Tag: Blake Treinen

A’s have found a home in the AL Central, shutout Indians, 6-0 to capture road series

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Photo courtesy of David Petkiewicz/cleveland.com

By Morris Phillips

The just-concluded season series between the A’s and Indians was certainly interesting, and it could have worked as an NBA game, filled with scoring runs and 30-second timeouts.

Apparently the A’s called a hypothetical timeout after chasing their collective tails for seven innings on Saturday–and letting the Indians go wild in scoring 28 of the previous 35 runs in the six-game set–dating back to the series finale in Oakland on July 1.

The A’s needed a breath of fresh air, anything to break Cleveland’s momentum. Seemingly, those two minutes between the seventh and eighth innings did the trick. Picture 25 players surrounding manager Bob Melvin as he reminds his guys…

“Be yourselves! We’re home run hitters, so hit home runs! And Brett (Anderson) you go to the scoring table. You’re in at the next media timeout. Let’s go!”

Melvin’s not Steve Kerr, and he didn’t get 25 guys around him and say those words. But the desired effect was the same. The A’s snatched momentum, hit two home runs, wipe out the Indians’ 3-0 lead, then Stephen Piscotty homered in the 11th and the A’s won 6-3.

On Sunday, momentum was starting pitcher Brett Anderson.  In his first appearance since May 18, the resurgent pitcher shut down the AL Central leaders into the sixth inning in the A’s 6-0 shutout. The A’s rebounded to win the series and get to the 50-win mark prior to the All-Star break for the first time since 2014.

Yup, the A’s responded to the Indians’ 28-7 run, with a 12-0 run of their own. You know what they say? In MLB, everybody makes a run.

“We know we have seven games before the break,” said Melvin, of the A’s current streak of seven, consecutive series victories. “We want to finish up strong, so it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

Anderson had his tipping point early on Sunday. With runners at second and third and no outs, Anderson struck out Rajai Davis and Robert Perez. Then on a 3-0 pitch, Anderson induced No. 8 hitter Erik Gonzalez to pop out to end the inning, preserving the A’s 1-0 lead.

In the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs, Anderson was up to the task again. The veteran pitcher got Gonzalez to ground into an inning-ending force out play in which Brandon Guyer was retired at third base.

“For the first time back in a while to give us a chance to win and get the series win, I’ll take it,” said Anderson, who has owned the Indians with an 0.82 ERA in five career starts.

“I don’t think we made very good adjustments, but I think sometimes you give the pitcher some credit, for sure,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.

The A’s improved to 18-6 against AL Central competition, which only partially compensates for the struggles in their own division (12-25 against the AL West). If the A’s somehow manage to overcome the 6 1/2 game gap between themselves and the Mariners occupying the second wild card, they’ll have to do it the hard way: Of their remaining 72 games, 39 are against AL West teams, and only 10 against the AL Central Twins and Tigers.

But don’t count the surprising A’s out: they’ve won 16 of 20 and they have timeouts left.

NOTES: Blake Treinen was named the A’s sole representative for the July 17 All-Star Game in Washington D.C. Treinen has 22 saves and hasn’t blown one since April 18. While Treinen is the unquestioned headliner, the A’s bullpen could be considered the A’s real All-Star. The Oakland bullpen has the best save percentage in baseball, converting 26 of 32. But the stellar numbers don’t stop there: the A’s bullpen is 22-7, the most wins and best win percentage of any MLB club.

After activating Anderson, the A’s still have five starters on the disabled list. To make room for Anderson, Paul Blackburn was placed on the disabled list with forearm strain.

UP NEXT: The A’s will take on the Astros in Houston for a four-game set starting Monday night at 5:10 pm PDT.

Late rally lifts the A’s past the Indians 6-3 in 11 innings

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

ClePiscotty
Graphic:@Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Athletics (49-40) won on Saturday afternoon in Cleveland, but they could not do it the easy way. It took them 11 innings and two late scoring barrages to down the Indians 6-3 in game two of the three-game series. The series is now tied at one game apiece as the teams prepare to finish the series on Sunday.

The A’s knew they were going to have an uphill battle on Saturday as they had to face “the ace” of Cleveland staff — Corey Kluber. Kluber — who has won two Cy Young Awards — started the game with a record of 12-4 and an ERA of 2.49. His WHIP was 0.88. None of those stats give an opponent hope of getting healthy versus a starter like Kluber.

The A’s did counter with their own starter who has become quite a headliner in his own right — Edwin Jackson. Jackson who is now pitching in 16th Major League campaign has become the big story for the Athletics. As he started the game, Jackson had not walked a batter in his two previous starts.

Neither Kluber or Jackson figured into the final decision of the game. Kluber left the game after pitching seven innings of shutout baseball. Jackson left the game after 5.2 innings having given up three runs (two earned).

CleSat
Progressive Field was almost full on Saturday Photo: @Indians

Great starts need great bullpens to keep them intact

Cleveland manager Terry Francona tapped Neil Ramirez to take over the pitching duties in the top the eighth inning for Kluber.

Ramirez started off strong getting Dustin Fowler to strike out for the first out of the inning. Mark Canha came to bat next and singled to left field.

Jed Lowrie was the third hitter of the inning. Ramirez and Lowrie had a seven-pitch battle. Lowrie hit the 2-2 pitch over into the right field seats for a two-run home — his 15th of the season.

With the score now 3-2, Khris Davis was next to face Ramirez. Krush hit a 1-1 fastball 431 feet into the center field seats to tie the game at 3-3. The near-sellout crowd in the “Rock ‘n Roll City” became as quiet as a church. You may have been able to hear the fans in Northern California screaming as their team made their comeback.

Extra Innings are always interesting if not fun

CleSatlineup
Graphic @Athletics

Neither team mounted a serious scoring threat in the ninth or 10th innings.

By the top of the 11th inning, everyone was starting to get really nervous. The A’s had already used closer Blake Treinen in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Indians had lost their designated hitter because of moves with pinch hitters. The longer these games go, the more convoluted the managing moves become.

Josh Tomlin took over the pitching duties for Cleveland (49-38) in the top of the 11th. Matt Olson led off with a single to right field.

With no outs and Olson at first, Stephen Piscotty came to the plate to face Tomlin. Piscotty battled Tomlin to a 3-2 count. Piscotty hit the seventh pitch over the left-center field wall for a two-run home run to give the A’s a 5-3 lead.

Matt Chapman was the next to bat and he hit a line drive double to left field. Marcus Semien then grounded out to third. Chapman had to hold at second.

Jonathan Lucroy was the next hitter. While Lucroy was at the plate, Chapman was able to steal third base. Lucroy reached first on a fielding error by Lindor and Chapman was able to score the Athletics third run.

When the top the 11th inning was over, the A’s held a 6-3 lead.

The Indians went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning and Oakland won the game 6-3.

Pitching

The win went to Blake Treinen who is now 5-1 on the season. He came back and pitched the bottom of the 11th as well for Oakland.

Lou Trivino gets special mention for pitching two strong innings of scoreless baseball as does Ryan Buchter for throwing 1.1 innings without allowing a run.

Josh Tomlin (0-5) was charged with the loss.

Hitting

The long ball was the A’s best friend on Saturday. Lowrie hit his 15th, Davis his 21st and Piscotty launched his eighth homer of the season. Chapman powered up two doubles.

Matt Chapman has a perfect day at the plate going 4-for-4 on Saturday.

The RBI just keep on coming. Jed Lowrie added two more to up his total to 61 for the season. Khris Davis (58), Piscotty 2 (38) and Lucroy (25) all had RBI in the game.

Lindor and Brantley continued to tear it up for the Indians. Lindor is now batting .301 and Brantley is hitting .310 for Cleveland.

Up next

The series concludes Sunday morning at 10:10 AM PDT when Brett Anderson (0-2, 7.63) takes the hill for Oakland to face the Indians Shane Bieber (4-0, 2.97).CleOakSatScore

 

 

 

A’s win a seesaw battle over the White Sox 7-6 on Saturday in Chicago

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Martini vs Chi
Nick Martini recorded his first major-league hit on Saturday Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics won their second game of the four-game series with the Chicago White Sox 7-6 at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday. However, the win did not come easy.

As the game entered the bottom of the ninth inning, the A’s held a 7-6 lead. Blake Treinen continued on the mound in an attempt to close it out for Oakland. Yoan Moncada led off for the White Sox and wound up safe at first when Treinen could not handle the throw from first baseman Matt Olson. Treinen was charged with an error. Avisail Garcia took a little pressure off Treinen by striking out.

Jose Abreu reached first safely when Marcus Semien made a fielding error and a fielder’s choice turned into back-to-back errors with the tying run at second base and the potential winning at first.

DH Matt Davidson then became Treinen’s best friend when he grounded into a six to four to three (Semien to Barreto to Olson) double play to end the game and give the A’s their second win in the series.

It may have been a costly win

A vs Chi
Photo: @WhiteSox

A’s starting pitcher Daniel Mengden had to leave the game after the second inning with a right foot sprain. The team does not know what is next for Mengden. It could be that he will be rested and possibly miss his next scheduled start. The other possibility is a trip to the DL if the injury is more serious in nature and requires extended time off.

Mengden has struggled in his last five starts. He is 1-2 with an 8.98 ERA over those five games. His opponents have batted .295 against him in those games. Mengden pitched 2.0-innings on Saturday giving up five runs (all earned) in the first inning including one home run.

Oakland could call Chris Bassitt back from Triple-A Nashville to take Mengden’s spot on the roster if that becomes necessary.

A’s with the bat
Nick Martini, who was called up to give the A’s some fresh legs after the Friday doubleheader, recorded his first major-league hit in the eighth inning when he singled to right-center field to drive home Stephen Piscotty from second base to give Oakland a 7-6 lead. Even though they no longer officially track it as a statistic, Martini’s RBI-single proved to be the game-winning hit.

Matt Olson, who homered in the second game on Friday night, hit his 17th home run of the year in the sixth inning off of White Sox pitcher Chris Volstad. This was the third time Olson has homered in back-to-back games this season. He also extended his hitting streak to five games.

Stephen Piscotty his sixth home run of the year in the second inning off Chicago starter Dylan Covey. He went 2-for-3 in the game to make it his 14th multihit game of the season.

A’s on the mound
The bullpen came through for the Athletics again on Saturday. Oakland had to use six relievers in the game. The relievers pitched 7.0-innings allowing just one run off three hits. They struck out 10 and walked just one hitter.

Lou Trivino had a very interesting relief appearance. He entered the game in the sixth inning with one out and the bases loaded. He induced Moncada to ground into a force play, but Anderson was able to score from third to tie the game. Trivino was charged with a blown save (1).

Trivino came back out for the seventh inning and struck out the side in order to keep the A’s in the game. Trivino was the pitcher of record when Martini hit his RBI-single and was awarded the victory to up his record to 5-1 for the year.

Treinen worked 1.2-innings for a five-out save. It was his 17th save of the season.

The A’s love the road
The A’s have now won six of their last seven games and are 4-1 on this 10-day road trip. Oakland is 20-17 on the road this season.

The A’s have homered in a franchise-record 24 consecutive road games.

The A’s are 13-7 in one-run games in 2018.

Up next
The A’s and White Sox will wrap up this four-game series on Sunday at 11:10 pm PDT. Oakland will send RHP Paul Blackburn (1-1, 8.03) to the mound. The White Sox will start LHP Carlos Rondon (0-2, 4.41).

A’s power their way past the Angels 6-4 on Saturday to end the losing streak

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Semien HR
Semien hits his sixth HR in the top of the sixth inning Photo: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics can cross two things off of their to-do list after beating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6-4 on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum. First, they needed desperately needed end a four-game losing streak that began last Tuesday. Task completed.

Secondly, the A’s needed to get a win versus an AL West division opponent. They had lost six straight games to AL West teams and 12 of their last 13 games versus the West. The win on Saturday allows the team to check that off their list as well.

The A’s cannot let down after this victory, but it should prove to them that they are very capable of playing and winning in the Western Division.

Manaea looked unstoppable for four innings

Manaea vs LAA
Manaea looked unstoppable for the first four innings Photo: @Athletics

Sean Manaea made the start for the A’s and his slider was really working for him. The lefty set the Angels down in order for the first four innings. He looked unbeatable especially after Chad Pinder hit a home run to stake Manaea to a 1-0 lead.

Then came the top of the fifth inning. Albert Pujols led off the inning with a single. Martin Maldonado followed up with a single to right field. With runners at first and second, that brought Chris Young to bat. Young was the last minute replacement for Justin Upton who was scratched due to a stiff lower back.

Young HR
Young crushes a HR off Manaea Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Young hit a no doubt about it home run to over the left field wall to give the Angels a 3-1 lead. Manaea was able to work his way out of trouble to end the inning, but the mood of the team and fans had definitely changed.

The sixth inning was the Angels’ downfall
The Angels had to use LHP John Lamb — who was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake — to make the start. Lamb gave up a home run to Pinder in the fourth inning and then, Marcus Semien hit his sixth round-tripper of the season off Lamb to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. That would be all for Lamb, who exited the game with a 3-2 lead.

Reliever Noe Ramirez entered the game and hit the first batter he faced — Chad Pinder. Jed Lowrie flied out to center for the first out of the inning. DH Khris Davis walked. Rameriez then hit Matt Olson for his second hit-batsmen of the inning. With the bases loaded, Stephen Piscotty hit a blistering single up the middle that drove Davis and Olson home to score. When the inning ended, the A’s led the game 5-3.

Oakland would add one more run in the seventh inning on a Jed Lowrie RBI single.

The top of the ninth inning got a little exciting
Blake Treinen was brought in to close out the game in the top of the ninth. It was his first time on the mound in six games and he looked a little rusty.

The A’s closer gave up a run (earned) on one hit while walking two and striking out one Angels hitter. The situation did not become desperate, but it was not as clean of a close as the team would have liked it to have been.

Bob Melvin’s postgame comments

In the Batter’s Box
Oakland (35-36)

  • Chad Pinder had a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate for the A’s. He was just a double short of posting a cycle on Saturday. Pinder’s home run was his sixth of the season and he recorded his 14th RBI. Pinder hit his first triple of the year in the game.
  • Marcus Semiem hit his sixth HR to pick up his 27th RBI of the year.
  • Stephen Piscotty raised his RBI total to 29.
  • Jed Lowrie now has 43 RBI which is keeping close to the leaders in the majors
  • The A’s scored six runs off six hits and recorded six RBI. Their batters struck out eight times.
  • The A’s left six men on base while going 2-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

Los Angeles of Anaheim (38-33)

  • No batter for the Angels had a multi-hit game.
  • Chris Young picked up the big hit with his 3-run home run in the fifth inning. That upped his RBI total to 10.
  • Mike Trout and Albert Pujols each recorded a hit.
  • The Angels scored four runs on six hits while striking out six times.
  • The Angels left four men on base and went 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

On the Hill
A’s (Streak: Lost 1 game; 4-6 in last 10)

  • The win went to starting pitcher Sean Manaea, who is now 6-5 on the season. It was his first win since back in May. Manaea worked 6.0-innings giving up three runs (all earned) off four hits. He walked one and struck out four. He did give up one home run.
  • Treinen earned the save (15) but struggled to get there.
  • Petit and Trivino each worked an inning of scorless relief.

Angels (Streak: Lost 1 game; 5-5 in last 10)

  • John Lamb who made the start did not figure into the decision.
  • Noe’ Rameriez (2-3) was charged with the loss.
  • Jake Jewell was used for one inning of relief by the Angels and it was his Major League debut.

Up Next

The Angels and A’s will close out  this three-game series with the “rubber game” of the match on Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT. The Angels will start LHP Andrew Heaney (3-5, 3.68) -who will the third lefthander to start for LA in this series. The A’s will counter with RHP Daniel Mengden (6-6, 3.90).

big foul
Foul territory is tough to cover at the Coliseum Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Oakland makes it three consecutive wins in Toronto beating the Jays 5-4 on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Pinder Toronto
Chad Pinder’s first career Grand Slam Photo: @OaklandAthletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics won their third game in a row over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday by beating the home team 5-4. The A’s won for just the third time this season when trailing after the seventh inning. They did improve to 8-2 in one-run games and now own the best winning percentage in one-run games (.800) in the Major Leagues.

The A’s trailed the Jays 4-0 as they came to the plate in the top of the eighth inning. John Axford replaced Seunghwan Oh on the mound for Toronto. Matt Chapman led off the inning with a walk – never a good thing for a relief pitcher. Khris Davis singled to right moving Chapman up to third. Matt Olson went down on strikes for the first out of the inning. Stephen Piscotty then singled to right driving Chapman home and allowing Davis to advance to third. Piscottly was able to advance to second on a throwing error.

That brought a pitching change as Axford was sent to the showers and Tyler Clippard was sent to the hill to stop the A’s rally.

The first hitter Clippard faced was Dustin Fowler and he hit a fly ball for an out. Jed Lowrie then pinch hit for Jonathan Lucroy and drew a base-on-balls to load the bases. Chad Pinder then stepped into the batter’s box and hit a 1-1 pitch over the right-center field wall for a grand slam home run to give the Athletics a 5-4 lead.

That would be the end of the scoring in the contest and the Athletics would win 5-4.

The win means the A’s have won the series and they will be going for the sweep on Sunday. Oakland is now 6-3 on this road trip facing the best of the East and is 13-13 on the road this season.

In the batter’s box

Athletics

  • Chad Pinder hit his first career grand slam home run that proved to be the game-winning hit versus the Blue Jays on Saturday. This was his fourth home run of the season. Pinder is now hitting .271 with three home runs and nine RBI since coming off the 10-day Disabled List on April 17,
  • Stephen Piscotty drove in the first run of the day for Oakland and went 2-for-4 in the game making it his eighth multi-hit game of the season. Piscotty is batting .311 in day games and .215 in night contests.
  • Khris Davis went 2-for-4 in the game and hit his ninth double. 12 of Davis’ last 22 hits have gone for extra bases.
  • Shortstop Marcus Semien posted his 15th multi-hit game going 2-for-5 with a double on Saturday.

Blue Jays

Toronto smoak
Justin Smoak tries to lead the Jays past the A’s Photo: @BlueJays
  • Gio Urshela hit his first home run as a Blue Jay – a two-run shot in the fifth inning. It was also his first career home run to the opposite field.
  • Yangervis Solarte doubled twice and posted an RBI. This was his third multi-extra base hit game this season. He leads the Jays with 27 RBI.
  • Justin Smoak went 2-for-3 off Sean Manaea. He is now hitting .333 (19-for-57) versus lefties. Smoak picked up two walks in the game and is now tied for fifth in the American League in walks with 26.
  • Kevin Pillar recorded his 20th RBI with a Sacrifice Fly in the fifth inning in his 46th game of the season. He did not record his 20th RBI in 2017 until game 80.

On the hill

Oakland

  • Starter Sean Manaea allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts in his 5.0-innings of work on Saturday. It matched his shortest outing of the year. Manaea has given up four runs in each of his of last four starts.
  • Emilio Pagan worked 2.0-innings of relief and earned his first win of the season.
  • Blake Treinen closed out the game for Oakland and earned his 10th save of the season for A’s.

Toronto

  • Tyler Clippard had a very, very bad day. He was charged with his first blown save of the year and picked up his first loss of the season as well.
  • The Jays used five pitchers who gave up five runs on 10 hits while allowing four walks and striking out 10.

Note: The roof at the Rogers Centre was closed.

Up Next

The final game of the series will get underway at 10:07 AM PDT with RHP Daniel Mengden (3-4, 3.75) on the mound for Oakland facing the Blue Jays RHP Joe Biagini (0-2, 7.98).

 

Flores hits a walk-off home run to give the Mets a 6-5 win over the Athletics

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

mlb-oakland-athletics-at-new-york-mets-cdcdafd204790397 TWO

The Oakland Athletics have the worst road record (15-31) in the major leagues. It is one of the main reasons they are mired in last place in the American League West and are about to dismantle their team to begin a major rebuilding process.

On Saturday night after jumping out to a 5-0 lead over the New York Mets, the A’s allowed the Metropolitans to claw their way back into the game. The Mets tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning when Lucas Duda hit a single off Daniel Coulombe that drove Travis d’Arnaud home from second base.

In the bottom of the ninth with two out and the bases empty, Wilmer Flores hit the 1-0 pitch from A’s reliever Simon Castro into the first row of seats in left field to give the Mets a 6-5 win. It was the ninth home run of the season for Flores and the second consecutive win for the Mets (45-50) over the Athletics (43-54).

In the batter’s box

Oakland

  • Matt Joyce put the A’s on the board in the first inning when he hit the 0-1 pitch from Zack Wheeler over the center field fence for his 13th home run of the year. Joyce now has 39 RBI for the season.
  • Matt Chapman showed off his power hitting by putting a Wheeler pitch into the second deck in left field for his third home run of the year. Chapman also had a sacrifice fly in the game to give him two RBI. He has seven RBI since joining the A’s.
  • Catcher Bruce Maxwell hit an RBI-double.
  • The A’s scored five runs on 10 hits and left nine runners on base. They were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

NYM

  • Flores — who is one of the Mets that does not appear to be on the trading block — went 2-for-5 including that game winning walk-off home run. Flores also hit his 13th double of the year in the game and scored two runs.
  • Jose Reyes hit his sixth triple of the season and also scored a run while going 2-for-4 for New York.
  • Jay Bruce hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning. It was his 25th home run and it raised his RBI total to 65. Bruce is one the Mets who is expected to be with another team by the July 31 trade deadline.
  • Travis d’Arnaud made it safely to base four times in the game. He went 3-for-3 with a walk. d’Arnaud scored a run and added an RBI.
  • The Mets scored six runs on 14 hits. They left eight men on base and were 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

On the hill

Athletics

  • Starter Sean Manaea pitched well through the first five innings but ran into some real problems in the sixth inning when he gave up four earned-runs. Manaea worked 5.2-innings giving up four runs (all earned) on 10 hits. He struck out two and walked one while allowing one home run. Manaea did not figure in the final decision.
  • The A’s relief corps was roughed up in the game. Hendriks gave up two runs, Coulombe was charged with a blown save and Simon Castro took the loss for giving up the game winning home run to Flores.
  • Newcomer Blake Treinen was credited with a hold.

Mets

  • Starter Zack Wheeler gave up five runs (all earned) on seven hits in 5.0-innings of work. He struck out six and walked four batters while giving up two home runs. He did not figure into the final decision.
  • The trio of Mets relievers — Smoker, Edgin and Robles — did not give up a run to the A’s in the final four innings of the game.
  • Hansel Robles (6-1) was the pitcher of record when Flores hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth and he was credited with the win.

Up next

The A’s and Mets will meet on Sunday for the third and final game of the series. Oakland will send RHP Daniel Gossett (1-5, 5.79 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Rafael Montero (1-6, 5.40 ERA) who will start for the Mets. Game time is 10:10 a.m. PDT.