Tag: O.co Coliseum

A’s fall to Astros 3-2

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Photo credit: @sfnewsnow

By: Lewis Rubman

R | H | E
Houston: 3 | 8 | 0
Oakland: 2 | 6 | 1

OAKLAND — Both the division leading Houston Astros (37-20) and the second place Oakland Athletics (29-27) went into tonight’s contest facing problems that hadn’t existed a week ago. The Astros lost the services of Carlos Correa, the Rookie of the Year for 2015 and 2018 shortstop, when a massage therapist walked all over him, cracking his ribs. This came on the heels of José Altuve’s being placed on the injured list on May 11. The A’s saw their 11-game unbeated streak broken and initiated a two-game losing streak. In those games, the team showed an outstanding ability to overcome late inning deficits, but also experienced some distressing breakdowns in the back end of the their bullpen.

One of the unpleasant surprises of Wednesday’s 11-inning loss by the A’s to the Angels was a third inning error by the usually impeccable Gold and Platinum Glove winner, Matt Chapman. Tonight, the Astros mounted their first threat of the game in the top of the first when what would have been a double play ground ball by Robinson Chirinos went through Chapman’s legs, setting up a two men on, one man out situation. Fortunately for the hometown crew, starting pitcher Mike Fiers (4-3, 5.00 ERA) picked off an overeager Yuli Gurriel, who had advanced to second on the previous play, and then got Tyler White to fly out to Laureano in center.

It looked as if the A’s would get to Houston’s starter, Brad Peacock (5-2, 3.19 ERA) in the second, when Canha and Profar walked to open the inning. But Laureano hit into a 5-4-3 double play, and Phegley flew out to left.

An inning later, Chapman took the sting out of his error by blasting a home run, his 15th, into the left field bleachers, with Grossman on base to give Oakland the lead, 2-0.

One time A’s fan favorite Josh Reddick narrowed the gap with a one out solo homer to right off an 84 mph Fiers change up in the seventh. After a Chirinos ground out to third and a walk to White, Fiers gave way to Lou Trivino, who had a few demons from Wednesday’s debacle to exorcise. He didn’t manage to do that tonight. Kemp hit a double off the left field wall to drive in Mykes Straw, running for White, with the game-tying tally.

Laureano greeted Héctor Rondón, who relieved Peacock to start the bottom of the seventh, with a double down the left field line. Phegley moved him up with a sacrifice bunt. It looked as if Semien would bring in the speedy Laureano with a smash to the left side of the infield, but Jack Mayfield, who had just come into the game at short, made a diving catch of it and threw Semien out at first while Laureano had to remain at third. Grossman grounded out to second to end the threat.

Trivino’s troubles suddenly worsened as soon as the eighth inning began. Derek Fisher hit Trivino’s first pitch over the centerfield fence for his first round tripper of the year, and, all of a sudden, the A’s were behind, 3-2.

The pitching mound merry-go-round began to spin after Trivino put down the Astros in what was left of the eighth with a fly out and a ground out, interspersed by an infield single by Yuri Guerriel. Ryan Pressly relieved Rondón to open the eighth and put the A’s down 1, 2, 3. Joakim Soria relieved Trivino to open the ninth. He shut Houston down on a single, a called strike three, and a nifty double play, Olson unassisted to Semien to Olson. Then, Roberto Osuna came in to try to close out the win for the Astros.

He did. One. Two. Three. On 10 pitches.

The win went to Rondón, his third a against one loss. Osuna was credited with his 16th save. Trivino got the loss, which brought him to 2-2 with three blown saves.

Tomorrow night will see Brett Anderson (6-3, 3.86 ERA) duel against Justin Verlander (8-2, 2.38 ERA) in a battle of veterans. Game time will be 7:07 pm.

Angels outlast the A’s to win a wild one 12-7

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Los Angeles Angels won the rubber match of the three-game series 12-7. The A’s never led in the game. They fought back from a 5-1 deficit to score two in the seventh and two in the eighth to tie the game. The Angels scored two in the ninth and Oakland came right back with two to knot it again and send the game into extra innings. The roof fell in in the eleventh when things went south for Oakland. The Angels’ first two runs in the inning came without the benefit of a hit. The Halos did have two hits in the eleventh, and that put three more on the board.

The A’s started Liam Hendriks as the “opener.” He struggled through his first and only inning of work on Wednesday. Hendriks threw over 30 pitches Tuesday night in two innings of action against the Angels. He retired the first hitter he faced. He gave up a single to Tommy LaStella and walked Shohei Ohtani and Jonathan Lucroy to load the bases. Hendriks retire Kole Calhoun for the second out. The Angels’ left-fielder, Cesar Puello, who was recalled from Salt Lake City before last night’s game, singled to right to put two on the board for LA. The Angels lead 2-0 midway through the first inning.

In the bottom of the third, with two out, A’s shortstop Marcus Semien blasted his seventh home run of the year into the seats in left field. The A’s trail 2-1 after three.

Daniel Mengden was sailing along nicely until the top of the fifth. With two out, Mengden issued a free pass to Kole Calhoun. Cesar Puello, who drove in the Angels first two runs, reached on an infield single. Brian Goodwin, playing center field in place of Mike Trout, singled to right-center-field to drive in Calhoun with the Angels third run. Mengden struck out Luis Rengifo to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh, the Angels’ Cesar Puello, who, in his first game against the A’s, has been the hitting star. With a man on first and no out, Puello slammed his first home run of the year into the left-field seats to give the Angels a 5-1 advantage. The A’s rallied to plate two runs in their half of the seventh. Justin Anderson was now pitching for Los Angeles. The first hitter he faced, Matt Olson, walked. Stephen Piscotty followed with a double to send Olson to third. Anderson plunked Mark Canha with a pitch to load the bases with no out. The next two hitters, Jurickson Profar and Ramon Laureano, each hit into a fielder’s choice and that enabled Olson and Piscotty to cross the plate. The A’s trail 5-3 after seven.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Marcus Semien led off the inning with a single. The Angels’ reliever Luis Garcia retired Robbie Grossman and Matt Chapman. A’s first baseman Matt Olson, who had struck out twice and walked in his first three plate appearances, took Garcia deep with his seventh bomb of the year. The game is tied 5-5 after eight.

The Angels broke the tie in the top of the ninth. A’s closer Blake Treinen hit Kole Calhoun with a pitch. He struck out Puello for the first out. The second out was recorded on a strange play. Brian Goodwin hit a slow roller to third baseman Matt Chapman. Chapman’s throw to second was grabbed by Marcus Semien. Calhoun was safe, but he strayed off the base and was tagged out by Semien. Treinen was not able to retire Luis Rengifo for the final out. The light-hitting (.206) shortstop doubled to drive in Goodwin. Jared Walsh singled to drive in Rengifo with the Angels’ seventh run of the game. The A’s were down to their last three outs. Mark Canha led off the bottom of the ninth with his ninth of the year to make it a 7-6 game. Jurickson Profar doubled, and Ramon Laureano singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Josh Phegley, who pinch-hit for Nick Hundley in the seventh, drove it Profar with a sacrifice fly to left that tied the game at seven.

The Angels put five on the board in the top of the eleventh. Murphy’s Law was in effect as whatever could go wrong for A’s pitcher, Lou Trivino. Trivino hit a batter, walked three, one intentionally, threw a wild pitch, saw his catcher have a passed ball and have two runs score without the benefit of a hit. The Angels did have two hits later in the inning. Tommy LaStella’s single drove in the third run of the inning for the Angels. Jonathan Lucroy also singled to drive in two more to torture his former teammates. The A’s could do nothing in the bottom of the eleventh, and they lose to the Angels 12-7.

Game Notes-The time of game was four hours and thirty-six minutes. 21, 185 fans were on hand to witness a very wild and woolly affair.

The Angels improved to 26-29 while Oakland fell to 29-27. The A’s used, eight pitchers. Lou Trivino was the losing pitcher.  The Angels used six, and their reliever, Noe Ramirez, was the winning pitcher.

Ramon Laureano extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Stephen Piscotty reached safely in a career-high 25 consecutive games.

Former A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy recorded his 1100th career hit with a single in the tenth inning.

The Angels did not play Mike Trout Wednesday is his out with a sore foot. The Angels also gave Albert Pujols the day off, too.

 

The line score for the Angels was 12 runs, 16 hits, and no errors. The A’s line was 7 runs, 12 hits, and two significant errors.

The A’s are off Thursday and will face the AL West Division leaders, the Houston Astros, at the Coliseum for three games starting Friday night. Mike Fiers (4-3, 5.00 ERA) will pitch for Oakland and Houston will counter with former Athletic Brad Peacock (5-2, 3.19 ERA) Game time is at 7:07 pm.

 

 

 

 

The Angels ninth-inning rally downs the A’s and snap the A’s 10-game win streak

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angeles Angels scored two runs in the top of the ninth to topple the A’s 6-4. With the win, the Angels snapped the A’s ten-game win streak. A’s starter Frankie Montas labored through his four innings of work Tuesday night. He threw 96 pitches and walked five, one intentional. The A’s bullpen did its job as they held the Angels scoreless until the fateful ninth inning. In the ninth, A’s reliever, Joakim Soria, retired the first two hitters. He gave up a single to LaStella and was very careful pitching to Angel’s superstar Mike Trout. Trout walked, and that set the stage for Angels’ DH Shohei Ohtani.  On the first pitch to Ohtani, Soria uncorked a wild pitch to advance the runners.  Soria had two strikes on Ohtani and appeared to have struck him out. Home plate umpire, Jame Hoye, called the pitch a ball. Soria told Hoye that he thought he missed the call. Soria still had to retire Ohtani. That did not happen as Ohtani singled to drive in LaStella and Trout. The A’s failed to score in their half of the inning, and they lost 6-4.

The A’s Marcus Semien put the A’s on the board on the very first pitch in the first inning from the Angels’ starter Cam Bedrosian. Semien put a charge into the ball and sent it over the centerfield wall. Bedrosian calmed down and retired the next three hitters. The A’s lead 1-0. It was the first leadoff home run of the year for the A’s and the third in Semien’s career.

The Angels sent ten men to the plate and plated four of them. Frankie Montas struggled as he gave up three walks, one intentional, and four hits. The big blow was a double by Angels’ second baseman Tommy LaStella. The Angels lead 4-1 midway through the second inning.

The A’s put another run on the fifth inning. Centerfielder Ramon Laureano led off the inning with his sixth jack of the season to cut the deficit to two. Laureano also extended his hitting streak to 11 games. The Angels’ pitcher, Nick Tropeano regained his composure and retired the next three batters. The A’s trail 4-2 after five.

The A’s rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Matt Chapman led off the inning with a single. Matt Olson followed with his sixth bomb of the ear to bring the A’s back from a 4-1 deficit. The game is tied 4-4 after six.

With two out and no one on in the ninth, the Angels somehow found a way to put two runs on the board. Tommy LaStella singled to get the two-out rally started. Mike Trout walked to put men on at first and second. Soria’s wild pitch advanced the runners to third, and they both scored on Shohei Ohtani’s single. Soria was ejected by the home plate umpire as he was upset with a call that would have given him a strikeout to end the inning. After viewing the replay, it did appear that the umpire did, in fact, miss the call. The Angels lead 6-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth. The A’s failed to score, and they saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end as the Angels prevail 6-4.

Game Notes and stats- Frankie Montas allowed a season-high four runs in four innings, his shortest start of the season. Lefty Wei-Chung Wang made his A’s debut with two scoreless innings and one hit.

The A’s fall to 29-26 while the Angels improve to 25-29. The line score for LA was six runs, seven hits, and no errors. The A’s line was four runs, seven hits, and no errors. The A’s hit three home runs in the game.

The rubber game will be played Wednesday afternoon at 12:37 pm. Daniel Mengden will pitch for Oakland, and the Angels have not yet determined who will start for them.

The time of game was three hours and thirty-two minutes and 13, 060 fans were on hand to watch on a cold evening at the Coliseum.

 

 

 

A’s lose in finale vs. Reds 3-0

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s were hoping to win Thursday’s game and sweep the three-game set from the Cincinnati Reds, but that didn’t happen.

The A’s sent Chris Bassitt to the hill, while the Reds had Tanner Roark on the mound.

Bassitt pitched well, but not well enough as the Reds’ hitters hit two home runs and the Reds’ pitchers held the A’s scoreless to win 3-0. Bassitt pitched 7 2/3 innings. He had trouble with Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez touched Bassitt for two doubles and a home run.

Meanwhile, Roark went six innings and allowed no runs and three hits. He picked up his third win of the year.

The Reds put two on the board very quickly in the first inning. With one out, Reds’ third baseman Eugenio Suarez doubled. Derek Dietrich then took Bassitt deep for his 10th round-tripper of the year. The Reds led 2-0.

The Reds added a run in the top of the third when Eugenio Suarez, who doubled in the first, blasted his 11th dinger of the year into the seats of left field. The Reds led 3-0 in the middle of the third.

The Reds hurlers allowed the A’s six hits and no runs. They were able to salvage the finale of the three-game series.

Game Notes: The A’s won the series 2-1.

The Reds will be staying in the Bay Area as they play the Giants in San Francisco for three games starting Friday.

The A’s fall to 17-22. The Reds improve to 16-22.

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

The Reds’ line was three runs, eight hits, and one error.

Time of game was two hours and 36 minutes and 19,694 fans were at the park watching the game.

Up Next: The A’s will host the other Ohio team, the Cleveland Indians, for three games this weekend. Time of first game will be at 6:37 pm.

A’s manager Bob Melvin will have Frankie Montas on the mound, and the Indians will counter with righty Cody Anderson.

There will be a fireworks show after the game.

A’s needed 13 innings to edge Reds 5-4

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 Wednesday evening. The game went 13 innings and was ended when Stephen Piscotty hit his first career walk-off home run.

A’s starter Brett Anderson struggled in the second inning. He gave up four runs and four hits. He also issued two walks. However, he settled down and gave the A’s six innings of work and allowed just one more hit before exiting the game.

The A’s bullpen did not let the Reds put another run on the board the rest of the way. The A’s were down 4-2 when they rallied to score two in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. The Reds’ Sonny Gray, who was the A’s ace until 2017, lasted 4 1/3 innings and he was charged with four runs (three earned).  Gray is 0-4 with the Reds this season.

The A’s plated two runs in the bottom of the first against their former teammate Sonny Gray. Gray walked A’s leadoff hitter, Marcus Semien. The next hitter, Jurickson Profar, who drove in the A’s two runs Tuesday night, sent Gray’s 3-1 pitch over the fence in right-center field to give the A’s an early 2-0 lead. It was Profar’s fourth tater of the season.

In the top of the second, the Reds sent 10 men to the plate and put four runs on the board to take the lead 4-2. Anderson walked the first two hitters he faced, and the Reds followed with four hits to score four runs.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Marcus Semien walked to start the inning. Jurickson Profar hit into a fielder’s choice. Matt Chapman singled and Kendrys Morales, who was pinch-hitting for Khris Davis, also singled to load the bases.

Reds manager David Bell removed Gray from the game and replaced him with lefty Amir Garrett. Garrett struck out Matt Olson for the second out. Stephen Piscotty singled to shallow right, Profar and Chapman scored on the play. Morales went to third, and Piscotty stopped at second. Ramon Laureano struck out to end the inning, The game was tied 4-4 after five innings.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 13th. Both bullpens did their job as they stymied the hitters for the next eight innings. The game ended when A’s right fielder, Stephen Piscotty led off with a walk-off home run to give the A’s the 5-4 win.

Game Notes: Jurickson Profar hit his second home run of the series in the first inning. Piscotty hit his fifth to lead off the 13th to send the 9,096 fans in attendance home happy.

The A’s improve to 17-21, and the Reds fall to 15-22.

Up Next: The A’s go for the sweep of the series Thursday afternoon at 12:37 pm. Chris Bassitt will be seeking his second win of the year. He will be opposed by the Reds’ Tanner Roark.

A’s Report: Alameda County, A’s reach agreement for possible 50% Coliseum purchase

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Photo credit: @Vince_Cestone

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, April 25, 2019

On Tuesday, the Athletics announced that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the term sheet between the County and the Oakland Athletics providing for the possible purchase by the A’s of the County’s 50 percent interest in the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Complex for $85 million.

The County Board of Supervisors and the A’s will now work to draft acquisition documents based on the non-binding term sheet. The final acquisition documents will require approval by the Board of Supervisors.

The Coliseum site is currently owned jointly by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. If the transaction is finalized, the A’s will own the County’s 50 percent interest in the site.

In November 2018, the A’s unveiled their vision for the redevelopment of the Coliseum site, seeking to transform the current Coliseum site in ways that will address several specific community needs and opportunities expressed by East Oakland residents.

Working with the city, public agencies, and community residents, the A’s seek to revitalize the Coliseum site by pulling the adjacent neighborhood fabric into the site and creating new economic, cultural, and recreational opportunities.

Preliminary plans include a large park, surrounded by substantial new housing, including affordable housing, a skills center, community gathering space, office and retail developments, and restaurants.

The new park would be anchored by the two focal points of Oakland sports history: Oracle Arena, repurposed as a concert and cultural events center; and the original Coliseum baseball diamond, preserved to inspire the next generation of ballplayers.

There was, however, no further statement concerning the possible construction of a new baseball stadium on the current Coliseum site.

OL’ CROOKED HAT TIES CY
Around the Turn of the Century, “Cy” Young pitched in 906 major league games. A’s reliever Fernando Rodney pitched his 906th career game last Saturday against Toronto.

There is, of course, a difference. Hall of Famer Young started 815 of his games, and Rodney has not started a game since his MLB debut in 2002.

Rodney, by the way, is fifth on the all-time list for games without a start. John Franco is first with 1,119, followed by Kent Tekulve with 1,050, Trevor Hoffman (1,035) and Francisco Rodriguez (948).

Rodney is also the last active MLB player who was born in the 1970s.

A’s FACE TORONTO THIS WEEKEND
The A’s will try to avenge a three-game sweep they suffered at the hands of Toronto last week, when they start a three-game weekend home series against the Blue Jays on Friday.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays’ top prospect, is expected to be in the Toronto lineup. Guerrero was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday. He was hitting .367, with a .424 OBP, three home runs and eight RBIs at Buffalo.

Friday’s probables are righthanders Marcus Stroman (1-3, 1.76) for Toronto and Mike Fiers (2-2, 8.28) for Oakland.

A’s mess with Texas 11-5

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Lewis Rubman
SRS Contributor
April 23, 2019

TEXAS: 5 | 14 | 1

OAKLAND: 11 | 14 | 1

Tonight’s match-up between the Rangers’ Lance Lynn and the A’s Frankie Montás had a chance to be a pitchers’ duel. Lynn, in spite of his less than mediocre 4.44 ERA, had allowed only five runs in his last 18-22/3 innings pitched, while Montás took the mound at 3-1, 2.70 ERA. It didn’t turn out that way.

The Rangers drew first blood in the opening frame when Elvis Andrus hit a two-out broken bat single to center. Nomar Mazara drove him home with a double off the left center-field wall. Montás pitched out of the jam by getting the powerful Joey Gallo to swing and miss on a 2-2 split-fingered fastball.

Matt Chapman promptly tied it up with a home run that landed just inside the left-field foul pole with two out in the bottom of the first.

The Rangers came roaring back in the next inning with a lead off double to left-center, following by Astrúbal Cabrera’s ringing RBI single to left. Cabrera made it to second on a wild pitch, but was left stranded on third after Montás got Logan Forsythe and Isiah Kiner-Falefa out on infield grounders.

The A’s didn’t wait long to tie the score again. Stephen Piscotty opened their half of the frame with a triple high off the right center-field wall, and Kendrys Morales drove him home with a ground out to deep second base.

Montás finally notched a scoreless inning in the third with the help of a nifty 6-4-3 double play, Semien to Pinder to Morales. Lynn returned the favor in the bottom half top of the next inning but without requiring help from the pitcher’s best friend.

The top of the fourth tested Montás’s meddle. Gallo led off with a four pitch walk. Pence just barely beat out Chapman’s throw to first for an infield single. The Cabrera hit a nubbler down to Morales at first, who tossed the ball to Montás, who dropped it. Forsythe followed with the first well-hit ball of the inning, a bouncer to Chapman, who threw to Phegley at home for the force. Pheglely then fired the ball to Morales to complete the 5-2-3 double play. Montás ended the threat by inducing Kiner-Falefa to ground out to Pinder at second.

Oakland blew the game open with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Piscotty opened the frame with a line drive single to left center. He advanced to second on Morales’s line single to left. Piscotty made it to third, and Morales was forced out at second on Pinder’s grounder to Forsythe. Laureano drove in Piscotty and advanced Pinder to second on a single to center. Phegley drove in the two runners with a Mark Ellis double down the third base line. Robbie Grossman drove him in with a single to right. Semien brought him home on the next pitch with a double to left, After Semien advanced to third on a wild pitch, he scored on Davis’ single to left. At that point, Wei-Chieh Huang, called up from Double A Midland this afternoon, made his MLB debut in relief of Lynn. He escaped the inning by retireing Piscotty and Morales on deep fly balls, the former’s to the center field wall.

The rookie wasn’t so lucky in the fifth, surrendering two runs on a single by Pinder, a double by Laureano and a throwing error by second sacker Danny Santana.

Huang lasted another two-thirds of an inning, leaving two men on base in the sixth when he gave way to Jeffrey Springs with two men on base. Springs left them there and finished up the game for the Rangers, but not before surrendering a tally in the eighth when Pinder singled Piscotty–who had his second four-hit game of the season– home from second.

The game was over when Texas picked up a run on Forsythe’s sac fly in the top of the sixth. After Montás walked the next batter, Kiner-Falefa, Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit, who disposed Shin-Soo Choo with a called third strike on a full count with two outs and a man on first.

Montás’ line wasn’t impressive. Three runs earned on nine hits, two walks and a wild pitch in 5 2/3 innings. The bright spots were his six strikeouts and his ability to keep bad situations from becoming worse.

Ryan Dull came in for Oakland in the eighth. He got through that frame unscathed, but allowed a two-run homer to Danny Santana in the ninth. After the one-out dinger, Dull retired Andrus, but a single and double by Mazara and Gallo, stirred up the A’s bullpen. Dull prevailed with a called third strike on Pence.

Montás got the win, Lynn took the loss.

Left-hander Drew Smyly (0-2, 7.80 ERA) had been announced to start tomorrow afternoon’s game for the Rangers, but he’s been placed on 10-day injured list with left mid-arm tightness. Wei-Chieh Huang, who got his baptism of fire at the Coliseum tonight, took his place.

Texas has not yet named a starter for Wednesday. Whoever he is, he’ll face right handed Aaron Brooks (2-2, 5.32 ERA), who held the Red Sox scoreless on two hits over six innings on April 1, but has been struggling to regain the same form.

First pitch is scheduled for 12:37 pm.

A’s swept by the Blue Jays at the Coliseum, Anderson hurt in 5-4 loss

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — A rare and surprising weekend at the Coliseum ended with the tying and winning runs on base, and the A’s failing to push the runners across in their disappointing, final two at-bats.

The A’s fell 5-4, officially ending the most impressive run of success in their home ballpark in their 40 plus years in Oakland.

The A’s were swept at home by Toronto for the first time since 1993. The sweep ended an unprecedented run which saw the team win 15 of its previous 18 series at the Coliseum, tie three and lose none dating back to June 2018.

“We have to give it to them,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We didn’t expect that. Hopefully it just inspires us for the next series to start playing better because it didn’t feel good getting swept.”

Adding injury to insult, starting pitcher Brett Anderson was removed in the third inning after he sprained his ankle attempting to field Randall Grichuk’s ground ball. Afterwards Anderson offered insight that incorporated his health, the current state of the rotation and the ballclub in one brief statement.

“Do some treatment and see how it feels tomorrow. It’s day to day. It’s annoying, a series that wasn’t very conducive to the health and success of the starting pitchers,” Anderson said.

Simply, the A’s have posted results all over the spectrum in their first 24 ballgames (11-13). But one denominator has remained consistent: if the A’s starters have dealt, they’ve won. If not, they’ve lost. Oakland starters went 6-1 in the team’s 6-4 start. They’ve won four times in 14 games since, only once in the last seven.

The A’s have lost five of six, and nine of 14 as their rotation has become unsettled with the injuries to Anderson and Marco Estrada.

Ramon Laureano was worth the price of admission all by himself by jumping up to rob Teoscar Hernandez of a home run in the second inning. Of course, the defensive whiz who has established himself as one of the game’s most prolific outfield assist guys since his promotion from the minors last season didn’t stop there. Laureano immediately unleashed a throw in excess of 400 feet that flew past first base in a failed attempt to double up baserunner Justin Smoak retreating to first base.

That’s actually when the play took on a unique life of its own, courtesy of Smoak and catcher Brett Hundley. Smoak, who should have been shocked and left motionless by the length of Laureano’s throw, instead turned opportunistic and tried to take second base. But Hundley, running well over 100 feet into foul ground, fielded the throw and tossed out Smoak at second base.

And the obvious question after the zany play: how do you throw a baseball that far?

“I threw without thinking. That happens sometimes,” Laureano explained.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland A’s — Alameda County supervisors vote this Tuesday

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Photo credit: @OTBaseballPhoto

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND — Alameda County Supervisors will vote this Tuesday to negotiate a deal that would sell the Oakland Coliseum to the city of Oakland. This is the first time that Alameda County said they want to sell its share.

The Oakland A’s have shown interest in buying the Coliseum in order to build an entertainment center, business park or maybe building a new park for the A’s at that same location,where they have played since 1968.

For years now, I have been a proponent on the idea the A’s build their new park at the same location of the Coliseum. I know it is not downtown, but it makes sense.

The Mayor of Oakland Libby Schaaf and A’s president Dave Kaval said in early March that the city and the team are seeking to enter into exclusive negotiating agreements to explore both the Coliseum complex and the waterfront Howard Terminal as possible sites for a new baseball stadium. Years ago I remember I attended a meeting of supporters for a new A’s park in Fremont (next to Hwy 680). However, a bunch of Fremont residents resisted the idea, and the A’s plans for Fremont went Adios. Fremont today has the fourth largest population in the Bay Area (235,000) only San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland have larger population than Fremont in the nine-county Bay Area, and in a few years, BART would go all the way to San Jose. Obviously, building the new park at Howard Terminal is a little complicated, compared to the whole idea that if the Supervisors of Alameda County vote in favor of selling to Oakland, it will facilitate Oakland and the A’s to come to an agreement, which they already said they want, and the A’s would build their new home at the Coliseum site. In my opinion, this is the best plan. Although, I know very well the times I have spoken to Kaval that he is definitely focused on Howard Terminal as their #1 choice with the “safe” option that #2 is the same area as the Coliseum. At the end of this story it might prove to be the same location they play today, were the A’s will settle down.

For one, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transistor), who carries thousands of A’s fans to the Coliseum from all-over the Bay Area, would be happy to build right there. They have a station within walking distance from the Coliseum, about a 10-15 minute walk from behind left field right into the park. If the A’s and Oakland can reach a deal after Alameda County sells to the city of Oakland, BART will be very happy as they never been really enthusiastic with the Howard Terminal location. Let’s face it, BART is a big deal for the A’s, the traffic in the Bay Area is getting worse by the minute. We are not LA, but we are getting there, especially with the expansion of people working in Silicon Valley.

The path is now clear for the A’s. If it happens next week, the Alameda Board of Supervisors sell to Oakland.

The Warriors will be gone, the Raiders — only God knows where they will be, but the A’s — once and for all — might be able to control their own future as far as a new home is concerned.

Happy Easter!

Happy Passover!

A’s finish off the Red Sox to win the four-game series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s beat the Boston Red Sox for the third time in four tries, and they finished the homestand with a record of 6-2. The Red Sox, the defending World Champions, are having problems as they are 2-6 for the first eight games of 2019. The Sox finish the 11-game road trip with three games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix before returning home to Boston.

The A’s sent lefty Brett Anderson to the hill to face Red Sox. Anderson went 5 1/3 innings, and allowed three runs and eight hits. Anderson recorded his second win of the young season. Eduardo Rodriguez started for Boston, and his record dropped to 0-2.

Here’s how the A’s did it Thursday afternoon.

The Red Sox put two runs on the board in the top of the first. Mookie Betts led off with a single. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi laid down a sacrifice bunt. A’s first baseman Mark Canha tried to nail Betts at second. Betts was ruled safe, and the A’s challenged the ruler. After a brief review, the call was upheld, and the Sox had men on at first and second with no out. Anderson struck out Steve Pearce for the first out. J.D.Martinez singled to load the bases. Anderson walked Xander Bogaerts to force in a run. Eduardo Nunez fouled out, and Anderson walked Brock Holt to force in another run. The Red Sox had an early 2-0 lead.

The Red Sox added a run in the third when J.D. Martinez hit a solo home run with one out. Anderson Walked Bogaerts for the second time, but he was able to get Eduardo Nunez to hit into an inning-ending double play. The A’s tied the game in their half of the third. A’s catcher Josh Phegley led off with a double. Rodriguez retired Robbie Grossman on a fly to right field. Phegley tagged up and motored to third. Marcus Semien walked, and that was followed by Stephen Piscotty’s second home run of the year.

The A’s sent Rodriguez to the showers in the bottom of the fourth when they plated three more runs to take a 6-3 lead. With one out, Ramon Laureano walked. Phegley followed with a single. Robbie Grossman doubled to drive in Laureano with the A’s fourth run. Rodriguez retired Marcus Semien for the second out of the inning. The next hitter, Stephen Piscotty, who had homered in his previous at-bat, hit a fly ball to deep right-center field. The ball appeared to be catchable, but it seemed as if it was drifting away from the clutches of Jackie Bradley, Jr. Piscotty’s ball landed between Bradley and Betts and then bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Phegley and Grossman scored on the play. The A’s are in the driver’s seat as they led 6-3 after four.

In the bottom of the sixth, The A’s put another run on the board to take a 7-3 lead. With two out, consecutive singles by Semien, Piscotty, and Khris Davis produced the A’s seventh run of the game.

The A’s bullpen of Lou Trivino, Joakim Soria, and Liam Hendriks kept Boston off the board and preserved the win for Oakland 7-3.

Game Notes: The A’s hitting star was Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty was 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, and a three-run homer. He drove in five runs and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

The A’s outfielders threw out two runners on the base paths Thursday. Robbie Grossman picked up an assist when he threw out Steve Pearce trying to stretch a single into a double in the third inning. Ramon Laureano threw out Mookie Betts in the ninth when Betts tried to go from first to third on a single by Andrew Benintendi. For Laureano, it was the third time in the series that he nailed a runner trying to take an extra base.

The A’s have a record of 38-16 in the last 54 games played against the Red Sox at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s line score was seven runs, thirteen hits, and no errors. Boston’s line was three runs, 10 hits, and no errors.

Time of game was three hours and 16 minutes. 15,095 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s start a 10-game road trip Friday as they play the Houston Astros for three, Baltimore Orioles for four, and finish the trip with three against the Texas Rangers.

The A’s Frankie Montas will pitch Friday night, and he will be opposed by Houston’s Collin McHugh.