Tag: Baseball

A’s Win Streaked snapped, lose to the Padres 3-1.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Kendall Graveman

The A’s and Padres concluded the four-game home and home series on Thursday at the O.co Coliseum. The game was played in the sunshine, and it was a close game but, as you know, the A’s have a losing record in games that are played in the daytime and are close. Today’s game was no exception as Oakland lost by a final score of 3-1. The Padres snapped their four-game losing streak and ended the A’s modest four-game winning streak

A’s starter Kendall Graveman pitched well, but he made two mistakes and took the loss. He gave up a solo home run to Matt Kemp in the fourth and former A’s catcher, Derek Norris, homered to lead off in the sixth to give San Diego enough runs to win the game. The A’s could not solve Ian Kennedy at all. The only mistake Kennedy made was a solo home run to A’s catcher Josh Phegley in the bottom of the sixth. The Padres added a run in the eighth after Billy Burns and Josh Reddick collided in deep right centerfield on a Melvin Upton, Jr flyball. The ball dropped allowing Upton to reach third for a triple. Reddick fell to the ground after the collision and lay motionless for about a minute or two. Bob Melvin and a trainer rushed out to see if Reddick was OK and after a few minutes he got to his feet and returned to action with no damage done. Nonetheless, it was a scary few moments. Upton scored on a foul out to first baseman Stephen Vogt. Vogt caught the ball over his shoulder, spun around and threw home trying to nail Upton at the plate but the throw was offline, and the Padres added the insurance run to take a 3-1 advantage. The A’s went down in order in the eighth. Vogt doubled with two out in the ninth, but Padres’ closer Craig Kimbrel struck out Billy Butler to end the game.

Game Notes- Kendall Graveman took the loss and is now 3-4 for the year. Graveman is 2-2 with an ERA of 2.27 in six starts since his return from Nashville on May 23rd. His line for the day was 7 IP, five hits and two runs. He lost his last start 1-0 to the LA Angels.

Billy  Burns was 1-for-4 and has hit safely in each of his last nine games. Josh Phegley hit his third home run of the year and the first one against a right-hander.  Stephen Vogt has now reached base safely in all 30 of his home games, which is the second longest season-opening streak in Oakland history. The record is held by Rickey Henderson, who had 33 in 1993.

The line score for San Diego was three runs, seven hits, and no errors while Oakland’s was one run on five hits and two errors.

The A’s continue the homestand against the Los Angeles Angels Friday night at 6 pm. There will be fireworks after the game. The A’s ace, Sonny Gray (8-3, 1.60 ERA) will go for Oakland, and Matt Shoemaker(4-5, 4.85) will pitch for the Halos.

Game time was two hours and thirty-nine minutes, and there were 16,643 people watching.

A’s win a laugher beating the Padres 16-2.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s exploded for 16 runs and 20 hits to blast the San Diego Padres 16-2 Wednesday night at home in Oakland. Jesse Chavez, who has pitched well all season, finally had run support from his mates as he won his third game of the year against six losses. The A’s have now won four games in a row for the second time this season.  The Padres lost their fourth consecutive game.

The A’s put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Billy Burns, leading off, smacked the first pitch he saw from Padres” starter Odrisamer Despaigne, into right field for a double. Burns went to third on a Marcus Semien single. With one out, Ben Zobrist singled to drive in Burns. Semien took third on the play. With two out, A’s DH, Billy Butler hit a 3-run homer to left-field to put the A’s ahead 4-0. For Butler, it was his fifth home run of the year.

Oakland added a run in the third. With one out, Ben Zobrist hit a line shot down the first base line that went into the rightfield corner for a triple. The next batter, Stephen Vogt flied out to left. Zobrist tagged up and scored easily to give the A’s a 5-0 lead after three innings of play.

The Padres scored in the top of the sixth. Padres’ shortstop Alexi Amarista smacked the first pitch from Chavez into the right-field seats for his second home run of the year. A’s still lead 5-1.

The A’s scored four more runs in the bottom of the 7th to take a 9-1 lead. Mark Canha singled to get thing rolling. The Padres replaced Despaigne with Frank Garces. Garces walked Sogard to put men on at first and second with no out. Billy Burns singled to load the bases. Canha scored on a Marcus Semien sacrifice fly.  Ben Zobrist doubled to right center driving in Sogard and Burns. Zobrist went to third on a throwing error by Matt Kemp. Zobrist scored on a single off the bat of Stephen Vogt.

Fernando Abad relieved Jesse Chavez in the eighth. The inning did not start well as Padres’ third baseman Will Middlebrooks deposited the baseball over the wall in centerfield to make it a 9-2 game. Abad retired the next three batters.

In the bottom of the eighth, the A’s sent 12 men to the plate. They scored seven runs on eight hits to make it a 16-2 game. Arnold Leon pitched the ninth to close out the win for Oakland.

Game Notes- The 16 runs and 20 hits were season highs for the A’s. The A’s have won 4 straight and six of the last eight.The A’s have outscored the opposition 304-266 so far. The A’s starting pitchers are 4-1 with a 1.46 ERAover the last six games. Jesse Chavez set a career-high with 11 strikeouts.

The hitting stars for the A’s were Billy Burns, who was 3-for-4 and scored three runs. Billy Butler had four hits including a home run and three singles, and 2 of the singles were if you can believe it, infield hits. Mark Canha had two hits and one RBI. Brett Lawrie was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. And Ben Zobrist had a single, double and a triple and drove in 3 runs.

The line score for San Diego was two runs on five hits and one error while Oakland had 16 runs on 20 hits, and the A’s were flawless in the field. Chavez’ record improved to 3-6, and the A’s are now 29-39. San Diego’s Odrisamer Despaigne took the loss, and his record is now 3-5 and the Padres drop to 32-36.

Time of game was 2 hours and 49 minutes, and the 20,625 people were in attendance.

Kendall Graveman will go for Oakland on Thursday, and the Ian Kennedy will pitch for the Padres. Game time will be at 12:35 PM PT at the O.co Coliseum.

A’s win third in a row, nip the San Diego Padres.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s surprised all their fans in San Diego Tuesday afternoon. How did they do it? They won a daytime game, and it was a one-run game, too. The A’s have performed miserably this year in both categories, i.e., one-run games and games played in the sunlight. The bullpen continued to make life difficult for A’s manager Bob Melvin as the blew the save giving up two runs to tie the game at five. The A’s, however, would not be denied. They scored a run in the top of the ninth and A’s closer Tyler Clippard entered the game and struck the side to save the day and preserve the win. The A’s triumph 6-5.

Lefty Scott Kazmir (3-4,2,96) started for Oakland, and he was opposed by the tall righty Andrew Cashner (2-8,4.45). The Padres struck first in the bottom of the third. The rookie catcher, 22-year-old Austin Hedges hit his first Major League home run. The ball went some 390 feet over the left-field wall for the score. The Padres added a run in the fourth. Justin Upton and Will Middlebrooks singled to put men on at first and third with one out. Clint Barmes bunted to first baseman Billy Butler. Butler fielded the ball, but Ben Zobrist did not cover first. Upton scored to make it 2-0.

The A’s took the lead in the top of the fifth. With one out, Max Muncy doubled to deep right field. Sam Fuld walked to put men on at first and third. Kazmir singled to drive in Muncy. Billy Burns then tripled to deep right center field to drive in Fuld and Kazmir. A’s lead 3-2. The Lead didn’t last long as San Diego tacked on another run without the benefit of a hit. Melvin Upton, Jr. reached first on a Scott Kazmir throwing error. Upton stole second and advanced to third on a ground out; Kazmir was called for a balk allowing Upton to come home with the run.

Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer to give a 5-3 lead in the sixth. Kazmir was done after five innings of work. Fernando Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz pitched the next two innings and kept San Diego off the board. The eight inning, however, was a different story. The bullpen has not been an asset for Oakland this year, and it failed again. Pomeranz was out for his second inning of work. Melvin Upton, Jr and Yonder Alonzo singled to get the rally going for San Diego. First and third with no out. Melvin took Pomeranz out and brought in Evan Scribner to pitch, Scribner got Justin Upton to hit into a 5-4-3 double play.His brother, Melvin, scored on the play. The net batter, Matt Kemp, homered on the first pitch from Scribner to tie the game.

The A’s untied the game in the top of the ninth.  The Padres brought in their closer, Craig Kimbrel, to shut the A’s down, but the A’s would not quit. With two out. Billy Burns walked and promptly stole second base. Eric Sogard singled to drive in Burns with the go-ahead run. A’s closer Tyler Clippard was brought in to pitch, and all he did was strike out the side to win the game for the A’s.

Game notes. With the win, the A’s own a modest 3-game win streak as they return home to play San Diego again Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. The A’s record improved to 28-39 and has a record of 17-21 on the road. San Diego falls to 32-25 and has a 16-19 record at Petco Field.

Game 3 of the series will be at O.co Coliseum at 7:05 PM PT

Oakland A’s – Texas Rangers preview

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s return home from a six-game road trip to resume play Tuesday night against the surprising Texas Rangers at the O.Co Coliseum. The A’s won the first three games sweeping the three-game set again the Detroit Tigers, but then they were swept three straight by the Boston Red Sox. The A’s looked good beating Detroit, but their shortcomings reappeared in the series against the Bosox. The A’s continue to have bullpen issues as well as poor fielding and not being able to get hits with men in scoring position. As a result, the A’s are in last place in the AL West with a record of 23-36.

One of the big surprises of the year has been the play of the Texas Rangers under the leadership of manager Jeff Bannister. They are currently in second place in the AL West with a record of 30-27 and are 3.5 games behind the Houston Astros. The Rangers have several of their top pitchers on the DL, but they brought up Chi-Chi Gonzales and he has two wins in two starts and has an ERA of 0.00.  Nick Martinez (4-2,2.89 ERA) has been solid. The Rangers added veteran Wandy Rodriguez to the staff to go along with Colby Lewis and Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo got off to a slow start, but he improved his record to 5-6 and sports an ERA of 3.54.

The Rangers’ offense is led by Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, Adrian Beltre (currently on the 15 day DL),  rookie sensation Joey Gallo, Delino Deshields, Shin Soon-Choo, and Elvis Andrus. Josh Hamilton, recently acquired from the Angels, is also on the DL with a hamstring injury.

First-year manager, Jeff Bannister has done a terrific job as he has so many of his key players on the DL. Rangers ace, Yu Darvish, is on the shelf for the season due to Tommy John surgery. Matt Harrison, Nick Tepisch, Derek Holland are all on the 60-day DL and closer Neftali Perez is on the 15-day list.

Sonny Gray goes for the A’s Tuesday night, and the Rangers will have Nick Martinez on the hill. Let’s see if the A’s can get back on the winning track. Even with all the deficiencies the A’s have shown this year, it is not too late to climb back into respectability.

The A’s defeat the Tigers again , Sweep the Series

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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.

The A’s beat the Tigers again behind the strong pitching of Sonny Gray.

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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.

Oakland Starts the Road Trip win a Comeback Win to Defeat the Detroit Tigers

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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.”

“Huge momentum for us there,” said Graveman. “It was one of those games where the pace was slow, and you just felt like something had to go our way. And you get a couple plays there that go our way in that inning that maybe hadn’t gone our way all year, that gave us a little confidence, a little boost, and once that went out, that was a really good feeling in the dugout there.”

The A’s ace, Sonny Gray will pitch Wednesday night and he will be opposed by Anibal Sanchez. Game time will be at 4:05 PT from Detroit.

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A’s hit the road to Play Detroit and Boston, Sneak Preview.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s have an off-day on Monday as they are travelling to the Motor City to face the Detroit Tigers for three games and then move on to Boston for a weekend series with the Red Sox. The Tigers were here last week and took two out of three from the A’s. The Tigers scored just four runs in the two wins over Oakland and, with a little luck and better fielding, the A’s could have won all three. The two losses were by one run as the Tigers won 1-0 and 3-2 after losing the opener to the A’s 4-0.

The Tigers are returning home after being swept four straight by the Los Angeles Angels  in Anaheim the past weekend and they have fallen to third place in the AL Central. The Tigers are 3-7 in their last 10 games and are 28-24 for the season. The Tigers are led by their big first baseman, the All-Everything Miguel Cabrera. Tiger designated hitter Victor Martinez is on the DL with a sore knee and is not expected to play in the series. Cabrera and Martinez have combined to be a devastating force in the Tiger lineup but with Martinez out, the Tiger offense is not as potent as it has been in the past.

The Tigers will have Alfredo Simon(5-2, 2.67 ERA) on the mound and the A’s will counter with Kendall Graveman. Graveman won his second game of the year when the A’s were in Tampa and went 5 2/3rds inning against the Yankees Thursday night. Graveman left the game trailing 3-0 but the A’s rallied to beat New York and it was a no decision for Graveman. Wednesday’s game will feature Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez (3-6, 6.75 ERA) and the A’s will have their ace, Sonny Gray (6-2, 1.82 ERA) handling the pitching chores. The final game of the series will have Shane Greene (4-4, 5.19) going against Jesse Hahn (2-5,3.77). Hahn pitched a complete game against the Tigers on May 25th beating them 4-0. Greene took the loss.

The Tigers will be looking to regroup and get on the winning track while the A’s have shown improvement as they have won six out of the last ten games played. The A’s took three out of four from the Yankees and played very well. The A’s showed improvement in several areas. They stopped making errors. They still lead the Majors with 51 so far but they hired former Ranger manager Ron Washington to work with the infielders and, hopefully, the fielding will continue to improve. The bullpen showed signs of improvement, too. The A’s were hoping that Sean Doolittle would come back and resume his closer role once he increased the velocity on his pitches. Unfortunately, Doolittle made just one appearance. Doolittle pitched one inning  and only one of pitches reached the 90 miles per hour mark. Dooliotte’s best pitch is a 93 or 94 mile per hour special. Doolittle, however, experienced severe pain in the shoulder and it was back to the DL. No one knows how long he will be sidelined. Tyler Clippard has stepped in as closer and has seven saves so far for Oakland. Evan Scribner has done a good job, too. If the A’s are going to get better, they will need Abad, Dan Otero, Arnold Leon, Fernando Rodriguez, and Angel Castro to be able to come in and do the job.

The other area of improvement has been the return of timely, or if you will clutch, hitting. The A’s went through a stretch where they went 0-for 21 with runners in scoring position. They did better in that department over the weekend against New York. The A’s kick-starter, Coco Crisp, has been on the DL for almost the whole season. The A’s tried Craig Gentry and Sam Fuld, but neither player has done  much hitting for the club. One bright spot has been the speedster, Billy Burns. Burns had had four multi-hit games and has sparked the A’s offense. Burns is hitting .327 and in Sunday’s game against New York, stole two bases and scored on Stephen Vogt’s home run.Josh Reddick is hitting.302 with 7 homers and 31 RBI while catcher Stephen Vogt’s average is .322 with 11 Home runs and 38 RBIs. Another key factor for the A’s has been the return of Ben Zobrist. Zobrist can play multiple positions and that gives Bob Melvin a lot of flexibility when he making out the lineup cards.

After the Detroit series, the A’ play the Red Sox in Boston. The Sox won two out of the three games when they were here in Oakland. The Red Sox’ offense has not been there for them this year. Their big star, David Ortiz, is not having a good year. Hanley Ramirez was hot for a while in April, but he was injured and has not regained his hitting stroke and is a defensive liability in left field. Pablo Sandoval is hitting .249 and Mike Napoli is at .208. Mookie Betts and Rusny Castillo are still question marks in the outfield. Boston’s starting pitching has been mediocre, to say the least. The starting rotation of Buchholz, Miley, Porcello and Kelley will not strike fear into any opposing team. The A’s have a chance to sneak up on Detroit and Boston before they return home to face the Texas Rangers in Oakland and then fly to Anaheim to play the Angels before heading to San Diego for two with the Padres and return home for two more with San Diego and face the Angels again for three.

The A’s rally to beat the Yankees

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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.

Yoenis Cespedes homers to beat the A’s.

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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.