Tag: mlb

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s head to pitcher’s park Coors Field with six-game win streak; Can Rockies cool down the red-hot A’s?

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey:

The Oakland A’s are rip roaring with 27 wins out of their last 34, a four-game sweep, four triples in a four-game series with the Rangers. The A’s led the way with the four triples and the A’s outfielder Steven Piscotty said there’s a new hero everyday in this ball club.

The A’s leadoff hitter Nick Martini in two at bats on Thursday connected for two hits and scored two runs himself while picking up an RBI. All the runs counted in this one as the A’s got by the Rangers by a run, 7-6.

The A’s open a three-game series in Denver starting tonight at Coors Field. It’s not a hitter’s park. The Rockies have a shot at being that one club that could cool down the red-hot A’s. They’re at home at Coors. They’re third in the NL West, just two games out of first behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers and they have the talent to make a run at the postseason. Come to think of it, so do the A’s.

Joey Friedman does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants are concerned about team DL; Should Giants fans have booed Hader for racist tweets?

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On the SF Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

The San Francisco Giants will be glad when July is over. They dropped two series with the Oakland A’s, and to close out the month, they opened up a series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday–only to lose 7-5. With the loss to the Brewers, the Giants drop their season record to .500. The Giants’ starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (3-3) tonight at AT&T Park for game two of the series. The Brewers are having a very good season just 2 1/2 games back in the NL Central behind the first-place Chicago Cubs.

Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, who made racist, homophobic, and misogynistic tweets, received boos Thursday night when he was announced to the crowd. Was Hader’s treatment by the San Francisco crowd deserving or should the fans just move on? Michael talks about the Hader question on this segment.

It’s been a rough month for San Francisco now at .500 and the Giants are concerned for pitchers Johnny Cueto (3-1), who has thrown well, but is he fully healthy? Jeff Samardjiza is trying to get back–how far off is he? And Brandon Belt is expected to miss about a week with a bruised bone.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants’ bullpen gets pounded in 7-5 loss to Brewers

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants’ bullpen will want to get rid of the memories of the last two days as quickly as they can.

After coughing up Wednesday’s game in Seattle, the Giants’ relievers had an even rougher outing on Thursday, completely overshadowing Dereck Rodriguez’s solid outing in a 7-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at AT&T Park on Thursday night.

Rodriguez did his part, going six strong innings and giving up only a pair of runs and giving the Giants a solid chance to win. However, things imploded upon his exit.

The Brewers put together a one-out rally in the eighth against Mark Melancon, when Travis Shaw singled against the shift to put runners on the corners, which brought Ryan Braun off the bench to pinch hit. Braun responded with a single into left field to bring in Christian Yelich, who had led off the inning with a single of his own, to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead.

Erik Kratz immediately followed that with a single up the middle to bring in another run and send a great deal of Giants fans to the exits.

However, the Giants fought back almost immediately after that. They put together a rally of their own in the bottom of the eighth, scoring a run before Brandon Crawford’s single down the right-field line put runners on the corners with two out.

However, Hunter Pence struck out to end the inning, with the Giants still down a run. Milwaukee then pushed the lead back up to two in the ninth when Jesus Aguilar’s single brought in Yelich, before Travis Shaw’s two-run homer gave the Brewers a 7-3 lead and gave even more fans a solid reason to beat traffic.

The Giants found themselves down early, but their bats sprung to life in the second. The Giants loaded the bases with nobody out, and after Pence’s double-play ball brought home the tying run, Steven Duggar lined one into center to give the Giants the lead.

After giving up the first-inning run, Rodriguez settled down very nicely and was moving right along until the very first pitch of the sixth inning, when Yelich ripped one just beyond the center-field wall – just over the 399-foot sign – to tie the game right back up at 2-2.

NOTES: As to be expected, there was more than a handful of boos waiting for reliever Josh Hader when he entered the game with two out in the sixth in a 2-2 tie.

He then got the third out and then pitched a scoreless seventh before giving way to Jeremy Jeffress. Hader ended up getting the win on Thursday, running his season record to 3-0.

Hader has been quite the lightning rod for controversy lately, as racist and homophobic tweets that he had made as a 17-year-old – seven years ago – surfaced during last Tuesday’s All-Star Game, a game that saw him give up a three-run, game-losing home run.

Following Tuesday’s game, the Giants optioned both left-hander Ty Blach and infielder Kelby Tomlinson to Triple-A Sacramento, upon the return of both Evan Longoria, who returned to the starting lineup Wednesday after completing a rehab assignment, and righty Chris Stratton, who was recalled from Triple-A.

However, Brandon Belt was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a hyperextended right knee, which prompted the team to recall Blach.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Brewers will face off again Friday night at 7:15 pm PDT.

A’s mess with Texas again; sweep 4-game series with 7-6 win

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s won their sixth game in a row as they defeated the Texas Rangers 7-6 at Globe Life Park Thursday night. The A’s swept the four-game series for their 27th win in their last 34 games since June 16th. It was the A’s third four-game sweep this season, and it was the first time the A’s have accomplished such a feat since 1928.

The A’s Trevor Cahill earned the win to even his record at 2-2. He had not won a game since April 17th when he beat the Chicago White Sox. He snapped a nine-game winless streak. He struggled as he went five innings and allowed seven hits and five runs. The A’s offense helped him out as he left the game with the A’s leading 6-5.

The Rangers’ starter was Bartolo Colon. Colon took the loss. He went seven innings and gave up nine hits and six runs. His record dropped to 5-9. He has 243 career win, and it was his fourth attempt to break the record he holds with Dennis Martinez for most wins by a Latin American native.

The A’s took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Nick Martini reached when he was hit by a pitch. Colon retired Marcus Semien for the first out. Jed Lowrie hit a dribbler up the first base line that Colon could not field properly. He tried to get Lowrie at first, but his throw sent the ball past Rangers’ first baseman Ronald Guzman. Lowrie was credited with a hit and Colon an error on the throw as Martini advanced to third base. Khris Davis singled to right to drive in Martini. Shin-Soo Choo’s throw to third base in an attempt to nail Lowrie went into the dugout for the second error of the inning. Lowrie scored.

The Rangers came back in their half of the first to tie the game. Cahill walked the leadoff hitter (Choo). Cahill hit Rougned Odor with a pitch to put men on at first and second with no out. Elvis Andrus singled to load the bases. Adrian Beltre singled to drive in Choo. Cahill struck out Jurickson Profar for the first out. Joey Gall grounded out, and Odor scored on the play.

The A’s Matt Chapman lead off the second inning with a line drive that went over the fence in left field for his 12th home run of the year.

The Rangers tied the game again in the bottom of the inning. Ronald Guzman doubled. He went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored when Choo singled.

The A’s plated three runs in the top of the fourth. With one out Chapman walked. Dustin Fowler followed with a triple to drive in Chapman. Nick Martini followed with another triple to drive in Fowler. Semien singled to drive in Martini. The A’s lead 6-3.

The Rangers scored twice in the fifth to make it a 6-5 game. They put together a walk to Andrus and a single by Beltre. Profar followed with a triple to drive in both teammates.

The A’s added an insurance run in the eighth when Chapman tripled with one out. Jonathan Lucroy drove him in with a sacrifice fly.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Jeurys Familia to pitch. Ronaldo Guzman reached when Matt Olson misplayed his ground ball. Pinch-hitter Willie Calhoun singled to put men on at first and second with no out. Familia struck out Choo for the first out. Rougned Odor lined out to center-field and Guzman tagged up and made it safely to third base. Familia uncorked a wild pitch and Guzman scored on the play.

A’s closer Blake Treinen was brought in to pitch the ninth. Adrian Beltre greeted him with a single, but Treinen was unfazed. He struck out Profar for the first out. Joe Gallo flew out to left field, and Treinen got Robinson Chirinos to line out to Jed Lowrie. The A’s won 7-6.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s hitting star was Matt Chapman. Chapman hit a home run and had two triples. The A’s had four triples in the game. The last time they had three triples in a game was in April 2013.

Blake Treinen recorded his 27th save of the year.

The A’s improved to 61-43 and are 18 games over the .500 mark for the first time since September 9, 2014.

The A’s announced that they will honor Bill King on July 30th will a commercial-free radio broadcast to commemorate the first anniversary of Bill’s receiving the Ford C. Frick Award that put him in Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Up Next: The A’s travel to Denver for a three-game interleague series against the Colorado Rockies. The game will be played without the DH, so Khris Davis probably will be in left field.

Lefty Sean Manaea (9-6, 3.30 ERA) will pitch for Oakland.

Colorado will counter with another lefty, Kyle Freeland. Freeland is 8-6 and has a 3.28 ERA.

Giants’ Wall of Fame to get three more members

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Even though this is just a four-game homestand for the San Francisco Giants, there is a special day for three former members of the Giants family on this homestand.

Former starting pitchers Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong and closer Brian Wilson will have their plaques unveiled on The Giants’ Wall of Fame on Saturday afternoon, prior to the Giants game versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

The trio will bring the number of former Giants on The Wall up to 52, and they are the largest group to be recognized since the inaugural class of 2008, when 43 of the 49 were recognized.

The Wall of Fame recognizes retired Giants players, who played for the organization for a minimum of at least nine seasons, or five seasons with at least All-Star selection as a Giants player since their move to California in 1958.

Here is a list of the players and managers on the Wall, and when they played and/or managed for the Giants.

2008:
Felipe Alou: 1958-1963; Manager: 2003-2006

Gary Lavelle: 1974-1984

Jim Barr: 1971-1978, 1982-1983

Johnnie LeMaster: 1975-1985

Willie Mays: 1951-1952, 1954-1972

Rod Beck: 1991-1997

Jeffrey Leonard: 1981-1988

Vida Blue: 1978-1981, 1985-1986

Kirt Manwaring: 1987-1996

Willie McCovey: 1959-1973, 1977-1980

Bobby Bolin: 1961-1969

Juan Marichal: 1960-1973

Jeff Brantley: 1988-1993

Jack Clark: 1975-1984

Mike McCormick: 1956-1962, 1967-1970

Bob Brenly: 1981-1988, 1989

John Burkett: 1987, 1990-1994

Stu Miller: 1957-1962

Bobby Bonds: 1968-1974

Orlando Cepeda: 1958-1966

Randy Moffitt: 1972-1981

Greg Minton: 1975-1987

Kevin Mitchell: 1987-1991

Will Clark: 1986-1993

Mike Krukow: 1983-1989

Jim Davenport: 1958-1970; Manager: 1985

John Montefusco: 1974-1980

Chili Davis: 1981-1987

Matt Williams: 1987-1996

Robb Nen: 1998-2002

Dick Dietz: 1966-1971

Gaylord Perry: 1962-1971

Darryl Evans: 1976-1983

Jim Ray Hart: 1963-1973

Rick Reuschel: 1987-1991

J.T. Snow: 1997-2005, 2008

Tito Fuentes: 1965-1974

Kirk Rueter: 1996-2005

Scott Garrelts: 1982-1991

Robby Thompson: 1986-1996

Tom Haller: 1961-1967

Chris Speier: 1971-1977, 1987-1989

Atlee Hammaker: 1982-1985, 1987-1990

2009:
Jeff Kent: 1997-2002

2010:
Rich Aurilia: 1995-2003, 2007-2009

Shawn Estes: 1995-2001

2011:
Marvin Benard: 1995-2003

Jason Schmidt: 2001-2006

2017:
Barry Bonds: 1993-2007

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s rolling with 26 wins out of their last 33 games; A’s take on Rangers in bid for sixth consecutive win

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

It’s time to come back to another comeback! The A’s have now won 26 of 33 games taking the first three games of the four-game series in Texas on comeback wins. Pitching hasn’t done it, but the A’s offense had to come back and get these wins, but eventually.

The A’s will need some help from their starting pitching to hold opponents early in the games. Closer Blake Treinen, who picked up his 26th save of the season on Wednesday night continues to shut the door. A’s designated hitter Khris Davis has gone deep six times since Sunday through Wednesday. No matter what you throw him, he can find it.

A’s play game four of this four-game series tonight in Arlington as they try to win their sixth straight game. It’s a classic match up–A’s Trevor Cahill (1-2) vs. Rangers starter Barolo Colon (5-8).

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

Khris Davis’ homers lead the A’s to another amazing comeback over the Rangers 6-5

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By Jerry Feitelberg.

As Yogi Berra once said:”it’s deja vu all over again.” The late A’s Hall of Fame broadcaster Bill King probably would have screamed “Holy Toledo” several times during Wednesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers. The A’s continued to electrify its fans and demoralize their opponents as they did it again. The A’s trailed 5-1 after six innings. They stunned the Rangers Tuesday night as they overcame an eight-run deficit. Could they do it again? The answer is yes they did. Designated hitter, Khris Davis was a one-man wrecking crew as he homered twice to drive in five runs to propel the A’s to their fifth straight win and their 26th win in the last 33 games played. The A’s remain 1 and 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. They are also closing in on the first place Houston Astros. The Astros lost to Colorado Wednesday night, and the A’s now trail them by 6 1/2 games.

The A’s scored a run in the first inning to take an early lead. Marcus Semien doubled to left to start the inning. First baseman Matt Olson also doubled to drive in Semien.

The Rangers tallied three in the bottom of the second. Edwin Jackson walked Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo to put two on and no out. Robinson Chirinos, who always seems to kill the A’s, hit a monster shot that went 429 feet over the center field wall. The Rangers added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Carlos Tocci singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Tocci advanced to third on a passed ball. Rougned Odor singled to drive in Tocci. Odor stole second and he scored on a single off the bat of future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre. The Rangers lead 5-1 after five complete.

The A’s failed to score in the sixth. Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister brought in former San Francisco Giant Corey Gearrin to pitch the seventh. A’s catcher Josh Phegley greeted him with a single. Gearrin retired Semien and Nick Martini. He walked Jed Lowrie to put men on at first and second with A’s DH Khris Davis coming to the plate. KD unloaded his 26th bomb of the season to deep center field. The ball traveled 426 feet, and the A’s now trail 5-4.

The A’s bullpen continued to pitch well. After Jackson’s demise, Petit, Hatcher, Buchter, and Trivino kept the Rangers scoreless as they gave up just one hit to the Rangers.

That set the stage for the fateful ninth inning. The Rangers brought in Jose LeClerc to close out the game. Keone Kela was not available as he threw 40 pitches Tuesday night. Here’s how the inning unfolded. With one out LeClerc walked Nick Martini. He then struck out Jed Lowrie for the second out. Dustin Fowler was sent in to run for Martini. LeClerc now had to face Khris Davis. LeClerc put Davis in a two-strike hole. However, as mentioned earlier, Davis loves to hit in Texas. His 27th home run of the year was an opposite-field shot that went 421 feet. There was no doubt about it when it left the bat, and the A’s were in front 6-5. Bob Melvin summoned his All-Star closer Blake Treinen from the bullpen. Treinen did not disappoint as he struck out the side to preserve the win for Oakland.

Game Notes- Edwin Jackson made his sixth start of the year, and it was not his best effort. Jackson went 4 and 1/3rd innings and allowed 7 hits and five runs. The A’s bullpen was magnificent as they held the Rangers scoreless and gave the A’s a chance to get back in the game. The winning pitcher was Lou Trivino who worked a scoreless eighth inning. His record is now 8-1. Treinen recorded his 26th save in 30 tries. The Rangers’ Martin Perez gave his team a quality start as he went six innings and gave up one run and seven hits. Jose LeClerc took the loss and is now 2-3 for the year.

Khris Davis has homered in his sixth consecutive game against the Rangers. He has 25 homers and 57 RBIs in 49 career games against the Rangers. In Texas, Davis has 15 home runs and 31 RBIs in 26 road games. Davis also has six home runs in his last four games. He is sizzling right now.

The A’s go for the sweep Thursday night at Globe Life Field. Trevor Cahill will pitch for Oakland, and he will be opposed by the ageless wonder Bartolo Colon who is 45-years old. Colon is tied with Dennis Martinez for most wins (245) by a native of Latin America. Game time will be at 7:05 pm.

Giants go down late in 3-2 loss to Mariners

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By Jeremy Harness

The night before, the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen showed its teeth in a huge win over the Seattle Mariners in Seattle, but it was the exact opposite Wednesday afternoon.

After they ties things up in the seventh inning with a dramatic rally, the Giants’ bullpen gave it right back to the Mariners in the eighth, and the Giants ended up with a two-game split after a 3-2 loss to the M’s inside Safeco Field.

Derek Holland pitched six innings and gave up only a pair of runs (one earned) on three hits and gave way to Ray Black, who pitched a perfect seventh inning. However, Tony Watson took over in the eighth and immediately fell into trouble.

The end result was an RBI single by Jean Segura, who brought in Guillermo Heredia to give Seattle a one-run lead. That took the wind out of the Giants’ sails, particularly after they scored two runs in their half of the seventh to erase an early two-run deficit.

In that inning, Brandon Crawford doubled in a run, and a resurgent Hunter Pence immediately followed that one up with a double of his own to bring Crawford in and tie the game.

For the Mariners, Mike Leake, who spent the 2015 season with the Giants, went 6.1 innings and gave up a pair of runs himself and only four hits, striking out two and not walking anyone. However, Seattle’s bullpen then took over for Leake and gave up only two hits the rest of the way.

The Giants will now head home for a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers, a series that starts Thursday night at 7:15 pm PDT. Giants’ Dereck Rodriguez will be taking the ball against the Brewers’ Wade Miley.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: After dropping two series to Oakland, Giants looking to take two from M’s

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On the SF Giants podcast with Marko:

The San Francisco Giants got a big break in the ninth inning on a Pablo Sandoval infield hit that Seattle Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon couldn’t handle the ball and threw it away past first baseman Ryon Healy to allow the Giants Steven Duggar to score from second base.

Sandoval came in as a pinch hitter for Chase d’Arnaud in the third inning earlier in the game and got an infield single that allowed Kelby Tomlinson to score. The Giants Hunter Pence hit his first home run of 2018 a 445 foot blast in thel leftfield upper deck.

The loss for the Mariners decreases the lead they had on the Oakland A’s down to just 1.1/2 games in the AL West and for a wild card spot. Giants pitcher Andrew Suarez pitched 5.2 innings, 3 runs, 8 hits, walked two batters and struck out one.

Marko does the Giants podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Food for thought: What can the A’s offer other teams in a trade?

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By: Ana Kieu

The Oakland A’s are the hottest team in baseball right now.

The A’s recently made a trade with the Mets for closer Jeurys Familia, who’s a Dominican native, but let’s shift our attention to the A’s farm system and what prospects they might potentially have that other teams could want. After all, the A’s are in buy mode as the trade deadline approaches, as they sit in third place in the AL West with a 59-43 record.

In the past, when the A’s have been in a position to be a contender, Billy Beane and company have been very aggressive in making the necessary additions to ensure that the A’s make the playoffs and to give the A’s the best chance at playing as deep into October as possible. Just a few years ago, Billy Beane made deals involving Yoenis Cespedes and Jon Lester, Josh Donaldson and Brett Lawrie, and Jeff Samardzija and with Addison Russell. All of those deals were completed in 2014 and were meant to give the A’s a good shot at being a true contender in the AL West.

The same can be said for this year’s A’s roster, in terms of how aggressive they will likely be, and Beane himself has already come out publicly on record and mentioned how he expects the A’s to be buyers. Now, will the A’s buy to the point where they mortgage the future to address current needs? Probably not because their core is finally starting to show off in Oakland and their farm system is starting to look better, but that also gives the A’s some valuable trade chips to potentially include in deals. What are some of those chips? Let’s take a look.

First things first, the two untouchables for the A’s will likely be their top two prospects in left-handed pitchers, Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk. Luzardo currently pitches down in Double-A and is expected to arrive in the MLB come 2020. So far this season, Luzardo has a 2.16 ERA over 83.1 innings of work and many scouts have projected him to be at least a No. 3 starter, if he is capable of staying healthy. In terms of the entire league, Luzardo is currently the 20th best prospect in all of baseball. Moreover, A.J. Puk, who was the A’s No. 1 draft pick during the 2016 Amateur Draft, figures to be a big part of the A’s future as many project him to be a No. 2 starter, and maybe even an ace down the road. Unfortunately, Puk has missed this season so far and will stay sidelined recovering from Tommy John Surgery, but that doesn’t mean that the A’s are going to give up on him–given that he is only 23 years old and is currently the 26th best prospect in baseball.

Now that the untouchables are out of the way, Sean Murphy is a prospect to watch as the deadline approaches, as he’s the A’s third best catcher.  Murphy was selected by the A’s during the third round of the 2016 Amateur Draft and is sort of blocked by both Josh Phegley and Bruce Maxwell at the MLB level. Anyways, what makes Murphy attractive is his ability to hit for power–especially from the right side of the plate–along with his defensive skills, which some scouts believe are tremendous.

Another name to keep an eye on is the A’s fourth best prospect and the 71st best prospect in all of baseball, Jorge Mateo. Mateo has the ability to play both shortstop and outfield and is highly-touted by scouts who absolutely love his raw skills at the shortstop position. But, of course, some scouts are skeptical as to whether or not that will end up being his full-time position down the road. Some ultimately believe that Mateo will eventually play either second base or center-field. Depending on the direction the A’s go, this could determine if Mateo will be used as trade bait or not. The A’s have Marcus Semien locked down through 2021 and Franklin Barreto under control through at least 2023.

Last but not least, one other prospect to monitor leading up to the trade deadline and even this coming offseason is the A’s fifth best prospect, an outfielder named Austin Beck. Beck projects to be a center-fielder eventually because many scouts note that he has tremendous speed and the right level of athleticism to be successful at that position. However, some scouts are a bit concerned about some of the holes that Beck has in his swing, but believe those holes could improve over time. Currently, the A’s look to have Dustin Fowler out in center-field for the foreseeable future, as Fowler is under control through 2023, but that could always change, depending on which way the A’s go.

Ultimately, none of us truly know what Beane might have up his sleeve as potential ways to upgrade the current A’s roster, but what we do know is that we can expect the A’s to make the necessary upgrades, but these will likely be upgrades that won’t hinder the future outlook of the organization.

The A’s have experienced that in the past and it appears as if they have finally learned their lesson, especially after saying last season that they needed to commit to a core group of players at the MLB level, and that core is being led by the likes of Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Stephen Piscotty. So the last thing the A’s need to do is set themselves back and take a step backwards after all of the progress that the organization has made in the past few years.