Tag: Mike Fiers

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Durant has some defensive skills; Will charges get dropped for Kraft?; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @basketballboom

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 Golden State’s Kevin Durant gets lots of credit for his work shooting the basketball, but his defensive prowess also is something that he should take a lot of credit for as well.

#2 New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s solicitation charge is something that some have said shouldn’t even be that big of deal. Some say this is human trafficking. How deep is Kraft in and could he work things out with the justice system in Florida where this took place?

#3 How possible is it that the San Francisco 49ers could obtain the services of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown and the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr, who are noted two of the best wide receivers in the NFL?

#4 Oakland Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock is at the controls as the Raiders, who are about to get three first round picks for the 2019 NFL draft.

#5 The Oakland A’s are taking a close look at pitcher Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada as opening day starters. Fiers joined the A’s in August (5-2, 3.74 ERA) could be the most likely starter for opening day.

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez for News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s slightly off their game in 5-4, series-deciding loss to the Rays

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

The A’s played it conventional with their pitching on Sunday, no surprise there. Trade acquisition Mike Fiers started five times in August, and twice so far in September, and the A’s won all seven, proving the old-fashioned, pitch deep into the ballgame starting pitcher still has a place among today’s compartmentalized baseball philosophies.

But Sunday wasn’t Fiers’ day, with the former Tiger slightly off his game while facing the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays, the A’s new dark horse competition for the final AL wild card spot.

“I felt like I couldn’t really get in a rhythm. I put the guys behind early and this game is big on momentum,” Fiers said.

Jed Lowrie’s fielding error stood out as the first blow to Fiers’ momentum, his bobble of Ji-Man Choi’s grounder screwed up what would of been an inning-ending double play. Instead, the next batter, C.J. Cron homered to give the Rays a 2-0, first inning lead.

Fiers walked three batters in the second, then escaped, via a double play and a groundout. In the fourth, Willy Adames homered to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead.

Fiers departed after four innings–his second shortest stint of his eight in Oakland–without any offensive support and destined for his first loss as an Athletic.

Meanwhile, the Rays went with their bullpen committee, and the combination of opener Diego Castillo, eventual winning pitcher Andrew Kittredge, Hunter Wood and Jaime Schultz were baffling to A’s hitters. That quartet pushed the Rays through the first seven innings, allowing two hits, the first coming with one out in the fifth inning.

“We called on some guys that hadn’t had a ton of work here recently and hadn’t pitched in tight situations recently, but they really did a nice job,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It was fun to watch them how they really pieced it together.”

Emilio Pagan allowed a two-run triple to Brandon Lowe in the seventh, another blemish on the reliever’s string of recent, subpar appearances.  That stood as a minor footnote with the A’s trailing 5-0, but quickly became a big deal when Khris Davis delivered a ninth inning, grand slam that brought the A’s within a run before reliever Sergio Romo retired two batters to end it.

Instead of a critical win on a day the Yankees lost, the A’s settled for a one-run loss, and a rare series loss. With 12 games remaining, the A’s lead Tampa Bay by seven games in the quest for the second wild card. But Houston’s lead in the AL West grew to 4 1/2 games, and they failed to move any closer to the Yankees, with their 1 1/2 game lead for the right to host the wild card showdown on October 3.

The A’s concluded play against the AL East with the loss, only their 11th loss versus that division this season. Five of those 11 losses came at the hands of the Rays.

The A’s open their final homestand of the season on Tuesday at 7:05pm. Liam Hendricks and Daniel Mengden are scheduled as the opener and featured reliever entrusted with getting the club through at least four innings. Tyler Skaggs wll start for the Angels.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

HR vs SEA
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 beat the Twins 6-2 on Saturday night as Fiers and Lucroy star

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
13000 HR
Graphic: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics took a 2-1 lead in their four-game series with Minnesota by downing the Twins 6-2 in game three on Saturday night in the Twin Cities. The A’s won the game using their typical formula of strong starting pitching, consistent bullpen relief  and power production at the plate.

The Athletics have found themselves in a must win situation in each of the games in Minnesota. The first place Houston Astros have been on a tear winning four consecutive games forcing Oakland to win just to stay 1.5 games back in second place in the American League West.

The Seattle Mariners have also been applying pressure on the A’s as they have won two games in a row to stay just 4.0 games behind Oakland in third place. Many have tried to write the Mariners out of the playoff hunt but someone forgot to tell Seattle they’re done for the season. With six games left to play against the A’s and three versus the Astros, the M’s can erase a four game deficit very quickly.

Fiers comes through again

MIN 2
Photo: @Athletics

Mike Fiers (10-6) started the game for the A’s and once again showed why the team had focused on adding him to the roster. Fiers worked 5.2 innings giving up just one run (earned) on five hits. He struck out seven Twins and walked just two. Fiers threw 100 pitches (63 strikes).

The one run Fiers gave up was spectacular. In the bottom of the fourth inning, he tried to throw a 3-2 fastball past Miguel Sano but was unsuccessful. Sano crushed the ball 455 feet into the third deck in left center field for his 12th home run of the season.

Fiers did get credit for the win.

A’s bullpen does its job again

Lou Trivino was brought in to relieve Fiers and ended the bottom of the sixth inning. “Sweet Lou” ran into some trouble in the seventh when he gave up a home run to Tyler Austin and then hit Willians Astudillo with a pitch. Ryan Buchter entered the game but was unable to get an out, so the call went to Jeurys Familia who shut the Twins down.

Familia worked the eighth inning to set it up Blake Treinen in a non-save situation. Treinen needed the work so that is why he was used in the game. He pitched a perfect ninth and the A’s won their 78th game of 2018.

Lucroy had an amazing night with the bat

MIN 1
Lucroy get high fives after hitting the 13,000th home run in Athletics history Photo: @Athletics

The A’s backstop went 2-for-4 in the game with a home run and recorded four RBI. Lucroy drove in the A’s first run of the contest in the top of the second inning when he singled to left driving home Chad Pinder. It was the 500th RBI of his career.

Lucroy was just getting started. In the top of the fourth inning, he clubbed a home run to left center field that plated Mark Canha and Ramon Laureano ahead of him. It was the third home run of the season for Lucroy, but more importantly, it was 13,000th in Athletics’ (Philadelphia, Kansas City, Oakland) history. Lucroy will now be in the A’s milestone record book forever more.

Chad Pinder had a good night with the bat. He went 3-for-4 and scored two runs. In the meantime, Matt Chapman had an odd night. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate but scored no runs and produced no RBI. It is very unusual for a hitter have a .750 night with the bat and walk away with no run production.

Up Next

The Athletics will play the final game of the series on Sunday at 11:10 AM PDT. Chris Bassitt (2-3, 3.38) will start for Oakland while the Twins will counter with All-Star Jose Berrios (11-6, 3.69).

 

 

 

Oakland A’s Wednesday game wrap: The Astros find a way to win, sweep the A’s in one run loss 4-3

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s Jake Smolinski (5) is greeted by teammate Chad Pinder (18) after scoring in the second inning off the Houston Astros on Wednesday at Minute Maid Field

Houston- The Houston Astros swept the three-game series with the A’s Wednesday afternoon in Houston as they came-from-behind in the bottom of the eighth to beat the A’s 4-3. The A’s starter, Ross Detwiler, had an excellent outing. He pitched seven innings and allowed just three hits and one run while striking out seven. Detwiler, in his five starts with Oakland, has had three terrific games. He also had two poor starts, too.Detwiler pitched well enough to win, but Liam Hendriks could not get the job done. Hendriks, who had improved his game after being on the DL earlier this year, gave up the three runs that propelled the Astros to victory. The Houston starter, Mike Fiers, went five innings, allowed eight hits and three runs, two of which were unearned. As  Bob Melvin would say, doesn’t matter if they are earned or unearned, we’ll take them. However, the A’s neither scored nor got a hit after the fifth inning as the Houston bullpen stopped them cold.

The A’s scored three runs in the second inning. The key play was a Carlos Correa error that led to two unearned runs for Oakland. Jake Smolinski drove in two with a triple, and Bruce Maxwell had a single to drive another run.  The ‘Stros scored one in the bottom of the fourth as Correa made up for his error by driving in the first run of the game for Houston.

Bob Melvin summoned Liam Hendriks from the bullpen to start the eighth inning. Hendriks retired the first two hitters but then the roof caved in on him. George Springer tripled to put a man on third with two out. The next hitter, Alex Bregman, struck out swinging, but the ball got by catcher Bruce Maxwell. Springer scored, and Bregman reached first safely. Jose Altuve tripled to drive in Bregman, and Altuve scored on an Evan Gattis single to put Houston ahead 4-3. Ken Giles earned his seventh save of the year as he closed out the game to secure the win for Houston.

Game Notes- The Astros now lead the A’s 10-6 for the season. The two teams will conclude play against each other when the Astros visit the Oakland Coliseum September 19,20 and 21.

The A’s recalled Joey Wendle from Triple-A Nashville to replace the departed Coco Crisp. Wendle, 26-years old, made his Major League Debut Wednesday in Houston. Wendle went hitless but did score a run.

The A’s are off on Thursday as they return home for a three-game series this weekend with the Boston Red Sox. David Ortiz will be visiting the Coliseum for the last time as he is retiring at the end of the season. The A’s then play the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners to conclude the homestand.