Tag: Houston Astros

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Vazquez admits to solicitation charges with minor; Astros’ Cole K’s 300 batters in a season; plus more

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photo file from nytimes.com: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez admitted to Pennsylvania Police that he had sexual relations with a 13 year girl. Vazquez’ admissions has sent shockwaves through the Pirates organization and MLB.

On Headline Sports with Tony Renteria:

Breaking: Antonio Brown will not be prosecuted for rape allegations from Florida ex-trainer Britney Taylor

#1 Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez admitted that he did have sexual relations with a 13 year old minor. The mother of the minor said she contacted police after finding photos that Vazquez sent to her daughter’s phone. Vazquez reportedly admitted to contacting the minor, who he met at a Pirates game when he was in the bullpen and got her contact information at the time.

#2 Houston Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole struck out 300 batters becoming the 18th pitcher in MLB history to do so. Cole is 18-5 with an ERA of 2.61. The Astros are having a great year and having pitching like this from Cole certainly has complimented the ball club.

#3 Just looking ahead to the postseason, the Oakland A’s are in first place in the AL wild card. They have dominated some of baseball’s best teams winning series from teams like the New York Yankees and Houston Astros. If the A’s can get past the wild card, the road to the World Series is past teams like the Astros and Yankees.

#4 After Sunday’s second quarter drubbing by the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oakland Raiders are regrouping and taking a look at their secondary, who took a bath when the Chiefs scored four touchdowns all the scoring they needed to upend Oakland 28-10.

#5 After the tough loss last Sunday at home, the Raiders have four away games in their next five games, which schedule wise can be considered their toughest challenge of the season.

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

A’s beat the Astros 3-2 and win the series 3-1

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
9-12 a
Graphic: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee @Charlieo1320

First, the Oakland Athletics defeated Justin Verlander (18-6) for the first time since 2013 on Thursday night. Secondly, they won the four-game series from the Astros 3-1 by winning the final game 3-2. The A’s record improved to 87-60 for the season.

The Athletics have now won three consecutive games and are now in sole possession of AL Wild Card Slot #1 by ½-game over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays lost on Thursday night to the Texas Rangers 6-4.

The A’s got to Verlander early

If you are going to beat Justin Verlander, you have to get to him early in the game. Oakland scored their first run of the game in the top of the first inning when rookie Seth Brown doubled to left field to drive Marcus Semien home to score the first run of the game.

In the top of the third inning, Marcus Semien led off with a single to left. With one out, Matt Olson hit a towering fly ball for a two-run home run into the upper deck in right field off a Verlander fastball. It was Olsen’s 32nd home run of the season.

That would be all the scoring for the A’s in the contest, but it would prove to be all they would need.

The A’s starter won the game

Homer Bailey made the start for Oakland and recorded the win (13-8). He worked 5.1-innings allowing just one run (earned) off three hits. Bailey struck out four Astros and walked three.

The A’s used five pitchers in the game.

Liam Hendriks picked up his 21st save of the season closing out the game for the A’s.

Final Totals

For the A’s: 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 error, 5 Left on Base

Up next

The A’s have to play outside in the heat and humidity of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex versus the Rangers. It should be about 92-degrees with 58-percent humidity at game time on Friday night.

The A’s will send RHP Chris Bassitt (10-5, 3.63 ERA) to the hill to face the Rangers LHP Brock Burke (0-1, 3.52 ERA). Bassitt won his last start versus the Tigers at the Coliseum last Saturday night.

A’s beat the Astros 5-3 on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 series lead

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
9-11 b
Graphic @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

When you have to play a four-game series with the team who owns the second-best record in Major League Baseball, your goal has to be to go for a 2-2 split. That most certainly is a success level. You might not have gained any positions, but you will not have lost any either.

On Wednesday night, the A’s beat the Astros 5-3 to take a 2-1 series lead in their four-game series with the mighty Houston Astros. Now, the Athletics can play with “reckless abandon” on Thursday night and try to win the series. Not only would that help them in their pursuit of the AL Wild Card Slot #1, but it would really put them inside the heads of the Astros, who could be their first-round opponents in AL Playoffs.

LHP Brett Anderson has a strong start

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Photo: @Athletics

Anderson worked 5.0-innings allowing just two runs (both earned) off seven hits (one HR). He walked three and struck out four hitters. George Springer hit his 34th home run of the season off 2-2 pitch from Anderson. It traveled 433 feet over the center-field wall.

Anderson threw 86 pitches (54 strikes). He was also credited with the win, which raised his record to 12-9 for the year. Anderson faced 23 batters in his 5.0-innings on the mound.

An A’s reliever stepped into the spotlight

Jesus Luzardo made his long-awaited major league debut on Wednesday when he entered the game as a reliever for Anderson. Oakland had scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to stake the rookie to a 5-2 lead.

Luzardo got off to a great start getting the first two hitters out, but then he gave up a home run to Martin Maldonado. He gathered himself and struck out Myles Straw for the third out of the inning.

Luzardo set the Astros down in order in the seventh and eighth innings.

The rookie LHP worked 3.0-innings giving up one run (earned) off one hit while walking none and striking out two Astros. He tossed 36 pitches (22 strikes).

Luzardo became the first player born in Peru to play in the major leagues.

Don’t forget the guy who got the save

Mr. Dependable — Liam Hendriks — recorded his 20th save of the season setting the Astros down in order including striking out two batters.

Focus on the A’s with the bat

  • Marcus Semien had a 3-for-5 night with the bat scoring two runs and posting one RBI. One of his hits was his 28th home run of the season.
  • Rookie Sean Murphy went 1-for-4 at the plate. He hit his fourth home run of the season in the sixth inning.
  • Matt Olson had a 1-for-4 night hitting with a double (24) that drove in two runs.

AL Wild Card Race

The Tampa Bay Rays are still in Wild Card Slot #1 but by just 1/2 game over the A’s. The A’s own AL Wild Card Slot #2 but are just 1/2 game ahead of the Indians.

It really is a three-team race. The Red Sox are now 10.0-games out the Wild Card and have lost five games in a row. They are now playing for next year.

Up Next

It will be a good pitching matchup in the season-series finale between the A’s and the Astros on Thursday night. The A’s will send RHP Homer Bailey (12-8, 4.87 ERA) to the mound to face possible Cy Young winner RHP Justin Verlander (18-5, 2.52 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 5:10 PM Bay Area time.

A’s crush the Astros 21-7 on Tuesday night

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9-10 c
Graphic: @NBCSCA

By Charlie O Mallonee @Charlieo1320

This morning on my Oakland A’s podcast with Lee Leonard, I told our listeners not to panic about the A’s 15-0 loss to the Astros on Monday night. Baseball is a funny game and sometimes a game will just get away from a team. Just as frequently, when a team scores a bundle of runs in a game – they will not be able to repeat that feat in the next game no matter how hard they try. It’s just a “baseball thing”.

The A’s turned the table on Tuesday

Oakland showed up on Tuesday night ready to play and scored seven – that’s right seven – runs in the top of the first inning before the Astros ever had a chance to pick up a bat. The Houston starting pitcher – Wade Miley – was credited with working 0.1-innings while giving up seven runs (all earned) off seven hits. He walked one and struck out none. Miley entered the game with a record of 13-4 and an ERA of 3.74. His record is now 13-5.

It was like the A’s had all of this pent-up energy that just had to be released and they took it all out on the Astros on Tuesday night. The A’s scored two runs in the second inning, two in the third, six runs in the fourth, two more in the fifth, one in the sixth and tacked one more on in the top of the ninth inning for a total of 21.

Oakland won the game 21-7.

Tanner Roark picked up the win

Tanner Roark picked up his 10th victory of the season in this game. He worked 5.2-innings allowing five runs (all earned) off eight hits. He walked one and struck out three. He did give up three home runs. Roark threw 105 pitches (65 strikes).

Ryan Buchter faced one-hitter and Daniel Mengden worked 3.0-innings giving up two runs (both earned) on four hits. He walked two and struck out one. Mengden did allow one home run.

Focus on the A’s with the bat

  • Mark Canha: went 3-for-6 with three runs scored and one RBI.
  • Chad Pinder: also had a 3-for-6 game scoring one run and adding an RBI.
  • Khris Davis: joined the 3-for-6 club with two runs scored and three RBI. Davis hit his 20th HR in the game.
  • Sean Murphy: had a two-home run game. He went 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored and four RBI.
  • Matt Olson hit two home runs and now has 31 for the year.
  • Marcus Semien hit his 27th round-tripper of the season in this contest.
  • For the A’s, it was 21 runs off 25 hits and just eight men left on base.

Wild Card Race

Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Cleveland all were winners on Tuesday. The Rays stay in Wild Card Slot #1 with a 1.5-game lead over the A’s. The A’s own Wild Card Slot #2 with a 0.5-game lead over the Indians. The race is tight and very competitive.

After the Houston series, the A’s do have a game versus a team with a winning record.

Up Next

Game three of the four-game series will be played on Wednesday night at 5:10 PM PDT. LHP Brett Anderson (11-9, 4.08) will start for Oakland while RHP Jose Urquidy (1-1, 5.33) will take the mound for Houston.

Astros tie single-game HR mark, rout A’s 15-0

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Photo credit: @astros

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, September 9, 2019

Oakland’s road to an American League Wild Card berth hit a serious pothole on Monday, as Houston rang up A’s pitching for seven home runs in a 15-0 Astros win at Minute Maid Park.

The Astros, who lead the AL West, built an 11-0 lead after two innings, buoyed by a pair of solo homers by Yordan Alvarez, a three-run blast by Alex Bergman, two-run shots by Robinson Chirinos and Jose Altuve, and a solo homer by Michael Brantley.

Despite the loss, the Athletics remain in the second AL Wild Card berth, leading Cleveland by one game and trailing Tampa Bay by 1 ½ games.

The Astros became the first team ever to hit six home runs in the first two innings of a game, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Houston’s seven total homers tied a club record.

Chirinos added a three-run blast in the in the seventh.

All of that offense made life easy for Astros starter Zack Greinke (5-1), who struck out five without a walk and gave up two hits in six innings.

Mike Fiers (14-4) surrendered the first five Astros home runs in one-plus inning. He struck out one, but gave up nine earned runs on nine hits. Paul Blackburn, who worked five innings of long relief, gave up the other two Houston homers.

Game two of the four-game series on Tuesday matches up right-hander Tanner Roark (9-8, 3.86 ERA) for Oakland against Astros left-hander Wade Miley (13-4, 3.35 ERA). Game time set for 5:10 p.m. PST.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s open homestand Tuesday night against LA hoping to hang onto wild card hopes; Panda gets ready for Tommy John surgery after send off; plus more

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Photo credit: bleacherreport.com

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Kansas City Royals challenged the A’s when they were at Kaufman Stadium and so did the New York Yankees to conclude the road trip. Even through the pit falls, the A’s are only a 1/2 game out for a wild card berth. This thing could go right down to the end of the season?

#2 Pablo Sandoval, the man that San Francisco fans call the Panda, took a curtain call hitting for as a pinch-hitter on Sunday in the seventh inning in what can be considered the Panda’s last game in San Francisco. Sandoval played numerous positions for the Giants and will be having Tommy John surgery.

#3 The Houston Astros continued to prove their a force to be reckoned with after their starter Justin Verlander threw his third career no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. It was the second time that Verlander threw a no-hitter at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

#4. The Oakland Raiders get to open the season at the Coliseum against the Denver Broncos for Monday Night Football. The Raiders had a successful preseason and head coach Jon Gruden is confident about the team going into week 1.

#5 This is the Raiders’ last season at the Coliseum. Gruden certainly wants it to be a great send off for the Raiders and wants to drive them to a postseason that could get them to the AFC Championship to the finally the Super Bowl. He would love to bring a trophy to Oakland for the final year there.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish play-by-play announcer heard on KIQI 1010 San Francisco. Also, join Amaury for That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Panda out for Tommy John, will miss next season also; Astros PR use prevent defense to keep Detroit reporter out of Houston clubhouse; plus more

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yahoo.sports.com file photo: San Francisco Giants utility player Pablo Sandoval will have Tommy John surgery and will miss all of this season and next.

On MLB The Show with Daniel:

1 Panda to undergo Tommy John Surgery, will miss all of next season, and the rest of this one

2 Astros defend decision to restrict Detroit Free Press reporter from entering locker room

3 Court rules that the Orioles owe nearly $100 million to the Nationals

4 MLB bans players from Venezuelan Winter League

5 The Players’ Weekend uniforms a bad marketing idea

6 RIP — Original Met Alvin Jackson

Join Daniel on the MLB The Show podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s have a shot at sweeping Astros in 4 games today

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Matt Olson swings for an RBI-single off Houston Astros’ Rogelio Armenteros in the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The A’s could very well sweep the Houston Astros on Sunday that’s not a three game sweep, but it would be a four-game sweep.

#2 The Astros have been the A’s toughest customer all season defeating the A’s in all the series they’ve met. The A’s have to get the pitching as well as good hitting to win those games.

#3 On Friday night, there were 10 home runs hit by contrast on Saturday afternoon. The A’s didn’t get a home run and the Astros got only one, but the A’s got the win on Saturday.

#4 The A’s got a important rally going in the bottom of the third inning with five runs scored the A’s starting pitcher Chris Bassitt pitched for six inning giving up eight hits and giving up three earned runs.

#5 On Sunday, the Houston Astros will start Zack Greinke (12-4, 2.91 ERA) vs. the A’s starter Brett Anderson (10-8, 3.95 ERA).

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

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s closing in on Astros in 4-game series; Giants still in the hunt for a wild card spot; plus more

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photo from chron.com: Oakland Athletics’ Robbie Grossman watches his RBI single against the Houston Astros during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel:

1 Swingin’ A’s take first three games out of four with Houston, ½ game out of second in the AL Wild Card

2 Giants feasting on D-Backs’ pitching, still in NL Wild Card hunt

3 Christian Yelich, Aristides Aquino continue slugging ways

4 Yankees skipper makes case for mercy rule in MLB

5 Bill Walton calls White Sox-Angels game

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

A’s make it three wins in a row over the Astros with a big 8-4 victory on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
HOU 3
The scoreboard just kept showing happy news for A’s fans Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Oakland — A’s starting pitcher Chris Bassitt had to throw 31 pitches to get out of the top of the first against the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon. That usually means two things:

  1. The chances of that starting pitcher being in the game after the fifth inning is almost nil. In fact, a starter who throws that many pitches in the first inning almost never lasts past the fourth inning.
  2. The other fact you can take the bank is that a pitcher who starts a game by throwing that many pitches will finish the game with a no-decision.

Someone forgot to tell Chris Bassitt that he needed to conform to the standards of baseball on Saturday. After that rough first inning, the A’s starter pulled things together in the second inning.

Bassitt was back in hot water in the top the third inning as the Astros scored two runs on three hits. When the inning ended, there were two Houston runners on base which means the inning could have been much worse.

Bassitt’s team members really picked him up in the home half of the third inning. The Athletics put five runs up on the scoreboard to stake their pitcher to a three-run lead. The amazing part of the third inning rally was the fact that the A’s scored those runs without hitting a home run.

Bassitt pitched a scoreless fourth inning and gave up one run to Houston in the fifth inning to make it a  5-3 game in favor of Oakland. The consensus in the press box was that we had seen the last of Bassitt for the day.

The Astros sent their starting pitcher – Rogelio Armenteros – to the showers and sent Chris Denvenski to the mound to face the A’s in the bottom of the fifth inning. Oakland took advantage of a walk, hit-by-pitch, two singles, and a sacrifice fly to put three more runs up on the board. That cleared the way for Bassitt to come back out for the sixth inning.

The first hitter to face Bassitt in the sixth inning was Yuli Gurriel who singled to left field and everyone thought that was going to be all for Bassitt, but Bob Melvin left the right-hander in the game. The next batter – catcher Martin Maldonado – hit a ball on the ground to shortstop Marcus Semien who fielded it and threw to Corban Joseph at second to erase Gurriel. Joseph turned and threw to first to get Maldonado for the double play. Bassitt was able to get Jake Marisnick to pop out to Joseph at second to end the inning.

Bassitt finished his six innings throwing a career-high 116 pitches. In his postgame comments, mangers Bob Melvin said that Bassitt had told him he was ready to go to 120 pitches to get the job done. That is just plain grit and determination.

With the help of his team on offense, the A’s won the game 8-4 and the winning pitcher was Chris Bassitt who now has a record of 9-5 for the season with a 3.61 ERA.

Focus on the A’s (71-52)

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Treinen gets Bregman to fly out to end the seventh inning Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
  • Chris Bassitt has posted a 2.36 ERA (11 earned runs over 42.0 innings) since the All-Star Break. The win on Saturday was his first victory over the Astros since July 11, 2018.
  • The Astros cannot keep Matt Chapman off base. Chapman went 3-for-3 at the plate in the game and two of the hits were doubles (31). He also walked once and he reached base after being hit by a pitch. Chapman also recorded his 70th RBI when he walked with the bases loaded in the third inning.
  • Matt Olson had a 2-for-4 game with a walk and two RBI (60). The A’s are 56-31 since Olson came off the injury list on May 7.
  • Catcher Josh Phegley made his return to the field by having a 2-for-4 game for his team. He went on the injured list on July 31. Phegley is batting .329 in 31-day games and .205 in 52-night games.
  • Take note of this factoid: this was only the third Oakland victory of the season in which they did not hit a home run. Bob Melvin said after the game that it is important for his team to know they can win without hitting a long ball.

Checking on the Astros (78-46)

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Yordan Alvarez finishes his HR trot in the eighth inning Photo: Charlie O Mallonee
  • Houston’s designated hitter – 6-foot-5, 242 pound – Yordan Alvarez pounded two more home runs on Saturday. He now has 19 home runs and 55 RBI in his first 52 major league games. That is really scary given the rest of the Astros lineup.
  • Michael Brantley (every team wants a hitter like him) extended his hitting streak to 11 games by going 2-for-4 in the game. He has four consecutive multi-hit games and 50 for the season – the most in the American League.
  • Alex Bregman put his 80th RBI of the year in the book today. He joins Devers, Bogaerts, Kepler, and Rosario as players in the American League with 80-plus RBI.

Up next

Without trying to jinx the A’s, they will go for the four-game sweep of the Astros on Sunday 1:07 PM at the Coliseum in what should be an excellent pitching matchup. The Astros will send RHP Zack Greinke to the mound. Greinke is 12-4 on the season with a 2.91 ERA. He was a winner in his last start in Chicago versus the White Sox when he worked 6.0 innings and allowed only two runs in a Houston 6-2 victory.

The A’s will counter with LHP Brett Anderson who is 10-8 with a 3.95 ERA. This will be his 21st start of the season. Anderson was tagged with the loss in his last start on Tuesday in San Francisco against the Giants. He pitched 6.0 innings allowing two runs (earned) off six hits. He walked none and struck out four.