MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Farquhar throws out first pitch recovering from aneurysm; Seahawks’ Russell wants to help move team to Portland; plus more

photo from the nytimes.com: Chicago White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar (43) tosses out the first pitch Friday June 1st at Cellular One Field before their meeting with the Milwaukee Brewers

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar throws out first pitch six weeks after suffering brain aneurysm

2 Seahawks quarterback and wife want to bring MLB to Portland, Ore.

3 Giants win third in a row, beat Phillies with three-hitter.

4 Royals bounce back to beat A’s Saturday after Friday’s 16-0 pounding by Oakland.

5 RIP Bruce Kison age 68 – winning pitcher in first nighttime World Series game in 1971.

Daniel Dullum on the MLB The Show podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

A’s bats come alive to beat the Rays 7-3; Mengden wins sixth game of the year

@Athletics photo: A’s starter Daniel Mengden, who pitched for eight innings gets the win on Thursday afternoon over the Tampa Bay Rays to avoid a sweep at the Oakland Coliseum

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- Tha A’s salvaged the finale of the four-game series as they hit three home runs to help Daniel Mengden win his sixth game of the year. Mengden was brilliant for eight innings as he allowed no runs and just three hits. He stumbled a bit in the ninth, but the A’s bullpen quelled the Rays rally to win 7-3. The Rays’ Ryne Stanek, who, usually pitches out of the bullpen, was selected to continue Kevin Cash’s program of using relievers to start.

The Rays were hoping to sweep the A’s as their pitching had held the A’s to just three runs in the last three games. The A’s hitters were scuffling, but today, they snapped out of the hitting funk. The A’s Khris Davis, who was on the 10-day DL, was cleared to play and he helped get the team going when he doubled in his first at-bat. The A’s also hit three home runs to aid Mengden’s cause. The A’s had hit just 19 at home so far this year as compared to 47 on the road. The changed the numbers when the three Matts, Olson, Chapman, and Joyce all homered.

In the bottom of the second, the A’s exploded to score three times.  The A’s had scored just three runs in the 4-game series with the Rays had to be ecstatic as the bats came alive. Khris Davis, in his first at-bat after being on the 10-day DL, doubled to right-centerfield. Chad Pinder walked to give the A’s runners at first and second with one out. Bruce Maxwell struck out for the second out. Stephen Piscotty, who has been scuffling, doubled to the left-field corner to drive in Davis and Pinder. Mark Canha followed with a single to give the A’s the lead 2-0 after two complete.

The A’s scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-0 lead. With one out, Matt Olson hit a solo home run to right. Two batters later, Matt Chapman sent a Ryan Yarbrough pitch into outer space for his ninth of the season.

Matt Joyce joined the homer parade in the eighth. Stephen Piscotty walked to put a man on first with one out. The Rays recorded the second out of the inning when Mark Canha popped out to the Rays’ first baseman Brad Miller in foul territory. Joyce then blasted his seventh big fly to put the A’s in the driver’s seat 7-0.

A’s manager let Mengden start the ninth. Mengden gave up a single to C.J.Cron and Joey Wendle to put men on first and second with no out. Rays’ catcher Wilson Ramos doubled to drive in Cron and Wendle. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Josh Lucas to pitch. Mengden received a standing ovation from the 12, 070 fans in attendance. Lucas struck out Daniel Robertson for the first out. He then walked Brad Miller. Lucas struck out Rob Refsnyder for the second out. He needed one more out to get the save, but he couldn’t retire Christian Arroyo. Aroyo slammed a double into left field to drive in Ramos. Miller stopped at third base. Melvin brought in closer Blake Treinen to end the game. Rays’ right fielder Josh Field hit a blooper that looked as if it was going to fall in for a hit. Chad Pinder made a sensational over-the-shoulder catch to end the game. It was not easy as the ball bounced off Pinder’s glove, but he somehow was able to grab the ball with his bare hand as he fell to the ground.  The A’s win 7-3

Game Notes: Mengden had his scoreless streak end at a career-high 25 innings. It was the longest streak by an A’s pitcher since Sean Doolittle in 2014 (26.1) and the longest by an A’s starter since Corey Lidle in 2002 (32.0). Mengden also pitched 16 consecutive innings without issuing a walk. He has won four consecutive games for the first time in his career. Blake Treinen recorded his 13th save of the year, and it was his 10th save in May tying him with Dennis Eckersley for the most saves in May in Oakland history.

The A’s seven runs ended a 14-game consecutive streak of 4 runs or less. They finished the month with a record of 15-14 which was the first winning record in May since 2014.

The line score for Oakland was 7 runs, 7 hits, and no errors. The Rays’ line was 3 runs, 7 hits, and 2 errors. The A’s improve to 29-28 while the Rays fall to 28-27.

Up Next: The A’s start a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals Friday night in Kansas City. They are off on Monday before going to Texas for two more with the Rangers. Frankie Montas, who pitched well in his last start, will handle the pitching chores for the Green and Gold and the Royal will start the veteran righty, Ian Kennedy. Kennedy is 1-5 and has an ERA of 5.15. Game time is at 5:15 pm PST.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Oakland 3-5 on current homestand so far; looking to have breakout offense against Rays

Photo credit: @RaysBaseball

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

First of all let’s talk about Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Nathan Eovaldi who was coming off his second Tommy John surgery and hadn’t pitched since August 10, 2016. Eovaldi pitched six innings reached his 70 pitch count and was throwing a no hitter and left the game for reliever Wilmer Font who was an A’s pitcher once upon a time until the A’s designated him for assignment and the Rays picked him up.

Font gave up the only hit in the ball game for the A’s when the A’s Jed Lowrie got a single that broke it up. If the Rays succeeded with the no hitter it would be the first time since 1991 that the A’s would have been no hit.

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

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s getting good pitching, they just need some offense

mlb.com photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden throwing a shutout against the Arizona Diamondbacks last Saturday May 26, 2018 at the Oakland Coliseum

Charlie O on the A’s podcast:

1) The A’s took 2 of 3 from Arizona and then lost the first game of the Tampa Bay series in an 1-0 extra inning heartbreaker. In those 4 games they scored 4 runs, what’s happening at the plate?

2) what about the pitching? How the staff perform in these games?

3) you say the A’s have some good news coming this week.

4) I have noticed on our Twitter account you have been doing some fantasy betting on A’s games? Why? And how are you doing?

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

 

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Oakland and Tampa Bay have similar business model situations; Both teams in need of new stadiums

Photo credit: @SFGate

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s, who opened a four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, started the series with the Rays at .500 on this current homestand. The A’s started the homestand against the Seattle Mariners, a very good team who is in second place followed by Arizona.

The M’s won two out of three from the slumping Minnesota Twins over the weekend. The A’s and Rays as far as front office organization situations are concerned are in the same boat. The attendance for both teams are low and their in two different divisions but similar at this time in history. Both teams are struggling in their current ball parks. They both are in need of getting new parks built. The A’s are looking to go to Jack London Square and build a waterfront park. The Rays want a waterfront park in Tampa Bay and want to get out of Tropicana Field in St Petersburg.

The A’s and Rays also speaking of sharing business models. It gets down to on the field and both teams also have bullpens on their home fields. They are two of three teams in MLB that have bullpens on the field, the Giants being the other. Bullpens on the field became an issue after the Giants outfielder Mac Williamson tripped on the AT&T bullpen mound and got a concussion in April.

I’m old-school. I like to see the bullpens on the field, baseball has changed. The fans still enjoy to see the bullpens and you like to see the pitchers warming up in the bullpens. When you broadcast a game, you can see whose loosening up. Some stadiums you don’t see whose warming up.

There’s more on That’s Amaury listen to Amaury’s podcast weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Angels’ Trout goes yard on Yanks; Giants’ Bumgarner near to return; Choo leads MLB’s Asian-born hitters with HRs

photo from yahoosports.com: Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout went 5-5 on Saturday against the New York Yankees

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1  LA Angels’ Mike Trout (27) has another career day in rout of New York Yankees.

2 Mad about Bum: SF Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner fans eight in first rehab start.

3 Shin-Soo Choo is MLB’s new Asian-born home run king.

4 A’s “Star Wars” themed fireworks show starts fire in Oakland.

5 Cleveland reliever Andrew Miller back on DL.

Daniel does MLB The Show podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Down-and-Out D’Backs: Arizona finally wins one, beats the A’s 7-1 at the Coliseum

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–After losing 13 out of 14, and falling out of first place in the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks arrived at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday either desperate, panicked or totally focused.

Or completely relaxed.

If the D’Backs’ collective mindset was the latter, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt–hitting just .200 and enveloped in the worst slide of his eight-year big league career–personified it the best. Goldschmidt simply suited up and went back to work, re-energized after a rare Thursday off.

And the A’s Sean Manaea was made to pay, roughed up by Arizona as the Diamondbacks built a 6-1, fourth inning lead on their way to a 7-1 win. Goldschmidt got help from the A’s Chad Pinder, who made an ill-advised dive at Goldy’s base hit, only to see it turn into a two-run triple in the fourth.

“It’s been a rough couple of weeks for us and it’s good to come out and get that early lead there and be able to tack on a few,” Goldschmidt said.

The Diamondbacks won easily for the first time since April 26. The A’s lost for the third time in four games at home–after a four-game road sweep in Toronto supposedly built momentum.

Patrick Corbin limited the A’s to a run on four hits in seven innings, with Mark Canha’s solo shot in the third Oakland’s only dent in the scoreboard. The A’s were limited to just two extra-base hits while collectively striking out 10 times. With Corbin dealing, it made for a quiet night at the Coliseum.

Meanwhile, Arizona put it together at the plate, after seeing their team batting average drop to .213, the major league’s worst.

“Guys came after the off day ready to go and we put some good swings on some good, hittable pitches,” shortstop Nick Ahmed said.

“You know at some point in time that’s going to end because they’re too good to go through long stretches like that,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said after looking at the recent numbers of the slumping D’Backs.

Manaea is 1-3 with an ERA over seven in May, after he posted a no-hitter and won the American League Pitcher of the month in April. On Friday, too many pitches over the plate were Manaea’s downfall.

“Just falling behind guys and just not really trusting my stuff right now,” Manaea said.

The A’s resume play with Arizona on Saturday with Clay Buchholz facing Oakland’s Daniel Mengden at 1:05 pm PST.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s four game sweep lands A’s a 7-3 record; A’s and M’s play three-game series starting Tuesday

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

1) The A’s are 25-22 and coming off a 7-3 road trip. Let’s talk about their success by the numbers. How are they doing as a team at the plate?

2) Defense has been a problem for the team in the past few seasons, how are they doing this year?

3) Finally how is the pitching stacking up?

4) The MLB Trade Deadline is on July 31st. Will Jed Lowrie be wearing green & gold when the deadline passes?

5) What’s coming up on the schedule for the A’s?

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

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Pinder’s slam gets A’s third straight win over Jays; Giants’ Melancon may not close for SF; Giants Utility man Panda likely to fill in at second

photo from sbnation.com: Chad Pinder clears the bases with this swing a grand slam that helped the A’s win three straight over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. The A’s and Jays meet again on Sunday.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Chad Pinder hits grand slam in A’s win at Toronto.

2 Mark Melancon not likely to jump back to closer’s role with Giants; Bumgarner making progress.

3 Panda may see action at second base for Giants before Joe Panik returns.

4 Brandon Belt hears from Joe Torre for comments about umpires.

5 Twins put former MVP Joe Mauer on DL with concussion symptoms.

6 Tim Tebow having great month at Double-A, could move up.

Daniel Dullum does the MLB The Show podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s enter the lion’s den starting Friday for three games at Yankee Stadium

photo by nydailynews.com: Former Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray will face his old teammates during the three game series between the A’s and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium starting Friday night

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s begin a 10-game road stand against the top three teams in the AL East. They meet the New York Yankees starting Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The A’s will be facing the hottest team in baseball at the moment. The Yankees have won 17 of the last 18 games and have moved into first place in the AL East. The Yankees On their last road trip, the Yankees swept all four games against the Houston Astros in Houston. The Astros are a very good, young team as well as defending World Championships and they were trampled by New York. The Astros, after two games with Arizona, came to Oakland and swept the A’s.

The A’s have record of 18-19 and are in fourth place in the AL West. The A’s have not announced who will start Friday night. A’s starter Trevor Cahill was placed on the 10-day DL with tightness in his arm. The A’s may recall Kendall Graveman or Chris Bassitt from Nashville to make a start. Andrew Triggs will pitch on Saturday, and Brett Anderson goes for Oakland on Sunday. Triggs has pitched reasonably well but has not faced a fearsome a lineup like the Yankees. Lefty Brett Anderson throws on Sunday, and the hopes are that he will have a better outing. The Astros blasted him in the game on Monday night that they won 16-2.

The Yankees pitching stacks up this way. Former A’s starter, Sonny Gray pitches Friday night. Gray is 2-2 and his an ERA of 6.00. Gray would like nothing better than to beat his old teammates. Rookie Domingo German (0-1, 2.21) goes on Saturday, and Luis Severino, who is rapidly becoming the ace of the Yankee staff, throws on Sunday. Severino is 5-1 with an ERA of 2.21.

The Yankees are living up to the nickname of being the Bronx Bombers. They have players up and down the lineup that can knock the ball out of the park. The A’s pitchers will have to deal with Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton. Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez, Neil Walker, Miguel Andujar, and Gleyber Torres. These guys are almost an entire All-Star team. If these guys continue to terrorize opponents’ pitching, A’s manager Bob Melvin butter have some Tylenol ready for his headache.

Even if the A’s can find a way to get the offense going and send the starters to the showers, the Yankee bullpen is loaded. Featured relievers are Chad Green, Chasen Shreve, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, the closer.

The A’s took two out of three from Boston when they were the hottest team in baseball. It can be done. Hopefully, they will find a way to upset the Yankees’ apple cart.