Tag: Bob Melvin

15 runs, 18 hits, 14 pitchers–September baseball is here! M’s down A’s 8-7 on Saturday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — If you are planning to come to the ballpark between now and the end of the season, bring seat cushion with you. Every team in the Major Leagues could expand their roster on Saturday. The A’s added eight players to their active roster, bringing their total of available players to 33.

A’s manager Bob Melvin talked about how much the club was looking forward to having the extra help down the stretch in September. After 136 games, a team is tired, bruised and battered from the rigors of playing every day. Melvin was also looking forward to having extra help in the bullpen.

Oakland lost the services of two starters last week. Sean Manaea was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendonitis and may not be available for the remainder of the season. Brett Anderson went down with a strained left forearm and is eligible to come off the disabled list on September 7. The A’s chose not to go out on the waiver trade market for a starter and instead bolstered their bullpen.

Saturday night was the beginning of a new experiment

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The Tampa Bay Rays shocked the baseball world earlier this season when they began using an “opener” instead of a starting pitcher in their games. Former Giants reliever Sergio Romo made headlines when he “opened” the game pitching one inning then turning it over to what would have been the starting pitching who was now a long relief pitcher. Confused?

There is a method behind the madness. First, the Rays really believe in the strength of their bullpen. Secondly, the Rays are adhering to the concept of limiting the number times hitters are allowed to see a “starting pitcher.” The prevailing thought is that batter should only see a pitcher twice because the hitters become too effective in the third time at bat.

The A’s decided to go with the same philosophy on Saturday night. Reliever Liam Hendricks was put into the role of “opener.”  He lasted 1.2 innings, giving up two runs off two hits. He gave up both runs in the second inning. Danny Coulombe came on to relieve Hendricks and gave up an RBI double to the only batter he faced. Emilio Pagan then took over from Coulombe and ended the second inning by getting Haniger to fly out in foul territory. That second inning set the tone for the rest of the game.

“Starter” Daniel Mengden entered the game in the top of the third inning and lasted 2.0 innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits. Mengden walked one and struck out one Mariner. You will want to listen to Melvin’s comments about Mengden’s performance.

The A’s newest pitcher–reliever Cory Gearrin–made his Oakland debut in the game in the fifth inning, and it was less than a stellar beginning. Melvin said that Gearrin is not used to pitching from behind (the A’s were down 8-1 at that point). Gearrin allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits. Melvin said Gearrin just needs to get his feet on the ground and he will be fine.

The A’s also used Hatcher, Buchter, Wendelken, and Familia as relievers in the game. For those of you scoring at home, that is a total of nine pitchers used by the A’s in nine innings.

Those nine pitchers gave up 8 runs (7 earned) off 12 hits. They struck out five M’s batters and walked two.

The M’s used six pitchers in the game even though their starting pitcher (who was a traditional starting pitcher) James Paxton lasted 5.0 innings. Seattle pitching gave up 7 runs (6 earned) on six hits. They walked six and struck out 18 Oakland batters. Paxton struck out 10.

Oh, you would like to know who won the game

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I am sorry. I am so tired from the length of the game (3 hours and 33 minutes) that I forgot to mention the Mariners won the game 8-7. Paxton was the winner and is now 11-5 on the year. “Opener” Liam Hendricks took the loss and is now 0-1 for the season.

The M’s (76-60) now lead the four-game series 2-1. The Astros (83-53) beat the Angels Saturday night, so the A’s (81-56) are now 2.5 games back of Houston for first-place in the AL West. The win moves Seattle within 4.5 games of the A’s for second-place and for the second Wild Card slot.

Just when you thought it was over–it wasn’t

The A’s were trailing 8-2 as they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. If it had not been a fireworks night, a good portion of the 28,760 fans in the crowd would have already been on the freeway headed home. Instead, the fans were still in their seats after three-plus hours and were ready to see their team make some fireworks of their own.

Alex Colome came out of the bullpen to take over the pitching duties for Seattle. The first batter he faced was Khris Davis who promptly dispatched a 2-1 pitch into the right field seats for his 40th home run of the season. The crowd came to life and this reporter got his focus back because the A’s are team of late-inning miracles.

Stephen Piscotty followed up the home run with a single. Matt Olson struck out pinch hitting for Pinder. Ramon Laureano singled up the middle and Piscotty moved up to second base. Mark Canha walked to load the bases with one out. Dustin Fowler entered the game as a pinch hitter and struck out.

That brought a pitching change by Seattle, who sent Edwin Diaz to the mound and Colome to the showers. Marcus Semien hit a double to left-center field that cleared the bases with the help of a fielding error charged to Denard Span and made the score 8-7. Matt Chapman struck out to end the inning.

Another wild ninth inning
In the top of the ninth, Jeurys Familia took the hill to stop the Mariners from scoring additional runs. Familia set the side down in order giving the A’s a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.

The M’s brought in their closer Edwin Diaz to stop any thoughts the A’s had of winning the game. Jed Lowrie led off the ninth with a base-on-balls. Khris Davis went down swinging. Stephen Piscotty also struck out, so it all came down to Matt Olson with Lowrie at first. Olson also became a strikeout victim and Diaz notched his 51st save of the season.

Back to the need for a seat cushion
This game featured 15 runs, 18 hits, and 13 pitching changes. That required 3 hours and 33 minutes to complete. Trust me, you will want a seat cushion for any game that goes that long. Plus, get seats close to a restroom.

Up next
The A’s and M’s wrap up this four-game series on Sunday at 1:05 PM PDT.

Seattle will send RHP “King” Felix Hernandez (8-12, 5.49) to the mound to make his 401st MLB start. The A’s will return to using a traditional starting pitcher by sending RHP Edwin Jackson (4-3, 3.03) to the hill.

It’s the bullpen to the rescue! A’s beat the Mariners 7-5 on Friday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Photo: @NBCSCA

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics scored five runs off five hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead on the Seattle Mariners. Matt Chapman hit his 22nd home run of the season off of M’s starter Mike Leake. Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run home run (19) off Leake. Matt Olson and Marcus Semien each hit an RBI double. Everyone in the Coliseum knew that this game was going into the “W” column for the A’s.

Everybody in the Coliseum knew that the game belonged to the A’s except the 25 guys in blue uniforms from Seattle. The M’s put up a run in the top of the second inning and then came back for more in the top of the fourth inning. Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back home runs off A’s starter Mike Fiers who did have his best stuff on Friday night. Then, Ryon Healy–the former Athletic–hit a two-run home run to tie the game at 5-5. Everything changed.

The A’s bullpen took over for Fiers and gave their team a chance to get it together.

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Chapman rounds third after hitting his 22nd HR of the year Photo: @Athletics

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Oakland retook the lead when rookie outfielder Ramon Laureano delivered a sacrifice fly that allowed Matt Olson to score the go-ahead run. The A’s then added some cushion when Jed Lowrie hit a one-out double and then scored on a Khris Davis RBI single.

The bullpen held on to that 7-5 lead to get the A’s (81-55) the win.

This critical four-game AL West series is now tied at one game apiece.

The win was awarded to Yusmeiro Petit (6-3) who relieved Fiers and was the pitcher of record when Olson scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Blake Treinen picked up his 34th save of the season. Treinen now sports a 0.94 ERA.

Mike Leake (8-9) was hung with the loss for Seattle (75-60).

This is how the A’s pitching line is going to look the rest of the season
Mike Fiers only lasted 3.2 innings in his start on Friday night. A’s manager Bob Melvin certainly wants his starting pitchers to go at least five innings per start, but five innings are all that may be required from the starters for the A’s to be successful. The 2018 A’s are all about the bullpen.

In the win 7-5 win over Seattle on Friday night, Oakland used 5 relief pitchers. It was a parade of fresh arms stepping up on the rubber to deliver a devastating variety of pitches designed to stop opposing hitters in their tracks.

Yusmeiro Petit, Lou Trivino, Fernando Rodney, Jeurys Familia and Blake Treinen combined to pitch 5.1 innings of shutout baseball. They allowed the M’s just two hits while walking just two batters and striking out seven. They slammed the door on the Seattle offense to give their A’s the chance to win the game, which they did 7-5.

Every game will not feature five relievers, but you can expect to see games that feature three men out of the bullpen on a regular basis. The help that is coming with the expanded September rosters is going to be most welcome.

The standings are shaken up again
This A’s win really changed the standings in the AL West. The Astros lost, the A’s won and the M’s lost. Oakland is now just 1.5 games behind Houston for first place in the West. Seattle falls 5.5 games back of the A’s in the West and 7.0 games behind Houston.

By losing, the M’s also are now 5.5 games down to the A’s in the Wild Card race. These head-to-head division matchups are critical to a team’s standing when fighting for a post-season slot.

Food for your brain

  • Matt Chapman hit a home run and a double to give him a major league leading 22 extra-base hits in August. Those 22 extra-base hits also tied a franchise record.
  • Stephen Piscotty’s home run was just his fourth round-tripper hit in Oakland this season. He has hit 19.
  • Mike Fiers worked only 3.2 innings which was his shortest outing for the A’s.
  • Khris Davis ended a 0-for-19 streak with his RBI-single in the sixth inning.
  • The A’s are 57-0 when leading after seven innings.
  • The M’s Mike Leake has not won a game since June 23rd in Boston.
  • Nelson Cruz hit his 16th career home run at the Coliseum on Friday night which is the most among active players.
  • Dee Gordon now leads the American League with 30 stolen bases.
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Laureano scores in the 1st inning vs Seattle Photo: @Athletics

 Up Next
The A’s and Mariners will play game three of this crucial four-game series on Saturday night at 6:05 PM PDT.

The M’s will send LHP James Paxton to the mound. Paxton is 10-5 on the season and will be making his 25th start of the year. He has a 3.68 ERA.

The A’s will counter with RHP Daniel Mengden, who was recalled from Triple-A Nashville last Monday. This is Mengden’s second tour of duty with the big club. Mengden has a 6-6 record on the year with a 4.28 ERA.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: After dropping three of their last four, A’s looking to regroup against Mariners tonight

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

The A’s have lost three of their last four games. They played a challenging Houston team with a couple of one run games in the series and dropped the opening game of the current four-game series to the Seattle Mariners 7-1. A’s starter Frankie Montas got shelled on Thursday, surrendering five runs in the first inning. Montas left pitching six innnings, seven runs and eight hits.

The Mariners’ starter Wade LeBlanc pitched seven innings, holding the A’s to one run and three hits. The A’s were never a threat. The A’s only run accounted for a Jed Lowrie single in the eighth that scored Marcus Semien from second to break up LeBlanc’s shutout.

The Mike and Mike show: The A’s try it again tonight at the Oakland Coliseum. For Seattle, Mike Leake (8-8 ERA 4.03), and for Oakland, Mike Fiers (10-6 ERA 3.15) a 7:15 pm PDT first pitch.

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

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

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Photo credit: astros.mlblogs.com

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman:

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Photo credit: @MLB

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

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

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

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

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

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

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Photo credit: @numberFire

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Photo credit: @Cardinals

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel:

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

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

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

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

5 Indians retire Jim Thome’s #25.

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

A’s are “double trouble” for Astros as they win 7-1 and tie Houston for first place

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Davis-Melvin
Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon and are now tied for first place in the American League West. Fans were in disbelief that the A’s (74-49) were in contention for the Wild Card in the AL, but now, the Green and Gold are fighting to win their division. Virtually none of those fans thought that was a possibility before the season began.

Strong starting pitching and power hitting was the key to the A’s win on Saturday.

Trevor Cahill (5-2) started the game for Oakland. He has been pitching the lights out in the Coliseum with an ERA under one at home. Cahill continued his mastery of opponents in his home stadium as pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Astros just one hit. The right-hander struck out seven batters and walked just one. Cahill threw 100 (62 strikes).

The A’s also went on another power surge on Saturday as they hit eight doubles which tied an Oakland single-game record, but you were not allowed to hit just one double – you had to hit two. All of the extra base hits were recorded by four A’s hitters. Khris Davis (24), Stephen Piscotty (33), Matt Olson (26) and Josh Phegley (6) hit all of the “two-baggers” for Oakland versus Houston. The A’s posted a total of 11 hits in the contest.

More A’s

  • The A’s were trailing the Astros by 12 games back on June 18. Today they are tied for first place.
  • Oakland’s 74-69 (.602) record is tied for third best in the majors. It is tied for fourth place in A’s history after 123 games.
  • Khris Davis’ double in the first inning snapped a 0-13 hitless streak.
  • Matt Olson’s two doubles extended his hitting streak to six games.
  • Matt Chapman’s 14 game hitting streak and 30 game on-base streak came to an end on Saturday when he went 0-for-4 in the game.
  • Add on Trevor Cahill: he retired 20 of the 22 batters he faced in the game. The A’s have won Cahill’s last seven starts.

Astros’ notes

  • The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning which means the Astros opponents have now outscored them 56-55 in the first inning.
  • Alex Bregman’s road on-base streak continues as he picked up a base-on-balls on Saturday. His streak currently stands at 38 games.
  • The ‘Stros recorded just two hits in their loss on Saturday. It was just the third time this season they posted two or fewer hits in a game.
  • Dallas Keuchel (9-10)–who was charged with the loss–saw his four-game road winning streak come to an end.

Up Next

The A’s and Astros wrap up the three game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT on Sunday.

The Astros will send RHP Justin Verlander (11-8, 2.52) to the mound in an attempt to salvage one win in the series. The A’s will go with their ace LHP Sean Manaea (11-8, 3.44). Manaea won his last start on Monday in Oakland over the Mariners 7-6. He is 1-1 in three starts versus the Astros this season.