Tag: mlb

Maple bats: Do they cause more harm than good?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

In this June 4, 2013 photo, the wood of choice for the Uppercut Bat is a high grade piece of Maple that can be custom ordered and designed with a variety of stains and paints, at the Uppercut Bat Company in Tupelo, Miss. Ever since the game of baseball was invented, players have needed two essential pieces of equipment: a ball and a bat. The Uppercut Bat Co. is less than two years old, but it has drawn a legion of fans and customers who have taken to the company’s wood bats. (AP Photo/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Thomas Wells)

By: Ana Kieu

Maple bats became popular after the MLB introduced the first sanctioned model in 1997.

Former outfielder and first baseman Joe Carter was the first baseball player to use a maple bat. Carter played for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants. In his professional career, he hit 396 home runs and drove in 1,445 runs. He was also named to five All-Star teams.

Former left fielder Barry Bonds used maple bats over the course of his career. Bonds broke the MLB’s single-season home run record in 2001. He also broke a career home run record in 2007. He finished the season with 28 home runs, 66 RBIs, 340 at-bats and a .276 batting average. He led both the American League and National League with 132 walks. He became a free agent on October 29, 2007. He served as a hitting coach for the Miami Marlins in 2016.

The validity of maple bats decreased in 2010. The MLB inspected them after they began to shatter at a faster rate. The doubtfulness surrounding maple bats revived after Chicago Cubs rookie Tyler Colvin was struck in the chest by a piece of a broken bat. As a result, Colvin was hospitalized in stable condition and sidelined for the rest of the season.

Despite the incident involving Colvin, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that eliminating maple bats was impossible due to a shortage of high-quality ash. However, Scott Drake, vice president of communications for TECO, said that Louisville Sluggers could produce some bats made completely of ash. Although there’s a shortage of ash, the overall supply hasn’t been hollow just yet.

The close call for Colvin should’ve been enough for the MLB to take steps towards action. The league shouldn’t have to wait until a player dies on the baseball field before the necessary changes are made in bats. In 2010, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the same thing and put an emphasis on how the league would wait too long for an in-game death.

Colvin’s injury came two years after the MLB started looking into the issue of shattered maple bats. 2,232 bats broke in the final three months of the 2008 season. 756 of those bats separated into multiple pieces. It’s obvious the problem came from the increased use of bats made from maple, but all we can do is educate ourselves about the dangers and risks until the league wakes up to smell the coffee.

Maple bats can cause more harm than good.

Myers three-run home run gives Padres series win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Diego Padres’ Wil Myers, right, celebrates with Erick Aybar (8) after hitting the go-ahead three-run home run off San Francisco Giants’ George Kontos in the 12th inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 30, 2017, in San Francisco. The Padres won 5-2. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Wil Myers likes to hit long home runs, and his home run against George Kontos was a no doubter.

Myers hit a towering three-run home run in the top of the 12th inning, giving the San Diego Padres a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants, before a crowd of 41,989, the 503rd consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

This was the second game in a row that Myers hit a towering three-run home run, as he did it in Saturday’s 12-4 victory by the Padres over the Giants.

Hector Sanchez hit a two-run pinch hit home run off of Mark Melancon in the top of the ninth inning to tie up the game. It was the third pinch-hit home run of Sanchez’s career and his first since June 15, 2014 while with the Giants against the Colorado Rockies.

Ty Blach pitched seven strong innings, allowing no runs on just three hits, walking two and striking out one

It was a Blach sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning that gave the Giants their first run of the afternoon.

Joe Panik scored the first run that the Giants, as he was hit by a Clayton Richard pitch, went to third on a Gorkys Hernandez double and then scored easily on Blach’s sacrifice fly to Manuel Margot in centerfield.

Hunter Pence scored the second run for the Giants in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Pence led off the inning with a walk, went to second on a Buster Posey groundout and then scored easily on a Michael Morse double.

It was a no decision for Clayton Richard, as he pitched 5.1 innings, allowing both runs, six hits, walked one and struck out three, as his record stays at 2-3 on the season.

Richard did pickup two of the five Padres hits, as both of his hits careened off the right field wall.

The Padres attempted to make a game out of this in the top of the eighth inning, as Margot and Yangervis Solarte singled off of Derek Law; however, Law able to get Austin Hedges to strikeout to end the inning.

In all, Law allowed two hits and struck out the side, as Law struck out Erick Aybar, Wil Myers and Hedges. In between the Myers and Hedges strikeouts by Law, Solarte singled for the second Padres hit of the inning.

NOTES: Johnny Cueto will take the hill on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series in Los Angeles versus the Dodgers, while Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Dodgers.

This upcoming road trip will be the Giants only three city trip of the entire season, as they head to Los Angeles for three, then onto Cincinnati for three and then end with a three-game series against the Mets.

Neil Ramirez was the first Giants reliever to allow two three-run home runs in the same game since Joe Nathan gave up two on May 26, 2003 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, when Charles Johnson and Preston Wilson turned the trick.

Bryan Morris was recalled by the Giants from Triple-A, and to make room for Morris on the 40-man roster, the Giants have designated Ramirez for assignment.

The 12 runs scored by the Padres on Saturday night were the most they ever scored at AT&T Park, and their most in San Francisco since July 2, 1995, when they scored 15 runs at Candlestick Park.

Padres storm past Giants at AT&T 12-4

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt runs to first base after hitting a two-run single off San Diego Padres’ Jhoulys Chacin in the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 29, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Hector Sanchez spent some quality seasons playing in San Francisco, but now he comes back to AT&T Park with his new team.

Sanchez walked with the bases loaded, helping the San Diego Padres to a 12-4 comeback victory over the San Francisco Giants before a crowd of 42,862, the 502nd consecutive regular season sellout at AT&T Park.

Ryan Schimpf drove in the first of the eight runs that the Padres scored in the inning, as Yangervis Solarte singled to get the ball rolling.

Austin Hedges then tied up the game with a single off his own, and then after Erick Aybar walked to load the bases, Sanchez walked to drive in the eventual game-winning run for the Padres.

Miguel Margot drove in the next run, as he singled to right field to score Hedges and then after Cory Spangenberg hit into a force play to score Aybar, Wil Myers hit a Neil Ramirez deep into the left field bleachers for his sixth home run of the season.

Despite the fact that the Giants narrowed down to 9-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Padres extended their lead up to 12-4 with one swing of the bat, as Allen Cordoba hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.

Aybar drove in the first run for the Padres in the top of the fourth inning, as he singled to Schimpf, who singled with one out in the inning.

Unfortunately for the Padres, they were unable to score anymore runs in the inning, as Buster Posey and Joe Panik teamed up for a pickoff play to get Austin Hedges at the plate. Posey originally threw to Panik to attempt to get Aybar at second base; however, Aybar beat the throw at second base. Panik then threw home to get Hedges trying to steal home.

Nunez tied up the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he singled in Conor Gillaspie from second base. Gillaspie led off the inning with a double off of Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin. It was the second hit of the night for Gillaspie, who singled off of Chacin in the bottom of the second inning.

After Drew Stubbs popped out for the first out of the inning, Kelby Tomlinson singled to advance Nunez to second base and then Panik walked to load the bases and then Brandon Belt singled up the middle to give the Giants the lead.

Cain pitched five innings, allowing just one run, on six hits, not walking a batter and striking out seven. Despite not getting the win, Cain lowered his earned run average on the season down to 2.30.

Chacin also pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out six.

NOTES: Ty Blach looks for his first win of the season, as he takes the mound in the home stand finale on Sunday afternoon for the Giants. Blach will be opposed by fellow left-hander Clayton Richard, who is looking to evening his record at 3-3.

Brandon Crawford was reinstated from the bereavement list, and was placed on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to April 26) with a right groin strain.

San Jose Giants Infielder Dillion Dobson tied a Giants team record on Friday night, as he hit three home runs in a game. Since becoming the Giants single-A team in 1988, Dobson is just the third player ever to hit three home runs in the same game. The two players are Adam Witter, who hit three home runs in the same game in 2007 and Sanchez, who did it in 2011.

A’s mess with Texas 9-1 in a laugher to win series

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: Oakland Athletics’ Twitter (@Athletics)

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics concluded a three-game series against the Texas Rangers with a lopsided 9-1 victory at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon.

The A’s suffered a 7-0 blowout by the Rangers in the series opener on Monday. They followed with a 4-2 win over the rival Rangers on Tuesday. Ultimately, they won the series, taking two out of three games. A’s right-handed pitcher Jesse Hahn (1-1) notched the win against  Rangers left-handed pitcher Martin Perez (1-2).

Ryon Healy put the A’s on the board 1-0 with a line-drive single that scored Rajai Davis in the bottom of the first inning. Josh Phegley followed with a double, driving home Healy and Khris Davis to make it 3-0 A’s. Yonder Alonso added an RBI double to extend the A’s lead to 4-0 to end the inning on a high note.

The A’s made a questionable call in the top of the first inning, claiming Robinson Chirinos was out at first base. The Rangers challenged the call and the officials declared that Chirinos was safe.

Rangers manager Jeff Banister was ejected from the ballgame in the bottom of the third inning after arguing that the A’s ball was foul, but it was ruled a fair ball.

Joey Gallo ruined the A’s shutout bid with a solo home run to cut the deficit to 4-1 in the top of the fifth inning. Davis expanded the A’s lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. He hit a two-run home run and brought home Trevor Plouffe for his seventh of the season.

The runs just kept pouring in during the sixth inning. Chad Pinder scored his first home run of the season, increasing the A’s lead to 7-1. Plouffe then hit a two-run single that scored Davis and Adam Rosales for a 8-1 lead.

The A’s defeated the Rangers 9-1.

Notes
Disabled list 
John Axford (strained right shoulder)
Chris Bassitt (right UCL surgery)
Kendall Graveman (strained right shoulder)
Sonny Gray (strained right shoulder)
Daniel Mengden (right foot surgery)
Marcus Semien (fractured scaphoid bone)
Jake Smolinski (right shoulder surgery)
Joey Wendle (strained right shoulder)

Wednesday’s attendance was 14,031.

Up Next
The A’s will open up a four-game homestand against the Seattle Mariners, starting on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. PST on NSCA, RTNW.

Espinosa’s three run belt in ninth gets Halos one run win over A’s Tuesday 7-6

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Los Angeles Angels’ Danny Espinosa (3) celebrates with Jefry Marte (19) after hitting a three-run home run off Oakland Athletics’ Ryan Dull during the ninth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 4, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Matt Harrington

The Oakland Athletics dropped a 7-6 decision to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in game two of a four-game series Tuesday.

The A’s scored the first run of the game as Ryon Healy homered on a fly ball to center in the bottom of the first inning.

The Angels answered with three runs in the top of the second inning. Martin Maldonado hit a two-run single to Matt Joyce. Both Jefry Marte and Cameron Maybin scored on Maldonado’s single. Yunel Escobar followed with a single on a sharp ground ball, scoring Andrelton Simmons.

“It was unbelievable,” Matt Shoemaker told MLB.com when asked about Maldonado’s laser throw. “When he threw out Davis, I just crouched down and heard ‘Whoosh!’ That’s nice to have.”

Jed Lowrie made it a one-run game in the bottom of the second inning. He homered on a line drive to right center.

Fast forward to the top of the fifth inning when Mike Trout extended the Angels’ lead to 4-2 with an RBI triple to Khris Davis, scoring Kole Calhoun.

The A’s made it a one-run game once again in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yonder Alonso singled on a sharp ground ball to Calhoun, scoring Lowrie. The A’s then took a 6-4 lead when Rajai Davis tripled to outfielder Danny Espinosa, which was deflected by Marte. Davis, Alonso and Marcus Semien all scored on Espinosa’s throwing error.

However, the A’s lead was short-lived. In the top of the ninth inning, Espinosa homered on a fly ball to right center, scoring Marte and Andrelton Simmons. The A’s comeback fell short as the Angels took game two with a 7-6 win. Shoemaker settled for a no-decision in his first start since taking a liner to his head on Sept. 4. The 30-year-old held the A’s to two runs in five innings.

A’s left-hander Sean Manaea allowed four runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts over six innings.

Notes
Lowrie fell a triple short of the cycle. He’s 5-for-8 in this series. He almost got his fourth hit in the eighth inning, but Calhoun robbed him with an outstanding diving catch, covering 57 feet in 3.9 seconds.

A’s manager told MLB.com: “He (Jed Lowrie) had a great night…That last one, if it gets by him, he’s probably got himself a cycle. Calhoun made a great play, and those are the type of plays that show up in a game like that when it ends up being a one-run game.”

Up Next
Both teams face each other again in Game 3 Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. on NCSA and FSW.

Angels right-hander Garrett Richards will start. Richards missed most of 2016 after being diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. However, he received an injection of his stem cells in his damaged elbow to avoid Tommy John surgery.

A’s right-hander Jharel Cotton will appear on the mound. Cotton will make his sixth career start. He went 2-0 with a 2.15 ERA and .185 opponents average in five starts with the A’s last September.

San Francisco Giants News and Analysis: Cueto-Manaea in pitching duel Giants break scoreless deadlock in 7th

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto throws to the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of an exhibition baseball game Thursday, March 30, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

by Ana Kieu

The San Francisco Giants shutout the Oakland Athletics 3-0 in the first game of the Bay Bridge Series at AT&T Park Thursday night.

Giants fans got their first look at infielder Chris Marrero, who hit an opposite-field double and made a running catch in left field.

A’s pitcher Sean Manaea held the Giants hitless for four perfect innings, throwing 43 pitches in his final start as Oakland’s No. 2 starter.

Manaea told MLB.com: “Today was a good indicator of where I’m at…Mentally, physically, everything’s feeling really good. So, happy with how spring ended and just want to take it into Opening Day.”

Manaea added: “Came into spring and I just wanted to be more consistent with everything — mechanics, changeup, slider…I felt like I definitely accomplished that. It was a little rough at the beginning, but the past two or three starts have been right where I wanted to be. Today, everything just came together.”

Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto had six hits and two strikeouts over five innings on the mound.

Cueto told the San Francisco Chronicle: “Didn’t feel like a spring training game. It felt like it was already the regular season, but I guess that has to do with the fans who’re always really good here in San Francisco.”

But then the Giants broke through in the bottom of the seventh inning with three runs. Brandon Crawford and Eduardo Nunez hit RBI singles. Joe Panik added a sacrifice fly.

The Giants took game one of the three-game Bay Bridge Series with a 3-0 shutout victory over the A’s. Tyson Blach (2-1, 4.22 ERA) picked up the win. Closer Mark Melancon made one save.

Daniel Coulombe (0-3, 5.79 ERA) lost his third straight start with the A’s.

Notes
Longtime Giants television broadcasters Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper signed multi-year extensions on NBC Sports Bay Area.

Giants pitcher Mark Melancon made his first appearance in San Francisco.

Up Next
The Giants return home to host the A’s Friday at 7:15 p.m. PST on KNTV. Then, both teams return to Oakland for a Saturday matinee at 12:05 p.m. PST on CSCA before having a much-needed day off before 2017 MLB Opening Day. The Giants face the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PST on CSBA, ESP2 and FSAZ.

Giants Bullpen Collapses Again, Lose 3-2 Against St. Louis

Published on by swhelchLeave a comment

By Shawn Whelchel

AP photo: A picture says a 1000 words in one game earlier this season San Francisco reliever Santiago Casilla was angry for being lifted but in this Saturday photo Santiago sympathizes with what his manager Bruce Bochy has to do and lifts Casilla from the game against the St Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO- Just as the team looked to have turned a corner on its second-half struggles, the Giants bullpen collapsed yet again to drop a tight game to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

St. Louis strung together two runs on two hits and a walk to steal a 3-2 lead from the Giants in the top of the ninth. And for a manager renowned for his ability to work his bullpen, a questionable decision at the game’s most crucial moment proved to be the Giants’ downfall.

Yet again, Bruce Bochy put his faith in former closer Santiago Casilla to close out a tight ballgame. And yet again, he was mistaken in doing so.

Clinging to a one-run lead, Casilla entered in the bottom of the ninth win a man on first. An ill-advised walk and a seeing-eye single later and Casilla had blown his ninth save attempt of the season.

After warming up Hunter Strickland, Bochy would elect to replace Casilla with Matt Reynolds, who would lose the lead on a sacrifice fly to his first batter of the night. San Francisco would threaten with two singles in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn’t complete the comeback attempt.

The collapse erased what what a magnificent pitching performance by starter Jeff Samardzija, who allowed just one run on seven hits across 6 2/3 innings. Perhaps even more damaging is the fact that both the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers won their games, hurting the team’s chances at a playoff birth.

After the game, Bochy talked about Samardzija’s dominant outing.

“He did a great job. He gave us all we needed and it’s a great start, a quality start,” said Bochy. “Leake, we couldn’t do a whole lot off of him but we found a way to get a couple runs, and we’re a couple out away from winning the ball game. That’s been part of our issue.”

After the game, Bochy said that his decision to pull Romo- who started the ninth inning- in favor of Casilla was an attempt to play the matchups based on history.

“We said if it got to Molina there, he’s had success off of Romo, and Casilla would be a better matchup,” said Bochy. “For some reason, Molina has seen the ball pretty good off of Sergio (Romo), and you go off history. That’s why the change was made there”

 

After suffering at the hands of yet another two-out-rally by the Giants last night, the Cardinals looked to flip the script on Samardzija, jumping out to an early lead when Brandon Moss parked an opposite field shot with two down in the first inning.

As they’ve done so often lately, the Giants’ bottom half of the order-anchored by the streaking Hunter Pence- kicked off the scoring for San Francisco on Saturday night. The Giants got on the board after a deep drive by Brandon Belt to the center field warning track would plate Pence, who singled before him.

The Giants threatened to put up another crooked number, but a spectacular diving play by Cardinals’ first baseman Matt Adams would end the inning by doubling up Eduardo Nunez at first.

San Francisco would look like the team of old in the bottom of the fifth frame, as third baseman Eduardo Nunez would use his speed to steal two straight bags off the Cardinals after leading off with a single. The pair of swipes would set up a sacrifice fly from Samardzija to plate the go-ahead run.

After issuing his fourth walk of the night with two outs in the seventh, Bochy would elect to use his bullpen to close the books on Samardzija’s impressive night. Lefty Will Smith would do just that, getting pinch hitter Jhonny Peralta to fly out to deep right field to end the threat.

Samardzija would walk away with an impressive line that saw him allow just one run on seven hits through a strong 6 2/3 innings.

But the Giants’ bullpen woes would rear their ugly head to erase his strong effort. After getting the leadoff batter, Sergio Romo would promptly give up a seeing-eye single to allow the tying run on board.

In a surprising move, Bochy would elect to trust the struggling Santiago Casilla in a tight spot. Like so many other times, this would prove to be an unwise decision by the skipper known for his bullpen management.

Casilla would start his night off with an ill-advised walk to his first batter, Yadier Molina, move the tying run into scoring position. Casilla’s night would be short, but costly, as Randal Grichuk would follow Yadier with a single past the outstretched glove of a diving Crawford to tie the game at 2-2.

Reliever Matt Reynolds would then retire his next two batters, but not before a sac-fly by Kolten Wong would give the Cardinals their first lead of the game.

San Francisco would threaten with a two-out rally after Eduardo Nunez and Denard Span would lace a pair of singles, but pinch hitter Connor Gillaspie would hit a routine pop-up on his first pitch to end the game.

 

 

 

 

The Mariners pound the A’s into submission, Win big.

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: On the fence Josh Reddick Oakland A’s outfielder watches a ball sail into the crowd hit by the Seattle Mariners Leonys Martin in the third inning Tuesday night

OAKLAND–The Seattle Mariners used the long ball to pound the A’s Tuesday night. The M’s beat the A’s ace, Sonny Gray to win the second game of the three-game series by a final score of 8-2. Gray went seven-plus innings but gave up two home runs while taking the loss. A’s manager Bob Melvin thought Gray had good stuff and had his pitches “down in the zone” but he could not stop the Mariners’ hitters. The Mariner starter, Hisashi Iwakuma pitched seven innings and allowed just one run and four hits in his best outing this year

The Mariners scored twice in the top of the third. With one out, Mariner catcher Steve Clevenger singled. Center fielder Leonys Martin hit his fifth home run of the season to deep right field to give the Mariners the early lead. The Mariners’ Robinson Cano led off the top of the fourth with a solo blast to that went over the 362-foot marker in left field to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.

The A’s finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Billy Burns led off with a single, stole second and scored on a Jed Lowrie single.  The A’s trailed 3-1 after six. The Mariners got the run back in the top of the seventh. Ketel Marte singled to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a fly ball to center field. Nori Aoki drove him in with an infield single.

The Mariners blew the game open in the top of the eighth. Sonny Gray was still pitching for the A’s, but Robinson Cano led off with a double. Nelson Cruz and Adam Lind singled to add another run. A’s manager Bob Melvin decided that Gray was done for the night and brought in lefty Marc Rzepczynski to face the dangerous Kyle Seager. Seager, hitting just .167 before the start of play Tuesday night, sent one of Rzepczynski’s pitches into the right-field seats for an “Earl Weaver special.” Weaver, the former manager of the Baltimore Orioles and a member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame, loved three-run homers. Seager’s blast, his fifth of the year, increased the Mariner lead to 8-1. The A’s Khris Davis hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth for the A’s second run of the game. For Davis, it was his sixth of the year and his third in the last two games.

Game Notes- The A’s lost their third straight game and are 3-8 in the last eleven games. Sonny Gray went seven-plus innings and allowed eleven hits, seven runs, and two home runs. His record is now 3-3 for the year. Khris Davis is batting .304 (17-for-56) with six home runs and twelve RBIs over his last fourteen games. Stephen Vogt extended his hitting streak to six games. The A’s are now 13-15 for 2016.

The Mariners improved to 15-11 with the win. The line for Seattle was eight runs on thirteen hits and no errors. Hisashi Iwakuma won his first game of the season. The Mariners hit three home runs in the contest.They had a solo job by Cano, a two-run dinger by Leonys Martin and the crusher, a three-run shot by Kyle Seager.

The A’s and Mariners conclude the three-game series Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 pm. Sean Manaea will pitch for Oakland and Seattle will send King Felix Hernandez out to handle the pitching chores. The A’s will have their work cut out for them as they will have to beat Hernandez to avoid getting swept by the M’s. That will be no easy task as Hernandez has owned them over the years.

Time of the game was two hours and thirty-eight minutes and 12,584 faithful A’s fans watched their heroes go down to defeat. The A’s game finished before the Warrior game and the people in the press box were able to watch the Dubs come back from a ten-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers.

 

The Tigers use the long ball to beat the A’s.

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Detroit Tigers designated hitter Vic Martinez goes yard for a three run shot in the Detroit half of the sixth against the Oakland A’s on Wednesday night at CoAmerica

The A’s sent their ace, Sonny Gray, to the hill Wednesday night in Detroit hoping to send the Tigers down to defeat. The Tigers’ Justin Verlander, who beat Gray in Game Five of the ALDS in 2013, was very effective as he and the Tigers drubbed the A’s 9-4.

Gray left the game after just two innings of work.He gave up four runs in the bottom of the second. The big hit was J.D.Martinez’s three-run homer to put the Tigers in the lead 4-0. For Gray, it was the quickest exit of his career and left A’s manager Bob Melvin having to go to the bullpen early. The A’s Khris Davis made it a 4-1 game in the top of the fourth when he hit a monster home run to deep center field that almost hit the statue of Tiger legend Al Kaline. The Tigers scored in the bottom of the fourth when the A’s made two errors that allowed an unearned run. Tigers in the lead 5-1 after four.

The Tigers put the game away in the bottom of the sixth when the other Martinez(Victor) hit a three-run dinger off Liam Hendricks to make it 8-1. The A’s scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth. It was not enough as Detroit won 9-4.

Game Notes- Sonny Gray’s record dropped to 3-2 while Verlander’s improved to 2-2.  The pitching line for Gray was two innings pitched, two hits, four runs, four walks, one home run and sixty-four pitches. The A’s are now 11-11 for the year and are 5-4 on the ten-game road trip. The Series finale will be at 10 am PT Thursday morning. Chris Bassitt will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Anibal Sanchez. The A’s return to Oakland to face the Houston Astros Friday night. Lefty Sean Manaea was recalled from Nashville and may make his MLB debut in that game.

 

 

 

Rich Hill tames the Tigers, A’s snap 3-game losing streak

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Rich Hill Oakland starter on Tuesday night

The Oakland A’s, behind a terrific performance by lefty Rich Hill, defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-1 Tuesday night in Detroit. Hill, without doubt, had his best game of the young season. He went seven innings allowed just four hits, no runs and struck out eight. The veteran lefty gave up two singles in the first inning and then retired eighteen of the last twenty hitters he faced. His record is now 3-2 for 2016.

The A’s scored three times in the top of the fourth. Mike Pelfrey was trying to win his first of the year for the Tigers, but the A’s took advantage of a couple of defensive lapses in the inning to go ahead 3-0. Josh Reddick started the rally with a single. Reddick stole second. The Tiger second baseman couldn’t hang on to the throw from the catcher. Jed Lowrie continued his clutch hitting. Lowrie singled to drive in Reddick. Stephen Vogt doubled to put men on at second and third with no out. Lowrie scored on a sac fly off Coco Crisp’s bat to put the A’s up 2-0. Kris Davis singled to drive in Vogt. A’s lead 3-0.

There was no more scoring until the top of the seventh. With two out and a man on first, Marcus Semien hit his fifth dinger of the season and finished the night for Pelfrey. Rich Hill pitched the seventh and Bob Melvin brought in Sean Doolittle for the eighth. Doolittle did his job, and John Axford closed out the game for the win. Axford gave up his first run of the year, but it was too little, too late for Detroit. The A’s improve to 11-10 and are tied with the Texas Rangers for second place in the AL west just two percentage points behind the Seattle Mariners.

Game Notes- Rich Hill’s ERA dropped to 2.42 after his magnificent outing Tuesday night. Game three of the series will feature an outstanding matchup between the A’s ace Sonny Gray and the former Cy Young winner and MVP, Justin Verlander.

Here is some news regarding Tyler Collins  The report is from the Detroit Free Press regarding Collins’ possible suspension for the improper gesture. The report is as follows:

” The Detroit Free Press is reporting that MLB has concluded review of Tyler Collins incident. He will not be suspended, 

Major League Baseball is reviewing Collins’ improper gesture to fans during Monday night’s win over the Athletics. Collins lost a fly ball in the lights Monday Night and did not react well when he was booed by the fans.

A league spokesperson told the Free Press today the league has opened an investigation regarding the incident, in which the Tigers centerfielder flashed his middle finger to fans.

“If anything needs to be done, we’ll handle it internally,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “And if Major League Baseball has a reaction, then we’ll see what their reaction is.”

“Nobody wants that ball to get lost less than me,” Collins said. “That hurts. And to be at home and to hear boos after that play, it hit a trigger inside of me, and I lashed out, completely inappropriately.

“I’m embarrassed that happened and I’m very sorry to everybody in Detroit. I just want you guys to understand that I love this team, and I want to win so when we come home and get booed, it’s tough to swallow. But like I said, I apologize completely, and I’m embarrassed at myself, and I know my family is embarrassed at me and I’m sure these guys are, too, so I’m sorry that happened.”

MLB previously suspended right-handed reliever Jonathan Papelbon for seven games while with the Phillies in 2014 after making an inappropriate gesture to fans while getting booed after blowing a save.

The Tigers’ Joe Nathan wasn’t disciplined by the league in 2014 after giving a chin flick to fans following a win.

If Collins is suspended while on the 25-man roster, the Tigers would not be able to fill that spot, having to play one man short. If he is optioned to Triple-A Toledo – which could be on the horizon, given Cameron Maybin’s recovery from a shoulder injury – any potential suspension would take place if he returns to the big leagues. He can appeal any suspension.

Time of game was two hours and thirty-six minutes and 22,256 people watch Rich Hill make magic with his curve ball in the win for Oakland.