Tag: Athletics

A’s Long Balls Key in 6-2 win over M’s; 7th straight for Oakland

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Matt Olson, right, celebrates with Stephen Piscotty (25) and Marcus Semien, center, after hitting a three-run home run off Seattle Mariners’ Wade LeBlanc during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 24, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.


By Matt Harrington


The Oakland A’s mashed three home runs to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 and take game one of the weekend series. Matt Olson, Mark Canha and Stephen Piscotty all went deep for Oakland in a seventh-straight win.

Daniel Mengden started for the A’s going four innings and allowing a run on a Domingo Santana RBI single in the top of the first. Oakland would hit two two-run shots in the bottom of the fourth off M’s starter Wade LeBlanc, but Mengden was ineligible for the win after not reaching five innings.

The A’s added a run on a steal and wild throw in the bottom of the seventh, answering back after the M’s scored in the top of the frame to make it 4-2 at the time. Piscotty then took Connor Sadzeck deep in the bottom of the eighth.

Lou Trivino picked up the win after getting the final out of the seventh and finishing off the eighth. Blake Treinen closed out the ninth in a non-save. 

Olson and Canha went back to back in the fourth innning to get the A’s an early jump, Canha filling in for injured DH Khris Davis has been on a tear lately replacing the major league home run leader in the line up, “If you’re looking for a replacement for Khris, that’s the guy, he feels good at the plate, he’s getting good swings, seeing some pitches, taking some walks. Really good.” said A’s manager Bob Melvin.

A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty had a big night with the homer and two singles, putting him a 22 consecutive games to get on base leading the majors in reaching base. 

A’s starter Daniel Mengden started out the game walking four M’s hitters, but later A’s reliever Lou Trivino, who got the win and was the fourth of five pitchers was able to get four of five hitters out. 

Notes: Oakland A’s P.A. announcer Dick Callahan acknowledged A’s Spanish play by play announcer and our very own talk show host Amaury Pi-Gonzalez on the A’s scoreboard, who missed most of the first two months of the season after having surgery. Amaury looks great and says he’s been anxious to get back to work. 

Today’s 1:07 pm starters at the Oakland Coliseum for the Seattle Mariners Yusei Kikuchi (3-1, 3.43 ERA) vs. Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.05 ERA).


Matt Harrington covers A’s baseball each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

A’s Thursday off day report: Preview of A’s-Mariners series starting Friday

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s return home after a successful 6-2 road trip. The A’s were beating the Tigers in one game that was suspended due to bad weather. That game will be completed when the Tigers play the A’s in September. The two losses on the trip happened when the A’s played the Mariners in Seattle.

The Mariners and A’s have met four times this season, and the M’s have won them all. The A’s lost the first two in Japan to open the season and the last two in Seattle on May 13th and 14th. The games in Seattle were close. The Mariners won on May 13th 6-5 even though the A’s hit five home runs in that game. They beat the A’s again on May 14th, 4-3. Since that time the A’s won three in Detroit and three in Cleveland.

The A’s have also moved up in the standings in the AL Central. Oakland ‘s record is 25-25, and they are in third place just 1/2 game behind the surprising Texas Rangers. Seattle, on the other hand, played well to start the season but have fallen on hard times. They currently reside in last place in the AL West with a record of 23-29. They have lost 3 in a row and are 3-7 in their previous 10 games.

The Mariners have placed several key players on the 10-day IL. They include second baseman Dee Gordon, first baseman Ryon Healy, pitcher King Felix Hernandez, and third baseman Kyle Seager.

The Mariners still have a potent lineup. First baseman Daniel Vogelbach, DH Edwin Encarnacion, outfielders Jay Bruce, Domingo Santana, and Mitch Haniger all have power, and all of them have hurt the A’s with their bats. Infielder Tim Beckham has also punished the A’s with his power.

The pitching matchups for the series will be the following. On Friday, Oakland will send Daniel Mengden (1-1 3.65 ERA) out to pitch. Mengden is 0-2 with an ERA of 5.89 in four career starts against the Mariners. The Mariners will counter with lefty Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc, in his last outing against the Minnesota Twins, went 2 and 1/3rd innings and gave up seven hits and seven runs. LeBlanc missed five weeks due to a strained oblique. In two starts against the A’s last year, LeBlanc held the A’s scoreless for eleven innings.

Saturdays’ game will feature Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.05 ERA) going for his fourth win of the year. Fiers has an ERA of 2.53 over his last five starts, and that includes the no-hitter that he had against the Cincinnati Reds. Fiers is 2-2 with an ERA of 6.36 in 10 starts against Seattle. Rookie Yusei Kikuchi (3-1, ERA 3.43) will go for the M’s. Kikuchi is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.03 in his last four starts.

On Sunday, The A’s will have lefty Brett Anderson on the mound. Anderson (5-3, ERA 4.14)is returning to action after he left the game last Monday in Cleveland with a cervical strain. Anderson is 8-5 and has an ERA of 2.38 in 20 games against the M’s. Mike Leake goes for Seattle. Leake is 3-5 for the year and has an ERA of 4.73. Leake is 2-2 against Oakland in nine career starts.

The A’s are playing better as the offense has come alive and the pitching has been better. The A’s have seen improvement from Chris Bassitt, Mike Fiers, and Frankie Montas. Anderson has pitched well, and Mengden is still a work in progress.

Following the three-game series with Seattle, the A’s will face the LA Angels and then host the first-place Houston Astros.

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s flip the script, this is a road trip you want in a bottle; Team has now won 6 straight

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 With the 7-2 win over Cleveland on Wednesday night, the Oakland A’s hit the .500 mark after sweeping Cleveland and taking three straight from Detroit, going 7-2 thus far on the road trip.

#2 A’s starter Frankie Montas improved his record as the A’s got a 7-2 win over Cleveland, Montas (5-2, ERA 2.67) pitching six innings, five hits, no runs, struck out nine and walked two.

#3 Mark Canha is proving to be the right choice as designated hitter, hitting a home run, a double and three RBIs.

#4 A’s catcher Nick Hundley is also hitting the ball, going 3-4 with a home run, double and single.

#5 The A’s open a three-game series on Friday night, pitching for Oakland Daniel Mengden (1-1, 3.65 ERA), and for the Seattle Mariners, Wade LeBlanc (2-1 ERA 7.36) at the Oakland Coliseum.

Jerry does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s Canha 2-run homer proves difference in 6th straight win

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Charlie:

#1 The Oakland A’s picked up their second straight win over the Cleveland Indians and sixth straight win in Cleveland on Tuesday at Progressive Field 5-3.

#2 A’s slugger Khris Davis was placed on the injured list and was replaced on Tuesday by Mark Canha, who hit a two-run homer in the third off Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer.

#3 The Davis injury, a sore hip that hasn’t recovered like they thought it would. Davis sat on Saturday and played on Sunday, but suffered with it on Tuesday and had to leave the game. Davis says he’s having a hard time swinging the bat.

#4 Bauer has struggled and Cleveland is waiting for Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger to return to the rotation. Bauer against Oakland walked four, struck out five, and hit three batters.

#5 On Wednesday’s contest, the A’s will start Frankie Montas (5-2, 2.67 ERA) and the Indians will start Jefry Rodriguez (1-3, 3.45 ERA).

Charlie O reviews the A’s on the podcast each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s getting great starting pitching and timely hitting during their 3-game win streak

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 Nothing cures the Oakland A’s like a road trip to Detroit. The A’s have won three of the four games after struggling to open the road trip in Seattle early in the week.

#2 The 4-1 win on Saturday over the Tigers marks their 15th consecutive win over Detroit.

#3 A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden got the win for Oakland, pitching seven innings, one earned run, three hits and five strikeouts, 95 pitches and 62 for strikes.

#4 A’s catcher Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer to help the cause. Hundley has been a plus behind the plate and with the bat

#5 To conclude Sunday’s contest in Detroit the A’s will start former Tiger Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.12 ERA) vs. Detroit’s Gregory Soto (0-2, 13.50 ERA).

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s trounce Tigers 17-3 to take first game of four-game series

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photo from expo.mlive.com: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien scores from third on a wild pitch during the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Detroit.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, who are having a hard time winning games away from home this season, found their offensive magic as they pummeled the Detroit Tigers 17-3 at Comerica Park on Thursday.

The A’s improved their road record to 6-15 and their pitcher, Chris Bassitt, pitched one of the best games of his career. Bassitt went eight innings and allowed just four hits and no runs. He threw 108 pitches in picking up his second win of the year.

The A’s, as a team, hit five home runs on Thursday. They hit five Monday night in Seattle, but lost the game. The homers in Seattle were all solo blasts. Thursday’s show of power included a grand slam, a three-run blast, two two-run shots, and a solo home run.

The A’s scored all the runs they would need in the third inning when they put six on the board. Left-fielder Robbie Grossman started the festivities going with a lead-off triple. A’s catcher Josh Phegley, who had four hits and four RBIs in the game, singled to drive in Grossman with the A’s first run.

Marcus Semien reached on a fielder’s choice. Phegley was out at second. Matt Chapman walked, and first baseman Matt Olson reached on a fielders’ choice. Chapman went to second on Tigers’ first baseman Niko Goodrum’s throwing error.

Semien scored the second run on pitcher Spencer Turnbull’s wild pitch. Khris Davis struck out. Turnbull walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases. Jurickson Profar deposited Turnbull’s ball into the right-field seats for his first career grand slam. The A’s lead 6-0. The A’s scored three in the sixth, four in the seventh, two in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Aaron Brooks pitched the ninth for Oakland, and he had a rough outing. Pitchers don’t have to be careful when leading by 17, but Brooks needed to show the A’s that he belongs on the club. He gave up three hits and three runs. The big blow was a blast off the bat of Dawel Lugo to drive in Nick Castellanos and Josh Harrison. Brooks stuck out Grayson Greiner for the final out.

Game Notes: The A’s won their ninth in a row at Comerica Park. Detroit has been outscored 41-9 while losing the first four games of a 10-game homestand.

Josh Phegley, Mark Canha, Marcus, Semien, and Matt Olson all homered for the A’s.

A’s manager Bob Melvin had high praise for the play of Josh Phegley: “If you are looking for All-Star catchers this year, I don’t know anyone more worthy than Josh. He’s hitting close to .300, and he’s giving us homers and RBI. You don’t see that from the nine spot very often.”

The A’s are 20-25 for the year. The Tigers drop to 18-24.

Up Next: Frankie Montas (4-2, 3.78 ERA) will pitch Friday night for Oakland. Montas has been the most consistent starter for Oakland this year. Lefty Daniel Norris will be on the hill for Detroit. He’s 2-1 and has a respectable 3.63 ERA. Game time will be at 4:10 pm.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s look to improve on their road record; play in Detroit tonight

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s enjoyed a rare Wednesday off and are ready to open a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday at Comerica Park.

#2 The A’s are struggling on the road with a 5-15 record and the A’s were 1-8 on their last nine game trip.

#3 The A’s lost the first two games of this trip to Seattle by one-run games 6-5 and 4-3.

#4 A day gives a team a lot to think about. What are some of the things that the A’s need to consider in trying to make this a good road trip the rest of the way?

#5 The A’s will be starting Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA) for the Tigers Spencer Turnbull (2-2, 2.42 ERA). Talk a little about this match up and the job Bassitt has done for the A’s.

Jerry does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Preview of A’s four-game series with the Tigers

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nbcsports.com file photo: Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt gets ready to deliver as the A’s open up a four game series in Detroit on Thursday night at CoAmerica Park

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are having a very rare off-day on Wednesday as they travel to Detroit to face the Tigers for four games starting on Thursday.

The A’s, who are having trouble winning on the road, stumble into Motown with a 5-15 road record. The A’s were 1-8 on their last nine-game trip and have started this nine-game trip by losing the first two games to Seattle. The A’s overall are 19-24 for the season.

The A’s are currently residing in the basement in the AL West. Their starting rotation has not performed as well as A’s manager Bob Melvin had hoped. The A’s may have help coming in that department as pitchers Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk are making their way back from Tommy John surgery and may be available soon.

Sean Manaea, who had shoulder surgery, is coming along and he may be back later this year. Manaea won 12 games and tossed a no-hitter last season before exiting with the shoulder problem. In the meantime, Bob Melvin will send Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Daniel Mengden, and Mike Fiers to face the Tigers this weekend.

Montas has been the most consistent starter the A’s have had this year. Fiers is 3-3, and he threw a no-hitter in Oakland against the Cincinnati Reds. Bassitt has made three or four starts since being recalled, and Mengden will b making his second start.

The A’s bullpen has not been as good as it was last year. Most of the relievers are back, but baseball people know that last year’s success is no guarantee that the pitchers will be as successful this year. The A’s lost Jed Lowrie to free agency. Lowrie was a consistent hitter, and he knocked in 99 ribbies last season. The A’s acquired Jurickson Profar to replace him, but Profar has been struggling both on offense and on defense.

The A’s will be facing a Detroit Tiger team that is in the midst of a rebuild. The Tigers are not the juggernaut of 2012 when the won the AL Pennant. Gone are pitchers Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Anibal Sanchez. Their starters are now lefties Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris.

Righty Tyson Ross is on the 10-day IL and Michael Fulmer is on the 60-day IL. Former SF Giant, Matt Moore is also on the 60-day IL. Spencer Turnbull, Victor Alcantara, Daniel Stumpf, and Buck Farmer will see action this weekend against the A’s. Their closer, Shane Greene, has recorded 15 saves and has a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 1.50. The Tigers are in fourth place in the AL Central with a record of 18-22.

The Tigers’ two best players are Miguel Cabrera and Nick Castellanos. Cabrera is day-to-day with a knee issue. Cabrera missed most of 2018 with injuries, and his power has yet to return this year. His batting average is a respectable .282, and he has just one home run and 15 RBIs so far this year.

Castellanos, who will be a free agent at the end of next year, is on the trading block. The Tigers are paying him 10 million this season. In 37 games this season, Castellanos is hitting .270 with three homers and 12 RBIs. Last year he hit .298 and had 23 dingers.

The infielders for Detroit are Niko Goodrum at first, Josh Harrison, at second, Jeimer Candelario will play third, and Ronny Rodriguez will be the shortstop. Rodriguez has been productive, but the other three are just slightly below average.

The outfield will be manned by Christin Stewart in left, JaCoby Jones in center, and Castellanos in right. Cabrera will be the DH.

The series will be a battle between two teams hoping to improve. The A’s want to regain the form they had last season when they won 97 games. The Tigers, who lost 98 games in 2017 and 2018, are hoping to find a way back to respectability. They hope their young players will mature and improve. The A’s are hoping to end their road woes with a good series. Let’s see how this plays out in Detroit this weekend.

Mariners nip the A’s 4-3 to sweep the 2-game series

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photo from yahoosports.com: Seattle Mariners closing pitcher Roenis Elias reacts as stadium lights flash after the team’s baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in Seattle. Elias earned the save as the Mariners won 4-3.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland  A’s road woes continued as they fell to the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Seattle Tuesday night. The A’s, who were 1-8 on their last nine-game road trip, started this road trip 0-2. The A’s are off on Wednesday and will start a four-game set with the Tigers in Detroit before finishing the trip with three games with the Cleveland Indians.

Brett Anderson was on the mound for Oakland Tuesday night. Anderson gave the A’s six innings, and he allowed six hits and four runs. He was the losing pitcher, and his record dropped to 4-3. Mike Leake started for Seattle, and he picked up his third win of the year. Leake went 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and three runs (one earned).

The M’s put two on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Anderson gave up solo homers to Daniel Vogelbach and Tim Beckham.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the fifth. Leake walked Ramon Laureano and gave up a single to Robbie Grossman. Both runners advanced when Josh Phegley flew out to deep center field. Marcus Semien reached on Beckham’s throwing error, and that allowed Laureano and Grossman to score.

The game didn’t stay tied for long. With one out, Anderson walked J.P. Crawford. M’s centerfielder, Mitch Haniger, who loves to play against Oakland, hit his second home of the series to give the Mariners the lead 4-2.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the seventh. Stephen Piscotty led off with a double. Robbie Grossman singled to drive in Piscotty. The A’s trail 4-3.

The M’s brought in Roenis Elias to pitch with two-out in the seventh. Elias responded by getting the final seven outs of the game to preserve the win for Seattle.

The A’s drop to 19-24 while the M’s improve to 21-23.

Time of game was two hours and 37 minutes. 11,355 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s will have the day off on Wednesday before heading to Detroit and Comerica Park. Starting for the A’s on Thursday night Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA). The Tigers starter is yet to be determined.

Jerry Feitelberg is the Oakland A’s beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Will Irving reunite with LeBron in L.A.?; Leonard’s 4-bouncer rim shot gets Raptors in the semi Finals; plus more

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Photo credit: @AFordTaurus

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 What about all the talk from ESPN radio that they can see a LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reunion at the Los Angeles Lakers especially if Jason Kidd had come on board as head coach but Frank Vogel got the job as Lakers head coach? Stephen A Smith says that not going to happen that his sources tell him that Irving is going to the Knicks and Brooklyn is trying to weigh in on Irving, but Irving is focused on going to the Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

#2 The Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard sunk a four-bouncer on the rim and got the Raptors into the next round defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90 on a buzzer beater. Leonard had himself a game finishing with 41 points in a Game 7 elimination contest to advance to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

#3 The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard will be all the rage as the Blazers are coming off a narrow 4-3 win past the Denver Nuggets. It took seven games for the Blazers to advance. Do the Blazers have enough to go deep with Golden State? In game one the Warriors rolled past Portland 116-94.

#4 In hockey, the San Jose Sharks and St Louis Blues played Game 2 Monday night in the best of seven in this third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Final. The Sharks have been getting help from all around, but the Sharks’ Timo Meier has been on fire with two goals scored in Game 1. The Sharks had home ice in game for the first two games.

#5 The Oakland A’s opened up a two-game series in Seattle on Monday night the A’s got five homers but couldn’t win it in the end. The A’s and M’s are battling for that third place spot in the American League West and are two games out of second place but eight games behind Houston. The A’s and M’s have almost identical records in a short series that could prove to test the A’s on the road and the M’s against an A’s team who’s capable to break out the bats and get good pitching.

Barbara does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary every Tuesday night and is a freelance writer for Area Grande Spanish papers at http://www.sportsradioservice.com