Tag: Los Angeles Angels

Oakland A’s Tuesday game wrap: The A’s fall to the Angels as the bullpen fails to close out the game.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The LA Angels Geovany Soto took A’s pitcher Sean Doolittle deep for a ninth inning two run homer which led to the Angels victory on Tuesday night

OAKLAND–The A’s wasted a terrific outing by Kendall Graveman Tuesday night as they lost to the Angels by a score of 5-4. Graveman went six innings and allowed just one run and four hits. John Axford did his job in the seventh but Ryan Madson gave up two runs in the eighth and Sean Doolittle did the same in the ninth. The Angels snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and the team came running out of the dugout to congratulate Huston Street for shutting the A’s down in the ninth. Doolittle was charged with a blown save and the loss.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter, Billy Burns, drew a walk from Angels’ starter Hector Santiago. Burns stole second then advanced to third when Josh Phegley flew out to right field. Josh Reddick singled to drive in Burns.

The Angels tied the game in the top of the second. Graveman walked Albert Pujols, who led off the inning. Kole Calhoun singled to right advancing Pujols to third. Graveman got Andrelton Simmons to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Pujols scored on the play.

The A’s scored twice in the bottom of the third. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien hit a home run over left field fence to start the inning. Billy Burns then singled. Burns went to second on a ground out. Burns stole third and scored when Josh Reddick grounded out to first. Pujols thought about throwing home, but there was no way that he could have thrown Burns out. Reddick received credit for his second RBI of the game. A’s lead 3-1 after three.

The A’s added a run in the bottom of the seventh to take a 4-1 lead. Marcus Semien hit his second solo home run of the game. For Semien, it was his third home run of the season, and they have all been solo jobs.

The Angels rallied in the top of the eighth. With one out, Yunel Escobar and Daniel Nava singled to put men on at first and second. The A’s third pitcher of the night, Ryan Madson struck out Mike Trout for the second out. He now faced the ever-dangerous Albert Pujols. Madson had Pujols in a two-strike hole, but the future Hall of Famer came through with a double to left driving in Escobar and Nava.  A’s lead 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth.

The Angels took the lead in the top of the ninth. With one out, A’s closer, Sean Doolittle, walked pinch-hitter C.J.Cron. Angels ‘ catcher Geovany Soto hit his first home run of the year off Doolittle to give the Halos the lead 5-4. The Angels’ Huston Street set the A’s down in order in the bottom to secure the win for Los Angeles.

Game Notes- The hitting stars for the A’s were Marcus Semien with two solo home runs and Josh Reddick with two RBIs. The A’s record drops to 4-5 and, with the win, the Angels improve to 4-4. Game three of the series will be played at 12:35 PM at the Oakland Coliseum. Lefty Eric Surkamp will make his second start of the season for Oakland, and the Angels will counter with Matt Shoemaker.

Time of game was two hours and forty-one minutes. 13,492 fans left the stadium disappointed as the A’s bullpen failed to close out the game.

Trout knocks one out; The LA Angels take Game one, beat the A’s 4-1.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Los Angeles Angels Yunel Escobar comes in sliding past the Oakland A’s catcher Stephen Vogt in the sixth inning of Monday night’s game in Oakland

OAKLAND–The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Oakland A’s Monday night 4-1 in the first game of the three-game series. Angels’ all-star center fielder, Mike Trout, hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to send A’s ace Sonny Gray down to his first defeat of the year. The A’s are still in first place in the AL West with a record of 4-4. The Angels improve to 3-4. The game summary follows below.The Angels scored three runs on three hits in the top of the sixth inning. Sonny Gray was sailing along allowing just two hits in five innings of work before heading into the fateful sixth. With one out, Yunel Escobar doubled to right center field. A’s right fielder; Josh Reddick made a valiant effort to catch the ball, but it just eluded hos outstretched arm. Daniel Nava singled to drive in Escobar with the Angels’ first run of the game. The next batter, Mike Trout, sent a Sonny Gray pitch over the left Centerfield wall for his first home run of the season to put the Angels in the lead 3-0.

The Angels scored three runs on three hits in the top of the sixth inning. Sonny Gray was sailing along allowing just two hits in five innings of work before heading into the fateful sixth. With one out, Yunel Escobar doubled to right center field. A’s right fielder; Josh Reddick made a valiant effort to catch the ball, but it just eluded hos outstretched arm. Daniel Nava singled to drive in Escobar with the Angels’ first run of the game. The next batter, Mike Trout, sent a Sonny Gray pitch over the left Centerfield wall for his first home run of the season to put the Angels in the lead 3-0.

The Angels added a run in the top of the eighth. Albert Pujol;s singled sharply to left to start the frame. With one out, Pujols, believe it or not, stole second for his first stolen base of the year. Hendricks retired C.J.Cron for the second out, but, Angels’ shortstop Andrelton Simmons singled to drive in Pujols with the run.

In the bottom of the ninth, the A’s scored with two outs to avoid the shutout. Jed Lowrie led off with a single. He advanced to second on a ground out. Yonder Alonso flew out to center for the second out. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Lowrie with the A’s first run of the game. Angels’ manager, Mike Scioscia brought in his closer, Huston Street, to face Coco Crisp. Coco flew out to left to end the game. The Angels take the opener of the three-game series 4-1. Nick Tropeano won his first game of the year, and Sonny Gray took the loss. His record is 1-1 for the year.

Game Notes- The Angels snapped the A’s three-game winning streak. The A’s pinch-hitters are 0-for-10 with three strikeouts to start the season. Coco Crisp was 2-for-5 with a triple, and Jed Lowrie went 2-for-four.

The A’s meet the Angels again Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05 pm. Kendall Graveman will pitch for Oakland, and the Angels will send lefty Hector Santiago to the mound. Each pitcher will be seeking his first win of the young season.

Time of game was three hours and five minutes. 13,371 fans watch the A’s go down to defeat.

 

The A’s Woes Continue, Lose to the Angels

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v Oakland Athletics : News Photo

The Oakland A’s lost the final home game of the year to the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 Wednesday at the O.co Coliseum. The A’s needed a win to either stay even with the Kansas City Royals or take the lead in the race for the number one Wild Card spot that would give them the opportunity to have the play-in game played here in Oakland. The A’s lost so things changed slightly. If the KC Royals should lose their game, the two teams would be tied and KC holds the tiebreaker. That means that The Royals will host the one game playoff. At the time of this writing, the Indians took a 5-4 lead after five innings complete.

The A’s ace, Jon Lester , was the choice to start and his mission was to stop the Angels. He pitched well but the Angels take a 3-0 lead after three innings and the A’s defense collapsed giving the Angels two unearned runs to put them in a 5-0 hole. The A’s rallied for four in the bottom of the seventh but they could not break through against the Angels bullpen and it was another tough loss for the Green and Gold.

The Angels didn’t get a double to lead off the game Wednesday as they did in the first two games but that did not stop them from scoring a run in the first inning. Angels wunderkind, Mike Trout singled with one out. He then stole second and was driven in on a Howie Kendrick single to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead.

The Angels took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. Kole Calhoun singled and that was followed by doubles by Albert Pojuls and Howie Kendrick. Kendrick has driven in the all three Angel runs.

A key play occurred in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Donaldson reached on a three base error when Mike Trout dropped his fly ball in center field with no out. Jonny Gomes popped out and that was followed by a short fly ball to short right field. Donaldson, trying to inject some life into the A’s offense, tagged up and sprinted for home. The throw came up the line and it looked like Donaldson avoided the tag but he slid past home and really hustled to get to the plate safely but he was called out. The play is explained in the notes below.

The Angels scored an unearned run in the fifth. Luis Jimenez led off with double and advanced to third when usually reliable Josh Reddick dropped a fly ball for an error that allowed Jimenez to advance to third. Albert Pujols hit a sacrifice fly to right and Jimenez scored. 4-0 in the middle of the fifth.

The Angels scored another unearned run in the 7th. Gordon Beckham singled to start things off for the Halos. Colin Cowgill laid down a bunt that Josh Donaldson threw past first base and down the right field line allowing Beckham to score all the way from first. Cowgill was out trying to make it to third. The play was ruled a single, error on Donaldson and the putout at third went 4-6. Angels own a 5-0 lead with the A’s coming up to hit.

The A’s finally got something going. Derek Norris and Jed Lowrie singled to put men on first and third.

Josh Reddick doubled to drive both of them in. The next batter, Nick Punto, tripled to drive in Reddick with the third run of the inning with one out. After a pitching change, Coco crisp singled to drive in Punto with the A’s fourth run of the inning. Adam Dunn, pinch hitting for Callaspo, struck out to end the inning. A’s trail 5-4 after seven complete.

The Angels bullpen was up to the task and they kept the A’s from scoring in the eighth and ninth to win 5-4.

Game notes- The A’s lost their 26th one-run game of the season which is the most by an A’s team in the last 27 years. The A’s finished the regular season with a total home attendance of 2,003,628. First time since the 2005 season that the A’s reached the 2 million mark. Jon Lester took the loss and his record is now 16-11 for the year and his ERA was 2.46 which is the best of his career. Josh Reddick went 2 for 4 and was 9 for 16 on the home stand.

After the game A’s Manager Bob Melvin said that the play on which Josh Donaldson was tagged out on a play that looked like the catcher missed the tag. Melvin did not have to ask for a review as the umpires decided to look at the entire play which included rule 7.1.3 which looked to see if the catcher blocked the lane as well as the missed tag. If Melvin asked for the review, the only thing the umps could have considered was the tag. In any case, the call was sustained and Donaldson was out. That play turned out to be huge. Had he scored the A’s would have tied the game in the seventh and who knows how the game would have turned out.

The A’s are now ½ game behind Kansas City. Kansas City plays Cleveland later. A win for KC will give them a one game lead and a loss will keep the A’s tied with them for the first Wild Card spot.

The A’s travel to Texas for the final four games of the season. Jason Hammel will pitch against Colby Lewis. Scott Kazmir goes on Friday. Jeff Samardzija on Saturday and Sonny Gray on Sunday. If the A’s make the playoffs, Jon Lester will go for the A’s as they hope to advance to the AL Division Series which will be against the Angels.

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Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

A’s-Angels Rivalry?

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by Jerry Feitelberg]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v Oakland Athletics : News Photo

The Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels have been competing against each other since 1961

when the Angels entered the American League as an expansion team in 1961. The A’s were still in Kansas City then until 1968 when they moved to Oakland. Division play started in 1969. At that time until 1994, there were just two divisions in each league, the AL East and West. The A’s and Angels were,of course,in the AL West. division. In 1994, baseball, due to expansion, increased the number of divisions to three. The American League had 14 teams while the National League had 16. The A’ played in the four team West which included the Angels, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners. In 2013,

the Houston Astros moved from the National to the American League West and each league now had three division of five teams each.

The A’s have a 406-329 advantage over the Angels since moving to Oakland and a record of 455-406

all-time. People would think that there should be a huge rivalry between the two teams like the one that exists between the Dodgers and Giants or Red Sox and Yankees. The natural rivalry is Northern California vs.Southern California but it just doesn’t happen with the A’s and Angels. It used to happen in pro football with the Niners and Rams but that’s not the same since the Rams moved St.Louis. Stanford vs USC in College football is big but the rivalry just isn’t there between the A’s and the Angels.

One school of thought is that the A’s have been so good since they move here to Oakland. The A’s have

won six pennants and four World Series titles while the Angels have one just one pennant and one World Series crown. The Angels have had good teams but the A’s were just better over the years.

The Angels have been competitive the last few years but were not able to win the pennant. Same story

for the A’s. The A’s have made the playoffs a few times since 2000 but have been eliminated in the ALDS each time except for 2006 . The lost four straight to the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.

2014 has been an interesting race between the A’s and the Angels. The A’s played well for the first four months of the season. The Angels got off to a slow start but took over the division lead as the A’s went into a deep slide and , while the A’s have two games left with the Angels, the Angels won the AL West by a large margin. If the A’s make the playoffs and win the play in game, they will have to face the Angels in the ALDS. That series should be a doozy as the competitive juices will be flowing.

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Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

A’s Samardzija “Coming for Blood” With Another Stretch Run Gem

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – For the first time since August 25th, the Oakland Athletics’ Jeff Samardzija saw something by his name Monday night he hadn’t seen in a while; a W.

“This last month has been fun for me,” said Samardzija, thrilled on being in a playoff race despite a recent lack of personal results. “It’s something I’ve been asking for for a long time. I haven’t been in this situation before. I want to take advantage of it. Opportunities aren’t guaranteed; they don’t come around too often, so you don’t want to waste them.”

The July 4th trade acquisition wasted little Monday night, firing seven five-hit innings, allowing only one run to the visiting Los Angeles Angels (96-61) to lead Oakland to an 8-4 win over the 2014 American League West winners. The A’s (86-70) staked Samardzija to an early cushion, scoring six runs on only two hits in the bottom of the first to maintain a one-game lead over the Kansas City Royals for home field advantage as the top AL Wild Card team. The A’s magic number is now down to four.

“I feel like I have thrown 210 innings, that’s for sure,” joked Samardzija. “That doesn’t’ matter at this point. It doesn’t matter how you feel. You owe more to your teammates and to yourself to go out and do your job and do it to the best of your abilities. I feel great.”

Geovany Soto and Stephen Vogt each collected two-run hits in the contest for the A’s. Soto now has five RBIs over his last two games.

Over his previous four starts, Samardzija (5-5, 2.92 ERA) received a scant five runs of support from his offense. The righty went 0-2 over that stretch despite allowing only five runs in 30 innings. He entered play Monday night without allowing a run over his last 16 innings, but saw the scoreless stretch snapped after a Mike Trout sacrifice fly plated an unearned run in the first inning. He has not allowed an earned run over 23 innings.

“He’s aggressive, he’s coming at you,” said Soto of his batterymate. “He’s a shark, he’s coming for blood. Good or bad, he’s coming after you.”

The solitary run came after the LA leadoff man Kole Calhoun reached base on a double, then took third while Jonny Gomes struggled to corral the wall ball. Samardzija would bounce back from his left fielder’s error to retire the next three hitters, but not before conceding the final 90 feet to Calhoun on Trout’s RBI pop out.

After a fielder’s choice found Sam Fuld on first base with one out in the first, Halos starter C.J. Wilson lost any semblance of control over the strike zone. The southpaw issued walks to Josh Donaldson and Jonny Gomes to load the bases, then handed out run-scoring free passes to Derek Norris and Nate Freiman to put the A’s ahead 2-1 with two outs.

After Freiman, Geovany Soto coaxed a full count out of Wilson before knocking in two runs on a single, effectively knocking the southpaw out of the game.

“He’s had some big hits,” said Melvin of his backstop. “You can walk and walk, a run here, a run there. Next thing you know, we pop up. He’s the guy who really came up with the big hit of the inning.”

Wilson toiled through just 2/3 of an inning and 35 pitches, 19 of which were balls, while allowing four walks and six runs (four earned). Wilson (13-10, 4.61), the losing pitcher Monday night, had won his previous four decisions in the limits of Alameda County. He is now 5-2 as a member of the Angels on Oakland A’s home turf over seven starts.

“That’s been something we’ve done very well in the past,” said Melvin. “It was good to see us take some walks, not try to be too aggressive, which maybe we have been a little bit too much recently. We made him work, next thing you know we’re up 6-1.”

Angels reliever Mike Morin appeared to have the third out on a Nick Punto bouncer down the third base, but a poor throw by David Freese found Punto at third base with another two runs across for the home team.

The A’s added another pair of runs in the seventh inning after Stephen Vogt ripped a bases loaded single off Michael Roth. Vogt entered the game as a pinch hitter for Nate Freiman in the third inning and remained in the game at first base.

“When we just put that one up, then put the second on up, I was excited,” said Samardzija. “It felt like, with the way we were going, that was going to be enough. We add four more to that, add some more later in the game. It felt good. When we score early, as I pitcher you get to take a deep breath and pound the zone. You know they need to work at bats and get back in the game. It’s ideal. Any time they want to give me eight, I’ll accept it.”

Los Angeles pulled within four in the eighth inning after Albert Pujols rocketed an Evan Scribner 1-2 delivery into the bleachers in deep left field. Pujols 28th blast of the season, coming with two runners on and two outs, pushed him past the 1,600 mark in career runs batted in. His 1,602 RBIs ranks 33rd all-time.

The A’s seek a third-straight win Tuesday night for the first time since August 7-9, sending Opening Day starter Sonny Gray to the mound. The babyfaced fireballer looks to bounce back from a September 18th 7-2 loss to the Texas Rangers that saw the righty cough up five runs over just five innings. He’ll face LA’s Wade LeBlanc for game two of Oakland’s final three-game homestand of the season.

“We’ve been through a lot this last month,” said Samardzija. “It’s nice to see everyone come together and start clicking. We’ve had great defense, great at bats. Our pitchers have been pitching. That’s what you want. I think we’re doing it at the right time.”

The A’s Sprint to the Finish Preview

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The season, A’s fans, has just thirteen games left to play.The A’s who have not been playing well since the big trade on July 31st have no chance of winning the AL West division. The division will be won by the Los Angeles Angels who have the best record in baseball(93-56). The A’s however can make the playoffs as either the first wildcard or the second wildcard. The A’s won the last two games played in Seattle and with Kansas City losing to Boston Sunday, have given themselves a little breathing room over the Royals who trail the A’s by 1.5 games for the top wildcard slot. The Royals have a game lead over Seattle for the second wildcard spot and Seattle is now 2.5 games behind the A’s and one game behind the Royals. The team with the top wildcard spot will host the one game playoff to decide which team advances to the AL Division Series.

The A’s, as mentioned above ,have thirteen games left to play. Nine of the games will be at home and the last four will be on the road at Texas. The A’s start the nine game home stand against the aforementioned Rangers. The Rangers have had a season of turmoil. Their pitching staff has been decimated by injury and they also lost Prince Fielder, who was their big off-season acquisition, to injury and he was lost for the year. Their manager, Ron Washington, has resigned for personal reasons.

Washington won two AL Pennants and had made the Rangers into a very good time during his tenure as manager.The A’s cannot take the Rangers lightly and the Rangers would love to knock the A’s out of the playoffs. A’s manager Bob Melvin has adjusted his pitching rotation so that Sonny Gray will pitch game three of this series and Gray will pitch again against Texas in the last game of the regular season. What this means is that Jon Lester will be pitching in the one game playoff for the A’s. Jon has a reputation as a big game pitcher and has two World Series rings to show for it. Also, Lester was named AL player of the week as he went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.29.

The pitching match ups for the Texas series will be Scott Kazmir (14-8,3.32) going against Nick Tepesch(4-10,4.47) on Tuesday. Wednesday’s pitchers will be Jeff Samardzija (4-5,3.41) against Derek Holland(1-0, 0.86). Holland was a regular starter for Texas but he missed almost all of the season due to injury but be can be one tough customer and the A’s know it. They know beating Holland will not be easy. The Thursday game will feature Sonny Gray (13-8,3.18) against Nick Martinez)3-11,4.93.)

The A’s then play three inter-league games with the NL East last place Philadelphia Phillies. The Philies are 69-80 for the year but they would love nothing better than to come here and beat the A’s and knock them out of the playoffs. The A’s then finish the home stand against the Angels who, by the time the three games series will be played, should have the clinched the division crown. The A’s the travel to Texas to play a four game series and finish the season.

The A’s have been on a roller coaster ride this season. They had the best record in baseball the first four months of the season but they stopped hitting in late July and have not played well the last six weeks. They have played a lot of one run games during that span and lost most of them as they could not buy a key hit or get anything going to turn the slide around. They took two out of three from Seattle over the weekend and they did not get beat by Felix Hernandez. Hernandez pitched well but the A’s won the game after his departure. Hopefully, they will not have to face him in the one game playoff. What the A’s need is for the team to step up their game. Do the little things that win games. Small ball if necessary,for sure. Good defense is a must. The A’s have been making costly errors during the downturn and that has to stop. Good pitching is a must. The starters must get their “A” game going and the bullpen has to do its job when called upon and lastly clutch hitting. If they can put all those ingredients together, they can go far in the playoffs. If not, it will be a long winter wondering about what might have been. It’s time for the fans to come out to the park and back the team with all the support and noise that they can provide and let’s hear them chant “let’s go Oakland.”

The Angels shut out the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oaktown boys had another tough night Friday in Anaheim as they lost again to the Los Angeles Angels 4-0. The A’s sent their ace, John Lester, to pitch for them and while he pitched well, it was not enough to right the ship. The Angels had their ace, Jered Weaver, going for them and Weaver went seven innings allowing just three hits and no runs. The A’s now have their work cut out for them as they are now three games back of the Angels and with two games left in this series, the A’s will leave Anaheim 5 games back if they lose the next two, three games back if they split the two games or one game back if they win both. Jeff Samardzija will pitch Saturday against TBA and Scott Kazmir goes on Sunday against Matt Shoemaker.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning. The Angels got two runs in the bottom of the fifth when Erick Aybar led off with a single. The next batter Chris Ianneta, hit a fly ball to deep

left center field. The A’s center Fielder, Coco Crisp, made a valiant effort to make a leaping catch as the ball was going over the fence. Crisp jumped as high as he could and he actually caught the ball in his glove but his momentum carried him full force into the wall causing him to drop to the ground. He was not able to keep the ball in his glove and it fell to the ground for a two run home run. Coco was

visibly shaken up on the play and was in a lot of pain. Bob Melvin and the team trainer raced out to center field and Coco had to leave the game.

The Angels scored another run in the sixth as the A’s made two errors in the inning and the Halos were able to load the bases with two out. Lester walked Chris Ianneta to force in the run. Lester was done for the night going six innings allowing four hits and three runs one of which was unearned. Evan Scribner came in to pitch the seventh and with two out, future Hall of Fame player, Albert Pujols, blasted his 24th home run of the year to left field. For Pujols, it was his 516th home run of his fantastic career.

Joe Smith pitched the eighth and Huston Street pitched the ninth for the Angels to secure the win.

Final score 4-0 in favor of the Halos.

Notes: Jon Lester took the loss and his record for the year is now 13-9. The Angels’ Jered Weaver picked up the win and is now 15-7 for the season. The A’s will now have their first losing month since May 2012 ending a streak of fourteen consecutive winning months. They are 12-15 for August with two games left to play this month.

After the game, Coco Crisp, when asked about the play that he almost made on the ball that went over the fence, said “ just tried to time it…hit the wall and caught it but didn’t know if I had it until I dropped down.” He also said “ we’re going through a rough stretch right now but we’ve been playing hard.”

A’s manager Bob Melvin echoed that when he said”things aren’t going our way right now.” When asked about Lester’s performance he “ though he did real good.”

The A’s need to get the offense going. Now that Yoenis Cespedes is in Boston, it is imperative to other players to pick up the slack as managers around the league are not going to pitch to Josh Donaldson.

Donaldson has been hot in his last five games going 8 for 16 but Weaver would not give Josh anything to hit in the sixth inning when Donaldson had a man in scoring position. Weaver ended up walking him

to prevent him from doing any damage.

Game three of the four game series will be played Saturday night at 6:05pm

It’s Crunch Time for The A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s continue to flounder. They lost to the New York Mets on wednesday and have now lost eight of the last 10 game played to fall 1 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Angeles in the AL West. The road doesn’t get any easier for the A’s as they meet the Angels for three this weekend in Oakland then go to Houston for three and then four more with the Angels. The A’s must take five out of seven from the Angels in order to gain ground. If they go 3-4 or 4-3 they will still be in second place in the division.

The other factor will be the rapidly improving Houston Astros. Last time the A’s went to Houston they lost the series 2 games to one . The Astros as mentioned are improving and will not be a pushover for the A’s.

In the meantime, the Angels were dealt a blow when pitcher Garrett Richards went down with a knee injury and may be out for the season. The Angels have the edge over the A’s when it comes to hitting. Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, David Freese , Kohl Calhoun and even the slumping Josh Hamilton present a formidable lineup. The Angels’ starting pitching took a blow with the loss of Richards but Jered Weaver, C.J.Wilson, Matt Shoemaker, Hector Santiago and Michael Roth may not look as strong as the A’s rotation but they are getting the job done. The Angels’ bullpen was bolstered by the arrival of Jason Grilli from Pittsburgh and Huston Street from San Diego.

The A’s pitching has to right the ship. Sonny Gray is in a slump right now. Jon Lester won his first three starts for the A’s but lost his time out. Jeff Samardzija was bombed by the Mets Wednesday. Scott Kazmir won his last outing and Jason Hammel has not pitched well at all. The A’s were able to bump Hammel out of a start due to two off days this week. It will be up to Gray, Lester and Kazmir to stop the Angels this weekend and will have to do it again next week in Anaheim.

Lastley, the A’s have a five game lead as the first wild card team but guess who would be the second wild card if the season ended today? That’s right-the Detroit Tigers and the A’s woul

A’s preview

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by Jerry Feitelberg

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The Oakland A’s have a day off Monday as they return home after a disastrous road trip to Kansas City and Atlanta. The A’s went 1-6 n the trip and have lost six in a row. Their new ace, Jon Lester, lost his first game as an Athletic and the rest of the starters also lost. The A’s need Scott Kazmir, Sonny Gray, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to get back in the groove and get some wins for the A’s. Hammel has not pitched well for the Green and Gold and he may be headed out of the rotation. A’s manager, Bob Melvin, and his staff will have to decide to let Hammel continue as a starter or replace him with either Jesse Chavez or Drew Pomeranz. Chavez started the season well but seemed to have cooled down as he pitched deeper into the season. Pomeranz was also performing well until he broke his non-throwing hand in a fit of youthful anger. Bet he won’t do that again.

In the meantime, the A’s have called up Andy Parrino from Sacramento to play shortstop as Jed Lowrie fractured his index finger on his throwing hand and is on the 15 day disabled list. One of the big problems for the A’s is that the hitting has stopped and they are not getting the same run production as they had earlier in the season. There are several factors for that. Many people will say that the trade that sent Yoenis Cespedes to Boston has caused the decline in hitting. The argument has some merit as the A’s were 65-35 with him in the lineup this year and 228-131 over the last 2 ½ years. Also, the A’s have gone 7-10 to drop into a virtual tie for first place with the Los Angeles Angeles for the AL West lead.

Others will say that the A’s have a solid enough team to win without Cespedes and they would have had to do that had Cespedes been injured. The A’s starting pitching and bullpen are strong. The five starters with the exception of Hammel are very good as has the bullpen with Ryan Cook, Luke Gregerson and closer Sean Doolittle. Fernando Abad and Dan Otero have also made great contributions all year long.

The A’s play the New York Mets on Tuesday and Wednesday at home in Oakland. The Mets have an overall record of 59-67 and are in fourth place in the NL East. The Mets have lost six out of their last ten but , in baseball, you never know what can happen and the Mets would love to put a wrench in the A’s plans. The A’s have a day off on Thursday but then begin an important three game series with the LA Angels starting Friday night at the O.co. The A’s then travel to Houston for three and the Astros are no longer pushovers. The last time the A’s went to Houston they lost two out of three and then from Houston it’s off to Anaheim for four more games with the Angels. These A’s have to get their act together and start winning in order to win the division. Keep in mind the Seattle Mariners are now starting to make a run and are now just 5 ½ games back. They have great pitching and are gelling at just the right time. The Mariners have won eight out of the last ten and picked up five games in the standings. The A’s face the Mariners six more times this year. They play them immediately after the Angel series at home and then travel to Seattle on September 12th for the final three games between the teams.

Yes, the A’s may be tired and they may not be hitting but it is gut-check time. If the want to win the division they will have to put the pedal to the metal. If the don’t win the division , they will have to play a one game playoff game with the second wild-card team and anything can happen. Let’s hope the A’s regroup and do what they have to do to win the division. People said the A’s were favorites to be in the World Series when they acquired Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes. However, games aren’t won on paper. They are won on the field and the A’s better get that through their heads or they may end up on the outside looking in.

Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

Time for the A’s to make Hay

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Time for the A’s to Make Hay

The A’s beat the lowly but pesky Houston Astros on Thurs and they upped their major league best record to 63-38. After the game the A’s embark on a six game road trip to Texas where they will face the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros again. The Rangers, if you can believe it, have a worse record than the Astros. The Rangers’ pitching staff has been decimated by injury and the team is just not very good right now. There is some speculation that Ranger Manager Ron Washington will be fired after the season. The Rangers’ top acquisition in the off season was Prince Fielder. The big lefty slugger is out for the season and the Ranger offense has been weakened.

The A’s will send Jason Hammel to pitch Friday night. Hammel is looking for his first win as an A since coming to Oakland in a trade with the Cubs. Sonny Gray (11-3, 2.72) will pitch game two and Scott Kazmir(11-3, 2.32) will go in the finale. The Rangers are sending out three pitchers with losing record. Jerome Williams(1-4, ERA over 6) will pitch Friday night. Nick Tepesch(1-2,4.75) goes on Saturday and Miles Mikolas (1-6,7.48) on Sunday. The A’s then travel to Houston to face a team that played them tough in the three game series that concluded on Thursday but the A’s took two out of three and clobbered them 13-1 in the finale. After that, the A’s come home to face the Kansas City Royals for three, the Tampa Bay Rays for three and four with the Minnesota Twins. The only team without a losing record is the Royals but they are at the .500 mark with a record of 50-50. The Rays are four games under .500 but have as of July 24th won seven in a row. The Rays had a lot of injuries earlier in the season but are playing well as those players are now healthy. The Twins are in last place in the AL Central with a 46-54 record.

The Angels, who are now 2 ½ games behind the A’s, start a four game series against the Detroit Tigers

Thursday and will have to face Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello. The Angels then o on a tough road trip as they travel to Baltimore to play the Orioles again. The Orioles took two out of three in Anaheim and are in first place in the AL East. The Angels then go to Tampa Bay to face the Rays and as noted above, the Rays are playing well and could be a problem for the Angels. The Angels road doesn’t get any easier as they return “home” to play a four game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first two games of the series will be in Los Angeles and the last two games will be in Anaheim. The Angels then have to face the Boston Red Sox for three. The Red Sox have been playing better as of late and would love to upset the Angels apple cart.

It will be up to A’s manager, Bob Melvin, to keep his troops focused. The A’s have to feast on these team and they could put a lot of distance between them and the Angels. The Angels have the second best record in the American League and know that they can’t afford to lose any of these series as they want to keep pace with the A’s. The season is about two thirds complete. The trade deadline happens a week from today and the stretch drive to the playoffs begins. Should be a lot of fun and, hopefully,

the fans will come out and support the best team in the American League, the Oakland Athletics.