Tag: O.co Coliseum

A’s will welcome the World Champion Houston Astros on Tuesday night

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: youtube.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s (34-32; fourth place in the AL West) start a three-game series with the World Champion Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

The Astros are currently in a dogfight with the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West. They are currently 42-25 and have one more loss than the M’s.

The Astros come to Oakland having won seven of the last 10 games. They will be sending three tough pitchers at the A’s. On Tuesday night, Lance McCullers Jr. will pitch for Houston. McCullers’ season record is 7-3, and his ERA is 3.94. McCullers has beaten the A’s twice this season and will be hoping to record his third win over them on Tuesday. In his two prior starts against the A’s he has allowed just two earned runs, four walks, and has struck out 10.

The A’s will counter with Houston native Daniel Mengden. Mengden had a terrific May but was pounded by the Texas Rangers in his last start. Mengden was tagged for four big home runs and six runs in just four innings of work.

On Wednesday, Astros’ Gerrit Cole will face the Green and Gold. Cole is having a terrific season with a record of 7-1 and a sparkling ERA of just 2.16.

The A’s Paul Blackburn will make his second start since coming off the DL. Blackburn is 1-0, and his ERA is 1.50. He went six innings and allowed just one run and three hits in recording the win over the Kansas City Royals. He threw 67 pitches and looked sharp.

Thursday’s game will feature Justin Verlander going for the Astros against the A’s Frankie Montas. Verlander, a former Cy Young Award winner and MVP with the Detroit Tigers, has a record of 8-2 and a 1.45 ERA.

The Astros are 14-5 in games that Verlander has started since he came to Houston from the Tigers last year. Montas has made three starts and won them all. He is 3-0 and has a 1.25 ERA. In three starts (and wins), Montas has allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings of work.

The A’s pitchers will have their hands full trying to contain the Astros’ powerful lineup. Second baseman Jose Altuve is leading the league in hitting again. Shortstop Carlos Correa is a tough out. Alex Bregman at third, and Yuli Guriel round out the infield. George Springer, Josh Reddick, Jake Marisnick, or Marwyn Gonzalez will handle the outfield chores. Evan Gattis, who also doubles as a DH, Brian McCann, and former Athletic, Max Stassi are all guys that can hit and cause damage. The Astros’ bullpen is deep with Collin McHugh, Brad Peacock, Hector Rondon, Will Harris, and Tony Sipp seeing action. Chris Devenski and Ken Giles are the closers.

The A’s are just 1-5 against Houston this year. The A’s also have power up and down the lineup. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson are threats to go deep, and pitchers have to be careful not to make a mistake with their pitch selection. If they fail to locate the ball, Olson and Chapman will send the pitch into the seats. Jed Lowrie, who was hot early in the season, has cooled off a bit but is still a dangerous hitter. DH Khris Davis leads the A’s in homers and RBIs and is a very dangerous hitter. Davis can hit the ball out of any park. Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Dustin Fowler, and Stephen Piscotty all have power.

Johnathan Lucroy and Josh Phegley are the catchers. Lucroy is a better contact hitter while Phegley has power but hasn’t played very much this season.

The Astros have had the advantage over the A’s the last couple of years. If the A’s are going to make progress, they will need to take the series from the Astros. That will be a tough task, but the A’s know they can play with the big boys. Just ask the Boston Red Sox.

Davis Goes Deep Twice in A’s 7-2 Rout, Montas Stifles Royals Again

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — Frankie Montas continues to get it done for the Oakland Athletics, winning his third-straight start Friday night against the Kansas City Royals 7-2 at O.co Coliseum on Friday night.

The A’s hosted Pride Night at the Coliseum, and made it very clear that baseball was for everyone, regardless of their gender and/or sexual orientation.

In case you missed the celebration, you can check out the A’s team store for rainbow-oriented gear in the MLB Shop and its website.

Montas (3-0, 1.25 ERA) nearly matched his last outing, an eight-inning no-run performance against these same Royals with a duplicate performance, but a two-run homer to Mike Moustakas spoiled the shutout for the starter. Khris Davis hit a pair of homeruns for Oakland, Dustin Folwer blasted a solo shot and Jonathan Lucroy  knocked in three runs for the Green and Gold, moving the A’s two games over .500 at 33-31. Lou Trivino picked up his first career save after firing the final 1 1/3 innings.

Montas was two outs away from eight innings of shutout baseball, but a Whit Merrfield single put a runner on. Montas got Alcides Escobar to line out but couldn’t put Moustakas away after falling into a full count. Montas’ two-seamer wound up right in the middle of the plate, giving Moustakas a meatball for his 13th long ball of the year.

Montas would depart the game leading 6-2, having his full arsenal of pitches working Friday. He used his slider and offspeed pitches to rack up five strike-outs, but also used his heavy two-seamer to work deep into the game. He faced 30 batters, needing just 96 pitches to get one out away from a full eight innings. After three starts of 2018, he now sports the sparkling ERA of 1.25 runs.

Just like in last week’s win for Montas, a 16-0 win, Montas didn’t even need to be near peak performance. Khris Davis continued his torrid stretch after returning from injury. He  took Royals starter Jakob Junis (5-6, 4.05) deep twice Friday, once in the first inning and once in the fourth, to boast four homers over his last seven games and 17 on the season. Dustin Fowler also tagged Junis with a solo shot in the bottom of the 3rd inning.

Davis’ second homer in the fourth inning wasn’t the only damage the A’s would do in the frame. Leading 3-0, Jonathan Lucroy would knock in a run on a single. Two innings later, he’d tag Junis with two more runs, plating Marcus Semien and Stephen Piscotty on a double for a 6-0 A’s lead. Oakland would score an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth for the seventh run of the game.

The A’s send Chris Bassitt to the mound for his 2018 debut, hoping the young righty’s return to the rotation will go as well as recent returnees Montas and Paul Blackburn. He’ll be opposed by Danny Duffy, who sports a 5.81 ERA with six losses to just two wins.

Game time is set for Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

A’s score three in the sixth for 4-1 laugher of Royals; Blackburn gets a win

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Gloves_And_Bats

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — Oakland A’s starter Paul Blackburn was activated off the 60-day DL and made his first start of the year. Blackburn, who missed a lot of time last year due to an injury and suffered a right forearm strain in spring training, was very impressive in his return to action Thursday night against the Kansas City Royals. Blackburn went six innings and allowed just three hits.

The only run the Royals scored came in the third inning when shortstop Alcides Escobar homered. The A’s rallied for three runs in the sixth, and the bullpen shut down the Royals offense as the A’s won the game 4-1.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Matt Olson blasted his 13th homer of the year over the 388-foot marker in deep right center field. The blast traveled 414 feet. Olson has nine homers in his last 23 games.

In the bottom of the sixth, the A’s put together four hits and a walk that produced three runs and ended Jason Hammel’s night. With one out, A’s DH Khris Davis singled. Hammel walked Matt Olson to put men on at first and second. Matt Chapman hit a towering fly ball to center. Royals’ center fielder Paulo Orlando appeared to have trouble determining where the ball was going to come down. He seemed to be twisting and turning to find the ball, but when he did locate the ball, it was too late as the ball hit the wall for a double. Davis scored, and Olson stopped at third base. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Olson, and that was followed by Stephen Piscotty’s third single of the game to drive in Chapman with the A’s third run of the inning and the fourth of the game. The A’s led 4-1 after six.

A’s manager Bob Melvin used Lou Trivino in the seventh, Yusmeiro Petit in the eighth, and Blake Treinen in the ninth. The relievers did their job to secure the win.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 32-31. Blackburn won his first game since August 22, 2017, against the Baltimore Orioles. Blackburn is 1-0, and has a 1.50 ERA. Jason Hammel’s record dropped to 2-6.

The A’s line was four runs, nine hits, and no errors. The Royals’ line was one run, four hits, and no errors. It was the Royals’ fifth loss in a row.

To make room for Blackburn on the roster, the A’s optioned catcher Bruce Maxwell to Nashville.

Time of game was two hours and 18 minutes and a sparse crowd of 7,967 fans were on hand to see Blackburn’s return to Oakland.

Up Next: Game 2 of the four-game series will be played Friday night at the Coliseum. Frankie Montas (2-0, ERA 0.64) will pitch for the A’s, and Jakob Junis (5-5, ERA 3.62) will go for Kansas City. Game time is at 7:05 pm PDT.

Rays shut out A’s 1-0 in 13 innings

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @RaysBaseball

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — It was a sizzling, sun-drenched day in Oakland. The temperature at the start of the game was 78 degrees, and the 10,881 fans in attendance thought they might see a few home runs in the game. The ball usually carries well on hot days, but that did not happen as the A’s, and Rays’ pitchers were sensational. The Rays scored the winning run in the top of the 13th. The A’s had their chances,but could not get a hit with a runner in scoring position.

The A’s starter, Trevor Cahill, had his best game of the year. Cahill went eight innings, allowed just four, didn’t walk a batter, struck out six, and did not allow a run.

The Rays’ starter, Chris Archer pitched six scoreless innings, He kept the A’s scoreless and allowed just 4 hits, too. Both bullpens were terrific. The Rays were a wee bit better as they won the game 1-0.

The Rays scored the only run of the day in the top of the 13th. Chris Hatcher, the A’s fifth pitcher of the day, retired the first two hitters in the 13th. He then gave up singles to John Field, Jesus Sucre, and center fielder Mallex Smith. The Ray’s Ryne Stanek retired Matt Joyce for the first out. Marcus Semien walked. Jed Lowrie fouled out. Rays’ manager Kevin Cash made a pitching change. He brought in the lefty Jonny Venters to pitch to Matt Olson. Venters struck out Olson for the final out.

The A’s had men in scoring position in the fourth, sixth, and ninth innings but could not score. The A’s drop to 28-26 while Tampa Bay improves to 26-26.

The line score for the Rays was 1 run, 7 hits, and 1error. The A’s line was no runs, 7 hits, and no errors.

Chris Hatcher was the losing pitcher, and Ryne Stanek recorded the win.

Game 2 of the four-game series will be played Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Daniel Gossett (0-2, 6.28 ERA) will pitch for the A’s, and the Rays will send lefty Blake Snell (6-3, 2.78ERA) to the hill. Game time is at 7:05 pm PST.

A’s nip Mariners 4-3 to win series finale

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s won the final game of the three-game series as they defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3. However, the Mariners won the series two games to one and are 6-3 over Oakland so far this season.

The A’s were facing their nemesis, Felix Hernandez, once more. Hernandez has owned the A’s over the years and his 26-10 lifetime record is a testament to his dominance. Thursday’s game in Oakland did not go King Felix’s way. The A’s tallied four runs in the bottom of the first, and that was enough to win the game. Hernandez and three Mariner relievers allowed the A’s just one hit after the first inning. Josh Lucas went two innings for the A’s and gave up two runs. The A’s bullpen was fantastic as they kept Seattle off the board until the eighth and Blake Treinen closed out the game to preserve the win.

The Mariners jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. The A’s starter Josh Lucas gave up singles to M’s shortstop Jean Segura and center fielder Guillermo Heredia. Lucas walked the ever-dangerous Mitch Haniger to load the bases with no out. Lucas now had to face the M’s slugger Nelson Cruz. Cruz, who has killed the A’s in the past, hit into a 5-4-3 double play. Segura scored. Lucas struck out Kyle Seager to end the inning. The A’s roared back in their half of the frame as they scored four times to take a 4-1 lead.

The M’s ace Felix Hernandez gave up singles to Matt Joyce and Marcus Semien to put men on at first and third with one out. Jed Lowrie flew out to left field. Joyce tagged up and scored on the play. Matt Chapman walked to put two men on with two out. Stephen Piscotty doubled to drive in Semien and Chapman. Piscotty scored the fourth run of the inning when Dustin Fowler singled.

The Mariners scored a run in the second inning to make it a 4-2 game.  With two out, Andrew Romine walked. He then stole second and scored on a single by M’s catcher David Freitas.

There was no more scoring in the game until the top of the eighth inning. A’s manager brought in rookie Lou Trivino to pitch. Trivino gave up a single to Jean Segura and walked Heredia to put men on at first and second with no out. Mitch Haniger hit a sharp grounder that was fielded by the third baseman Matt Chapman. Chapman stepped on third base for the first out, threw to second for the second out, but Haniger was safe at first as the throw arrived just a split second late. Nelson Cruz singled to send Haniger to third, and Cruz went to second base on the throw. Bob Melvin decided to use his closer, Blake Treinen to get the final out of the eighth. Kyle Seager singled sharply to drive in Haniger with the M’s third run. Cruz stopped at third base. Treinen retired Daniel Vogelbach on a fly ball to center field for the final out of the inning. The A’s are still in the lead 4-3.

Treinen retired the M’s in order in the top of the ninth. Ben Gamel flew out to left field for the first out. Treinen then struck out pinch-hitter Ryon Healy on a 99-mile-an-hour four-seam fastball for the second out, Treinen then struck out Mike Zunino for the final out. The A’s win 4-3.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s improve to 26-24 while Seattle drops to 29-20. The A’s used five pitchers in the game, and the winning pitcher was Yusmeiro Petit. Petit is now 2-1. Blake Treinen earned his 11th save. Felix Hernandez is now 5-4 for 2018.

Time of game was two hours and 44 minutes, and there were 12,633 happy fans in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s will now face the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games starting Friday night in Oakland.

Sean Manaea will oppose Patrick Corbin in a battle of left-handed pitchers Friday night.

Daniel Mengden will hurl for Oakland Saturday, and he will be opposed by the veteran Clay Buchholz.

Sunday’s game will feature Trevor Cahill going against one of the best pitchers in baseball, former Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke.

Mariners rally late to edge A’s 3-2 in 10 innings

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Mariners

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s, returning home after a successful 7-3 road trip to New York, Boston and Toronto, wasted another excellent outing bt the veteran Trevor Cahill as they lost the opener of the three-game series to the Seattle Mariners 3-2 at Safeco Field Tuesday night.

The Mariners’ Mike Leake and the A’s Trevor Cahill both pitched well. Each pitcher received a no-decision for their effort, but each could have won with a little more run support from their respective teammates. The A’s scored an unearned run in the fourth. Leake did not help his cause as he was the player that committed the error. He gave up an earned run in the fifth. With two out, he hit Mark Canha with a pitch. Matt Joyce singled to send Canha to third and Canha scored when Marcus Semien singled.

The Mariners tied the game in the seventh. With one out, Cahill walked the M’s designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach. The next hitter, catcher Mike Zunino, took Cahill deep to tie the score at two apiece.

Neither team could score in regulation, and the game went into extra-innings. In the top of the 10th. The Mariners took the lead. Shortstop Jean Segura singled to right. Guillermo Heredia doubled to center. Segura was sent home on the throw by third base coach Scott Brosius. Segura’s hand touched home plate before A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy could apply the tag.

The Mariners brought in Edwin Diaz to close out the game. Diaz retired the first two hitters. Marcus Semien nearly tied the game when he sent a Diaz fastball over the fence in left field. There was just one problem. The ball was about three feet foul. Diaz then struck out Semien to end the game.

Game notes and stats: With the win, the M’s are now 28-17 and remain just two games behind the first-place Houston Astros. The A’s drop to 25-23.

The A’s Trevor Cahill went seven innings and allowed just four hits and two runs.

The line of M’s Mike Leake was 6 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed six hits and two runs, one of which was unearned.

The A’s Yusmeiro Petit was charged with the loss, and Edwin Dian recorded his 16th save of the season.

The M’s announced that they placed Dee Gordon on the 10-day DL with a fractured toe.

The M’s designated hitter Nelson Cruz was not in the lineup Tuesday night.

The M’s manager, Scott Servais, was ejected late in the game for disputing calls on ball and strikes.

Up Next: The A’s will send Daniel Fossett to the mound to pitch on Wednesday. Gossett was recalled from Nashville to make a start. Marco Gonzalez will hurl for Seattle. Game time will be at 7:05 pm PST at the Oakland Coliseum.

A’s and Mariners start a three-game series Tuesday night in Oakland

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @KPOD1240AM

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, perhaps the surprise team of the American League, return home for a 10-game homestand. The A’s finished a 10-game road trip to New York, Boston, and Toronto with a record of 7-3. They split the first six games with New York and Boston and then won all four against Toronto. The A’s hit 19 home runs on the trip, and people around the league are starting to pay attention to what’s happening in Oakland.

There was a downside as two starting pitchers were placed on the 10-day DL. Andrew Triggs is out due to nerve irritation in his right arm, and Brett Anderson injured his left shoulder. Josh Lucas did well filling in for Anderson, and he may be called on to start a game. The A’s are now 25-22 and are 4 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros for the lead in the AL West Division.

The A’s start the homestand against their division rival, the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners own a 4-2 record against Oakland so far this year. All six games were played in Seattle, and this will be the first meeting of the teams in Oakland. The Mariners are currently in second place in the AL West with a record of 27-19. They trail the first-place Astros by two games. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and are on a three-game winning streak.

The Mariners, however, seem to be in a bit of turmoil. Their All-Star second baseman, Robinson Cano, was hit with a double whammy last week. Cano suffered a broken thumb or wrist when he was hit by a pitch and would miss about six weeks of playing time. The second whammy that hit was an 80-game suspension for using a banned substance. The substance was Lasix or Furosemide, which is a drug used as a diuretic to remove excess water from the body. The drug is used to mask the use of steroids. Cano apologized to his teammates for his transgression. Cano can probably return in August, but he will not be eligible for postseason play.

The Mariners, as mentioned earlier, have beaten the A’s four times and lost just twice so far this year. The Mariners brought up Gordon Beckham to fill in for Cano at second. The M’s have a lot of power in their lineup. Ryon Healy, playing first base for the Mariners, came to Seattle in the deal that netted Emilio Pagan for Oakland. They have quality players such as Jean Segura at shortstop and Kyle Seager at third base. Ben Gamel, Dee Gordon, and Mitch Haniger handle the chores in the outfield. Gordon is an awesome leadoff hitter, and he plays as if he were Rickey Henderson. Haniger and Gamel have caused A’ pitchers a lot of distress and have to be shut down if the A’s want to come out with wins. Mike Zunino does most of the catching.

The Mariners’ designated hitter, Nelson Cruz, is having a tough time with injuries this year. Cruz missed two weeks when he was on the DL. After returning to action, he got sick in Toronto and then was hurt when he was hit in the foot by a pitch in a game against the Texas Rangers.

The A’s will be facing Mike Leake Tuesday night, Marco Gonzalez on Wednesday night, and their nemesis, Felix Hernandez, Thursday afternoon. Leake is 4-3, but his record is deceptive as the M’s have given him an abundance of run support. Gonzalez faced the A’s in April and went 3 1/3rd innings and gave up four runs and five hits and he was rewarded with a no-decision. On Thursday, it will be King Felix. Hernandez has a lifetime record of 26-10 against Oakland. His eyes light up when he sees the Green and Gold.

Hopefully, the A’s can turn the tables on Hernandez. The M’s lefty James Paxton will not see action in the series. Paxton’s last two outings have been outstanding. The Canadian-born Paxton threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays for his first career complete game and then had his second complete game in his last start.

The M’s bullpen has performed well. The bullpen is staffed by setup men such as Juan Nicasio, Nick Vincent, Marc Rzepczynski, and dynamite closer Edwin Diaz. There is a new face in the M’s pen, and he is former A’s reliever, Ryan Cook. Cook, who was an All-Star with the A’s in 2012 and pitched for them until 2015, was recalled from the minors last week. Cook missed all of the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery. Cook last pitched in the Majors in 2015, and it will be interesting to see if he has regained the form that made him an All-Star.

The A’s have shown that they have a very potent lineup. Everyone can hit the ball out of the park. Jed Lowrie, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Matt Joyce, Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Stephen Piscotty,  Dustin Fowler, and Jonathan Lucroy are all dangerous hitters.

However, the A’s most-feared hitter, Khris Davis, strained his right groin in Sunday’s game in Toronto. The injury usually takes a while to heal, and Davis is currently day-to-day, but there is a possibility that he will be placed on the 10-day DL. Chad Pinder would probably fill in for Davis as the DH.

As mentioned above, the A’s rotation is in dire straits due to injuries. Sean Manea and Daniel Mengden pitched in Toronto and are not available under the series with Arizona. Cahill is pitching on Tuesday, and the starters for Wednesday and Thursday are to be determined. The A’s may call up Kendall Graveman from Nashville to fill in.

In other news, the A’s reinstated catcher Bruce Maxwell from the ineligible list on Monday and sent Josh Phegley back to Nashville.

Astros beat A’s 4-1 to finish 3-game sweep

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @astros

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Houston Astros rallied for two runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to defeat the A’s 4-1 to sweep the three-game series. The A’s starter, Daniel Mengden, pitched one of the best games of his career, but his effort was not quite good enough as opposing pitcher, Gerrit Cole, was a wee bit better. Cole, in his first year in the American League, improved to 4-1 and his ERA is just 1.43. Mengden’s record is now 2-4.

It was an old-fashioned pitching duel as Mengden and Cole baffled the hitters for the first five innings of the game. The A’s broke through in the bottom of the sixth after Matt Joyce singled with one and Jed Lowrie followed with a double. Cole walked Khris Davis to put men on at first and second with one out. Cole rose to the occasion as he struck Matt Olson and Matt Chapman to end the threat. The A’s led 1-0 after six.

Mengden was cruising along quite nicely until there were two outs in the top of the seventh. Former A’s prospect Max Stassi hit a bomb that went over the right-center-field wall for his third of the season. The next hitter Derek Fisher outdid Stassi as his home run went way, way back into the second deck of the bleachers in center field.

A’s manager Bob Melvin took Mengden out of the game and brought in Yusmeiro Petit to get the final out of the inning

Game Notes: The A’ s announced that starting pitcher, Trevor Cahill has been placed on the 10-day DL.

The A’s have five pitchers on the DL: Cahill, Paul Blackburn, Liam Hendriks, Jharel Cotton, and Ryan Buchter.

The A’s recalled Dustin Fowler from Nashville to fill the spot on the roster. Fowler had his first at-bat in the Majors in the bottom of the seventh, and he popped out to the Astros’ second baseman Jose Altuve.

The Astros used four pitchers to down the A’s on Wednesday. Cole got the win, but relievers Joe Smith and Will Harris were credited with holds and Ken Giles was credited with his fifth save of the season.

The A’s split the six-game home series with a record of 3-3.

Up Next: The A’s start a 10-game road trip on Friday in New York as they face the red-hot New York Yankees at 4:05 pm PT. Then it’s off the Boston for three and Toronto for four. It doesn’t get any easier as the A’s return home to play the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. Whoever put this schedule together at MLB must have it in for Oakland.

This date in A’s history: Braden pitched 19th perfect game against Rays

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND — The A’s are undoubtedly struggling against the world champion Astros at the moment, but here’s a positive fact to take your mind off the Green and Gold’s issues.

On this date in 2010, which happened to be on a Mother’s Day, Dallas Braden pitched the 19th perfect game in MLB history against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the second by an Athletic and it came 42 years and one day after Catfish Hunter did it against the Minnesota Twins on May 8, 1968.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Braden is the first pitcher to throw a perfect game against a team entering the day with the best record in the majors and it came in his 68th career appearance, which was third fewest among the pitchers with a perfect game at the time.

Braden’s no-hitter was the sixth no-hitter by an Athletic and the first since Dave Stewart on June 29, 1990 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Also, Braden’s astonishing performance was the 11th nine-inning no-hitter in A’s history.

Astros top A’s 4-2

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @astros

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Houston Astros downed the A’s 4-2 in the second game of the three-game series. The A’s had their ace, Sean Manaea, going for his fifth win of the season. That did not happen as the very talented Astros team sent Manaea to the showers in the sixth inning, and he had no choice but to absorb his fourth loss of the year.

Lance McCullers, who dominated the A’s when the Astros won 11-0 on April 29th. McCullers went just five innings, and the A’s could have made it closer, but they couldn’t get it done, and the Astros’ bullpen did its job as the A’s could not get anything done in the last four innings of the game.

The A’s put a run on the board in the bottom of the first without the benefit of a hit. Lance McCullers walked the A’s leadoff hitter Marcus Semien. Semien advanced to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Jed Lowrie hit a fly ball to deep right-field for the second out. Semien tagged up and went to third. With Khris Davis at bat, McCullers uncorked his second wild pitch of the inning and Semien slid in safely for the score. Davis doubled on the next pitch, but the A’s could do no more.

The Astros tied the game in the top of the second. With one out, Astros’ third baseman Alex Bregman slammed his third home run of the year over the wall in the right field wall. Manaea retired the next two hitters to end the inning.

The A’s regained the lead in the bottom of the third. Semien singled to start the rally. McCullers, who was having problems with his control, walked Matt Joyce and Jed Lowrie to load the bases with no out. Khris Davis lined out to deep right field. Astros’ right fielder George Springer made a nice running catch as the ball almost went over his head. Semien scored, and Joyce tagged and advanced to third. Matt Olson hit into a double play to end the inning. The A’s lead 2-1 after three.

Houston put two on the board in the top of the fifth. With two out, Manaea hit just grazed Brian McCann uniform with an inside pitch. The next hitter, Jake Marisnick, hitting a buck 51, doubled to put men on at second and third. Manaea now had to face the red-hot hitter George Springer. Springer doubled to drive in McCann and Marisnick. Springer now has eight hits in his last nine at-bats. The Astros lead 3-2 halfway through the fifth inning. The A’s Bruce Maxwell committed a blunder on the base paths that may have cost the team a chance to tie the game. Maxwell doubled to start the inning. Marcus Semien followed with a ground ball that squeezed into shallow left field. Maxwell hesitated as he didn’t know if the ball would be fielded and when it wasn’t, he took off for third. Maxwell, who is not a speed demon, was cut down when left fielder Marwyn Gonzalez hustled in to field the ball and threw Maxwell out as he was sliding into the base. Houston leads 3-2 after five innings.

The Astros tacked on another run in the sixth inning. With one out, Yuli Guriel doubled. Manaea retired Bregman for the second out. He now had to face the ever-dangerous Marwin Gonzalez. Gonzalez came through for Houston as he singled to left to drive in Guriel with the Astros’ fourth run of the night. A’s manager Bob Melvin trudged out to the mound and took the ball from Manaea and brought in rookie reliever Lou Trivino. Trivino gave up a hit but was able to get the third out without any further damage.

The Astros’ relievers’ Brad Peacock, Chris Devenski, and Ken Giles shit down the A’s offense to secure the win for Houston. The Astros beat the A’s 4-2.

Game Notes and Stats: There was a very emotional moment in the second inning when Stephen Piscotty came to bat. Piscotty, who lost his mother Gretchen to ALS on Sunday, decided to play in the last two games of the homestand and then go on bereavement leave when the A’s go on the 10-game road trip. Piscotty received an extremely warm, heartfelt reception from the fans. He was very touched by the show of support and tapped his heart before going to bat. He singled, and every one of the 9,764 fans in the stadium knew that that was for his mother.

With the win, the Astros moved back into a virtual tie for first place with the Los Angeles Angels. The A’s drop to 18-18. McCullers improves to 5-1 while Manaea is now 4-4. Ken Giles recorded his fourth save of the year.

Up Next: The final game of the three-game set will be played Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum. Game time will be at 12:35 pm PT.