Tag: mlb

The Tigers send the A’s down to their third straight loss.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit abcnews.com: After a fly that was miscued in the outfield lights Detroit outfielder Tyler Collins heard a rain of criticism from the Tiger fans in which Collins reciprocated by flipping off the fans in a game the Tigers were leading the Oakland A’s at the time 6-0 at CoAmerica Park in Detroit on Monday night

It was not a good night for the A’s as the lost 7-3 to the Detroit Tigers in the first game of a four-game series. The loss was the third in a row for the A’s and evened their season mark at 10-10. They are still in first place in the AL West, but they have company sharing the lead with the Texas Rangers also at 10-10 and the Seattle Mariners, who are at 9-9.

Kendall Graveman was hoping to repeat his outstanding performance last time out as he beat the Yankees in New York. Things did not go well for Kendall. He gave up a solo home run to Miguel Cabrera. Miggy came into the game hitting just .206 and was in a 0-for-13 slump. The Tigers scored the second run of the game in the second inning. Graveman did not make it out of the fifth. With one out, he gave up back-to-back singles. Cabrera made him walk the plank as he blasted his second home run of the night. Victor Martinez followed with a solo homer, and the Tigers led 6-0. Bob Melvin lifted him with two out and two on. The Tigers added another run and the A’s reached Zimmerman for three runs. Only one of the runs was earned. The Tigers win 7-3.

Jordan Zimmerman, the price free agent acquisition, improved his record to 4-0. Zimmerman pitched 24 1/3rd scoreless innings to start the season.  This was the best start ever by a Tiger pitcher. The A’s runs were driven in bu Billy Burns, Yonder Alonso and Mark Canha.

Game two of the series will see Rich Hill on the mound for Oakland and he will be opposed by the Tigers’ Mike Pelfrey. Hill will be seeking his third win of the year.

Game time will be 4:10 PM PT in Detroit.

 

 

The A’s sweep the Yankees, beat them 7-3

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s starter Rich Hill delivers at the New York Yankees in the second inning of Thursday’s game at Yankee Stadium

The Oakland A’s did something Thursday night that hasn’t happened since 2006. They swept a three-game series from the Yankees in New York. Lefty Rich Hill had a very impressive performance as he won his second game of the year. Hill went six innings and allowed just three hits and two runs and had ten strikeouts. Only one of the runs allowed by Hill was earned. The Yankees Luis Severino also pitched well. Severino also went six innings giving up seven hits and two runs. The big difference in the game was the Oakland offense. The A’s hit four home runs in the contest. Three were solo jobs, and the big blast was a two-run homer by Chris Coghlan that iced the game for the A’s. Khris Davis, Coco Crisp and Mark Canha hit solo homers. The other big difference was the bullpen. TheYankee bullpen allowed five runs in the last three innings of the game. The Yanks were able to break through for one run, but the A’s relievers continue to shut opponents down.

The Yankees scored the first run of the game for the third time in the three-game series. A’s starter Rich Hall walked Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to start the bottom of the second. Hill got Chase Headley to ground out to Jed Lowrie for the first out. Lowrie was positioned just to the left of second base and able to keep Headley’s ball from going into center field. Lowrie threw to first for the out, but he could have possibly nailed A-Rod at second, and Semien could have completed the double play. However, He was reacting and didn’t see that Rodriguez would have been out easily. The run scored when Aaron Hicks singled softly to center driving in Teixeira for the score.

The A’s scored in the top of the fourth to tie the game at one. The tie didn’t last long as the Yankees scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth.With one out, Rich Hill walked Alex Rodriguez. Hill attempted to pick A-Rod off, but his throw went wild past first. Since A-Rod was on the move, he received credit for a stolen base, and Hill was charged with an error allowing A-Rod to advance to third. Aaron Hicks singled softly to center to drive in Rodriguez and give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Mark Canha took Severino deep for his second home run of the year. The blast came on a 0-2 count with two out. The A’s scored twice in the top of the seventh. Lefty Chasen Shreve took over for Severino in the seventh. His first two pitches were hit out of the park. Khris Davis hit the first pitch he saw from Shreve into the left-center field bleachers. Coco Crisp hit the next pitch into the left-field seats to put the A’s ahead 4-2. The Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one-run game. Fernando Rodriguez gave up the run. Bob Melvin brought in John Axford to get the final out of the inning. Axford retired the ever dangerous Carlos Beltran for the third out.

The A’s put two more runs on the board in the eighth. Chris Coghlan homered with a man on to make it 6-3 and they added the seventh run in the ninth. Liam Hendricks and Ryan Madson worked the ninth. Madson recorded his sixth save of the year. The A’s win their fifth in a row 7-3.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are now 9-7 for the season and have won five straight. They have also won all six games they have played on the road so far this year. The Yankees fall to 5-9 and are 1-8 in their last nine games.

After the game, Chris Coghlan that the A’s were motivated by comments made by the Yankee announcers who said: ” the A’s are just above a Triple-A team and that they didn’t know our names.” It looks like they know the players names now.

The A’s travel to Toronto to face the best offensive unit in the American League. Sonny Gray will pitch on Friday, Chris Bassitt on Saturday, and Eric Surkamp on Sunday. Toronto will counter with Aaron Sanchez, J.A.Happ, and Marcus Stroman.

Attendance was 33,818.

The A’s win their fourth in a row, beat the Yankees again.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Doolittle gets the save and is congratulated by A’s catcher Stephen Vogt in the A’s second win in the three game series in Yankee Stadium Wednesday night

The A’s won their fourth game in a row Wednesday night as they beat the Yankees 5-2. Kendall Graveman pitched his best game of the year. Graveman went six and a third innings allowing just one run and three hits. He struck out a career-high eight men and had the Yankee hitters befuddled all night long. Nathan Eovaldi started for New York and took the loss. Eovaldi allowed just one hit in the first three innings of the game but lost it in the fourth. The A’s appear to be road warriors this year. They have won all five games they have played away from the Coliseum. The A’s are now 8-7 for 2016 and will be going for the sweep Thursday night.

The Yankees scored the first run of the game for the second night in a row. With one out in the second inning, Yankee shortstop, Didi Gregorius, hit a home run that went down the right field line and barely cleared the wall over the 314-foot marker.

The Yankee starter, Nathan Eovaldi allowed just one hit in the first three innings of work. The A’s however, scored three times on five hits in the fourth inning. Billy  Burns, leading off the inning, doubled to left centerfield.  Chris Coghlan followed with a double to drive in Burns. Josh Reddick singled to short left field. The throw from Aaron Hicks appeared to nail Coghlan at the plate. However, Brian McCann couldn’t handle the throw cleanly, and Coghlan scored. Reddick took second on the play. Reddick advanced to third on a Danny Valencia single. Stephen Vogt flew out, and that allowed Reddick to tag up and score the A’s third run of the inning.The A’s loaded the bases with one out but the inning ended when Yonder Alonso flew out to left, and Danny Valencia was throw out at home trying to score.

The Yankees threatened in the bottom of the seventh but failed to score. With one out. Graveman walked Chase Headley. Bob Melvin decided to take Graveman out of the game and replaced him with Marc Rzepczynski. Didi Gregorius followed with a single that sent Headley to third and Gregorius advanced to second when A’s center fielder, Billy Burns, committed an error when he bobbled the ball. The next hitter, Aaron Hicks, hit a ground ball to Coghlan at third. Coughlan tagged Gregorius and then threw to first to get Hicks and complete the double play to end the inning.  The Yankees requested a review of the play, and the umpires upheld the call as there was not conclusive proof that Coghlan missed the tag.

The A’s scored two more runs in the top of the eighth. Billy Butler and Stephen Vogt singled to start the inning. Jed Lowrie walked to load the bases with no out. Khris Davis singled sharply past the drawn-in infield to drive in Butler and Vogt. For Davis, it was his second hit of the game. The Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the eighth when Carlos Beltran put a Ryan Dull pitch into the second deck in right field. For Beltran, it was his fourth home run of the year and the 396th of his career. Ryan Dull had allowed no hits and no runs so far this year until Beltran hit the home run. The A’s lead 5-2 heading into the ninth. Bob Melvin brought in his closer, Sean Doolittle, to pitch the bottom the ninth. Doolittle gave up a single to Brian McCann to start the inning but then retired Alex Rodriguez, Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius to p[ick up his second save of the year and Kendall Graveman recorded his first win of the year and his first win since July 4th, 2015. The A’s win 5-2.

Game Notes-There were some strange doings in the contest. In the second inning, Jacoby Ellsbury was awarded first base when A’s catcher Stephen Vogt was called for catcher interference. Ellsbury appeared to hit a foul, but the umpire ruled that Vogt’s hand or glove touched Ellsbury’s bat and sent him to first. Later in the game, A’s third baseman, Danny Valencia appeared to hurt his hamstring attempting to score. Chris Coghlan moved over to third from second and Jed Lowrie, who was the designated hitter, went to second. That meant that the pitcher had to hit, and Graveman went to the plate as he had to bat fourth. He did not get a hit, but it was strange to see a pitcher in the game as a hitter.

Billy Burns led the A’s with two singles and a double. Khris Davis, who has had a tough start to the season, had two hits in the game and drove in two.

The A’s announced that Eric Sogard underwent successful knee surgery Wednesday and will miss significant time this season. Sogard hopes to return later this summer.

The A’s and Yankees conclude the three-game series Thursday night. Lefty Rich Hill will pitch for Oakland, and the Yankees will counter with Luis Severino.

Time of game was two hours and fifty-seven minutes. 37,386 people watched the A’s beat the Yankees.

 

 

The A’s face off against the Yankees Tuesday in New York

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by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit bing images: Aroldis Chapman New York Yankees

The Oakland A’s play the Yankees in New York Tuesday night to start a ten-game road trip that will take them to New York, Toronto, and Detroit. It will be a major test for the A’s to face these three potent teams. First, up will be the Yankees. The legendary franchise is struggling a bit to start the season. The Yankees are a veteran club, and many of their key players are reaching geezer status. However, these geezers can be dangerous, and the Yankees have a starting rotation that could be one of the best in baseball. The Yankee bullpen is also strong even with Aroldis Chapman out with a 30-day suspension.

Alex, Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, and Jacoby Ellsbury lead the Yankee lineup. All these players have made the All-Star team in past years. A-Rod has been an MVP. Teixeira and Ellsbury were MVP candidates. The Yankees acquired former Chicago Cub shortstop, Starlin Castro, to play second. Castro has responded and is hitting .333 and has an OPS of .925. The Yankees also have stolen thirteen bases so far to lead the league in that category. A’s catchers Stephen Vogt and Josh Vogt will have to be on their toes to keep Ellsbury and Gardner from stealing a base.

The starting rotation inclu the veteran C C Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda and Luis Severino. Their bullpen is excellent. Dellin Betances is the setup man, and Andrew Miller is the closer for right now. Johnny Barbato and Chase Shreve have also performed well so far.

The Yankees have committed seven errors in the first eleven games. The A’s, however, lead the league with ten.Both the A’s and the Yankees are one game under the .500 mark. The record for the Green and Gold is 6-7. The pitching matchups for the three games are the following. On Tuesday, the A’s will send LHP Eric Surkamp to the hill. Surkamp enters the game with a 0-1 record and an ERA of 4.00. He will be opposed by Michael Pineda (1-1, 6.55 ERA). On Wednesday, it will be Kandal Graveman (0-1, 2.38) going against Nathan Eovaldi (0-1, 6.94.) Thursday’s game will feature lefty Rich Hill (1-2, 4.15 ) versus Luis Severino (0-2, 5.91.)

The A’s  are starting to hit, and they gained a little confidence as they beat the World Series Champs, the Kansas City Royals, two out of three over the weekend. Graveman, Chris Bassitt, and Sonny Gray have all pitched well. Rich Hill has had two not-so-good outings and one good performance so far. Eric Surkamp has to perform well, or he may be sent down when Jesse Hahn is ready. The A’s bullpen has been fairly good this year. They are way better than last year.This road trip will be a big test for the team.

The A’s  still have work to do to improve the defense. They lead the league with ten errors in the first thirteen games. If they are to improve over last year’s won-lost record,  they cannot give opponents extra outs. Bob Melvin, Ron Washington, and company have their work cut out for them. Lastly, the A’s need to win at least five games on the trip. It will be a tall order as the pitchers will face three potent offensive lineups. Should be interesting.

 

 

Oakland A’s Tuesday game wrap: The A’s fall to the Angels as the bullpen fails to close out the game.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The LA Angels Geovany Soto took A’s pitcher Sean Doolittle deep for a ninth inning two run homer which led to the Angels victory on Tuesday night

OAKLAND–The A’s wasted a terrific outing by Kendall Graveman Tuesday night as they lost to the Angels by a score of 5-4. Graveman went six innings and allowed just one run and four hits. John Axford did his job in the seventh but Ryan Madson gave up two runs in the eighth and Sean Doolittle did the same in the ninth. The Angels snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and the team came running out of the dugout to congratulate Huston Street for shutting the A’s down in the ninth. Doolittle was charged with a blown save and the loss.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter, Billy Burns, drew a walk from Angels’ starter Hector Santiago. Burns stole second then advanced to third when Josh Phegley flew out to right field. Josh Reddick singled to drive in Burns.

The Angels tied the game in the top of the second. Graveman walked Albert Pujols, who led off the inning. Kole Calhoun singled to right advancing Pujols to third. Graveman got Andrelton Simmons to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Pujols scored on the play.

The A’s scored twice in the bottom of the third. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien hit a home run over left field fence to start the inning. Billy Burns then singled. Burns went to second on a ground out. Burns stole third and scored when Josh Reddick grounded out to first. Pujols thought about throwing home, but there was no way that he could have thrown Burns out. Reddick received credit for his second RBI of the game. A’s lead 3-1 after three.

The A’s added a run in the bottom of the seventh to take a 4-1 lead. Marcus Semien hit his second solo home run of the game. For Semien, it was his third home run of the season, and they have all been solo jobs.

The Angels rallied in the top of the eighth. With one out, Yunel Escobar and Daniel Nava singled to put men on at first and second. The A’s third pitcher of the night, Ryan Madson struck out Mike Trout for the second out. He now faced the ever-dangerous Albert Pujols. Madson had Pujols in a two-strike hole, but the future Hall of Famer came through with a double to left driving in Escobar and Nava.  A’s lead 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth.

The Angels took the lead in the top of the ninth. With one out, A’s closer, Sean Doolittle, walked pinch-hitter C.J.Cron. Angels ‘ catcher Geovany Soto hit his first home run of the year off Doolittle to give the Halos the lead 5-4. The Angels’ Huston Street set the A’s down in order in the bottom to secure the win for Los Angeles.

Game Notes- The hitting stars for the A’s were Marcus Semien with two solo home runs and Josh Reddick with two RBIs. The A’s record drops to 4-5 and, with the win, the Angels improve to 4-4. Game three of the series will be played at 12:35 PM at the Oakland Coliseum. Lefty Eric Surkamp will make his second start of the season for Oakland, and the Angels will counter with Matt Shoemaker.

Time of game was two hours and forty-one minutes. 13,492 fans left the stadium disappointed as the A’s bullpen failed to close out the game.

Trout knocks one out; The LA Angels take Game one, beat the A’s 4-1.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Los Angeles Angels Yunel Escobar comes in sliding past the Oakland A’s catcher Stephen Vogt in the sixth inning of Monday night’s game in Oakland

OAKLAND–The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Oakland A’s Monday night 4-1 in the first game of the three-game series. Angels’ all-star center fielder, Mike Trout, hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to send A’s ace Sonny Gray down to his first defeat of the year. The A’s are still in first place in the AL West with a record of 4-4. The Angels improve to 3-4. The game summary follows below.The Angels scored three runs on three hits in the top of the sixth inning. Sonny Gray was sailing along allowing just two hits in five innings of work before heading into the fateful sixth. With one out, Yunel Escobar doubled to right center field. A’s right fielder; Josh Reddick made a valiant effort to catch the ball, but it just eluded hos outstretched arm. Daniel Nava singled to drive in Escobar with the Angels’ first run of the game. The next batter, Mike Trout, sent a Sonny Gray pitch over the left Centerfield wall for his first home run of the season to put the Angels in the lead 3-0.

The Angels scored three runs on three hits in the top of the sixth inning. Sonny Gray was sailing along allowing just two hits in five innings of work before heading into the fateful sixth. With one out, Yunel Escobar doubled to right center field. A’s right fielder; Josh Reddick made a valiant effort to catch the ball, but it just eluded hos outstretched arm. Daniel Nava singled to drive in Escobar with the Angels’ first run of the game. The next batter, Mike Trout, sent a Sonny Gray pitch over the left Centerfield wall for his first home run of the season to put the Angels in the lead 3-0.

The Angels added a run in the top of the eighth. Albert Pujol;s singled sharply to left to start the frame. With one out, Pujols, believe it or not, stole second for his first stolen base of the year. Hendricks retired C.J.Cron for the second out, but, Angels’ shortstop Andrelton Simmons singled to drive in Pujols with the run.

In the bottom of the ninth, the A’s scored with two outs to avoid the shutout. Jed Lowrie led off with a single. He advanced to second on a ground out. Yonder Alonso flew out to center for the second out. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Lowrie with the A’s first run of the game. Angels’ manager, Mike Scioscia brought in his closer, Huston Street, to face Coco Crisp. Coco flew out to left to end the game. The Angels take the opener of the three-game series 4-1. Nick Tropeano won his first game of the year, and Sonny Gray took the loss. His record is 1-1 for the year.

Game Notes- The Angels snapped the A’s three-game winning streak. The A’s pinch-hitters are 0-for-10 with three strikeouts to start the season. Coco Crisp was 2-for-5 with a triple, and Jed Lowrie went 2-for-four.

The A’s meet the Angels again Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05 pm. Kendall Graveman will pitch for Oakland, and the Angels will send lefty Hector Santiago to the mound. Each pitcher will be seeking his first win of the young season.

Time of game was three hours and five minutes. 13,371 fans watch the A’s go down to defeat.

 

Bumgarner Flirts With Perfection, Tosses Shutout In 8-0 Victory.

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By Shawn Whelchel

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-It may have only been September, but starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner looked to be in mid-October form on Saturday night as he flirted with perfection through 7.2 innings during the Giants 8-0 win at AT&T Park.

After retiring the first 23 batters of the game in order, Bumgarner’s bid for perfection came to a disappointing ending after outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. hit a 2-1 pitch up the middle of the infield for a single.

The single may have thwarted Bumgarner’s shot at the history books, but the hard-throwing lefty came back out to an ecstatic crowd to down the Padres in order in the bottom of the ninth to cap off his complete game shutout, earning his 18th win of the season.

Bumgarner looked dominant throughout the night, mixing in his entire arsenal of sharp 0ff-speed balls while painting this strike zone with his fastball command.

The southpaw was hardly shook until the night-changing single by Upton Jr., with just two deep fly balls in the fifth inning and a sharp liner that was gloved by a perfectly placed Kelby Tomlinson at second base in the seventh threatening his night.

While the raucous crowd at AT&T Park may have been disappointed by the night’s outcome, the ever stoic Bumgarner balked at the thought of being upset over the missed opportunity.

“I don’t mean to say it like I don’t care, but I’m not here for perfect games, or no-hitters, or any of that,” said Bumgarner. “That’s definitely special, no doubt about it, but my main concern is winning games…I’m just as happy with what we got.”

However, his teammates, along with manager Bruce Bochy, were more candid in their disappointment in not being able to watch Bumgarner sling his way to the history books.

“I think we all felt it. Once you get in the fifth inning area, the way he was throwing the ball, he was on tonight with all his pitches,” said Bochy. “What an incredible performance. We’re all a little disappointed, yet you witness just a beautiful game he threw tonight.”

So where does an outing like Saturday night’s rank amongst Bumgarner’s many impressive starts after the 26-year old slinger has seemingly made a career of pitching in big-game scenarios?

“Its right up there,” Said Bochy, ” This one was right there with so many great games he’s thrown. He just had a great look about him from the get-go.”

Opposing starter Ian Kennedy looked to match Bumgarner’s performance during his first three trips to the mound, before being roughed up his second time through the lineup.

The Giants broke open Saturday’s pitching duel with a two-out rally that plated four across the bottom of the fourth inning.Kennedy continued to cruise through the first two batters of the bottom frame, before a pair of consecutive walks to Buster Posey and Brandon Belt gave the Giants their first runner in scoring position of the ballgame.

Marlon Byrd would cash in on the scoring opportunity by knocking a two-out double off the glove of the sprinting Justin Upton near the left field warning track to clear the bases for a 2-0 lead. The Giants would tack on a pair of additional runs as the speedy Kelby Tomlinson legged out a triple after splitting the left-center gap with a line drive, followed by an Ehire Adrianza bloop single to left field to cap off the scoring outburst.

Kennedy’s night would not get any easier during his next trip to the mound, as Angel Pagan opened up the bottom of the fifth with his second home run of the season, launching one over the arcade in left field to give the Giants a 5-0 lead.

Left fielder Alejandro De Aza would follow up Pagan’s solo blast with a drive of his own deep into triples-alley, just past the sprinting reach of RF Matt Kemp before landing safely at third with a triple. De Aza would be plated two batters later after Belt reached second base on a throwing error by 2B Cory Spangenberg, who launched the ball into the Padres dugout following a double-play attempt.

The error on Spangenberg would quickly haunt the Padres, as Byrd would net his third RBI of the night with a rocket up the middle for an RBI single, giving the Giants a 7-0 lead heading into the sixth inning. Byrd’s single would also chase Kennedy from the game, ending his night after 4.2 innings pitched while surrendering seven earned runs on seven hits.

Belt would add on an additional run to support Bumgarner in the bottom of the seventh by launching a solo shot over the sixth archway in left field to make it an 8-0 game.

The outburst of offense was a side story to Bumgarner’s impressive effort however, as the crowd was keyed in on the dominant southpaw’s efforts throughout the night.

The Giants will look to sweep the series against San Diego tomorrow as Mike Leake takes on the Padre’s Odrisamer Despaigne in a 1:05 p.m start tomorrow at AT&T Park.

 

Game Notes:

The Giants have scored five or more runs in nine of their last 11 home games.  San Francisco has also won 18 of their last 23 games at AT&T Park.

Tonight’s complete game was Bumgarner’s 10th of his career and fifth shutout.

Bumgarner’s night was his closest bid to perfection in his career at 7.2 innings. His previous high was 7.0 perfect innings against Colorado on August 26, 2014.

Sonny Days No More? Why Trading Sonny Gray Makes Sense for Oakland

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Oakland Athletics have officially become Sonny Gray’s team. No player donning the Green and Gold will mean more to his team’s success and no individual in Oakland’s 25-man roster has an equal skillset and pedigree as the 25-year-old ace. That makes it all the easier to trade the fire-balling Commodore out of Vanderbilt University striking while the iron is blazing atop the hot stove that is the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

The 18th overall pick in the draft elevated his stock greatly with a first half performance that puts him in the American League Cy Young Award conversation with the White Sox Chris Sale and Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros. He earned his first All-Star appearance in just his second full season this year on the back of a 10-3 record and a scant 2.04 earned run average.

In his last outing, the Nashville, TN native fired a complete-game, one-hit shutout of the Cleveland Indians. It was the kind of outing that Gray’s become known for, with every fifth day becoming winning day for the Division cellar-dwelling A’s. Any chance the A’s have at making up the 8.5 games they trail the AL West leader Los Angeles Angels comes with Gray winning at least two-thirds of his go-arounds as July rolls to October.

Of course, the A’s have struggled all season to remain relevant, so in all likelihood, they will be sellers (is Billy Beane ever not considered a threat to sell?) by the end of the month. Scott Kazmir could certainly pry some decent prospects from a team looking for pitching depth. Ben Zobrist will return a blue-chipper despite being a career .264 with only one season of more than 20 homers under his belt. But Gray, Gray’s ransom could fill the cupboards of a team twice over.

The biggest hurdle in dealing Gray is the fact that he’s technically under team control until 2020, with his arbitration years set to kick in in 2017. The A’s proved in the offseason that they’re not afraid to deal away a player under club control with a bright future, dealing Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays before having to sign him to the big money no player gets in Oakland.

Gray’s contract status immediately makes him a better haul for a playoff hopeful team than the mercenary options being floated around at the trailing end of deals like Johnny Cueto or Mat Latos. A team like the cash-strapped Los Angeles Dodgers could easily handle Gray’s arbitration figure and may even jump to extend him to a long-term deal well before the expiration of his contract. With that luxury, here’s where the A’s need to play hardball.

In the offseason, Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was criticized for demanding teams like the Dodgers or Boston Red Sox offer up two or three can’t-miss prospects for Cole Hamels, another pitcher locked up beyond this season. If the Phillies could get Boston to entertain the idea of sending over Blake Swihart, Mookie Betts and Henry Owens, why couldn’t Billy Beane try to pry the same deal (or better) for a player who younger than Hamels and will come with a cheaper price tag?

The obvious fit is dealing with the Dodgers, who would become locks to win the World Series if they could lock down a rotation of reigning Most Valuable Player Clayton Kershaw and All-Star starting pitcher Zack Greinke along with Gray. In return, the A’s could potentially pull in A+ prospects like shortstop Corey Seager and starter Julio Urias (though perhaps they’d have to throw in Kazmir or Zobrist to sweeten the pot). Plug them in with the emerging Oakland talents of players like Kendall Graveman, Marcus Semien and Billy Burns and the prospects in the pipeline in Matt Olson, Renato Nunez and Sean Nolin and suddenly you’d have a core five years from now with potential All-Stars at every position.

The reality is that the Angels window for success is coming to an end, and the Astros is just beginning to open with young stars like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer and Dallas Keuchel being just a few of the names that litter the talent-rich organization’s depth charts. The A’s meanwhile would need a significant free-agent signing to be competitive now and in the immediate future. By the team they’ll see dividends on the current minor leaguers could very well be after 2017 when Gray will make the big bucks. So why not move Gray now and add more pieces for the run to come in a few seasons?

Everyone in the A’s organization has been adamant that Gray is off limits, but why suddenly make a player untouchable? With 5 of 7 Oakland All-stars from 2015 dealt since last July, it’s pretty clear that even the best of the best are available to depart from Alameda County. In fact, perhaps this is a move by Oakland brass to raise the price even higher. Who doesn’t covet what they’ve been told they can’t have?

It’s a longshot of a scenario, one that certainly might not play out considering there are rumblings that the A’s may be buyers and sellers at the deadline. With Beane at the helm, one thing is for certain; never say never.

A Pair of Singles Pushes A’s Past AL-Leading Astros

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Oakland Athletics showed one of the top homer happy teams in the majors Monday night that you don’t always need the long ball. Sometimes a couple of single base knocks can do the trick.

A pair of run-scoring singles, one in the 2nd and another in the 6th inning, pushed the A’s (14-26) to a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park Monday night. Eric Sogard and Brett Lawrie picked up an RBI each while the recently acquired Edward Mujica picked up the road victory with a scoreless 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Oakland starter Drew Pomeranz suffered a very minor letdown compared to his last outing, a 7 inning, two-run performance against the Boston Red Sox. It was the pitch count and not the vaunted lineup of the American League leading Astros (25-14) playing spoiler. The hard-throwing southpaw lasted only 4 1/3 frames, surrendering a measly two hits, but walking five on the night.

Pomeranz opened the contest on rocky footing, plunking the fleet-of-foot Jose Altuve for the free base to open the contest. Altuve then pilfered second, his 14th steal of the season, before advancing to third on Jonathan Villar’s sacrifice bunt. The hirsute Evan Gattis brought the 2014 major league hits leader home with a sacrifice fly to right to put the home team ahead 1-0 after just one inning.

Astros starter Lance McCullers, making his major league debut Monday, didn’t get to experience a lead in the Bigs for long. In fact, it lasted only a few outs. After a one-out second inning double by Max Muncy, the bespectacled Sogard singled through the right side to pull Oakland even. Like Pomeranz, McCullers’ evening was a short one. The 21-year-old lasted 4 2/3 innings, walking three while punching out five.

McCullers was lifted for reliever Joe Thatcher, who was relieved of the tie an inning after finishing off the fifth inning. Thatcher (0-1, 3.38 ERA) faced three batters in the sixth without recording an out, coughing up a leadoff single to Billy Butler before losing Stephen Vogt and Muncy on back-to-back walks.

Will Harris took over for Thatcher, but allowed the game-winning hit to Lawrie. It was the first RBI Lawrie’s collected since May 5th. Harris wiggled out of the jam with a force-out at home and a twin killing to minimize the damage.

The A’s bullpen, one-time beleaguered, turn in a gem. Winning pitcher Mujica (2-1, 3.44) pitched 1 2.3 scores with a pair of Ks, before turning the game over to Evan Scribner. Scribner picked up the hold, punching out two Astros over his two innings of work, making way for Tyler Clippard to convert his 4th save of the campaign on a 1-2-3 inning.

The A’s now are poised to win the series with ace Sonny Gray taking the mound opposite Roberto Hernandez and his 4.12 ERA. Wednesday’s finale features Jesse Hahn going toe-to-toe with Dallas Keuchel, the top arm in Astros manager A.J. Hinch’s rotation.

The Rangers turn the tables, Rout the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Texas Rangers turned the tables on the Oakland A’s Thursday afternoon at the O.Co Coliseum. One night after being routed by the A’s, the Rangers pounded A’s pitching for ten runs, elevens hits, four of which were home runs and beat Oakland by a score od 10-1 to split the four-game series at two apiece.

The Rangers scored three times in the first taking advantage of two Oakland errors. One was committed by Kendall Graveman, making his first start of the year and his A’s debut, and one by catcher Stephen Vogt who dropped a throw while attempting to tag a runner at the plate.
Graveman settled down and got through the second, but Texas got to him for two more runs. The big blow in the third was a Mitch Moreland home run with a man aboard to put Texas ahead 5-0. Graveman’s day came to an end in the fourth when Shin-Soo Choo blasted a ball into right field that went over the yellow line for a home run. There were two men on at the time of the blast and Texas blew the game wide open leading 8-0 in the fourth Evan Scribner was brought in to pitch for the A’s

Texas scored two more times on solo home runs. Adrian Beltre hit one in the seventh and Ranger second baseman Rougned Odor put one over the fence in the eighth. The A’s scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the eighth when Eric Sogard singled and he scored on a double by Marcus Semien. Final score 10-1 in favor of Texas.

Game notes. The A’s started the season 2-2 for the third consecutive year. Kendall Graveman took the loss. The Rangers’ Nick Martinez pitched well allowing just four hits and no runs in seven innings of work. The line score for Texas was 10 runs, 11 hits, and no errors while the line for Oakland was one 1 run, 6 hits and 3 errors. Evan Scribner went 3 and 2/3rds innings of work and allowed one run and three hits.

The A’s continue the homestand as the Seattle Mariners will be here for three games. Lefty Drew Pomeranz will go for Oakland and he will be opposed by righty Tijuan Walker.
Game time is 7:05 Friday night at the O.Co Coliseum

Thursday’s game time was a speedy 2 hours and 32 minutes and 16,045 watched the A’s get drubbed.