Tag: Minnesota Twins

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Twins come into Oakland as 1 of the hottest teams in the AL

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Photo credit: @Twins

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The A’s open a three-game series at the Oakland Coliseum against the Minnesota Twins. The A’s are coming off a 5-1 road trip for A’s manager Bob Melvin winning on the road is crucial.

#2 How impressive the race has become the A’s are in second place in the American League West and are second in the AL for the wild card?

#3 The Twins are at the Coliseum and for three and are the leading team in the AL Central 50-30 and eight games in front of Cleveland.

#4 The Twins are potent. Nine of the hitters that they have in the lineup have hit 10 home runs this season so to say the Twins are having a good season is an understatement.

#5 It’s the Twins and A’s on Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Starting for the Twins Jake Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA), and for the A’s, Daniel Mengden (2-1, 4.03 ERA).

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Preview of the 3-game series between the A’s and Twins

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s are enjoying an off-day on Monday after finishing a six-game road trip with a 5-1 record. The A’s are now just 1/2 game behind the Texas Rangers for second place in the AL West and for the second slot in the Wild Card race.

The A’s will play the next three games at home with the AL Central Division leading Minnesota Twins. The Twins, under first-year manager Rocco Baldelli, have a record of 53-30 and own an eight-game lead over the second place Cleveland Indians.

The Twins have a power-packed lineup. Six of the nine hitters in the lineup have hit more than 10 home runs so far this season. The other three need just one or two more dingers to reach that level. The Twins star left fielder, Eddie Rosario, will not play in the series. Rosario is hitting .280 and has 20 homers and 60 RBIs so far. He is on the 10-day IL with a sprained left ankle. Marwyn Gonzalez, the former Astro, will take his place. The A’s will see Byron Buxton in center and Max Kepler in right. The German-born Kepler leads the team with 21 dingers. All the infielders can hit the ball out of the park. Former LA Angels first baseman, C.J. Cron, is hitting .271, and has hit 17 big flies, and knocked in 52. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop is playing well with a .251  average and has hit 13 out of the park. Shortstop Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star Game in Cleveland, leads the team in hitting with a .320 average and he has 11 homers and 39 RBIs on his resume. Miguel Sano is a third. He is not hitting for average, but he is a power threat every time he goes to the plate. Jason Castro will handle the catching. Nelson Cruz will be the DH. Cruz, who loves to hit against Oakland, is having an excellent season with 16 homers and 46 runs batted in.

On Tuesday, the Twins will send their All-Star starter, Jake Odorizzi, to the hill. Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA) pitched exceptionally well in May. In June, however, Odorizzi has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings of work over his last three starts. The A’s Daniel Mengden will be making his second start since being recalled from Las Vegas last month. Mengden was sensational in his start against the St. Louis Cardinals last week in St. Louis. He pitched six innings of shutout baseball. Mengden will be making his first career start against Minnesota.

Wednesday’s game will feature the Twins’ Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) going against the A’s Tanner Anderson (0-3, 7.13 ERA). Anderson was roughed up in his last start last Thursday against the LA Angels. He, too, will be making his first career start against the Twins.

On Thursday, the Fourth of July, the A’s will and the ball to Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA). Fiers has an ERA of 2.61 in his last 12 starts, which is the sixth lowest in the AL over that span. He has a record of 6-1 and an ERA of 2.77 in 11 (10 starts) games against the Twins. Jose Berrios (8-4, 2.89 ERA) pitches for Minnesota. Berrios pitched last Friday and was tagged for six runs (three earned) against the White Sox in six innings of work. That effort allowed the Twins’ bullpen to get some rest after an 18-inning game the night before.

The Twins have two pitchers that have 10 save each for the team. The Twins will use either righty Blake Parker or lefty Taylor Rogers as the closer. Pitchers that will see action in the series include Trevor May, Matt Magill, Ryne Harper, Mike Morin, Tyler Duffey, and lefty Lewis Thorpe.

The A’s will be without the services of Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty injured his right knee sliding into second base Saturday night. Piscotty had an MRI done on Monday to see the extent of the damage if any. He is on the 10-day IL.

Following the three-game set with the Twins, the A’s travel to Seattle for three with the Mariners. The A’s will resume play at home against the Chicago White Sox after a four-day break for the MLB All-Star game that will be played in Cleveland. A’s third baseman Matt Chapman will be making his first appearance as an All-Star.

MLB podcast with Daniel Dullum: Dickerson inspiring Giants with a hot bat; Twins have not lost 3 straight this season; plus more

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San Francisco Giants’ Alex Dickerson follow through on a two-run double against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 22, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

On the MLB podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 A’s pitcher Frankie Montas gets 80-game suspension from MLB for PED policy violation

2 Report: Rays could start splitting seasons between Tampa Bay and Montreal

3 Giants’ OF Dickerson swinging hot bat after call up from Sacramento

4 Twins have still not lost three straight games this season; sign reliever Cody Allen to minor league deal

5 Nomar Mazara of Texas hits 505-foot dinger

6 Wilkin Castillo’s first major league hit in 10 years a game-winner for the Marlins

MLB podcast with Daniel is heard Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB podcast with Daniel Dullum: M’s fire sale comes early, Encarnación dealt to Yankees; Ortiz will recover, but a look at the damage; plus more

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photo from seattlepi.com: Former Seattle Mariners’ slugger Edwin Encarnacion, right, hits a two-run home run as Los Angeles Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy watches during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 9, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif.

On the MLB podcast with Daniel:

1 Seattle trades AL home run leader Edwin Encarnación to Yankees

2 Big Papi’s surgeons reveal the extent of damage from gunshots

3 A’s rout Mariners 11-2; A’s Stephen Piscotty has surgery for melanoma

4 Braves’ Sean Newcomb OK after taking a 102-mph liner to the head

5 Bambino’s game-worn jersey sets record: $5.64 million at auction

6 Mitch Garver is the fifth player in Twins history to break a 0-0 tie with a home run in the eighth inning or later

Daniel Dullum does the MLB podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Thursday off day report: Preview of A’s-Mariners series starting Friday

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s return home after a successful 6-2 road trip. The A’s were beating the Tigers in one game that was suspended due to bad weather. That game will be completed when the Tigers play the A’s in September. The two losses on the trip happened when the A’s played the Mariners in Seattle.

The Mariners and A’s have met four times this season, and the M’s have won them all. The A’s lost the first two in Japan to open the season and the last two in Seattle on May 13th and 14th. The games in Seattle were close. The Mariners won on May 13th 6-5 even though the A’s hit five home runs in that game. They beat the A’s again on May 14th, 4-3. Since that time the A’s won three in Detroit and three in Cleveland.

The A’s have also moved up in the standings in the AL Central. Oakland ‘s record is 25-25, and they are in third place just 1/2 game behind the surprising Texas Rangers. Seattle, on the other hand, played well to start the season but have fallen on hard times. They currently reside in last place in the AL West with a record of 23-29. They have lost 3 in a row and are 3-7 in their previous 10 games.

The Mariners have placed several key players on the 10-day IL. They include second baseman Dee Gordon, first baseman Ryon Healy, pitcher King Felix Hernandez, and third baseman Kyle Seager.

The Mariners still have a potent lineup. First baseman Daniel Vogelbach, DH Edwin Encarnacion, outfielders Jay Bruce, Domingo Santana, and Mitch Haniger all have power, and all of them have hurt the A’s with their bats. Infielder Tim Beckham has also punished the A’s with his power.

The pitching matchups for the series will be the following. On Friday, Oakland will send Daniel Mengden (1-1 3.65 ERA) out to pitch. Mengden is 0-2 with an ERA of 5.89 in four career starts against the Mariners. The Mariners will counter with lefty Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc, in his last outing against the Minnesota Twins, went 2 and 1/3rd innings and gave up seven hits and seven runs. LeBlanc missed five weeks due to a strained oblique. In two starts against the A’s last year, LeBlanc held the A’s scoreless for eleven innings.

Saturdays’ game will feature Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.05 ERA) going for his fourth win of the year. Fiers has an ERA of 2.53 over his last five starts, and that includes the no-hitter that he had against the Cincinnati Reds. Fiers is 2-2 with an ERA of 6.36 in 10 starts against Seattle. Rookie Yusei Kikuchi (3-1, ERA 3.43) will go for the M’s. Kikuchi is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.03 in his last four starts.

On Sunday, The A’s will have lefty Brett Anderson on the mound. Anderson (5-3, ERA 4.14)is returning to action after he left the game last Monday in Cleveland with a cervical strain. Anderson is 8-5 and has an ERA of 2.38 in 20 games against the M’s. Mike Leake goes for Seattle. Leake is 3-5 for the year and has an ERA of 4.73. Leake is 2-2 against Oakland in nine career starts.

The A’s are playing better as the offense has come alive and the pitching has been better. The A’s have seen improvement from Chris Bassitt, Mike Fiers, and Frankie Montas. Anderson has pitched well, and Mengden is still a work in progress.

Following the three-game series with Seattle, the A’s will face the LA Angels and then host the first-place Houston Astros.

 

A’s cut magic number to 1 with 3-2 win over the Twins on a wild pitch walk-off

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s came into Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins feeling good. Friday night ended in another Khris Davis walk-off homer, and shrunk the A’s magic number to three games. The starting pitching matchup was the A’s Mike Fiers, who faced the Twins’ Chase De Jong. The A’s record coming into the game was 93-61 versus the Twins 71-82.

Fiers came out in full force for the A’s. He struck out the side in order in the first inning followed by a scoreless second inning. The third inning would be a little bump in the road for Fiers. He surrendered a double and single to start the inning. He managed to limit the damage by getting Joe Mauer to hit a sacrifice fly, Jorge Polanco to pop out, and Jake Cave to fly out to end the inning. The A’s on the other hand hadn’t been able to get much going against De Jong logging two hits through three innings.

Neither team was able to muster anything until the A’s came to bat in the bottom of the fifth. Ramon Laureano hit a one out single followed by a low line drive homer for Marcus Semien. Semien’s homer sailed over the out of town scoreboard in left field to give the A’s a 2-1 advantage in the fifth.

The next scoring chance came in the top of the seventh for the Twins. Ehire Adrianza doubled followed by a RBI single from Willians Astudillo. Mark Canha made a great effort to throw out Afrianza, but ultimately, Jonathan Lucroy wasn’t able to come up with the throw. The game was tied 2-2 at this point. In the bottom of the eighth, the A’s had a runner on third with two outs and Matt Olson grounded out to keep the game tied.

Blake Treinen came in the ninth and worked a relatively easy inning. He retired the first two Twins he faced before giving up a bloop single. He proceeded to strike out the next batter and end the Twins’ half of the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, Stephen Piscotty led it off with a ringing double down the line in left. Ramon Laureano struck out, Marcus Semien reached on a throwing error, and Matt Joyce was intentionally walked. Paul Molitor then brought in his right fielder to play the infield in an effort to cut down a potential run at the plate. Mark Canha struck out, but it wasn’t over just yet. With Matt Chapman batting and the bases loaded Trevor Hildenberger unleashed a wild pitch that brought Stephen Piscotty home to score.

With the A’s win and the Rays’ loss, the A’s magic number to clinch a Wild Card birth is one game.

The A’s will wrap up their series versus the Twins on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT. Trevor Cahill (6-3, 3.77 ERA) will be on the Oakland mound and his opponent will be Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson (8-13, 3.78 ERA).

Davis’ Second Homer Leads to A’s Walk-off Win Over Twins 7-6

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s inched, or rather walked off a step closer to a playoff berth, coming from behind to beat the Minnesota Twins 7-6 in 10 innings at the Coliseum on Friday night. Khris Davis hit a pair of home runs, including the game-winner, to cut the A’s magic number to three games.

Davis crushed his league-leading 45th homer to deep center field with no outs in the bottom of the 10th, erasing the sting of a blown 4-0 A’s lead. Blake Treinen strengthened his Cy Young candidacy by picking up the win after allowing no hits over the ninth and 10th innings for his eighth win of the year. Matt Magill wound up the loser after finishing off the ninth inning by standing a pair of runners, but failing to retire Davis to start the 10th.

Davis knocked in a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on his first homer of the game, a two-run shot off Twins starter Jose Berrios. A couple of sacrifice flies had the A’s up 4-0 with opener Liam Hendriks and long reliever Chris Bassitt out of the game after five innings of combined work.

The Twins plated six runs in a lengthy sixth inning, knocking around Lou Trivino (four runs) and Shawn Kelley (two runs) to take a 6-4 edge, but Mark Canha returned fire in the bottom of the frame with a two-run shot of his own off reliever Gabriel Moya. Berrios was charged with one of the runs, ending the day with 5 2/3 innings of work and five runs (four earned).

Ryan Buchter and Jeurys Familia pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to open the door for Treinen. Treinen handle his part, as did Davis, to help the A’s keep pace with the New York Yankees in the top AL Wild Card chase. New York, by virtue of beating the Baltimore Orioles Friday, leads the race for home field in the one-game playoff by just a game and a half. Oakland will send the leading candidate to pitch in the contest, Mike Fiers, to the mound Saturday night at 6:05 pm PDT against Minnesota.

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).

 

 

 

Chappy’s Homer Lifts A’s to 7-1 Win Over Twins

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

It was the names you wouldn’t expect that delivered for the A’s at Target Field Friday, but that’s because the usual names were anything but. The Manaealator threw five innings of one-run ball, Chappy launched a three-run homer and Momo and the aptly-dubbed Laureano hit solo shots to push the A’s to a 7-1 while visiting the Twins.

League wide, teams wore special player’s weekend jerseys adorned with nicknames of the player’s choosing,hence the unique recap. Sean Manaea drew the assignment on the hill and rebounding nicely from his previous poor By start, a six run shelling at the hands of the Houston Astros, to give the A’s the win after holding the Twins to just one run.

Oakland scored first off Twins starter Jake Odorizzi with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth. It seemed like manufactured runs would and a low score would rule the day after Miguel Sano brought a run home in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly as well.

Jonathan Lucroy singled in another run in the top of the 5th of Odorizzi, who exited the game trailing 2-1 after seven innings of work and five hits. Oliver Drake would struggle in his inning of work, thanks to Oakland’s rally.

Lucroy singled to open the inning and Nick Martini walked. After a mound visit, potential MVP darkhorse Matt Chapman stepped up to the plate. He blasted his 18th homer of the year for a 5-1 A’s lead.

Stephen Piscotty greeted Addison Reed in the top of the ninth with a homer to open the inning, then rookie Ramon Laureano hit his third career homer for the final seventh run. Laureano, having recently been called up earlier in the month, didn’t get a chance to submit a nickname and simple wore “Laureano” on his jersey.

Manaea turned the game over to his pen after five innings with a 2-1 lead. Lou Trivino, Fernando Rodney, Jeurys Familia and Shawn Kelley all threw shutout innings to preserve the win.

Oakland remains 1.5 games back of Houston after the Astros beat the Halos in Anaheim.

Oakland sends Mike Fiers to the mound Saturday at 4:10 pm PDT to face Stephen Gonsalves.

Twins get past the A’s 6-4

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland A’s 6-4 in the opener of a four-game series at Target Field on Thursday night. It was the A’s second consecutive loss and just the second time in the last two months. A’s Trevor Cahill has trouble pitching on the road as he went five innings and allowed eight hits and five runs. His record dropped to 5-3.

In the second inning, the A’s scored twice for an early 2-0 lead. Khris Davis led off the inning with a 396-foot blast to right center field. For Davis, it was his 39th big fly of the year. With one more homer, he will tie Jimmy Foxx as the only two A’s sluggers to have hit 40 homers in three consecutive seasons. Mark McGwire hit 40 three times (1987, 1992-96). After Davis’ homer, Matt Olson doubled. He advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.

The Twins scored two in the third and three in the fourth to take a commanding 5-2 lead. The A’s plated a run in the fifth when Matt Chapman doubled. He, too, went to third on a groundout and also scored on another wild pitch to make it a 5-3 game.

The Twins added an insurance run in the eighth when Max Kepler homered off Blake Treinen. The Twins’ bullpen held the A’s scoreless until the top of the ninth. With two out and closer Trevor Hildenberger pitching, A’s second baseman Jed Lowrie homered. That was it for the A’s as they fell to the Twins 6-4.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s dropped to 76-52. The A’s are now 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros, who were off on Thursday. The A’s lead over the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card slot is now four games.

Up Next: Sean Manaea (11-9, 3.70 ERA) goes for the A’s Friday night at 5:10 pm PDT, and the Twins’ Jake Odorizzi (5-7, 4.55 ERA) will try to hand the A’s another loss.