Tag: Oakland A’s

Anthony Rizzo of the New York Yankees prepares to thrown down his helmet after striking out in the sixth inning against the Oakland A’s on Sat Aug 28, 2021 (AP News photo)

New York 2 – 5 – 2

Oakland 3 – 5 – 0

By Lewis Rubman

Saturday August 28, 2021

OAKLAND–The statistical expression “regression to the norm” can be translated to the vernaclular as the proverbial “water seeks its own level.” When the A’s opened the season with six progressively distressing defeats, they knew they weren’t as bad as their record indicated.

The responded by regressing to the norm by playing better than they really were, and three weeks later they were in first place in the AL West. They stayed there for two months before regressing once more to the norm, slowly but steadily dropping in winning percentage and the division and wild card standings.

Game time today found them at 70-59, trailing Houston by 6-1/2 games in the division and Boston by 3-1/2 for the second wild card spot. And they were in the throes of another six game losing streak, but now they have only 32 games left in the season.

Their starting pitcher, Frankie Montás is as capable of extreme performance swings as the rest of the team. In his most recent outing, last Sunday at the Coliseum, he held the Giants to two hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings.

His opposite number with the Yankees, Néstor Cortés, Jr., also had a successful seven innings in his previous mound appearance. The cagey southpaw held the Twins to a pair of earned runs to get the win and bring his record to 2-1, 2.56. That ERA is the second best in the American Leagiue.

The outcome of this encounter was a 3-2 win for Oakland, breaking the visitors’ 13 game winning streak and stopping the Athletics’ losing string at a half-dozen

Oakland struck first, on a two out double to left center by Chad Pinder, who notched the Athletics’ first tally when, after a walk to Sean Murphy, Tony Kemp’s single to center drove the versatile Pinder, the A’s starting right fielder, home and sending Murphy, DHing todaly, to third.

Cortés´s balk brought the DH in with the A’s second tally.They looked ready to score a Rickie run in the third when Starling Marte’s speed made Rougned Odor rush his throw on a grounder to third for a two base error and then stole third while Matt Olson was oin the process of striking out.

Yan Gomes then lashed a vicious liner up the middle on which second sacker DJ LeMahieu made a diving grab and rifled a throw to. Odor for the inning ending double play. Third Will Little’s call passed the video review test, much to Bob Melvin’s displeasure, and another A’s opportunity was lost, throuigh no fault of their own.

No one made a diving grab of Matt Chapman’s lead off drive in the fourth. It started out as an 86 mph slider and ended up 403 feet away over the fence in left enter for Chappy’s 21st round tripper of lthe year and a 3-0 lead for the Athletics.

When Canha got a single on a hard hit grounder to short, beating Velázquez´s one hop throw to first, with one down in the sixth, Aaron Boone decided that Cortés had seen enough action. He left the game, having yielded three runs, all earned, and was responsible for Canha.

Oakland reached him for four hits, one of them a homer, and three walks plus a run scoring balk. 60 of his 95 pitches were strikes. Right hander Albert Abreu relieved him and retired Pinder and Murphy to close the book on Cortés and bring New York up for the seventh frame.

Judge opened that inning with a line single to left center, the Yanks´ first safety since his double in the first. It came on Montás´s 86th pitch. The Oakland starter recovered from that brief setbackwith a swinging strike out of Stanton and beaiutiful Olson to Chapman to Olson inning ending double play, made possible by the extreme shift that had the A’s third baseman stationed just a few steps to the left of second. Who says that the use of shifts has made the game boring?

Kemp’s lead off fly to right in the home seventh turned Stanton around twice, converting a long fly into a two base hit. Once more, the curse of the lead off double struck. Two ground outs, an intentional walk, and a K, and the A’s had stranded two runners.

98 pitches in seven innings was the limit for Montás. He held the Bronx Bombers to two hits and a walk, throwing only 35 balls to the 23 batters he faced and mainly frustrated. Andrew Chafin relieved him and, after allowing a single to Voit, was lights out end the episode.

Lefty Lucas Luetge faced the A’s in their half of the eighth, starting with Chapman, who drove the reliever’s 2-2 offering over the left field fence, only to have Joey Gallo jump up and bring it down. It was three straight outs after that, bringing us to the top of the ninth and Sergio Romo taking the mound in his old role as closer.

LeMehieu socked a hard llner to third. Chapman caught it. Rizzo blooped a Texas Leaguer to left center. No one caught it. No one caiught Aaron Judge’s fly ball until lit had travelled 406 feet into the left field stands. The score was 3-2, and chants of “Let’s go, Yankees” filled the air, quieted when Stanton popped out to Harrison at second.

It sounded like more than the 18,337 paying customers were cheering when Gallo came to bat, but you couldn’t tell whom the were cheering for. Gallo grounded out to second for the final out. Romo’s performance wasn’t pretty, but he got the job done. Hhis first save of the year preserved the A’s lead and the win that brought Montás’s record to 10-9, 3.66. The loss brought Cortés’s record to 2-2.77.

The A’s will try to start a new regression to the norm and even the series Sonday at 1:08, with Paul Blackburn (0-1, 4.09) going against Jordan Montgomery (5-5, 3.69).

Giancarlo Stanton rounds the bases for the New York Yankees after hitting a master blaster 472 feet for a home run off Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Aug 27, 2021 (AP News photo)

New York 8 – 14- 1

Oakland 2 – 8. – 0

By Lewis Rubman

Friday August 27, 2021

OAKLAND–It’s tempting to think of tonight’s starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics (70-59), Sean Manaea (8-8, 3.77 at game time) as the personification of the team. Both the man and the ball club show flashes of excellence, go on hot streaks of sustained and unsustainable superiority, and then go terribly, terribly cold.

And, when they took the field, they were, indeed, in spite of a temperature reading of 82 degrees, terribly, terribly cold. Oakland, at 70-58, was five and a half games behind Houston for the AL Western Division lead and two and a half games behind Boston for the second AL wild card spot and threatening to repeat their season opening nightmare of a six game losing streak. The A’s went down in a whimper a sixth straight loss defeated by their guests the New York Yankees (76-52).

Manaea, who was 3-2, 1.13 in June, went 2-2, 3.30 in July, and hadn’t won a game or gone more than five innings this month, losing half of his four August starts. The man who no hit the Red Sox three year ago still hasn’t fulfilled his potential.

Meanwhile, Manaea’s Yankee counterpart, Gerrit Cole (12-6, 2.92), he of the rising fast ball, had been undefeated in his two starts, both wins, in August. His highest ERA at any point this season was 3.38, following his opening day non decision against Toronto.

Tonight’s contest, an 8-2 drubbing administered by the visitors wasn’t out of character for either team or either of their starting moundsmen..

The two slightly mismatched pitchers traded zeroes until Giancarlo Stanton led off the fourth with a four base blast to center and, following Gallo’s pop up to. Andrus, Luke Voit followed suit with another round tripper to center. They were home runs number 25 and eight, respectively, for the two Bronx bombers, and they felt like a re-enactment of the second inning demolition derby Stanton and Gardner performed on Cole Irvin last night.

The Athletics’ recurring nightmare continued in the fifth, not exactly the same as the previous nights’, but close enough to be distressing. Kyle Higashioka and LeMahieu stroked singles to the left center and left, respectively; Rizzo went down swinging; and Judge swung for the fences.

His 28th dinger of the the year cleared the one in center field and sent Manaea to the showers. He left completing 4-1/3 innings of arduous labor, allowing five runs, all earned, on seven hits and a hit batter. On the other hand, he didn’t walk anyone. His pitch total was 86; 58 counted as strikes, and he took the loss.

Deolis Guerra took Manaea’s place on the mound and was hit hard for by Stanton, who flew out to left, Gallo, who doubled to right. He got Voit to strike out swinging and pitched a perfect sixth before giving way to AJ Puk, who held the Yanks to one hit in the seventh before he was, in turn, replaced by Jake Diekman, who set them down in order in the eighth.

The A’s stirred in the fifth, only to leave, as they have been doing too frequently these days, three men on base. A lead off single to center by Andrus, followed by another by Kemp and, after Marte fouled out to first, a walk to Olson put an Athletic on every base. But Lowrie went down swinging, and Harrison’s wicked line drive towards left somehow landed in the glove of the flying Urshela at third. RISP has been morphing into RIP for Oakland.

Ahead 5-0 after six innings, manager Aaron Boone decided he had no need to keep Cole on the job. He had allowed the A’s six hits and two walks; thaat was it. He struck out nine, and 70 of his 104 offerings were strikes. He went to the showers with an ERA lowered to 2.80 and, at game’s end, was the winning pitcher. His replacement, Joey Rodríguez, allowed the A’s a window of opportunity.

With one out, he walked Chad Pinder, pinch hitting for Kemp, and allowed singles to left by Marte and Olson. Olson’s safety drove in Pinder and advanced Marte to third. Gallo’s throw home was way off line, allowing Marte to score and Olson to make his way to second, occasioning Rodríguez’s early departure, Chad Green replacing him on the hill. He put out the fire by walking Lowrie and inducing a 4-6-3 twin killing from Harrison. He proceeded to strke out the three A’s he faced in the eighth.

New York put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth. Burch Smith gave up a first pitch lead off double to Velázquez. There was no curse of the lead off double for Kyle Higashioka when he brought all of his .179 batting average to the plate and blasted a 94 mph fast ball into the right center field seats to open up a 7-2 gap between the Yankees and their too accomodating host.

Singles by LeMahieu, Rizzo, and Judge made it 8-2, with runners on first and second and still not a man out. Stanton and the infield fly rule finally broke the Yankees’ streak of five successive hits, and, after Smith retired two more batters, allowed the Athletics one last chance, with Lucas Luetge on the mound for the New Yorkers, to catch up. They went down, 1-2-3.

As if the Yankees’ pyrotechnics hadn’t been enough for them, most of the 22,462 people in the stands hung around to watch the Star Wars fireworks that followed the game.

Saturday afternoon at 1:07, Frankie Montás (9-9, 3.84) will go against Néstor Cortés (2-1, 2.56) and his accompanying wrecking crew in an attempt to stop the A’s impending slide into oblivion.

Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt is back in the Bay Area since his injury and surgery in Chicago. Bassitt is reportedly in good spirits and could visit the A’s clubhouse during the Yankees series (mercurynews.com file photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt flew to Oakland today from Chicago after having surgery for a broken cheek bone, Bassitt could pay a visit to the A’s clubhouse just to reassure his teammates at the Coliseum tonight as they get ready for the Yankees.

#2 The A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty is going for wrist surgery and might make a return this season.

#3 The A’s had a such a good run and now find themselves not only behind the Houston Astros five games in the American League West but the A’s are also behind the Yankees in the Wild Card by two and half games. They need to get hot to catch.

#4 The A’s host New York tonight at the Coliseum for game 2 of this four game series. The A’s are on a five game losing streak and the Yankees came in with an 12 game win streak. The A’s will be pressed to get hot to try and make a run at the post season.

#5 Tonight’s starters at the Coliseum for the Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole (12-6 ERA 2.92) and for the A’s Sean Manaea (8-8 ERA 3.77) with a 6:40pm first pitch.

Join Jeremiah for the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

An eighth inning RBI single by the New York Yankees Aaron Judge holds up as the Yanks edge the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Ring Central Coliseum on Thu Aug 26, 2021 (AP News photo)

New York 7 – 9 – 0

Oakland 6 – 7 – 1

By Lewis Rubman

Thursday August 26, 2021

OAKLAND–George Bowering, the first Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate, tells the story of having gone to a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway with the Shakespearian scholar Edward Pechter. Whenever the Yankees scored, Pechter jumped to his feet and cheeered. When the Bosox crossed the plate, the other 30,000 fans in attendance jumped to their feet and cheered.

If Pechter had been at tonight’s contest at the Coliseum between the struggling Athletics and the surging New Yorkers, he would have felt less isolated. Yankee fans, identifiable by their pinstripes and loud cheering (and booing), comprised a signficant portion of the significantly less 8,147 paying spectators who saw the Yanks stave off a valient Oakland comeback attempt and defeat the A’s, 7-6 .

One time Yankee farm hand James Kaprielian (7-4, 3.25 at game time) and Jameson Taillon (8-4, 3.94), the second overall pick in the 2010 first year player draft, each threw a perfect first inning before things livened up in the top of the second.

After Karielian caught Joey Gallo looking at a called third strike for Kaprielian’s fourth strike out against as many batters, Yankee skipper Aaron Boone vociferously made his displeasure known to home plate umpire Todd Tichenor, who, in turn, made his displeasure known by giving Boone the heave-ho. Kaprielian retired two of the next four Yankee batsman, striking out one of them, Gary Sánchez. The other two, however, hit solo home runs.

The first was Giancarlo Stanton´s 23th of the season, a 436 foot blast to straight away center field on a full count four seamer. The second came off the bat of Brett Gardner, his 25th. It went over the fence in right.

The vistors added on in the third with a lead off double to right by Andrew Velázquez followed by Anthony Rizzo’s one out double to left, on which Harrison amost made a marvelous catch at the wall, a walk to Aaron Judge, and Joey Gallo’s three run dinger into the right field seats. It was his 30th of the year and fifth as a Yankee. When the dust had settle at the end of the third, the A’s were on the short end of a 6-0 shellalcking. I guess Boone’s ejection was the key play of the evening.

But all was not lost. Leading off the home third, Matt Chapman swung at a 3-2, 95 mph fastball that left his bat at 111.2 mph and ended up in the left field reserve seats. Sean Murphy then drove another 95 mph offering over the center field wall. Those were their home runs number 20 and 15, respectively.

Matt Olson led off Oakland´s fourth with a double to left. With one down, Harrison sent a line drive just over the glove of a leaping Gio Urshela at third, and Mitch Moreland walked to load the bases. Chapman, too, drew a walk, driving in his second run in as many innings and leaving the bases full of Oaklanders. Murphy fanned for the second out, bringing Andrus to the plate. He fell behind on the count, 0-2, before lining a single up the middle and bringing the Athletics to within a run of the Bombers, who now led, 6-5.

That liner drove Taillon out of the box, replaced by Albert Abreu with Canha coming up. During Canha’s at bat, Andrus stole second. Canha filled the void at first by walking, which refilled the bases. But Marte forced him out, unassisted, on a grounder to LeMahieu.

Taillon’s line was five runs, all earned, in a mere 3-2/3 frames, on four hits, two of them for the distance, and three walks. He threw 78 pitches, 47 strikes, and struck out four A’s. His ERA jumped to 4.18.

Abreu yielded the tying run in the fifth, on a two out no doubter 404 foot four bagger to left field by Harrison, his eighth of the year and second for the green and gold.

99 pitches (62 strikes) in five innings was enough for Kaprielian. In his gutsy performance he weathered a storm of six runs, all earned, on as many hits, half of which were four baggers, and a walk. He struck out eight, and, even though Yusmeiro Petit relieved him in the top of the sixth and Andrew Chafin followed Petit in the seventh and Romo in the eighth, saved more bullpen arms than could have been anticipated after the balls started leaving the park in the second.

When, in the sixth, Chapman led off for Oakland with a single up the middle, Clay Holmes was on the mound for New York. But the Yankee reliever struck out Murphy, Andrus, and Canha in order, to end that glimmer of hope. Jonathan Loásiga took over for Holmes in the home seventh.

Judge greeted Romo in the eighth with a slicing drive that landed just fair inside the right field line for a double, bringing up the dangerous Joey Gallo with the potential leading run in scoring position and no outs. Romo’s full count walk to Gallo wasn’t such a bad outcome to that confrontation.

Stanton skied out to center before Romo issued a four pitch pass to Sánchez that clogged the basepaths with one away. Gardner worked a 3-1 count, but Romo got him to pop an infield fly to second for out number two. The A’s reliever came through, getting Urshela to force Sánchez at second, Chapman to Lowrie. The curse of the lead off double strikes again!

The fireballing Loásiga held the A’s scoreless for two frames, so the game stilll was tied at six when Lou Trivino, who’d been going through a rough patch recently, entered the fray in the top of the ninth. He retired the first two batters he faced but yielded a four pitch walk to Rizzo that brought the ever dangerous Aaron Judge to the plate. Tyler Wade, runnng for Rizzo, broke for second, and Murphy’s throw flew into center field as Wade continued on to third. He scored on Judge’s single to right. Trivino was through, and Jake Diekman came in to put out the fire. To do that, he’d have to deal with Gallo.

Or would he? Judge broke for second. He beat Murphy’s throw, but the replay review showed that his foot came off the bag while Andrus’s glove still was touching his uniform. The call was reversed, and the A’s would need only one run to tie the game when they faced Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.

That’s easier said than done. After all Chapman came in with 299 career saves. Andrus flew out to center, and Canha fanned. But Marte singled to deep short, and a flicker of hope remained. It grew, just a bit, when Marte stole second. But Olson bounced out, 4-3.

The win went to Loásiga, whose two innings of hitless hurling stalled the Athletics’ comeback. He’s now 9-4, 2.23. Chapman became the 31st pitcher to reach the 300 save plateau. It was his 24th save of 2021.

Trivino took the loss. He’s now 5-7, 2.55. The possiblity of Romo becoming the new closer has been looking more inviting every day.

The teams will play the second of this four game series, tomorrow, Friday, night. The crowd will be larger; fireworks trump baseball in the attendance game. The starters will be Gerrit Cole (12-6, 2.92) and Sean Manaea (8-8, 3.77). Game time will be 6:40.

Oakland A’s pitcher Paul Blackburn will get the start on Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum against the New York Yankees to open a four game series (whitecleatbeat.com file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s have an off-day on Wednesday. The A’s need the day off to regroup, and their manager, Bob Melvin, has to find a way to get his team back on the winning track. The A’s are 2-8 in their last ten games.

They are in second place in the AL West four and 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. The Seattle Mariners are in third place, one game behind the A’s. If the season were to end today, the A’s would not be in the playoffs.

They are two and 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. Their chances to make the playoffs took a severe hit when they lost their ace, Chris Bassitt, for the remainder of the season. The A’s bullpen, so good for most of the season, blew leads in three consecutive games during the last ten played.

The A’s offense is in a slump. They are hitting .199 as a team in the last ten games. They have had men in scoring position but have failed to get the clutch hits needed. The three players they acquired at the trade deadline have played well since joining the team.

If they hope to make the playoffs, the A’s will have to find a way to stop the rampaging New York Yankees, who will be in town for a four-game series starting Thursday night. The Yankees have won 11 straight games. They have catapulted into the first Wild Card spot and have a two and 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox.

The Yankees have overcome injuries to their pitching staff as well as position players. They made two trades at the trade deadline that stunned the baseball world. They acquired two outstanding sluggers. They traded for Cubs’ first baseman, Anthony Rizzo.

The acquisition solved the problem at first base. Rizzo, a left-handed power hitter, has 17 homers and 49 RBIs. The other lefty power-hitter acquired was Joey Gallo. Gallo, hitting .206, has homered 29 times and driven in 63.
Along with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and catcher Gary Sanchez, New York has a lineup that can pulverize their opponent’s pitchers.

The Yankees infield will feature DJ Le Mahieu or Rougned Odor at second base. Shortstop Glyber Torres and third baseman Gio Urshela are both on the 10-day IL. Urshela may be back for the series with the A’s. Andrew Velazquez will probably be the shortstop in the interim.

The Yankees use several players in the outfield. Aaron Judge, hitting .285 with 27 homers and 65 RBIs, probably will be in right field. The Yankees will use him in center if needed. Joey Gallo can play all three outfield positions. Brett Gardner will probably see time in centerfield. Their designated hitter, Giancarlo Stanton, has hit 22 homers and driven in 65.

Here are the pitching matchups for the series. Thursday’s game will feature Jameson Taillon (8-4, 3.94 ERA) going for New York Against the A’s James Kaprielian (7-4, 3.25 ERA). On Friday, the ace of the Yankee staff and one of the best pitchers in baseball, Gerrit Cole, will pitch for the Yanks.

Cole is 12-6 and has an ERA of 2.92. Lefty Sean Manaea will go for Oakland Manaea has been struggling in his last three or four starts. The A’s need him to get back in the groove and be able to shut down the powerful Yankee lineup. Manaea is 8-8 with a 3.77 ERA. On Saturday, Nestor Cortes, Jr (2-1, 2.56 ERA) will be squaring off against the A’s Frankie Montas. Montas pitched well in his last start but did not get a decision. Montas is 9-9 with a 3.84 ERA.

Thursday’s pitching match ups: Lefty Jordan Montgomery (5-5, 3.69 ERA) goes for the Yankees on Sunday. The A’s will counter with Paul Blackburn. Blackburn is 0-1 and has a 4.09 ERA.

The A’s have to right the ship. They have to start hitting. They cannot continue to leave men in scoring position. They must cash in when they have the chance. The A’s have about five or six weeks left to play. They have to overcome adversity if they hope to be a championship team.

Late August and early September is the time of the year when good teams make their move to advance to the playoffs. Right now, the A’s are floundering. Let’s hope the A’s can figure out a solution to their current woes and get back on the winning track.