Tag: Cleveland Indians

A’s stay hot, rout Cleveland 7-2 to sweep series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s won their sixth in a row and improved their record to 25-25. Frankie Montas continues to be the best pitcher on the A’s staff. He went six innings, allowed five hits and no runs, struck out nine and walked two. Jefry Rodriguez (1-4) took the loss for the Cleveland Indians.

The A’s offense continued to produce. They scored two in the first, and one in the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings. The hitting stars were Mark Canha with a home run, and a double and three RBIs. Canha was the DH as Khris Davis was unavailable due to a hip injury. A’s backup catcher, Nick Hundley, was 3-for-4 with a home run, double, and single. He had two RBI’s in the game.

Yusmeiro Petit pitched a scoreless seventh. A’s manager Bob Melvin, brought in Fernando Rodney to pitch the eighth. Rodney, who has not thrown well this year, had another rough outing. Rodney walked the first hitter Carlos Santana. Jake Bauers followed with a 450-foot home run to put two on the board for Cleveland. Rodney gave up a single to Jose Ramirez and then walked Mike Freeman. Melvin saw enough and brought in Lou Trivino to pitch. Trivino was sharp as he retired the next three hitters. Joakim Soria closed out the game for the A’s in the ninth.

Game Notes: Brett Anderson, who hurt his neck in his last start, will be able to make his next start Sunday.

The A’s finished the road trip with a 6-2 record. One game was suspended with Detroit due to rain. The game will be completed when the Tigers visit Oakland in September.

The A’s won the season series with the Indians 5-1.

The A’s remain in third place in the AL West as the Texas Rangers won their game and remain 1/2 game ahead of the A’s.

The Indians designated the 11-year veteran Carlos Gonzalez for assignment. Cargo started his career with the A’s, but was traded to the Colorado Rockies.

Up Next: The A’s flew home after Wednesday’s game with the Indians. They have an off day on Thursday and resume play against the Seattle Mariners Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s have played the M’s four times this season and lost all four. The A’s will send Daniel Mengden to pitch Friday night. Mengden is 1-1 and has a 3.65 ERA. The Mariners will counter with lefty Wade LeBlanc, who is 2-1 and owns a 7.36 ERA. The game will start at 7:07 pm.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s Canha 2-run homer proves difference in 6th straight win

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Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Charlie:

#1 The Oakland A’s picked up their second straight win over the Cleveland Indians and sixth straight win in Cleveland on Tuesday at Progressive Field 5-3.

#2 A’s slugger Khris Davis was placed on the injured list and was replaced on Tuesday by Mark Canha, who hit a two-run homer in the third off Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer.

#3 The Davis injury, a sore hip that hasn’t recovered like they thought it would. Davis sat on Saturday and played on Sunday, but suffered with it on Tuesday and had to leave the game. Davis says he’s having a hard time swinging the bat.

#4 Bauer has struggled and Cleveland is waiting for Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger to return to the rotation. Bauer against Oakland walked four, struck out five, and hit three batters.

#5 On Wednesday’s contest, the A’s will start Frankie Montas (5-2, 2.67 ERA) and the Indians will start Jefry Rodriguez (1-3, 3.45 ERA).

Charlie O reviews the A’s on the podcast each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s continue to roll, win their fifth in a row

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s beat the Indians at Progressive Field Tuesday night by a score of 5-3. With the win, the A’s improved their record to 24-25 and are just one game below the .500 mark.

Chris Bassitt started for Oakland. He had control issues as he walked six hitters in just 3 2/3 innings of work. Trevor Bauer went for Cleveland and he, too, had problems with control. He walked six in six innings of work. He allowed four hits and four runs.

The Indians drew first blood in the bottom of the first. The Indians’ All-Star shortstop, Francisco Lindor, led off with a solo home run to right center field. The A’s tied the score in the top of the second. With one out, Bauer walked Stephen Piscotty. Bauer then hit Jurickson Profar with a pitch to put men on at first and second. Bauer retired Robbie Grossman for the second out. Bauer then walked Ramon Laureano to load the bases. Bauer’s control issues continued as he walked Josh Phegley. Piscotty scored, and the A’s tied the game without the benefit of a hit.

The A’s scored two in the top of the third. With one out, Matt Olson singled to right field. Mark Canha, pinch-hitting for A’s DH Khris Davis, hit an opposite-field home run to put the A’s up 3-1. Davis, who was injured catching a ball in foul territory when the A’s were in Pittsburgh, started the game but was still feeling the effects of the injury. It was Canha’a third career pinch-hit homer.

The Indians got a run back in their half of the third. With one out, Carlos Santana hit his eighth of the year. The A’s still led 3-2.

The A’s increased their advantage to 4-2 in the fourth on the strength of back to back doubles by Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman. The Indians scored a run in the bottom of the inning.  With one out, Bassitt walked Leonys Martin. Left-fielder Oscar Mercado doubled to left-center to drive in Martin with the Indians’ third run. Bassitt walked the next hitter, and that brought out A’s manager Bob Melvin. Melvin removed Bassitt from the game and replaced him with Liam Hendriks. Hendriks got the last out of the inning.

The A’s bullpen held the innings scoreless and allowed just one hit the rest of the way. The A’s added an insurance run in the eighth when Profar slammed his seventh of the year to put Oakland up 5-3.

Game Notes: Stephen Piscotty reached base for the 21st game in a row. The A’s Liam Hendriks pitched two innings and allowed one hit.  Hendriks was credited with the win, and he is now 2-0 for the year. Ryan Buchter, Joakim Soria, and Blake Treinen all pitched for the A’s. Treinen earned his ninth save of the season.

The Indians’ Trevor Bauer saw his record drop to 4-3. He went six innings and allowed four hits, four runs, and six walks.

Up Next: The A’s meet the Indians in the finale of the three-game set Wednesday. Frankie Montas (5-2, 2.67 ERA) goes for the A’s. Montas went 8 2/3 innings in his last outing against the Detroit Tigers. Montas struck out 10 in that game. He will be opposed by Jefry Rodriguez (1-3, 3.45 ERA). Game time will be at 10 am.

A’s down the Indians 6-4 to win fourth in a row

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s won their fourth game in a row downing the Cleveland Indians 6-4 on Monday in Cleveland. The A’s offense was paced by solo home runs by Jurickson Profar and Matt Olson. Matt Chapman hit a two-run blast in the ninth to give the A’s a three-run cushion heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The A’s scored one run in the second, one in the third and one in the fourth take a 3-0 lead. Profar homered in the second, Olson in the third, and doubles by Robbie Grossman and Josh Phegley produced the A’s third run in the fourth.

The Indians put one on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Indians’ third baseman Jose Martinez doubled leading off the frame. He went to third on a ground out and scored on Omar Mercado’s single. The A’s still lead 3-1 after five.

In the bottom of the sixth, Indians’ second baseman Jason Kipnis led off with a double. Anderson retired Carlos Santana for the first out. It was at this point that Bob Melvin came out of the dugout and after a short conference with Anderson, removed him from the game. Yusmeiro Petit relieved him and retired the next two hitters.

The A’s added a run in the seventh. Shortstop Marcus Semien doubled down the left field line, and when Mercado misplayed the ball, he went to third. Matt Chapman singled to drive him in with the fourth run of the game for Oakland. The Indians got the run back in their half of the seventh when the Indians’ catcher Roberto Perez led off with a home run. Ryan Buchter came in to pitch, and he retired the next three Cleveland hitters.

The Indians made it a 4-3 game in the eighth. Lou Trivino had control issues. With one out, Trivino walked Kipnis and Santana. He struck out Jake Bauers for the second out. Ramirez singled to drive in Kipnis. Trivino walked Perez to load the bases. A’s manager Bob Melvin made his decision. He brought in closer Blake Treinen to get a four-out save. Treinen got Martinez to ground out to end the inning.

The A’s added two insurance runs in the ninth when Matt Olson homered with a man on to make it 6-3. Treinen retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the ninth. He did not get by Francisco Lindor. Lindor homered to make it 6-4. Treinen got Kipnis to ground out to preserve the win.

Game Notes- Brett Anderson improved his season record to 5-3. He was diagnosed with a cervical strain. It is nor known at this time if he will have to go on the 10-day IL. Blake Treinen earned his 8th save of the season.

The A’s are now 23-25 are in third place in the AL West just 1/2 game behind the second-place Texas Rangers.

The A’s will send Chris Bassitt to the hill Tuesday night. Bassitt is 2-1 with an ERA of 1.93, and he will be opposed by the Indians’ Trevor Bauer. Bauer is 4-2 and has an ERA of 3.76. Game time will be at 3pm.

A’s win second consecutive game downing Cleveland 3-2 in a walk-off on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
CLE 1
Photo/Graphic: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — Don’t look now but the Oakland Athletics are on a roll. After beating the Cleveland Indians 3-2 on Saturday, the A’s have now won two consecutive games. They are 4-1 on this homestand versus teams from Ohio — Cleveland and Cincinnati. The A’s record at the Coliseum has improved to 14-9 for 2019.

This fact may come as a surprise to A’s fans — their team has a 5-4 record in the month of May to date. In what has seemed to be an atmosphere of gloom and doom for the A’s recently, in reality, things have actually have been going fairly well. Oakland is no longer in the cellar in the AL West and are just a 1/2 game out of third place.

The “opener” is back

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Aaron Brooks works against Cleveland Photo: @Athletics

The A’s used Liam Hendricks as an “opener” on Saturday against the Indians. Hendricks pitched one scoreless inning allowing just one hit and striking out one batter. This was the first time Oakland used an “opener” in 2019 while they employed the concept nine times in 2018.

Aaron Brooks took over in the second inning and worked four innings for the A’s. He gave up one run (earned) off four hits. Brooks struck out four Cleveland hitters and walked three. He also allowed one home in the fifth inning to Leonys Martin (6).

Cleveland used just two hurlers

Trevor Bauer made the start for Cleveland and lasted for seven innings. He threw 122 pitches and struck out 10 Oakland batters. Bauer allowed two runs, but neither run was earned. Bauer did not figure into the final decision.

A.J. Cole worked the final 1.1-innings and took the loss.

Cleveland tied it up in the top of the ninth

The A’s held a 2-1 lead as Cleveland came to bat in the top of the ninth inning. Blake Treinen was summoned from the bullpen to close out the game. Well, that is not how things would go for Oakland.

Jordan Luplow led off the inning with a single to left. Mike Freeman laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Luplow up to second base. Carlos Gonzalez came in as a pinch hitter and struck out swinging. Leonys Martin then hit a single through the hole on the left side of the infield that allowed Luplow to come home and score the tying run.

The A’s walk it off again

With the score tied 2-2, the A’s had the opportunity to end the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. With A.J. Cole on the hill, Matt Olson led off the inning with a walk. Kendrys Morales then singled to center moving Olson up to second base. Stephen Piscotty laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Olson to third and Morales to second. Ramon Laureano then singled to right field that drove Olson home to score the winning for Oakland.

The A’s are 1-14 when going homerless in a game

Oakland entered the game 0-14 when not hitting a home run a game. The A’s broke that streak today as they beat Cleveland without the aid of a round-tripper. Houston and Seattle have not won a game without hitting a home run.

Chapman loves playing Cleveland

Matt Chapman has reached base safely in his eight career games versus Cleveland. He is batting .483 (14-for-29) with nine runs, five doubles, a triple, three home runs, four RBI, and four walks versus the Northern Ohio team.

Up Next

The three-game series will conclude on Sunday when Cleveland will send Jefry Rodriguez (0-2, 2.41 ERA) to the mound in search of a win. The A’s will call on Daniel Mengden for the first time this season. The righthanded mustached pitcher has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas after making six starts in the minors. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:07 PM.

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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Photo credit: @TheRitaGarcia

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

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 crash and burn in the road opener in Cleveland Friday night, losing 10-4

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
CleOlsonHR
Matt Olson hit his 19th home run of 2018 in the second inning Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics have feasted on the American League Central Division. One of the reasons the A’s record improved so dramatically in late June and early July was their performance versus the AL Central teams.

On Friday night, it looked like that feast would continue as the A’s jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on home runs by Dustin Fowler in the first inning and Matt Olson in the second inning. Oakland (48-40) appeared ready to make it a short game for Indians starter Carlos Carrasco.

Cleveland (49-37) had a completely different idea about the game. They put a run up on the board in the bottom of the second which started them on a march to victory. The Indians added three more runs to their total in the home half of the third inning to take a 4-2 lead, and they would never relinquish that lead.

The Indians would score six additional runs while the A’s would add two runs to their total. Cleveland won game one 10-4.

CleTheJac
It was a sellout crowd at Progressive Field in Cleveland Photo: @Indians

This game was about hitting

Cleveland

  • The Indians scored their 10 runs on just 10 hits — that’s efficiency.
  • Cleveland recorded 10 hits and struck out just four times. That is not the norm in the days of teams recording more strikeouts than hits.
  • They scored those 10 runs and had only three batters walk.
  • Cleveland went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left just two runners on base.
  • The Indians scored their 10 runs without hitting a home run. Their key weapon was the two-base hit. They hit three doubles in the game
  • Lindor, Brantley, Ramirez, and Encarnacion all had two-hit games. Ramirez and Encarnacion recorded three RBI each.

Oakland

  • The A’s scored their four runs off 11 hits. Only one Oakland batter walked.
  • The A’s hitters also struck out 11 times for a one hit to one strikeout ratio — not unusual this season but not what any manager wants to see from his team.
  • Mark Canha led the Oakland hitting attack going 3-for-4 with an RBI (33). One of his hits was his 14th double of the season.
  • Fowler, Olson, and Semien all had two-hit nights. Fowler also picked up two RBIs.
  • Oakland went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

It was a night of many pitchers

Indians

  • Carlos Carrasco (9-5) made the start for Cleveland and picked up the win. He worked 5.1-innings giving up three runs (all earned) on seven hits. Carrasco struck out seven A’s and walked none. He did allow two home runs.
  • Cleveland used five relief pitchers. Four of them pitched less than an inning.
  • Dan Otero — who pitched for the A’s for three seasons — pitched the final two innings of the game for the Indians.
  • No save was awarded.

Athletics

  • Paul Blackburn started the game for the A’s and worked 4.0 innings. He gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits. Blackburn struck three and walked one. He was charged with the loss and his record falls to 2-3.
  • Yusmeiro Petit worked 2.0 innings of no-hit baseball. He walked one and struck out one.
  • Emilio Pagan really struggled as he pitched 0.2 innings allowing four runs (all earned) on just three hits.
  • Santiago Casilla came in to close out the seventh inning for Pagan.
  • Chris Hatcher worked a perfect eighth inning for Oakland against the Indians.

Up next

The A’s and Indians will play game two of the three-game series on Saturday at 1:10 pm PDT. The “ageless one” Edwin Jackson (1-0, 2.13) will start for Oakland and the very tough Corey Kluber (12-4, 2.64) will take the hill for the Indians.

A’s take on the Indians for a 3-game series starting Friday

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are playing their best baseball so far this the season. They went 8-2 on their last 10-game road trip and finished their five-game homestand with a 4-1 record Two of the wins came at the expense of the Cleveland Indians last weekend in Oakland. Neither Carlos Carrasco or Corey Kluber pitched last weekend, but they are getting the call as the Indians will be trying to slow down the A’s express train.

Friday’s game will feature Carrasco going against the A’s Paul Blackburn. It will be Carrasco’s first start since going on the DL after a line drive hit his throwing elbow on June 16th. The A’s will counter with Paul Blackburn, who beat Cleveland last Friday night as he went 6 1/3 innings and did not allow a run. Blackburn is 2-2 and has a 6.46 ERA. Carrasco is 8-5, and has a 4.24 ERA. Carrasco was 18-6 in 2017.

On Saturday, A’s veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson will make his third start of the season. Jackson has allowed two runs or fewer in both his starts and he recorded a win over the Tribe last Saturday in 6 2/3 innings of work. He will have to be on the top of his game as his opponent will be two-time Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber, who is having another outstanding season as he owns a 12-4 record.

Sunday’s game will feature A’s Frankie Montas going against Indians’ Shane Bieber. Montas is 4-2, but he has given up eight hits or more in three of his last four starts and took the loss Sunday. The Indians blasted the A’s 15-3, and Montas was the losing pitcher. Bieber is 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA. This will be the first time the A’s will be facing Bieber.

The Indians have a good hitting team. They are in first place in the AL Central with a 48-37 record. The hitting and starting pitching has overcome the many injuries the team has suffered. Also, the bullpen is not at it’s best as Andrew Miller and Nick Goody are on the DL.

The A’s will see some familiar faces working in the Indians’ bullpen. Former A’s relievers Dan Otero and Marc Rzepczynski, as well as former SF Giant George Kontos, probably will see action against the A’s this weekend. Other relievers are Zach McAllister and veteran lefty hurler Oliver Perez. Righty Cody Allen is the closer.

The Indians have some outstanding players in their lineup. A’s pitchers will have to deal with shortstop Francisco Lindor, third baseman Jose Ramirez, second baseman Jason Kipnis, and first baseman Yonder Alonso. Kipnis is having a down year, but if he can regain his hitting stroke, he is capable of being able to cause a lot of damage. Lindor and Ramirez are probably heading to the All-Star game. Lindor is hitting .297 with 23 homers and 55 RBIs. He has a .948 OPS. Ramirez has 24 home runs, 55 RBIs, a .294 batting average and a .998 OPS.

Left fielder Michael Brantley is also playing well. Brantley’s average is .301, and he has 48 RBI’s. Lonnie Chisenhall and Rajai Davis will see action in right and center. Indians’ DH, Edwin Encarnacion is not hitting for average, but the 35-year-old has blasted 20 homers and has driven in 58.

There is no question that the Indians can rake. The big problem will be this: Will the A’s pitching be able to shut down the Cleveland offense? The Indians play better at home. They are 27-13 at Progressive Field. So A’s manager Bob Melvin will have to figure out a way to keep the Indians from putting runs on the board.

The A’s are also playing well. Melvin has done an amazing job as his starting rotation has been decimated by injuries. Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Andrew Triggs, Daniel Mengden, Daniel Gossett all have started for the A’s, but are currently on the DL. Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk were projected to be in this season’s starting rotation, but are gone for the year as they both underwent Tommy John surgery.

The Indian pitchers will also have to be able to handle the A’s hitters. Jed Lowrie leads the A’s in hitting and runs batted in. Lowrie is having a career year and hopefully will represent the A’s in the All-Star game. Matt Olson, Khris Davis, Matt Chapman, Chad Pinder, and Stephen Piscotty are all capable of sending baseballs out of the stadium. The A’s can hit. The A’s have a tough trip as they go to Houston for four and San Francisco for three. It will be a difficult trip. Let’s hope the A’s will do well.