Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Astros avoid losing series to A’s; Cahill gets lit up for four runs in start

Photo credit: astros.mlblogs.com

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Houston Astros avoided dropping the three-game series to the visiting Oakland A’s on Wednesday at Minute Maid Field with one-run 5-4 win.

#2 The game changed hands until the Astros’ Tyler White hit a home run into the left field seats off A’s reliever Jeurys Familia for a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth.

#3 A’s pitcher Trevor Cahill continues to struggle on the road. Cahill went 3.1 innings, five hits, four runs and three unearned runs. Cahill’s record drops to 1-3 with a 6.92 ERA.

#4 The Astros would not be denied scoring twice in the first and after they got their streak snapped at six games on Tuesday night. The Astros have won six of their last seven games.

#5 The A’s leave Houston and head back to the Coliseum for Thursday night’s contest with the Seattle Mariners. A big series with Seattle in third and the A’s in second 5 1/2 games in front of Seattle in the AL West.

Join Jerry for the A’s podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s drop their second straight–have only lost back-to-back twice this season

sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Matt Chapman sits on second base after doubling off Minnesota Twins pitcher Kohl Stewart in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, in Minneapolis.

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman:

#1 The Oakland A’s have only lost back-to-back twice this season. The first time was last month when they lost to the Colorado Rockies and the second was when they lost to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday and to the Minnesota Twins 6-4 on Thursday night.

#2 The loss didn’t stop A’s slugger Khris Davis, who continues to go deep, hitting his 39th home run and his fourth dinger in five games.

#3 The Twins, who had lost some players, are still coming to play and brought it on Thursday as they knocked around A’s starter Trevor Cahill for five runs and Cahill continues to struggle on the road.

#4 A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy said following the game that they’ll be back out to try and turn things around and get the Twins in game two of the four-game series on Friday night.

#5 The A’s will need a little of everything some solid starting pitching and some key hitting to get back in the win column in a crucial road trip to try to stay neck-and-neck with the first-place Houston Astros.

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

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Jackson couldn’t figure out Rangers’ lineup Wednesday; Melvin pleased with 6-3 homestand

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The A’s had the Texas Rangers down on the mat for the final count, but just couldn’t pin the Rangers down for a win in game three of the three-game series and saw some good pitching from Rangers’ starter Mike Minor on Wednesday afternoon. Minor went six innings, one hit, four strikeouts, and one walk.

#2 The Rangers also struck early with runs in the top of the first and the third. Shin-Soo Choo set the tone early with a first pitch of the game, a home run off A’s starter Edwin Jackson. For Choo, it was his 21st home run of the season, a blast in the left field bleachers.

#3 A’s starter Edwin Jackson struggled going four-plus, seven hits, four runs, three walks and two strikeouts. Jackson, who had been going well before Wednesday, just couldn’t get tracked against the Rangers’ lineup.

#4 Despite the loss, A’s manager Bob Melvin said during the postgame presser he was happy with the homestand as the A’s won series meetings with the Mariners, Astros, and Rangers, going 6-3 at home.

#5 The A’s open a seven-game road trip starting tonight in Minnesota then head to Houston on Monday in crucial games as the A’s are just one game behind the Astros in the AL West.

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

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s win homestand, start seven-game road trip Thursday

Photo credit: @MLB

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie said the 12 games from August 10th to 22nd were the most important games of the season. In Charlie’s opinion, how did the A’s do in those games?

#2 What does the schedule look like for the next two weeks for the A’s?

#3 The 2019 season schedule was released today. Any thoughts on next year’s schedule?

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

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Baseball…A Hispanic World!

Photo credit: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The last national census was taken in 2010 and the next one is scheduled for 2020. As of July 1, 2016, the HIspanic population in the United States was 57.5 million. This is the largest ethnic or racial majority in the country with around 18 percent. In the Bay Area in 2010, over 1.6 million Hispanic resided in nine counties for 23.5%, which is over six million people. Today’s estimates are between 1.8 and 2 million Hispanics who have made the Bay Area their home.

Baseball is no different. According to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), 27.4 percent of all players in the Major Leagues were Hispanic as of 2016.

On Sunday, September 9, the Oakland Athletics will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Day. During this season at the Club Level entrance at the Oakland Coliseum, there is big mural from the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame–a non-profit organization founded in San Francisco in 1998–dedicated to the research, history and recognition of all Hispanic players. On that mural, fans can enjoy flags of Latin American countries and some of the history of the contributions made to baseball by Latinos. On that day, the A’s will be giving a Sugar Skull Bobblehead to the first 35,000 fans.

Currently, the A’s have one position player and three pitchers of Hispanic descent. The brilliant rookie outfielder Ramón Laureano, who is 23 years old, was born in the Dominican Republic, relievers Yusmeiro Petit from Venezuela, and Jeurys Familia and Fernando Rodney from the D.R. plus Emilio Pagán, who is of Puerto Rico descent, and Lou Trivino, who is of Ecuadorian descent. Santiago Casilla was also with the A’s this season from the D.R. and young infielder Franklin Barreto, who was born in Venezuela, future A’s second baseman.

The Latino presence is palpable with upbeat salsa music playing before a game in the clubhouse. The Texas Rangers, who played a three-game series in Oakland, had a regular starting lineup featuring Ronald Guzmán, Rougned Odor, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltré, Nomar Mazara, Carlo Tocci, Robinson Chirinos and in some cases, the ageless 45 year-old Bartolo Colón or the 22-year-old rookie Ariel Jurado from Panamá.

Some of the biggest Hispanic stars in the game are J.D Martínez, José Altuve, Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor, José Ramírez, Carlos Correa and more.

The World Baseball Classic showcases to the world the great passion for this game from their biggest protagonists: Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba and México. Baseball is played more and more around the world. Latinos have some of the greatest history to go along from Cuban-born pitcher Adolfo Luqye, who in 1923 with the Cincinnati Reds finished with a 27-3 record and 1.93 ERA, pitching 322 innings to the great “Cometa de Carolina” with Roberto Clemente.

The influx of Hispanic players will continue to increase in years to come.

Listen to the A’s in Spanish on KIQI 1010 AM/990 AM, covering the Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton and The Valley. Also, on the SAP on your television as NBC Sports California.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Davis getting close to setting some home run records

Photo credit: @numberFire

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 The Oakland A’s Khris Davis hit two home runs on Sunday and both of them coming off Houston Astros’ starter Justin Verlander. Davis needs five more to break Mark McGwire’s record for home runs in three consecutive seasons at 125 through 1995-97.

#2 Davis is also in position to join former Philadelphia Athletic Jimmie Foxx (1932-34) to hit 40 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons. Davis needs four more home runs to achieve that status.

#3 Verlander pitching against the A’s got the win (12-8) going five plus innings, seven hits, four earned runs, one walk and six strikeouts. We ask Amaury was it a matter of Verlander being dominate or were the A’s hitters just a little off on Sunday.

#4 It’s an A’s lineup that has everybody doing something: Nick Martini .300, Matt Chapman .276, Jed Lowrie .270, and Khris Davis .259.

#5 The A’s will start pitcher Mike Fiers (8-6) to open the three-game series against the Texas Rangers tonight at the Coliseum.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio play-by-play and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Braves and Phillies battling in NL East, Cardinals and Brewers battling in NL Central ; A’s can move into first today…if they can beat Houston

Photo credit: @Cardinals

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel:

1 Pennant race deck getting shuffled–Braves, Cardinals making a move in NL, Houston trying to hang on in AL.

2 Swingin’ A’s tied for first in AL West, take first two of weekend series against Astros.

3 Tigers add Nolan Blackwood as player to be named later in deal with A’s for Mike Fiers.

4 Matt Harvey takes no-hitter into the sixth, Reds beat Bumgarner, Giants 7-1.

5 Indians retire Jim Thome’s #25.

Daniel Dullum does the MLB podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show Podcast with Matt Harrington: A’s close the gap in the AL West; Dodgers crush Mariners–now 2 out; White Sox, 25 games out, but still attract loyal fans

Photo credit: whitesoxpride.mlblogs.com

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

The Oakland A’s are the toast of baseball with their series opening win over the Houston Astros in 10 innings on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum 4-3. The A’s now move just one game back behind first place Houston in the AL West. The Astros have been snake bitten with five of their key players on the disabled list.

The Los Angeles Dodgers keep the pressure up as they pick up their second straight win this time in a laugher at Safeco Field against the Seattle Mariners 11-1. For the Mariners, their third loss in their last four games and trying to get some traction since the A’s passed them up in the AL West standings the M’s are now 4 1/2 games back. The Dodgers are now just two games back of first place Arizona in the NL West.

Despite being 25 games out of first place in the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox have won three straight in a 9-3 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Friday night. Their not drawing record breaking crowds but considering where they are in mid-August. They drew over 24,000 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The New York Yankees–still holding onto a wild card spot and some 10 1/5 games behind first place Boston–were able to get a two run win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yanks’ Neil Walker hit a three-run homer and Giancarlo Stanton hit an opposite field homer in the cause.

The race for the NL East between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies got a little interesting Friday night. The Braves who lost and the Phils, who won tighten their pace by a 1/2 game. The second place Phils are now a 1/2 game out as the first place Braves lost to the Colorado Rockies 11-5 and the Phillies got a two-run win over the Mets 4-2 after the Mets crushed the Phillies on Thursday 24-4.

Matt Harrington does the Oakland A’s coverage each Friday and MLB The Show podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s giving Astros a good run as Houston just hanging on by two games with five key injuries

Photo credit: nbcsports.com

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

How tight will this race go in the American League West? The Houston Astros are holding onto a two-game lead over the Oakland A’s, who open a very tight playoff-like series tonight at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s have fallen to the Astros in all of their meetings at the Coliseum this season in the month of May and June and are hoping to turn that around. The A’s swept the Astros the last time the two teams met at Minute Maid Field.

The A’s Brett Anderson last Wednesday (the A’s had Thursday off) pitched 7.2 innings, going 7.2 innings, five hits and two strikeouts in a brilliantly pitched game at the Coliseum that went 12 innings. The Astros are snake-bitten right now with injuries to second baseman Jose Altuve (knee), outfielder Jake Marisnick (groin), catcher Brian McCain (knee), pitcher Lance McCullers (forearm) and shortstop Carlos Correa (back). Will these missing Astros help give the A’s an advantage?

Here are the starting pitchers for tonight: For the A’s, Edwin Jackson (4-2), and for the Astros, Charlie Morton (12-3).

Joey does the A’s podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s nearly sweep Mariners in another exciting series: Oakland opens up against Houston Friday night for 3 games

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

The Oakland A’s nearly got a three game sweep past the Seattle Mariners in a battle that lasted 12 innings on Thursday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. In a pitchers duel, the entire ballgame went 0-0 until the bottom of the ninth when the M’s Dee Gordon lifted a two-run homer just over the center right field fence for the 2-0 lead and eventual win.

A pair of pitchers dueled it out in their starting performances the Seattle Mariners’ Mark Leake, who went eight innings, two hits and one walk, and for Oakland, Brett Anderson 7.2 innings, five hits, and two strikeouts. The A’s got excellent relief help from pitchers Lou Trevino, Fernando Rodney, and Jeurys Familia. A’s reliever Yusmerio Petit drew the short straw, giving up the two-run homer to Gordon for the 2-0 loss.

The A’s have the day off and get ready for the Astros on Friday night at the Coliseum.

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