#1 Oakland A’s Khris Davis has hit only one homer in his last 18 games and has OPS of .801 in the last ten games. Davis is hitting .281, but was benched on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.
#2 A’s manager Bob Melvin had Nick Martini at designated hitter for Davis. Martini struck out four times, but it gave Davis some time to think on the bench. Davis is expected to be back in the lineup against the Giants on Tuesday night.
#3 How much sweet revenge was it for A’s pitchers Chris Bassitt and Lucas Golito, who combined in a shutout over the Sox? Both Bassitt and Golito formerly pitched for the Sox.
#4 Stephen Piscotty has had his share of injuries. He’s close to returning back after suffering the flu. What will it mean to have his bat back in the lineup?
#5 The A’s open up a series with the Giants tonight at Oracle Park with the A’s starting Brett Anderson (10-7) and the Giants starting their ace Madison Bumgarner (7-7).
#1 The Oakland A’s on Sunday combined for a shutout 2-0 against the Chicago White Sox and got it from pitchers Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito, who combined for 20 strikeouts, allowing three hits over 13 innings
#2 The Sox gave up on Giolito and Bassitt while they were struggling to stay on the team. Both pitchers had the date circled on their calendar for an opportunity to get some pitching revenge out on the team who gave up on them.
#3 Bassitt, who pitches every other five days, has a career wins total tying his total in 2015.
#4 On the shutout, A’s manager Bob Melvin said that was the best outing that he’s seen out of Bassitt this season.
#5 The A’s head to San Francisco where you and Manolo will be doing play-by-play coverage for the A’s Spanish. What’s that going to be like getting back to the City and watch these two teams who are hungry for a wild card spot?
Amaury does News and Commentary each Tuesday and is the Oakland Spanish A’s play-by-play voice on KIQI 1010 San Francisco
The Oakland A’s have a day off on Thursday before they begin a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field starting on Friday.
The A’s are enjoying an entire week in the Windy City as the schedule makers gave them three days with the Cubs, one day off, and three with the White Sox. The A’s finish the eight-game road trip with two against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park next Tuesday and Wednesday.
The A’s need to continue playing well. They trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 1/2 game in the race for the second Wild Card. The A’s swept the White Sox when they met in July at the Oakland Coliseum. They would like to continue their success against the Sox. They need to take two from the Giants as the A’s meet the AL West-leading Houston Astros for four. They then play the AL East-leading New York Yankees for three, and wrap up the homestand with two more against the Giants. The Astros have dominated the A’s this season. They improved their starting rotation at the deadline with the additions of Zach Greinke and Aaron Sanchez. Joe Biagini joined the Astros bullpen.
The A’s will send Mike Fiers to the hill Friday afternoon against the White Sox. Fiers is 10-3 and has an ERA of 3.46. He has been pitching well since early May. He faced the Sox on July 12th and did not allow a run in 7 2/3 innings of work. He will be opposed by former Athletic, Ross Detwiler. Detwiler was a member of the A’s in 2016. Detwiler is 1-2 for the year and has an ERA of 5.72. In his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies, Detwiler went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just two runs.
On Saturday, Tanner Roark will be making his second start as an Athletic, and his first start ever against the White Sox. Roark is 7-7 for the year and has an ERA of 4.14. Roark won his first start as an A last Sunday when he went five innings and allowed just one hit, and as a result, received credit for the win.
Meanwhile, the White Sox will have Reynaldo Lopez handling the pitching chores. Lopez is 6-9 with an ERA of 5.41. Lopez has been pitching well since the All-Star break. In his last five starts, his ERA is a respectable 2.56.
On Sunday, Chris Bassitt will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by the White Sox’ best pitcher, Lucas Giolito. Bassitt is 7-5 and pitched well Monday against the Chicago Cubs. Bassitt went six innings and allowed two runs. He did not figure in the decision. Giolito is 12-5 for the season. His ERA is 3.44. He beat the Detroit Tigers last Monday as he went six innings and allowed three runs.
The White Sox are 51-62 for the year and are currently in third place in the AL Central. The team is managed by Rick Renteria. Renteria is in his third season with the Sox. He and Frank Chance are the only two managers in history to have managed both the Cubs and the White Sox.
Chicago’s key players to keep an eye on are first baseman Jose Abreu, shortstop Tim Anderson, left fielder Eloy Jimenez, and catcher Wellington Castillo. Abreau and Jimenez are the main power guys. Tim Anderson has 12 homers this season, and he can also do damage. Other players to watch are outfielders Leury Garcia, Ryan Cordell, Adam Engel, and the veteran John Jay.
The A’s have won seven of the last 10 games. They need Matt Chapman to break out of his slump. They still have a lot of power in the lineup. Matt Olson is second on the club with 22 home runs. Marcus Semien has 19. The A’s will have Khris Davis back at DH for the series with the Sox. Davis has 17, but his production has declined since he suffered a hip injury in Pittsburgh. Mark Canha has picked up the slack as he has hit 17 so far this year.
The A’s have 10 players on the roster with 10 or more homers. The A’s have to continue winning. It would be nice if they could take four out of five from the Sox and the Giants. They have to contend with the Astros, which is no easy task. The Astros have an outstanding starting rotation. They have a virtual All-Star team on the field. They are loaded with stars such as Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, Yule Guriel, Michael Brantley, George Springer, and Josh Reddick.
The A’s then have a day off to catch their breath and then go up against the mighty Yankees. The A’s will have to be at their best just to keep up with the Rays. A’s manager Bob Melvin will have his team ready. This is the time of the year that the fans will be seeing great baseball.
Chris Herrmann celebrates scoring a run Photo: @Athletics
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Oakland Athletics have become the St. Louis Cardinals’ worst nightmare. Back in June, the A’s swept their two-game series in St. Louis. On Saturday night, the A’s never trailed in game one of the two-game series in Oakland.
The Athletics jumped on the Cardinals early on Saturday night when they scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning off the Cards starting pitcher Dakota Hudson. The A’s sent eight batters to the plate collecting two hits, two walks, and one hit batsman. It became very apparent that it was going to be a short evening for Hudson.
The A’s scored two more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Oakland sent seven hitters to bat in the inning taking advantage of a double, sacrifice fly, two walks and one passed ball.
The Cardinals closed the gap to 5-2 by the end of 6 1/2 innings, but Chad Pinder hit a two-out three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to make an 8-2 score. The Cardinals’ Lane Thomas hit a pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth inning which made the final score 8-3 in favor of the A’s.
Oakland is now 63-48 on the season — 8.5 games back of Houston in the AL West and 1/2 game out of the second Wild Card slot behind Tampa Bay. St. Louis falls to 58-51 and into second place in NL Central — 1/2 game behind the Cubs. The Cardinals now are in the number one Wild Card slot in the National League.
Focus on the A’s
Graphic: @Athletics
Mike Fiers pitched 5.2 innings and allowed just one run en route to his 10th win of the season. Fiers now owns the second-longest active winning streak in the American League with eight wins. His last loss was May 1st. Fiers struck out four, walked just one while giving up six hits. He made 94 pitches. In his postgame comments, manager Bob Melvin said he wanted to keep Fiers pitch count down tonight.
Stephen Piscotty went 2-for-3 plus a hit-by-pitch in his first game back from the injury list.
Khris Davis extended his hitting streak to five games. He is batting .320 (7-for-20) over those five games. Davis scored a run in the fifth inning of the game.
Matt Chapman put a three-walk game into the scorebook for the second time this season. He did it versus the Rangers back on April 23rd. Chapman scored a run in the first inning of the contest.
Chad Pinder was brought to pinch-hit for Grossman in the bottom of the seventh inning with two out and two runners on base. Pinder hit an 0-2 pitch from Tyler Webb over the left-field fence for a three-run home — his 10th of the year. Skipper Bob mentioned after the game that this team really uses everyone on the 25-man roster. Everyone is ready to contribute at all times.
“Mr. I can play anywhere coach” — Mark Canha had a 2-for-5 night with the bat and drove in two runs. So far this season, Canha has played all three outfield positions and first base for the A’s.
Athletics roster changes
Stephen Piscotty has rejoined the team. He was placed on the 10-day IL back on June 30 with a knee sprain. Piscotty went to Las Vegas for a rehab assignment where he played three games in the outfield and two at designated hitter.
The A’s claimed catcher Dustin Garneau off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. Garneau is a right-handed hitter while Chris Herrmann is a lefty (Josh Phegley is on the IL due to a deeply bruised thumb). Garneau is familiar with some of the Oakland pitchers as he played 19 games with the A’s in 2017 plus seeing them in head to head competition.
Infielder Franklin Barreto has been optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas. He was hitting just .106 at the time he was sent down. Manager Bob Melvin commented that Barreto had nothing left to prove at Triple-A which means it could be the end of the road for the infielder and the Athletics organization.
Cardinals watch
Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson walked a season-high five batters in just 3.2 innings of work on the mound. His record drops to 10-6 for the season after being charged with the loss.
Paul DeJong had a 2-for-4 game with an RBI. He now has a career monthly best 43 RBI in August. He is second for the Cards in total bases with 185.
Lane Thomas hit his second home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning. Both of his home runs have come when he has been a pinch-hitter.
Up next
A’s fans will get their first look at RHP Tanner Roark on Sunday. Roark came to the A’s at the trade deadline from the Cincinnati Reds for minor league outfielder Jameson Hannah. Roark was 6-7 with a 4.24 ERA in 21 starts for the Reds.
The Cardinals will counter with RHP Adam Wainwright, who is 7-7 with a 4.47 ERA so far in 2019. Wainwright started against Oakland back on June 26 in St. Louis. He lost that game 2-0. Wainwright worked 6.2 innings giving up two runs (both earned) off seven hits. He walked one, struck out nine, but he gave up two home runs. Wainwright will be a free agent at the end of the season.
sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien, right, is congratulated by third base coach Matt Williams (4) after hitting a home run off Texas Rangers pitcher Pedro Payano in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 28, 2019, in Oakland.
On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:
#1 Taking a look at the A’s triple-A affiliate farm club, the Las Vegas Aviators, they’re a team coming along with 11 home runs in a 20-11 win over El Paso last Friday night.
#2 Amongst some of the Aviators prospects are catcher Sean Murphy who hit three home runs, Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler, and Mark Payton with two home runs each.
#3 The Oakland A’s got a walk-off walk when Khris Davis walked with the bags loaded on Sunday. Davis’ home run totals have been down. How much confidence does this give him after forcing a run in on a walk for the game-winner on Sunday?
#4 Josh Phegley. the A’s catcher, is out with a thumb contusion and catcher Todd Hundley was released by the club, Beau Taylor is up with the club plus the A’s have Sean Murphy and in Las Vegas swinging a hot bat.
#5 The A’s host the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. The Brewers will go on Tuesday with Adrian Houser (4-4, 4.19 ERA), and the A’s will start Chris Bassitt (7-5, 4.09 ERA).
mercurynews.com file photo: Stephen Piscotty #25 is helped off the field by by manager Bob Melvin #6 and Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics after he injured his right leg as he avoids the tag by Luis Rengifo #4 of the Los Angeles Angels sliding into second base in the sixth inning of the game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 29, 2019
On the A’s podcast with Joey:
#1 A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty who has been out for a month due to a sprained knee who injured himself on June 29th in Anaheim is not too sure when he’ll be back but has been rehabbing.
#2 Piscotty will be joining the Las Vegas Aviators the A’s Triple A affiliate for rehab the Aviators will be using Piscotty as a designated hitter in his first game back and as an outfielder in his second game back.
#3 The A’s Mark Canha has started in right field in 18 of his last 20 games during Piscotty’s absence Canha has hit 18-68 for average .265 and on base percentage of .375.
#4 The A’s opened up Mount Davis for fireworks night on Saturday night sections 335-355 are obstructed views of the outfield but the tickets for those locations are half off.
#5 Starting pitchers for Sunday’s game at the Coliseum for the Texas Rangers Pedro Payano (1-0 ERA 1.50) for the A’s Mike Fiers (9-3 ERA 3.57).
All photos by Charlie O Mallonee Sports Radio Service
by Charlie O. Mallonee
Oakland — The Athletics had lost three straight games going into their contest on Saturday night with the Texas Rangers. More importantly, the A’s were no longer in possession of a Wild Card Playoff slot.
Yes, there is slightly over two months of baseball remaining to play, but with the tight race for the Wild Card spots, no team can afford to fall very far behind. Two of the teams that have a realistic chance to grab a Wild Card slot are in the Western Division – the Angels and the Rangers.
Major start for Homer Bailey
The A’s made the trade with Kansas City for the veteran Bailey hoping that he would be able to shore up their starting pitching woes. While it true that the team added Bailey for very little cost, that did not mean the Athletics had low expectations for what he could bring to the mound.
Bailey was spectacular in his first game for Oakland as he picked up a 10-2 win over the Mariners. His second start was extremely disappointing. On July 22, he made the start against the Astros in Houston. Bailey lasted only two innings while giving up nine earned runs. At that point, the front office was not sure who they had added to their team.
On Saturday night, Bailey was in control on the hill. He worked 6.2-innings allowing three runs (all earned) while striking out seven and walking just one. The three runs he allowed came with two in the seventh inning. As manager Bob Melvin said, Bailey just could not get that one pitch over to get Danny Santana out. Santana hit a two-out two-run double to keep the inning alive.
In his postgame analysis, Melvin said that Bailey on Saturday night was is exactly who they wanted him to be when they traded for him. Bailey threw a total of 105 pitches (71 strikes). He faced 28 Texas batters. Bailey induced six hitters to groundout and four to flyout.
Bailey is now 2-1 as a member of the A’s. His overall record is 9-7 with an ERA of 5.33.
National Enquirer Story of the game
This picture proves no one was injured when the benches cleared Photo: Charlie O Mallonee
This story actually began back on June 8 in Texas when Rangers starting pitcher Adrian Sampson had a problem with Mark Canha when the A’s outfielder flipped his bat after hitting a home run. Words were exchanged and people were removed from Christmas card lists.
Flash forward to Saturday night, Canha came to the plate to face Sampson for the second time in the game, and you guessed it. The pitcher hit Canha with a pitch. Canha just trotted to first base like the man he is and was ready to play on.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Oakland center fielder Ramon Laureano hit his 21st homer of the season off Sampson. It was a “screamer” that landed halfway up the steps behind the left-field wall. Laureano did take a little time to admire his work and then began his home run trot. Sampson came off the mound and began yelling at Laureano to start running and stop looking. Words were exchanged. Again, names were crossed off the Christmas card list. The benches all stood up but nothing happened.
By the way, the Laureano home run was the fourth round-tripper Sampson had issued in the game.
Now for the rest of the story. In the bottom of the eighth inning, relief pitcher Rafael Montero was on the hill for Texas when Ramon Laureano came to bat for the Athletics with Canha on at first. Montero hit Laureano with a pitch and the benches along with the bullpens cleared.
There was lots of yelling and screaming. Some players were discussing their favorite IPA brands. It was stupid like most baseball bench-clearing situations. The umpires took charge and ejected Montero along with his manager Chris Woodward just as baseball mandates.
This time nothing bad happened, but it is only a matter of time before a situation gets out of hand. Commissioner Rob Manfred has to “suck it up” and take charge before one of these stupid situations becomes tragic.
Focus on the Athletics
All of the Oakland runs came via the home in this game. All were solo shots except Matt Chapman’s fifth inning 2-run home run off Sampson. Sampson gave up all four home runs.
Ramon Laureano went 2-for-3 in the game with a home run (21), a double (26) and a hit-by-pitch. He is batting .348 versus Texas.
Marcus Semien had a 2-for-4 night at the plate that included his 16th home run and he scored two runs. Semien is batting .400 against the Rangers this season.
Homer Bailey (9-7) was the winner. Liam Hendriks picked up his ninth save of the year.
The A’s scored five runs on six hits and left just four runners on base.
Rangers Watch
Adrian Sampson – who took the loss – allowed a season-high-tying four home runs in 6.0-innings pitched. He did the same thing versus the Red Sox on June 13. Sampson is 3-11 with a 5.77 ERA as a starting pitcher. He is 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA as a reliever.
Nomar Mazara went 3-for-4 with the bat on Saturday night. He is 7-for-15 in his last four games. Yes, he is starting on Sunday.
Elvis Andrus snapped an 0-for-11 streak at the plate by having a 2-for-4 game against the A’s on Saturday night.
Up next
The fourth and final game of this series is set to begin 1:07 PM on Sunday. The Rangers will send RHP Pedro Payano (1-0, 1.50) to the mound. It will be Payano’s third appearance in his Major League career. This makes Payano a bit of a wild card because the Oakland hitters will have to look at some pitches to figure how to hit off him. The scouting reports and videotape will be in limited supply.
The Athletics will counter with veteran RHP Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.57) who is hoping to take young Mr. Payano to school. Fiers is 7-0 with a 2.26 ERA in his last 14 starts.
#1 What are the expectations of Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden for quarterback Derek Carr and will Carr get the protection he needs?
#2 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo says that it was a tough process to rehab from the ACL injury he had last season, but says he ready and he’s agile and mobile.
#3 You can’t win them all. The SF Giants took on the NL Central first place Chicago Cubs and lost two out of three. The Cubs are one of baseball’s toughest clubs in the majors.
#4 The A’s are a wild card team, but for them to play catch up to the Houston Astros is a reach. The A’s lost two out of three to the Astros, including an 11-1 laugher to open the series on Thursday.
#5 Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said that Andre Iguodala’s move to the Memphis Grizzlies was like a punch in the gut and Iguodala’s absence will no doubt impact the Warriors as he was considered one of the best presences on the club.
#1 The Oakland A’s dropped their second game of the three-game series 4-2 to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Field in a Wednesday matinee.
#2 The A’s went 3-4 on the road trip, splitting a four game series with the Twins and losing two out of three with the Astros. The record reflects how competitive the A’s are.
#3 The Astros’ Justin Verlander improved his record to 13-4 and pitched six innings, two hits, two walks, and 11 strikeouts.
#4 The Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt went six innings with five hits and four runs. Although he got the loss, Bassitt had a decent outing.
#5 The A’s host the Texas Rangers starting Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The Rangers will start Ariel Jurado (5-6, 4.92 ERA), and for the A’s, Brett Anderson (9-5, 3.82 ERA).
#1 Before the start of Monday night’s beheading at Minute Maid Field in Houston, the A’s had won eight of 10 games and were one of the hottest teams in the show. They had a little going for them before this current series in Houston.
#2 About Monday’s 11-1 loss to the Houston Astros, the A’s starter Homer Bailey was serving up the homer to the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez, Yuli Gurriel, and JD Diaz
#3 The Astros got the bulk of their runs four in the second and seven in the third inning. That’s all they needed for the 11-1 win.
#4 The Astros’ Gerritt Cole pitched for seven innings, two hits, one run earned, and 11 strikeouts. Cole had command over a tough A’s lineup.
#5 The A’s have now lost two straight games and play game two of the series in Houston on Tuesday night. For the A’s, Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.64 ERA), and for the Astros, Wade Miley (8-4, 3.25 ERA).
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