Tag: O.co Coliseum

Twins need 12 innings to beat the A’s 4-3 and even the series

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Photo credit: @Twins

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Minnesota Twins and Oakland A’s struggled through 12 innings before the Twins were able to break through for a 4-3 win at O.co Coliseum on Wednesday night. The A’s took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, but the Twins held them scoreless the rest of the way. In the meantime, the Twins scored one in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to tie the game. The A’s had their chances, but failed to capitalize.

Mike Fiers started for Oakland and went six-plus innings and allowed five hits and two runs. Twins starter Kyle Gibson also worked six innings, and gave up five hits and three runs. Gibson’s only mistake was serving up a gopher ball to Ramon Laureano.

The A’s put three on the board in the second inning. A’s DH Khris Davis reached on an error. Kyle Gibson issued a walk to Mark Canha to put two men on with no out. Ramon Laureano followed with an Earl Weaver special, a three-run homer. Gibson finished the inning with no further damage.

The Twins scored their first run of the game in the top of the sixth. Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop led off with a single. Fiers retired Byron Buxton for the first out of the inning. Max Kepler singled to move Schoop to second. Both players advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Twins catcher Mitch Garver singled to drive in Schoop. Fiers retired the next two hitters. Ramon Laureano made a sliding catch to retire Jorge Polanco for the second out, and A’s third baseman showed off his fielding skills as he made a nice running catch to rob C.J. Cron of a hit and end the inning. The A’s lead 3-1 midway through the sixth.

The Twins scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh to close the gap to one. Rookie Luis Arraez led off with a single. The Twins were able to bring in Arraez for the score when Franklin Barreto made two errors on the same play. He failed to touch second for a force out and then threw the ball past Matt Olson at first. The A’s then caught former Giant Ehire Adrianza trying to steal home. A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit struck out Byron Buxton for the final out.

The Twins tied the game in the top of the eighth. With two out, the Twins’ DH Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star game, homered off Joakim Soria. The game was knotted at three apiece with the A’s coming to bat.

The Twins scored a  run in the 12th. Bob Melvin brought in Blake Treinen to pitch. Treinen came off the 10-day IL and was rusty. He struck out Schoop for the first out. He then walked Byron Buxton and Max Kepler to put a man in scoring position. Mitch Garver singled to drive in Buxton to put the Twins ahead 4-3. Melvin replaced Treinen with Brian Schlitter, and he got C.J. Cron to hit into an inning-ending double play. In the A’s half of the inning, Matt Chapman reached on an error. Twins’ reliever Taylor Rogers struck out Matt Olson for the first out. Jurickson Profar, who ran for Khris Davis earlier, singled to left. Chapman went to third on the play  Profar was called out at second after he was called safe. The Twins challenged the call, and it was overturned. Rogers struck out Mark Canha to preserve the win for the Twins. The Twins won 4-3.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the A’s drop to 47-40. They remain in second place in the AL West as the Texas Rangers lost to the Angels again. The Twins improved to 54-31.

Jorge Polanco’s home run in the eighth was the Twins’ 161st of the year. They have four games left to break the record they share with the Yanks for most home runs before the All-Star break. The A’s used seven pitchers. Treinen took the loss. Blake Parker was credited with the win.

The line score for Minnesota was four runs, 10 hits, and two errors. The A’s line was three runs, eight hits, and two errors.

Time of game was four hours and 40 minutes. 31,570 people saw the A’s lose.

Up Next: Game three of the series will be played on Thursday at 1:00 pm. Tanner Anderson will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Jose Berrios.

Herrmann hits grand slam in 1st game with A’s; Oakland edges Twins 8-6

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s won their fourth straight to go eight games over the .500 mark with a record of 47-39. It was not easy as they were facing the AL Central first place Minnesota Twins. The Twins have a lineup loaded with guys that can hit the ball out of the park. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has the team playing well and the A’s were hoping their starter Daniel Mengden could subdue the Twins’ hitter. In addition, the A’s were facing the Twins’ best pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who entered the game with a sparkling record of 10-3 and an ERA of 2.73.

The Twins put two runs on the board in the top of the second inning. With two out, Twins rookie second baseman, 22-year-old Luis Arraez singled to start the rally. Third baseman Miguel Sano took Mengden deep for his 13th tater of the season. The Twins led 2-0 halfway through the second.

The Twins took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. The A’s came back with two in their half of the third. A’s second baseman Franklin Barreto led off with a double. He tagged up and went to third on Marcus Semien’s fly out to left. Matt Chapman struck out, but the other Matt, Matt Olson hammered his 17th homer to make it a 3-2 game.

The A’s took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth. A’s right fielder Mark Canha reached on an error. Twins starter Jake Odorizzi walked Ramon Laureano to put two men on with no out. Robbie Grossman followed with a bloop single to center to load the base, A’s catcher, Chris Herrmann, making his first start as an Oakland Athletic, made his first hit memorable. His hit is the stuff that players dream about when they were kids. Just imagine coming to the plate with the bases loaded and hitting a grand slam for your first hit with your new team. That is exactly what happened. Herrmann’s blast sent Odorizzi to the showers. The A’s now led 6-3.

The Twins, who were loaded with power hitters, cut the deficit to two when catcher Jason Castro homered off Mengden to make it 6-4. The A’s got the run back in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Mark Canha walked. Ramon Laureano doubled into the corner in left field. Third base coach Matt Williams waved Canha home. Twins’ left fielder Marwyn Gonzalez’s throw home nailed Canha. Laureano took third on the throw home. Grossman singled to drive in Laureano to give the A’s the lead 7-4 after five complete.

The Twins showed the reason they are in first place in the AL Central. With one out, Marwyn Gonzalez singled to start the rally. Gonzalez tormented the A’s when he was with Houston and he continued to do so Tuesday night. Mengden retired C.J.Cron for the second out. Luis Arraez, who singled in the second inning, slammed a  double to left-center-field to drive in Gonzalez with the Twins’ fifth run of the game. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch. Petit retired Sano for the third out. The A’s failed to score in the bottom of the sixth. They still led the Twins 7-5 after six.

The Twins’ Jason Castro led off the seventh with his second solo dinger of the game to make it a one-run contest. Oakland still led 7-6 midway through the seventh. The A’s Mark Canha responded with his 12th homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the A’s a two-run cushion 8-6 heading into the eighth inning.

The Twins failed to score in the eighth. In the ninth, the A’s brought in Liam Hendriks to close out the game. Hendriks gave up a single to Miguel Sano.  Hendriks settled down and struck out Jason Castro for the first out. Castro had a double and two solo home runs and getting a strikeout was just the tonic Hendriks needed. He struck out Byron Buxton for the second out. Hendriks had to deal with the dangerous left-handed hitter Max Kepler. Kepler has hit 21 homers to lead the Twins in that department and also represented the tying run at the plate. Hendriks won the battle as he got Kepler to fly out to center for the final out of the game. The A’s won 8-6.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s won their fourth game in a row to improve to 47-39. The A’s moved into second place in the AL West as the LA Angels beat the Texas Rangers 9-4. The A’s did not gain any ground on the Houston Astros as they rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8. The Twins drop to 53-31 for the year.

Daniel Mengen was the winning pitcher and his record improved to 3-1. Liam Hendriks earned his third save. The loss went to Jake Odorizzi. Odorizzi is now 10-4 for 2019.

The A’s line score was eight runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Twins’ line score was six runs, 10 hits, and one error.

The A’s observed a moment of silence to honor the memory of Angels’ pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs passed away yesterday in Texas. He was 27-years-old. A very sad time for his family, the Angels, and everyone that loves baseball.

The A’s hit three homes to increase their total for the season to 136.  They have seven players with 10 or more home runs which are second-most in the majors. The Twins have eight. The Twins also hit three homers and now have 160 with five games remaining before the All-Star break. The Yankees set the record last year with 161.

Time of game was three hours and 20 minutes and a crowd of 13,926 people went home happy as the A’s won 8-6.

Up Next: Game two will start at 6:07 pm Wednesday. Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA) will go for Oakland and Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) will go to the mound for the Twins.

Following Wednesday night’s game, the A’s will have a fireworks show that will honor the military and the Fourth of July.

Preview of the 3-game series between the A’s and Twins

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s are enjoying an off-day on Monday after finishing a six-game road trip with a 5-1 record. The A’s are now just 1/2 game behind the Texas Rangers for second place in the AL West and for the second slot in the Wild Card race.

The A’s will play the next three games at home with the AL Central Division leading Minnesota Twins. The Twins, under first-year manager Rocco Baldelli, have a record of 53-30 and own an eight-game lead over the second place Cleveland Indians.

The Twins have a power-packed lineup. Six of the nine hitters in the lineup have hit more than 10 home runs so far this season. The other three need just one or two more dingers to reach that level. The Twins star left fielder, Eddie Rosario, will not play in the series. Rosario is hitting .280 and has 20 homers and 60 RBIs so far. He is on the 10-day IL with a sprained left ankle. Marwyn Gonzalez, the former Astro, will take his place. The A’s will see Byron Buxton in center and Max Kepler in right. The German-born Kepler leads the team with 21 dingers. All the infielders can hit the ball out of the park. Former LA Angels first baseman, C.J. Cron, is hitting .271, and has hit 17 big flies, and knocked in 52. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop is playing well with a .251  average and has hit 13 out of the park. Shortstop Jorge Polanco, who will be going to the All-Star Game in Cleveland, leads the team in hitting with a .320 average and he has 11 homers and 39 RBIs on his resume. Miguel Sano is a third. He is not hitting for average, but he is a power threat every time he goes to the plate. Jason Castro will handle the catching. Nelson Cruz will be the DH. Cruz, who loves to hit against Oakland, is having an excellent season with 16 homers and 46 runs batted in.

On Tuesday, the Twins will send their All-Star starter, Jake Odorizzi, to the hill. Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA) pitched exceptionally well in May. In June, however, Odorizzi has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings of work over his last three starts. The A’s Daniel Mengden will be making his second start since being recalled from Las Vegas last month. Mengden was sensational in his start against the St. Louis Cardinals last week in St. Louis. He pitched six innings of shutout baseball. Mengden will be making his first career start against Minnesota.

Wednesday’s game will feature the Twins’ Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.21 ERA) going against the A’s Tanner Anderson (0-3, 7.13 ERA). Anderson was roughed up in his last start last Thursday against the LA Angels. He, too, will be making his first career start against the Twins.

On Thursday, the Fourth of July, the A’s will and the ball to Mike Fiers (8-3, 4.01 ERA). Fiers has an ERA of 2.61 in his last 12 starts, which is the sixth lowest in the AL over that span. He has a record of 6-1 and an ERA of 2.77 in 11 (10 starts) games against the Twins. Jose Berrios (8-4, 2.89 ERA) pitches for Minnesota. Berrios pitched last Friday and was tagged for six runs (three earned) against the White Sox in six innings of work. That effort allowed the Twins’ bullpen to get some rest after an 18-inning game the night before.

The Twins have two pitchers that have 10 save each for the team. The Twins will use either righty Blake Parker or lefty Taylor Rogers as the closer. Pitchers that will see action in the series include Trevor May, Matt Magill, Ryne Harper, Mike Morin, Tyler Duffey, and lefty Lewis Thorpe.

The A’s will be without the services of Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty injured his right knee sliding into second base Saturday night. Piscotty had an MRI done on Monday to see the extent of the damage if any. He is on the 10-day IL.

Following the three-game set with the Twins, the A’s travel to Seattle for three with the Mariners. The A’s will resume play at home against the Chicago White Sox after a four-day break for the MLB All-Star game that will be played in Cleveland. A’s third baseman Matt Chapman will be making his first appearance as an All-Star.

Rays defeat the A’s 5-3

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Lewis Rubman

Tampa Bay: 5 | 10 | 2 | 6 LOB

Oakland: 3 | 10 | 1 | 7 LOB

OAKLAND — After the shock of Frankie Montas’s suspension, the A’s had the arduous task of dealing with the Tampa Bay Rays, a difficult opponent in spite of their recent downward spiral, in which they’ve lost their last four games and eight of their last 10. After all, going into tonight´s fray at 43-32, they’ve had the third best won-lost record in the American League, trailing only the Yankees and Astros.

Oakland’s right handed starter, Tanner Anderson (0-1, 3.27 ERA) began with a strong first inning, striking out two Rays, both swinging, while allowing only a single to Tommy Pham.

The green and gold mounted a threat against Tampa Bay’s opener, the right-hander throwing Andrew Kittridge (0-0,5.40) when Khris Davis’ two out single to center sent Matt Chapman, who had walked, to third. But Ramón Laureano, who had struck out in all four of his plate appearances in Thursday’s epic battle, went down swinging to end the inning.

Anderson held Tampa Bay at bay through the second, striking out two more Rays in the process, but faltered significantly in the third frame. The A’s hurler walked weak hitting (.093) Joey Wendle on four pitches to open the inning. After Guillermo Heredia forced Wendle out at second with a slow grounder to Chapman, Brandon Lowe slammed a double off the center field wall that plated Heredia. While this was going on, Laureano’s bobble allowed Lowe to advance to third. He scored on a passed ball, while Austin Meadows was at bat. A nifty play by Chapman on a grouder by Travis d’Arnaud staunched the flow.

Meanwhile, Kitterage completed his allotted two innings and left after throwing 39 pitches and allowing two hits and one walk against three strikeouts. Southpaw Jalen Beeks (5-0, 2.73 ERA) followed Kitterage and had no trouble with the first two A’s batters he faced. But Matt Olson slammed a 2-2 delivery over the center field fence for his 12th home run of the season to narrow the gap to 2-1.

The Rays immediately widened that gap. Kevin Kiermaier opened the fourth with a ground ball that Anderson couldn’t handle and which went for a single. Kiermaier moved up a base on Willie Adames’s single to right and moved on to third when Wendle’s grounder to Semien forced Adames at second. Kiermaier scored when Heredia’s ground ball to Profar, in turn, forced Wendle at second.

Laureano blasted a 1-0 curve ball to open the home fourth with his twelfth home run of the season, this one coming on a fly to left. The A’s now trailed 3-2. That comeback fizzled out when Phegley hit into a double play, second unassisted to first, with Profar and Pinder on base.

Anderson’s laborious tenure on the mound ended at the close of the fourth. He had thrown 79 pitches, 49 for strikes and yielded three runs (all earned), seven hits, and three walks, striking out four. His replacement was left-hander Wei-Chung Wang.

Two round trippers in two innings was enough to convince manager Keven Cash to remove Beeks and replace him with righty Austin Pruitt at the start of the bottom of the fifth.

The next long ballgame came off the bat of Willie Adames, who lifted an 0-1 pitch out of play to put the Rays up 4-2 in the sixth.

It looked as if the A’s would shave a run off Tampa Bay’s lead in the bottom of the sixth when, with Khris Davis on first with a single, Profar sliced a two bagger into left. Davis had a good shot at scoring but was cut down, left fielder Phan to shortstop Adames to catcher d’Arnaud. The A’s requested a video review, but that showed that there had been no illegal blocking of home and that Davis was well and truly out.

Adames’ fourth bagger was the only hit off Wang in his three innings of work. He was replaced by Joakim Soria to start the eighth. The veteran still had enough gas in his tank to retire the side, one, two, three, on two strikeouts and an unassisted put out when the pitcher fielded Kiermaier’s bouncer and outraced the center fielder to tag him out on the way to first.

Chapman’s first pitch lead-off double to left center sent Pruitt to the showers in the bottom of the eighth. The tactic of bringing in a left-handed pitcher to face a left handed batter backfired when Olson drove a hard liner into right field for a run producing double that once more narrowed Tampa Bay’s lead to a single run. Cash immediately removed his southpaw so that right handed Chaz Roe could face right handed Khris Davis. The tactic worked against Davis, who grounded to short, Olson diving back to second. It worked against Laureano, too, who took a two-seam fastball for a called strike three. This brought in Oliver Drake to face switch-hitting Profar, who batted from the left side, his weak one. Of course, he would have batted from that side against Roe as well. Profar bounced out to short, and the A’s went into the ninth trailing 4-3.

Lou Trivino, who has been in a terrible slump, his win on Thursday notwithstanding, started off the ninth on the mound for Oakland. Adames started it off for Tampa Bay with a hard single to right and advanced to second on a wild pitch to Wendle, the next batter. Wendel’s bouncer to Profar’s left moved Adames up another base and resulted in the first out. With the infield drawn in, Trivino struck out Heredia, which allowed the infielders to move back into their normal positions. Trivino got a 1-2 count on Lowe, who drove a fly into deep right center field at the State Farm-Kaiser Permanente-DeWalt sign. Piscotty leaped, but couldn’t come down with the ball. Tampa Bay was up by two again, 5-3. Trivino got Phan to fly out to Laureano a bit to the left and a bit shorter, in front of the warning track at the Xfinity sign.

Once again the A’s entered the bottom of the ninth with their backs, like Piscotty’s in the top of the frame, against the wall. It so happened that Piscotty led off the innning for Oakland. He almost hit a double, but his 1-2 liner to left curved foul. He worked the count to three and two before Drake walked him. This brought up Robbie Grossman, who had pinch hit unsuccessfully for Pinder in the seventh. Drake struck him out swinging before giving way to Emilio Pagán, who faced Mark Canha, pinch hitting for Phegley. On the first pitch, Canha broke his bat producing a weak grounder that Pagán handled well and tossed to Choi for the second out as Piscotty moved to second. Semien then grounded out to the second baseman Lowe, playing in a shift to the left of the bag to end the game.

The win went to Pruitt, now 1-0, the loss to Anderson, 0-2, and the save to Pagán, his fourth in six opportunities.

Tomorrow’s game is scheduled to start at 1:07 pm. Oakland will send Mike Fierrs to the mound and Tampa Bay will call on the man who seems to be their favorite opener.

A’s, behind Bassitt and Phegley, beat O’s to sweep 3-game series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s completed the three-game sweep over the Baltimore Orioles by beating them 8-3 at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday.

The O’s have now lost eight in a row, and the team is floundering at the bottom of the AL with a record of 21-53. They seem to be channeling the 2013 Houston Astros. The Astros, in their first year in the AL, lost over 100 games. They made great draft selections and made it to the top of the baseball world in 2017 when they won their first World Series. The O’s were not a good team last year, and they are on the same path this year. To make matters worse, the O’s best player, Trey Mancini, was hit on his left elbow with a 92-MPH sinker thrown by Chris Bassitt. Mancini left the game, and the MRI showed that he had an elbow contusion.

Bassitt pitched very well Wednesday afternoon. Bassitt went 5 and 2/3rds innings and allowed two hits and two runs, Bassitt almost came out of the game in the first inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin noticed that something might be wrong with Bassitt’s finger. Bassitt had a loose piece of skin, and that hampered his throwing motion. The A’s trainer came out and clipped off the skin.

“I felt a whole lot better than I have the last couple of outings,” Bassitt said. “For a couple outings, I went into this weird mode where I was trying to throw strikes, and that’s not me. I’m just trying to throw a fastball by you 80 times a game.”

Bassitt retired 16 of the 18 hitters he faced and did not allow a hit until Jonathan Villar singled with one out in the sixth.

The A’s put three runs on the board in the fifth, one in the sixth, and four in the seventh. Josh Phegley homered with two on to put the A’s ahead 3-0 after five complete. The Orioles scored two in the top of the sixth. The A’s responded with one in their half of the inning. The O’s scored one in the top of the seventh to make it 4-3.

The A’s put the game out of reach when they scored four times off O’s reliever Shaun Armstrong. The A’s win 8-3.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 39-36. The O’s drop to 21-53. The O’s have also lost eight in a row.

The A’s hitting stars were Josh Phegley with a three-run blast, Stephen Piscotty with two doubles, and Marcus Semien with two hits to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. Bassitt is now 4-3 for the year and lefty Josh Rogers is 0-1. Jimmy Yacabonis started for the O’s and went two innings before giving way to Rogers.

Up Next: The A’s begin a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday night in Oakland. The A’s won two out of three from the Rays last weekend in Tampa Bay. The Rays were swept by the Yankees in New York and are now 3 1/2 games behind New York for first place in the AL East.

Frankie Montas (9-2, 2.85 ERA) will go for the A’s, and he will be opposed by the crafty right-handed veteran pitcher Charlie Morton. Morton beat the A’s last week in Tampa. Morton is 8-1 and has an ERA of just 2.37. Morton lost his first game to the Angels last week. Morton is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.27 in six career starts against the A’s.

Game time will be at 7:07 pm.

The A’s will be celebrating African American Heritage night, and fans will receive an Oakland Larks replica cap.

A’s win laugher, pound hapless Orioles 16-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s bats came alive Tuesday night as they pummeled the Baltimore Orioles 16-2. The A’s led the whole way. A’s starter Brett Anderson was in cruise control until the top of the fifth. Anderson had allowed the O’s just one hit in his first four innings of work. The O’s scored two in the fifth to make it a 4-2 game. The roof came crashing down on them in the bottom of the sixth when the A’s scored 10 runs. They had three homers in the inning, and the game was just about over as they led the O’s 14-2. The A’s tacked on two more in the eighth and 14,310 fans went home very happy.

The A’s drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, A’s catcher Beau Taylor, hitting from the left side, blasted his first career home run to put the A’s on the board. The Green and Gold led 1-0 after three.

The A’s added three more in the fourth. First baseman Matt Olson led off with a booming double off the wall in left field. Orioles’ pitcher Gabriel Ynoa hit Khris Davis with a pitch to put men on at first and second with no out. The next hitter, Ramon Laureano, who robbed former Athletic Renato Nunez of an extra-base hit in deep center field, hit his 11th dinger of the year to drive in Olson and Davis. The A’s now led 4-0.

The O’s cut the deficit to two in the top of the fifth. Brett Anderson, who had given up just one hit in the first four innings, was burned by Orioles’ second baseman, Jonathan Villar. Villar sent Anderson’s pitch over the wall in center field wall for the O’s first run. Keon Broxton followed with a single and then stole second to get into scoring position. Orioles’ third baseman Rio Ruiz hit a sharp ground ball that was fielded by Marcus Semien. Semien tried to nail Broxton at third, but his throw got by Matt Chapman at third. Broxton scored, and Ruiz ended up at second base. Only one run was earned. The A’s still led 4-2.

The A’s blew the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth. They sent thirteen men to the plate. They had eight hits, including a two-run blast and two three-run round trippers as they scored 10 times. Three runs were earned, and seven were unearned. Robbie Grossman hit the two-run blast and Khris Davis and Stephen Piscotty each hit a three-run job. Marcus Semien drove in a run with a triple to extend his hitting streak to fifteen games.

The A’s scored two more in the eighth when Chad Pinder hit a pinch-hit home run with a man on board to make it 16-2.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 38-36. The O’s fell to 21-52. They have the worst record in the American League East.

Brett Anderson improved to 7-4 and O’s starter Gabriel Ynoa dropped to 0-4.

The A’s hit six home runs in the game. It was the first time at the Coliseum since September 2003 when they did it against the Los Angeles Angels.

Up Next: The A’s conclude the three-game series against the O’s Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum. Chris Bassitt will pitch for the A’s, and the O’s have not announced their starter. Game time is at 12:37 pm.

A’s nip the Orioles 3-2 to win the series opener

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s bounced back from a tough loss to the Seattle Mariners on Father’s day to defeat the woeful Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Mike Fiers performed well once more and won his seventh game of the season. O’s starter, Jack Cashner, also pitched well. He gave up three runs, two of which were unearned. The O’s defense helped Cashner lose his third of the year. The A’s and O’s have played five times this year and the A’s have won four of the five.

The A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien doubled leading off. With the double, Semien extended his hitting streak to 14 consecutive games. With one out, Matt Olson doubled down the right field line to drive in Semien.

The O’s put two unearned runs on the board in the top of the second. O’s DH Pedro Severino led off with a single. The next hitter, Rio Ruiz, laid down a sacrifice bunt that hugged the grass going down the third base line. A’s third baseman charged the ball and threw off-balance. His throw went past first baseman, Matt Olson. Severino scored, and Ruiz ended up on third base. Second baseman Hanser Alberto put down a sacrifice bunt to drive in Ruiz with the O’s second run.

The A’s regained the lead in the bottom of the third. They scored two unearned runs on the strength of two walks, an infield hit, a throwing error and a reversal of call at home plate. Josh Phegley and Marcus Semien walked to start the rally. Matt Chapman reached on an infield single to load the bases with no out. Matt Olson reached on a fielder’s choice. O’s third baseman Rio Ruiz made a throwing error that allowed Phegley to score. Semien was out at second, and Matt Chapman was called out trying to score from first base on the throw, The A’s challenged the ruling and the call was overturned when the replay showed Chappie beat the throw to the plate. The A’s lead 3-2 after three complete.

Mike Fiers pitched well once more. Fiers went 6 2/3 innings of work. His allowed three hits and two runs. Both runs were unearned. Fiers, in his last eight starts, is 5-0 and has an ERA of 2.45. Liam Hendriks pitched an inning and a third and did not allow a hit. Blake Treinen retired the O’s 1-2-3 to record his 16th save of the year.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 37-36. Baltimore drops to 21-51. The O’s seem to be channeling the old St. Louis Browns as they own the worst record in the American League. The Browns moved to Baltimore after the 1953 season and became the O’s.

Marcus Semien doubled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. His batting average during the streak is a stunning .390.

Oakland’s line score was three runs, five hits, and one error. Baltimore’s line was two runs, three hits, and one error.

12,345 people watched the A’s down the O’s and the time of game was two hours and 32 minutes.

Up Next: The A’s meet the O’s Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Game time is at 7:07 pm. Lefty Brett Anderson will pitch for Oakland. Anderson is 6-4 for the year. He pitched well his last time out, but he did not get a win as the bullpen did not do its job that day. Anderson will be seeking his seventh win. He will be opposed by Baltimore’s Gabriel Ynoa. Ynoa is 0-3 and has an ERA of 5.02.

A’s blown out by Mariners 9-2 in series opener

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By: Lewis Rubman

Seattle: 9 | 10 | 1 (8 LOB)
Oakland: 2 | 7 | 1 (9 LOB)

OAKLAND — The A’s came home tonight to the newly rebaptized Ring Central Coliseum 1 1/2 games behind Texas for second place in the AL West and a whopping 11 games behind the blazing Houston Astros for the division lead. They face a daunting task in what what’s left of the season if they intend to make the playoffs, but the 11 days since their last home game has given the team some reason to hope. They played 10 games in the exotic territories of Disneyland, Six Flags Over Texas, and the Dalí Museum, and managed to come out ahead six times. The green and gold even managed to split the four-game, three-day series in the Arlington heat against the Rangers. The back end of the bullpen still looks shaky, but on Tuesday night in Stockton AJ Puk and Jesús Luzardo matched each other’s speed and the Weather Bureau’s temperature readings, all well into the high ’90s at the start of the game. Both lefties, rehabbing for the A’s advanced single-A affiliate, showed a wide range of pitches and impressive command, steadily working the corners of the plate. Admittedly, Puk surrendered a home run to the third batter he faced, the highly regarded Heliot Ramos, playing center field for the Giants’ San José farm team, but both hurlers showed they’re almost ready to join the A’s mound corps. They could take some pressure off the relief staff, by joining either the bullpen or the rotation. In the latter role, they probably could go at least one inning deeper into games than some of the more struggling starters, who frequently leave the game before completing six innings.

Right handed Chris Bassitt (3-2, 3.57 ERA), who throws an above average sinker, opened the contest against the Western Division cellar dwelling Seattle Mariners, who sent 6-6, 4.77 ERA Marcos González, a lefty who, like Bassitt, is partial to sinker balls, to the mound.

The A´s threatened early, loading the bases in the bottom of the first on singles to left by Marcus Semien, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and Matt Chapman, followed by a walk to Khris Davis. But Mark Canha had flied to right between the two singles, and Chad Pingrounded into an inning ending in a 6-4-3 double play.

They broke through an inning later on a two out double to left by Jurickson Profar, hitting right handed, his strong side, and a throwing error by M’s second baseman, Dee Gordon, that enabled the hustling Profar to score from second.

Seattle struck back in the top of the third when Dee Gordon lined a double that landed just short of a diving Laureano in left center and advanced to third on a mirror image single that fell in front of the again diving Laureano this time in right center. After Bassitt got Mallex Smith to whiff on a 1-2 curve ball for the first out of the inning, Kyle Seager drove Gordon home with a slicing sacrifice fly to PInder in left. Bassitt escaped further trouble by getting Domingo Santana to end the inning by flying out to the busy Laureano.

Oakland unknoted the tie on a one out triple off the left field wall by Chapman, followed by a strike out of Davis and a walk to Pinder, which brought Matt Olson to the plate with runners on first and third with two outs. He delivered a solid single to right, to plate Chapman with the leading run.

But the M’s soon reversed that. Daniel Vogelbach walked and advanced to second on Omar Narváez’s single to right center. It looked as though Bassitt might wiggle out of the tight spot when Tim Beckham hit a tailor made double play ball to Profar, but the second sacker’s toss to Semien clunked off the shortstop’s glove, Second base umpire Dana DeMuth ruled that Semien had dropped the ball on the transfer, but a video review clearly showed that both he and Semien had erred. With the basess now loaded JP Crawford doubled in Vogelbach and Narvaéz with a liner that Chapman deflected into right field. Gordon’s sac fly to right brought in Beckham with Seattle’s third run of the frame. They now led, 4-2 Melvin finally removed Bassitt with two on and two outs in the top of the sixth. Bomel´s choice to relieve the pitcher was left handed Wei-Chung Wang, who heretofore had yielded three hits and no runs in six appearances. He closed out the inning with a foul popup to Chapman.

Wang’s brief streak of near invincibility ended in the seventh, when Omar Narváez homered into the right field seats wiith Domingo Santana on base to stretch the M’s advantage to 6-2.

The M’s rubbed salt in the A’s multiple wounds in the top of the eighth when Aaron Brooks, charged with mopping up what was left of the game, gave up a single to ex-Giant Mac Williamson and a homer to right center off the bat of Mallex Smith.That made it 8-2. Brooks hit two and extended the Seattle centerfielder’s hitting streak to thirteen games. In the ninth, Brooks hit two batters, one of whom, Narváez, scored on JP Crawford’s double to center.

That’s all she wrote.

Seattle used three pitchers. The winner was González, who, in seven innings, brought his ERA down to 4.50, while notching his seventh victory over six defeats. Adams pitched a pretty clean eight inning, allowing one walk and achieiving one strike out. Matt Festa closed the A’s down with similar numbers.

Oakland also used three pitchers. Bassitt surrrended four runs (three earned) on five hits, walking and striking out four in five and 2/3 innings. His loss brought him to 3-3, 3.57 ERA. Wang gave up two earned runs in one and a third inning,and Brooks three in two frames.

Saturday’s 6:07 PM game will feature Frankie Montás (8-2, 2.84 ERA) for Oakland. Wade LeBlanc (3-2, 5.31 ERA) will toe the rubber for Seattle.

We eagerly await the arrival of Puk and Luzardo.

A’s start a 10-game homestand against the Mariners on Friday night

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s finished a three-city, 10-game road trip on Wednesday in Tampa Bay. The A’s had a successful trip as they went 6-4 on the trip. They are off today, and resume play Friday night against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are in last place in the AL West. They got off to a good start, but things have gone south for them since mid-April. Scott Servais manages the M’s, and people in the Pacific Northwest are sensing that Servais may not be leading the club shortly. There are rumors that he will be replaced, but these are just rumors.

The M’s won the first four games between the two teams. The A’s swept the three-game series when the M’s were in Oakland in late May. The M’s will have lefty Marco Gonzales pitch Friday night. Gonzales beat the A’s on March 20th in Oakland. He is 6-6 and has a 4.75 ERA. Chris Bassitt will pitch for Oakland. Bassitt is 3-2 and has a 3.57 ERA. Friday night’s game will start at 6:37 pm and the A’s will have the first fireworks show of the season after the game.

The A’s will send their ace, Frankie Montas, to the mound on Saturday. Montas (8-2, 2.84 ERA) hasn’t lost a decision since April 29th vs. the Red Sox. Since then, he is 4-0 with a 2.74 ERA. The M’s plan to use an opener to pitch the first inning. They will bring in Wade LeBlanc from the bullpen to pitch in the second. LeBlanc has gone 14 innings and is 1-0 and has a 1.93 ERA in the last two outings coming out of the pen. Sunday’s game will feature the M’s Mike Leake going against Mike Fiers. Leake is 5-6 and has a 4.26 ERA. Leake is 1-2 in seven starts against the A’s the past two seasons. Fiers is 6-3, and he won his last start 4-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday.

The M’s lineup will not be the same the last time they were in Oakland. They have several key players on the Injured List. Shortstop J.P.Crawford is out with an arm injury. Outfielder Mitch Haniger, who absolutely loves to kill the A’s, suffered a ruptured testicle injury and will not be available. Third baseman Ryon Healy, the former Athletic, may be available. Finally, the king Felix Hernandez, who made his living beating the A’s, will also not be available.

The M’s still have players that can do damage. The A’s pitchers will have to find ways to slow down hitters such as Edwin Encarnacion, Dee Gordon, Tim Beckham, Kyle Seager, Daniel Vogelbach, Domingo Santana, Mallex Smith, and Mac Williamson.

The A’s lineup is potent. They have players up and down the lineup that can hit the ball out of the park. Their defense is solid. Third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Matt Olson are Gold Glove candidates. Both players can hit the ball out of the park, too. Marcus Semien has been solid all year. Semien, who had trouble fielding his first two seasons with the A’s, worked hard to improve, and the results are showing. Jurickson Profar is playing better. His fielding has improved, and his batting average is on the rise. Both Semien and Profar have some pop in their bats. Catcher Josh Phegley, playing every day for the first time in his career, has given the A’s some offense from the catcher’s spot in the lineup. Outfielders Ramon Laureano, Stephen Piscotty, and Robbie Grossman are not easy outs. DH Khris Davis is one of the most feared sluggers in baseball.

The A’s enter the game with a record of 35-34. Seattle is 29-42. The M’s are playing the Twins in Minnesota on Thursday. The Twins are leading 10-1 late in the game. It appears the Mariners will drop to 29-43 and will be 7 1/2 games behind the A’s.

The A’s would like to add to the M’s woes this weekend. The weather has cooled down a bit and, hopefully, the fans will come out to see the A’s play. Fireworks on Friday night, and on Sunday, the A’s will be giving away a Khris Davis bat courtesy of Ashy Lumber. It will also be Youth Baseball and Softball day and Prostate Cancer Awareness Day. Sunday is Father’s Day, and taking a baseball day with the family is a great way to celebrate.

Thoughts About the Fairly Recent Past

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Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND — When I learned that Justin Verlander and Brett Anderson would start tonight’s contest between the A’s and the visiting Astros, I began to remember the AL Division Series of 2013.

That had been a banner season for Oakland. They not only won the western division title, finishing five and a half games ahead of the second place Rangers, but, at .593 they fell only six tenths of a percentage point behind the Red Sox’ .599 for the best record in the whole league. (Coincidentally, those were the winning percentages of the two top NL teams as well). Perhaps more impressive, given the A’s recently penchant for slow starts,  was that they posted a winning record every month. Indeed, there wasn’t one in which they had a losing record at home and only one in which opponents had been able to break even with them on the road.

2013 was not, however, a good baseball year for Anderson. It began auspiciously enough when Bob Melvin gave him the honor of starting the opening game. Anderson pitched well, giving up but two runs (both earned) in seven innings in a 2-0 loss to King Félix and his Mariners, but things went downhill for the promising lefty after that. Two weeks later, he suffered what was diagnosed as a sprained ankle, but turned out to be a stress fracture that necessitated a long stay on what was then called the disabled list. Anderson ended the season at 4-2, 2.57 ERA, respectable enough but not what he had every reason to expect going into April. In December, the A’s traded him to Colorado for Drew Pomeranz and a minor leaguer.

Meanwhile, Verlander combined with Max Scherzer to lead the Tigers to a 99-63 record, just good enough to edge out the Indians by one game for the central division crown. Scherzer, at 21-3, 2.90, with 240 strikeouts, was the team’s ace, but Verlander’s adequate 13-12, 3.46, accompanied by 217 Ks, was nothing to be sneezed at.

Anderson made one brief appearance in the ALDS, pitching a third of an inning in relief and giving up the final run in an 8-6 Tiger victory in Detroit.

Verlander, on the other hand, had a spectacular series against Oakland. In game two, at the Coliseum,  he hurled seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits while striking out 11, yielding but one base on balls. The A’s won that game on a walk-off single by Stephen Vogt that scored Yoenis Céspedes. Sonny Gray got the win, and Grant Balfour the save. (What nostalgia that combination of names invokes! And it was only a half a dozen years ago!)

Verlander’s next appearance was, like his previous one, at the Coliseum. This time, he won the deciding fifth game, holding Oakland to two hits over eight innings, fanning 10 and walking just one.

What I remember best about that tight series was that, after it was over, the home town fans gave the A’s such a thunderous ovation that they took a victory lap, and the Tigers paused in their celebration long enough to give their erstwhile opponents a chance to savor this acknowledgement of a hard fought and oh so close to a successful campaign.

How did these two veterans of the 2013 playoffs fare tonight? You’ll have to read Charlie O’s story to find out. But I’ll give you one hint. Another participant in that series, Josh Reddick, played a significant part in the outcome.