Tag: Kansas City Royals

A’s Continue to Look For Answers Losing Seventh in a Row to Royals 5-3

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Oakland A’s pitcher TJ McFarland throws to the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of sixth inning at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City on Sat May 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (19-29) again came up short losing their seventh game in a row 5-3 in the second game of their series with the Kansas City Royals (28-19). They did get hits, 11 of them, they did have a solid 2nd and 7th inning but failed to score in either of them. They struggled on the mound and continue to search for ways to turn this season around. It is rapidly turning into a nightmare of epic proportion. The Royals are a very talented team 1.5 games out of first place in the American League Central and they are proving to be a very tough team.

Game recap: The Royals got on the scoreboard in the first inning taking a 2-0 lead. Salvador Perez got the Royals going early with a single driving two runners Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. home. Again, the A’s found themselves trailing going into the second inning something that has plagued them throughout this road trip; falling behind early.

Oakland did tie up this game in the second inning off a Seth Brown home run with Zach Gelof on base. The A’s wasted no time answering the Royals start and knotting this game 2-2.

Oakland would be looking to break the tie but it was Kansas City that answered scoring single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings taking a 5-3 lead going into the ninth inning. Vinnie Pasquantino, and Nelson Velazquez both singled runners home and they topped it off in the seventh inning with a solo Kyle Isbel home run. With only two innings left in the game the A’s had their work cut out for them.

The eighth inning was a three and done for Oakland. Tyler Nevin grounded out, Zach Gelof struck out swinging and J.D. Davis grounded out. The A’s were three outs away from a seventh loss in a row.

With one out, Oakland had runners at the corners; Max Schuemann on third and Brett Harris on first. Oakland just couldn’t get the offense they needed when they needed it. They ended up losing the game 5-3 and had now lost seven straight games in a row.

Both teams finished the game with 11 hits each and it all came down to timing. Oakland had some solid innings. They doubled, homered and singled in that order in the second inning. They also hit three singles in the seventh inning but that was about it for the game. They did have their opportunities in this game but were not able to capitalize on those opportunities.

The A’s Ross Stripling went five innings allowing nine hits and four runs with only two strikeouts. The Royals offense had a nice offensive effort scoring in four frames. Oakland’s relief pitcher Lucas Erceg did give up the Isbel home run in the seventh inning but limited the damage getting out of the inning and closer Michael Kelly gave up a Royals single dismissing the next three at bats. The A’s came a hit or two shy of a win Saturday.

Game notes: Friday the A’s suffered their 6th loss in a row in game one of their series with the Royals. Oakland fell behind early and was not able to score until the ninth inning in a losing 6-2 effort. The A’s struggles seem to be without end right now as they look for answers that they can’t seem to find. They went into game two of this series looking to somehow right the ship and got beat again now dropping the first two games of this series. Oakland pitcher Ross Stripling will take the mound giving up nine hits and four runs in five innings. The Royals will start Seth Lugo was on the hill and he added to Oakland’s woes pitching 5.2 innings giving up six hits and two earned runs.

Sunday Oakland will finish up this series with Kansas City with first pitch scheduled for 11:10 AM. JP Sears will take the mound for Oakland with a 3-2 win/loss record and a 3.96 ERA. Brady Singer will be up on the hill for the Royals also with a 3-2 win/loss record and a 2.84 ERA. The A’s will continue to try and break the losing streak that they are currently on.

Royals Hand A’s Sixth Loss In a Row 6-2

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Oakland A’s Abraham Toro (31) slides but will be tagged out by Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (left) Toro got hung up on a pick off throw to first base and was out at second base by Massey in the top of the first inning at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City on Fri May 17, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (19-28) lost the first game of their series with the Kansas City Royals (27-19) 6-2. Nothing went right for the A’s in this game. They plowed through three pitchers in the sixth inning desperately trying to find answers.

The third pitcher Austin Adams in that rotation gave up a three run homer and that’s just about how things were going for the Oakland A’s Friday. The A’s did have a late game surge but it was too little too late. Shea Langeliers homered, a two-run shot with Abraham Toro scoring but that was all they got in the game.

Game recap: Mitch Spence got the start for the A’s with a 4.26 ERA. On the hill for the Royals; Cole Ragans got the nod with a 4.22 ERA.

The Royals got up on the scoreboard in the first inning taking an early 1-0 lead. Salvador Perez reached first base on an infield single driving Bobby Witt Jr home for the single run which persisted into the fifth inning.

Through five innings the A’s had only managed two hits while the Royals had five hits. Both pitchers were throwing a solid game keeping opposing batters guessing. As the fifth inning progressed T.J. McFarland was warming up in the bullpen and after 4 3/4 innings he relieved Spence. Spence finished with five hits, one run, one walk with four strikeouts.

Through five innings the score remained 1-0 in favor of Kansas City and this was still anybody’s game. This game went sideways for the A’s in the bottom of the sixth when Michael Massey homered, a two run shot and the Royals took a 3-0 lead.

Oakland went through three pitchers in the sixth inning T.J. McFarland went 0.1 followed by Austin Adams for another 0.1 and Brandon Bielak came in and gave up a three run homer for a 6-0 Royal lead and this game was turning into a disaster with three innings left in the game.

Kansas City threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning with runners at the corners but Bielak got out of the inning with no further damage. The top of the eighth inning was uneventful for Oakland with a JD Davis strikeout, a Max Scheumann flyout, a Tyler Nevin walk and a Bret Harris strikeout. Not much was going well for the Oakland A’s to start this series.

The A’s did make a little noise in the ninth inning in a late game surge when Shea Langeliers hit a home run with Abraham Toro but that was just too little too late. The final was 6-2.

Game notes: This weekend the A’s traveled to Kansas City for a three game series with the Royals that opened on Friday night. The A’s just finished off a four game series with the Houston Astros in which they were swept. Oakland is really facing numerous disturbing struggles right now that begins with their offense as well as what is going on with their starters and their bullpen. Unfortunately the success they had been having is a distant memory and they have not found any answers to turn it back into a positive direction.

The A’s will back at it Saturday in the second game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM with Ross Stripling on the mound for Oakland with a 1-7 win/loss record and a 4.98 ERA and Seth Lugo with a 6-1 win loss record and a 1.66 ERA.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s just couldn’t get it done in Houston; Oakland sets their sights in Kansas City

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Oakland A’s starter Joey Estes throws against the Houston Astros line up in the bottom of the first inning at Minute Maid Field in Houston on Thu May 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 In Houston on Thursday night at Minute Maid Field the Houston Astros (19-25) easily handed the Oakland A’s (19-27) 8-1 loss to sweep the four game series.

#2 Rookie Joey Loperfido hit his first Major League home run went in the right field bleachers gave the Astros a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

#3 The Astros who had struggled have turned things around thanks to the A’s. The Astros now are on a five game win streak and have won seven of their last eight games.

#4 For the A’s Abraham Toro hit a double and Zack Gelof hit an RBI single each that wasn’t enough as the A’s have lost a season high of five straight games.

#5 The A’s open up a three game series against the Kansas City Royals (26-19) on Friday night. The A’s have not announced a starter and the Royals will start Cole Ragans (2-3, ERA 4.22) first pitch 4:40pm PT first pitch.

Join Jeremiah Salmonson for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: MLB teams relocation threats are to get local tax money for improvements

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Camden Yards in Baltimore, John Angelos and family who own the Baltimore Orioles want improvements on the ballpark. They were offered $600 million from the state of Maryland and the Angelos wants more they want to build a downtown complex for hotels, retail, offices, and to own the land if not the team will relocate possibly to Nashville (AP file photo)

On the A’s podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, there are now seven MLB clubs who are interested in relocating for various reasons how much of a role did A’s owner John Fisher play in opening the door to relocation in his case Las Vegas and now MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred can capitalize on mass taxpayer municipalities who will feel like hostages to try and keep their teams.

#2 All of sudden the idea of relocating might not be half a bad idea they could get expansion money out of it or best yet they can get state and local tax money to do the relocation and best yet baseball doesn’t have to worry about the relocation fees.

#3 Daniel, tell us about the teams who are interested in moving unless their local government comes up with tax payer money for stadium improvements or to pay for new stadiums are Tampa Bay, Arizona, Milwaukee, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore, Kansas City and the Los Angeles Angels.

#4 It was stated the national past time is not designed to be there for generations of fans, loyal fans, long time season ticket holders it’s there for the mean green almighty dollar and to serve the MLB owners including Fisher.

#5 At Howard Terminal where the A’s originally were going to try and move to before A’s team president David Kaval said the A’s had a binding agreement in Vegas. The A’s are suing longtime Howard Terminal tenant Schnitzer Steel for toxic waste. There is also an investigation into why Schnitzer has had fires at their plant between 2018-2020, there have been five fires involving hazardous materials at the plant. Schnitzer had a most recent fire last Wed Aug 16th.

Join Daniel for the A’s podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com Fridays

Royals beat A’s 4-0 for two hitter avoid getting swept at Coliseum; KC uses four pitchers for shutout

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Oakland Athletics’ Lawrence Butler breaks his bat while grounding into a force out during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Aug 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Kansas City Royals shut down the A’s offense, as the guys from Kansas City shut out the A’s 4-0

The Royals starter Cole Ragans was the winning pitcher. Ragans allowed the A’s two singles in his six innings of work Wednesday afternoon. The A’s used an opener, Adrian Martinez, to start. Martinez went two and 1/3rd innings and allowed three hits and one run. It was not a bad performance, but the A’s offense went to sleep and could not put any runs on the board.

The Royals drew first blood in the top of the third. Royals’ Right-fielder hit his first Major League home run to give the Royals an early 1-0 advantage halfway through the inning. The A’s failed to score in their half of the inning.

The Royals put two more on the board in the fourth. A’s reliever Francisco Perez hit the Royals’ DH Matt Beaty. Perez struck out Royals’ catcher Freddy Fernin for the first out. Drew Waters tripled over Brent Rooker’s glove to drive in Beaty.

The Royals’ third baseman Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly plated Waters with the game’s third run for Kansas City. The A’s went down in order in their half of the fourth. Kansas City leads 3-0.

The Royals added a run in the fifth. The Royals’ best player, shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr., led off the inning with his 26th bomb of the year. Witt also had a single in the game. 

Kagans left the game after the sixth. Three Royals’ relievers did not allow a hit and kept the A’s scoreless. The A’s mounted a threat in the eighth when Royals’ reliever Jackson Kower walked three A’s hitters to lopas the bases.

The Royals brought in Carlos Hernandez to pitch. Hernandez retired pinch-hitter Seth Brown for the second out, and Zack Gelof grounded out to end the inning. The A’s failed to score in the ninth. The A’s lost 4-0.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 36-91. The Royals are 41-88.

The A’s used four pitchers: Adrian Martinez, Francisco Perez, Kyle Muller, and Sean Newcomb. Muller went four innings and allowed one run, Bobby Witt’s homer.

The A’s will be in Chicago on Thursday to start a four-game series against the White Sox. Lefty Ken Waldichul will go for Oakland. Chicago will counter with Jesse Scholtens. The game will start at 5:10 p.m.

A’s win in the battle of the titans 5-4; Oakland hands Kansas City their second loss of series

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Oakland Athletics Aledmys Diaz watches his RBI sacrifice fly during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue Aug 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kansas City (40-88) 020 020 000. – 4. 6. 1

Oakland (36-90). 212 000 00x – 5. 6. 2

Time: 2:37

Attendance: 4,021

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–It’s not often that we get to see the A’s play a game that’s not a mismatch. Their current three game series against the Kansas City Royals affords us the rare opportunity to experience an exception to that unfortunate rule. Monday night’s walk off win over the Royals was an example of how exciting triple A baseball (well, maybe four A ball) can be, even if played by two major league teams. Tuesday’s 5-4 A’s win was another.

Both teams went the bullpen route.The Athletics picked Dany Jiménez, whose major league experience had consisted of 1-1/3 innings with the 2020 Giants before he signed with Oakland as a free agent after the ’21 season, for their opener.

He went 3-4, 3.41 over 34-1/3 frames last year. He made a cameo appearance in last night’s thriller against the Royals, throwing a third of an inning. He brought an 0-1, 6.75 record to the mound with him. Tuesday night, he retired the side in order in his one inning on the mound and then yielded to the just called up from Las Vegas Hogan Harris.

Harris had not been sharp in his last big league start; he gave up eight runs on nine hits, three of which were home runs, in three innings., which gave him a 2-6, 6.98 record for the season. He was a lot better tonight, but still not the type of pitcher you’d want to pin your hopes on. He gave up all of KC’s runs and did it in 3-2/3 innings.

KC used 23 year old Angel Zerpa as a prologue to the entry of 20 year veteran and 2009 Cy Young Award winner, Zack Greinke, fresh off the 15 day injured list He’s approaching his 3,000th career strikeout, but would have been mathematically impossible for him to have reached that milestone tonight. He came to work needing 45 more Ks to do that.

His record on entering the game in the bottom of the fourth was 1-12, 5.53, a sign that this year probably will be the last chance he has to become the 20th member of the 3,000 K Club. If the right elbow soreness that had sidelined him for two weeks still bothered him, his performance tonight didn’t reflect it.

He added five strikeouts to his total in his four inning stint as the bulk pitcher; he now has 2,960, Greinke held the A’s to two hits, one of them of the infield variety, and didn’t walk anyone. He did this on 53 pitches, 38 of them considered strikes.

He wasn’t involved in the decision because the A’s were ahead when he entered the game, and the Royals never caught up with them. John McMillon relieved him and set the A’s down 1-2-3 in the eighth.

Jiménez threw the game’s first pitch at 6:40. The “SELL THE TEAM” chants began at 6:42.

Oakland opened the scoring early, loading the bases with one out in the first when Zerpa hit Jonah Bride with a pitch, walked Zack Gelof, and, after Carlos Pérez flew out to left, Brent Rooker singled Bride home and Aledmys García’s sac fly brought Gelof home.

That 2-0 lead disappeared when Harris entered the fray and Kansas City imitated Oakland by loading the bases with one out; Number nine hitter Kyle Isbel drove in Salvador Pérez and MJ Meléndez with a two out single to center that knotted the score at two all.

Shea Langeliers’ 13th home run, a definitive 412 foot blast to left, to lead off the home second untied the knot. An inning later, Oakland tacked on another pair of runs. With one down, Carlos Pérez smacked a hard shot down the left field foul line that got by third sacker Maikel García. It was scored as an error. Rooker followed with a single to left and Aledmys García doubled to left.

The Royals mounted a comeback in the top of the fifth. Maikel García drew a leadoff base on balls and stole second. After Bobby Witt, Jr., fanned, Michael Massey sent a fly to deep left center that Ruíz caught up with while colliding with the wall.

The wall won; the ball was dislodged from Ruíz’s glove. García advanced to, but had to hold at, third. Salvador Pérez singled both runners home, closing the gap between the teams to 5-4. Meléndez went down swinging, and Spencer Patton, just promoted from the AAA Aviators, replaced Harris on the mound.

Harris retired Nelson Velázquez on a fly to right, retired the side in the sixth, and left with one away in the top of the seventh after a video review showed that Witt had beaten out a throw that otherwise would have resulted in a 6-4-3 double play. Kirby Snead was Patton’s replacement, and the score remained 5-4 in favor of Oakland at the seventh inning stretch.

Trevor May began the KC half of the ninth on the mound, facing the 9,1, and 2 Royal batters. They went down 1,2,3. It was Mays’ 13th save of the season. Harris got the win and now is 3-6, 7.14.

Tonight’s squeaker of a win brings Oakland’s record to W 36-90, .288. The Cleveland Spiders of August 22, 1899 were 18-92, .164, after having been obliterated, 15-6, at Eclipse Park by their hosts, the Louisville Colonels. 63 years later, the infamous and belovèd New York Mets enjoyed a rare victory. They defeated Don Larsen and the Giants, 5-4, at Candlestick. That raised the Amazin’s record to 32-95, 2.52.

The last game of the series will start tomorrow, Thursday, at 12:37. Kansas City intends to send southpaw Cole Ragens (2-1, 2.51). Oakland still hasn’t announced its starter or opener, as the case may be.

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s open series with Royals tonight at Coliseum; Oakland hoping to do better than they did with O’s

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Oakland A’s starter Paul Blackburn will try to get the A’s back in the win column Mon Aug 21, 2023 at the Oakland Coliseum against the Kansas City Royals (AP News file photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 Barbara, Sunday’s game might one that Oakland A’s manager Mark Kotsay would soon like to forget but the history books won’t the loss on Sunday was the A’s 17th sweep surpassing getting swept 16 times in 1978. A’s have a lot of work in front of them to put that record to rest.

#2 The A’s got beat in three lopsided games with the Baltimore Orioles by scores of 9-4, 7-2 and 12-1. In each game the A’s lost by more than five or more runs and the bullpen just didn’t have much to shutdown the Orioles.

#3 On Sunday the A’s just couldn’t figure out Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish who had eight strikeouts and had control over the A’s line up for six innings.

#4 The Orioles Ryan Castlemount extended his on base streak to a 26 times the most in his career. Castlemount had three hits in the ball game including a home run his 17th of the season.

#5 A’s will try it all over again when they face the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday night for a 6:40pm PT first pitch. Tucker Davidson (1-2 ERA 6.39) for the Royals but Paul Blackburn will start for the A’s (3-3 ERA 4.09).

Join Barbara Mason for the A’s podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A Look inside the Baltimore Orioles: O’s Sweep A’s With Dominating 12-1 Victory

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Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jordan Westburg, left, throws to first base after forcing out Oakland Athletics’ Zack Gelof (20) at second on a double play hit into by Athletics’ Jonah Bride during the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Aug 20, 2023 (AP News photo)

Sunday, August 20th 2023

By Troy Ewers

Oakland, CA – At Rickey Henderson Field, it’s the final game of the series between the Oakland A’s and the Baltimore Orioles. If the A’s lose, they will officially be out of playoff contention. The Orioles on the other have the second best record in the MLB behind Atlanta.

On the hill for Oakland is JP Sears and for Baltimore is Kyle Brandish and this game started off with a bang for Baltimore. Ramon Urias grounded into a fielder’s choice which scored the leadoff man Adley Rutschman who got on base with a single. 1-0 Orioles.

When Brandish got on the mound against the A’s, he had one goal, sit them down, and sit them down fast. Brandish struck out the side in the first inning and then in the second and third inning he retired the side with ease, 1-2-3. On the other side of the coin, Baltimore’s bats were  in go mode.

Jorge Mateo hit an inside the park home run, making it 2-0 in the second inning. In the third inning the momentum didn’t end when Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson got back to back hits to start the rally and then they scored when Austin Hays hit a single, but he was thrown out trying to take second, but the damage was done, 4-0 Baltimore.

The fourth inning was no different for the O’s where a leadoff double by Jordan Westburg got the spark going, then after two ground outs and a Rutschman walk, Mountcastle hit a two out, three run home run and the game was blown wide open 7-0 Baltimore.

Rookie Gunnar Henderson hit a triple to follow up the homer, but it looked like a home run that would’ve been his 21st of the season, but after umpire review the ball hit the fence and resulted in a triple. Bradish finally got a hit knocked off of him when Zack Gelof got a one out single, but Seth Brown struck out and Brent Rooker grounded out, so Gelof’s hit didn’t turn into anything.

The A’s took Sears out and put Zach Neal on the mound in the fifth inning and he was able to retire the Orioles side for the first time all game.

The Orioles offense slowed down once Neal got in the game and in the sixth inning A’s first baseman Seth Brown got all three outs. Brown caught a line drive and tagged Ryan McKenna out at first for the double play, then grabbed a grounder from Rutschman to end the inning.

Henderson broke the two inning run drought with a loud dinger of a home run and there was no review with this one, it went 396 feet to deep right field, 8-0 Orioles. The insurance runs didn’t stop for Baltimore after Westburg singled to right and scored Ramon Urias, 9-0 Orioles.

In the seventh inning the O’s changed pitchers from Bradish to Nick Vespi and it didn’t start out well for him after Brent Rooker hit his 20th homer of the season to lead off the inning for Oakland and give the A’s their first run of the game. 9-1.

Jorge Mateo led off the eighth inning with a double and then was brought home by a Rutschman double, 10-1 Baltimore. Gunnar Henderson hit his second double and third hit of the game, but this one counted for an RBI as he scored Rutschman making the game a runaway 11-1 and then Henderson got across home plate when Urias hit a two out single. 12-1.

To close out the game Baltimore brings in former Oakland A’s pitcher Shintaro Fujinami. Even though Fujinami let a leadoff single get past him, a double play followed, and then struck Brent Rooker out looking.

The game ends with Baltimore winning decisively 12-1 with 17 hits and they recorded their eighth sweep of the season and they continue their streak of not being swept. Kyle Bradish walks away with the win (8-6) and JP Sears walks away with the loss (2-10).

The O’s go home with a day off then the following day it’s a series against Toronto. The current record for the Orioles is 77-47 and they maintain their position as the second best record in baseball.

The A’s host the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum. The Royals have not decided on a starter yet and the A’s will be going with Paul Blackburn (3-3 ERA 4.09) for a 6:40pm PT first pitch.

MLB All-Star Game: National League wins 3-2 for first time in 11 years

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Photo credit: @MLB

By: Mary Anne

The wait was finally over as the 2023 MLB All-Star Game was underway at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday.
The National League defeated the American League 3-2 for the first time since 2012. Elías Díaz delivered the game-winning home run in the eighth inning. Díaz earned the All-Star Game MVP.

The NL’s starting lineup featured Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Nolan Arenado, Luis Arráez, Sean Murphy, Corbin Carroll, and Orlando Arcia.

The AL’s starting lineup featured Marcus Semien, Shohei Ohtani, Randy Arozarena, Corey Seager, Yandy Díaz, Adolis García, Austin Hays, Josh Jung, and Jonah Heim.

After a scoreless first inning, Yandy Díaz hit a solo home run to give the AL a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

J.D. Martinez helped the NL tie the game 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning. Martinez scored on a Luis Arráez RBI single.

The AL regained their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Salvador Pérez singled for a 2-1 lead. Pérez now has three All-Star Game hits — the second-most by a Kansas City Royals player.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a game-tying home run, and the NL tied the game 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning. However, Gurriel Jr.’s home run was overturned and called foul. The score remained 2-1 AL.

Elías Díaz hit a two-run shot to give the NL a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning. Díaz’s two-run home run sealed the NL’s win over the AL.

Notes
Zach Gallen struck out Shohei Ohtani for his first All-Star Game shutout.

Up Next
The second half of the 2023 MLB season will start on Friday, July 14.

The San Francisco Giants will visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game series at PNC Park, while the Oakland Athletics will welcome the Minnesota Twins for a three-game series at Oakland Coliseum. The Giants’ series opener will start at 4:05 pm Pacific, while the A’s series opener will start at 6:40 pm Pacific.

Oakland Wins Second Straight Game Against Royals 5-4

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The Oakland A’s held off the Kansas City Royals for the second straight game at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City on Sat May 6, 2023 (@Athletics photo)

Oakland Wins Second Straight Game Against Royals 5-4

By Barbara Mason

After winning game one Friday night, 12-8, the Oakland A’s (8-26) took on the Kansas City Royals (8-26), the A’s came away with 17 hits in game one and were looking to continue more great offensive play. Ken Waldichuk took the mound for Oakland on Saturday night at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City in a 5-4 win. That’s two straight wins for the A’s.

Saturday game wrap up: Kansas City flipped the script and was first up on the scoreboard in the opening inning leading 1-0. Maikel Garcia doubled Vinnie Pasquantino home.

The A’s went on a three inning run scoring in the second, third and fourth innings and leading 5-1. Esteury Ruiz singled to right driving in two runs in the second inning. In the third inning J J Bleday hit a solo home run giving Oakland a 3-1 lead. The A’s were not done.

In the fourth inning they would add to their lead when Ryan Noda tripled Kevin Smith home. Noda would score when Brent Rooker doubled and Oakland had a 5-1 lead.

The Royals would add some real drama in the bottom of the fourth starting with a solo home run from Freddy Fermin. Kansas City would follow that long ball with a Bobby Witt Jr. two- run home run. The Royals had cut the A’s lead to 5-4.

This game would be a one run affair going into the bottom of the ninth. It was all on the line for Oakland with two on base and two outs. It would be pitcher Zach Jackson against Bobby Witt Jr. who had already hit a home run in this game. Jackson won the battle and the A’s had clenched the series and will be going for the sweep Sunday.

This was a great defensive effort for the A’s. They were able to hold onto a one run game for the win.

Mason Miller (0-1 ERA 3.52) will take the mound Sunday for the A’s and Ryan Yarbrough (0-4 ERA 7.40) will go for the Royals. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10 AM at Kaufman.