Tag: mlb

Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers went six innings and the A’s bullpen shut down the Colorado Rockies as the A’s and Rockies split the brief two game series at Coors Field in Denver on Wednesday (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s ended their eight-game road trip win a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies Wednesday at Coors Field in Denver. The A’s played four with Texas, two with Seattle, and two with Colorado. They played games in three cities in three days. They played a doubleheader in Texas, a doubleheader in Seattle, and two games in the thin Rockie Mountain air. The air quality in Seattle was abominable.

It was so bad that MLB canceled the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Mariners on Tuesday. They then moved the two games to San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday. MLB was able to do it as both teams had an off-day on Thursday.

The A’s met the Rockies for the fourth time this season. The Rockies had won the previous three games and were looking to sweep the A’s. The A’s sent Mike Fiers to pitch. Fiers entered the game with a 5-2 record and had been pitching well. The Rockies countered with German Marquez. Marquez was 2-5 but had thrown well against the A’s when the teams played in July at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s put the first run of the game on the board in the top of the third. Tony Kemp, leading off, drew a walk. He went to second on Marquez’s throwing error to first in an attempt to pick him off. Marquez walked Semien. Kemp went to third on the play as Marquez’s last pitch to Semien got past catcher Tony Wolters.

The A’s had men on at first and third with no out. Robbie Grossman hit into a fielder’s choice. It was a strange play as Tony Kemp was caught in a rundown. Instead of trying to tag Kemp, Wolters threw to third base to nail Semien. Kemp, in the meantime, was able to avoid the tag. Rockies’ third baseman Nolan Arenado, who tagged Semien out, dropped the ball. He made a hurried throw to home, which was not on the mark, and Kemp could slide past the tag. The A’s lead 1-0.

The lead didn’t last long. In the Rockies’half of the third, the Rockies put together three straight singles by Ryan McMahon, Tony Wolters, and Ramiel Tapia to tie the game with one out. Fiers had his work cut out for him as he had to face two of the Rockies’ best hitters, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon. Story hit into a fielder’s choice, and he struck out the ever-dangerous Blackmon to end the threat.

The A’s added two more runs in the sixth. Tommy La Stella reached on an infield single. Matt Olson doubled to send La Stella to third. Olson’s double snapped an 0-for-18 slump. Mark Canha grounded out to drive in La Stella. Olson went to third. Jake Lamb, playing third, singled to drive in Olson with the A’s third run. The A’s lead 3-1.

A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Fiers after six innings of work. He brought in lefty Jake Diekman to start the seventh. Diekman held the Rockies scoreless in the seventh and faced one batter in the eighth. Liam Hendriks recorded the last two outs in the eighth and then sent the Rockies down in order in the ninth to record his thirteen save of the season.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are now 31-19 and have a six-game advantage over the Houston Astros. The magic number to clinch the AL West division is five. Any combination of A’s wins or Houston losses will give the Green and Gold the title.

Mike Lamb is five-for eleven since joining the A’s. Hed had two hits and drove in a run on Wednesday. La Stella was two-for-four and scored a run.

The defensive play of the day came in the bottom of the fifth. Rockies’ catcher Tony Wolters led off with a double. Left fielder Raimel Tapia hit a ground ball down the first baseline. Olson, playing in, fielded the ball. Instead of making the out at first, he threw a dart to Lamb at third to tag Wolters out. Bob Melvin said, “it was the play of the game.”
Melvin also said, “it was a big win for us” and that Mike Fiers was “fantastic.”

Fiers’ line was six innings pitched, seven hits, four strikeouts, and one earned run. The line for the A’s was three runs, six hits, and no errors. The Rockies’ line was one run, nine hits, and one error.

The A’s do not play on Thursday. They have ten games left to play. The meet the Giants for three this weekend. They are off on Monday. They play three against the Los Angeles Dodgers in LA and finish the season with four against the Mariners in Oakland.

Colorado Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela went the distance for the Rockies going nine innnings, giving up six hits and one earned run to defeat the visiting Oakland A’s at Coors Field on Tuesday night (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s met the Colorado Rockies for a two-game set in Denver Tuesday night. The temperature at the start of the game was 84 degrees, and the air was clear. It was quite a contrast from Seattle, where the air quality readings were over 200.

Very unhealthy, and some of the A’s players complained they had difficulty breathing. The thin air in Denver may have been a factor as the Rockies’ starting pitcher, Antonio Senzatela, held the A’s offense to just one run and six hits as the Rockies downed the A’s 3-1.

The A’s have played the Rockies three times this year and have lost all three. Senzatela faced the A’s on July 10th in Oakland and, in that game, went five innings and allowed two runs.

The A’s scored their lone run of the night in the second inning. A’s designated hitter Jake Lamb drew a walk. He went to third on a Ramon Laureano single. Second baseman Tony Kemp drove in Lamb with a sacrifice fly to center.

A’s starter Sean Manaea got out of a jam in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded and two out, Manaea had to face Charlie Blackmon. Blackmon is one of the best hitters in baseball, and getting him out is no easy task. Manaea rose to the challenge as Blackmon grounded out 4-3 to end the inning. The A’s still lead 1-0 after three.

The Rockies got to Manaea in the bottom of the fifth. Rockies’ first baseman Josh Fuentes reached on an infield single. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien had to make a long throw to nail Fuentes. His throw got by Matt Olson, and Fuentes went to third on the error. As it turned out, the error didn’t matter as catcher Elias Diaz blasted his first home run of the year to put the Rockies in the lead 2-1.

The Rockies added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Third baseman Nolan Arenado led off with a single. Kevin Pillar followed with another single to put men on at first and second with no out. Matt Kemp hit into a fielder’s choice. Arenado advanced to third and scored on a sacrifice fly to left. The Rocks lead 3-1.

The A’s were toast. Senzatela allowed just one hit in his last four innings of work. The A’s fall to Colorado 3-1.

Game Notes with the loss, the A’s drop to 30-19. They lead the Houston Astros by 5 1/2 games with eleven games left on the schedule. The Rockies improved to 22-25 and are still a contender for a wild card spot in the National League.

Senzatela’s line was one run and six hits in pitching his first complete game. Sean Manaea took the loss. Manaea went five and 2/3rds innings allowing three runs and seven hits.

The A’s and the Rockies meet Wednesday again for the fourth time this year. Mike Fiers will go for the Geen and Gold, and German Marquez will throw for Colorado. Game time will be at 12:10 pm.

The Oakland A’s Marcus Semien belted a three run homer comes home and is greeted by Tony Kemp and Khris Davis both who scored ahead of Semien in the fourth inning of the first game of the doubleheader vs. the Seattle Mariners (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, smarting from a rare bullpen meltdown in game one of the doubleheader with the Mariners on Monday, bounced back to trounce the M’s 9-0.

The A’s sent the veteran lefty, Mike Minor, out to the hill to subdue the M’s. Minor did his job as he pitched his best game of the year. Minor, an All-Star last season, went 0-5 with the Texas Rangers before being traded to the A’s.

Minor baffled the up-and-coming young Mariner team with a mix of fastballs, curves, and change-ups. He pitched a complete seven-inning game as he allowed just two hits and no runs. He struck out a season-high eight Mariners and walked only two.

The A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Tommy LaStella, batting in the leadoff slot, was hit by a pitch. Marcus Semien walked to men on at first and second with no out. LaStella went to third when Robbie Grossman reached on a fielder’s choice. Semien was out at second. Grossman then stole second.

M’s starter Jimmy Yacobonis walked Matt Olson to load the bases. Mark Canha singled to drive in LaStella with the A’s first run. With the bases still loaded, Ramon Laureano blasted a shot to centerfield. The ball appeared to be high over the fence for a grand slam. Kyle Lewis, a contender for the AL Rookie of the Year, made a sensational leaping catch to Rob Laureano. The A’s lead 1-0

The A’s, in the top of the third, sent ten men to the plate as they put five runs on the board. Olson walked for the second time. Seth Frankoff was now pitching for Seattle. He retired Canha for the first out. After being released by the Colorado Rockies, Jake Lamb, signed as a free agent, doubled to send Olson to third.

It was Lamb’s first hit as an Athletic. Laureano doubled to drive in Olson and Lamb. Catcher Jonah Heim singled to drive in Laureano make it 4-0. Third baseman Vimael Machin followed with a bloop single to left field. LaStella walked to load the bases. Semien reached on a fielder’s choice. Heim scored. Grossman then singled to drive in Machin with the A’s fifth run of the inning. The A’s lead 6-0.

The A’s put the game out of reach when they put three more runs on the board. With one out, Robbie Grossman singled. Mark Canha homered over the centerfield wall to make it 8-0. Jake Lamb, playing in his hometown of Seattle, blasted his first home run of the year to deep right field to up the score. The A’s win 9-0.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are now 30-18. They have twelve games left on the schedule. They travel to Colorado for games on Tuesday and Wednesday. They have an off-day on Thursday.

They resume play at home against the hard-hitting San Francisco Giants. The Giants are contending for a playoff berth, and the three-game set should be very entertaining. The A’s then travel to Los Angeles to play the NL West-leading Dodgers for three games.

The Mariners then come to Oakland to play the last four games of the year. There will be another doubleheader between the teams on September 26th. The final game of the regular season will be on the 27th.

The Seattle Mariners Kyle Lewis is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two run fifth inning home run in the first game of the doubleheader on Mon Sep 14th at T-Mobile Field in Seattle (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s arrived in Seattle to play a doubleheader with the Mariners before moving on to Denver to play two games with the Colorado Rockies. Just as the Portland, San Francisco, and Oakland, Seattle was covered with smoke from the forest fires in the western states. The air quality number was over 200. Major League Baseball had to decide on whether or not to postpone the game. They elected to play the game.

The A’s scored one in the second and four in the fourth to lead 5-0. A’s starter lefty Jesus Luzardo was pitching well. He gave up a solo homer in the fourth and then three runs in the bottom of the fifth as the M’s crept to within one run of tying the game. A’s manager, Bob Melvin, pulled Luzardo with two outs in the fifth. Yusmeiro Petit recorded the final out.

The Mariners put the game away in the sixth. Joakim Soria was on the hill for Oakland. With two out and a man on first, M’s designated hitter, Tim Lopes, doubled to drive in Phillip Irvin with the tying run. For Lopes, it was his third double of the game. Soria then walked the next three hitters to force in the M’s sixth run of the game.
The M’s brought in Yoshihisa Hirano to close out the game. He did his job and retired the side to preserve the win for the M’s.

Game Notes- The A’s line was five runs, six hits, no errors. The M’s line was six runs, nine hits, and two errors. Lefty Marco Gonzalez was the winning pitcher. Joakim Soria took the loss.
Luzardo pitched four and 2/3rds innings. He allowed four runs, seven hits, and three home runs. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
Marcus Semien led the A’s offense. He had two hits and drove in four with a single and a three-run homer.

The A’s dropped to 29-18 with the loss. The youthful Mariners now have won eight of the last eleven games and are 22-25. They trail the Houston Astros by one game in the race for the second spot in the AL West.

The A’s play game two of the doubleheader at 5:10 pm Monday