Tag: Boston Red Sox

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Astros McHugh throws well against A’s; Oakland’s Montas effort not enough to win

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On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

If you look at the job that Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas did on Friday night he didn’t do all that badly he made it into the fifth inning almost into the sixth inning and he was charged with all three Houston Astros runs in the 3-2 loss. Montas drops his record to 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

Which isn’t bad for Montas considering his line on Friday was five innings, seven hits and two earned runs. The offense was shutdown by Astros pitcher Colin McHugh (1-1) 2.45 ERA. McHugh went six innings, three hits, with four strikeouts.

McHugh has a long history of pitching well against the A’s line up and McHugh used to be a starter and a reliever for Houston. So it wasn’t a surprise that the A’s lost the first game of this trip to Houston but by that much one run.

Jerry is a beat writer for the Oakland A’s and does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

A’s finish off the Red Sox to win the four-game series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s beat the Boston Red Sox for the third time in four tries, and they finished the homestand with a record of 6-2. The Red Sox, the defending World Champions, are having problems as they are 2-6 for the first eight games of 2019. The Sox finish the 11-game road trip with three games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix before returning home to Boston.

The A’s sent lefty Brett Anderson to the hill to face Red Sox. Anderson went 5 1/3 innings, and allowed three runs and eight hits. Anderson recorded his second win of the young season. Eduardo Rodriguez started for Boston, and his record dropped to 0-2.

Here’s how the A’s did it Thursday afternoon.

The Red Sox put two runs on the board in the top of the first. Mookie Betts led off with a single. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi laid down a sacrifice bunt. A’s first baseman Mark Canha tried to nail Betts at second. Betts was ruled safe, and the A’s challenged the ruler. After a brief review, the call was upheld, and the Sox had men on at first and second with no out. Anderson struck out Steve Pearce for the first out. J.D.Martinez singled to load the bases. Anderson walked Xander Bogaerts to force in a run. Eduardo Nunez fouled out, and Anderson walked Brock Holt to force in another run. The Red Sox had an early 2-0 lead.

The Red Sox added a run in the third when J.D. Martinez hit a solo home run with one out. Anderson Walked Bogaerts for the second time, but he was able to get Eduardo Nunez to hit into an inning-ending double play. The A’s tied the game in their half of the third. A’s catcher Josh Phegley led off with a double. Rodriguez retired Robbie Grossman on a fly to right field. Phegley tagged up and motored to third. Marcus Semien walked, and that was followed by Stephen Piscotty’s second home run of the year.

The A’s sent Rodriguez to the showers in the bottom of the fourth when they plated three more runs to take a 6-3 lead. With one out, Ramon Laureano walked. Phegley followed with a single. Robbie Grossman doubled to drive in Laureano with the A’s fourth run. Rodriguez retired Marcus Semien for the second out of the inning. The next hitter, Stephen Piscotty, who had homered in his previous at-bat, hit a fly ball to deep right-center field. The ball appeared to be catchable, but it seemed as if it was drifting away from the clutches of Jackie Bradley, Jr. Piscotty’s ball landed between Bradley and Betts and then bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Phegley and Grossman scored on the play. The A’s are in the driver’s seat as they led 6-3 after four.

In the bottom of the sixth, The A’s put another run on the board to take a 7-3 lead. With two out, consecutive singles by Semien, Piscotty, and Khris Davis produced the A’s seventh run of the game.

The A’s bullpen of Lou Trivino, Joakim Soria, and Liam Hendriks kept Boston off the board and preserved the win for Oakland 7-3.

Game Notes: The A’s hitting star was Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty was 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, and a three-run homer. He drove in five runs and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

The A’s outfielders threw out two runners on the base paths Thursday. Robbie Grossman picked up an assist when he threw out Steve Pearce trying to stretch a single into a double in the third inning. Ramon Laureano threw out Mookie Betts in the ninth when Betts tried to go from first to third on a single by Andrew Benintendi. For Laureano, it was the third time in the series that he nailed a runner trying to take an extra base.

The A’s have a record of 38-16 in the last 54 games played against the Red Sox at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s line score was seven runs, thirteen hits, and no errors. Boston’s line was three runs, 10 hits, and no errors.

Time of game was three hours and 16 minutes. 15,095 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s start a 10-game road trip Friday as they play the Houston Astros for three, Baltimore Orioles for four, and finish the trip with three against the Texas Rangers.

The A’s Frankie Montas will pitch Friday night, and he will be opposed by Houston’s Collin McHugh.

Red Sox snap their four-game losing skid with 6-3 win over the A’s

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By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Boston Red Sox snapped two streaks as they beat the Oakland A’s 6-3 in game three of the four-game series. Previously, the Red Sox lost four in a row and had not scored a run in 22 straight innings.

A’s starter Marco Estrada went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs, one of which was unearned, and two hits before exiting the game. A’s starters went six innings in the first six games of the homestand, and that streak was also snapped at the Oakland Coliseum Wednesday.

Both bullpens came through as neither team could do anything until the fateful ninth inning. The Red Sox scored three times after two were out in the ninth to earn their second win of the year.

The A’s drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning. Singles by Kendrys Morales and Jurickson Profar put men on at first and second with no out. Eovaldi walked Marcus Semien to load the bases. Eovaldi struck out Ramon Laureano for the first out. Nick Hundley singled off the glove of Rafael Devers to drive in the A’s first run. It was Hundley’s first RBI of the year. Eovaldi retired Robbie Grossman and Matt Chapman to end the inning. The A’s lead 1-0.

The A’s increased the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Marcus Semien walked to lead off the inning. Ramon Laureano, who is having quite a series against Boston, sent Eovaldi’s 83 MPH curveball over the 400-foot marker in center field for his second home run of the year and his second in the series with the Red Sox.

Boston’s Blake Swihart snapped Boston’s 22 innings of scoreless ball against the A’s when he homered over the wall just to the left of the 388-foot marker in right-center field. The Red Sox trail 3-1 midway through the fifth.

The Red Sox plated two runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Mookie Betts worked Marco Estrada for a leadoff walk. Estrada struck out Andrew Benintendi for the first out of the inning. The next hitter, Rafael Devers, hit a ground ball to second baseman Jurickson Profar who airmailed the ball over Marcus Semien’s head into left field. Betts went to third on the play. Estrade then walked J.D. Martinez to load the bases. A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Estrada and brought in lefty Ryan Buchter to face the left-handed hitter Mitch Moreland. Moreland, who loves to hit against the A’s in Oakland, doubled down the right field line to drive in two, Melvin changed pitchers again and his reliever, J.B. Wendelken, retired the last two hitters to end the inning. The score is 3-3 in the middle of the sixth.

The Red Sox dodged a bullet in the bottom of the eighth. With two out, Marcus Semien singled. With Laureano at-bat, Semien stole second and advanced to third when Blake Swihart’s throw to second went into center field. Laureano hit a ball that Sox shortstop Brock Holt, going to his right, fielded the ball and threw to first. Laureano was ruled safe, but the call was overturned after a 50-second review. The score was still 3-3 after eight.

The Sox scored three runs on four hits. Eduardo Nunez led off the frame with a single. Nunez was caught stealing and A’s reliever Fernando Rodney struck out Brock Holt for the second out. Blake Swihart kept the inning going with a single. Jackie Bradley, Jr. followed with a single sending Swihart to second. Rodney uncorked a wild pitch to move the runners to third and second. The AL MVP Mookie Betts worked the count to 3-2. Melvin had Rodney pitch to Betts. Mookie hit a ground ball that hit third base and bounded away from Matt Chapman. Swihart and Bradley scored, Andrew Benintendi followed with a triple to drive in Betts, and the Red Sox had their first lead of the series 6-3.

Game Notes: Neither pitcher, Nathan Eovaldi nor Marco Estrada, figured in the decision. Eovaldi, who struggled a bit with his control, went five innings and allowed three runs and four hits. Eovaldi hit A’s third baseman Matt Chapman with a pitch in the first inning. The 90 MPH fastball hit Chapman on his left wrist. Chapman shook it off and stayed in the game.

Ramon Laureano hit his second home run of the year with a man aboard in the fourth to give Oakland a 3-0 lead. Boston’s bullpen held the A’s scoreless the rest of the way. Matt Barnes received credit for the win, and the A’s Fernando Rodney took the loss. Ryan Braiser picked up his first save.

The Red Sox line score was six runs, nine hits, and one error. Blake Swihart was the hitting star for Boston with a home run and two singles. The A’s line was three runs, five hits, and one error. Ramon Laureano hit a two-run dinger in the fourth.

The A’s are now 5-4 for the year, and Boston improved to 2-5.

Time of game was three hours and 21 minutes. The attendance was 14,207.

Up Next: Game four will be played Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum. It will be a battle between two left-handed pitchers as Brett Anderson (1-0) will go for Oakland and Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1) will pitch for Boston.

A’s shut out the Red Sox again

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s were led by Mike Fiers’ six scoreless innings, limiting the Red Sox to five hits. Fiers earned his second win of the season. The As’s bullpen shut out the Sox the rest of the win and the A’s won by a score of 1-0. Sox ace, Chris Sale, who was roughed up by the Seattle Mariners in his first start last week, made just one mistake. He gave up a solo home run to Matt Chapman, and that was the run the A’s needed to shut down the potent Red Sox offense for the second night in a row. The last time the A’s shutout the Red Sox in back-to-back games was on August 30th and 31st in 1996.

Sale, as Fiers, went six innings he allowed one run and three hits. Sale did not display his blazing fastball. He kept the hitters off-balance with a variety of speeds that ranged from 75 to 92 MPH. Sale, known as a strikeout artist, managed to strike out only one A’s hitter.

The A’s third baseman, with one out, hit his third home run of the year. With the count 3-2, Chapman sent Sale’s 88 MPH fastball over the wall in left field to give Oakland an early 1-0 lead after one inning of action.

That was the whole ballgame. The Sox had chances, but failed to get the clutch hit that would have tied the game. They had a threat going in the fourth when they were able to have men on at first and third with two out. Fiers retired Brock Holt on a ground ball to first baseman Kendrys Morales to end the inning. In the sixth, Boston managed to get a man as far as third, but Fiers again rose to the occasion as he struck out Xander Bogaerts for the third out. In the top of the ninth, with closer Blake Treinen on the hill, Xander Bogaerts lined a shot to right center. The ball hit the 388-foot marker and remained in play. Had the ball been a couple of inches to the left, it would have been a home run. The ball stayed in play. Ramon Laureano, who made two tremendous defensive plays Monday night, performed his magic as he played the ball off the wall and threw a strike that nailed Bogaerts at third for the second out of the inning. Mitch Moreland walked. Treinen regrouped and struck out Brock Holt to record the save.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 5-3 for 2019. Mike Fiers, who had six innings of work, was the sixth game in a row that an A’s starter has gone at least six innings. Mike Fiers is now 2-1, and Chris Sale is 0-2. Treinen recorded his third save. Chapman’s homer was his third of the year. The Red Sox are 1-5.

Up Next: The teams play game three of the four-game series Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05 pm. Marco Estrada (0-1) will go for Oakland, and Nathan Eovaldi (0-0) will pitch for Boston.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Final Four–Who’s going to win it all?; Stanford eliminated by Norte Dame women; plus more

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Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 The Final Four is amongst us and taking a look at each game this coming Sunday. Taking a look at Auburn-Virginia, Auburn has been the surprise — do you see this game being a real contest?

#2 Texas Tech-Michigan State is the next game on Sunday. The Red Raiders gave it their all when they beat Gonzaga last Sunday and the Spartans are one the winningest and high-ranking teams in the Tournament.

#3 The Stanford Women (31-5) and Notre Dame (34-3) battled it out, but after giving it their all all season long, the Cardinal could not withstand and lost to the Fighting Irish 84-68.

#4 The Oakland A’s started the 2019 season with two loses in Tokyo to the Seattle Mariners. Since that trip, it looks like the A’s have shaken off the jet lag and have been on track winning taking three of four from the Angels since coming back to Oakland and a win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night to open another four-game series.

#5 The San Jose Sharks’ troubles continue after they dropped their eighth loss in nine games to the Western Conference first place Calgary Flames on Sunday. The win secures the Flames for first place and what was worse was that it was done on the Sharks’ home ice.

Barbara Mason does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Homer-happy A’s pound the Red Sox 7-0

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By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s Aaron Brooks earned his first win of the year as he pitched six innings and allowed the struggling Boston Red Sox just two hits. The A’s bullpen pitched with three scoreless innings and limited the Sox to two hits.

In the last five games, the A’s starters have all pitched six innings, and the A’s have won four out of five. The defending World Champion Red Sox have not had a good start to the season. They have lost four of the five games played and their starting pitching, to be blunt, has not been good. The fans in New England have to wonder what happened to the team that won 119 games last year. They hit well in Seattle, but could not manage four hits in Oakland Monday night. The A’s play the Red Sox exceptionally well at the Oakland Coliseum and Monday’s game was no exception. The A’s took the season series 4-2 last year, including Sean Manaea’s no-hitter last April 19th.

The A’s hitters hit four home runs Monday night. They victimized David Price three times, and Heath Hembree gave up a solo blast to Matt Chapman in the eighth.

The game summary follows below:

The A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Khris Davis blasted David Price’s 82 MPH change up over the left center field wall for his fifth home run of the season. Price then struck out the next three A’s hitters to end the inning.

In the third, Ramon Laureano, who had made two outstanding defensive plays in the second, sent David Price’s 91 MPH four-seam fastball out of the park to give the A’s a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Price retired the first two batters he faced. Price walked Mark Canha, and Chad Pinder sent Price’s first pitch change up out of the park to put the A’s ahead by four runs. The A’s broke it open in the bottom of the eighth. Matt Chapman greeted Red Sox reliever Heath Hembree with his second home run of the season. Stephen Piscotty singled and went to second when Khris Davis reached on a throwing error by Edwin Nunez. Kendrys Morales singled to drive in Piscotty and Davis scored on Pinder’s single to make it 7-0. Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless ninth inning to end the game.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 4-3. The Red Sox drop to 1-4. Aaron Brooks was the winning pitcher, and David Price absorbed his first loss of the season.

The A’s homers were hit by Khris Davis (5), Ramon Laureano (1), Chad Pinder (1), and Matt Chapman (2). Davis has five homers in the first seven games of the season. He joins Mark McGwire and Reggie Jackson as the only A’s with at least five home runs in the first five games of the season.

The A’s improved to 36-15 in their last 51 games against the Red Sox in Oakland.

A’s starting pitchers have thrown six innings in each of the last five games and have a 0.30 ERA and have a .115 OBA in that span.

Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless ninth inning. For Rodney, it marked his 900th appearance in a MLB game. Rodney tied Arthur Rhodes for 25th on the all-time list.

The A’s line for the game was seven runs, nine hits, and no errors. For Boston, it was no runs, four hits, and one error.

Up Next: The A’s and Red Sox will play game two of the four-game series Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time is at 7:05 PM. Mike Fiers (1-1) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Boston’s lefty Chris Sale (0-1)

Time of game was two hours and 42 minutes. 12,417 fans were on hand to watch the game.

Headline Sports with Tony Renteria: Will Murray stay with the A’s and baseball?; New name for Giants park; All of sudden, fans love Levi’s Stadium; plus more

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On Headline Sports with Tony:

#1 The Oklahoma Sooners’ Kyler Murray signed a MLB contract with the Oakland A’s for $4.66 million. Murray is expected to stay with baseball, but could very well end up a number one NFL Draft pick. Will Murray leave baseball for the NFL or keep his commitment with the A’s?

#2 Pac Bell Park, SBC Park, AT&T Park, and now Oracle Park. AT&T and the Giants split and the higher bidder, Oracle, will have naming rights.

#3 At one time, people used to criticize Levi’s Stadium that it was too hot in August through October to sit in the stands. Now after the college playoffs, it’s the toast of the town with its VIP lounges, nice carpeted turf, and nuances. Why the fans’ change of heart?

Tony does the Headline Sports podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: Can Yanks open up the lead in the Wild Card?; If not, A’s can help it; Tribe, Red Sox set for postseason; Puig’s home gets burglarized again

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On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 The New York Yankees are sitting on the top of the AL Wild Card standings by 1 1/2 games. They host the struggling Baltimore Orioles and can capitalize if they can win at least two out three.

#2 The A’s open a three-game set Friday versus the Minnesota Twins at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s are in second in the AL Wild Card race and will have to win almost all their remaining games to catch the Yankees. Even at 1 1/2, the Yankees keep pulling away each time the A’s start to get close.

#3 The Houston Astros are closing in to clinch the American League West title. The Astros have a 3 1/2 game lead. The Astros are projected to win 102 at the pace they’re going.

#4 Teams that have already clinched? The Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. Of these two teams, Matt tells us who will go the deepest in the playoffs.

#5 Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig’s home in Encino, Calif. was burglarized for the fourth time. This time the thieves made off with $170,000 in jewelry. Puig was on the field when the theft went down.

Matt Harrington does the MLB The Show podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Exclusive Interview With WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The New York Yankees paid their recent visit to the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum. Prior to the last game of the three-game series, I spoke with WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman, who handles commentary on all Yankee games with play-by-play man John Sterling.

Suzyn has been broadcasting sports for 32 years. This interview was conducted inside her broadcast booth at the Coliseum a good three hours prior to the game that night.

Q: Suzyn, how did you got started in sports broadcasting after 30 years of doing this?

A: Oh boy, well when I started I was in theater before I did this and musical theater it was changing and the only other thing I knew was sports, because I had my own season-tickets at baseball games with my grandfather when I was three and I was a sports person, but it was always my avocation, because little girls didn’t do that, and I was on Broadway and I sang and dance did all that and I go to ballgames, and…a friend of mine who used to be the announcer for the Boston Red Sox, Ken Coleman–we were very very close friends he said, “you know I have a friend and this next year they are starting this thing in New York it’s going to be called WFAN…and I told him he’s going to meet you, because you know more about sports than anybody I know and you’re female and they’re going to need a woman so I made a tape.

I didn’t know what I was doing and I was hired to do updates, I was actually the first voice on WFAN in 1987 so that’s the beginning, but then I realized that nobody wanted me there because I was female, so then it became something else and it became don’t you dare to talk to me like that, and don’t you tell me I don’t know because I am female…and so that’s how that started with people saying “no.”

Q: How do you feel being a pioneer? Actually there still not that many women in sports broadcasting in baseball like, say Jessica Mendoza, anymore.

A: Well I wasn’t trying to be a pioneer, I was just trying to make a living and I didn’t like being told I didn’t know anything…to tell you the truth I expected there to be a lot more women, it is just me in the broadcast booth, I know Jessica does ESPN, but it is only one game a week … it is just me and I am waiting for someone else to do this I know there are women down in the minor leagues trying to to this to get a chance or whether or not they give up, I think there is no failures. It’s just people that give up too soon.

Q: Is this more fun that playing Dulcinea in Man of LaMancha?

A: Nothing is more fun that being Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha. You know I did get over theater, although I miss it everyday, but I am still on stage. This a different stage, but I’m still performing. I don’t sing and dance anymore and I don’t get applause … Yeah, I miss theater everyday … but this is important and this is where I should be”

Q: Your best message for a young female that aspires to be in sports broadcasting like you maybe in baseball.

A: Think of what you can do that’s difference from everybody else go and look in the mirror and say to yourself, “I have a different way of looking at this, and I am going to do this, don’t let anybody stop you, because people are going to say no, you do commercials on television, you’ll get 200 no, before you get a commercial, but don’t let people tell you ‘no.'” You will know … and don’t want to be me, don’t want to be Jessica, just be you, because if you take my job is just one, but if it’s you, then there are two of us. Don’t let anybody stop you.

It was truly a pleasure to interview Suzyn for the first time, despite the fact we’ve known each other for decades during baseball games at many parks across the country.

Amaury Pi-González is the Spanish voice of the A’s and since 2016, he’s in the Advisory Board of the American Sportscasters Association in New York City.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Yankees and Red Sox Rivalry Is Always an Epic Battle

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Forget the curse of the Bambino.

For over 100 years, the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry has arguably been the most fierce in baseball. This year is no exception as both clubs are on their way to more than 100 wins. The American League East is probably the only division in either league with such numbers. Both teams should be in the playoffs–one will win the division, the other one will finish second and advance as one of two wild card teams in the American League.

This is a very glamorous battle for top dog. As of today, the Yanks have the most home runs as a team in the MLB with 118, while the Red Sox are second with 106. Both teams are among the top five in pitching as they both sellout with frequency. There is a buzz in Yankee Stadium at the Bronx like in the 1960’s with Mantle and Maris. It’s just that this time, it’s Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and an impressive supporting cast of Gary Sánchez, Didi Gregorious, Aaron Hicks, Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres. They have the potential of beating the current MLB record for most home runs in a season by a team, which belongs to the 1997 Seattle Mariners, who had 264.

The Red Sox picked up J.D. Martínez in the offseason after the Yanks inked last year’s NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton. It is all working out like both teams wanted and this epic battle could be neck-and-neck for the entire season. It’s a terrific summer spectacle for two of the great franchises in American sports.

This rivalry is so big that MLB scheduled the first regular season baseball games in Europe in 2019. The Red Sox and Yanks will face at London Stadium in England on June 29th and 30th next year.

I am sure there will be lots of stories and commentaries on English radio and television when these two teams play in the U.K.. After all, cricket is very similar to baseball with 11 players on each team and also use a bat and a ball.

Most historians would agree that baseball was an American invention. But playing in London will probably revive all the speculations on the origins of the game. So, Big Ben will time the breaks between innings during the Red Sox vs. Yanks games. We all understand that baseball was invented in the U.S.A., but we have to give credit to soccer (or fútbol) to the British since it’s their invention. Though, the Chinese have claimed that they played a similar game many centuries ago. Can we all get along and just play ball?

Those two games in London should sell out. After all. London is the largest city in Europe with a population of 14 million. But we are still about a year away from those games.

Back here in this hemisphere, the Yanks and the Red Sox are two of just a handful of teams picked by Las Vegas odds masters to win the World Series, alongside the Astros, Nationals, Dodgers, and Indians.

Just for the fun of it, these were the odds to win the World Series before the season began: Houston 21-4, Cleveland 7-1, Dodgers 7-1, Cubs 8-1, Yanks 9-1, Nats 9-1 and Red Sox 13-1. And, for our local teams, in the Bay Area: Giants 200-1 and A’s 300-1. Moreover, the Marlins have the longest shot of 1,250-1.