Tag: Detroit Tigers

A’s make it three wins in a row over the Tigers with a 4-1 victory on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Det4
Graphic/Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics would be very happy to play the Detroit Tigers every day for the rest of the season. On Saturday afternoon in Detroit, the A’s defeated the Tigers for the 15th consecutive time. That winning streak dates back to May 6, 2017, which means Oakland has not lost a game to Detroit in over two years. That is nothing short of incredible.

The Mustached One wants to stay in Oakland

The pitcher with the handlebar mustache — Daniel Mengden — made his second start of the season for the A’s on Saturday. He made it a quality start by working seven complete innings. Mengden allowed one run (earned) off three hits. He struck out five Detroit hitters while walking just two batters.

Mengden threw 95 pitches (62 strikes) en route to his first win of the 2019 season. This outstanding performance may have earned Mengden a regular spot in the A’s starting rotation.

Lou Trivino relieved Mengden in the eighth inning and held the lead for the starter. Trivino allowed no runs and gave up just one hit.

Blake Treinen came on in the ninth inning to close it out for Oakland. He did not allow the Tigers to score and gave up just one hit. He also struck out one batter. Treinen earned his seventh save of the season.

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Graphic/Photo: @Athletics

The A’s scored first and never looked back

The Athletics put the first runs up on the board in the top of the third inning when Nick Hundley hit a home run to right field with Profar on base to give his team a 2-0 lead. Ultimately, that would be all the runs Oakland would need to win the game, but they were not done scoring for the day.

In the top the fifth inning, Jurickson Profar hit his fifth double of the year to left field that drove Robbie Grossman home to score the A’s third run of the contest.

Chad Pinder put the icing on the cake in the top of the seventh inning when he hit his fifth home run of the year to left center field to give the A’s a 4-1 lead.

The Tigers scored their only run in the fourth inning when Ronny Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch thrown by Mengden.

Boyd took the loss for the Tigers

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Graphic/Photo: @Tigers

Matthew Boyd made the start for Detroit and he was hung with the loss. Boyd worked 6.1-innings giving up four runs (all earned) on seven hits. He struck out eight Oakland hitters, but he also allowed two home runs.

Boyd’s record now stands at 4-4 for the season.

Season Series Finale on Sunday

The A’s and Tigers will wrap up their 2019 season series on Sunday in Detroit. Former Tigers pitcher Mike Fiers (3-3) will take the ball for the A’s while LHP Gregory Soto (0-2) gets the call to the mound for the Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 AM Pacific Daylight Savings Time.

Montas’ Near Complete Game Still A Feat, A’s Continue Dominance Over Tigers 7-2

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

Frankie Montas came one out away from pitching his first career complete game, finishing the night with 10 strikes on four hits with two earned runs to give the Oakland A’s (21-25) its 14th consecutive win against the Detroit Tigers 7-2 at Comerica Park Friday. Mark Canha and Chad Pinder each hit two-run home runs and Khris Davis went 3-for-4 with an RBI single to hand the Motor City Kitties their fifth loss in as many games. Miguel Cabrera and Josh Harrison knocked in the runs for Detroit (18-25)

Montas and Tigers starter Daniel Norris were trading zeros through the first three innings, but a Matt Olson fielder’s choice with runners on first and third in the top of the fourth plated the A’s first run. Canha added two runs on his fifth homer of the year in the top of the fifth when Norris’ 1-0 fastball caught nothing but the heart of the plate and the head of Canha’s bat for a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers after a pair of doubles from Miguel Cabrera and Josh Harrison manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth. Montas hit Dewal Lugo with a pitch to put runners on second and first with one out, but consecutive groundouts bailed Montas out of a jam in his best start of the year.

Olson hit a single that, combined with a fielding error by center fielder JaCoby Jones, brought in a run in the top of the sixth. Pinder would knock losing pitcher Norris (2-2, 4.50 ERA) out of the game a batter later, taking him deep on a full-count offering for a 6-1 lead. Davis would single in a run against Sandy Baez in the top of the eighth for the A’s seventh run.

Montas (5-2, 2.67 ERA) came out to start the ninth, the first time he’d done so in his career, but be greeted by a single from Gordon Beckham. He would strikeout Christin Stewart and coax a groundout from Nick Castellanos, but future Hall of Famer Cabrera would not be the last victim of Montas. He doubled off Montas’ 109th pitch of the night, plating Beckham for a 7-2 A’s lead. Lou Trivino would coax a Ronny Rodriguez punchout to end the game.

A’s trounce Tigers 17-3 to take first game of four-game series

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photo from expo.mlive.com: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien scores from third on a wild pitch during the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Detroit.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, who are having a hard time winning games away from home this season, found their offensive magic as they pummeled the Detroit Tigers 17-3 at Comerica Park on Thursday.

The A’s improved their road record to 6-15 and their pitcher, Chris Bassitt, pitched one of the best games of his career. Bassitt went eight innings and allowed just four hits and no runs. He threw 108 pitches in picking up his second win of the year.

The A’s, as a team, hit five home runs on Thursday. They hit five Monday night in Seattle, but lost the game. The homers in Seattle were all solo blasts. Thursday’s show of power included a grand slam, a three-run blast, two two-run shots, and a solo home run.

The A’s scored all the runs they would need in the third inning when they put six on the board. Left-fielder Robbie Grossman started the festivities going with a lead-off triple. A’s catcher Josh Phegley, who had four hits and four RBIs in the game, singled to drive in Grossman with the A’s first run.

Marcus Semien reached on a fielder’s choice. Phegley was out at second. Matt Chapman walked, and first baseman Matt Olson reached on a fielders’ choice. Chapman went to second on Tigers’ first baseman Niko Goodrum’s throwing error.

Semien scored the second run on pitcher Spencer Turnbull’s wild pitch. Khris Davis struck out. Turnbull walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases. Jurickson Profar deposited Turnbull’s ball into the right-field seats for his first career grand slam. The A’s lead 6-0. The A’s scored three in the sixth, four in the seventh, two in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Aaron Brooks pitched the ninth for Oakland, and he had a rough outing. Pitchers don’t have to be careful when leading by 17, but Brooks needed to show the A’s that he belongs on the club. He gave up three hits and three runs. The big blow was a blast off the bat of Dawel Lugo to drive in Nick Castellanos and Josh Harrison. Brooks stuck out Grayson Greiner for the final out.

Game Notes: The A’s won their ninth in a row at Comerica Park. Detroit has been outscored 41-9 while losing the first four games of a 10-game homestand.

Josh Phegley, Mark Canha, Marcus, Semien, and Matt Olson all homered for the A’s.

A’s manager Bob Melvin had high praise for the play of Josh Phegley: “If you are looking for All-Star catchers this year, I don’t know anyone more worthy than Josh. He’s hitting close to .300, and he’s giving us homers and RBI. You don’t see that from the nine spot very often.”

The A’s are 20-25 for the year. The Tigers drop to 18-24.

Up Next: Frankie Montas (4-2, 3.78 ERA) will pitch Friday night for Oakland. Montas has been the most consistent starter for Oakland this year. Lefty Daniel Norris will be on the hill for Detroit. He’s 2-1 and has a respectable 3.63 ERA. Game time will be at 4:10 pm.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s look to improve on their road record; play in Detroit tonight

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

On the A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s enjoyed a rare Wednesday off and are ready to open a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday at Comerica Park.

#2 The A’s are struggling on the road with a 5-15 record and the A’s were 1-8 on their last nine game trip.

#3 The A’s lost the first two games of this trip to Seattle by one-run games 6-5 and 4-3.

#4 A day gives a team a lot to think about. What are some of the things that the A’s need to consider in trying to make this a good road trip the rest of the way?

#5 The A’s will be starting Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA) for the Tigers Spencer Turnbull (2-2, 2.42 ERA). Talk a little about this match up and the job Bassitt has done for the A’s.

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

Mariners nip the A’s 4-3 to sweep the 2-game series

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photo from yahoosports.com: Seattle Mariners closing pitcher Roenis Elias reacts as stadium lights flash after the team’s baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in Seattle. Elias earned the save as the Mariners won 4-3.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland  A’s road woes continued as they fell to the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Seattle Tuesday night. The A’s, who were 1-8 on their last nine-game road trip, started this road trip 0-2. The A’s are off on Wednesday and will start a four-game set with the Tigers in Detroit before finishing the trip with three games with the Cleveland Indians.

Brett Anderson was on the mound for Oakland Tuesday night. Anderson gave the A’s six innings, and he allowed six hits and four runs. He was the losing pitcher, and his record dropped to 4-3. Mike Leake started for Seattle, and he picked up his third win of the year. Leake went 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and three runs (one earned).

The M’s put two on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Anderson gave up solo homers to Daniel Vogelbach and Tim Beckham.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the fifth. Leake walked Ramon Laureano and gave up a single to Robbie Grossman. Both runners advanced when Josh Phegley flew out to deep center field. Marcus Semien reached on Beckham’s throwing error, and that allowed Laureano and Grossman to score.

The game didn’t stay tied for long. With one out, Anderson walked J.P. Crawford. M’s centerfielder, Mitch Haniger, who loves to play against Oakland, hit his second home of the series to give the Mariners the lead 4-2.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the seventh. Stephen Piscotty led off with a double. Robbie Grossman singled to drive in Piscotty. The A’s trail 4-3.

The M’s brought in Roenis Elias to pitch with two-out in the seventh. Elias responded by getting the final seven outs of the game to preserve the win for Seattle.

The A’s drop to 19-24 while the M’s improve to 21-23.

Time of game was two hours and 37 minutes. 11,355 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s will have the day off on Wednesday before heading to Detroit and Comerica Park. Starting for the A’s on Thursday night Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA). The Tigers starter is yet to be determined.

Jerry Feitelberg is the Oakland A’s beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s win their fifth game in a row, downing the Tigers 2-1 on Saturday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Chappy HR
Chapman hit home run number 14 Photo @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND, Calif. — The announced attendance at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday night was 33,668. They came to see the hometown Oakland Athletics, who started the game versus the Detroit Tigers in second place in the American League West and in the American League Wild Card playoff race. The big crowd also came to see a “Harry Potter” inspired fireworks show that would follow the contest.

The fans were treated to another A’s win as they beat the Tigers 2-1. It was the A’s fifth consecutive win as they have won every game of this current homestand. Oakland is now 20 games over .500 as they improved to 66-46 with 50 games left to play in the regular season.

The one question this reporter had after the game was – how many of the 33,668 paying customers really enjoyed the A’s win? It was a bit like taking a ride with Mr. Peabody and Sherman in the Waybac Machine because it was not a typical 2018 MLB game. Strong pitching and good defense dominated the game with some hitting highlights thrown in for good measure.

Mr Peabody

It was my kind of game, but I am an “old guy.” I love a pitcher’s duel. I do not have to see a half dozen home runs to feel like I have been to a great game. I hope the veteran fans in the crowd on Saturday night helped the younger fans appreciate what they were seeing. It is a side of baseball I hope we never lose an appreciation for as fans.

There were home runs

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All of the A’s runs came via the long ball. Matt Chapman led off the third inning by hitting a 0-2 pitch from Jordan Zimmerman to straightaway center field for his 14th home run of the season to tie the game at 1-1. After Jed Lowrie lined out to center field, Khris Davis stepped into the batter’s box to face Zimmerman. Davis “crushed” his 30th home run of the year into the left field seats off the first pitch delivered to him. That gave the A’s a 2-1 lead which as it would turn out would be all they would need to win the game.

Davis became the sixth player in A’s history to hit 30-plus home runs in three straight seasons. The last Athletic to accomplish the feat was Miguel Tejada in 2000-02.

Pitching was very strong

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Edwin Jackson continues to be an amazing performer on the mound for the A’s. He worked 6.1 innings giving up one run (unearned) off five hits. Jackson struck out three Tigers and walked just one. He earned the victory which upped his record to 3-2 on the season with a 2.87 ERA. Not bad for a pitcher who started off in Triple-A while trying to get back to “the Bigs.”

Lou Trivino came on to relieve Jackson in the seventh inning and gave up just one hit and no runs in 1.2 innings on the mound. If you are an A’s opponent and are trailing late in the game, you watch Trivino work magic on the hill knowing that in the ninth inning the worst is yet to come.

And, the worst did enter the game in the ninth as Blake Treinen took the ball to close out the contest. It was not a perfect inning as he did allow one hit while striking out two batters. Treinen now has 28 saves for the year to go with his 0.95 ERA.

The Tigers’ Jordan Zimmerman lost his fourth decision in a row. He has not won a game since July 6 when he beat Texas. Zimmerman was 4-0 before the losing streak began.

Zimmerman threw 6.1 innings giving up two runs (both earned, both home runs) while striking out six and walking just three. Frankly, Zimmerman pitched well enough to win on almost any given night except this one.

Drew VerHagen pitched 1.2 innings of perfect relief for Detroit, but the Tigers could not produce any more runs.

Defense

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In a 2-1 game, there are many plays by the defense that should be talked about, but we are only going to mention two in this story.

The two plays that will be referred to were both made by rookie outfielder Ramon Laureano, who played in his second major league game on Saturday night. He was supposed to have the night off, but Mark Canha came down ill and Laureano was pressed into service.

In the top of the fifth inning with two out, the Tigers’ Mike Gerber hit a “flare” into left-center field. Laureano ran to his right, stretched out and put a glove on the ball but it popped out of his glove. Gerber saw the ball get away and immediately kept running for second base. Laureano jumped up and threw the ball to second baseman Jed Lowrie who put the tag down on Gerber who over-slid the bag in his haste to get the extra base. That was the third out of the inning and the crowd expressed their appreciation for the rookie in a very vocal manner.

Jeimer Candelario led off the top of the seventh inning for Detroit. He hit a 2-2 pitch from Jackson into right-center field that looked like it would fall in for a base hit. Laureano ran hard to his left then went into a controlled slide and made a great catch for the first out of the inning. Yes, the crowd went wild.

Quick notes for hardcore fans

  • Quick game – 2 hours and 30 minutes
  • A’s six hits – 10 strikeouts
  • Tigers’ seven hits – six strikeouts
  • Runners In Scoring Position

A’s 0-for-10 (Wow!)

Tigers 1-for-4

  • Team Left on Base

Oakland 7

Detroit 4

  • Errors

A’s 1

Tigers 1

Up Next
The A’s will go for the series sweep on Sunday when they will send RHP Trevor Cahill (3-2, 3.39 ERA) to the hill to face the Tigers’ LHP Francisco Liriano (3-5, 4.62 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM PST.

Rookie Plays Hero in the Field, at Plate to Walk A’s Off 1-0 Over Tigers in Extras

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By Matthew Harrington

Ramon Laureano’s first Major League hit would have been a lifelong memory regardless, but on Friday night, he authored the perfect storybook ending to a 13-inning marathon night at the Coliseum. Laureano waited 13 innings for his big moment, lacing a walk-off single in extra innings to hand the Oakland A’s a 1-0 win over the Detroit Tigers.

A’s Brett Anderson and Tigers’ Blaine Hardy dueled all night in a classic pitchers’ duel that featured dueling no-hitters through five innings, but both departed with a no-decisions after neither pitcher’s offense decided to offer up any favors. For Anderson, the start was timely. There were rumors at the deadline of a possible acquisition of starter Mike Fiers, signaling an end to Anderson’s second stint in Green and Gold. His two hits yielded Friday night gave the A’s confidence moving forward on the deal they didn’t make.

Giving the A’s confidence in a move they did make was Laureano. The 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic was hitting .297 in the Pacific Coast League, mashing 14 homers for the A’s affiliate before replacing Dustin Fowler on the big league roster. He was acquired in the offseason in a trade with the Houston Astros for Minor League pitcher Brandon Bailey, who’s currently playing High-A ball.

Laureano came up to the plate looking entirely overmatched in his previous four at-bats, striking out twice and stranding a runner. The bottom of the 13th with two outs against Buck Farmer would be his moment. After Nick Martini walked to open the inning, Farmer got two outs, but catcher Jonathan Lucroy kept the inning alive with his single. Laureano fell behind in the count to a quick 0-2 count before taking a ball, then lacing an 81.9 mile-per-hour slider of the out of town scoreboard in right field, giving the A’s (65-46) the win and a 1 1/2 game lead over Seattle for the second Wild Card spot–19 games over .500.

Laureano showed off his arm in the top of the inning after Jose Iglesias swiped second base on an errant throw. Laureano gunned down the greedy runner at third base, erasing the winning run from scoring position and ending the inning to make Emilio Pagan (3-0, 3.52 ERA) the winning pitcher.

Pagan was just one in a string of strong reliever performances on the night. Jeurys Familia took over for Anderson in the eighth and allowed just one hit. Blake Treinen took the ninth and 10th hoping to end it early for the A’s, firing scoreless innings with two hits and four strikeouts, but no victory. Yusmeiro Petit was the surgeon out of the pen, firing two innings of his own to get through the 11th and 12th with no hits or walks and three punchouts, giving way to Pagan on the winning inning.

The Tigers thought they had a shot to beat the A’s for the first time in 10 games against Oakland after Hardy went seven while allowing one hit, then called upon Louis Coleman, Alex Wilson, and Victor Alcantara to hold off the A’s. All were successful, and Farmer (3-4, 4.88 ERA) even pitched a scoreless 12th inning before winding up the loser in the 13th.

Edwin Jackson, fresh off career win number 100, will take the mound Saturday for Oakland. He’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann. Game time is set for 6:05 pm PDT.

A’s 3-game series versus the Tigers starts Friday night

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Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s host the visiting Detroit Tigers for a three-game series this weekend. The Tigers are not the same team that played the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 World Series. They are also not the same team that eliminated the A’s in the 2013 ALCS. The Tigers, my friends, have gotten old. Miguel Cabrera, who’s arguably their best player as well as a former MVP and Triple Crown winner, is out for the season with a torn triceps muscle. Their DH Victor Martinez is 39 years old and is nearing the end of his career.

The Tigers’ best player is right fielder Nick Castellanos. Castellanos made the AL All-Star team and is the most dangerous hitter in the Tigers’ lineup.

The Tigers’ pitching staff has been revamped. Max Scherzer left a couple of years ago to go to the Washington Nationals. Justin Verlander was acquired by the Houston Astros last year after the trade deadline in a waiver deal. Doug Fister had a few good years with the Tigers, but has floundered and is now on the DL with the Texas Rangers. Anibal Sanchez is gone, and Rick Porcello was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2015 for Yoenis Cespedes.

The Tigers’ current starting rotation consists of left Blaine Hardy, who will start Friday night, Jordan Zimmerman, Drew VerHagen, Lefty Francisco Liriano, and lefty Matthew Boyd are the other starters. The 34-year old left Liriano has been around the block a few times and his best days are behind him. Zimmerman came to Detroit as a free agent, but  he had some good years with the Nationals, but has been a bust with the Tigers. VerHagen and Boyd are not household names yet.

The rebuilding Tigers will have John Hicks at first, Niko Goodrum at second, Jose Iglesias at shortstop, and Jeimer Candelario at third. Iglesias has the most experience and is a very slick fielder. The Tigers’ outfield will feature Jacoby Jones, Victor Reyes, Mike Gerber, and Nick  Castellanos. James McCann will handle the catching.

The Tigers’ bullpen is a work in progress. Their best-known reliever is Shane Greene. The A’s took Greene to the woodshed twice in June as they tagged him with losses in two consecutive games.

The A’s continue to be the hottest team in the AL. Since June 16th, the A’s are 30-20 and have made up an 11-game deficit to tie the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot in the AL. The A’s trail the first-place Houston Astros by just five games, The A’s have 10 games left with Seattle and six with Houston. Nothing can be taken for granted as the A’s continue to play well. They are confident the can come back anytime, anywhere. They own the eighth inning and have scored more runs in the eighth than any team in baseball. They have a terrific manager in Bob Melvin. Melvin had three lean years, but now has the horses and is doing a great job of managing.

Friday night’s game will feature a battle between two left-handed pitchers. Blaine Hardy (4-3, 3.61 ERA) will go for Detroit, and he will be opposed by Oakland’s Brett Anderson (2-3, 5.51 ERA). Anderson pitched six innings in his last two starts. Saturday’s game will have Jordan Zimmerman pitching for the Tigers, and he will be opposed by Edwin Jackson. Jackson beat the Toronto Blue Jays last Monday for his 100th career victory. On Sunday, the Tigers will have 34-year old left Francisco Liriano will be on the mound for Detroit, and the A’s will have the big righty Trevor Cahill do the pitching for Oakland. Cahill defeated the Blue Jays last Tuesday and allowed just six hits and two runs in six innings of work.

The A’s have to continue to win if they hope to make the playoffs. They play three against the Tigers this weekend. They have two interleague games with the LA Dodgers on Tuesday and Wednesday. They are off again on Thursday. They resume play against the LA Angels for three games starting August 10th then return home to play three against the Mariners, three against the Astros, and three against the Rangers.

The A’s have 52 games left on the schedule. The team has to play at a high level if they want to make the playoffs. It is as simple as that. End of story.

A’s beat the Tigers 4-2 to sweep the 4-game series

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s, led by the hitting of Jed Lowrie and the pitching of lefty Sean Manaea, defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-2 at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon. The A’s did not hit any home runs, but they scored three times in the third and once in the fourth to defeat the Tigers’ Michael Fulmer.

Manaea did not appear to be in sync in the first inning. He issued his only walk of the game to the Tigers’ leadoff hitter Jeimer Candelario. He settled down and retired Jose Iglesias for the first out. The Tigers’ leading hitter, right fielder Nick Castellanos, blasted his 11th dinger of the year over Stephen Piscotty’s outstretched glove to give the Tigers an early 2-0 advantage. Manaea regained his composure and held the Tigers scoreless in his next five innings of work. Manaea was hoping that the A’s offense would get going and get him a win.

The A’s offense did what Manaea wanted. In the top of the third, they put together five singles and plated three runs. Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder singled to start the rally. Mark Canha blooped a single to right to drive in Semien. Pinder went to third on the play. Lowrie continued his hot hitting and torment of the Tigers with a single to drive in Pinder with the second run of the inning. Canha advanced to third. A’s designated hitter Khris Davis singled to drive in Canha to make it a 3-2 game.

The A’s tacked on an insurance run in the fourth. Stephen Piscotty led off with a single. Jonathan Lucroy hit a slow roller to Tigers’ shortstop Jose Iglesias. Iglesias’ only play was at first. Piscotty made it safely to second. Pinder had his second hit of the game when he doubled to deep centerfield to drive in Piscotty. The A’s led 4-2.

There was no more scoring in the game. Manaea left after six innings of work. He allowed two runs and five hits. He walked one and struck out two. The A’s used Emilio Pagan in the seventh, Lou Trivino in the eighth, and Blake Treinen in the ninth. The relievers did not allow the Tigers a hit. Treinen earned his 20th save of the year. The A’s won 4-2.

Game Notes: The A’s have won their last nine games against Detroit, their longest streak against the Tigers since Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx led the Philadelphia Athletics to 10 straight wins over Detroit in 1931. The Tigers have also lost their last nine games played. The A’s improve to 44-38 and are six games over the .500 mark. Detroit falls to 36-46.

Sean Manaea received credit for the win, and his record is now 8-6. Fulmer took the loss, and he is 3-7 for the year.

Jed Lowrie had a single and double in the game including his 24th double. He has driven in 55 so far this year. Lowrie was 9-for-17 in the series. He hit two home runs and had three doubles and drove in at least one run in all four games. It is possible that Lowrie and Treinen will represent the A’s at this year’s All-Star game in Washington, DC on July 17th.

Up Next: The A’s finished the 10-game road trip with a record of 8-2 and will return home to face the Cleveland Indians for three games starting Friday night at 7:05 pm PDT.

Paul Blackburn (1-2, 8.83) will pitch for Oakland, and Trevor Bauer (7-5, 2.44) will go for the Indians.

On Saturday, it will be Edwin Jackson going against rookie Adam Plutko, and Sunday will feature Frankie Montas for Oakland and Mike Clevinger for Cleveland.

A’s continue to roll behind Chris Bassitt’s terrific start in a 3-0 shutout of Tigers

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s beat the Tigers Wednesday evening in Detroit by a score of 3-0. The A’s recalled Chris Bassitt from Nashville to pitch due to the injury to Daniel Mengden. Bassitt was making his fourth start of the season for Oakland. He pitched well in his first start but had two bad games and was 0-3 for the season and had spent a lot of time shuttling between Oakland and Nashville. Bassitt his best game of the year as he went six innings and allowed no runs and just two hits. He struck out five and the only negative was the five walks he issued to the Tiger hitters. Bassitt had to be just as good as Tigers’ starter Mike Fiers also pitched very well.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning. The A’s put the first run of the game on the board when Matt Joyce led off with a single to get things going. Fiers had to pitch to the A’s hottest hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie, who has been on a tear, doubled to right field. A’s third base coach Matt Williams did not hesitate as he did not put the stop sign up for Matt Joyce. Joyce scored, and Lowrie recorded his 22nd double and 54th RBI of the season to give the A’s the lead 1-0.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch the seventh. Petit did his job and kept the Tigers scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings.

The A’s scored two insurance runs in the ninth. Alex Wilson was pitching for Detroit. With one out, Franklin Barreto reached on an infield single. Josh Phegley followed with a line shot down the left field line. The speedy Barreto scored all the way from first. The next hitter, Dustin Fowler, blasted a ball to that hit high off the right-field wall to drive in Phegley. The A’s led 3-0.

Bob Melvin was not able to use his closer, Blake Treinen, to finish the game. Treinen had worked the last two games. Melvin brought in rookie Lou Trivino to face the Tigers. Trivino set the Tigers down in order to earn his second save of the year.

Game Notes: The A’s are 7-2 on the road trip and go for the sweep Thursday afternoon in Detroit. The A’s improve to 43-38 and are five games over the .500 mark for the first time since the 2014 season. Chriss Bassitt is now 1-3, and he won his first game since the 2015 season. Bassitt missed the 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery, and his recovery was much longer than expected.

The A’s did not hit a home run, and their 27 consecutive game streak of hitting at least one home run in road games came to an end. The 27-game streak is a new Major League record.

“We put home run swings on them,” Melvin said. “We just didn’t get rewarded for them.”

Time of game was 3 hours and 11 minutes and 23,961 fans watched the game.

Up Next: The A’s Sean Manaea will go to the mound seeking his eighth win of the year on Thursday. Manaea’ record is 7-6. He will be opposed by Michael Fulmer. Fulmer is 3-6 and has a 4.17 ERA. The game will start at 10:10 am PDT on MLB Network.