Tag: mlb

The A’s lose to the Texas Rangers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Texas Rangers won the second game of the four game series with the A’s by a score of 3-1 behind six strong innings of pitcher by former Athletic, Colby Lewis. Lewis went six innings allowing allowing one run and limiting the A’s to three hits. Jesse Hahn made his first start as an Athletic and pitched well but not well enough and took the loss. Hahn also went six innings giving up three runs and seven hits. After the game,A’s manager, Bob Melvin, though Hahn pitched well and seemed pleased with his performance. The game summary follows below.

The Rangers drew first blood in the top o the third. A’s starter, Jesse Hahn, hit Ranger second baseman, Rougned  Odor, with a pitch. Odor advanced to second when Leonys Martin hit a slow ground ball to shortstop Marcus Semien. Semien could not get the force at second as his only play was to get Martin at first. Hahn retired Elvis Andrus for the second out but Prince Fielder blooped a single to center that barely eluded the grasp of Semien. Odor scored to put the Rangers ahead 1-0 in the middle of the third.

The Rangers scored twice in the top of the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. Leonys Martin singled with one out to get things going. He advanced to third  on a single by Elvis Andrus. Martin and Andrus scored on a Prince Fielder single to right that got by Craig Gentry. Gentry was charged with an error as Fielder advanced to second on the play. Hahn retired Beltre and Choo to end the inning.

The A’s got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. With one out Sam Fuld lined a triple down the right field line. Eric Sogard ground out and that allowed Fuld to cross the plate with their first run of the game. A’s trail 3-1 after six. The A’s threatened in the bottom of the seventh. They had the bases loaded with one out but Marcus Semien ground into an inning ending double play. The Rangers bullpen shut the A’s down the rest of the way and both teams are now 1-1 to start the season.

Game notes- Sam Fuld went 2 for 4 and had a triple in the game Tuesday night. Fuld has tripled in back-to-back games for the second time in his career and is now 4 for 8 to start the season. The Rangers’ Colby Lewis is now 9-4 against Oakland and the nine wins are the most against any opponent.  Game three will be played Wednesday night at 7:05 pm at the O.co Coliseum. It will be a matchup of two left-handed pitchers. Scott Kazmir will go for Oakland and Ross Detwiler will o for Texas.

Temperature at game time was 54 degrees and the Attendance was 15,025.

SF Giants FanFest 2015

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IMG_2745

by Peter Qaqundah

SAN FRANCISCO-Just as nothing could stop the Giants on their run to a third World Series title in five years, no amount of rain was able to put a damper on FanFest 2015. Fans arrived in packs to celebrate a new season with The San Francisco Giants. Players from the past and present were on hand to meet fans, sign autographs, and conduct interviews recapping the past season, their off season routines, and looking towards the 2015 campaign. Javier Lopez commended the fans for their loyalty and commitment when the Giants “decided not to play our best baseball,” Lopez said with a laugh. Multiple Giants addressed that stretch, acknowledging that they need to avoid such a slump but also feel that battling out of it proved invaluable for the playoff run.

Fans were pleased to hear the players’ off seasons were full of rest and relaxation. Buster Posey even took an extra two weeks off, which he has not done in any of the previous championship seasons. Another off season that was highly discussed was that of Matt Cain. He assured everyone that both surgeries were 100% successful and he is on track to be throwing with the rest of the staff when they report to spring training on February 18th.

The Giant players have high hopes for this upcoming season. Brandon Belt, in particular, is looking forward to “go compete every single game” after injuries limited him to only 61 games last season before he was able to come back and provide some 18th inning postseason magic against the Nationals. The Giants organization expects him to carry that success into this season, and he is ready to deliver. Just as with Belt, the organization is excited to see this year’s team in action. With the key acquisitions of Nori Aoki in the outfield and Casey Mcgehee manning the hot corner, in addition to our familiar stars returning, we should see a lot of base runners and scoring opportunities. If our pitching staff can remain as effective as they have been over the past 5 years, a fourth title in six years is well within reach.

Hunter Pence encapsulated The SF Giants and FanFest 2015 when he said, “It’s not work if you love doing it…I’m getting ready for what we do and love.” If this event was any precursor of the upcoming season, the fans are also ready for what we do and love—cheering on our defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.

There is No Joy in Oakland as the A’s are One and Done

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s and the Kansas City Royals played one of the best playoff games ever on Tuesday night in Kansas City. It was a thriller all the way and the fans of both teams had moments of great joy and great despair all through the night. The A’s and their fans, however, will not be celebrating as the Royals kept coming back and finally overtook the A’s in the bottom of the twelfth inning as they advanced to the best of five ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels as they won in a walk off 9-8.

Big Jon Lester started for the A’s. Lester, who won two World Championship rings with the Red Sox and was the only A’s pitcher to beat the Royals this year, was on the mound for Oakland. Lester was 9-3 against KC lifetime and 3-0 against them this year. Kansas City had their ace “Big Game” James Shields taking on the task of beating the A’s. All the pundits thought the game would be a one run game with a final score of 2-1 or 2-1 but they were wrong. It turned out to be a game of the A’s power against the running game of the Royals and in the end the running game won.

The A’s got off to a good start when Brandon Moss hit a two run homer in the top of the first. The Royals made it 2-1 when they came back in their half of the inning. The Royals then took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third by scoring twice off Lester. The A’s took the lead in the top of the sixth. Royals’ manager Ned Yost took Shields out in the sixth with two men on and two out and brought in Yordano Ventura to pitch to Brandon Moss. Moss hit a tremendous blast to center field to make it a 5-3 game and the A’s scored two more runs to increase the lead to 7-3.

Lester pitched well after the third inning but ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth. Lester recorded just one out and the Royals scored three times to close the gap to 7-6. They tied the game in the ninth scoring a run off A’s closer Sean Doolittle. Former A’s outfielder Josh Willingham came through with a pinch hit single to right to start the ninth. Jarrod Dyson, pinch running for Willingham advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and then stole third base. Nori Aoki hit a long fly to right field and A’s right fielder Josh Reddick mad a great catch robbing Aoki of a hit but Dyson tagged up and scored the tying run and the game went to extra innings.

The Royals had their chances to win the game in the 10th and 11th innings but the A’s pitchers managed to get the third out in each inning stranding the winning run at third in both frames. In the 12th and and final inning of the game, the A’s took an 8-7 lead when Alberto Callaspo,pinch hitting for Nate Freiman, poked a single to left field driving in Josh Reddick with the run. The Royals, however, were not done. Eric Hosmer hit a triple to left center field high off the wall. Christian Colon then hit a high chopper that A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson could not make a play on and Hosmer scored.

The A’s kept a close eye on Colon as they knew the Royals would try for a stolen base. The A’s called for a pitchout but Derek Norris took his eye off the ball and it hit his glove and he could not make the throw. Royals’ All-Star catcher, Salvador Perez, who had been hitless all night, lined a shot past a diving Josh Donaldson down the left field line that drove in Colon with the winning run and the celebration began for the Royals who now face the Angels Thursday night.

For the A’s, it was a season that started with high hopes and for four months they had the best record in baseball. General Manager Billy Beane made a great trade in early July for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. On July 31st, he traded slugger Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox for Jon Lester. Everyone thought it was a great trade and the A’s would be headed to the World Series. However, a funny thing happened to the A’s. They stopped hitting and they had a losing record the last two months of the year and made the playoffs on the last day of the season. Tuesday night’s game was a mirror of the season, a great start but a lousy finish. The A’s will have all winter now to figure things out for next year.

That’s a wrap for 2014 for A’s baseball and congratulations to the Royals who are in the playoffs for the first time in 29 years.

Game notes- Major League Baseball and MLB Advanced Media announced that Josh Donaldson was named the Oakland A’s nominee for the 2014 Hank Aaron Award.

Fans can vote exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites. For the fifth straight year, a special panel of Hall of Fame players led by Hank Aaron will join fans in voting for the award, which is officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball and has recognized the most outstanding offensive performer in each League since it was established in 1999.

After finishing fourth in American League MVP voting in 2013, Donaldson ended the 2014 campaign with career highs in home runs (29), RBI (98) and runs scored (93), while ranking in the Top 10 in the American League in each of those three categories. Donaldson also tied his career highs in games played (158) and walks (76), and hit a Major League-leading three walk-off home runs, tied for the most in A’s history.

The Hall of Fame panel led by Aaron includes some of the greatest offensive players of all-time –Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Frank Thomas and Robin Yount. These Hall of Famers – who combined for 16,956 hits, 8,844 RBI and 2,109 home runs – have all been personally selected by Aaron to lend their expertise to select the best offensive performer in each League.

“Josh is well-deserving,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “He’s been a very inspirational player, as was Hank Aaron. He’s really showed up to play, especially in recent weeks with his injuries.”

Through October 5, fans will have the opportunity to select one American League and one National League winner from a list comprising of one finalist per Club. The winners of the 2014 Hank Aaron Award will be announced during the 2014 World Series.

The finalists for the 2014 Hank Aaron Award are:

American League National League
Baltimore Orioles Nelson Cruz Arizona Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt
Boston Red Sox David Ortiz Atlanta Braves Justin Upton
Chicago White Sox Jose Abreu Chicago Cubs Anthony Rizzo
Cleveland Indians Michael Brantley Cincinnati Reds Devin Mesoraco
Detroit Tigers Victor Martinez Colorado Rockies Justin Morneau
Houston Astros Jose Altuve Los Angeles Dodgers Adrian Gonzalez
Kansas City Royals Alex Gordon Miami Marlins Giancarlo Stanton
LA Angels of Anaheim Mike Trout Milwaukee Brewers Jonathan Lucroy
Minnesota Twins Trevor Plouffe New York Mets Daniel Murphy
New York Yankees Brett Gardner Philadelphia Phillies Marlon Byrd
Oakland Athletics Josh Donaldson Pittsburgh Pirates Andrew McCutchen
Seattle Mariners Robinson Cano St. Louis Cardinals Matt Carpenter
Tampa Bay Rays Evan Longoria San Diego Padres Seth Smith
Texas Rangers Adrian Beltre San Francisco Giants Hunter Pence
Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista Washington Nationals Anthony Rendon

Past winners of the Hank Aaron Award include: Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013); Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012); Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011); Bautista and Joey Votto (2010); Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009); Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008); Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007); Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006); David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005); Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004); Rodriguez and Pujols (2003); Rodriguez and Bonds (2001-02); Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000) and Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa (1999).

The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and, at that time, was the first major award introduced by Major League Baseball in more than 25 years.

Giants Thump Padres 9-3 In Season Finale, Offense Tunes Up For Wild Card Showdown

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – With a playoff berth in hand, the San Francisco Giants wrapped game 162 up with an offensive display sure to comfort fans heading into a do-or-die contest. The Giants wrapped 13 hits in a 9-3 victory over the San Diego Padres Sunday Afternoon at AT&T Park.

Buster Posey and pinch-hitter Adam Duvall each homered for San Francisco (87-74), while seven different Giants knocked in a run. The Padres (77-85) received RBIs from Cory Spangenberg, Seth Smith and Yasmani Grandal.

“Ultimately, I think the guys who have been through this know this,” said Posey “It’s going to come down to pitching well and playing good defense. I think we have the offense that can get hot and carry that hotness, sustain that hotness for a few weeks.”

Before the Giants even took the field for the regular season finale against the San Diego Padres, they knew their playoff fate. With a Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 loss in Cincinnati earlier in the day, the Giants will head to the Steel City for Wednesday’s one-game Wild Card playoff. The Pirates opened the day one game back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Central crown.

“That’s a good club,” said Giants Manager Bruce Bochy of Wednesday’s foe. “They really have been firing this month, almost winning their division. It’s going to be a tough game.”

For San Francisco, Rookie pitcher Chris Heston made his first Major League start after two relief appearances this season. In his 2014 Triple-A Fresno campaign Heston went 12-9 with a 3.38 earned run average, the second lowest mark in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He was twice named a MiLB Organizational All-Star for the Giants and this year lead all PCL starters in innings pitched (173) and starts (28).

The 2009 San Francisco 12th round draft pick opened the game precariously, allowing four-straight hits to the Padres before finally recording his first out on a Seth Smith sacrifice fly. The 26-year-old retired the next two batters, including inducing an inning-ending grounder up the middle that he deflected to a diving shortstop Brandon Crawford. Crawford flipped the ball out of his glove to second basemen Joe Panik to end the inning with the Giants only trailing 2-0.

“He threw the ball very well,” said Posey of his batterymate. “I think there were some nerves to start with but he settled in for innings two, three and four.”

“There were some nerves to be out there for start one,” admitted Heston. “But once I threw strike one, it settled down. A lot happened pretty quickly. Crawford made a crazy good play to get me out of it. It was pretty fun.”

The deficit would be short-lived following a Buster Posey’s 22nd home run of the year off Padres starter Robbie Erlin. Posey tied the game after taking a belt-high fastball to left-center, scoring Gregor Blanco for the backstop’s 88th and 89th RBIs of the season. Posey underwent an MRI Friday to check on damage to his balky bat.

“(Buster) told me in the morning he wanted to play,” said Bochy. “I was a little concerned that he was healthy, but he showed me with his swing. We were planning to give him a couple at-bats, but Buster felt fine in them all. It seemed encouraging that he’s over his issue.”

The Giants cracked open the game in the bottom of the second inning, scoring four runs to chase the eventual losing pitcher Erlin (4-5, 4.99 ERA) from the game. San Francisco loaded the bases with no outs for Heston. He struck out looking for the first out, but leadoff man Blanco lofted a sacrifice fly to center and Panik singled down the line at first for a 4-2 lead. Padres manager Bud Black went to his bullpen, calling on Tim Stauffer to replace Erlin after his 1 1/3 innings of work and four runs allowed. Stauffer struck out Posey to end the second.

The Friars fired back with a run of their own off Heston in the top of the third after a Yasmani Grandal RBI single. It’d be the last run the Padres would score off Heston in his four innings of work. He’d be lifted for pinch-hitter Adam Duvall in the bottom of the fourth. Duvall took a 91 mile per hour Stauffer offering deep for his third home run of the season.

Heston failed to qualify for his first career win despite exiting the game with a 5-3 lead, missing the five-inning cutoff. He walked a pair of struck out a pair in his outing, but the honors instead went to Tim Lincecum (12-9, 4.74). “The Freak” pitched a pair of scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth, surrendering a lone hit, to vulture the win.

“I thought Heston did a good job,” said Bochy. “He’s pitched a lot. It’s not an easy job taking him out in the fourth with the lead but with him not getting a lot of work we didn’t want to overtax him. Timmy came in and got another win so he’s excited about that. It was a well-played game.”

San Francisco put the game out of reach with a three-run eighth inning following an run-scoring hits by birthday boy Gary Brown, Joaquin Arias and pinch-hitter Matt Duffy. Arias’ hit, a double off reliever Nick Vincent, plated two runs. Erik Cordier and Brett Bochy pitched a scoreless inning apiece to close out the win for the Black and Orange on Fan Appreciation Day.

“It’s very special for him to be out there,” said the elder Bochy on utilizing his son for the final three outs. “It’s a moment I won’t forget. I told the kids ‘hey, you’ve got the end here’ because we weren’t going to use (Santiago) Casilla, (Hunter) Strickland or (Sergio) Romo.”

“It was a very proud moment for me,” he added. “This is one line-up card I’ll save.”

What the fans would truly appreciate is a third Giants World Series title in six years. With that in mind Bochy has already announced his scheduled starter for Wednesday’s playoff contest. 2014 all-star Madison Bumgarner takes his 18-10 record and 2.98 ERA to the bump against the Bucs in an attempt to advance the Giants to the Division Series and a date with the NL wins leaders, the Washington Nationals.

“Madison was our Opening Day starter,” said Bochy. “He made the All-star team. This is the way you hope it will pan out.”

Pittsburgh won the season series 4-2. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has hinted that Edison Volquez (3.04 ERA) will get the nod after his 13-win season.

“It’s going to be one of the better atmospheres that we get to play in,” said Posey “We all look forward to the challenge”

“We’re playing in their park where they’ve really done a good job,” added Bochy. “We’re facing a tough pitcher. I expect to see a great ballgame. We’ll do all we can to get back here.”

The A’s Woes Continue, Lose to the Angels

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v Oakland Athletics : News Photo

The Oakland A’s lost the final home game of the year to the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 Wednesday at the O.co Coliseum. The A’s needed a win to either stay even with the Kansas City Royals or take the lead in the race for the number one Wild Card spot that would give them the opportunity to have the play-in game played here in Oakland. The A’s lost so things changed slightly. If the KC Royals should lose their game, the two teams would be tied and KC holds the tiebreaker. That means that The Royals will host the one game playoff. At the time of this writing, the Indians took a 5-4 lead after five innings complete.

The A’s ace, Jon Lester , was the choice to start and his mission was to stop the Angels. He pitched well but the Angels take a 3-0 lead after three innings and the A’s defense collapsed giving the Angels two unearned runs to put them in a 5-0 hole. The A’s rallied for four in the bottom of the seventh but they could not break through against the Angels bullpen and it was another tough loss for the Green and Gold.

The Angels didn’t get a double to lead off the game Wednesday as they did in the first two games but that did not stop them from scoring a run in the first inning. Angels wunderkind, Mike Trout singled with one out. He then stole second and was driven in on a Howie Kendrick single to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead.

The Angels took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. Kole Calhoun singled and that was followed by doubles by Albert Pojuls and Howie Kendrick. Kendrick has driven in the all three Angel runs.

A key play occurred in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Donaldson reached on a three base error when Mike Trout dropped his fly ball in center field with no out. Jonny Gomes popped out and that was followed by a short fly ball to short right field. Donaldson, trying to inject some life into the A’s offense, tagged up and sprinted for home. The throw came up the line and it looked like Donaldson avoided the tag but he slid past home and really hustled to get to the plate safely but he was called out. The play is explained in the notes below.

The Angels scored an unearned run in the fifth. Luis Jimenez led off with double and advanced to third when usually reliable Josh Reddick dropped a fly ball for an error that allowed Jimenez to advance to third. Albert Pujols hit a sacrifice fly to right and Jimenez scored. 4-0 in the middle of the fifth.

The Angels scored another unearned run in the 7th. Gordon Beckham singled to start things off for the Halos. Colin Cowgill laid down a bunt that Josh Donaldson threw past first base and down the right field line allowing Beckham to score all the way from first. Cowgill was out trying to make it to third. The play was ruled a single, error on Donaldson and the putout at third went 4-6. Angels own a 5-0 lead with the A’s coming up to hit.

The A’s finally got something going. Derek Norris and Jed Lowrie singled to put men on first and third.

Josh Reddick doubled to drive both of them in. The next batter, Nick Punto, tripled to drive in Reddick with the third run of the inning with one out. After a pitching change, Coco crisp singled to drive in Punto with the A’s fourth run of the inning. Adam Dunn, pinch hitting for Callaspo, struck out to end the inning. A’s trail 5-4 after seven complete.

The Angels bullpen was up to the task and they kept the A’s from scoring in the eighth and ninth to win 5-4.

Game notes- The A’s lost their 26th one-run game of the season which is the most by an A’s team in the last 27 years. The A’s finished the regular season with a total home attendance of 2,003,628. First time since the 2005 season that the A’s reached the 2 million mark. Jon Lester took the loss and his record is now 16-11 for the year and his ERA was 2.46 which is the best of his career. Josh Reddick went 2 for 4 and was 9 for 16 on the home stand.

After the game A’s Manager Bob Melvin said that the play on which Josh Donaldson was tagged out on a play that looked like the catcher missed the tag. Melvin did not have to ask for a review as the umpires decided to look at the entire play which included rule 7.1.3 which looked to see if the catcher blocked the lane as well as the missed tag. If Melvin asked for the review, the only thing the umps could have considered was the tag. In any case, the call was sustained and Donaldson was out. That play turned out to be huge. Had he scored the A’s would have tied the game in the seventh and who knows how the game would have turned out.

The A’s are now ½ game behind Kansas City. Kansas City plays Cleveland later. A win for KC will give them a one game lead and a loss will keep the A’s tied with them for the first Wild Card spot.

The A’s travel to Texas for the final four games of the season. Jason Hammel will pitch against Colby Lewis. Scott Kazmir goes on Friday. Jeff Samardzija on Saturday and Sonny Gray on Sunday. If the A’s make the playoffs, Jon Lester will go for the A’s as they hope to advance to the AL Division Series which will be against the Angels.

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Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

A’s-Angels Rivalry?

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by Jerry Feitelberg]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v Oakland Athletics : News Photo

The Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels have been competing against each other since 1961

when the Angels entered the American League as an expansion team in 1961. The A’s were still in Kansas City then until 1968 when they moved to Oakland. Division play started in 1969. At that time until 1994, there were just two divisions in each league, the AL East and West. The A’s and Angels were,of course,in the AL West. division. In 1994, baseball, due to expansion, increased the number of divisions to three. The American League had 14 teams while the National League had 16. The A’ played in the four team West which included the Angels, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners. In 2013,

the Houston Astros moved from the National to the American League West and each league now had three division of five teams each.

The A’s have a 406-329 advantage over the Angels since moving to Oakland and a record of 455-406

all-time. People would think that there should be a huge rivalry between the two teams like the one that exists between the Dodgers and Giants or Red Sox and Yankees. The natural rivalry is Northern California vs.Southern California but it just doesn’t happen with the A’s and Angels. It used to happen in pro football with the Niners and Rams but that’s not the same since the Rams moved St.Louis. Stanford vs USC in College football is big but the rivalry just isn’t there between the A’s and the Angels.

One school of thought is that the A’s have been so good since they move here to Oakland. The A’s have

won six pennants and four World Series titles while the Angels have one just one pennant and one World Series crown. The Angels have had good teams but the A’s were just better over the years.

The Angels have been competitive the last few years but were not able to win the pennant. Same story

for the A’s. The A’s have made the playoffs a few times since 2000 but have been eliminated in the ALDS each time except for 2006 . The lost four straight to the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.

2014 has been an interesting race between the A’s and the Angels. The A’s played well for the first four months of the season. The Angels got off to a slow start but took over the division lead as the A’s went into a deep slide and , while the A’s have two games left with the Angels, the Angels won the AL West by a large margin. If the A’s make the playoffs and win the play in game, they will have to face the Angels in the ALDS. That series should be a doozy as the competitive juices will be flowing.

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Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938

A’s Samardzija “Coming for Blood” With Another Stretch Run Gem

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – For the first time since August 25th, the Oakland Athletics’ Jeff Samardzija saw something by his name Monday night he hadn’t seen in a while; a W.

“This last month has been fun for me,” said Samardzija, thrilled on being in a playoff race despite a recent lack of personal results. “It’s something I’ve been asking for for a long time. I haven’t been in this situation before. I want to take advantage of it. Opportunities aren’t guaranteed; they don’t come around too often, so you don’t want to waste them.”

The July 4th trade acquisition wasted little Monday night, firing seven five-hit innings, allowing only one run to the visiting Los Angeles Angels (96-61) to lead Oakland to an 8-4 win over the 2014 American League West winners. The A’s (86-70) staked Samardzija to an early cushion, scoring six runs on only two hits in the bottom of the first to maintain a one-game lead over the Kansas City Royals for home field advantage as the top AL Wild Card team. The A’s magic number is now down to four.

“I feel like I have thrown 210 innings, that’s for sure,” joked Samardzija. “That doesn’t’ matter at this point. It doesn’t matter how you feel. You owe more to your teammates and to yourself to go out and do your job and do it to the best of your abilities. I feel great.”

Geovany Soto and Stephen Vogt each collected two-run hits in the contest for the A’s. Soto now has five RBIs over his last two games.

Over his previous four starts, Samardzija (5-5, 2.92 ERA) received a scant five runs of support from his offense. The righty went 0-2 over that stretch despite allowing only five runs in 30 innings. He entered play Monday night without allowing a run over his last 16 innings, but saw the scoreless stretch snapped after a Mike Trout sacrifice fly plated an unearned run in the first inning. He has not allowed an earned run over 23 innings.

“He’s aggressive, he’s coming at you,” said Soto of his batterymate. “He’s a shark, he’s coming for blood. Good or bad, he’s coming after you.”

The solitary run came after the LA leadoff man Kole Calhoun reached base on a double, then took third while Jonny Gomes struggled to corral the wall ball. Samardzija would bounce back from his left fielder’s error to retire the next three hitters, but not before conceding the final 90 feet to Calhoun on Trout’s RBI pop out.

After a fielder’s choice found Sam Fuld on first base with one out in the first, Halos starter C.J. Wilson lost any semblance of control over the strike zone. The southpaw issued walks to Josh Donaldson and Jonny Gomes to load the bases, then handed out run-scoring free passes to Derek Norris and Nate Freiman to put the A’s ahead 2-1 with two outs.

After Freiman, Geovany Soto coaxed a full count out of Wilson before knocking in two runs on a single, effectively knocking the southpaw out of the game.

“He’s had some big hits,” said Melvin of his backstop. “You can walk and walk, a run here, a run there. Next thing you know, we pop up. He’s the guy who really came up with the big hit of the inning.”

Wilson toiled through just 2/3 of an inning and 35 pitches, 19 of which were balls, while allowing four walks and six runs (four earned). Wilson (13-10, 4.61), the losing pitcher Monday night, had won his previous four decisions in the limits of Alameda County. He is now 5-2 as a member of the Angels on Oakland A’s home turf over seven starts.

“That’s been something we’ve done very well in the past,” said Melvin. “It was good to see us take some walks, not try to be too aggressive, which maybe we have been a little bit too much recently. We made him work, next thing you know we’re up 6-1.”

Angels reliever Mike Morin appeared to have the third out on a Nick Punto bouncer down the third base, but a poor throw by David Freese found Punto at third base with another two runs across for the home team.

The A’s added another pair of runs in the seventh inning after Stephen Vogt ripped a bases loaded single off Michael Roth. Vogt entered the game as a pinch hitter for Nate Freiman in the third inning and remained in the game at first base.

“When we just put that one up, then put the second on up, I was excited,” said Samardzija. “It felt like, with the way we were going, that was going to be enough. We add four more to that, add some more later in the game. It felt good. When we score early, as I pitcher you get to take a deep breath and pound the zone. You know they need to work at bats and get back in the game. It’s ideal. Any time they want to give me eight, I’ll accept it.”

Los Angeles pulled within four in the eighth inning after Albert Pujols rocketed an Evan Scribner 1-2 delivery into the bleachers in deep left field. Pujols 28th blast of the season, coming with two runners on and two outs, pushed him past the 1,600 mark in career runs batted in. His 1,602 RBIs ranks 33rd all-time.

The A’s seek a third-straight win Tuesday night for the first time since August 7-9, sending Opening Day starter Sonny Gray to the mound. The babyfaced fireballer looks to bounce back from a September 18th 7-2 loss to the Texas Rangers that saw the righty cough up five runs over just five innings. He’ll face LA’s Wade LeBlanc for game two of Oakland’s final three-game homestand of the season.

“We’ve been through a lot this last month,” said Samardzija. “It’s nice to see everyone come together and start clicking. We’ve had great defense, great at bats. Our pitchers have been pitching. That’s what you want. I think we’re doing it at the right time.”

It Just Keeps Getting Worse for the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Just when you think things can’t get any worse for the A’s, they do. The downward spiral continues as they waste a tremendous pitching performance from Jeff Samardzija and lose to the Texas Rangers 6-1.

Samardizija and Rangers’ starter Derek Holland hooked up in a old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. Both pitchers were in total control until the A’s took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. The A’s could have broken the game wide open in the bottom of the eighth when they had the bases loaded with no out but they failed to score. In the top of the ninth, the Rangers sent twelve men to the plate and scored six times with the key blow off the bat of J.P.Arencibia. This loss has to be one of the toughest to take all year. If the slide continues, the A’s may miss the playoffs entirely. I hope the players do not lose their confidence but the have to be thinking “what’s going to go wrong today?’

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Former Ranger Geovany Soto doubled with one out. Second baseman Nick Punto reached on an infield single and Soto advanced to third on the play. Coco Crisp struck out but right fielder Sam Fuld, the only left handed hitter in the lineup, singled to right to drive in Soto. After five complete, the A’s are ahead 1-0.

Jeff Samardzija kept Texas scoreless through eight innings of work. He was brilliant allowing just four hits and struck out ten. The A’s had a chance to break the game open in the bottom of the eighth as they loaded the bases with no out but no one could come through with a clutch hit and they failed to score.

The A’s brought in their closer, Sean Doolittle, to finish off the Rangers but everything that could go, went wrong. Doolittle retired the first batter but then the roof caved in. Elvis Andrus singled and then scored on a double by Rougned Odor. The A’s walked Adrian Beltre but that move failed a J.P.Arenciabia, hitting about .169, slammed a three run homer to give them a 4-1 lead. The Rangers didn’t stop there as they scored two more times sending twelve men to the plate in the ninth inning.

The A’s went down meekly in the bottom of the ninth and took the loss.

Game notes- With the loss the A’s are now tied with the Kansas City Royals for the first Wild Card slot

In addition, the loss gave the AL West division crown to the Los Angeles Angels. The A’s and Royals

are two games ahead of the Mariners for the Wild Card slots.

The A’s have lost five of the last seven games and are 5-14 since August 28th and are 17-38 in their last 55 games. A’s manager Bob Melvin said the A’s have to regroup and hope to get it going again on Thursday.

Jeff Samardzija has thrown 16 consecutive scoreless innings, which is a career high. He also struck out 10 batters for the eighth time in his career and three times this year with the A’s.

The A’s finish the series with Texas Thursday afternoon at 12:30pm. Sonny Gray will try to right the ship for the A’s as he goes for his 14th win of the year and his opponent will be Nick Martinez.

A’s lose to the lowly Rangers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s played a game Tuesday night that was extremely ugly and not typical of a team trying to make the playoffs. The A’s were terrible on defense as they committed two costly errors and their pitchers threw 3 wild pitches in the game. They looked like they were sleepwalking through the game and it resulted in a 6-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. The Rangers have the worst record in baseball but they looked like world beaters defeating the A’s. Scott Kazmir started for the A’s and he was not sharp at all and took his ninth loss of the year. The Rangers’ starter, Nick Tepesch, came into the game with a 4-10 record, picked up his fifth win of the year. The Rangers, with nothing to lose, played well and took advantage of the A’s miscues and ran the bases relentlessly.

Texas drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning. Ryan Rua led off the inning with a single.

With one out, the Rangers’ Designated Hitter, Jake Smolinski, sent the ball over the left center field fence to give the Rangers the lead. For Smolinski, it was his first home run of the year. The Rangers

added another run after Rougned Odor beat out an infield single then scored when Daniel Robertson

hit a high chopper that went over Brandon Moss’ glove for a single. Reddick throw out Robertson at second trying to stretch the hit into a double but that allowed Odor to score from third base on the play.

Rangers are ahead 3-0 in the middle of the fourth inning. The A’s got back into the game when the scored twice to trail 3-2. Adam Dunn doubled with one out to get things going. Walks to Brandon Moss and Jed Lowrie loaded the bases. Josh Reddick hit a ball to deep center that allowed Dunn to score.

Derek Norris singled to drive in Moss and when the Ranger shortstop threw the ball past the first baseman Lowrie and Norris advanced to third and second but Eric Sogard ground out to end the inning.

The Rangers scored two unearned runs in fifth inning. With one out, Adrian Beltre doubled down the

left field line. Ryan Rua hit a sharp ground ball to A’s shortstop Jed Lowrie. Lowrie’s throw sailed way over the head of first baseman Brandon Moss . The play was ruled a single and an error. Beltre scored and Rua went to second on the play. Ranger catcher Robinson Chirinos singled to drive in Rua. A’s manager Bob Melvin took Kazmir out of the game and replaced him with Ryan Cook. Rua advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on a single by Odor. Texas leads a 6-2 as the A’s bat in the bottom of the fifth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Brandon Moss hit a solo home run to deep right field that was absolutely crushed. A’s trail 6-3 after six complete. There was no more scoring in the game and the A’s fall to the Rangers 6-3.

Game notes: The A’s are 7-14 for their last 21 games and 10-21 in their last 31. The A’s were fortunate as the Kansas City Royals also lost so they maintain their one game lead over the Royal for the first Wild Card spot. Seattle beat the Angels and they are just one game behind the Royals for the second Wild Card. There were a few highlights for the A’s tonight. Josh Donaldson was 2 for 4 with a double

and Brandon Moss hit his 25th home run of the year. The last A’s player to have two consecutive 25 homers in a year was Jack Cust. Josh Reddick was 1 for 3 with a triple.

The Rangers won their fourth game in a row and it was the first time they did it since April 15 to April 19th this year.

A’s manager Bob Melvin was not a happy camper with the play of his team Tuesday night. He thought they would be ready as they had won two games in a row at Seattle. Melvin said that while he was disappointed with the way the A’s played, he would come to the park Wednesday and be optimistic about the team’s chances of getting back on the winning track.

In other news, Jed Lowrie has been named the A’s nominee for the 2014 Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Beginning Wednesday, Fans can vote on ChevyBaseball.com for the National recipient and register for a chance to win a trip to the 2014 World Series.

Game two of the three game series will be Wednesday night at 7:05pm. Jeff Samardzija will pitch for Oakland while Derek Holland will go for the Rangers.

Attendance was 19,835

The A’s Sprint to the Finish Preview

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The season, A’s fans, has just thirteen games left to play.The A’s who have not been playing well since the big trade on July 31st have no chance of winning the AL West division. The division will be won by the Los Angeles Angels who have the best record in baseball(93-56). The A’s however can make the playoffs as either the first wildcard or the second wildcard. The A’s won the last two games played in Seattle and with Kansas City losing to Boston Sunday, have given themselves a little breathing room over the Royals who trail the A’s by 1.5 games for the top wildcard slot. The Royals have a game lead over Seattle for the second wildcard spot and Seattle is now 2.5 games behind the A’s and one game behind the Royals. The team with the top wildcard spot will host the one game playoff to decide which team advances to the AL Division Series.

The A’s, as mentioned above ,have thirteen games left to play. Nine of the games will be at home and the last four will be on the road at Texas. The A’s start the nine game home stand against the aforementioned Rangers. The Rangers have had a season of turmoil. Their pitching staff has been decimated by injury and they also lost Prince Fielder, who was their big off-season acquisition, to injury and he was lost for the year. Their manager, Ron Washington, has resigned for personal reasons.

Washington won two AL Pennants and had made the Rangers into a very good time during his tenure as manager.The A’s cannot take the Rangers lightly and the Rangers would love to knock the A’s out of the playoffs. A’s manager Bob Melvin has adjusted his pitching rotation so that Sonny Gray will pitch game three of this series and Gray will pitch again against Texas in the last game of the regular season. What this means is that Jon Lester will be pitching in the one game playoff for the A’s. Jon has a reputation as a big game pitcher and has two World Series rings to show for it. Also, Lester was named AL player of the week as he went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.29.

The pitching match ups for the Texas series will be Scott Kazmir (14-8,3.32) going against Nick Tepesch(4-10,4.47) on Tuesday. Wednesday’s pitchers will be Jeff Samardzija (4-5,3.41) against Derek Holland(1-0, 0.86). Holland was a regular starter for Texas but he missed almost all of the season due to injury but be can be one tough customer and the A’s know it. They know beating Holland will not be easy. The Thursday game will feature Sonny Gray (13-8,3.18) against Nick Martinez)3-11,4.93.)

The A’s then play three inter-league games with the NL East last place Philadelphia Phillies. The Philies are 69-80 for the year but they would love nothing better than to come here and beat the A’s and knock them out of the playoffs. The A’s then finish the home stand against the Angels who, by the time the three games series will be played, should have the clinched the division crown. The A’s the travel to Texas to play a four game series and finish the season.

The A’s have been on a roller coaster ride this season. They had the best record in baseball the first four months of the season but they stopped hitting in late July and have not played well the last six weeks. They have played a lot of one run games during that span and lost most of them as they could not buy a key hit or get anything going to turn the slide around. They took two out of three from Seattle over the weekend and they did not get beat by Felix Hernandez. Hernandez pitched well but the A’s won the game after his departure. Hopefully, they will not have to face him in the one game playoff. What the A’s need is for the team to step up their game. Do the little things that win games. Small ball if necessary,for sure. Good defense is a must. The A’s have been making costly errors during the downturn and that has to stop. Good pitching is a must. The starters must get their “A” game going and the bullpen has to do its job when called upon and lastly clutch hitting. If they can put all those ingredients together, they can go far in the playoffs. If not, it will be a long winter wondering about what might have been. It’s time for the fans to come out to the park and back the team with all the support and noise that they can provide and let’s hear them chant “let’s go Oakland.”