Tag: Josh Reddick

Vogt, Gray lead the A’s past the Tigers in Game 2

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Justin Verlander was filthy and Sonny Gray surprised everyone with his poise and confidence, but ultimately Stephen Vogt and his inside-out, single through a drawn-in infield stole the show on Saturday night.

Vogt’s single with the bases loaded scored Yoenis Cespedes with the game’s only run in the A’s 1-0 win that evened the ALDS series with Game 3 scheduled for Detroit on Monday.

You come up bases loaded, nobody out, and that’s what you dream of,” Vogt said.  “Look for something over the plate, stay in the middle of the field, just fortunate to come through.”

Prior to his game-winning moment, Vogt looked like a lot of other frustrated hitters on Saturday.  Verlander and Gray not only dominated the proceedings to that point, they embarrassed hitters along the way, combining to strike out 20, marking the first time in Major League post-season history that both starting pitchers struck out at least nine batters and didn’t allow a run.

Verlander and Gray both scattered four singles over the length of their outings, with the Detroit starter going seven while striking out 11.  Gray went eight innings and struck out nine.

Verlander’s big outing wasn’t a surprise, but when he produced one of the best starts of his career, the fact that Gray was able to match him nearly pitch-for-pitch was.   While Verlander backed off the heat just a little and had A’s hitters guessing what pitch was coming next, Gray stuck to his fastball-curveball combo to perfection, blowing up the strike zone and using his devastating curve as his out pitch.

Remember, Verlander’s a 30-year old veteran with six All-Star appearances while Gray’s made just 10 starts at the Major League level.

“You know, Sonny did one heck of a job,” Verlander said.  “He was able to use his angst and energy for a positive and a lot of young guys it works against them.  That’s why veterans usually seem to do better in post-season pressure.  He handled himself like a veteran and it was impressive.”

Both starters allowed a pair of baserunners to reach in the fifth inning, but they turned up the pressure at that point instead of letting the pressure cook them.  With two on and one out, Gray struck out Austin Jackson and Vogt threw out Jose Iglesias attempting to steal second base.  Verlander allowed the first two runners to reach and then retired Josh Reddick and struck out Vogt and Eric Sogard.

In the A’s ninth, Cespedes and Seth Smith singled off Al Alburquerque and Reddick was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Detroit manager Jim Leyland opted for Rick Porcello—normally a starter—at that point and he allowed Vogt’s game-winning hit on a 1-1 pitch.

The A’s avoided falling behind 2-0 in the series and will need to win just one of the two games in Detroit to force a series-deciding Game 5 back in Oakland on Thursday.

Miguel Cabrera went 1 for 4 with a strikeout and Detroit leadoff man Jackson struck out in all four of his plate appearances.  The Tigers’ Don Jackson joined Cespedes and Seth Smith as the only hitters in the game to produce two hits.

On Monday, Jarrod Parker will face the Tigers’ Anibal Sanchez at 1:07 EST in Detroit.

The Roar of the Crowd

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland Fans

Much has been written about the Oakland fans this year. While attendance has not been as robust as

the owners would like(they only have themselves to blame) the attendance was 1.8 million, the highest in many years. The hardcore fans were here for every game and their support of the A’s has been

unbelievable. Many of the nights were cold but the fans showed up and were loud letting the players know that they were behind them all the way. These folks know how to make noise especially when closer Grant Balfour comes into the game. The fans in the right field bleachers go crazy with the “rage.”

Well, the stage is set for the first game of the American League Division series with the Detroit Tigers.

The fans let the Tigers’ players know what they thought of them booing especially loud when they announced Justin Verlander’s name as well as Miguel Cabrera and Al Albuquerque , of all people.

This will be the third time the A’s will be playing the Tigers in the playoff s since 2006 and they are

hoping that the Green and Gold win the first game. The A’s wisely removed the tarps from the third deck and there are 48,401 fans in the park cheering for the A’s. It just got very loud as the team went on the field to start the game.

The Tigers scored three in the first inning that quieted the crowd a bit but it got very loud every time

there was a two strike count on a Tiger hitter. The Coliseum is really rocking with two out. The fans

have the “Let’s Go Oakland.” chant shaking the seats like a 4.0 quake. The place is really rocking as Yoenis Cespedes tripled to left field. The noise is so loud you can’t hear the person sitting next to you.

However, the Tigers’ Max Scherzer has been dominant much to the displeasure of the crowd.

The biggest roar of the night came when Josh Reddick threw out Victor Martinez at home in the top of the sixth preventing the Tigers from scoring another run. The fans need the A’s to get something going

as the crowd roars again as Colon gets out of the jam.

The noise level in the seventh inning was awesome as it reached decibels that these ears have never heard before at the Coliseum until Yoenis Cespedes hit a home run.

Well, the flags are flying and the crowd is into it as we start the bottom of the ninth. The adrenaline is really flowing. The fans are on their feet urging and hoping and praying that the A’s rally. The A’s failed

as they went down in order and the A’s take it on the chin. One thing is for sure, the fans will be back for Game two and they will continue to be loud and let the players know that they are behind them as they have been all season.

A’s late come back falls short, lose to the Mariners 7-5

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By Gabe Schapiro

This Saturday afternoon contest between the Oakland Athletics (95-66) and Seattle Mariners (71-90) quickly turned into a Mariners slugfest. Oakland made it interesting late, but couldn’t quite complete the come back, losing 7-5. Jarrod Parker, who has been fantastic for much of this season, simply didn’t have his best stuff today, getting hit early and often. Parker falls to 12-8 on the year. Opposing starter Brandon Maurer wasn’t great, but he got the job done.

Parker had an easy first inning, but he consistently struggled from there. Seattle started hammering away in the second inning. Raul Ibanez, a notorious headache for the A’s, reached on a walk, and Justin Smoak followed with a home run that just got over the right field wall, giving them a 2-0 lead.

A Coco Crips sacrifice fly got one of the runs back, but the Mariners bats immediately went back to work. Nick Franklin hit a line drive into the right field corner, but the arm of Josh Reddick managed to limit the damage, throwing him out at third trying for a triple. Unfortunately there was little time to appreciate the play, as the very next hitter, Brad Miller, launched Seattle’s second home run in as many innings, recapturing a two-run lead, 3-1.

Two innings later Miller flashed his power again, this time breaking the game wide open with a no-doubt-about-it grand slam, chasing Parker from the game with Oakland down 7-1.

The A’s bullpen managed to restore some order, and stifled the Seattle offense over the final few innings. At the same time, the Oakland bats started to come alive and the Mariners pen started to stumble.

Oakland added a run in the sixth, and then in the seventh back-to-back home runs from Brandon Moss and Alberto Callaspo, Moss’s 30th on the year, brought the A’s to within just two. They loaded the bases in the eighth, but failed to come up with the big clutch hit.

The comeback attempt fizzled out from there, as Oakland went down 1-2-3 in the ninth inning.

With today’s results, it is official that the A’s will get a chance at revenge when they take on the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the playoffs, a rematch of last seasons ALDS. The dates and times are still to-be-determined.

Tomorrow marks the final day of the regular season, as the Oakland and Seattle wrap up this three game series at 1:10 PM.

Game Notes: Jared Lowrie hit his 45th double of the season, two behind Jason Giambi for the single season Oakland record… Moss is the first A’s player with 30+ home runs in a season since Reddick last season, and Jack Cust in 2008….with the A’s loss and a Red Sox win today, Boston has clinched home field advantage through the postseason. Oakland had already clinched home field for at least the ALDS.

Back to back AL West Champions!

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By Emily Zahner

 

OAKLAND, CA—The Oakland Athletics (93-63) didn’t need 9 innings for a reason to celebrate, all it took was three. With their magic number down to one, Oakland needed to either defeat the Minnesota Twins (65-90) this afternoon, or see Texas lose. Halfway through the top of the third, cheers started to erupt throughout the stadium, and yet the out of town scoreboard still read the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals were locked in a 0-0 tie in the 10th. After Sonny Gray surrendered a 3-run homerun by Oswaldo Arcia, the A’s finally got out of the inning. That was when a replay was shown of KC’s Justin Maxwell, with two outs in the 10th, crushing a grand slam that instantly sent the A’s into the post season. Once again, at the expense of the Texas Rangers, the A’s would be crowned the American League West Champions.

Not that the A’s needed the Royals help anyway… Oakland erupted for six runs in the 2nd inning, and then added one more in each of the next five innings. The A’s celebrated their division title on the back of a four-game sweep by means of an 11-7 rout of the Twins. Oakland starter Sonny Gray became the youngest pitcher in A’s history to win a division clinching game at the young age of 23. Gray was elated, “this is the best baseball day of my life… today is a very exciting day.” Even though they all knew their fate in the third, Sonny was determined, saying he knew something had happened in the Texas game, but still had a game to win.  Gray did struggle a bit, giving up four earned runs on seven hits through five innings pitched, but with the offensive tear his team appears to be on lately, it didn’t even matter. Gray isn’t worried about where he will land on the post season roster, just as long as he is a part of the team.

After tonight’s game, the A’s finish off the regular season with a three game series in Anaheim, followed by a three game set in Seattle. From here on out, the A’s will be focused on the post season. A’s manager Bob Melvin is ready, saying “we’ve got some unfinished business going forward… we’re going to enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow”. He has extreme confidence in his squad, “this is an unselfish group that just wants to win.” The players themselves are ready, Australian closer Grant Balfour said “we know how to play and we know how to win”.

Not only did the A’s clinch the West today, but Coco Crisp made history as well. In the 6th inning, after Eric Sogard reached first on a single, Coco walked. The two initiated a double steal, and Coco became only the 10th player in Oakland history to have a 20 homerun-20 stolen base year. Players all through the lineup stepped up huge today. In the 7th spot, Daric Barton went 3-3 with a walk; just a triple short of the cycle. Homeruns were a plenty today, and Oakland saw bombs from Crisp, Barton, and Jed Lowrie. Barton has made a huge impact since being called up from Triple A Sacramento on August 24th, and Melvin is taking notice, “I don’t see how Barton could not be on the post season roster”.

This marks the second consecutive and 16th overall AL West Division title for the Oakland Athletics. If the standings hold, the A’s will most likely face the Detroit Tigers once again in the ALDS. With the way this team has been playing, they’re ready for anyone.

 

Game Notes: Josh Donaldson has reached base safely via hit or walk in 27 consecutive games. Oakland has reached a season high of 30 games over .500. Josh Reddick had two outfield assists today, doubling off Brian Dozier in the 7th and Oswaldo Arcia in the 9th.

A’s end regular season versus Texas with sweep

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September 15, 2013

By Pearl Allison Lo

With their biggest win margin of the series, Oakland engineered their first season sweep at Arlington in four years with a 4-1 finale.

The A’s magic number to clinch the American League West is now at seven games.

In this game, it was the big bats were the difference, producing four of the five runs. Josh Donaldson’s home run in the top of the first proved to be the game-
winner.

Oakland wasted no time getting runners on base as Coco Crisp and Chris Young got on
base before Jed Lowrie brought in the game’s first run with a double play. Donaldson followed suit with a home run to double the A’s lead and extend his
hitting streak to 11 games, a career-high.

Texas scored in the first inning as well, when A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-out single to bring in Elvis Andrus and slice the lead back down to one.

Chris Young re-doubled Oakland’s lead when he hit a two-out home run in the top of the third.

The Rangers’ best chance came in the bottom of the sixth with runners at the corner and one out. Texas used three pinch hitters in the inning, but only Jurickson Profar was successful.

The game stayed 3-1 from the third inning until Oakland tacked on two more runs
in the top of the ninth. Brandon Moss came in to pinch-hit and was walked and
Josh Reddick brought them both to home plate with a home run. Reddick went 2-
for-4.

Tommy Milone, who filled in after the A’s hot-pitching Jarrod Parker was scratched
from the game due to illness, pitched 5 innings, while Ranger’s starter Martin
Perez pitched 6.1 innings.

Game notes: Oakland’s Yoenis Cespedes was also scratched from the game due to a sore shoulder. He would have been the designated hitter. It was a franchise first for Texas to go winless in their six-game homestand. The A’s will continue
Monday with a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels, who they face six times in the next 10 games.

The A’s win in a walk off

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By Jerry Feitelberg

August 19, 2013

PhotoThe Oakland A’s Jarrod Parker and the Seattle Mariners Aaron Harang engaged in an old-fashioned pitchers duel Monday evening in Oakland. The A’s won the game in the bottom of the ninth when Brandon Moss hit his nineteenth home run of the year to win it for the A’s by a score of 2-1.Former A’s pitcher, Harang went seven innings allowing just one one and five hits but the pitching star of the night was Parker. Parker pitched his first career complete game allowing just one on eight hits and struck out eight which was a career high for him. The game summary follows below.

The A’s took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Reddick and Yoenis Cespedes singled to put men on at first an second with no out. Brandon Moss flied out to deep left field. Reddick tagged up and made it to third. Josh Donaldson hit a grounder to the shortstop and reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Reddick to score.

The Mariners tied the game in the top of the seventh. Mariners’ second baseman, Nick Franklin singled to right and advanced to second when Josh Reddick couldn’t field the ball cleanly. Designated hitter,Kendrys Morales, singled to drive in Franklin with the tying run.

The game ended in the bottom of the ninth when Brandon Moss blasted a Carter Capps pitch over the centerfield wall with one out in the ninth to win the game for the A’s. Final score 2-1.

Notes – With the win, the A’s remain ½ game behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West. The A’s are now 7-4 in their last eleven games. It was the seventh walk-off win of the year for Oakland. Jarrod Parker remains unbeaten in his last 15 starts and his record for the season is now 9-6. Brandon Moss had two hits in the game and it was his second walk-off homer this year and fourth in his career.

Game two will be Tuesday night. Sonny Gray will pitch for Oakland and lefty Joe Saunders will take the mound for Seattle. Time of the game was played in 2 hours and nineteen minutes and Attendance was a sparse 11,112.

A’s take the series, defeat Jays 5-1

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By Jerry Feitelberg

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The Oakland A’s finished an unusual four game series with the Toronto Blue Jays by beating them 5-1 on Monday in Toronto. The series was unusual due to the fact that the fourth game of the series wrapped around the weekend and was played on Monday. Getaway games are not usually played on a Monday but there is a first for everything, I suppose.

The A’s came into the game having won two out of three from the Blue Jays. The A’s lost the second game of the series by just one run but winning three out of four on the road is not a bad thing. The A’s had Dan Straily on the hill and he was opposed by J.A.Happ. Happ was making his second start since coming off the disabled list. Straily,who had not completed five innings in each of his last three starts, was terrific as he went 7 1/3rd innings allowing just six hits and one run. Happ was just as good as he went seven innings allowing just three hits and one run. The game was to be decided by the bullpens as neither pitcher got a decision. The game summary follow below.

The A’s got off to a great start as Chris Young, hitting leadoff, blasted his tenth home run of the year to get it going for the A’s in the first inning.

Toronto tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Straily retired the first batter in the eighth but Jose Reyes and Maicer Izturis singled to put men on at first and second. A’s Manager Bob Melvin brought in Ryan Cook to pitch. Cook was facing the always dangerous Jose Bautista. Bautista hit a ball that got by Alberto Callapso, playing third base, allowing Jose Ryes to score. The ball was originally ruled a hit by the official scorer but it was changed to an error later. Cook then retired the next to batters to end the inning. Game tied at one after eight innings.

They A’s broke it open in the ninth. The Jays brought their closer, Casey Janssen, in to pitch the ninth. The A’s roughed him up for four runs. Josh Donaldson singled to get things going in the ninth. Yoenis Cespedes the fouled out. Brandon Moss pinch hit for Nate Freiman and drilled a double down the right field line. The Jays walked Josh Reddick to load the bases. That brought up Callaspo. Callaspo atoned for his error as hit lined a double to right field that scored two runners. Catcher Stephen Vogt singled to drive in the third run of the inning. Eric Sogard then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in run number four of the inning. Sean Doolittle was brought in to close out the game. Doolittle Gave up a single with one out but retired the last two batter to secure the win for the A’s.

Ryan Cook got credit for the win while Casey Janssen took the loss for the Jays.

The A’s remain one game back of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers beat Houston Monday afternoon 2-1. The Astros travel to Oakland for a three game set starting Tuesday night at the O.Co Coliseum.