Tag: Athletics

by Jerry Feitelberg

What a difference a day makes. Monday night, the bullpen failed and the A’s lost the game, but the A’s defeated the Twins  2-1 Tuesday night in Minnesota behind the great pitching of Jesse Chavez and Tyler Clippard. Chavez was making his third start of the year and he was terrific. He went 7 and 1/3rd innings and allowed just four hits and one run and that run was unearned. Evan Scribner faced one hitter and he was replaced by Tyler Clippard who was able to get five outs to win the game for the A’s. Chavez came into the game with a record of 0-2 and an ERA of 2.55.  Trevor May (2-1, 4.43 ERA)  started for the Twins.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Leadoff hitter, Billy Burns singled to start the inning. He stole second to get into scoring position and was driven in when designated hitter, Billy Butler singled to right. 1-0 A’s

There was no more scoring until the top of the sixth as Mays and Chavez engaged in an old-fashioned pitchers duel. The A’s scored again when Stephen Vogt walked with two out. Ike Davis singled and Vogt scored on a single by Brett Lawrie. May went 5 &2/3rds innings giving up five hits and two runs.

The Twins were held scoreless until the bottom of the eighth. Jesse Chavez gave up a single to Jordan Schafer. With one out, Danny Salazar hit a rocket that was fielded by Ike Davis. Davis should have stepped on first for the force out, but he elected to throw to second in the hopes of starting a double play, but his throw went past Marcus Semien who was covering second on the play. Schafer went to third on the error. Bob Melvin brought in Evan Scribner to pitch to Brian Dozier. Dozier hit a soft line drive to center to drive in Schafer with the Twins’ first run. Melvin replaced Scribner with Tyler Clippard. Clippard had to face two dangerous Twins’ hitters, Torii Hunter, and Joe Maurer. He retired both of them to end the inning. Clippard retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the win for Chavez and the A’s. Final score 2-1 in favor of Oakland.

Game notes- Jesse Chavez and Tyler Clippard’s performances gave the A’s what they desperately needed. Solid starting pitching and a great performance from the bullpen was exactly the A’s needed and Chavez and Clippard came through in a big way. Chavez went deep into the game and Clippard shut the Twins down. Clippard earned his third save of the year and the A’s won their first one-run game of the season. The A’s are 3-2 on the road trip and 12-16 overall.

Game 3 of the series will be Wednesday night at Target Field in Minneapolis at 5:05pm. Scott Kazmir will pitch for Oakland.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s started a four-game set in Minnesota with the Twins Monday night. The game was a battle of right-handed pitchers. Jesse Hahn was looking for his second win of the season and he was opposed by Phil Hughes. Hughes was 0-4 entering the game and looking for his first win. The A’s had a chance to chase Hughes in the first inning, but could not get the key hit they needed to break the game open.  The Twins, who are playing well, came from behind twice and were able to keep the A’s at bay as they won the game 8-7.

The A’s scored four times in the first. They loaded the bases for Stephen Vogt and Vogt put the ball into the right-field stands to give the A’s an early 4-0 lead. The A’s continued to hit Hughes well. Ike Davis singled and Brett Lawrie doubled to put men on at 2nd and 3rd with one out, but Hughes was able to get the next two hitters and get out of the jam.

The Twins came back in the bottom of the second and tied the score at 4. The bottom of the Twins order caused the A’s fits all night. The rally was started by the Twins’ designated hitter, Kennys Vargas, who singled to right/Left-fielder Eduardo Escobar also singled to put two on with no out. Jordan Schafer doubled to drive in Vargas. Shortstop Danny Santana reached on an infield hit driving in Escobar with the Twins’ second run of the inning. Leadoff hitter, Brian Dozier, doubled to drive in two more runs to tie the game.

The A’s took the lead again in the top of the sixth. Big Mark Canha hit a tape-measure home run into the second deck in left field to make it a 5-4 game. The Twins scored four times in their half of the sixth to take the lead for good. Jesse Hahn gave up two hits to start the sixth and A’s manager Bob Melvin decided that Hahn was done for the night and he replaced by R.J.Alvarez. Alvarez gave up a single to Schafer to tie the game, but he managed to get two out before he had to face the ever dangerous Torii Hunter. Hunter responded by turning on a fastball and hit a line shot down the leftfield line for a three-run homer. Twins lead 8-5 after six.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the eighth to make it a 2 run deficit and they scored a run in the ninth.The Twins had the closer, Glen Perkins on the mound to end the game, but the A’s did not go down easy. Josh Reddick singled and took second on defensive indifference. Reddick scored on a double by Vogt that just missed going out of the park. The A’s needed a hit to tie, but Perkins struck out Craig Gentry to win it for Minnesota.

Game notes- The A’s are now 2-2 on the 10 game road trip and their record for the year is 11-16. The Twins, on the other hand, are hot. They have won five in a row and are at 14-12 and in third place in the very tough central division just behind the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.

The A’s hitting stars were Stephen Vogt who went 3-for-5 with a home run, double and five Rbi, Billy Burns and Brett Lawrie with two hits each. Josh Reddick singled in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.  The Twins hitting stars were  Vargas, Escobar, Schafer, Santana and Hunter. Hunter had the big three-run homer and the other four hitters went 9-for14 in winning the game for the Twins.

Phil Hughes went six innings won his first game of the year. The A’s touched him for 5 runs and 9 hits but their starter, Jesse Hahn, did not have a good outing. Hahn went 5 plus innings allowing 6 runs on 10 hits and took the loss. His record for the year is 1-2. The A’s bullpen allowed 2 runs or more for the 12th time in the last 18 games. Part of the problem is that the starters, other than Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir, are not going deep into the game and the bullpen is becoming overworked and, perhaps, tired. The A’s need the starters to go six, seven and eight innings and allow the bullpen to regroup.  A’s closer, Sean Doolittle, will be back soon, but the other members of the ‘pen have to pitch better if the A’s want to make the playoffs.

Game 2  will be played at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tuesday at 5:05pm

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s fell to the Angels Wednesday night 6-3. The A’s  starter Jesse Hahn went five innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. He did not take the loss as the A’s rallied from a three-run deficit to tie the score in the sixth and got him off the hook.

Angels’ starter, Matt Shoemaker, was not involved in the decision either. Shoemaker left after 5 23rds inning allowing six hits and three runs.  The bullpen failed the A’s once again. Ryan Cook, in his second appearance since being called up from Nashville, took the loss. Cook went just 1/3rd of an inning allowing 2 hits and 3 runs. The A’s drop to 9-13 while LA is now 10-11 for 2015.

For the second night in a row, the Angels jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Angels’ right fielder, Kole Calhoun led off the inning with a single. Mike Trout walked to put men on at first and second with no out. The advanced to second and third on an Albert Pujols ground out. Hahn struck out David Freese for the second out but A’s nemesis, Erick Aybar, singled sharply to center field to drive in Calhoun and Trout.

In the top of the third, Mike Trout hit a blast into the left field seats to increase the Angel lead to 3-0. For Trout, it was his fifth home run of the year. In the bottom of the fourth, Oakland shortstop, Marcus Semien, doubled off the left-field wall to put the A’s in business. Stephen Vogt singled to left field driving in Semien with the run. Billy Butler hit into a double play and Ike Davis struck out to end the inning. A’s trail 3-1 after four.

The A’s rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth. Marcus Semien led off the inning with an infield single. It was Semien’s third hit of the game. Ike David doubled down the right field line driving in Semien with the A’s second run of the game. Davis advanced to third on an a throwing by the Angels’ second baseman, Johnny Gaviotella. The Angels brought in the left-handed reliever, Cesar Ramos, to pitch to Josh Reddick. The strategy backfired as Reddick singled up the middle driving in Davis with the tying run.Game tied at 3 at the end of six.

The Angels broke the tie in the top of the sixth. Ryan Cook was brought in to pitch for the A’s.  Cook walked Matt Joyce to start the frame. C.J. Cron singled to right. Gaviotella singled driving in Joyce. Calhoun walked to load the bases and a Mike Trout double drove in two more runs to give the Angels a 6-3 lead in the middle of the seventh.

There was no more scoring as the Angel bullpen shut down the A’s attack. Final score 6-3 in favor of the Angels.

Notes- Angel first baseman, Albert Pujols injured his leg running to first on a single to center to start the sixth inning. He was taken out of the game due to tightness in his left hamstring. Each manager

used six pitchers in the game. Marcus Semien was the hitting star for the A’s as he had two doubles and a single.

The rubber game of the series will be played Thursday afternoon at 12:35 pm at the O.co Coliseum.

Jesse Chavez will go for Oakland and Garrett Richards will handle the pitching chores for the Angels.

Time of game was 3 hours and 1 minute and 16,212 paid to watch the game.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s and the Angels had their aces going for them tonight. The A’s Sonny Gray was looking to pick up his third win of the year and the Angels’ Jered Weaver was hoping to get his first. Gray got the win as the A’s rocked Weaver for five runs in the first and went on to beat the Angels 6-2 and snap a four-game losing streak. Gray did not get off to a good start either as he gave up two runs in the first and was nailed for five hits in the first two innings. Gray settled down after the second and retired 18 out of the last 19 hitters he faced allowing just one single in the seventh. Weaver also settled down and he retired 13 in a row before giving up a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth and a solo home run to Josh Reddick in the sixth.

The Angels scored two runs in the top of the first. A’s ace, Sonny Gray walked the leadoff batter, Kole Calhoun, to start the game. Kole advanced to third on a seeing-eye single off the bat of Albert Pujols. Pujols reached second on a wild pitch. David Freese singled to center driving in Calhoun and Pujols. Freese was thrown out trying to reach second but A’s catcher, Stephen Vogt, alertly cut off the throw and nailed Fresse sliding into second. The A’s came roaring back in their half of the first as they scored five runs on four hits. Marcus Semien singled with one out to get the rally going. He went to third on a single by Stephen Vogt. Angels’ starter, Jered Weaver,  hit Billy Butler with a pitch to load the bases. Josh Reddick singled to drive in Semien and Vogt to tie the game. Brett Lawrie  took Weaver’s first pitch and sent it into the left field bleachers for a three-run homer to give the A’s a 5-2 lead.

There was no more scoring until the bottom of the sixth. Both Sonny Gray and Jered Weaver pitched well as each pitcher found his mojo and the hitters just couldn’t get to them until A’s Right Fielder, Josh Reddick, sent a Weaver pitch into the seats in right field to give the A’s a 6-2 lead after six.

Gray went eight innings and the A’s brought in Evan Scribner to pitch in the ninth. Scribner struck out the Angels three top hitters, Trout, Pujols and Freese to put an end to the game.

Game notes- The A’s won for the first time when the opponent scored first and have outscored the opposition 68-8 in their nine wins. Gray is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in the starts against the AL West and is 4-1 with a 2.42 ERA in seven career appearances, including six starts, against the Angels. Brett Lawrie hit a three-run homer in the first inning and has six RBI in the last two games. Josh Reddick was 2 for 4 and now has a 6 game hitting streak.

The A’s meet the Angels on Wednesday night at 7:05pm. Jesse Chavez will go for Oakland and he will be opposed by Garrett Richards.

The A’s released the following information regarding Sean Doolittle and Coco Crisp.

Doolittle is expected to throw more bullpens before eventually facing hitters and getting into game situations. The A’s bullpen has been struggling in his absence, posting a 4.43 ERA as a unit, which ranked 25th in the league entering Tuesday’s game against the Angels.

Crisp, who underwent right elbow surgery April 3 to remove bone chips, sounds very close to game action. He is hoping to play for Class A Advanced Stockton at some point during their upcoming homestand, which runs Friday through May 7.

The veteran outfielder said it will be an adjustment since it’s the first time he was sidelined for Spring Training in his career. Not to mention he’s making the move from center field to left.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Crisp said. “I don’t know how many games I’ll need down there or if I’ll feel good right away, as far as my timing and my body.”

A’s manager Bob Melvin said injured utility man Ben Zobrist underwent left knee surgery on Tuesday afternoon to repair a meniscus tear, but that he didn’t have any information about Zobrist’s expected recovery time.

Attendance was 17,674 and time of game was an astounding 2 hours and six minutes. 

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s have a day off on Monday as they will try to regroup and, hopefully, get their act together as they face the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game series starting Tuesday night at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland. The A’s split a four-game series with the Angels last week in Anaheim. The A’s lost the last game to the Angels and then returned home to face the Houston Astros for three and the A’s lost all three and are now mired in a four-game loosing-streak.

The Angels, in the meantime, have played better ball and are just one game under the .550 mark with a record of 9-10. The Angels have also removed the drama surrounding the saga of Josh Hamilton by trading him to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Hamilton, signed as a free agent by the Angels before the start of the 2013 season, did not play well in Anaheim. The former AL MVP signed a huge contract with the Angels but performed as if he were a utility player rather than a superstar. Hamilton admitted earlier this year that he had relapsed and was using drugs and alcohol again. The league did not suspend him but Angel owner, Arte Moreno, was so fed up with Hamilton that he attempted to negate his contract. It became apparent to all that Hamilton would never play for the Angels again. The situation was remedied earlier on Monday when the announcement came that Hamilton was heading back to the Texas Rangers where he had great success earlier in his career.

The A’s in the meantime, have been struggling. A’s starters, Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir have performed well, but Kendall Graveman did not do well and has been sent down to Nashville. Jesse Hahn had one good game and one not so good game and he injured his finger in his third start and will return to the rotation either on Wednesday or Friday. Jesse Chavez, who pitched well as a starter last year, did well in his start against the Angels last week. He lost the game but gave up just one hit, but that hit was a two-run homer that gave LA the win. The A’s fifth starter, Drew Pomeranz is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA and, hopefully, he will do better as the season progresses. The A’s bullpen has not performed up to snuff yet this year.  The bullpen has been tagged for six losses this year and has only one victory so far this year. Eric O’Flaherty is 0-2 with an 11.37 ERA. Dan Otero and Fernando Abad both have lost games for the A’s and Tyler Clippard, who is the closer until Sean Doolittle returns, is 0-2. Ryan Cook was called up from Nashville and pitched well in the game against Houston on Sunday. Doolittle should be back soon, but no date has been set for his return. The A’s have four hitters over the .300 mark at the moment. Josh Reddick, Ike Davis, Stephen Vogt and Billy Butler are all hitting over .325. The A’s have scored runs, but they have not been able to win games that are close. Their record is 8-12 so far. While it is still early in the season, the A’s have to be careful of not falling too far behind. After the three-game set with LA, they head out to Texas, Minnesota and Seattle playing their second 10-game road trip of the year before returning home to face Boston and the Chicago White Sox. The A’s, also, are not fielding well. They have committed 20 errors, the most in the American League. In order to win, teams, these days, must have good starting pitching, a good bullpen, timely hitting and a strong defense. These ingredients improve the A’s chances of winning as they prevent other teams from scoring. Teams cannot win when they give opponents an extra out in an inning.

Tuesday’s game against the Angels will feature a rematch between the A’s Sonny Gray and the Angels’ Jered Weaver. Gray had a terrific outing against the Angels as he went seven innings and allowed 2 hits while picking up the victory. Gray is 2-0 this year with an ERA of 1.91. Weaver, an 18-game winner last  year is 0-2 with an ERA of 5.24. Weaver is 13-9 against the A’s in 31 starts lifetime and has won 4 of his last 6 starts at Oakland. Should be an interesting game as each team is trying to find an identity. The Angels, pre-season picks to win the AL West, want to right the ship and start surging. They have good starting pitching, but the bullpen is so-so. The A’s are trying to find consistency. Some days they have too many hits, some days they can’t buy a hit. Same thing for the pitching and the fielding. The only consistent thing about the A’s this year is their inconsistency. These are the things that drive a manager to lose his cool (see picture).

Game time is at 7:05pm.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s were shut out for the first time this year as they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Angels 2-0 Thursday afternoon in Anaheim. The A’s continue to have a game when everyone is hitting and they score lots of runs and the next game when hits are hard to come by and they can barely put any runs on the board. This was one of the games when they couldn’t get the hits and they couldn’t score.The A’s did have a couple of chances in the seventh and eighth innings,  but they could not get the clutch hit that would have put some runs on the board.

The game featured two pitchers being used as spot starters by their managers. Jesse Chavez made his first start of the year filling in for Jesse Hahn. Chavez pitched well enough to win as he went six innings allowing just one hit. That hit, however, was a home run by Kole Calhoun with a man aboard that gave the Angels the win. The Angels’Nick Tropeano also made his first start of the year. Tropeano went six innings allowing no runs and just five hits to earn his first win of the year.

The Angels scored two runs in the bottom of the third. Angel catcher Drew Butera reached on a throwing error by Brett Lawrie.Chavez, pitching out of the stretch, threw one right down the middle of the plate and Kole Calhoun made him pay as the ball went flying out of the park into the right field seats. That was all the scoring in the game. Angels win 2-0.

Game notes- the A’s used three pitchers, Chavez for six, Dan Otero in the 7th and Tyler Clippard in the 8th and all the Angels could muster was one hit but that hit was the difference in the game. The Angels used four pitchers, Tropeano, Fernando Salas, Joe Smith and Huston Street.

The A’s split the four game series with the Angels and were 5-5 on the ten game road trip. The A’s return home Friday night to face the Houston Astros for three games. The Friday night game will feature Scott Kazmir(2-0,1.33 ERA) going for Oakland and he will be opposed by the Astros’ ace, Dallas Keuchel (2-0, 0.90 ERA)

Game time will be Friday night at 7:05 at the O.Co Coliseum.

by Jerry Feitelberg

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, the Oakland A’s rebounded from a pummeling at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels last night, to trounce the Angels 9-2  Wednesday night in Anaheim and even their record at 8-8. The Angels’ record drops to 6-9.

It was a battle of the aces Wednesday night. The A’s Sonny Gray seeking his second win of the year entered the game with an ERA of 2.11 and he was opposed by the Angels’ Jered Weaver. Weaver’s record this year is 0-2 with an ERA of 6.61 before the start of the game. Weaver won 18 games last year for the Angels, but the team was concerned about the drop in velocity as his fastball barely went beyond 82 or 83 miles per hour. It was, however, a terrific pitching duel between Gray and Weaver. Weaver went six innings, allowing 8 hits with 3 strikeouts and no walks. Sonny Gray simply outpitched as he went 7 innings giving up just one run and two hits. Gray struck out 7 and walked 2 but retired the last 14 Angel batters that he faced. Gray received credit for the win.

The A’s took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Sam Fuld singled and stole second. The Angels challenged the call on the steal, but the call was not reversed. Stephen Vogt singled and Fuld took third. Billy Butler hit a slow roller to third and the only play Angel third baseman David Freese could make was at first. Fuld scored on the play.

The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the second. David Freese doubled to lead off the inning. Gray threw a wild pitch that allowed Freese to make it to third. Erick Aybar ground out to first and Freese scored the tying run.

There was no more scoring by either team until the seventh inning. Weaver was done after six innings and Angels’manager, Mike Scioscia brought in Fernando Salas to pitch the seventh. Eric Sogard, leading off, singled and stole second to get things going for Oakland. Marcus Semien laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Sogie over to third. Sam Fuld drew an intentional walk. Mark Canha struck out for the second out of the inning. Lefty Cesar Ramos was brought in to pitch to Stephen Vogt. Vogt came through with a big hit to drive in Sogard with the A’s second run of the game. Vinnie Pestano was now on the mound for LA. Pestano’s first pitch went way past Chris Iannetta allowing Fuld to cross the plate to make it a 3-1 game. Vogt took second on the play and he came in to score ahead of Billy Butler who hit his third home run of the season that went to dead centerfield. Ike Davis singled for his third hit of the night and that was followed by Josh Reddick’s double to put men on at 2nd and 3rd. Both scored on Brett Lawrie’s single. A’s lead 6-1.

Sonny Gray retired the Angels 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 7th. Gray retired the last14 batters he faced in order.

The A’s added three more runs in the 8th. The A’s loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Vogt drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Butler singled driving in his fourth run of the night. Mark Canha scored the ninth run of the night on a fielder’s choice. Evan Scribner set the Angels down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 8th.

The Angels added a run in the bottom of the 9th. Arnold Leon made his Major League Debut pitching for the A’s. He had been recalled from Nashville earlier in the day. The 26 year old Leon retired the first batter he faced, but the Angels loaded the bases on a single, double and walk. A high chopper drove in Pujols with the run but Leon was able to get the last hitter to secure the win for the A’s

Game notes- Relief pitcher, R.J.Alvarez, was sent down to Nashville Wednesday. The hitting stars for the A’s were Billy Butler who went 2 fo 5 with a home run and 4 runs batted in. Sam Fuld, Ike Davis and Josh Reddick each had three hits in the game for Oakland. Stephen Vogt had two hits and two runs batted in.

The line score for the A’s 9 runs, 18 hits and no errors while the Angels were 2 runs on 4 hits and no errors.

The A’s conclude the four-game series and the ten game road trip Thursday afternoon in Anaheim. Game time will  be at 4:05pm

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s stopped in Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Angels Monday night. The A’s beat the Angels 6-3 and are now 7-7 for 2015. This was the seventh game of a ten game road trip and the A’s are 4-3. Kendall Graveman made his third start of the year and it was a tough start for the young righty. Graveman went three-plus innings giving up three runs on seven hits.  Dan Otero was brought in to pitch in the fourth after Graveman allowed the first two hitters to reach. Otero threw four scoreless innings and was credited with the win. Evan Scribner and Tyler Clippard also kept the Angels off the board. The Angels’ starter, Matt Shoemaker also went three-plus innings. Shoemaker allowed seven hits and five runs and took the loss. Shoemaker is 2-1 for the year. The Angels’ season record drops to 5-8.

The A’s took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Super Sam Fuld walked to start the inning. Fuld stole second and went to third on a Billy Butler single. Fuld then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ike Davis. The lead didn’t last long as the Angels scored twice in their half of the first. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols singled to put men on at first and second. A’s first baseman, Ike Davis, made a sensational play getting the out on Matt Joyce but the runners advanced to second and third and they both scored on a David Freese single. Angels lead 2-1 after one.

The A’s regained the lead in the third. Sam Fuld doubled and Mark Canha reached on an infield singled to put two men on for Stephen Vogt. Vogt hit an off-speed pitch into the right field bleachers to put the A’s up 4-2. It was Vogt’s fourth home run of the year. The Angels cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third. Mike Trout singled and then stole second. Albert Pujols drove him in with a single to make it a 4-3 game. For Pujols, the  run batted in was the 1610th of his career moving the future Hall-of-Famer into 33rd place all-time.

There was no more scoring until the ninth. The A’s picked up insurance run to take a 6-3 lead. Eric Sogard doubled to lead off . Sogard took third on a long fly to right and then scored on a sacrifice fly. Final score 6-3 in favor of Oakland.

Notes- The Oakland bullpen of Otero, Scribner, and Clippard pitched six innings of scoreless ball allowing just one hit. Stephen Vogt has 4 home runs and 12 runs batted in to lead the A’s. LHP Drew Pomeranz will pitch for Oakland.

The A’s and Angels play game 2 of the 4 game series Tuesday evening in Anaheim at 7:05pm