Tag: O.co Coliseum

Mariners embarrass the A’s in a 7-1 laugher

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Photo credit: @Mariners

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — A’s starter Frankie Montas took one for his team Thursday night as he was roughed up for five runs in the first inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin decided to leave Montas in the game. Montas responded by allowing just two more runs and four hits in his next five innings of work. His line for the night was six innings of work, and he allowed seven runs and eight hits.

The Mariners trounced the A’s 7-1. Reliever J.B. Wendelken, who was recalled from Nashville, pitched three scoreless innings and gave up just one hit for a very impressive performance. M’s starter Wade LeBlanc dominated the A’s for seven innings. The A’s never mounted a threat as LeBlanc scattered three hits over his seven innings of work.

Frankie Montas, who made his first start since being recalled from Nashville, did not do well in the very first inning against the M’s. The M’s put five runs on the board, two of them were unearned, as Montas had control problems. The Mariners had four hits in the inning and were helped out by a Matt Chapman throwing error. Montas didn’t help his cause as he walked right fielder Ben Gamel with the bases loaded to force in a run. Montas threw 38 pitches in the inning.

Montas settled down a bit in the top of the second. Nevertheless, the M’s tacked on their sixth run of the game in that frame. Left fielder Denard Span started the inning with a leadoff triple. M’s second baseman singled to drive in Span. Montas retired Nelson Cruz for the first out and got Kyle Seager to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Montas retired the M’s in order in the third inning. Melvin was hoping the A’s offense will get going and that Montas can give him at least five innings of work, but that wasn’t the case. In the top of the fourth, with one out, Mitch Haniger blasted his 23 home run of the year to give the M’s a 7-0 lead.

The A’s finally put one on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Marcus Semien walked. He went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Jed Lowrie’s single. The A’s trailed 7-1 after eight.

The A’s went down in order in the ninth, and the M’s took the first game of the four-game series 7-1.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s fall to 80-55. The M’s improved to 75-59 and now trail the A’s by 4 1/2 games for the second Wild Card spot. The A’s remain 2 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros as the Astros lost to the LA Angels Thursday night.

Time of game was two hours and 40 minutes and a very small crowd of 10,844 watched as the A’s were subdued by Seattle.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will feature the A’s Mike Fiers (10-6, 3.15 ERA) vs. the M’s Mike Leake (8-8, 4.03 ERA). Game time will be at 7:05 pm PDT Friday night.

Warren’s late touchdown wins it for the Raiders 13-6 over the Packers

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — With two preseason games down, and two to go, Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is looking for backups.

With most of the starters on the bench by the beginning of the second quarter, Connor Cook and E.J. Manuel took over for Derek Carr after just one series.

In his only series, Carr went 2-for-3 for 68 yards, including a 49-yard pass to Amari Cooper, but it was the battle of kickers; however, it was a Chris Warren III one-yard run with 5:07 in the game that gave the Raiders a 13-6 victory over the Green Bay Packers at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Friday night.

Treyvon Hester came up with the defensive play of the game, as he sacked Packers quarterback DeShone Kizer on fourth down and the Packers at the Raiders 24-yard line. It was a seven-yard sack for the second-year defensive tackle out of Toledo.

Unfortunately, the Raiders were unable to run out the clock and were forced to punt the ball back to the Packers; however, the Packers drive stalled in their own territory.

Brett Hundley went 8-for-14 for 78 yards, as he started for the Packers in place of Aaron Rodgers, who played at Cal after Butte College.

Cook went 6-for-15 for 72 yards and an interception before being replaced by Manuel, who went 8-for-12 for 87 yards passing.

In a game of field goals, Mike Nugent gave the Raiders the lead on their first series, as he kicked a 40-yard field goal.

On their ensuing drive, Mason Crosby kicked a 36-yard field goal to tie up and that was the score when the two teams went to the locker room.

Crosby gave the Packers their first lead of the game in the third quarter, as he nailed a 36-yard field goal.

Nugent then tied up at six, as he kicked a 40-yard field on the Raiders first drive in the fourth quarter.

Cooper caught one pass for 49 yards, while Jalen Richard caught three passes for 34 yards and Jared Cook caught two passes for 24 yards.

Doug Martin carried the ball six times for 24 yards, while Chris Warren III continues to make great strides to make the team, as he carried the ball 15 times for 54 yards and also caught one pass for seven yards.

NOTES: The Raiders’ next appearance at the Coliseum will be in the season opener on September 10, as they kick off their 58th season against the Los Angeles Rams, a team that the Raiders faced this past Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and lost 22-16.

“I do not agree with playing a team in the preseason that we open the season with,” said Gruden, who also added, “I am sure that the Rams feel the same way.”

UP NEXT: The Raiders will head to Seattle to face the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on Thursday night at 7 pm PDT to close out the preseason.

Raiders to host the Packers in final home preseason game Friday at the Coliseum

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Photo credit: raiderswire.usatoday.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders and Packers link up for the third time in the preseason since 2014 when Green Bay visits the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Friday night at 7:30 p.m. PT. The last time the two teams met each other in the preseason was in 2016 at Lambeau Field.

Last week, the Raiders traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Rams. It was the first time that that the Silver and Black played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1994, the final season for the Raiders in Southern California before the team moved back to Oakland at the conclusion of that season.

The Rams held off the Raiders for a 19-15 victory last Saturday, with neither team playing their starters on either side of the football, which wasn’t a huge surprise. It was odd seeing the two teams playing a preseason game against each other, given that the two teams will meet each other in Week 1 of the regular season in Game 2 of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader on Sept. 10 in Oakland.

Rookies were the story of the game on both sides of the football for Oakland, even in the loss.

Running back Chris Warren III saw plenty of action rushing for 110 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. With veteran Marshawn Lynch slated as Oakland’s starting running back, the undrafted Warren III’s play has earned him strong consideration to make the team and contribute significantly.

Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst recorded two tackles and one sack against the Rams. The fifth-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft has had great practices during training camp and could see some action with the first-team defense against the Packers.

Typically, the third preseason game is where the starters play the first-half of the game so expect to see quarterback Derek Carr along with new Raiders wide receiver Jordy Nelson on the field Friday night.

Nelson signed a two-year $14.2 million ($13 million guaranteed) contract with Oakland in the offseason after spending his first 10 seasons in the NFL in Green Bay. Seeing Nelson in the Silver and Black of the Raiders instead of the Green and Yellow of the Packers will take some time to get used to.

Green Bay defeated the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, 51-34 last week at Lambeau Field.

Following Friday night’s game, both teams will have a short turnaround to end the preseason on the road. Oakland travels to Seattle to face the Seahawks on Thursday Aug. 30, and Green Bay will meet the Chiefs in Kansas City the same day. With the conclusion of the preseason, all NFL teams will make their final roster cuts on Sept. 1, reducing their roster to the mandated 53-man limit.

This will mark the 13th straight season that Oakland has finished the preseason schedule against the Seahawks, with nine of the 13 games coming in Seattle, but this will be the first time since 2015 that the Raiders will finish in Seattle.

Don’t mess with Texas: Rangers halt A’s potential sweep with 4-2 win

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s were going for a sweep of the three-game series with the Texas Rangers at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon. But, Rangers’ starter Mike Minor had other thoughts as he shot down the potent A’s offense with just one hit in six innings of work.

The Rangers, who had been shutout in the previous two games, gave Minor support as they scored four runs off A’s starter Edwin Jackson. Jackson had pitched very well before his outing on Wednesday but did not have it. In his 4 1/3 innings of work, he threw 80 pitches, and two of those pitches were sent into the stands by Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Gallo.

The A’s were hoping to eventually get back in the ballgame. The Rangers’ bullpen gave up two runs, giving the A’s a chance to tie it in the ninth, but Nick Martini struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.

Rangers’ left fielder Shin-Soo Choo ended 18 innings of Texas futility when he hit the first pitch of the game into the left field bleachers. The Rangers failed to score in the first two games of the series. The Rangers led 1-0 after one inning of play.

The Rangers plated another run in the top of the third. Jackson walked the first two hitters he faced. With one out, Rangers’ right fielder Nomar Mazara flew out to center. Ramon Laureano slipped as he caught the ball and that allowed Choo to tag up and advance to third. Adrian Beltre singled to give the Rangers a 2-0 advantage in the middle of the third.

Gallo took Jackson deep to start the fourth inning. The big left-handed slugger blasted his 33rd homer of the year to increase the lead to 3-0. A’s center fielder Ramon Laureano helped out his pitcher with a leaping catch against the wall with a man on first. Choo almost had his second homer of the day, but Laureano’s catch kept at least one more run off the board.

Minor had the A’s mesmerized for the first four innings of the contest. He has allowed one hit and walked one batter so far, and both were erased on double plays. He has faced just 12 hitters in  four innings of work.

It was obvious to most of the fans in the park that Jackson was not as sharp as he could be. The Rangers were able to solve his slants as they put another run on the board in the top of the fifth. Shortstop Elvis Andrus led off with a single. Jackson struck out Mazara on a wild pitch. Andrus went to second on the play. Adrian Beltre, who has a spot reserved for him in Cooperstown after his playing days are over, singled to center to drive in Andrus with the Rangers’ fourth run.

A’s manager Bob Melvin had seen enough, and he brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch. Jacksons’ pitched 4 1/3 innings and he allowed seven hits and four runs. He also was tagged for two solo home runs. The A’s failed to score in the bottom of the inning and now trailed the Rangers 4-0.

The A’s, after being dazzled by Minor for six innings, finally put a run on the board. Rangers’ manager Jeff Banister brought in former Giant Cory Gearrin to face the A’s in the seventh. Gearrin retired the first two hitters he faced. Matt Chapman reached on a walk. A’s DH Khris Davis was hit in the back by a Gearrin pitch to put two men on. Stephen Piscotty followed with a double to drive in Chapman with the A’s first run. It was the A’s second hit of the day. With the left-handed hitter Matt Olson at the plate, Banister brought in lefty Alex Claudio to pitch. Claudio did the job as he was able to strike out Olson for the third out and the A’s left two men stranded. The Rangers are in control 4-1 after seven.

The A’s crept a little closer in the bottom of the eighth. Chad Pinder led off the frame with a single. He went to second a scored on double to right by Jed Lowrie, who was pinch-hitting for Jonathan Lucroy. Rangers’ reliever Chris Martin retired Semien and Loreano to end the threat. The Rangers led 4-2 after eight.

The A’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth without the benefit of a hit. Rangers’ closer Jose Leclerc walked the first hitter Matt Chapman to start the inning. Chapman went to third on a wild pitch. LeClerc then struck out Khris Davis and got Piscotty to fly out to right. He walked Matt Olson and hit Chad Pinder with a pitch to load the bases. The game was on the line as Martini came to the plate. Martini had the chance to tie the game with a hit, but LeClerc had enough gas in his tank as he was able to strike out Martini for the final out to preserve the 4-2 win for the Rangers.

Game Notes: A’s Edwin Jackson tied a season-low with just 4 1/3 innings of work and matched a season-high in hits allowed with seven. His record is now 4-3.

Stephen Piscotty tied a career-high with his 35th double.

Despite the loss, the A’s still have the best record in baseball since June 16th (42-15). They have not lost a series to an AL West opponent since June 12th to June 14th at Houston. They finished the homestand with a 6-3 record.

The Rangers’ Mike Minor improved to 10-6, and it was his third quality start in his last four games.

The A’s line score was two runs, four hits, and no errors.

The Rangers’ line was four runs, nine hits, and no errors.

The A’s drop to 76-51.

Time of game was three hours and three minutes and 13,139 people stopped by to watch the A’s lose the finale of the three-game series.

Up Next: The A’s head to Minneapolis to take on the Twins for a three-game series starting Thursday at 5:10 pm PDT.

The A’s will send Trevor Cahill (5-2, 3.12 ERA) to the hill and Kohl Stewart (0-1, 7.71 ERA) will go for the Twins.

Is the A’s magical season just a fluke?

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND, Calif. — To a non-A’s fan, the A’s magical season may be just a fluke. To a A’s fan, this season may be the real deal. But, before all of us jump to conclusions about whether or not the A’s are going to win it all, let me remind that history may repeat itself. Just take a look at the 2012 and 2014 seasons in that order.

In case you need a refresher, the 2012 A’s won the AL West by one game, but then lost to the Detroit Tigers in five games in the ALDS. That was six years ago, but the A’s had an over .500 season but were unable to get past the Tigers. Moreover, the 2014 A’s merely clinched the AL Wild Card berth on the final day of the season and faced the Kansas City Royals in the AL Wild Card Game, only to lose to the Royals in one of the most disappointing ways possible–a walk-off for a 9-8 win in the 12th inning. The Royals got their first playoff win in 29 years, but were ultimately ousted by the Giants in seven games in the 2014 World Series. That was depressing news for the A’s fans, but it was an even year for the Giants, so y’all should give credit to your cross-town rivals.

Anyways, it almost seems surreal that the 2018 A’s displayed character, grit and relentless all of a sudden. Of course, the naysayers were proved wrong, and the Oakland-based reporters and fans are confident in this team…but are they accurate?

Let’s take a look at five reasons why the A’s aren’t all that, shall we?

1. It comes down to money
The A’s ownership has constantly demonstrated that money is a priority as opposed to the Green and Gold fanbase. Since the Moneyball days, the A’s ownership has always took the bargain-basement approach to every aspect of the game.

This is obviously not good for the fans nor the team, as the A’s continue to be known as a small-market team even though they’re one of the hottest teams in baseball and DH Khris Davis is having himself a season. Davis’ current stats are .311/.373/.786 over 103 at-bats with 32 hits, 4 doubles, 15 home runs, 35 RBI, 10 walks, and 23 strikeouts. And, despite being the other KD in the Bay Area, no one is talking about Davis.

A’s manager Bob Melvin recently told the local media, “I’ve been hearing some talk on some of the national broadcasts on MVPs. His name’s not even brought up. I mean, how could you not?”

With that said, it’s likely going to be difficult for Melvin to put together a playoff team in spite of massive budget restrictions. Sure, the current A’s roster is incredible, but how much longer are the regulars going to stay in Oakland?

2. The 2012 A’s caught some breaks
Remember when the Texas Rangers were in first place with a 35-26 record on June 10, 2012, while the A’s were in last place at the opposite inverse with a 26-35 record?

Also, Josh Hamilton dropped the ball in center field during Game 162.

The possible factor of outside help was able to weave its way into the A’s then-success, but it’s something that may not have a significant influence in 2018. Yeah, the Mariners were surging in May and June, but now, they can’t seem to find their groove right now. Additionally, the Astros can’t seem to catch a break on injuries. So it’s unclear how everything will work out, but in the meantime, it’s quite interesting to follow.

3. The 2012 A’s had more swag
Okay, I admit I use the word “swag” more often that not, but the 2012 A’s had more swag in its lineup.

Obviously, this group of veteran spark plugs may not be great anymore, but man, they had Brandon Inge, Coco Crisp, Grant Balfour and Jonny Gomes. And, of course, they did the Bernie Lean.

Right now, Matt Chapman’s defense, Khris Davis’ bat and Blake Treinen’s sinker are notable mentions, but the entire team isn’t always in sync–and therefore, they don’t regularly take the field with large peps in their steps.

4. The 2012 season had a lot of flaws
Of course, there were many things in the right direction in the 2012 season, but at the same time, there were plenty of things that worsened the overall quality of the teams that year. Bartolo Colon was suspended on August 22. Brandon McCarthy got hit in the skull by a line drive on September 5. Moreover, the A’s lost six out of eight games in the second half of September.

The 2018 season has pretty much been the same, just a different year. Four A’s pitchers are currently out of order due to Tommy John surgeries. And, at some point, Matt Chapman injured his thumb while Khris Davis suffered a groin injury.

As of now, the A’s are over .500, but they’re sort of going back and forth with the injury-plagued Astros for first place in the AL West.

5. The 2011 season didn’t show a lot of promise
The 2011 season, especially the final weeks, didn’t show a lot of promise. A’s manager Bob Melvin just arrived in Oakland that mid-season, but his new team also parted ways with several players after their 77-84 finish in the Winter Meetings.

The 2017 A’s obviously didn’t receive a new manager, but they did undergo quite a few changes during the season, yet wrapped up the second half of the season just one game below .500.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “History repeats itself.” And, that could happen, so don’t be surprised if the A’s magical season turns out to be a fluke. There’s always next year.

A’s shutout the Rangers again 6-0

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — Oakland A’s starter Brett Anderson pitched his best game of the year as he went seven innings and allowed just one hit as he won his third game of the season. The A’s DH Khris Davis tormented the Rangers’ pitching when he his 38th home run of the year and drove in three runs to pace the A’s attack. His RBI total reached to 102. It was the third season in a row that Davis has knocked in over 100 runs. It was also the first time in a while that the A’s had two starters pitch seven innings and allowed just one hit. The A’s shutout the Rangers 6-0 for their second straight shutout versus Texas.

The A’s tallied the first run of the night in the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Nick Martini singled to left to get things going. He advanced to second on Matt Chapman’s groundout and scored when Jed Lowrie singled to center. The A’s lead 1-0 after one.

The A’s plated a run in the bottom of the fifth. With two out, third baseman Matt Chapman doubled. Rangers’ pitcher Ariel Jurado then walked Jed Lowrie. The next hitter, Davis, singled to center to drive in Chapman to give the A’s a 2-0 lead. For Davis, it was his 100th RBI of the year.

Oakland put two more runs on the board in the sixth. With one out, Marcus Semien doubled to left. Ramon Laureno singled to end Semien to third. Lurean then stole second. With the infield drawn in, A’s catcher Josh Phegley hit a sharp grounder to Rangers’ third baseman Jurickon Profar. Profar bobbled the ball, and his only play was to first base. Semien scored the A’s third run of the night. A’s left fielder Nick Martini then singled to drive in Laureano, and the A’s had a 4-0 lead after six.

Davis hit his 38th home run of the year with a man on to put the A’s ahead 6-0 after seven innings of play. Davis is just one home run behind Boston’s J.D.Martinez for the lead in that department. He is also second in the AL with 102 RBIs.

The A’s used Jeurys Familia in the eighth and Lou Trivino in the ninth as they kept the Rangers scoreless the last two innings of the game. The A’s won 6-0.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s are now 76-50 for the year and will remain in first place in the AL West. The A’s are a season-high 26 games over the .500 mark. They are 6-2 on the current homestand. They will go for a sweep of the three-game series Wednesday afternoon.

Brett Anderson went seven innings and allowed one and gave up just one walk. It was the first time in Oakland history that this has happened and it was the third time in the last four games. Before Tuesday night, Anderson had not allowed a run in two of his last three starts He is now 3-3 for the year. He has walked one batter or fewer in his last seven starts.

A’s DH Khris Davis has hit nine homers and knocked in 24 in 15 games with Texas this year. For his career, he has hit 27 dingers and batted in 62 in 52 games. Davis has 100 RBIs for the third year in a row, and it was the first time for an A’s hitter since Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada from 2001 to 2003.

The A’s line score was six runs, 12 hits, and no errors. The Rangers’ line was no runs, two hits, and one error.

Time of game was two hours and 26 minutes and 11,579 fans in attendance were delighted with the outcome.

Up Next: The A’s meet the Rangers again Wednesday afternoon at 12:35 pm PDT.

Edwin Jackson will pitch for Oakland, and Texas will send lefty Mike Minor to the mound in an attempt to salvage one game of the series.

Khris Davis puts on a show as the A’s roll over the Rangers 9-0

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — Oakland A’s Mike Fiers was magnificent as he dominated the Texas Rangers and won his ninth game of the year. The A’s trounced the Rangers 9-0 at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday night. The A’s pounded Rangers’ starter Bartolo Colon for seven runs, and as a result, Colon’s record dropped to 7-11.

The A’s scored three times in the bottom of the second. Stephen Piscotty started the rally off Colon, with a double to left. Marcus Semien followed with another double to drive in Piscotty with the A’s first run. A’s rookie Ramon Laureano, facing Colon for the first time in his short Major League career, hit his first home run as a Big Leaguer to put the A’s ahead 3-0. Laureano took Colon’s 89 MPH fastball over the wall in right-center field.

A’s manager Bob Melvin signaled for the ball to be returned to the dugout so that Laureano could put it in his trophy case at home. Jonathan Lucroy continued the hit parade with another double, but Colon settled down and was able to get out of the inning with no further damage.

The A’s DH, Khris Davis, led off the bottom of the third with his 37th round-tripper of the year. The ball left his bat traveling at 111 MPH and went an estimated 439 feet. The ball hit the concrete just below the glass that protects the fans in the suites in left field.

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The A’s sent Colon to the showers in the bottom of the sixth. Piscotty led off the inning with a single. Semien also singled to put men on at first and second with no out. The next hitter, Laureano, who hit the first home run of his career in the second inning, did it again as he slammed Colon’s pitch into the seats in the seats in left field to put the A’s in the driver’s seat with a formidable 7-0 lead. Piscotty homered in the seventh to make it 8-0, and the A’s tacked on another run in the eighth to win by a final score of 9-0.

Game Notes: A’s Mike Fiers was magnificent as he dominated the Rangers Monday night. Fiers gave up just one hit, one walk and hit a batter in his seven innings of work. He retired the last 18 batters he faced for his ninth win of the year.

The A’s hitting stars of the night were Stephen Piscotty, Marcus Semien, Ramon Laureano, and Jonathan Lucroy. Piscotty had a single, double and home run. Semien had two singles and a double. Laureano had two home runs and five runs batted in. Jonathan Lucroy had two singles and a double.

The A’s hit four home runs Monday.

With the win, the A’s are now 75-50 and were back in first place following the Houston Astros’ 7-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.

Time of game was two hours and 48 minutes and 9,341 fans went home happy.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05 pm PDT. The A’s will send Brett Anderson (2-3. 3.90 ERA) to the mound and the Rangers will counter with Ariel Jurado (2-2, 6.41 ERA)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: This Week in 1980, Charlie O. Finley Sold the A’s for $12.7 Million

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Photo credit: thesportsesquires.com

By: Amaury Pi-González

On August 21, 1980, Athletics owner Charlie Finley announced at a news conference that he has sold his A’s to Walter A. Haas, Jr., the chairman of the board of the Levi Strauss clothing empire, Haas’s son Walter Jr., and son-in-law Roy Eisenhardt for $12.7 million.

In 1980, Finley agreed in principle to sell to businessman Marvin Davis, who was planning to move the A’s to Denver, but before that, Finley and Davis were to sign a contract, as the NFL’s Oakland Raiders announced they were moving to Los Angeles in 1982. The City of Oakland and Alameda County officials didn’t wanted to be held responsible for losing Oakland status as a big league city and refused to let the A’s out of their lease with the Coliseum. So the A’s were sold and stayed.

Although they have changed ownership a few times since, today’s A’s are in solid ground to continue playing in Oakland. These days, the last thing in mind for the A’s is to move out of Oakland, because soon they will be the only professional team left, after the Warriors move to San Francisco and the Raiders to Las Vegas. That is the good news. Plus, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred has said it all along, “the Bay Area is a two-team market.”

However, there is presently a group called Protect Oakland’s Shoreline Economy that is questioning the A’s proposed move to their favorite location of the Howard Terminal near Jack London Square. Here in the greater Bay Area, there is never a shortage of groups that oppose construction of sports facilities. and this one is the most recent. This is the second chapter of this novela. In December of last year, the A’s plans to build a 35,000 seat ballpark near Lake Merritt was stopped cold, when the community college refused to start negotiations about the proposed park.

All these recent concerns have been rather silenced by the A’s current play on the field, as they have been shocking the baseball world. They just took two out of three from the Mariners and two out of three from the Astros–two of their biggest rivals. This Monday, the Rangers open a three-game series at the Coliseum and then the A’s go on a six-game road-trip to Minnesota and Houston. They return the 30th of this month to say adios to August and welcome September with a four-game series against the M’s, three against the contending Yankees and the Rangers again. I do not believe the A’s bandwagon is close to capacity yet, as there are still a lot of folks who are not 100 percent certain they are going to see postseason play at the Coliseum. But I think they will.

By then, we will see how are the Atléticos de Oakland doing, with two very possible scenarios: 1) winning the division or 2) advancing as one of the two Wild Card teams.

Listen to the A’s games in Spanish on KIQI 1010am/990am, covering the Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton and the Valley, and on the SAP Channel on NBC Sports California.

Olson’s First Walk-Off Homer Puts A’s One Game Back of Astros After 4-3 Win in 10 Innings

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Photo credit: @MLB_News247

By: Matt Harrington

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s now have a chance to exit the weekend series against the Houston Astros with a one-game lead in the American League West, and momentum is on their side. The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a play at the plate, then Matt Olson launched his first career walk-off hit, a homer of Tony Sipp, in the bottom of the 10th for a 4-3 win over the division leaders at Oakland Coliseum on Friday night.

Olson pulled the A’s to within one game of the division lead after working a full count off Sipp. Sipp’s 3-2 pitch, a slider low in the zone just below the belt, found its way over the right field wall for Olson’s 23rd longball of the year and Sipp’s first loss of the campaign (1-2, 1.80 ERA). He almost didn’t get a chance for his heroics. The A’s trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. The leadoff man Mark Canha grounded out against reliever Hector Rondon to leave the A’s two outs away from defeat. Pinch hitter Chad Pinder walked, then was replaced by rookie Ramon Laureano, a pivotal substitution by A’s manager Bob Melvin.

The next batter, Nick Martini, laced a ball to right, with Laureano racing home from first. Josh Reddick’s throw home beat him to the plate and Astros catcher Martin Maldonado appeared to block off the plate perfectly to tag out Laureano as he dove headfirst across home. Home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez thought so, too, calling Laureano out.

The rookie, however, felt he had gained the plate legally, gesturing as soon as he rose from his slide. His manager challenged the play, and following a lengthy review, Laureano was deemed both correct and safe and Oakland was tied 3-3. Blake Treinen (6-2, 0.87 ERA) worked around a runner at second with two outs, while striking out three Stros to pick up his sixth win of the year.

The A’s had to play catch-up three times. They trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth after starter Edwin Jackson gave up solo homers Alex Bregman and Maldonado in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. They loaded the bases against Houston starter Charlie Morton with no outs, but Jonathan Lucroy only plated one runner on a double-play grounder. Matt Chapman would plate another run in the inning, but the big damage was avoided with the A’s forced to settle for the 2-2 tie.

The tie would be short-lived, as Houston scored in the top of the sixth. Lou Trivino struck out Carlos Correa but walked Marwin Gonzalez and Evan Gattis to put himself in trouble. Reddick capitalized against his former team, singling in Gonzalez. Trivino wriggled out of the jam trailing 3-2 after getting first baseman Tyler White to bounce into a double play.

The A’s don’t need to do any scoreboard watching if they want to lead the division by the end of play Saturday. They just need Trevor Cahill to take the bump and stymie the Houston batters. Oh, and they also need to beat Dallas Keuchel, a former Cy Young award winner.

The A’s and Astros will square off for game two Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Cook looks like a good backup quarterback; Who to look for among receiver and running backs

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Photo credit: @mattschneidman

On the Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon:

The Oakland Raiders quarterback Connor Cook got some looks during preseason game against the Detroit Lions last Friday at the Oakland Coliseum. Cook threw 11-for-19, 141 yards, and one touchdown. Running back Marshawn Lynch took a hand off from starting quarterback Derek Carr and ran for 60 yards–only to have it called back due to a holding penalty.

Running back to look for the Raiders, Chris Warren III, who carried for 86 yards, 13 carries, averaging 6.6 yards and DeAndre Washington, who had six carries, 38 yards and a 6.3 average against the Lions last Friday. Will these be the rushers to look for this season?

On receivers, Johnny Holton caught one pass and had 41 yards receiving and Paul Butler, who had 24 yards for one reception. What will Raiders head coach Jon Gruden expect out of his receivers this Saturday in Los Angeles?

Joe Hawkes Beamon does the Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com