Tag: Minnesota Twins

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: This Week in 1980, Charlie O. Finley Sold the A’s for $12.7 Million

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Photo credit: thesportsesquires.com

By: Amaury Pi-González

On August 21, 1980, Athletics owner Charlie Finley announced at a news conference that he has sold his A’s to Walter A. Haas, Jr., the chairman of the board of the Levi Strauss clothing empire, Haas’s son Walter Jr., and son-in-law Roy Eisenhardt for $12.7 million.

In 1980, Finley agreed in principle to sell to businessman Marvin Davis, who was planning to move the A’s to Denver, but before that, Finley and Davis were to sign a contract, as the NFL’s Oakland Raiders announced they were moving to Los Angeles in 1982. The City of Oakland and Alameda County officials didn’t wanted to be held responsible for losing Oakland status as a big league city and refused to let the A’s out of their lease with the Coliseum. So the A’s were sold and stayed.

Although they have changed ownership a few times since, today’s A’s are in solid ground to continue playing in Oakland. These days, the last thing in mind for the A’s is to move out of Oakland, because soon they will be the only professional team left, after the Warriors move to San Francisco and the Raiders to Las Vegas. That is the good news. Plus, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred has said it all along, “the Bay Area is a two-team market.”

However, there is presently a group called Protect Oakland’s Shoreline Economy that is questioning the A’s proposed move to their favorite location of the Howard Terminal near Jack London Square. Here in the greater Bay Area, there is never a shortage of groups that oppose construction of sports facilities. and this one is the most recent. This is the second chapter of this novela. In December of last year, the A’s plans to build a 35,000 seat ballpark near Lake Merritt was stopped cold, when the community college refused to start negotiations about the proposed park.

All these recent concerns have been rather silenced by the A’s current play on the field, as they have been shocking the baseball world. They just took two out of three from the Mariners and two out of three from the Astros–two of their biggest rivals. This Monday, the Rangers open a three-game series at the Coliseum and then the A’s go on a six-game road-trip to Minnesota and Houston. They return the 30th of this month to say adios to August and welcome September with a four-game series against the M’s, three against the contending Yankees and the Rangers again. I do not believe the A’s bandwagon is close to capacity yet, as there are still a lot of folks who are not 100 percent certain they are going to see postseason play at the Coliseum. But I think they will.

By then, we will see how are the Atléticos de Oakland doing, with two very possible scenarios: 1) winning the division or 2) advancing as one of the two Wild Card teams.

Listen to the A’s games in Spanish on KIQI 1010am/990am, covering the Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton and the Valley, and on the SAP Channel on NBC Sports California.

Oakland A’s Report: Three important stories on King, Gray and a walk-off win

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Most Import Oakland Athletics Story of Saturday, July 29, 2017:

Bill King receives the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame

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Thank you Mr. King. Holy Toledo! You made it to the Hall of Fame!

Second Most Important Athletics Story of Saturday, July 29, 2017:

Sonny Gray reportedly has been scratched as the starter for the game on Sunday

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Photo: Bruce Kluckhorn USA TODAY Sports

Multiple sources from USA Today Sports to Bleacher Report and more are reporting that Oakland pitcher Sonny Gray has been scratched as the starter in final game of the series with the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon. With the Major League trade deadline set for Monday, July 31 at 1 p.m. PDT, the anticipation is that a deal involving Gray is in the final stages and his potential new club would want to have him ready to start as soon as possible.

Many of those same sources are pointing to the Yankees as being the final destination for Gray which really comes as no surprise. New York needs a starter to replace Michael Pineda and have been on the hunt since he went to the disabled list. The hang-up seems to be the price the Athletics want for Gray.

As the late, great broadcaster Red Barber used say the A’s know “they are in the catbird’s seat!” They have what the Yankees need plus Sonny Gray comes with two additional years of team control. That is going to come at a price and Oakland wants young, very talented prospects.

The Yankees have one of the most talented minor league organizations in the major leagues. Naturally, they want to give up as little as they have to in order to acquire Gray. It’s like buying a car, everybody has to keep going back to the sales manager to see if they can get it for that price.

If you are an A’s fan, the sad news is by August 1 Sonny Gray will be wearing a different uniform. The good news is you will have some great young talent for team when the new stadium opens in 2021 or so.

Third Most Important Athletics Story of Saturday, July 29, 2017:

Athletics break five-game losing streak and give Melvin win 1000

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Athletics celebrate walk-off victory

The Oakland Athletics ended a five-game losing streak in dramatic fashion on Saturday night when Rajai Davis hit a 1-0 pitch from the Twins Taylor Rogers over the left-center field wall with Adam Rosales on at first to give the A’s a 5-4 walk-off victory. The big crowd of 27,047 on fireworks night exploded with excitement as their team celebrated the win at home plate.

The win was also significant for Athletics manager Bob Melvin as it was the 1000th of his major league career. After the game, he was quick to downplay the milestone but it is one to be celebrated and honored as only 64 other managers have accomplished that feat.

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Oakland Manager Bob Melvin Photo: Sporting News

The A’s jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first-inning thanks to an RBI-double by Ryon Healy that drove Rajai Davis home from second base. The Twins came back and scored two runs on three hits and left the bases loaded in the second inning. A’s starter Chris Smith almost did not make it out of that inning.

Minnesota scored two more runs in the top of the fifth inning when Miguel Sano hit his 24th home run of the season — a two-run shot — down the right field line. That gave the Twins a commanding 4-1 lead.

Ryon Healy hit his second double of the game to lead off the A’s half of the fifth inning. With two out, Yonder Alonso drove Healy home on a single to left-center field. The Twins held a 4-2 after five.

Rookie Matt Chapman breathed hope into the fans when hit a 2-0 pitch from LHP Buddy Boshers deep into the stands in left field for his sixth home run of the season. The round-tripper chased Boshers from the game and closed the gap to a one-run lead for the Twins at 4-3.

After Daniel Coulombe held the Twins scoreless in the top of the ninth, the A’s put Adam Rosales in the game to pinch-hit for Jaycob Brugman. Rosales drew a walk off Taylor Rogers. That brought Davis to bat who ended the game with his fourth home run of the year.

In the batter’s box

  • Rajai Davis went 4-for-5 on the night including the home run, two runs scored and two RBI. This was the second walk-off home run of his career.
  • Ryon Healy had a 2-for-4 game with both hits being doubles. He now has 21 two-baggers on the season. Healy also had an RBI (58) and scored a run.
  • Matt Chapman went 1-for-4 against the Twins but his one hit was his sixth home run of the year which created his 10th RBI as well.
  • Jed Lowrie broke out of an 0-for-14 hitless streak with a single in the third inning.
  • Minnesota’s Miguel Sano’ had a 1-for-5 game hitting his 24th home run of the year. It was his first home run in a road game since July 1 in Kansas City.
  • Zack Granite went 2-for-4 for the Twins and posted two RBI. That extended his hitting streak to nine games.

On the hill

  • Chad Smith had a rough start for the A’s versus the Twins and really had to work very hard to hang in there for 5.0-innings. He gave up four runs (all earned) on seven hits. He walked three and struck out four. Smith allowed one home run and did not figure into the final decision.
  • The A’s used four relievers in the game: Dull, Casilla, Josh Smith and Coulombe. Each pitched one inning. Each gave up one hit. None gave up a run which was the key to Oakland hanging in for a chance to win the game.
  • The victory went to Daniel Coulombe (2-1) who was the pitcher of record in the ninth inning.
  • Casilla was used to pitch the seventh inning which was a bit of surprise. This does not mean that he has been demoted from the closer’s role.
  • Taylor Rogers takes the loss for the Twins. His record falls to 5-3 and he also records his third blown save of the season.
  • Minnesota used four pitchers in the game.

Up next

The same two teams meet on Sunday in Oakland at 1:05 p.m. RHP — “the ageless one” — Bartolo Colon (2-9, 8.00) is scheduled to go for the Twins, and if the reports are true, TBA will be on the mound for the Oakland Athletics in place of Sonny Gray.

Two notes from disabled list

  • Chad Pinder went 1-for-3 in a rehab start for Triple-A Nashville Saturday. He has played eight games for the Sounds and has gone 5-for-27 including one home run.
  • Kendall Graveman made a rehab start for the Sounds on Saturday. He pitched 4.2-innings allowing four hits, one run (earned) while walking two and striking out five.

Sonny Gray’s woes continue, the A’s fall to the Twins again.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: A’s manger Bob Melvin left, Sonny Grey center, and A’s catcher Stephen Vogt talk it over in the fifth inning on the mound at Target Field on Wednesday

The A’s lost their sixth game in their last seven starts Wednesday afternoon as the lowly Minnesota Twins beat them 4-0. The A’s Sonny Gray pitched six innings and allowed one run, six hits and walked in losing his seventh straight game. Gray’s record is now 3-8, and he hasn’t won a game since April 22nd. The Twins Ervin Santana won his third game of the year and owns a record of 3-7. Santana must smile when he see that he is pitching against Oakland. He has owned the A’s in the past and today was no different. Santana was perfect until there were two outs in the fifth inning. The no-hitter and the chance for a perfect game went bye-bye when Billy Butler doubled.  Steven Vogt singled in the eighth for A’s second and final hit of the day.

The Twins scored in the bottom of the fifth to score the only run they would need to win the game. Joe Maurer doubled to drive in Robbie Grossman with the winning run. The Twins added two more in the seventh and one in the eighth to close out the scoring. Twins win 4-0.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are again thirteen games under the .500 mark with a record of 36-49. The A’s travel to Houston to face the Astros. The Astros are playing much better baseball now. They got off to a slow start but, as mentioned above, are much more formidable, and the A’s will have their work cut out for them this weekend.  The Twins Ervin Santana allowed just two hits, and he struck out eight and did not walk a batter. The Twins are 8-8 in their sixteen games but their season record of 29-55 is truly pathetic.

LHP Rich Hill (8-3,2.31 ERA) will pitch Thursday night for Oakland. Game time will be at 5:05 PM PT.

 

 

The Twins pound the A’s, beat them 11-4 after two hour 40 min rain delay

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s Jake Smolinski attempt to score on Coco Crisp’s single was stopped when Smolinski was thrown out at the plate at Target Field on Tuesday night

The Minnesota Twins beat the A’s Tuesday night 11-4 at Target Field. The Twins lefty, veteran Tommy Milone, bested the A’s rookie lefty Sean Manaea. Milone was making his third start since being recalled from the minors and won his first game of the year after two not-so-good outings. Sean Manaea, who won his last start against San Francisco last week, took the loss. Manaea pitched five innings and allowed seven hits, six runs, walked three, struck out five and two home runs.

The A’s for the fourth time in the last five games scored first. Shortstop Marcus Semien hit his eighteenth home run of the season in the second to take a 1-0 lead. The A’s, by the way, have lost the last four games that they have scored first. Tonight was no exception. The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the second. They scored two more times in the fourth and three more in the fifth to send Manaea to the showers. The Twins’ Kennys Vargas hit a two-run blast, and Max Kepler followed with a solo shot to put the Twins ahead 6-1. The Twins added a run in the sixth to up the lead to 7-1.

The A’s third baseman, Danny Valencia, hit a three-run shot in the top of the eighth, but the Twins countered with four to win 11-4.

Game notes- Sean Manaea’s record is now 3-5 and the A’s drop twelve games under .500 with a record of 36-48. The A’s currently reside in fourth place in the AL West to games ahead of the LA Angels.

The A’s and Twins conclude the three-game series Wednesday morning at 10 am PT from Target Field in Minneapolis. Sonny Gray goes for Oakland. Gray has been struggling all year and hopes to win his first game since April. The Twins Ervin Santana, who is also struggling, will go for Minnesota.

Rain delayed the start of the game Tuesday for two hours and forty minutes.

The A’s Steven Vogt made the All-Star team for the second year in a row. Vogt will be the only Athletic going to San Diego for the mid-year classic.

 

The A’s snap their four-game losing streak, Beat the Twins.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Minnesota Twins pitcher Tyler Rogers leaps over catcher Juan Centeno after tagging out Oakland A’s baserunner Khris Davis in game three of the series at Target Field on Monday

The A’s ended their four-game losing streak on Monday, the 4th of July, in Minneapolis by beating the Minnesota Twins 3-1. The Twins sent Ricky Nolasco (3-6, 5.31) to the hill and the A’s countered with Kendall Graveman (3-6,4.84). For the first six innings of the game, it was a pitching duel. They have struggled this year but on Monday they looked like Dave Stewart vs. Roger Clemens in 1988 or Tim Hudson vs. Pedro Martinez in 2002. Graveman pitched his best game of the year in picking up his fourth win of the season. He went six and two-thirds innings and allowed just three hits and one run. Graveman has improved his game in his last several starts and on Monday he kept the ball “down in the zone” and recorded many outs on ground balls. He threw 102 pitches before leaving the game in the seventh inning.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning. Twins designated hitter, Joe Maurer, led off the frame with a single. Graveman walked the next hitter, Miguel Sano, to put men on at first and second with no out. The Twins All-Star second baseman, Brian Dozier, smoked a ground ball down the third baseline that was heading into the left-field corner that, fortunately for the A’s and Graveman, was stabbed by Danny Valencia. Valencia threw to second for the force out on Sano but the relay to first was late, and the Twins still had men on at first and third with one out. Graveman issued his second walk of the inning to Kennys Vargas to load the bases. The Twins’ Max Kepler hit into a force out, and the Twins had their first and only run of the game.

Nolasco continued to pitch well until the fateful top of the seventh. Third baseman Danny Valencia, mired in a 0-for-17 slump, doubled to right center. The next batter, Marcus Semien, hit a ground ball to short. Valencia, ignoring the rule of not trying to advance to third when the ball is in front of you, made it there safely, beating the throw. The third base umpire called Valencia out but after a review, he was ruled safe. The replay showed his right foot on the bag before the tag. Stephen Vogt singled to drive in Valencia with the tying run.Twins’ manager, Paul Molitor, removed Nolasco from the game and brought in LHP Taylor Rogers to pitch. Billy Butler greeted Rogers with a bloop single to load the bases. Coco Crisp singled to drive in two more and give the A’s the lead 3-1. The Twins threatened in their half of the seventh With two out, Graveman walked Centeno and Santana followed with a single. Bob Melvin went to the bullpen and brought in Ru=yan Dull to quell the uprising. Dull, who entered the game not allowing an inherited runner to score yet this year, continued to do his thing. He retired Eduardo Nunez for the final out and is now 36-for36 to start a season since the start of the expansion era in 1961.

Dull retired the Twins in order in the eighth and Ryan Madson finished off the Twins in the ninth. The Twins, with two out, threatened when Rosario tripled to center and Madson walked pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman to put the tying runs on base. Madson, however, retired the next hitter to preserve the win for Oakland.

Game Notes- The A’s announced the RHP Fernando Rodriguez, who left the game on Sunday against Pittsburgh, had suffered a shoulder strain and was placed on the 15 day-DL. The A’s recalled Andrew Triggs and Patrick Schuster from Nashville. Schuster is left-handed and has a record of 1-0 and a 1.30 ERA at Nashville. To make room for Schuster, the A’s sent Daniel Coulombe back to the Sounders.

The A’s made news as they announced that they had signed Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros. Armenteros is from Cuba and is sixteen years old and is a very highly-rated prospect. The A’s also signed three players from the Dominican Republic. They signed shortstop George Bell, who is the son of former Major League player and MVP George Bell. In addition, they inked shortstops Marcus Brito and Yerdel Vargas. Brito is the thirteenth ranked prospect and Vargas is twenty-fourth.

The A’s play Game Two of the three-game set Tuesday night at Target Field. Gane Time is at 5:05 PM. The game will feature two lefties. Sean Manaea will go for Oakland, and the Twins will send Tommy Milone to the mound. Milone is a former Athletic, and he owns a record of 0-2 with an ERA of 6.23.

 

 

 

 

The A’s Sweep the Series with the Twins

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s hitter Jake Smolinski is congratulated by A’s third base coach Ron Washington after hitting a home run in the fourth inning off Minnesota Pitcher Pat Dean at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s, behind the strong pitching of starter Seam Manea, beat the Twins 5-1 Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. Manaea pitched extremely well. He went six innings and allowed just five hits and one run. After the game A’s manager Bob Melvin said  it was “probably his best start, so far this year.” He also said that Manaea looked “more comfortable on the mound.” At one point in the game, Manaea retired eight hitters in a row. He ran into a jam in the sixth when he loaded the bases with no out, but did not lose his composure and was able to escape with just one being scored. Very impressive outing for the young lefty. His record is now 2-3 for the year. Pat Dean took the loss for the Twins.

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second. Billy “Country Breakfast” Butler led off with a double. Dean retired the next two hitters but walked Jake Smolinski to put men on at first and second. Dean uncorked a wild pitch and Butler and Smolinski moved up a base. Billy Burns beat out an infield hit to drive in Butler with the run. Smolinski tried to score all the way from second but was thrown out at home. The A’s added a run in the third. Singles by Jed Lowrie and Danny Valencia put men on at first and second with one out. Dean struck out Khris Davis for the second out of the inning. Billy Butler singled to drive in Lowrie. Second hit of the game for Butler.

The A’s scored their third run of the contest in the fourth. Jake Smolinski, filling in for the injured Josh Reddick, blasted a home run that went way up the steps in the walkway in left field. For Smolinski, it was his first homer of the year. For the fourth inning in a row, the A’s scored another run to take a 4-0 lead. Jed Lowrie singled to get things going for Oakland. The red-hot Danny Valencia doubled to send Lowrie to third. Khris Davis flew out to right to drive in Butler with the run.

The Twins scored a run in the top of the sixth. Manaea had retired eight batters in a row, but the streak was broken when he walked Brian Dozier. Trevor Plouffe singled, and Manaea walked Byung Ho Park to load the bases with no out. Eduardo Escobar flew out to center to drive in Dozier with the Twins first run. Manaea struck out Max Kepler and Juan Centeno to end the threat. The A’s, in their half of the sixth, scored a solo run again to take a 5-1 lead. Neither the A’s nor the Twins scored the rest of the way. The A’s win 5-1.

Game Notes – The A’s have now won five in a row and their record for the season is 25-29. The A’s are just four games under the .500 mark and have series with Houston, Milwaukee and Cincinnati coming up.

Manaea struck out a career-high eight batters and saw his ERA drop from 7.03 to 6.16. Hitting stars for the Green and Gold were Billy Butler, Jake Smolinski, and Dann Valencia. Butler was 2-for-3 and is hitting .297 with nine RBI over his last fifteen games. Smolinski hit his first dinger since being recalled from Nashville on May 20th. Valencia was 3-for-4 and owns a five-game hitting streak.

The Twins are having an abysmal season. Last year, they finished with a record of 83-79 and high hopes for 2016. However, they are hapless. Opponents have swept series from them nine times this year. Their record for the season is 15-37. They are an astounding twenty-two games under .500 and the season appears to be lost.

The A’s play the Houston Astros for three games this weekend in Houston. Jesse Hahn(2-2,4.15) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Doug Fister(4-3,3.86). Rich Hill will pitch Saturday and Kendall Graveman will start on Sunday. Houston will counter with Collin McHugh and Lance McCullers.

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The A’s outlast the Twins, win their fourth in a row.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Billy Burns left and Jed Lowrie celebrate after scoring on the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning of Tuesday nigh’ts game at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s won their fourth consecutive game in a row by beating the Minnesota Twins 7-4 in a game that seemed to go on forever. Time of game was three hours and fourteen minutes. The A’s starter, Eric Surkamp lasted just 4 and 2/3rds innings. The A’s used four relievers to secure the win. Ryan Dull received credit for his first win of the season. The Twins starter, Tyler Duffey also went 4 and 2/3rd innings and took the loss. Duffey’s record is 2-4 for the year. Every time the Twins scored in an inning, the A’s responded by scoring in their half of the frame. The Twins did not have a shutdown inning in the game

The Twins struck first in the top of the second. Surkamp retired the first two hitters he faced to start the frame. Twins left-fielder hit a flyball down the right-field line that landed on the chalk for a double. The next hitter, Byung Ho Park, followed with a double to right to drive in Grossman with the first run of the game. The A’s tied the game in their half of the inning. Marcus Semien led off with a single. Chris Coughlan hit a ground ball to first. Joe Maurer threw to second to record the force out on Semien. However, the throw back to first from Twins’ shortstop Eduardo Nunez was wild, and Coughlan reached second on the error. Billy Burns tripled to drive in Coughlan and was at third with just one out. Twins’ pitcher Trevor Duffey struck out Coco for the second out and got Jed Lowrie to ground out to end the inning.

The Twins regained the lead in the third. With one out, Nunez singled to get things going. Surkamp hit Brian Dozier with a pitch to put men on at first and second. Joe Maurer followed with a single to left to load the bases. Miguel Sano hit into a fielder’s choice driving in Dozier with the Twins second run of the game. Sano appeared to injure his left hamstring beating the throw to first and had to leave the game.  The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the third. Stephen Vogt led off with a single. He scored when Danny Valencia took a 3-1 pitch to the opposite field for his eighth tater of the season. A’s lead 3-2 after three complete.

The Twins tied the game at three in the top of the fifth. Eric Surkamp retired the first two hitters he faced. However, he could not close out the inning. Trevor Plouffe singled and scored on a double by Robbie Grossman. A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Surkamp from the game and replaced him with Ryan Dull. Surkamp’s line was 4.2 innings pitched, and he allowed eight hits and three runs allowed. Dull struck out Park to end the Twins threat. The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead. Stephen Vogt led off the inning with a single. Danny Valencia doubled to drive Vogt in with the fourth run of the game. Valencia has driven in three runs so far. Duffey retired Khris Davis and Yonder Alonso. However, he could not get past Marcus Semien. Semien blasted a double to left to drive in Valencia. Twins’ manager Paul Molitor removed Duffey from the game. The new pitcher, Buddy Broshers, retired Jake Smolinski to end the inning. A’s lead 5-3.

The Twins scored a run to cut the deficit to one in the eighth inning. Robbie Grossman led off the inning with a double. For Grossman, it was his third double of the game. Grossman advanced to third when Byung Ho Park flew out to deep centerfield. Former A’s catcher, Kurt Suzuki singled to drive in Grossman with the Twins’ fourth run of the game. The A’s came back again in their half of the frame to score two more runs and increased the lead to three. The big blow was delivered by Stephen Vogt. Vogt doubled to drive in Billy Burns and Jed Lowrie to give the A’s the lead 7-4 after eight.

Game Notes.Stephen Vogt and Danny Valencia were the hitting stars for the A’s. Vogt had two singles, a double and two RBIs. Valencia had a homer and a double and knocked in three. The A’s improved their record to 24-29 while Minnesota drops to 15-36.

The final game of the three-game series will be Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum at 12:35 PM as the A’s go for the sweep. It will be a battle between two lefties. Sean Manaea (1-3,7.03) will pitch for Oakland and Minnesota will send Pat Dean (1-1, 3.43)  out to handle the pitching chores.

12,767 A’s faithful watched their heroes triumph on a very lovely night in Oakland.

 

 

 

The A’s snap the Twins four-game winning streak

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by Jerry Feitelberg

photo by en.wikipedia.org file photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s beat the visiting Minnesota Twins 3-2 on a beautiful, sunny day at the Coliseum. Everything went right for the A’s Monday afternoon. Kendall Graveman, who has been so inconsistent this year, pitched extremely well and gave the A’s a quality start. Graveman went six innings and allowed six hits and two runs. The bullpen did its job and kept the Twins off the board to secure Graveman’s second win of the year. John Axford, Sean Doolittle, and Ryan Madson worked the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to preserve the win. The A’s offense came through with timely hitting to beat Ervin Santana. Santana owned the A’s in the past, especially when he was with the Angels, but the A’s beat him on Memorial Day. Lastly, the defense, so maligned this season, came up big time. The play of the game was Yonder Alonso robbing Joe Maurer of a hit. Maurer’s ball was a rocket that was heading to right field. Alonso dove to his right and caught the ball that prevented two runs from scoring.

Coco Crisp, leading off in the bottom of the first, homered into the right field stands. For Coco, it was the sixteenth time in his career that he had led off the with a home run. The Twins tied the game in the top of the second. Miguel Sano singled to get the rally going for the Twins. With two out, consecutive singles bu Eduardo Escobar and Juan Centeno allowed Sano to score with the tying run. In the top of the fifth, the Twins scored their second run of the game when singles by Danny Santana and Eduardo Nunez put men on at first and third with no out. Twins’ second baseman, Brian Dozier, flew out to deep right centerfield to drive in Santana. Chris Coughlan and Coco Crisp collided on the play. Coughlan held on to the ball, but it was a scary moment as both players appeared to be injured on the play. Fortunately for the A’s, neither player was hurt. The A’s tied the game at two in the bottom of the inning. Yonder Alonso led off with a single. Marcus Semien followed with a double off the wall in left-center to drive in Alonso. Semien was out trying to go third on the throw to the plate. Maurer cut the throw off and nailed Semien at third. Bob Melvin asked for a review, but the call was upheld.

The A’s scored the go-ahead run in the sixth. Jed Lowrie started the inning with a single. Stephen Vogt doubled to left to put men on at second and third with no out. Danny Valencia walked to load the bases. Khris Davis flew out to center to drive in Lowrie with the winning run. The inning ended when Billy Butler ground into a double play.

The A’s brought in John Axford to pitch in the seventh. The Twins Juan Centeno and Danny Santana singled. Eduardo Nunez laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runners to second and third with one out. Axford struck out Brian Dozier on a 98 mile-an-hour fastball. Bob Melvin brought in lefty Sean Doolittle to pitch to Joe Maurer. Maurer hit a line shot just to the right of Yonder Alonso. Alonso speared the ball for the final out of the inning. Two runs would have scored. Defensive play of the day.Doolittle pitched a  strong eighth inning, striking out two and Ryan Madson closed out the game setting the Twins down in order in the ninth. A’s win the game 3-2.

Game Notes- The A’s won their third game in a row after losing six of seven to New York, Seattle and Detroit. The A’s improved to 23-29 for the year. Graveman is now 2-6. Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05 PM.

Behind Bats of Moss, Cespedes, Athletics Spoil Twins Home Opener

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By Matthew Harrington

For the Oakland Athletics, Monday afternoon’s 8-3 pasting of the Minnesota Twins offered a reversal of fates for the green and gold. After setting an MLB record for first-day futility with their tenth-straight Opening Day loss last Monday, the A’s (4-3) played spoiler to the Twin City faithful excited to take in their home team for the first time in 2014.

Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Moss knocked in a pair of runs each, Derek Norris connected on his first homer of the season and Scott Kazmir (2-0, 2.03 ERA) fired six innings of three-run ball to pick up his second win on the season.

The A’s opened the scoring in the top of the second after Moss walked to lead off then scored on a Cespedes double to left field. Alberto Callaspo, getting the start at designated hitter Monday, singled softly to right to advance Cespedes to third. Right fielder Josh Reddick plated Cespedes on a base hit, his first RBI of the season.

Minnesota (3-4) cut the lead by one in the bottom half of the inning off Kazmir when former Oakland backstop Kurt Suzuki singled sharply to left with one out. Center fielder Aaron Hicks doubled to his counterpart to push Suzuki across the plate.

After losing track of the count on a 2-2 pitch with one down in the top of the third, A’s shortstop Jed Lowrie tried taking a base-on-balls one pitch too early. After already removing his equipment to jog to first, Lowrie was informed of his mistake and returned to the plate for the full-count delivery. Lowrie launched the 3-2 Correia change up down the right field line for what appeared to be a homerun to the naked eye. The ruling on the field, upheld after a lengthy video review, confirmed the ball had gone just foul. After being denied the long ball, Lowrie settled for a walk on the next pitch.

Third baseman Josh Donaldson, flip-flopping with Lowrie in the batting order to bat third for the first time this season, doubled on a fly ball to right to put runners at second and third. Moss followed him up by wrapping a one-out single for a 4-1 A’s advantage. After Yoenis Cespedes popped out to Aaron Hicks, Callaspo doubled in Moss to cap the three-run inning.

Minnesota completed its scoring for the day in the bottom half of the inning. After Trevor Plouffe singled to open the frame then league RBI leader Chris Colabello took a four-pitch walk. Kazmir induced a line-drive out off the bat of Josmil Pinto, advancing Plouffe to third on the play. Jason Kubel ripped a run-scoring double to right field, then Suzuki bounced into an RBI groundout to plate Colabello cutting Oakland’s edge to 5-3 after three innings.

With two down in the sixth Norris launched the first pitch he saw from Correia to deep center field for his first home run of the season, a solo blast that chased the Twins starter and put the A’s ahead 6-1.

Despite entering the season with the expectation that Norris would sit against right-handed pitching in favor of the left-handed hitting John Jaso, Norris now has hits in 5-of-9 at-bats against righties this season. He also handled same-handed pitchers with ease in Spring Training to a .354 batting average.

The A’s added a pair in the seventh inning after Twins reliever Samuel Deduno balked home Nick Punto from third with an out before Cespedes’ sacrifice fly brought Josh Donaldson around from third. Despite the blip, Deduno pitched well in relief of Correia (0-1, 6.17 ERA). After the Twins started got knocked out of the game on Norris’ homer, Deduno pitched the final 3 1/3 innings allowing two earned runs.

A’s lefty Scott Kazmir followed up his no-run debut by rattling off six innings of six-hit baseball. He allowed three runs, all earned, and struck out five batters while yielding four walks. Fernando Abad and Dan Otero pitched scoreless innings apiece before Ryan Cook sealed the win by shutting the Twins down in the ninth.

Cook missed the A’s first six games with a strained shoulder forcing him to the disabled list for the season’s first week. Though he didn’t allow a run Monday, Cook opened his 2014 campaign with a somewhat shaky start. He got shortstop Pedro Florimon to strike out on a pitch in the dirt, then issued back-to-back walks to Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer. After a visit from pitching coach Curt Young, Cook retired Plouffe on a popout then finished Colabello off with a punch-out to seal the win.

The A’s will take their first scheduled off-day Tuesday although they have already had two games postponed due to weather-related circumstances. On Wednesday, Jesse Chavez will look to build on his six-inning, one-run performance that yielded a no decision Thursday evening. The A’s ultimately walked off in the 12th inning on Coco Crisp’s first-ever walk-off home run. Chavez will be countered by righty Phil Hughes. The White Sox roughed Hughes up in his first start of 2014, scoring four runs including a pair of long balls over five innings.

 

Back to back AL West Champions!

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By Emily Zahner

 

OAKLAND, CA—The Oakland Athletics (93-63) didn’t need 9 innings for a reason to celebrate, all it took was three. With their magic number down to one, Oakland needed to either defeat the Minnesota Twins (65-90) this afternoon, or see Texas lose. Halfway through the top of the third, cheers started to erupt throughout the stadium, and yet the out of town scoreboard still read the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals were locked in a 0-0 tie in the 10th. After Sonny Gray surrendered a 3-run homerun by Oswaldo Arcia, the A’s finally got out of the inning. That was when a replay was shown of KC’s Justin Maxwell, with two outs in the 10th, crushing a grand slam that instantly sent the A’s into the post season. Once again, at the expense of the Texas Rangers, the A’s would be crowned the American League West Champions.

Not that the A’s needed the Royals help anyway… Oakland erupted for six runs in the 2nd inning, and then added one more in each of the next five innings. The A’s celebrated their division title on the back of a four-game sweep by means of an 11-7 rout of the Twins. Oakland starter Sonny Gray became the youngest pitcher in A’s history to win a division clinching game at the young age of 23. Gray was elated, “this is the best baseball day of my life… today is a very exciting day.” Even though they all knew their fate in the third, Sonny was determined, saying he knew something had happened in the Texas game, but still had a game to win.  Gray did struggle a bit, giving up four earned runs on seven hits through five innings pitched, but with the offensive tear his team appears to be on lately, it didn’t even matter. Gray isn’t worried about where he will land on the post season roster, just as long as he is a part of the team.

After tonight’s game, the A’s finish off the regular season with a three game series in Anaheim, followed by a three game set in Seattle. From here on out, the A’s will be focused on the post season. A’s manager Bob Melvin is ready, saying “we’ve got some unfinished business going forward… we’re going to enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow”. He has extreme confidence in his squad, “this is an unselfish group that just wants to win.” The players themselves are ready, Australian closer Grant Balfour said “we know how to play and we know how to win”.

Not only did the A’s clinch the West today, but Coco Crisp made history as well. In the 6th inning, after Eric Sogard reached first on a single, Coco walked. The two initiated a double steal, and Coco became only the 10th player in Oakland history to have a 20 homerun-20 stolen base year. Players all through the lineup stepped up huge today. In the 7th spot, Daric Barton went 3-3 with a walk; just a triple short of the cycle. Homeruns were a plenty today, and Oakland saw bombs from Crisp, Barton, and Jed Lowrie. Barton has made a huge impact since being called up from Triple A Sacramento on August 24th, and Melvin is taking notice, “I don’t see how Barton could not be on the post season roster”.

This marks the second consecutive and 16th overall AL West Division title for the Oakland Athletics. If the standings hold, the A’s will most likely face the Detroit Tigers once again in the ALDS. With the way this team has been playing, they’re ready for anyone.

 

Game Notes: Josh Donaldson has reached base safely via hit or walk in 27 consecutive games. Oakland has reached a season high of 30 games over .500. Josh Reddick had two outfield assists today, doubling off Brian Dozier in the 7th and Oswaldo Arcia in the 9th.