazing atop the hot stove that is the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

The 18th overall pick in the draft elevated his stock greatly with a first half performance that puts him in the American League Cy Young Award conversation with the White Sox Chris Sale and Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros. He earned his first All-Star appearance in just his second full season this year on the back of a 10-3 record and a scant 2.04 earned run average.

In his last outing, the Nashville, TN native fired a complete-game, one-hit shutout of the Cleveland Indians. It was the kind of outing that Gray’s become known for, with every fifth day becoming winning day for the Division cellar-dwelling A’s. Any chance the A’s have at making up the 8.5 games they trail the AL West leader Los Angeles Angels comes with Gray winning at least two-thirds of his go-arounds as July rolls to October.

Of course, the A’s have struggled all season to remain relevant, so in all likelihood, they will be sellers (is Billy Beane ever not considered a threat to sell?) by the end of the month. Scott Kazmir could certainly pry some decent prospects from a team looking for pitching depth. Ben Zobrist will return a blue-chipper despite being a career .264 with only one season of more than 20 homers under his belt. But Gray, Gray’s ransom could fill the cupboards of a team twice over.

The biggest hurdle in dealing Gray is the fact that he’s technically under team control until 2020, with his arbitration years set to kick in in 2017. The A’s proved in the offseason that they’re not afraid to deal away a player under club control with a bright future, dealing Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays before having to sign him to the big money no player gets in Oakland.

Gray’s contract status immediately makes him a better haul for a playoff hopeful team than the mercenary options being floated around at the trailing end of deals like Johnny Cueto or Mat Latos. A team like the cash-strapped Los Angeles Dodgers could easily handle Gray’s arbitration figure and may even jump to extend him to a long-term deal well before the expiration of his contract. With that luxury, here’s where the A’s need to play hardball.

In the offseason, Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was criticized for demanding teams like the Dodgers or Boston Red Sox offer up two or three can’t-miss prospects for Cole Hamels, another pitcher locked up beyond this season. If the Phillies could get Boston to entertain the idea of sending over Blake Swihart, Mookie Betts and Henry Owens, why couldn’t Billy Beane try to pry the same deal (or better) for a player who younger than Hamels and will come with a cheaper price tag?

The obvious fit is dealing with the Dodgers, who would become locks to win the World Series if they could lock down a rotation of reigning Most Valuable Player Clayton Kershaw and All-Star starting pitcher Zack Greinke along with Gray. In return, the A’s could potentially pull in A+ prospects like shortstop Corey Seager and starter Julio Urias (though perhaps they’d have to throw in Kazmir or Zobrist to sweeten the pot). Plug them in with the emerging Oakland talents of players like Kendall Graveman, Marcus Semien and Billy Burns and the prospects in the pipeline in Matt Olson, Renato Nunez and Sean Nolin and suddenly you’d have a core five years from now with potential All-Stars at every position.

The reality is that the Angels window for success is coming to an end, and the Astros is just beginning to open with young stars like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer and Dallas Keuchel being just a few of the names that litter the talent-rich organization’s depth charts. The A’s meanwhile would need a significant free-agent signing to be competitive now and in the immediate future. By the team they’ll see dividends on the current minor leaguers could very well be after 2017 when Gray will make the big bucks. So why not move Gray now and add more pieces for the run to come in a few seasons?

Everyone in the A’s organization has been adamant that Gray is off limits, but why suddenly make a player untouchable? With 5 of 7 Oakland All-stars from 2015 dealt since last July, it’s pretty clear that even the best of the best are available to depart from Alameda County. In fact, perhaps this is a move by Oakland brass to raise the price even higher. Who doesn’t covet what they’ve been told they can’t have?

It’s a longshot of a scenario, one that certainly might not play out considering there are rumblings that the A’s may be buyers and sellers at the deadline. With Beane at the helm, one thing is for certain; never say never.

The Yankees hit Three Home Runs, beat the A’s to even the series.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Yankees edged the A’s Wednesday night by a score of 5-4. The hitting star was big Mark Teixeira. Teixeira hit two solo home runs off Evan Scribner to lead the way. Vallejo’s C.C. Sabathia was on the ropes early but recovered and pitched well until he left the game in the sixth inning. The A’s rallied in the ninth when Marcus Semien tagged Yankee closer Andrew Miller for a two-run dinger. Alas, it was too little, too late as Miller settled down and survived a throwing error that put Stephen Vogt in scoring position. Miller retired Ben Zobrist to end the game.

The A’s scored two runs in the top of the second. They touched Sabathia for four hits. Billy Butler led off with a ground-rule double to left-field. Butler advanced to third on Brett Lawrie’s infield single. Jake Smolinski hit into a fielder’s choice. Butler was running on contact, but caught in a rundown and tagged out. Singles by Josh Phegley and Mark Canha drove in Lawrie and Smolinski to give the A’s the lead. The Yankees scored an unearned run in their half of the second.  Chris Young reached on a throwing error by Brett Lawrie. He scored when shortstop Didi Gregorius doubled to deep right center field. Gregorius was thrown out at third trying to advance on the throw home.

In the fourth inning, A’s starter, Scott Kazmir, was not able to pitch as he experienced tightness in his left triceps muscle. Bob Melvin brought in righty Evan Scribner to pitch. Scribner, who pitched so well early in the season, has been struggling of late. His first batter that he faced was Mark Teixeira. Teixeira tied the game with one swing of the bat. His home run sailed into the seats in right field. The Yankees added another run. Chris Young walked. Yankee catcher John Ryan Murphy hit a rocket that Marcus Semien couldn’t handle. It was ruled a hit. Young stole third when Scribner forget to check him. Had Scribner checked him at second, Young would have been picked off. Murphy went to second on a passed ball.Jose Pirela flied out to right driving in Young. A’s trail 3-2 after four.

New York added a run in the sixth. Scribner was facing Teixeira for the second time, and Teixeira did it again. He hit his 22nd home run of the season to make it a 4-2 game. It was the 385th career home run for Teixeira. Eric O’Flaherty was called in from the bullpen. He retired two hitters to end the inning.

Edward Mujica pitched a scoreless seventh inning and retired one Yankee in the eighth. Melvin brought in Fernando Abad to pitch. Abad had not pitched for ten days, and he may have been a little rusty. Former A’s shortstop, Stephen Drew put the ball into the right field seats to give the Yanks an insurance run. 5-2 heading into the ninth.

The Yanks activated their closer, Andrew Miller, off the DL Wednesday. Dellin Betances, who took the loss Tuesday night, pitched a scoreless 8th inning. The A’s made it a 5-4 game when Marcus Semien hit a two-run blast into the left field seats.  Stephen Vogt reached second on an error, but Miller retired Zobrist to end the game.

Game Notes- the loss ended the A’s seven-game road winning streak. Scott Kazmir went three innings allowing two hits and one unearned run. Scribner took the loss, and his record is 2-2.  Scribner has given up eleven home runs in 44 innings of work. It is the most of any reliever in baseball.

The rubber game of the three-game series will be Thursday morning at 9:35 am PT. Jesse Chavez will go for the A’s, and Masahiro Tanaka will hurl for the Yanks.

The A’s finally win a game in extra innings, defeat the Yankees 4-3.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Image result for brett lawrie athletics

It was a hot and humid evening in the Big Apple Tuesday night as the A’s squared off against the New York Yankees. The A’s ace, Sonny Gray pitched for the first time since June 25th. Gray was a little rusty as he gave up two runs in the first inning. He settled down and allowed just one more run in his seven innings of work. Gray did not get a decision, but the A’s came back  from a 3-2 deficit to beat the vaunted Yankee bullpen to win 4-3 in ten innings. Nathan Eovaldi started for New York.  Eovaldi went five and 1/3rd innings and left the game with the Yankees leading 3-2.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the first. Josh Reddick, hitting with two out, singled to center to drive in Stephen Vogt with the first run of the game. The Yankees came back and took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. The A’s tied the game when Stephen Vogt singled to drive in Marcus Semien. The Yankees regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Yankee shortstop drove in Brian McCann to make it a 3-2 game in favor of New York.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the sixth inning. Yankee Manager lifted Eovaldi with one out in the sixth. Girardi did not want Eovaldi to pitch to Josh Reddick. He brought in lefty Chasen Shreve to face Reddick and Shreve did the job retiring Reddick. However, the next batter Billy Butler homered on the first pitch from Shreve to tie the game. It was Butler’s seventh home run of the year.

The game remained tied until the top of the tenth inning. A’s third baseman Brett Lawrie, who had struck out three times so far in the game, smoked a Dellin Betances’ hanging breaking ball into the left-field seats to put the A’s ahead. Closer Tyler Clippard walked two batters but came through by striking out Yankee slugger Mark Teixeira to end the game.

Game Notes- The pitching line for Sonny Gray was seven innings pitched, six hits, three runs and he struck out five. Drew Pomeranz received credit for the win and Tyler Clippard recorded his sixteenth save of the year. Dellin Betances took the loss for New York. The A’s are now 39-47 for the year and the Yankees fall to 44-39. The A’s have won four of the five game played between the teams so far this year. The extra-inning win was the first for the A’s since September 21, 2014.

The Green and Gold meet the Bronx Bombers in NYC Tuesday Night

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s hit the road Monday traveling to the Big Apple to play a three-game series with the Yankees before heading off to Cleveland for another three-game series with the Indians before the All-Star break.

The A’s finished their ten-game homestand with a record of 4-6. The Kansas City Royals swept the A’s three straight but the Green and Gold rebounded to take two out of three from the Colorado Rockies and then split a four-=game series with the Seattle Mariners. Oakland’s starting pitching has been excellent this year. The A’s, who were sixteen games under.500 earlier in the season, are playing well as they are benefiting from improved fielding and better performance from their bullpen.  The A’s are currently last in last place in the AL West with a record of 38-47, but they have a winning record since May 23rd.

The A’s will be meeting the Yankees for the second time this season. The Yankees were here in Oakland at the end of May for four games, and the A’s took the series three games to one. New York has been playing well as of late, and the Yanks have moved into first place in the AL East with a record of 44-38 and have a one-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees have had several key players on the DL this year but are still playing winning baseball. Centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury will come off the DL Wednesday night. Pitcher Ivan Nova is back from Tommy John surgery and has made three starts. Carlos Beltran is also on the DL.

The Yankees big boppers include designated hitter, Alex Rodriguez, first baseman Mark Teixeira, catcher Brian McCann, third baseman Chase Headly, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner.

A-Rod, on the comeback trail after being suspended last year for PED use, is performing well. He is hitting .271 with sixteen home runs and 47 RBI. Teixeira’s average is just .243, but he has twenty homers and is leading the AL with 59 RBIs.

The first game of the series will feature the A’s ace, Sonny Gray going against the Yankees’ Nathan Eovaldi, Gray,  named to the All-Star team Monday, missed his last two starts due to a salmonella infection. Gray has a record of 9-3 and an ERA of just 2.09. Eovaldi’s record for the Yankees is 8-2, and his ERA comes in at 4.52.

The second game of the series will feature a battle of two lefties. Scott Kazmir will go for Oakland and C.C.Sabathia will be on the hill for New York. Kazmir has pitched much better than his record would indicate. Kazmir has been the subject of much speculation this year as he will be a free agent at the end of the season.  Many teams are hoping that the A’s will be sellers and that Kazmir will be dealt before the July 31st trade deadline. Reports had several scouts checking him out last week in Oakland. Sabathia has struggled this year. His won-loss record in 3-8 and he his ERA is a whopping 5.59.

The A’s bullpen, as mentioned earlier, has improved. Lefty Drew Pomeranz has done well coming out of the bullpen either to pitch ans inning or a specialist, coming in to face a left-handed batter. Evan Scribner has faltered somewhat but has been good all year. Tyler Clippard has done his job as closer much to the delight of A’s manager Bob Melvin.

The Yankees starting rotation has had health issues all season. Masahiro Tanaka was shut down last season due to an elbow injury and has made just ten starts in 2015. Ivan Nova has returned from Tommy John surgery and had two good outings and one not-so-good outing. His record is 1-2. Eovaldi (8-2) and Michael Pineda lead the Yanks with eight wins each. Adam Warren is the fifth starter, and he has a record of 5-5. Lefty Andrew Miller was doing an excellent job as closer for the Yanks until he was injured. Miller recorded seventeen saves before going on the DL.and is scheduled to pitch an inning for Triple-A Scranton Monday Night. Dellin Betances took over the closer role and has been lights out. Betances was superb last year in a setup role and has appeared in 37 games this year with a won-loss record of 5-1 and seven saves to his credit. He has struck out 68 men in just 42 innings of work. His ERA is 1.50 with a WHIP of 0.86.

Sonny Gray and A’s catcher Stephen Vogt have been named to the American League All-Star team. The honor is well-deserved.

The A’s announced that they have obtained right-handed minor league reliever Aaron Kurcz from the Atlanta Braves for international slot number 113 which corresponds to the right to spend $167,000 on international signings during the 2015-16 signing period without incurring penalties. This is the second time the A’s have traded an international bonus slot for a Braves pitcher in a week. The A’s acquired Cody Martin for slot 53 on July 2.

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Season in a microcosm: A’s agonizing 2-1 loss to Seattle looks all too familiar

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Cruz control

By Morris Phillips

One day after an impressive win—and a sign of progress—the A’s took a step back in a 2-1 loss to the Mariners.  Of course, what’s painful is the repetitive nature of the losses.

Once again, the A’s struck early, but then went silent.  And while the opponent didn’t have success early with the A’s effective starting pitching, they did have success later on.

And yes, narrow losses are a reoccuring theme: after Sunday’s loss, the A’s are a major-league worst 6-21 in one-run ballgames.  Afterwards, Bob Melvin was so obviously in a place he had been before, the manager practically answered the questions before they could be asked.

“A lot of times, you’ll be in a good position if you only give up two runs,” Melvin replied when asked how Chris Bassitt acquitted himself in his second, effective start this week in place of the under-the-weather Sonny Gray.  Somehow, Bassitt parlayed four singles, one damaging double, a walk and hit batsman over nearly six full innings into a loss.

“Our overall numbers are pretty good.  We go on streaks where we’re not so good,” Melvin offered when asked how come the A’s offense sputters so bad in big spots. The A’s have scored the fourth most runs in the American League to support a pitching staff that ranks first in ERA, yet the team’s been mired in last place for nearly two months.

Oh well, the A’s just aren’t very good.  Except for it’s not that simple: since May 23—a period in which every major league team has played at least 37 games—the A’s have the the fourth best record in baseball (24-17).

Okay, the A’s have potential.  But when will it be realized?  In a division where the Astros have been good, not great, just better than everyone else in the AL West, everything is still up for grabs.  The A’s still have time to strike, just not much time.  With a week to go before the All-Star break, Oakland needs to make up 10 ½ games.

Experience is an issue, and a logical explanation for the team’s inability to come up big in big spots.  Just take the Mariners’ game-winning rally.  Bassitt’s cruising, two-thirds of the way through the sixth inning when he hits Robinson Cano in the ankle on a 1-2 pitch.  After a lengthy break for Cano to gather himself and stay in the game, the A’s bullpen remains quiet.  But the next pitch is slammed by Nelson Cruz for a double, the only extra-base hit allowed all day by Oakland pitching.  Now the A’s bullpen is stirring, but not quick enough to assume the next batter–former Athletic Seth Smith–who battles the count full and delivers a two-run single.

Cano, Cruz and Smith would account for only two hits on Sunday, but they had the presence to squeeze those two hits into a seven-pitch sequence that would win the game.  Melvin could have had his bullpen going, but that’s a fully debatable call.  And Bassitt was despondent after the game, feeling remorse for not starting enough (only 13 of 23) hitters off with a strike.

Unlike the three batters that would beat him, Bassitt has limited major league experience.  After Sunday, he’s thrown just 46 innings at the big league level.  And his self-evaluation was flawed in that he bemoaned his lack of first pitch strikes, yet against the only hitters that truly mattered, Bassitt started Cano and Smith with strikes and had Cano 0-2 before he hit him, and Smith 2-2 before he allowed the game-winning base hit.

So what really hurt Bassitt?  Probably not gathering himself after hitting Cano.  Cruz, the veteran hitter knew to look for something in the zone after Bassitt’s mechanics failed against Cano, and sure enough , he got it.

Coming through in big moments has been a problem, especially against Seattle.  In the first 10 0f 19 total games between the Mariners and A’s, Oakland’s scored 43 runs and won three times.  Seattle’s scored 39 runs and won seven times.

Elevating their game, putting away hitters, coming up with the clutch hit—the more nuanced aspects of the game—are the things eluding the A’s, at least for now.

On Tuesday, the A’s resume play in Yankee Stadium to open a six-game road trip with Gray making his return to the rotation in a matchup with New York’s Nathan Eovaldi.

Kingdom toppled: A’s stand up to Felix Hernandez in 2-0 shutout win

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Speedy Burns

By Morris Phillips

Call it Independence Day for more than reason: ownership of the Oakland A’s is no longer held by King Felix Hernandez.

The Mariners’ ace hadn’t lost a start at the O.co Coliseum in seven seasons until the A’s stood up to Hernandez and the Mariners on Saturday in an impressive 2-0 win.  Hernandez had gone 13 starts without a loss dating back to 2008, and thanks to a big effort from Kendall Graveman, fell at the Coliseum for only the third time in 21 career starts at 66th and Hegenberger.

“He’s just handed it to us here at home,” manager Bob Melvin said.  “It’s not like he pitched poorly today.  He didn’t have his best stuff and he wiggled out of a bunch of jams.”

“Today they found the holes,” Hernandez admitted.  “That’s the way it goes.”

The A’s have lost a bunch of close games thus far in 2015, not to mention their struggles in day games, which didn’t make it likely that they could get Hernandez off their collective backs.  But since a disastrous start, the A’s have made steady, subtle improvement—winning 24 of 40—and it continued Saturday thanks to Graveman.

The A’s starter—now sporting a 1.78 ERA in nine starts since an early season demotion to the minors—was fantastic, pitching seven innings allowing five hits.  Graveman has made himself into a Rookie of the Year candidate, winning for the sixth time, and forging a 16-inning scoreless streak in the process.

But given the A’s painful rebuild after holding the majors’ best record after 100 games last season, just one ROY candidate might not be enough.  That’s where Billy Burns comes in, and he found his way around the bases against Hernandez in just the first seven pitches of the ballgame.

The speedy Burns singled on the game’s first pitch, then three pitches later, stole second.  Stephen Vogt walked on the next pitch, and Ben Zobrist singled in Burns on pitch number seven.

Hernandez would work out of the quickly-created jam, and then again in the second inning.  From Melvin’s standpoint, it appeared the A’s had squandered a pair of critical opportunities.  Despite registering 10 hits, the A’s would score only one more run—in the seventh—off Hernandez.

Scott Kazmir is dominant, the A’s shut out the Mariners

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s beat the  Seattle Mariners in the first game of a four-game set by a score of 4-0. The game featured a matchup of two left-handed pitchers. Scott Kazmir  was on the hill for the A’s and he was opposed by the Mariners’ Roenis Elias. The A’s have had trouble against lefties so far this year as they have won just four games against fourteen losses. Kazmir made sure that the A’s did not lose as he was dominant. He retired thirteen men in a row before Franklin Gutierrez doubled off him in the fifth. Kazmir gave up one more hit and the man getting to him was Gutierrez. Kazmir went eight innings allowing two hits, no runs and seven strikeouts while throwing 105 pitches. Elias pitched well but not well enough.

The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the first. With two out, Mariners’ hurler, Roenis Elias, walked Ben Zobrist. The next hitter, Country breakfast Billy Butler doubled to put men on at second and third. A’s catcher Josh Phegley  followed with a double to drive in Zobrist and Butler. A’s lead 2-0 after one inning of play.

The A’s added a run in the bottom of the fifth. Mariners’ starter Roenis Elias had retired twelve men in a row after he gave up two runs in the first.Marcus Semien broke the spell when he drove one of Elias’ pitches over the left field wall.  Seventh home run of the year for Semien. A’s lead 3-0.

The A’s took a 4-0 lead in the seventh. With two out, A’s left fielder Mark Canha blasted a triple off the center-field wall to drive in Brett Lawrie with the run. Kazmir shut the Mariners down in the eighth and Edward Mujica  pitched a perfect ninth inning to secure the win for Oakland.

Game  Notes- The A’s have won three out of the last four and twelve of the last eighteen. They are 23-15 dating back to May 23rd. With the win, Kazmir evened his record at 5-5 and the A’s improved to 37-45while Seattle dropped to 36-43. After the game, A’s manager said this about Kazmir. This is the “best that we’ve seen him here.” Melvin said that he “thought about it” when asked why Kazmir didn’t go out to start the ninth inning.  When asked about trade rumors regarding Kazmir, he said that  he doesn’t know what will transpire but Kazmir ” likes it here” and that he is “a leader in the clubhouse.”  If the A’s get back into the race, Kazmir may not be moved.

The A’s meet the Mariners again Friday night at the O.co Coliseum at 7:05 pm ET. Right-hander Jesse Chavez will go for the Green and Gold while Seattle will send  out lefty J.A.Happ to handle the pitching chores.

Time of game was a swift two hours and seventeen minutes and 13,062 were on hand to watch Kazmir’s brilliant performance.