Tag: Baseball

Preview: Weekend series in Houston between A’s and Astros

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, following the blueprint developed by the Houston Astros, will meet the Astros for the first time this season for three games starting Friday night. The Astros, who were terrible and lost over 100 games for three straight years, are now the defending World Champion Astros who are at top of the baseball world. The Astros did not get to the top by signing expensive free agents. They did a fantastic job of scouting young players and mixing in a few veterans in order to become successful.

The Astros built the club around Jose Altuve. Altuve is 5-foot-6 and plays as if he was 6-foot-6. Altuve is a terrific hitter, and he became the American League’s Most Valuable Player last season. The Astros signed shortstop Carlo Correa, a Puerto Rico native, and he was Rookie of the Year in his first season. Other standouts on the Astros roster are center fielder George Springer, who played baseball at the University of Connecticut, second-year third baseman Alex Bregman, and Cuban refugee Yulieski Gurriel. Marwyn Gonzalez is a super-sub as he can play in the infield as well as the outfield. Derek Fisher plays in left field and former Athletic, Josh Reddick, plays in right. The catching chores are handled by Brian McCann. Evan Gattis, who can also catch, is the designated hitter.

The Astros bolstered their starting rotation when they acquired Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers last season. Verlander was instrumental in Houston win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. Over the winter the Astros made another move as they made a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the services of right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole. The rest of the rotation includes former Cy Young award winner Lance McCullers Jr., and the veteran hurler Charlie Morton.  Their long reliever is the former starter, Collin McHugh. Joe Smith, Will Harris, and Brad Peacock are the setup guys, and the Astros will use Ken Giles and Chris Devenski as their closers.

The A’s come into the series having won eight of the last 10 games played. They swept the White Sox and took two out three from the Red Sox and Texas Rangers. The A’s lineup can be and is formidable. They have guys with a lot of pop in their bats up and down the lineup. Marcus Semien, Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Matt Chapman, and Khris Davis are all threats to hit the ball out of the park at any time during the game. Jonathan Lucroy and Stephen Piscotty are also making contributions to the A’s offense. Matt Olson and Matt Joyce are the A’s power hitters from the left side of the plate. The hottest hitter of all the A’s players is the switch-hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie is hitting about .360 and has six homers and 24 RBIs. He has been very consistent and has come through with several clutch hits.

Sean Manaea is the ace of the A’s staff. He has gone over seven innings in all five of his starts, and he pitched a no-hitter last Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox. Manaea has been very consistent and is now brimming with confidence. He will have his work cut out for him as he faces the very formidable Houston Astro lineup. He will be opposed by Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.10. He won his first game of the season last week defeating the Chicago White Sox.

On Saturday, Daniel Mengden (2-2, 3.86 ERA) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Lance McCullers Jr. Mengden beat the Red Sox last Sunday and gave up just one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. McCullers is 3-1 with an ERA of 4.67. McCullers won his last two starts against Seattle and Chicago.

Sunday’s game will feature Trevor Cahill (1-0, 2.25 ERA) going against Gerrit Cole (2-1, 1.29 ERA). Cahill will be making his third start of the season. In his last start against Texas, Cahill went five innings and allowed three runs and four hits including a home run. Cole is the second pitcher in Astro history to throw at least seven innings while allowing two runs or less in his first five starts of the season.

The series should be a good one as the Astros want to show the A’s that they are the top dogs and the A’s want to show the Astros that they are on the way up and can not be taken lightly any longer.

Giants and Dodgers will meet once again

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Photo credit: @Laurel_Inn_SF

By Jeremy Kahn

Coming off of back-to-back series wins for the first two times this season, the San Francisco Giants return to play in the National League West and an old rival comes to town.

The reigning National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers make their second of three trips to the Bay Area this season for a four-game series at AT&T Park.

This will be the last time that the Dodgers come to AT&T Park until the last weekend of the season, as they will face the Giants from September 28-30.

Derek Holland will take the AT&T Park mound, as the left-hander looks for his first win as a member of the Giants, while the Dodgers will send Hyun-Jin Ryu, who looks to improve to 4-0 on the season.

The Giants are coming off a 15-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, as Jeff Samardzija made his second start of the season, but he did get out of the fourth inning.

Samardzija went 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on eight runs, walking three and striking out three in his first AT&T Park start of the season.

Ryu is coming off a seven inning performance against the Nationals on Saturday night, as he went seven innings, allowing no runs on just two hits, walking three and striking out eight.

This is the third consecutive start that Ryu won, as he did not fare in his first start of the season, as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Dodgers 8-7 at Chase Field.

Brandon Belt continues to hit the ball well, as he went 2-for-4 in Wednesday’s loss to the Nationals and is now batting .304 on the season.

Mac Williamson was a late scratch to Wednesday’s game, as he suffered a neck strain from the attempt at a foul ball in Tuesday night victory over the Nationals, where he hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s winning ways get them just three games out of first place

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s, who swept the Chicago White Sox, took two of three from the Red Sox and won the first two games in Arlington from the Texas Rangers. They’re now only just three games out of first place.

#2 The A’s are getting the hitting now from Marcus Semien .269, Chad Pinder .281, Jed Lowrie .363, and Khris Davis .258.

#3 They just got by the Rangers on Tuesday night with a one-run 3-2 win and it took some good pitching this time to win that one from Andrew Triggs (2-0), going six innings, four hits, and one run.

#4 Looking ahead after this series, the A’s head to Minute Maid Field and face the Houston Astros, who are in first place in the AL West–ahead of the Los Angeles Angels.

#5 The A’s send out starter Sean Manaea (3-2) he’ll face the Astros Dallas Keuchel (1-3) on Friday night. With the A’s going strong right now, how do you see them matching up with Houston and after Manaea’s last start throwing a no-hitter last Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox?

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

 

Rangers snap A’s four-game win streak with 4-2 victory

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

There was good news and bad news in the loss the A’s suffered Wednesday night at the hands of the Texas Rangers.

The good news was that A’s starter Kendall Graveman went six innings, threw 112 pitches, struck out seven and allowed just three earned runs on six hits. The bad news was that it wasn’t good enough to get his first win of the year. Graveman took the loss and is now 0-5, but his ERA improved to 8.89.

Doug Fister made his first start since April 9 and didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. The A’s had chances to score early in the game but couldn’t get a needed hit to put runs on the board. Fister threw 105 pitches in 4 2/3 inning of work and left the game trailing 2-1.

The A’s put two runs on the board in the top of the third. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien singled with one out. Fister retired the hot-hitting Jed Lowrie, but could not get by A’s DH Khris Davis. Khrush sent a Fister pitch over the fence in right center field to give the A’s the lead. Texas scored a run in the bottom of the fourth. Joey Gallo started the rally with a single to right. Ranger first baseman Ronald Guzman singled to send Gallo to third. Catcher Juan Centeno hit a ground ball to Jed Lowrie, who got the force out at second, but Centeno beat the relay to first. The A’s challenged the call, but the call was upheld and the run was scored. The A’s lead 2-1 after four.

In the bottom of the fifth, Graveman retired the first two hitters he faced. Jurickson Profar doubled and scored on a single by Nomar Mazara, who went to second on the throw home. Graveman walked Joey Gallo to put men on at first and second. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, playing third base in place of the injured Andre Beltre, singled to drive in Mazara to put the Rangers ahead 3-2.

The Rangers added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. The big hit was a triple by Guzman to drive in the Rangers’ fourth run.

The A’s could do nothing in the ninth, and their four-game winning streak was over.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s record is now 13-12. The Rangers improve to 9-17

The line score for Oakland was two runs, four hits, and two errors. Texas improves to 9-17. Their line was four runs, eight hits, and one error.

Khris Davis’ home run was the seventh of the season and the 19th in 44 games against Texas.

Reliever Ryan Buchter left the game in the seventh inning after facing one hitter. Buchter complained about shoulder stiffness.

Up Next: The A’s are off Thursday, and they head to Houston to face the World Champion Houston Astros for a three-game series. Friday night’s game will be a battle of two excellent pitchers. The A’s Sean Manaea will be making his first start since he threw a no-hitter last Saturday night against Boston. Manaea is 3-2 and has an ERA of just 1.23. The A’s will face Houston’s Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is a former Cy Young award winner and is 1-3 for the year, but he has a respectable ERA of 3.10. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT.

Giants Notes: Twists and Turns Keep on Coming

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: Ana Kieu

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals by close scores of 4-2 and 4-3, in that order. However, San Francisco was unable to complete a three-game sweep over Washington at AT&T Park Wednesday afternoon as they fell behind early and never came close to their opponent.

April 25, 2018
Final: 15-2 Nationals
Attendance: 35,126
Time: 3 hours, 13 minutes

Here are some Giants news and notes:
– Giants manager Bruce Bochy tweeted just minutes after the Giants’ 4-3 win over the Nats Tuesday night. Bochy and his team are 1-0 when he’s on Twitter.
– The Giants congratulated the Golden State Warriors on eliminating the San Antonio Spurs to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. They also announced their Bay Area Unite night at AT&T Park during their home game versus the San Diego Padres on April 30 at 7:15 pm PT. You can purchase your tickets here: atmlb.com/2qYFhQA
– The Giants congratulated the nearby San Francisco Dons on their recent win.
– The Giants brought fans a double dose of No. 25 Wednesday by giving out a collectible figurine of father-son duo Barry and Bobby Bonds.
– Longtime Giants fan Marci Salvador turned 100 last week, but celebrated her birthday at AT&T Park Wednesday.
– Dylan, who’s dealing with pediatric cancer, got to meet some of his favorite Giants players on the field prior to Wednesday’s game. Sam Dyson let Dylan use his glove and played catch with the little boy.
– Mac Williamson was scratched Wednesday due to neck stiffness.
– Chris Stratton was placed on paternity leave.
– Roberto Gomez was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.
– Jeff Samardzija made his AT&T Park debut Wednesday.

Up Next: The Giants host the rival Dodgers this weekend. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday, April 27 at 7:15 pm PT on KNTV and SNLA. Games 2 and 3 are scheduled for Saturday, April 28 at 1:05 pm PT on KNTV and SNLA and NSBA and SNLA, respectively. Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday, April 29 at 2:05 pm PT on NSBA and SNLA.

Williamson and Belt each go deep in Giants’ 4-3 win over Nationals

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–It maybe early in the year, but the San Francisco Giants are beginning to show why they have three World Series in the past eight years.

Mac Williamson hit a towering home run to straightaway centerfield in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Giants made it three straight victories with a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals in front of a crowd of 37,147 at AT&T Park Tuesday night.

The Williamson home run measured at 423 feet went deep over the centerfield wall to give the Giants the second series win in a row.

There was a scary moment for Williamson in the top of the fifth inning, as he attempted to catch a Bryce Harper foul, Williamson went crashing into the padded wall near the bullpen area.

“Feeling fine, spiked my calf,” said Williamson.

Brandon Belt continued his hot hitting, as he extended his hitting streak to seven games, as he hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. It was the fifth home run for Belt in the last six games.

Joe Panik went three-for-four at the plate, as the Giants have won four out of their last five games.

Reyes Moronta pitched two innings, as he allowed just one hit and struck out two and won his first major league game.

“Reyes is doing a great job,” said Ty Blach.

Blach went five innings, allowing three runs on four hits, while walking two and striking out three, as he did not fare in the decision.

Blach was looking good until he got into trouble in the top of the fourth inning, as he walked Ryan Zimmerman, gave up a single to Moises Sierra and then Michael Taylor tied up the game with one swing of the bat. Taylor took a Blach pitch to the right-field arcade for a three-run home run that tied up the game.

It was a tough few days for Blach, as he suffered food poisoning in Anaheim, and was on IV yesterday, according to Bruce Bochy.

“Down eight or nine pounds,” said Blach.

Tanner Roark pitched six innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walked two, struck out four. Roark also threw two wild pitches, and gave up two home runs, as hid record fell to 1-2 on the season.

NOTES: Jeff Samardzija heads to the mound on Wednesday afternoon, as the Giants look for the sweep. The Nationals will send Max Scherzer to the hill, as they look to salvage the series finale.

In his last five starts against the Nationals, Samardzija is 0-5 with a 6.43 earned run average in 28 innings pitched.

On the other hand, in his last two starts versus the Giants, Scherzer has 21 strikeouts and just one walk.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Nationals conclude their three-game series Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PT.

A’s win fourth in a row as they escape with a 3-2 victory over the Rangers

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By Jerry Feitelberg

It was an old-fashioned pitching duel for the first five innings of the Tuesday night game between the Oakland A’s and the Texas Rangers. Andrew Triggs, who did not have a good outing last week against the White Sox last week, was on the top of his game as he and the Rangers’ Cole Hamels each shut down their opponents’ offense for the first five innings.

Things changed in the sixth. Hamels retired the first two hitters he faced. Mark Canha, who has played well since his recall from Nashville, hit a flyball to deep right field. Rangers’ right fielder, Nomar Mazara, appeared to have made the catch but his wrist hit the wall, and the ball dropped out of his glove, and the A’s had the lead 1-0. For Canha, it was his third big fly of the season. The Rangers tied the game in their half of the sixth. Delino DeShields reached safely when he laid down a rarely seen push bunt. The ball was placed between first baseman Matt Olson and Triggs. Olson fielded the bunt but no one covered first, and DeShields was safe. Triggs nailed Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch to put men on at first and second with no out. With Mazara at-bat, Triggs and A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy got mixed up on what pitch was coming, and the ball got past Lucroy to advance the runners. Lucroy was charged with a passed ball. Triggs walked Mazara to load the bases. Rangers’ veteran third baseman hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in DeShields with the tying run.

The A’s regained the lead in the top of the seventh. Lucroy doubled to start the inning but was thrown out at third. Marcus Semien followed with a double and that hit ended Hamels’ night. Matt Bush walked Matt Joyce who was pinch-hitting for Chad Pinder. The next hitter, Jed Lowrie doubled to drive in Semien with the A’s second run. With Khris Davis hitting, Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos saw Joyce a little too far off third base and nailed him with a throw to Beltre for the second out of the frame. Davis then grounded out to end the threat.

The A’s scored another run in the eightth when Matt Olson doubled to drive in Matt Chapman from first base. The Rangers got a run back in the bottom of the eighth. Blake Treinen relieved Ryan Dull with one out. Rangers’ DH Shin-Soo Choo lined a shot of Treinen’s leg for a single. Treinen had to leave the game, and there was no word on the extent of the injury. Bob Melvin brought in Lou Trivino to pitch. Trivino struck out Mazara for the second out, but Adrian Beltre singled to deep right-center field to drive in Shoo. Beltre pulled up limping as he injured a hamstring and had to leave the game.

The A’s called on the veteran Santiago Casilla to close out the game. Casilla retired the side to preserve the win for Oakland. The A’s win 3-2.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 13-11, and the Rangers fall to 8-17. Andrew Triggs improved to 2-0, and his ERA lowered to 4.70. Cole Hamels took the loss for Texas and is now 1-4 with an ERA of 4.41. Casilla picked his first save of the season.

Up Next: Game 3 of the three-game series will feature Kendall Graveman (0-4, 10.07 ERA) will be looking for his first win, and he will be opposed by the tall righty Doug Fister who will be making his first start since April 9th. Fister is 1-2 with an 3.59 ERA. Game time will be at 5:05 pm PT.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips and Michael Duca: Comparisons of Barry Bonds and Willie McCovey too early for Mac Williamson, but it’s fun

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On the SF Giants podcast with Morris and Michael:

San Francisco Giant left fielder Mac Williamson has started his 2018 season in the show with a flourish. A right handed hitter mentioned with two left-handed hitters Willie McCovey–hence, the name Mac, and Barry Bonds for distance hitting. Williamson, who hits right-handed belted a two-run homer on Monday night against the Washington Nationals seven rows up the opposite way to right field in the 4-2 win to open the three-game series at AT&T Park.

Williamson belted a 464-foot home run to give fans a idea how far the blast was. This is an area that Bonds used to hit them and for that matter if McCovey was active and was able during his playing days he could do the same. Williamson hit Monday night was to the farthest part of the right field corner.

Michael Duca and Morris Phillips do the SF Giants podcasts Mondays and Fridays at http://www.sportsradoservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Baseball–Sabermetrics, Launch Angle and Statcast

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Sabermetrics: The first-hand analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity.

Launch Angle: When Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, everybody was talking about the “bat speed” in his swing. Adios to “bat speed!” Today, the “launch angle” has become an obsession with hitters. According to the experts–along with the ball speed–the launch angle is a primary component to determining the height and distance of a home run. It is said that every golfer should be fitted to achieve the optimal balance of launch angle and spin based on their club speed and ball speed. There is a reason when a team goes on a road trip, you will see dozens of suitcases and golf bags.

​Statcast: Major League Baseball’s Statcast is a high-speed, high-accuracy, automated tool that was developed to analyze player movements and athletic abilities. The Statcast was introduced to all 30 MLB stadiums in 2015. There is a leader-board for Statcast:  Giancarlo Stanton (117.9 mph), Mike Trout (116.9 mph) and so on. It shows how fast the ball leaves the bat after a home run.

Today, we have self-driving cars today that can drive and park by themselves. We do not have to visit the bank and see the face of a bank teller. We go to a machine punch a number and we get money. In China, the Shanghai branch of the China Construction Bank (CCB) opened a branch run entirely by robots, first person-less bank branch where humanoids manage everything. Texting has replaced writing, as kids barely can write anymore. If you lose your cellphone, you probably will feel lost, depressed and abandoned, and may require therapy. People are working with their laptops at Starbucks while the local libraries are empty and continue to close.

Many fans at a baseball game are taking pictures, filming the action or just capturing themselves. At the ballpark or anywhere else, you can track a ballgame, pitch-by-pitch and you will know if it is a slider, curve, split or 96 mph fastball. More people are getting hurt by foul balls. You need more than two eyes to look at  your smartphone screen and at the game on the field at the same time. And only God knows where we will be in the next few years. Back in 1989, actor Michael J. Fox in the movie “Back To The Future II” had a line that read “the Cubs win the World Series!” and they did just that.

We have come a long way since the days when the US Army timed the fastest pitch ever thrown by a pitcher in 1958. Bob Feller at 98 miles per hour was recorded on the old US Army Chronograph. That was a big deal and it was even shown at your local movie theater before the main feature that was narrated by the legendary Lowell Thomas of Movietone Newsreel fame on the glorious Black and White.

Today, Elon Musk wants to go to the Moon and Richard Branson wants to colonize Mars

¿Qué hay de nuevo? Translation:  What else is new?

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: A’s continue roll; go 7 out of 8 to start road trip

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Photo credit: @lonestarball

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 The A’s have got red-hot, winning seven of their last eight games with a win to start the nine-game road trip over the Texas Rangers on Monday night 9-4 in Arlington last night.

#2 The A’s, if they aren’t getting great pitching, they’re getting great hitting and last night they got contributions from Marcus Semien, two runs and two hits, Stephen Piscotty scored a run, Jed Lowrie two hits a run scored, Khris Davis, two RBIs and a run scored.

#3 MLB records: MLB baseball had a record 32,884 strikeouts in 2008. In 2018, baseball will surpass that record on a pace of 43,163 if the swinging for the fence hitters keep this up.

#4 The LA Angels’ Shohei Ohtani pitched two innings against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, but had to leave due to a blister on his throwing hand.

#5 The Pittsburgh Pirates are off to their best start since 1992. Third place in the central only a game and a half out of first just behind St. Louis and Milwaukee.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio talent, is the vice president of the MLB Hispanic Heritage Museum, and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com