Tag: mlb

Despite obvious flaws, Shohei Ohtani continues to shine for the Angels

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By Mizhuo Takagi

OAKLAND — Despite him missing 2/3rds of the season as a pitcher and the Los Angeles Angels having a losing season, two-way phenomenon Shohei Ohitani has proven his abilities and remains a candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Ichiro Suzuki was the sensation when he made his Major League debut with the Mariners in 2001, and the high-volume contact hitter not only won the AL Rookie of the Year, but also the AL MVP. 17 years later Ohtani crossed the ocean from Japan, but he is totally different. He is a slugger and a pitcher who can throw the ball over 100 miles per hour.

Ohtani made his debut as DH on March 29, and as a pitcher on April 1. Both debuts occurred in Oakland and the lucky fans in the Bay Area got to watch him hit and pitch.

Ohtani’s two-way endeavor brought excitement to both sides of the Pacific. In fact, there were approximately 200 Japanese reporters and crew members on Opening Day and 100 to 150 through the season when he plays at home.

Ohtani was met with skepticism, but he was named AL Player of the Week on April 8, and later AL Rookie of the Month for April.

When Ohtani’s right elbow injury was reported in June, disappointment spread. It was like, “the dream is over!” But he came back after missing six weeks with the injury and one of the two dreams is still alive. He continues to hit homers and contribute to production.

On September 2, Ohtani became the first player to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings since Babe Ruth. Now, he has extended the number of HRs to 20. He received his second career Player of the Week honor on September 10.

Ohtani played DH during three-game series against the A’s from September 18 to 20, and there were Ohtani fans all the way from Japan who stopped by Oakland just to watch him play.

Osamu and Noriko Suzuki, who used to live in Menlo Park in 2001, visited the Bay Area to watch Ohtani play. His first season in the MLB may be a let down, but they felt relieved rather than disappointed.

The Suzukis said, “We were worried about his injury, but he is hitting well and even a Rookie of the Year candidate. It could have been a better season, but I think he has a great season and we are happy for him.”

Japanese college student, Taku Shibata, and his three friends were all decked out in Ohtani t-shirts in Oakland.

Shibata said, “I hope he will continue to play two-way as long as he can. It would have been awesome if I could watch him pitch too, but I will definitely come and watch him when he recovers from injury. He is truly a star for my generation.”

If Ohtani undergoes Tommy John surgery, he will likely not return to the mound until 2020. It has been reported that he has not made any decision yet and is trying to look at other options. So many pitchers have gone through Tommy John surgery, but there is no example nor two-way player like him.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Angels Manager Mike Scioscia Likely to Say Goodbye

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By: Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND, Calif. — Chances are very good that this week was the last time we will see Angels manager Mike Scioscia as manager with the Angels at the Oakland Coliseum. During their last home stand of the season and during the penultimate game at Angel Stadium on Saturday, September 29, the Angels will give everybody in attendance a Mike Scioscia bobblehead, a sellout of 45,000 is expected.

As a manager, Scioscia led the Angels to their only World Series championship on 2002 against the San Francisco Giants.

Scioscia is the all-time managerial leader in wins, games managed and division titles. He also was honored as the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2002 and 2009.

I have very good memories and experiences with Scioscia. Not only did I have the privilege of calling the 2002 World Series for the Giants, but during the past eight seasons, I traveled to Anaheim to do the Spanish play-by-play for the Angels at Fox Sports Network with my good friend José Mota, who does commentary. Mota is bilingual and as qualified as anybody I have ever met in baseball.Although this season the Spanish Fox Sports West production of the Angels ceased to exist due to a business decision by Disney, who acquired a ton of regional sports networks, including Fox Sports West. Anyhow, you can still see Mota during pre and post games for the English Fox Sports and sometimes on Angels’ radio and other MLB outlets.

There were many times where I have interviewed Scioscia in Spanish (Scioscia speaks conversational Spanish) for the Fox Sports’ Angels pregame in Anaheim. He was always available to talk baseball. A man that was in the Los Angeles area was always thought to be the perfect manager for the rival Dodgers, a team he played for 13 seasons from 1980-1992. He was arguably one of the best defensive catchers of any generation. To try to score on a close play at the plate against Scioscia was a tough thing to do, he was Fernando Valenzuela’s first and foremost catcher. Fernando has always told me great things on how Scioscia guided him when he was a Dodgers rookie. Preston Gómez, a great pioneer manager and lifetime baseball man, once told me: “Scioscia era el hombre que los Dodgers debían de haber firmando de manager.” Translation: “Sciosica was the man that the Dodgers should have signed as their manager.”

On March 29th when the Angels played the A’s at the home opener in Oakland, Scioscia told me this: “I really like my ballclub this year.” Unfortunately, injuries to his pitching staff, many Tommy John surgeries–all while the news broke that Japanese rookie sensation Shohei Othani, who could be the Rookie of the Year in the AL, was also told he had to submit to the surgery.

The Angels’ best player in the game is Mike Trout. Scioscia and Trout have the ultimate respect for each other. They are both huge fans of the Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles. Trout was born and raised in southern New Jersey and Mike Scioscia hails from Pennsylvania. Obviously, Scioscia’s team was not the one that was going to chase the Houston Astros or even contend for a Wild Card spot.

Scioscia could write his own ticket. I do not know what he will choose to do after his managerial life, but whatever he does, he will be just as good as he has been as the Angels manager for the last 19 seasons–the longest tenured manager in the MLB. He could possibly take an advisory position and assistant to Angels owner Arturo “Arte” Moreno. I can easily see that.

Listen to A’s home games in Spanish on KIQI 1010AM/990AM in San Francisco/Oakland/San José/Sacramento/Stockton.

A’s win the series vs. Angels with 21-3 blowout

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The A’s won a laugher as they rapped out 22 hits and put 21 runs on the board to blowout the Los Angeles Angels 21-3 and win the series 2-1. Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is rumored to be retiring at the end of the season, probably will need some Tylenol to remove his headache or antacid to calm his stomach after Thursday’s debacle. The A’s hitters were scorching hot, and it is too bad there is not a run bank so that the A’s could have some stored for the weekend series versus the Minnesota Twins.

The Angels drew first blood in the top of the third. With one out, A’s starter Edwin Jackson walked Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun. The next hitter, Jose Fernandez’s drive into right field went for a double that drove in Calhoun to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.

In their half of the third, the A’s jumped all over Angels starter Matt Shoemaker as they put five runs on the board and sent Shoemaker to an early shower. A’s catcher Josh Phegley got things going when he led off the inning with a single. Nick Martini followed with a single to put two men on with no out. Matt Chapman, who has been playing well in the second half of the season, doubled to drive in Phegley and Martini. Jed Lowrie hit a solid line drive for a single. Chapman went to third on the play. Shoemaker settled down as he struck out Khris Davis and Matt Olson. He did not get out of the inning as Stephen Piscotty, who had homered and doubled last night to drive in five, continued his hot hitting as he blasted his 26th big fly of the year into the seats in left field to put the A’s ahead 5-1. Scioscia brought in former A’s reliever, Jim Johnson, to get the final out of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, the A’s put on a hitting clinic. Johnson was greeted by a single off the bat of Marcus Semien. The next hitter, Josh Phegley, lined out to Mike Trout who was able to double up Semien, who was running on the pitch. The inning appeared to be over when Martini hit a ground ball to Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Simmons throw to first went for an error. That miscue opened the floodgates as the A’s hitters went to town on Johnson. The A’s had five straight singles before Ramon Laureano doubled. Semien singled. Josh Phegley flew out to right field to end the inning. The A’s put seven runs on the board and had eight hits in the inning. Six of the runs were unearned. The A’s had a commanding 12-1 lead after four complete.

Angels star Mike Trout hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth off of Jackson. Jackson then walked Angels’ DH Shohei Ohtani. A’s manager Bob Melvin went to the mound and brought in Emilio Pagan to finish the inning. The A’s onslaught continued in the bottom of the sixth. Davis started the rally with a double. Angels’ reliever Miguel Almonte walked Olson and Piscotty to load the bases. Ramon Laureano’s single drove in Davis for the first run of the inning. With the bases loaded, Semien’s double cleared the bases. For Semien, it gave him a career-high five RBIs in a game. The hit parade continued when Phegley singled to drive in Semien with the A’s 17th run of the day. Phegley scored the sixth run of the inning and eighteenth of the game on Nick Martini’s single.

In the seventh, Scioscia decided to use his catcher, Francisco Arcia, as the pitcher. The use of a position player as a pitcher worked for just two hitters. Arcia retired Semien and Matt Joyce. He gave up a single to Phegley. It was Phegley’s third hit of the day. Martini then blasted the first home run of his career to make it 20-2. Chad Pinder, who replaced Chapman at third, took Arcia deep for his 12th of the year and the A’s increased the advantage to 21-2.

The Angels scored a run in the top of the ninth. Francisco Arcia homered with two out to score the Angels’ third run of the game, but it was too little, too late. Arcia became the first player in MLB history to pitch, catch and homer in the same game.

The A’s routed the Halos 21-3.

Game Notes: Edwin Jackson was the winning pitcher. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run and three hits. His record for the season improved to 6-3 and the A’s have won 13 of the 16 games that he has started.

The Angels’ Matt Shoemaker absorbed the loss, and his record dropped to 2-2.

The A’s are now 92-61 for the season, while the Angels fell to 75-78.

With the win, the A’s improved their record to 58-25 dating back to June 16, which is the best record in the Major Leagues over that span.

The A’s lowered their magic number to five to clinch a Wild Card spot. They currently have a six-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays, who play tonight. They are currently two games out of the first AL Wild Card spot behind the Yankees, who play tonight.

The A’s accounted for 21 runs on the game, the most runs the A’s have scored in a contest since June 18, 2000, at Kansas City. The 21 runs are tied for second in Oakland history.
The 18-run margin of victory was second largest in Oakland history.

This is the third time in Oakland history, the A’s have scored five or more runs in an inning three times in one game (June 14, 1969, at Boston; Sept. 30, 2000, vs. Texas).

Matt Chapman amassed his 24th double of the second half, which is now tied with Rajai Davis for the most doubles post All-Star break in A’s history.

Stephen Piscotty clubbed his seventh homer of the month and now has 22 RBI in September. He recorded his 85th RBI of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning, matching his career best. He leads the Majors in RBI for the month and is tied for first with seven homers.

Marcus Semien tallied a career-high five RBIs in the contest.

Nick Martini clubbed his first career round-tripper in the seventh inning.

Up Next: The A’s play the last three home games of the season starting Friday night versus the Minnesota Twins at 7:05 pm PDT. After the home series versus the Twins, the A’s finish the season on the road with three in Seattle and three more in Anaheim.

The A’s have not announced their starting pitcher for Friday night. It is possible that it will be a bullpen game. The Twins will send Jose Berrios to the mound. He is 11-11 with a 3.81 ERA.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s need every win they can get as Angels open series with comeback win on Tuesday

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Stranger things have happened in baseball, but a fan interfered with the bags juiced in the sixth inning on Tuesday night. The A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty chased the Angels’ Andrelton Simmons fly ball in the corner at the high wall near the warning track a fan reached over with her glove and deflected the ball the ruling was no fan interference, which at that point going forward, the A’s could not score a run with the Angels leading 7-4.

#2 Talk about that top half of the sixth where the Angels rallied from being down 4-1 adding six runs to catch the A’s and score three runs and two hits off reliever Lou Trivino for a blown save for Trivino.

#3 Despite the Angels not being in the postseason and needing possible surgery for the throwing arm, the Angels’  Shohei Ohtani in DH hit one for two with a run scored and a .291 average and will be on the DH for the rest of the season.

#4 The A’s, who have been depending on the bullpenning, had some great outings from the staff before the six Angel runs in the sixth from Liam Hendriks, Daniel Mengden, Sean Kelly, and Ryan Butcher.

#5 The A’s have lost four of their last five games setting them back behind the AL Wild Card first place team the New York Yankees. The A’s coming into Wednesday night’s game is at a three-game losing steak.

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsrasdioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Belt sent back to S.F.–done for season as knee surgery needed; Giants headed for St. Louis

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On the Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

The Giants, at the rate that they’re playing, would settle for 81-81 right now and that’s who they are right now, but what people forget is they lost 98 games last year. Even if they wind up losing 84 this year, that’s a 14-game improvement, and if you project that forward, if they can do that again next year, they can get 92 wins.

It’s interesting the Giants were looking for a lot of improvement that was the whole impetus of keeping the whole ball club together and of course they come up 14, 15 games better, which is what most teams will do, but it’s not going to get them in the playoffs.

The Giants kept the folder of contracts together. The team was never together. They had their projected starting eight-plus their Opening Day starter for one game all year this year. It just never pulled together, as health was an issue.

The Giants announced that the first baseman Brandon Belt is done for the season and is headed back to San Francisco from San Diego and that’s from the knee that’s going to require surgery in the offseason. The Giants hope to play spoiler in St. Louis starting with a Friday night game to open a three-game series with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Michael and Morris perform their broadcast duties on the Giants podcasts last one of the season coming next week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants drop series finale against the Padres 8-4

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Photo credit: @KNBR

By Jeremy Harness

Thankfully, there are only a couple of weeks left in a season that has quickly turned dreadful for the Giants.

The latest piece of debauchery was Wednesday night, when the Giants blew a 3-0 lead and ended up with their tails between their legs after an 8-4 loss to the Padres at Petco Park on Wednesday night.

Wednesday actually started off pretty well for the Giants, as starter Chris Stratton cleared the bases in the top of the second inning with a three-run double to give his team a 3-0 lead.

However, that success did not translate to the pitching mound, where it was really needed. The Padres blasted him for five runs in the bottom half of that inning, the big hot coming when Wil Myers hit a two-run homer that sailed over the wall in left-center.

Stratton lasted only three innings and gave up those five runs and six hits, walking one and striking out two.

“He just got out of sync, couldn’t get the ball where he wanted,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He was missing his spots by a big margin, which is unlike him, especially with the way he’s been throwing the ball.

“I don’t know if running the bases (after the second-inning double) threw him out of sync or what, but he just couldn’t hit his spots.”

Aramis Garcia, who has played catcher in the minor leagues, but has been at first base while Nick Hundley has been behind the plate, narrowed San Diego’s lead in the top of the eighth when he lined a Craig Stammen pitch into the right-field seats.

“He looks comfortable up here (in the majors),” Bochy said. “With Belt down, he’ll get some (playing) time.”

However, Ray Black got into trouble in the bottom half, and when he could not locate his other pitches, Freddy Galvis keyed on his fastball, got one he liked, and sent it over the wall in right-center for a three-run homer that essentially put the game away.

The Giants have a much-needed day off and then they’ll take on the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game series starting Friday at 5:15 pm PDT.

Anderson, A’s trounce the Angels 10-0

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By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — Brett Anderson had his best performance of the season as he led the A’s to a 10-0 win over the Angels. Anderson made his third start since coming off the DL and was in total control as he throttled the Angels’ offense. He went 6 2/3 innings and allowed no runs and three hits. The A’s bullpen of Ryan Dull, Frankie Montas, and Aaron Brooks gave up one hit the rest of the way. The A’s came to life as they put 10 runs on the scoreboard. Stephen Piscotty was the hitting star with a double, home run and five RBIs.

The A’s put on their hitting shoes in the bottom of the fourth as they sent 10 men to the plate and scored six runs on six hits and a walk. Nick Martini and Matt Chapman singled to start the rally. Jed Lowrie doubled to drive in the first two runs of the night. Khris Davis reached on an infield single, and Lowrie went to third on the play. Pen walked Matt Olson to load the bases. Piscotty doubled to clear the bases, and the A’s had a 5-0 lead. Ramon Laureano singled, and Piscotty advanced to third. Pena struck out Marcus Semien for the first out of the inning. Jonathan Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Piscotty with the sixth run of the inning. The A’s led 6-0 after four.

The A’s continued the onslaught in the bottom of the fifth. Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced Felix Pena with Parker Bridwell. Matt Chapman singled to start the A’s rally. Bridwell retired Lowrie for the first out. Davis walked to put men on at first and second. Bridwell struck out Matt Olson for out number two. Piscotty blasted his 25th home run of the year about four rows deep in the second deck in left field. He has hit a career-high 25 home runs and a career-high 81 RBIs. The A’s led 9-0 after five.

The A’s put the 10th run of the night on the board in the seventh. A’s manager Bob Melvin inserted some of the role players as the game was well in hand at this point. Franklin Barreto hit for Lowrie and struck out. Matt Joyce, hitting for Davis, singled and was safe on second on a throwing error by Jefry Marte. Olson reached on the fielder’s choice. Piscotty was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ramon Laureano hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Joyce with the A’s 10th run, which was unearned. There was no more scoring as the A’s won their 91st of the year by a final score of 10-0.

Game Notes: The A’s picked up a game on the Astros as Houston lost to Seattle. They are four back with just 10 games left to play. The Yankees won again on Wednesday and the lead the A’s by 2 1/2 games in the race for the first Wild Card spot.

A’s Brett Anderson was the winning pitcher. His record for the year is now 4-5.

Angels’ Felix Pena absorbed the loss. His record dropped to 3-5.

Up Next: Game three of the series will be played Thursday afternoon at 12:30 pm PDT at the Coliseum. The A’s will send Edwin Jackson to the mound. Jackson (5-3, 3.17 ERA) Jackson will be opposed by the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker (2-1, 3.98 ERA)

A’s finally complete the Mike Fiers trade

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By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND, Calif. — Last month, the Oakland Athletics acquired starter Mike Fiers from the Detroit Tigers. Fiers had a brief stint with the Tigers this year. Prior to his departure, Fiers posted a 7-6 record and a 3.48 ERA in 21 starts in Detroit.

In exchange, the A’s were going to receive two prospects or a considerable amount of cash. The A’s received two unknowns–the first of those two was reliever Nolan Blackwood and the second was starter Logan Shore. Shore was initially an A’s second-round draft pick in 2016, but his MLB career hasn’t panned out the way he wanted. Shore was described as a “fast track candidate” out of the University of Florida, but injuries hampered his early progress in both the minor and major leagues.

Shore’s line in Double-A in 2018 features a 5.50 ERA, 68 2/3 innings pitched, 49 strikeouts, 19 walks, 7 home runs and 4.27 fielding independent pitcher.

Shore’s most recent injury was a ulnar nerve irritation, which forced him to finish the 2018 season on the DL.

I accept the final result of this specific trade. At 33 years old, Fiers is on the older side, but he has been dominating in Oakland thus far. Fiers currently has a 5-1 record with a 3.09 ERA since August 6th. Moreover, Fiers remains under the A’s control, as he’s eligible for arbitration.

If healthy, Shore will be a solid prospect for the Tigers’ roster. Shore just has a slightly lackluster arm, so he has to put in a little bit more effort to work his way into the Tigers’ pitching rotation.

As for Blackwood, the 23-year-old was ranked 30th on this year’s list of A’s prospects on MLB Pipeline. Blackwood has a deceptive bullpen arm, but could use some other deceptive bullpen arms to complement him on the mound.

Headline Sports with London Marq: Garoppolo, 49ers look to avoid the INT Sunday; Halos look to be spoilers as A’s chase Yanks; Raiders drop to 0-2 in close battle with Denver; Quakes make a coaching change; plus more

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On Headline Sports with London:

#1 The A’s battle the LA Angels this week and the Angels want to be spoilers and try and set the A’s chase of the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card a peg or two.

#2 The Oakland Raiders played a nail-biter on Sunday, but lost to the Denver Broncos just by one point. Derek Carr looked and threw well, but the Raiders tried as hard as they could and lost their second game of the season, dropping them now to 0-2.

#3 With all the losses mounting, the San Jose Earthquakes fired head coach Mikael Stahre and assistant coach Alex de Crook. The Quakes have won only four games this season. When do you think Stahre should have got fired.

#4 The San Francisco Giants, who are a good 12 games out of first place, and their current hosts, the San Diego Padres, who are some 26 games out, will mostly look at their call ups during this series since the playoffs are dimming each day.

#5 The San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a rough outing against the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. The Niners had a 17-point lead, but lost it as their lead collapsed to just three points. If it wasn’t for a holding penalty late in the fourth quarter, the Lions would have been in field goal range or at best scoring range after picking off a Garoppolo pass.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Shaw helps the Giants to a 5-4 win over the Padres

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By Jeremy Kahn

After dropping 11 in a row, the San Francisco Giants have turned it and got a little streak going on in the better direction against the San Diego Padres.

Chris Shaw hit a two-run single that landed just out of the reach of Hunter Renfroe in left field, as the Giants came back to defeat the Padres 5-4 at Petco Park on Tuesday night.

It was the fourth win in a row for the Giants, who started the month of September by losing a season-high 11 in a row.

The Shaw single scored Nick Hundley, who grounded into a fielder’s choice that sent Evan Longoria to third base on a Cory Spangenberg throwing error. Crawford then hit for Aramis Garcia, and walked to load the bases.

Longoria led off the inning with a sharp single to centerfield off of eventual losing pitcher Craig Stammen.

After the Crawford walk, Hunter Pence ground into a fielder’s choice that saw Longoria get thrown out at the plate by a step, as Stammen threw to Austin Hedges, who barely kept his foot on the plate.

Shaw then gave the Giants the lead for good with his flare down the left field line just out of reach of Renfroe.

Pence gave the Giants the lead in the top of the second inning, as his two-run home run gave the Giants a 2-1 lead. He also added a run-scoring double in the top of the fourth inning that once again gave the Giants a one-run lead at 4-3.

Franmil Reyes gave the Padres the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning just out of the reach of Shaw, who claimed possible fan interference. The umpires went to video review, and the home run stood.

It was the second and third runs batted in of the night for Reyes, who also drove in a run on a single in the bottom of the third inning. Renfroe got the Padres on the board in the bottom of the first inning, as he drove in a run on a double.

Sam Dyson pitched one inning to get his fourth win of the season for the Giants, and Will Smith finished it up for his team-leading 14th save of the season.

Derek Holland pitched five innings, allowing four runs on five hits, walking two and striking out six.

East Bay native Joey Luchessi also pitched five innings for the Padres, as he gave up three runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out eight.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Padres will wrap up their series with a finale Wednesday night at 6:10 pm PDT.

Chris Stratton will go to the mound for the Giants, as they look for a sweep. Stratton coming off his first career shutout on Friday night, as the Giants stopped their 11-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park. Robbie Erlin goes for the Padres, as he looks to stop a career-high tying four-game losing streak.