Tag: Baseball

by Jerry Feitelberg

Baseball is such a crazy game. No matter how many years one follows the game, things occur that make fans literally go insane. Take the 2015 edition of the Oakland A’s, for example. They had such a horrible start to the season. Nothing went right for the for the first 44 games of the season. They could not buy a clutch hit. Their fielding was terrible as was the bullpen, They played a lot of one-run games but could not win. However, hopefully, the team may have turned around the season as they won in Detroit Thursday afternoon 7-5 to sweep the Tigers. It was a season-high fourth win in a row for Oakland and their ninth win in the last 12 games. They are not out of the hole yet as they are still ten games under .500 with a record of 23-33, but things are looking better. The A’s Jesse Hahn pitched well as he recorded his third win of the year and his record improved to 3-5. Drew Pomeranz, working out of the bullpen, pitched the eighth and shut down the Tigers. The only sour note in the game was the performance of Dan Otero. Otero is not having one of his best years. Some of the time, Otero is good and some of the time he is not-so-good. His outing Thursday was a not-so-good outing. He retired one hitter, the ever-dangerous Miguel Cabrera but gave up four runs on four hits as the Tigers made it a 2-run game. Bob Melvin went to his closer, Tyler Clippard, for the save and Clippard came through getting  Nick Castellanos  and James McCann on flyballs to the outfield to end the game.

The A’s scored three runs in the top of the second. Josh Reddick and Brett Lawrie singled to start the frame to put men on at 1st and 3rd with no out. Eric Sogard reached on a fielder’s choice when Tigers’ pitcher Shane Greene made an error on the throw to second trying to start a double play. Reddick scored on the error. Lawrie was safe at second and Sogard was safe at first. The next hitter Josh Phegley tripled to deep center field to drive in Lawrie and Sogard.

The A’s added a run in the fourth, two in the 5th and one more in the 7th. In the fourth, Stephen Vogt walked leading off the inning. Vogt scored on a Billy Butler double to left. In the 5th, Billy Burns walked and stole second. It was the 10th steal for Burns. The Tigers issued an intentional walk to Vogt. Billy Butler singled to left. Burns scored and when Tiger left-fielder Daniel Fields overran the ball, Vogt came home with the A’s 6th run of the game.

The Tigers got on the board in the bottom of the 6th. With tow out, Anthony Gose and Jose Iglesias singled to put men on at 1st and 2nd. Miguel Cabrera singled to drive in Gose with the run. The A’s got the run back in the 7th of tiger pitcher Tom Gorzelanny. Gorzelanny walked Ben Zobrist and Stephen Vogt. With two in the inning, Brett Lawrie doubled to drive in Zobrist with the A’s 7th run.

Jesse Hahn was done after 7 innings and it looked like it was going to be smooth sailing for Oakland. Drew Pomeranz was brought in to pitch. It was Pomeranz’s first appearance since coming off the DL and he worked a scoreless 8th inning for Oakland.  Bob Melvin made the call to the bullpen. Dan Otero came in and retired the first batter he faced, Miguel Cabrera. That was they only hitter that Otero retired. Daniel Fields doubled. Ian Kinsler singer to drive in Field to make it a 7-2 game. J.D. Martinez singled. That was followed by a Tyler Collins’ home run. Detroit is back in the game trailing 7-5. Melvin brought in his closer, Tyler Clippard and Clippard retired Castellanos and McCann to end the game.

Game notes- The line for Jesse was 7 IP, 5 hits, and 1 run allowed. Hahm\n’s record in now 3-5 with a 3.51 ERA. Pomeranz went 1 inning with all zeros and Tyler Clippard earned his 9th save. Shane Greene took the loss for Detroit and his record in now 4-5. He went 4.1 innings and gave up 6 runs, but two were unearned.

The A’s move on to Boston for a three-game set at Fenway Park. It will be a battle of left-handers as Scott Kazmir will go for Oakland and Wade Miley will be on the hill for the Red Sox.

Game time will be at 4:05pm PT.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s are on the move. They beat the Tigers 6-1 to win their fifth game out of the last six and the eighth out of the last eleven. The  A’s ace, Sonny Gray, was dominant as he went eight innings allowing no runs and just two hits. He threw 108 pitches picking up his seventh win of the year. His record is now 7-2 and he owns an ERA of just 1.65. The Tigers’ Anibal Sanchez took the loss. Sanchez is now 3-7 with a 5.67 ERA for 2015. The A’s offense was led by Billy Burns, Josh Reddick, Brett Lawrie and Billy Butler.

The A’s scored three runs in the top of the third. Brett Lawrie doubled with one out to get things going. After Marcus Semien popped out, Sanchez walked Mark Canha and Eric Sogard to load the bases. The next hitter, Billy Burns, hit the first pitch from Sanchez for a triple that cleared the bases to put the A’s up 3-0. Josh Reddick hit a solo homer in the third to put Oakland ahead 4-0. The A’s added another run in the eighth and ninth. The Tigers scored their lone run in the bottom of the ninth.

Game notes- Fernando Rodriguez relieved Gray in the ninth and gave up one run on two hits. It was the fourth time in twelve starts that Sonny Gray did not allow a run. The A’s announced that Drew Pomeranz has been activated off the DL and will be working out of the bullpen. Arnold Leon was sent back to Nashville.

The Tigers have lost six games in a row for the first time since the 2011 season.

With the win, the A’s have won the series for the second consecutive time. The A’s meet the Tigers Thursday morning at 10:05 am PT. Jesse Hahn will go for Oakland and Shane Greene will pitch for Detroit.

by Jerry Feitelberg

What’s going on with the A’s? They started off the six-game road trip with a 5-3 comeback win over the Tigers in Detroit night. The A’s are starting to look like the team that everyone hoped would compete for the top spot in the AL West. However, that did not happen  as the A’s got off to a terrible start, but the A’s have won four of the last five and seven of the last ten. In Tuesday’s game, the A’s had a quality start from Kendall Graveman and three innings of hitless relief. Evan Scribner kept the Tigers down in the 7th and 8th innings to set the stage for Tyler Clippard who closed out the win for Oakland with his eighth save of the year. The A’s played well defensively and did not make an error for the second straight game. The A’s also had a key hit in the 7th to put them ahead for good. Ben Zobrist hit a line drive over the right field fence for a grand slam. All the ingredients were in play. Hitting, pitching, bullpen, and defense. Let’s hope the Green and Gold can continue their winning ways.

The Tigers scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Miguel Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes singled to put men on at 1st and 2nd. Graveman retired the next two batters but walked Tyler Collins to load the bases. Cabrera scored when Graveman uncorked a wild pitch. Nick Castellanos followed with a single to drive in Cespedes and Collins.

The A’s scored five runs in the top of the 7th. Brett Lawrie led off with a single. Lawrie advanced to second on a wild pitch. Marcus Semien followed with an infield single to put runners at 1st and 3rd. The A’s caught a break on the next play. Eric Sogard hit a ground ball to Ian Kinsler. The Tiger second baseman threw home thinking that Lawrie was running on contact but Lawrie held at third at Sogard was safe at first on the fielder’s choice to load the bases. Billy Burns singled to center to drive in Lawrie with the A’s first run.  The Tigers brought in Angel Nesbitt to face Ben Zobrist. Zobrist, batting from the left side, hit a line drive that cleared the fence for a grand slam. The A’s have the lead for the first time in the game. There was no more scoring as the bullpen shut the Tigers down the final three innings to secure the win for Oakland.

Game notes.

Kendall Graveman improved his record to 3-2. He went six innings allowing eight hits and three runs. Scribner pitched two hitless innings to record his 6th hold for Oakland. Tyler Clippard earned his eighth save and he allowed no hits in his inning of work. Billy Burns had two more hits to raise his average to .330. Brett Lawrie also had two hits and the slam was the second home run of the year for Zobrist.

After the game, Ben Zobrist had this to say. “It’s big, because I feel like that’s happened to us more than it has us taking advantage of their mistakes this year,” said Zobrist. “It had to turn around. It’s been turning around gradually, and we’re fighting and battling to get back to the kind of team we know we are. Tonight was a step in the right direction.”

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s finally put together a game that their fans had something to cheer about as they came from behind to defeat the big, bad New York Yankees 5-4 at the O.Co Coliseum Thursday night.  The A’s Kendall Graveman started his second game since being recalled from Nashville and pitched relatively well as he went 5 2/3rds innings giving up seven hits and three runs. Graveman walked two and  struck out four. He left the game trailing 3-0. A’s relievers Fernando Abad and Evan Scribner came through for the A’s holding the Yanks scoreless. A’s closer Tyler Clippard retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth but walked pinch-hitter, Garrett Jones. Brett Gardner doubled to left-center driving in Jones who was running on the pitch. Clippard then retired Chase Headley for the final out to record the win for the A’s.

The Yankees took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. With one out, Yankees catcher Brian McCann hit  a big fly that left the park over the right field wall. It was McCann’s seventh home run of the season.

The Yanks added a run in the top of the fourth. Alex Rodriguez led off the inning with a single. Graveman walked Mark Texeira to put men on at first and second with no out. Brian McCann followed with a sharp single to center field. Rodriguez appeared to not touch the plate as he was attempting to score. A’s catcher Josh Phegley tagged him and he was ruled out by home plate umpire  Ed Hickox. The Yankees challenged the ruling on the field and it was overturned as the replay showed that A-Rod barely got his hand on a small corner of the plate but he did touch the plate and it was the correct call.

New York took a 3-0 lead in the fifth. Singles by Brett Gardner and Chase Headley put men on at first and third with one out. A-Rod flew out to right field to drive in Gardner with the run. The A’s made it a 3-1 game when they got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Billy Burns hit  a line shot that barely made it over the wall at the 330 ft. mark. For Burns, it was his second home run of the season.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Ben Zobrist led off with a double. Zobrist advanced to third when Billy Butler flew out to right field. Sabathia struck out Stephen Vogt, but Brett Lawrie took a pitch to deep left to tie the game. For Lawrie, it was his third homer of the season. 3-3 after six.

The A’s scored two runs in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. Josh Phegley led off the inning with a single and Mark Canha drew a walk to put two men on with no out. Yankee manager Joe Girardi replaced Sabathia with David Robertson. Billy Burns tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but it was not successful as Phegley was thrown out at third base. Marcus Semien singled to load the bases. Ben Zobrist worked Robertson for a walk driving in Canha with the A’s fourth run of the game. Billy Butler flew out to deep centerfield to drive in Burns with the second run of the inning and the fifth of the game for Oakland.

The Yankees refused to go quietly in the ninth. It looked like Clippard was going to set them down in order, but the Yanks had other ideas. Garrett Jones, pinch-hitting for Didi Gregorius, drew a walk with two out. Brett Gardner came to the plate representing the tying run. with a 3-2 count and Jones running on the pitch, Gardner lashed a double to left centerfield to score Jones. Clippard had to face the dangerous Chase Headley to end the game. He got Headley to fly out to center to end the game ad the fans let go a collective sigh of relief as the A’s won the game by a final score of 5-4.

Game notes- The A’s overcame a 3-0 deficit to win their 18th game of the ear. The A’s snapped a 12-game losing streak in one-run games at home dating back to September 6th,2014. It was the longest such streak in Athletics history. The A’s are 1-10 in one-run games at home this season. The A’s have won 15 of the last 20 games against the Yankees.The A’s finally had a hit with a runner in scoring position to snap a 0-for-26 streak.  Winning pitcher for Oakland was Evan Scribner and Tyler Clippard recorded his sixth save of the year. The Yankees C.C.Sabathia took the loss and is now 2-7 with an ERA of 5.67. Sabathia is 9-10 with a 4.75 ERA in 28 career starts against Oakland. Alex Rodriguez recorded his 1996th career RBI tying him with Barry Bonds for second place all-time.

The A’s made another error, but it did not cost them. They have committed 51 errors in 50 games and lead the Major Leagues in that department.

Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday night at 7:05pm at the O.co Coliseum. Sonny Gray (5-2,1.77) will go for Oakland and he will be opposed by LHP Chris Capuano (0-2,7.36)

Attendance was 21,795.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s lost another one-run game Wednesday afternoon. The Detroit Tigers beat them 3-2 to win the rubber match of the three-game series. A’s starting pitcher, Scott Kazmir left the game after three innings with tightness in his left shoulder. He underwent an MRI, but the results will not be known until Thursday. He was replaced by Dan Otero. Otero went two innings giving up five hits and three runs. The decisive blow was a three-run home run off the bat of  former Athletic, Yoenis Cespedes. Sean Doolittle made his first appearance of the season and pitched well in his one inning of work.  His fastball topped at 90 miles per hour but he used his slider and change-up effectively.  With the loss, the A’s won-loss record for the year is 17-32 while Detroit improved to 28-20. Otero took the loss for Oakland while Kyle Ryan, called up from Louisville and making his first appearance of the season, received credit for the win.

The game was scoreless until the fifth inning.  With two out, Tiger second baseman, Ian Kinsler doubled. The A’s elected to walk Miguel Cabrera to put men on at first and second. That decision did not turn out well as former Athletic, Yoenis Cespedes hit a line shot to left field that went over the wall for a three-run homer. After the game, Bob Melvin said that the A’s would not let Cabrera beat them and the A’s were willing to face the next batter no matter what.

The A’s got on the board in the bottom of the seventh. Stephen Vogt led off the inning with a triple. The ball hit the 367 mark but did not go out. Mark Canha, pinch hitting for Max Muncy, flied out to centerfield and Vogt was able to tag up and score. Detroit leads 3-1 after seven.

The A’s made it a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth.Marcus Semien, pinch hitting for Sam Fuld, led off with a triple to right field. Semien scored on a ground out by Eric Sogard to make it a 3-2 game.  Billy Burns doubled to put a man in scoring position with one out but  Josh Reddick popped up for the second out and Ben Zobrist fouled out to end the inning.

The A’s failed to score in the ninth. Billy Burns singled and advanced to second when Mark Canha walked. Tigers’ closer Joakim Soria Struck out Brett Lawrie and Marcus Semien to end the game.

Game notes- The Oakland A’s are 6-16 at home this season, the worst record after 22 games in Oakland history and are 8-18 in May.  The A’s have lost two of three games against Detroit and have not won a series since taking two of three from Texas May 1-3.  The A’s are 0-10 in one-run games in Oakland.

The New York Yankees will be in town for four games starting Thursday night at the O.co Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05pm.

Kendall Graveman (2-2, 6.04 ERA) will pitch for Oakland and the Yankees will have the pride of Vallejo, C.C. Sabathia ( 2-6, 5.47 ERA)  on the hill

20,387 paid to see the game.

by Jerry Feitelberg

A’s starter, Jesse Chavez, has to wonder what does he have to do to catch a break and get some run support and a win. The loss snaps the A’s modest three-game winning streak. Chavez probably had his best outing of the year but took the loss as the A’s fell to the Tigers 1-0. It was an old-fashioned pitchers duel between Chavez and Detroit’s ace, David Price. Chavez went eight innings giving up just 5 hits and one unearned run. Jesse’s ERA dropped from 2.89 to 2.44 and his won-loss record is 1-5 for the year. The A’s have scored just six runs in his seven starts. He deserved a better fate Tuesday night. Price, former AL Cy Young award winner, received credit for his fourth win of the year. Price allowed five hits in seven innings of work.

The Tigers scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning. Anthony Gose singled to lead off the frame. Gose stole second and took third on a throwing error by A’s catcher Josh Phegley. Gose scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of former Athletic, Rajai Davis.  It was the 30th unearned run given up by the A’s this year and the 50th committed by the team in 48 games.

Game notes- A’s catcher, Josh Phegley threw out three Tiger runners attempting to steal second base. However, his error in the first inning enabled the Tigers to score the lone run of the game. The A’s have committed at least one error in 20 of the last 23 games (29 total) and 50 errors for the season. The A’s went 0-for-11 with RISP (runners in scoring position) and left 10 men on base. They are 1-10 when an opponent starts a left-handed pitcher. The A’s starting pitchers have gone four consecutive games without an earned run for the first time since 1928.

The Oakland A’s reinstated left-handed pitcher Sean Doolittle from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-handed pitcher Angel Castro to Triple-A Nashville, the club announced today.

by Jerry Feitelberg

I must be dreaming. Somebody wake me up and pinch me. I don’t believe what I am seeing. The A’s have won three games in a row for the first time this season. Not only did they beat the powerful Detroit Tigers, starting pitcher, Jesse Hahn, went nine innings and threw a shutout to ice the Tigers by a score of 4-0.

Hahn had all his pitches working for him and he limited to Tigers to just four hits. The A’s scored all the runs they would need in the bottom of the sixth when they scored four times to send Tigers pitcher Shane Greene to the showers.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth. Marcus Semien and Josh Reddick got the rally going with back-to-back singles to start the frame. A’s DH Billy Butler singled to drive in Semien with the A’s first run. Third baseman Max Muncy doubled to right-center to drive in Reddick with Butler taking third on the play. First baseman Mark Canha hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Butler with the third run. Sam Fuld doubled to drive in Muncy with run number four.

Notes- The A’s announced the Ben Zobrist was activated off the DL and Craig Gentry was sent down to Nashville to make room for Zobrist on the roster. Sean Dolittle will be activated Tuesday. Doolittle will not jump into the closer role immediately but probably be used as a setup man until he gets a little bit healthier. On the downside, the A’s made three more errors in the game, giving them 49 for the year

Hahn’s record improved to 2-4 while the Tigers’ Greene is now 4-3 for the year.

The A’s also welcomed back lead radio broadcaster, Ken Korach. Korach missed the beginning of the season due to problems with his knee.

Tuesday’s nights’ game will feature Jesse Chavez going for Oakland and he will be opposed by former Cy Young award winner, David Price. Game time will be 7:05pm at the O.co Coliseum.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s lost again Thursday night  to the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 3-0. The A’s lost for the 13th time in the last 15 games and look like a team that has earned the distinction of having the worst won-loss record in all of baseball. In days past, Jesse Chavez would have received credit for a win but the A’s did not give him any run support. Chavez went six-plus innings  giving up 5 hits and three runs while walking one and striking out six.  Jesse’s record is now 1-4 for the season.

The A’s had a chance in the very first inning to put at least one on the board but, as usual, they did not score and no one knows why. A’s center fielder, Billy Burns, led off the inning with a triple. The next batter, Marcus Semien, flied out to medium deep centerfield. Burns, for some reason, did not tag up. Had he attempted to score, he would have made it easily. Rays starter, Alex Colome, retired the next two A’s hitters to end the threat. The decision to stay put at third was a bonehead move and it is symptomatic of what’s wrong with the A’s. They are not playing fundamentally sound baseball.  Bob Melvin did not look happy when Burns came back to the dugout.

Former Athletic, David DeJesus, was the hitting start for the Rays. DeJesus doubled in the fourth to drive in Evan Longoria from first to give the Rays on the runs they would need to win. 1-0 after four. DeJesus homered in the seventh to make it 2-0 and the Rays added one more in the seventh. Final score Rays 3-0 over Oakland.

Notes- With the loss, the A’s are now 14-29 while Tampa improved to 23-19. The Rays were tied with New York for first place in the AL East before the start of play on Thursday. Alex Colome picked up the win and is 3-1 and Rays closer, Bruce Boxberger earned his 12th save of the year. A’s relievers Edward Mujica, Fernando Rodriguez, and Angel Castro closed out the game for Oakland. A’s third baseman, Brett Lawrie committed an error to add to the fielding woes.

Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday evening in Tampa at 4:10pm.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s 2015 train wreck  of a season continued Wednesday afternoon in Houston as they lost again to the Houston Astros by a score of 6-1. The A’s were trying to win the rubber game of the three-game series, but they had to face the Astro’s star left-handed hurler, Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel had not been charged with a loss so far this year and with the Astros’ win, his record improved to 6-0 and his ERA dropped to 1.67. The Astros are off to their best start in club history with a record of 27-14. The A’s, on the other hand, are a dismal 14-28. The A’s have won back-to-back games only once this year and that came against Houston on April 13th and 14th. Since that time, they have not been able to win more than one game in a row. It has been a pathetic performance. A’s General Manager, Billy Beane, has asked the fans to be patient as he feels the team can turn things around, but it’s going to be a tough sell. There are too many things going wrong for this club right now. They need improvement in all categories of play. They need better performances from the starting pitching, they need bullpen help as the bullpen is the arson squad. They need better fielding. A’s shortstop, Marcus Semien, made another throwing error and it was his 16th of the year. The A’s lead the Major Leagues in errors committed and does not show sign of improving at all. The A’s have not been able to get hits with runners in scoring position. They were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in Wednesday’s game.

Jesse Hahn was on the mound for the A’s and he went six innings giving up 3 runs on 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6. Hahn took the loss and his record dropped to 1-4 and his ERA now stands at 4.43.  The big blow was a 2-run home run by Evan Gattis in the bottom of the 6th. The A’s had their chances but failed to cash in on the opportunities. In the fourth, they loaded the bases with one out. Mark Canh grounded into a force out at home and Craig Gentry grounded out into an inning-ending force out at second. In the 6th, the A’s had 2 on with 1 out but could score just one run on Chris Carter’s fielding error.  The Astros put the game away in the bottom of the eighth when they score three times to make it a 6-1 game.

The A’s will be in Tampa Bay for a four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays. Jesse Chavez (1-3) will pitch for Oakland as they face the resurgent Rays. The Rays are in second place in the AL East with a record of 22-18 and are probably licking their chops knowing that the A’s are struggling. Reversal of fortunes for both teams this year.

Notes- The only bright note is that A’s third baseman, Brett Lawrie, went 3-for-4 in the game and raise his batting average to .280.  The line score for the A’s was one run on 7 hits and 1 error while Houston’s line was 6 runs on 10 hits and no errors. A’s reliever, Dan Otero pitched 1 and 1.3rd inning and allowed 3 hits and was charged with 3 runs, all earned.

Game time will be at 4:10pm from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.