Tag: Matt Olson

A’s outlast the Rangers 8-6 in a slugfest on Saturday at the Coliseum

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics’ 61-0 winning streak when they held a lead after seven innings was on the line Saturday versus the Texas Rangers. The A’s had a 6-4 lead after seven innings, but Texas veteran third baseman Adrian Beltre had other ideas about Oakland continuing that winning streak.

Beltre came to bat in the top of the eighth inning with teammate Nomar Mazara at first and his team trailing by two runs. With the count at 0-2, Beltre hit a Fernando Rodney pitch down the left-field line into the seats for a two-run home run to tie the game at 6-6. It was home run No. 11 of the season for Beltre and his second of the game (his first multiple home run game of the season). The crowd of 20,504 became very concerned.

The Rangers brought RHP Chris Martin into the game from the bullpen. The first batter he had to face was Matt Olson who entered the game in the seventh inning for Mark Canha. Olson hit the 0-1 pitch from Martin over the fence in left field for his 25th home run of the year to give the A’s a 7-5 lead. After Chad Pinder flied out, Jonathan Lucroy singled. Ramon Laureano struck out for the second out of the inning. Matt Chapman, who leads the majors in doubles since the All-Star Break, hit an RBI-double to right field that allowed Lucroy to score the A’s eighth run of the game to give them an 8-6 lead.

The A’s went to the top of the ninth with an 8-6 lead which meant it was “Treinen Time.” Treinen took the mound and struck out the first two hitters he faced. Shin-Soo Choo then stepped into the batter’s box and hit a soft line drive to Marcus Semien for the final out of the game.

The A’s won the game 8-6 and upped their record for the season to 86-57. They have now won three consecutive games and have guaranteed that they will win this series with the Rangers. The A’s are now 11-0-2 in their previous 13 home series which is the longest single-season home series unbeaten streak in Oakland history.

Ryan Buchter (4-0) received credit for the victory and Blake Treinen of the A’s picked up his 37th save. Chris Martin (1-4) of the Rangers was hung with the loss.

The Astros beat the Red Sox on Saturday 5-3 in Boston so the A’s will stay 3.5 games back of Houston. The Mariners host the Yankees on Saturday night.

Bob Melvin analyzes the game

Performances worth remembering

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  • Khris Davis hit his 41st home run of the season in the home half of the first inning. He now has 10 round-trippers off Rangers pitching.
  • Jed Lowrie hit his 36th double of the year in this contest, which ties him with Nick Swisher for third most for switch hitters in A’s history.
  • Stephen Piscotty doubled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
  • Matt Olson’s 25 home runs lead the American League for most HR’s by a first baseman.
  • Chad Pinder hit his 11th home run of 2018 in the sixth inning – a solo shot.
  • The Rangers Shin-Soo Choo has reached base in 15 out of 17 games versus the A’s this year.
  • Jurickson Profar hit his 16th home run of the season in the fourth inning off Jackson.

Pitching was a group effort in this game

A’s

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  • Starter Edwin Jackson was credited for just 3.0 innings and was dinged for four runs (all earned) off five hits. He struck out five and walked just one but gave up two home runs.
  • Shawn Kelley was back after his kitchen accident and pitched a perfect inning with two K’s.
  • Lou Trivino worked a perfect inning of relief.
  • Fernando Rodney was charged with blown save for giving up the two-run shot to Beltre.
  • The A’s used eight pitchers.
  • Oakland pitching gave up six runs (all earned) off six hits. They walked just one batter. A’s pitchers struck out 12 Texas hitters. They did give up three home runs.

Rangers

  • The Rangers used five pitchers in the game.
  • All but one of those hurlers gave up at least one earned one. Ouch!
  • Eddie Butler was the only reliever not to give up a run.
  • Texas pitchers gave up eight runs (all earned) on nine hits. They struck out seven and walked six. The Rangers also issued three home runs to A’s hitters.

Up next

The series wraps tomorrow at 1:05 PM when the Rangers send RHP Ariel Jurado (2-4, 6.00) to the mound to face the A’s RHP Trevor Cahill (6-3, 3.60).

It’s the bullpen to the rescue! A’s beat the Mariners 7-5 on Friday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Final SEA FRI
Photo: @NBCSCA

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics scored five runs off five hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead on the Seattle Mariners. Matt Chapman hit his 22nd home run of the season off of M’s starter Mike Leake. Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run home run (19) off Leake. Matt Olson and Marcus Semien each hit an RBI double. Everyone in the Coliseum knew that this game was going into the “W” column for the A’s.

Everybody in the Coliseum knew that the game belonged to the A’s except the 25 guys in blue uniforms from Seattle. The M’s put up a run in the top of the second inning and then came back for more in the top of the fourth inning. Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back home runs off A’s starter Mike Fiers who did have his best stuff on Friday night. Then, Ryon Healy–the former Athletic–hit a two-run home run to tie the game at 5-5. Everything changed.

The A’s bullpen took over for Fiers and gave their team a chance to get it together.

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Chapman rounds third after hitting his 22nd HR of the year Photo: @Athletics

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Oakland retook the lead when rookie outfielder Ramon Laureano delivered a sacrifice fly that allowed Matt Olson to score the go-ahead run. The A’s then added some cushion when Jed Lowrie hit a one-out double and then scored on a Khris Davis RBI single.

The bullpen held on to that 7-5 lead to get the A’s (81-55) the win.

This critical four-game AL West series is now tied at one game apiece.

The win was awarded to Yusmeiro Petit (6-3) who relieved Fiers and was the pitcher of record when Olson scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Blake Treinen picked up his 34th save of the season. Treinen now sports a 0.94 ERA.

Mike Leake (8-9) was hung with the loss for Seattle (75-60).

This is how the A’s pitching line is going to look the rest of the season
Mike Fiers only lasted 3.2 innings in his start on Friday night. A’s manager Bob Melvin certainly wants his starting pitchers to go at least five innings per start, but five innings are all that may be required from the starters for the A’s to be successful. The 2018 A’s are all about the bullpen.

In the win 7-5 win over Seattle on Friday night, Oakland used 5 relief pitchers. It was a parade of fresh arms stepping up on the rubber to deliver a devastating variety of pitches designed to stop opposing hitters in their tracks.

Yusmeiro Petit, Lou Trivino, Fernando Rodney, Jeurys Familia and Blake Treinen combined to pitch 5.1 innings of shutout baseball. They allowed the M’s just two hits while walking just two batters and striking out seven. They slammed the door on the Seattle offense to give their A’s the chance to win the game, which they did 7-5.

Every game will not feature five relievers, but you can expect to see games that feature three men out of the bullpen on a regular basis. The help that is coming with the expanded September rosters is going to be most welcome.

The standings are shaken up again
This A’s win really changed the standings in the AL West. The Astros lost, the A’s won and the M’s lost. Oakland is now just 1.5 games behind Houston for first place in the West. Seattle falls 5.5 games back of the A’s in the West and 7.0 games behind Houston.

By losing, the M’s also are now 5.5 games down to the A’s in the Wild Card race. These head-to-head division matchups are critical to a team’s standing when fighting for a post-season slot.

Food for your brain

  • Matt Chapman hit a home run and a double to give him a major league leading 22 extra-base hits in August. Those 22 extra-base hits also tied a franchise record.
  • Stephen Piscotty’s home run was just his fourth round-tripper hit in Oakland this season. He has hit 19.
  • Mike Fiers worked only 3.2 innings which was his shortest outing for the A’s.
  • Khris Davis ended a 0-for-19 streak with his RBI-single in the sixth inning.
  • The A’s are 57-0 when leading after seven innings.
  • The M’s Mike Leake has not won a game since June 23rd in Boston.
  • Nelson Cruz hit his 16th career home run at the Coliseum on Friday night which is the most among active players.
  • Dee Gordon now leads the American League with 30 stolen bases.
Ramon vs Sea
Laureano scores in the 1st inning vs Seattle Photo: @Athletics

 Up Next
The A’s and Mariners will play game three of this crucial four-game series on Saturday night at 6:05 PM PDT.

The M’s will send LHP James Paxton to the mound. Paxton is 10-5 on the season and will be making his 25th start of the year. He has a 3.68 ERA.

The A’s will counter with RHP Daniel Mengden, who was recalled from Triple-A Nashville last Monday. This is Mengden’s second tour of duty with the big club. Mengden has a 6-6 record on the year with a 4.28 ERA.

A’s are “double trouble” for Astros as they win 7-1 and tie Houston for first place

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Davis-Melvin
Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon and are now tied for first place in the American League West. Fans were in disbelief that the A’s (74-49) were in contention for the Wild Card in the AL, but now, the Green and Gold are fighting to win their division. Virtually none of those fans thought that was a possibility before the season began.

Strong starting pitching and power hitting was the key to the A’s win on Saturday.

Trevor Cahill (5-2) started the game for Oakland. He has been pitching the lights out in the Coliseum with an ERA under one at home. Cahill continued his mastery of opponents in his home stadium as pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Astros just one hit. The right-hander struck out seven batters and walked just one. Cahill threw 100 (62 strikes).

The A’s also went on another power surge on Saturday as they hit eight doubles which tied an Oakland single-game record, but you were not allowed to hit just one double – you had to hit two. All of the extra base hits were recorded by four A’s hitters. Khris Davis (24), Stephen Piscotty (33), Matt Olson (26) and Josh Phegley (6) hit all of the “two-baggers” for Oakland versus Houston. The A’s posted a total of 11 hits in the contest.

More A’s

  • The A’s were trailing the Astros by 12 games back on June 18. Today they are tied for first place.
  • Oakland’s 74-69 (.602) record is tied for third best in the majors. It is tied for fourth place in A’s history after 123 games.
  • Khris Davis’ double in the first inning snapped a 0-13 hitless streak.
  • Matt Olson’s two doubles extended his hitting streak to six games.
  • Matt Chapman’s 14 game hitting streak and 30 game on-base streak came to an end on Saturday when he went 0-for-4 in the game.
  • Add on Trevor Cahill: he retired 20 of the 22 batters he faced in the game. The A’s have won Cahill’s last seven starts.

Astros’ notes

  • The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning which means the Astros opponents have now outscored them 56-55 in the first inning.
  • Alex Bregman’s road on-base streak continues as he picked up a base-on-balls on Saturday. His streak currently stands at 38 games.
  • The ‘Stros recorded just two hits in their loss on Saturday. It was just the third time this season they posted two or fewer hits in a game.
  • Dallas Keuchel (9-10)–who was charged with the loss–saw his four-game road winning streak come to an end.

Up Next

The A’s and Astros wrap up the three game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT on Sunday.

The Astros will send RHP Justin Verlander (11-8, 2.52) to the mound in an attempt to salvage one win in the series. The A’s will go with their ace LHP Sean Manaea (11-8, 3.44). Manaea won his last start on Monday in Oakland over the Mariners 7-6. He is 1-1 in three starts versus the Astros this season.

Olson’s First Walk-Off Homer Puts A’s One Game Back of Astros After 4-3 Win in 10 Innings

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @MLB_News247

By: Matt Harrington

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s now have a chance to exit the weekend series against the Houston Astros with a one-game lead in the American League West, and momentum is on their side. The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a play at the plate, then Matt Olson launched his first career walk-off hit, a homer of Tony Sipp, in the bottom of the 10th for a 4-3 win over the division leaders at Oakland Coliseum on Friday night.

Olson pulled the A’s to within one game of the division lead after working a full count off Sipp. Sipp’s 3-2 pitch, a slider low in the zone just below the belt, found its way over the right field wall for Olson’s 23rd longball of the year and Sipp’s first loss of the campaign (1-2, 1.80 ERA). He almost didn’t get a chance for his heroics. The A’s trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. The leadoff man Mark Canha grounded out against reliever Hector Rondon to leave the A’s two outs away from defeat. Pinch hitter Chad Pinder walked, then was replaced by rookie Ramon Laureano, a pivotal substitution by A’s manager Bob Melvin.

The next batter, Nick Martini, laced a ball to right, with Laureano racing home from first. Josh Reddick’s throw home beat him to the plate and Astros catcher Martin Maldonado appeared to block off the plate perfectly to tag out Laureano as he dove headfirst across home. Home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez thought so, too, calling Laureano out.

The rookie, however, felt he had gained the plate legally, gesturing as soon as he rose from his slide. His manager challenged the play, and following a lengthy review, Laureano was deemed both correct and safe and Oakland was tied 3-3. Blake Treinen (6-2, 0.87 ERA) worked around a runner at second with two outs, while striking out three Stros to pick up his sixth win of the year.

The A’s had to play catch-up three times. They trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth after starter Edwin Jackson gave up solo homers Alex Bregman and Maldonado in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. They loaded the bases against Houston starter Charlie Morton with no outs, but Jonathan Lucroy only plated one runner on a double-play grounder. Matt Chapman would plate another run in the inning, but the big damage was avoided with the A’s forced to settle for the 2-2 tie.

The tie would be short-lived, as Houston scored in the top of the sixth. Lou Trivino struck out Carlos Correa but walked Marwin Gonzalez and Evan Gattis to put himself in trouble. Reddick capitalized against his former team, singling in Gonzalez. Trivino wriggled out of the jam trailing 3-2 after getting first baseman Tyler White to bounce into a double play.

The A’s don’t need to do any scoreboard watching if they want to lead the division by the end of play Saturday. They just need Trevor Cahill to take the bump and stymie the Houston batters. Oh, and they also need to beat Dallas Keuchel, a former Cy Young award winner.

The A’s and Astros will square off for game two Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

A’s crash and burn in the road opener in Cleveland Friday night, losing 10-4

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Matt Olson hit his 19th home run of 2018 in the second inning Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics have feasted on the American League Central Division. One of the reasons the A’s record improved so dramatically in late June and early July was their performance versus the AL Central teams.

On Friday night, it looked like that feast would continue as the A’s jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on home runs by Dustin Fowler in the first inning and Matt Olson in the second inning. Oakland (48-40) appeared ready to make it a short game for Indians starter Carlos Carrasco.

Cleveland (49-37) had a completely different idea about the game. They put a run up on the board in the bottom of the second which started them on a march to victory. The Indians added three more runs to their total in the home half of the third inning to take a 4-2 lead, and they would never relinquish that lead.

The Indians would score six additional runs while the A’s would add two runs to their total. Cleveland won game one 10-4.

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It was a sellout crowd at Progressive Field in Cleveland Photo: @Indians

This game was about hitting

Cleveland

  • The Indians scored their 10 runs on just 10 hits — that’s efficiency.
  • Cleveland recorded 10 hits and struck out just four times. That is not the norm in the days of teams recording more strikeouts than hits.
  • They scored those 10 runs and had only three batters walk.
  • Cleveland went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left just two runners on base.
  • The Indians scored their 10 runs without hitting a home run. Their key weapon was the two-base hit. They hit three doubles in the game
  • Lindor, Brantley, Ramirez, and Encarnacion all had two-hit games. Ramirez and Encarnacion recorded three RBI each.

Oakland

  • The A’s scored their four runs off 11 hits. Only one Oakland batter walked.
  • The A’s hitters also struck out 11 times for a one hit to one strikeout ratio — not unusual this season but not what any manager wants to see from his team.
  • Mark Canha led the Oakland hitting attack going 3-for-4 with an RBI (33). One of his hits was his 14th double of the season.
  • Fowler, Olson, and Semien all had two-hit nights. Fowler also picked up two RBIs.
  • Oakland went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

It was a night of many pitchers

Indians

  • Carlos Carrasco (9-5) made the start for Cleveland and picked up the win. He worked 5.1-innings giving up three runs (all earned) on seven hits. Carrasco struck out seven A’s and walked none. He did allow two home runs.
  • Cleveland used five relief pitchers. Four of them pitched less than an inning.
  • Dan Otero — who pitched for the A’s for three seasons — pitched the final two innings of the game for the Indians.
  • No save was awarded.

Athletics

  • Paul Blackburn started the game for the A’s and worked 4.0 innings. He gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits. Blackburn struck three and walked one. He was charged with the loss and his record falls to 2-3.
  • Yusmeiro Petit worked 2.0 innings of no-hit baseball. He walked one and struck out one.
  • Emilio Pagan really struggled as he pitched 0.2 innings allowing four runs (all earned) on just three hits.
  • Santiago Casilla came in to close out the seventh inning for Pagan.
  • Chris Hatcher worked a perfect eighth inning for Oakland against the Indians.

Up next

The A’s and Indians will play game two of the three-game series on Saturday at 1:10 pm PDT. The “ageless one” Edwin Jackson (1-0, 2.13) will start for Oakland and the very tough Corey Kluber (12-4, 2.64) will take the hill for the Indians.

The winning streak continues as the A’s crush the Indians 7-2 on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Canha bangs an RBI-double off the left field wall Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND, Calif. — The well-traveled veteran pitcher Edwin Jackson made his second start for the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, and he worked 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, while walking none to come away with his first victory in a Green and Gold uniform. Jackson’s teammates rewarded his efforts by coming from back from a 2-0 deficit to score seven runs off just eight hit to win their sixth consecutive game.

Neither starting pitcher allowed a hit or baserunner in the first three innings of the game. The Indians were the first to strike when they hit two home runs off Jackson in the top of the fourth inning. Francisco Lindor hit his 20th homer of the season into the right-field seats on a 1-1 count to lead off the inning. With one out, Jose Ramirez stepped up to the plate to face Jackson and jacked a 2-2 pitch over the center-field wall for his 24th round-tripper of 2018. Things were not looking good for Jackson at that moment.

Jackson settled down in the top of the fifth and he did not allow another baserunner in the remaining 1.2 innings he would pitch.

The A’s struck back in the home half of the sixth inning. Franklin Barreto led off with a double. Josh Phegley then hit his second home run of the year into the left field seats to tie the game at 2-2. Dustin Fowler followed up with a single through the hole at second. Mark Canha hit a line drive to left that hit at the top of the wall for a double that allowed the speedy Fowler to race home from first to score the A’s third run and give them the lead. Canha was thrown out trying to advance to third. Oakland took a lead 3-2 and would never trail in the game again.

Oakland would score four more times in the eighth inning to make the final score 7-2.

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Bob Melvin came out to congratulate and take starter Edwin Jackson out of the game Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Edwin Jackson (1-0) gets credit for the win. The Indians’ starter Adam Plutko (4-2) is tagged with the loss. A’s reliever Lou Trivino picked up his third save of the season.

Oakland’s record improves to 46-38, and they are now 8.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West. The Indians fall to 44-37, but maintain an 8.0 game lead over the second-place Twins.

Melvin talks about his team after the game

In the Batter’s Box

A’s

  • Dustin Fowler snapped an 0-for-9 hitless streak with his single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hitting his fifth home run of the year in the bottom of the eighth was just icing of the cake. Fowler was the only A’s player to have multiple hits in the game.
  • Matt Olson hit his 18th home run in the home half of the eighth inning as the A’s kept adding insurance runs to their lead. He has now hit 15 of his 18 home runs off right-handed pitching.
  • Mark Canha extended his hitting streak to nine games, which is the longest streak of his career. He has also reached base safely in his last 10 games.
  • Khris Davis hit a sacrifice fly to up his RBI total to 55 for the season.
  • The A’s went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left just three runners on base.

Indians

  • Francisco Lindor is on fire. In his last 19 games, he is batting .306 (23-for-75) with six home runs, five doubles, 11 RBI and 20 runs scored.
  • Since the start of the 2017 season, Jose Ramirez leads the major leagues with 136 extra base hits. He entered the game on Saturday tied for fourth in the MLB with his teammate Francisco Lindor with 44 extra base hits so far this season.
  • Jason Kipnis has now reached base safely in each of his last 13 games. In those 13 games, he is batting .312 with three homers and eight runs scored.

On the Hill

A’s

  • Edwin Jackson still has not walked a batter since joining the A’s. He worked 6.2 innings giving up two runs (earned) off two hits (both HRs). He struck out six Cleveland hitters. Jackson threw 86 pitches (52 strikes).
  • The A’s used four relief pitchers to close out the game. Ryan Butcher, Emilio Pagan, Yusmeiro Petit and Lou Trivino worked the final 2.1 innings.
  • The plan was to have Petit close it out, but he looked a bit rusty when got up on the mound. Manager Bob Melvin said that was on him for not getting him into some games earlier in the week.

Indians

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Terry Francona has a little chat with umpire Tony Randazzo Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
  • Indians starter Adam Plutko looked brilliant in the opening three innings but the wheels came off in the sixth inning. He pitched 5.2 innings allowing three runs (earned) on five hits. He walked one and struck out three.
  • The Indians used five pitchers in the contest.
  • Dan Otero and Josh Tomlin really struggled in the eighth inning when the A’s sealed the game by scoring four runs on just three hits. Two walks and two home runs were the fatal flaws for the relievers.
  • A familiar face to Bay Area baseball fans came into the game to shut down the A’s in the eighth inning, former Giant George Kontos was brought in to do the job.

Up Next

The A’s will try to complete their second consecutive series sweep on Sunday when they will close out this three-game series with the Indians. The Indians will start RHP Mike Clevinger (6-3, 3.03). The A’s will counter with RHP Frankie Montas (4-1, 3.68). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM PDT.

A’s win a seesaw battle over the White Sox 7-6 on Saturday in Chicago

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Martini vs Chi
Nick Martini recorded his first major-league hit on Saturday Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics won their second game of the four-game series with the Chicago White Sox 7-6 at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday. However, the win did not come easy.

As the game entered the bottom of the ninth inning, the A’s held a 7-6 lead. Blake Treinen continued on the mound in an attempt to close it out for Oakland. Yoan Moncada led off for the White Sox and wound up safe at first when Treinen could not handle the throw from first baseman Matt Olson. Treinen was charged with an error. Avisail Garcia took a little pressure off Treinen by striking out.

Jose Abreu reached first safely when Marcus Semien made a fielding error and a fielder’s choice turned into back-to-back errors with the tying run at second base and the potential winning at first.

DH Matt Davidson then became Treinen’s best friend when he grounded into a six to four to three (Semien to Barreto to Olson) double play to end the game and give the A’s their second win in the series.

It may have been a costly win

A vs Chi
Photo: @WhiteSox

A’s starting pitcher Daniel Mengden had to leave the game after the second inning with a right foot sprain. The team does not know what is next for Mengden. It could be that he will be rested and possibly miss his next scheduled start. The other possibility is a trip to the DL if the injury is more serious in nature and requires extended time off.

Mengden has struggled in his last five starts. He is 1-2 with an 8.98 ERA over those five games. His opponents have batted .295 against him in those games. Mengden pitched 2.0-innings on Saturday giving up five runs (all earned) in the first inning including one home run.

Oakland could call Chris Bassitt back from Triple-A Nashville to take Mengden’s spot on the roster if that becomes necessary.

A’s with the bat
Nick Martini, who was called up to give the A’s some fresh legs after the Friday doubleheader, recorded his first major-league hit in the eighth inning when he singled to right-center field to drive home Stephen Piscotty from second base to give Oakland a 7-6 lead. Even though they no longer officially track it as a statistic, Martini’s RBI-single proved to be the game-winning hit.

Matt Olson, who homered in the second game on Friday night, hit his 17th home run of the year in the sixth inning off of White Sox pitcher Chris Volstad. This was the third time Olson has homered in back-to-back games this season. He also extended his hitting streak to five games.

Stephen Piscotty his sixth home run of the year in the second inning off Chicago starter Dylan Covey. He went 2-for-3 in the game to make it his 14th multihit game of the season.

A’s on the mound
The bullpen came through for the Athletics again on Saturday. Oakland had to use six relievers in the game. The relievers pitched 7.0-innings allowing just one run off three hits. They struck out 10 and walked just one hitter.

Lou Trivino had a very interesting relief appearance. He entered the game in the sixth inning with one out and the bases loaded. He induced Moncada to ground into a force play, but Anderson was able to score from third to tie the game. Trivino was charged with a blown save (1).

Trivino came back out for the seventh inning and struck out the side in order to keep the A’s in the game. Trivino was the pitcher of record when Martini hit his RBI-single and was awarded the victory to up his record to 5-1 for the year.

Treinen worked 1.2-innings for a five-out save. It was his 17th save of the season.

The A’s love the road
The A’s have now won six of their last seven games and are 4-1 on this 10-day road trip. Oakland is 20-17 on the road this season.

The A’s have homered in a franchise-record 24 consecutive road games.

The A’s are 13-7 in one-run games in 2018.

Up next
The A’s and White Sox will wrap up this four-game series on Sunday at 11:10 pm PDT. Oakland will send RHP Paul Blackburn (1-1, 8.03) to the mound. The White Sox will start LHP Carlos Rondon (0-2, 4.41).

Royals shutout A’s 2-0 on Saturday for their first win of the series

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Bassitt welcomed to dugout
Bassitt congratulated after 7.0-innings of great pitching Photo: SportsRadioService.com

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Kansas City Royals snapped a six-game losing streak on Saturday when they shutout the Oakland Athletics 2-0 to win their first game of the four-game series between the two clubs. The A’s beat the Royals on Thursday and Friday.

This game was all about pitching. For the Royals, their starter — LHP Danny Duffy — pitched well above his record for the season on Saturday. Duffy came into the contest with a record of 2-6 with a 5.81 ERA in 13 starts. He was coming off a loss on Monday to the Angels in Los Angeles where he lasted only 5.0 innings.

On Saturday versus Oakland, Duffy pitched 7.0 innings, giving up no runs off just three hits. Duffy walked three and while striking out 10 batters. The 10 strikeouts were his most in a game since May 18, 2017.

Even though Oakland lost the game, they had quite a pitching story of their own. RHP Chris Bassitt made the start for the Athletics which was his first major league start since May 6, 2016. Bassitt had to undergo the dreaded UCL reconstruction surgery — better known as “Tommy John Surgery.” The rehabilitation from that procedure is long and arduous. Bassitt surprised everyone by pitching seven strong innings today against the Royals even though he was saddled with the loss.

On the Hill

Kansas City (22-33)

Duffy fially faces some pressure
Duffy finally faced some pressure from the A’s in the seventh inning Photo: SRS
  • Danny Duffy picked up the win and is now 3-6 for the year. He lowered his ERA from 5.81 to 5.28 in his shutout victory.
  • Duffy threw 98 pitches — 63 strikes
  • Kevin McCarthy worked the eighth inning for the Royals. It was a perfect three up – three down inning with one strikeout.
  • Kelvin Herrera came in to close out the game in the ninth. He did allow one base hit but retired the side and picked up his 14th save of the season. Herrera has appeared in 18 of the Royals’ 22 wins this year.

Oakland (33-32)

Chris Bassitt
Bassitt pitched seven strong innings in his return to the majors Photo: Charlie O Mallonee
  • Chris Bassitt threw 93 pitches (63 strikes) in his seven innings on the hill. He posted six strikeouts and walked just one batter. The only run he gave up was earned. Bassitt’s record stands at 0-1.
  • Danny Coulombe pitched the eighth inning for Oakland. It was a 1, 2, 3 inning that included a strikeout for the reliever.
  • Yusmeiro Petit was tapped to work the ninth inning for the Athletics. With one out, Alex Gordon hit a home run to right field to give the Royals a 2-0 cushion. Petit walked the next batter but then induced the following two hitters to fly out to end the inning.

In the Batter’s Box

Royals (5th place AL Central)

  • Alex Gordon’s ninth-inning home run snapped 14-game homerless streak dating back to May 22 versus St. Louis.
  • Call Hunter Dozier “the Road King”. He has reached base in each of his last nine road games. On Saturday, he did it via a base-on-balls.
  • Paul Orlando hit a single in the second inning which ended 0-for-14 hitless streak for him.
  • Mike Moustakas became the 13th player to play 900 career games with the Royals with his appearance on Saturday.

Athletics (4th place AL West)

Chapman singles
Chapman singled to left in the seventh inning Photo: SportsRadioService.com
  • Matt Chapman had a three-hit game which was his third of the season and sixth of his career.
  • Jed Lowrie is now 0-for-13 after going 0-for-4 on Saturday.
  • Oakland was shutout for the sixth time this year which matches their total from last season.
  • The A’s were 0-for-7 with Runners In Scoring Position.
  • The Athletics left seven runners on base.

Hits vs Strikeouts watch

KC

On Saturday, the Royals collected four hits and struck out seven times.

Oakland

Your A’s also posted four hits while striking out a total of 13 times.

Up Next

The four-game series and the season-series between the Royals and the A’s will come to an end on Sunday at 1:05 P.M. at the Oakland Coliseum. The Royals will send RHP Brad Keller (1-2, 2.12 ERA) to mound to face the A’s LHP Sean Manaea (5-6, 3.59). Keller lost his last outing in Los Angeles to the Angels on Tuesday night 1-0. Manaea had a no-decision in his last start in Texas on Tuesday night. The A’s eventually lost that game 7-4.

Mengden tosses a complete game shutout to lead the A’s to a 3-0 win over the D-backs Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Joyce HR
Matt Joyce started the scoring with a first-inning leadoff home run Photo: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Daniel Mengden pitched a brilliant game for the Oakland Athletics on Saturday afternoon to lead them to a 3-0 victory and even the series at 1-1 as the teams head into the finale on Sunday. Mengden worked 9.0 – shutout innings giving up just two hits, walking none while striking out five Diamondbacks.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin had nothing but compliments for Mengden and his starting performance Saturday. The skipper did reveal that Chad Pinder’s eighth-inning leadoff home run probably gave Mengden the chance to go for the complete game rather than using a closer in the top of the ninth.

This game was all about the pitching

Oakland

Daniel Mengden

  • That is the only name that will appear in the box score for the A’s. This was his second career shutout. His first came versus Philadelphia on September 17, 2017.
  • Mengden has now won his last three consecutive starts. That is the first time he has done that in his career.
  • Over his last eight starts, Mengden has posted a 1.79 ERA while striking out 31 in 50.1 innings pitched.
  • Mengden threw 102 pitches of which 76 were strikes.
  • The key pitching stat for the game is zero Base on Balls.
  • Mengden is now 5-4 on the season with a 2.85 ERA.

Arizona

Clay Buchholz

Buchholz
Clay Buchholz took the loss but pitched very well for D-backs Photo: @Dbacks
  • This was his second start for the Diamondbacks. He started versus the Mets on May 20 but did not figure into the decision.
  • It looked like it would be a short outing for Buchholz when Matt Joyce his the first pitch of the game over the right-field wall into the seats for a “no doubt about it” home run to give the Athletics a quick 1-0 lead.
  • Buchholz then settled down and proceeded to retire the next 15 Oakland hitters he faced. The next A’s batter to reach base was Chad Pinder who hit a double deep into center-field but Buchholz was able to get out of the inning stranding Pinder at third base.
  • The D-backs lifted Buchholz after 6.0-innings of work. He allowed the one run (earned) on just two hits. He walked none and struck out three batters.
  • Buchholz was charged with the loss and his record falls to 0-1 for the year.

Jorge De La Rosa

  • De La Rosa replaced Buchholz in the bottom of the seventh inning.
  • After inducing Jed Lowrie to fly out to center, Matt Olson hit a 2-2 pitch over the center-field fence that bounced around in the television camera box for his eighth home run of the season. That gave the A’s a 2-0 lead.
  • De La Rosa was able to finish the inning without giving up any additional runs.

Fernando Salas

  • Salas was the third and final pitcher used by Arizona in the game. He came in for the bottom of the eighth to face the leadoff man Chad Pinder. Pinder hit the first pitch from Salas over the center-field fence for his fifth home run of the year to give Oakland a 3-0 lead.
  • Salas did give up one additional hit – a double to Marcus Semien – but he was able to close out the inning without allowing any additional scoring.

It was home run or nothing game

Athletics

  • Those “Swingin’ A’s” scored all three of their runs off home runs.
  • Matt Joyce hit his sixth HR of the season. His first leadoff shot of the year and the ninth of his career
  • Matt Olson hit his eighth round-tripper of the year and it was his first HR to be hit off a lefthand pitcher this season.
  • Chad Pinder who hit his fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth inning had the only multi-hit game for Oakland. He hit a double to leadoff the sixth inning for the A’s.
  • Marcus Semien recorded his 12th double in the contest.

Diamondbacks

  • The D-backs had two hits in the game. Both were singles.

 

Up Next on the Schedule

Up next game

The Diamondbacks and the Athletics will close out their three-game series with the “rubber game” of the match on Sunday at 1:05 PM. The real surprise here is Oakland will be starting RHP Frankie Montas who has been called up from Triple-A Nashville. Montas has spent the entire season with the Sounds appearing in nine games recording a record of 1-5 with an ERA of 4.39 in 41.0-innings on the mound. He has struck out 33, walked 13 and allowed five home runs. His WHIP is 1.34. The transaction will not become official until tomorrow morning.

Montas will face the crafty RHP veteran Zack Greinke. Greinke is 3-3 on the year with a 3.71 ERA.

Charlie O
My namesake was at the game! Photo: @Athletics

Yankees need 11 innings on Saturday in the Bronx to beat the A’s 7-6

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NYY Neil Walker
Neil Walker gets the treatment after hitting the game-winning hit Photo: @Yankees

by Charlie O. Mallonee

It took four hours and 15 minutes, 11-innings, 13 pitchers, 34 baserunners, 17 hits, four home runs and one controversial video replay to bring game two of the three-game series between the Athletics and Yankees to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon.

In the bottom of the 11th inning with two out and runners at first and second, the Yankees Neil Walker stepped into the batter’s box to face A’s relief pitcher Chris Hatcher who entered the game in the 10th inning. Walker hit the first pitch to him from Hatcher into center field. Gary Sanchez took off from second base at the crack of the bat and never had any goal in mind but to score the winning run. Mark Canha’s throw was off-line and Sanchez scored the run for a 7-6 New York walk-off win.

Walker is now 9-for-25 (.360) including nine walks in his last nine games after hitting just .163 in his first 21-games of the season.

Oakland thought the game might be over in nine innings

NYY TAG
Was he safe or was he out? Photo: Yankees Facebook

In the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees brought in the fire-balling Aroldis Chapman to shut down the A’s. It became apparent immediately that Chapman did not have his usual unhittable, strikeout “stuff” on Saturday. After loading the bases on three consecutive walks, Chapman was able to strikeout Mark Canha.

Jonathan Lucroy was inserted as a pinch-hitter for catcher Bruce Maxwell. Lucroy was 1-for-9 versus Chapman with the one hit being a home run. Lucroy hit the first pitch from Chapman into shallow left field. As Brett Gardner caught the ball, the Athletics Matt Olson tagged at third and headed for home. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez moved about three-feet up the baseline, caught an on-target throw from Gardner and made a sweeping tag at Olson who was sliding toward home plate. Home plate umpire James Hoye called Olson safe without hesitation. The Yankees immediately challenged the call on the field.

The replays made available to television made it look like Sanchez did indeed make the tag except for one crucial angle where it looks like the catcher misses the tag. The replay center overturned the call on the field. It became an inning-ending double play.

Personal opinion inserted here: I hate replay in all sports. You have professional officials on the field to calls. Let them do their jobs. Yes, they will make some mistakes. over the course of a 162-game season, all of the mistakes will balance themselves out. Review your history if doubt my opinion.

Oakland Postgame Notes

NYY Khris HR
Khris Davis celebrates after hitting HR No. 11 Photo: @Athletics
  • This was the A’s first extra-inning loss of the season. They were 3-0 in extra-inning games until Saturday.
  • Starting pitcher Andrew Triggs did not record a decision. He worked 4.1-innings allowing six runs (all earned) on six hits. He struck out six Yanks and walked four. Triggs real undoing was allowing three home runs.
  • Reliever Chris Hatcher (3-1) took the loss on Saturday. He pitched 1.2-innings giving up one run off two hits.
  • The A’s other five relievers – Coulombe, Dull, Casilla, Petit and Treinen pitched 4.2-innings of shutout baseball.
  • Khris Davis hit another home run on Saturday – number 11 of the season. This one came in the fourth inning with two runners on base and gave the A’s a 3-2 lead.
  • Mark Canha went 2-for-5 with two RBI in the game. He is batting .400 (6-for-15) with nine RBI and three walks with runners in scoring position.
  • The A’s are now 19-20 for the year.

Yankees Postgame Notes

  • This was the Yankees fourth “walk-off” win of the season and ended a two-game losing streak.
  • The win ended a five-game losing streak to the Athletics.
  • New York starter RHP Domingo Germain took a no-decision whiled working 5.0-innings and allowing six runs (all earned) on six hits (one HR). He walked three and struck out one.
  • Yankees reliever A.J. Cole (3-1) picked up the victory. Cole struggled with the first two hitters he faced but then settled down to keep his team in the game.
  • Three big home runs helped the Bombers on Saturday: Aaron Judge hit a two-run shot, his 11th of the year. Gary Sanchez (10) and Aaron Hicks (3) went long back-to-back in the second inning.
  • Didi Gregorius ended a 30 at-bat hitless streak when he hit a single off Triggs in the fifth inning.

Up next

The Athletics and Yankees will wrap up this three-game series on Sunday in the Bronx with a 10:05 AM PDT first-pitch. Oakland will send LHP Brett Anderson (0-1,8.68) to the mound to face the Yankees RHP Luis Severino (5-1,2.21).