Tag: Oakland A’s

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s finished the seven-game road trip with a victory over the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2. The A’s played the Rays four times at Tropicana Field. All four games featured excellent pitching, good defense, and timely hitting. In the four games, the Rays scored nine runs, the A’s eight. Each team showed why they are contenders to win their respective division in the American League. With the win, the A’s finished the road trip with a record of four wins and three losses.

The Rays’ starter, lefty Shane McClanahan, made his first start in the Major Leagues Thursday afternoon. McClanahan made his debut last year in the playoffs. The 24-year-old flame thrower made pitches that registered 101 miles-per-hour on the speed gun. The A’s Chris Bassitt pitched well for Oakland. Bassitt went six innings and allowed two runs and four hits. He struck out nine.

Neither team hit well in the four-game series. Runs were at a premium. Thursday’s game was no exception.
The Rays jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Chris Bassitt hit Rays’ second baseman, Brandon Lowe, with a pitch. Lowe scored on the double to right field by Austin Meadows.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the third. With one out, Tony Kemp singled to center. Kemp went to second on a wild pitch. Mark Canha singled to right. Kemp was thrown out at the plate. Fortunately for the A’s, Ramon Laureano came through doubled to deep left field to drive in Canha with the tying run.

The A’s took the lead in the top half of the fourth when Matt Chapman hit his four home run of the year. The A’s led 2-1 after four complete.
The Rays tied the game in the fifth. Brandon Lowe homered, leading off the bottom of the fifth. It was Lowe’s fourth of the year. Bassitt settled down and retired the next three hitters. Bassitt exited the game after the sixth inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin called on his bullpen to shut down the Rays. They did just that. Yusmeiro Petit and
Jake Diekman retired the Rays in order in the seventh and eighth innings. The A’s could do nothing against the Rays’ relievers until the ninth inning. Rays’ manager Kevin Cash brought in closer Diego Castillo to pitch the ninth. Castillo earned saves in the games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. It would be a different story Thursday afternoon.
With one out, Castillo walked A’s DH, Jed Lowrie. Castillo retired Sen Murphy for the second out. The next hitter, Matt Chapman, came through with a triple to right field. The ball went over the head of Brett Phillips. Lowrie scored from first to give the A’s the lead 3-2. A’s manager Bob Melvin summoned righty Lou Trivino to close out the game. Trivino retired the first two hitters. Brett Phillips singled to keep the Rays alive. Trivino had to retire Kevin Kiermaier for the final out. It wasn’t easy. Phillips advanced to second on a wild pitch. If Kiermaier were to get a hit, the Rays would have tied the game. Trivino won the battle as he struck out Kiermaier looking to preserve the win for Oakland. The A’s win 3-2.

Game Notes and Stats- With the win, the A’s are 16-10 for the season. The Rays are 13-13. Lou Trivino earned his fourth save of the year. Castillo took the loss.

A’s first baseman, Matt Olson, was injured during batting practice on Thursday. He was struck in his left eye by a ball that somehow bounced back to cause the injury. His eye was swollen, and the injury’s extent is unknown.

The A’s return home to face the Baltimore Orioles for three games starting Friday night. The veteran righty, Mike Fiers, will be making his first start of the year. Baltimore will counter with lefty John Means. Means is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.50. Means beat the A’s last Sunday in Baltimore by a score of 8-1. The game will start at 7:05 pm.

Tampa Bay Rays third base coach Rodney Linares (27) passes off his congratulations to Mike Zunino who belted a solo shot against Oakland A’s starter Cole Irvin at Tropicana Field on Wed Apr 29, 2021 (AP News photo)

#1 Jerry we’ve seen the Oakland A’s (15-10) do this during their 13 game win streak a starter and the bullpen throws a shutout against their opponent but the tables were turned on the A’s on Wednesday night as the Tampa Bay Rays (13-12) starter Tyler Glasnow went seven innings five hits and no runs. Glasnow had his pitches working for him.

#2 Jerry, I know we do these podcasts remotely you don’t have the privilege to be there a Tropicana Field in person but just watching Glasnow throw he simply looked like he kept the A’s big boppers off balance during his outing.

#3 Do the A’s look like they’ve come down from that high of going 13 straight games or are the Rays who give the A’s fits whether it’s regular season or post season just that much of a team that’s in control.

#4 After losing in Baltimore last Sunday and losing the last two games to the Rays the A’s have been struggling offensively at the plate and are in sure dire need to see Matt Chapman get his swing back he was hitting .152 but got two hits on Wednesday night.

#5 Jerry, the A’s will try and even up the series as they play game four of the series with the Rays at 10:10 AM PDT. The A’s will start Chris Bassitt (2-2 ERA 4.13) and he’ll match up against the Rays Shane McClanahan (0-0)

Join Jerry each Thursday for the Oakland A’s podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A tip of the cap after leaving in the seventh inning Tampa Bay Rays starter Tyler Glasnow and the bullpen shutout the Oakland A’s at Tropicana Field on Wed Apr 28, 2021 (@RaysBaseball photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Tampa Bay Ray’s (13-12) outstanding righty Tyler Glasnow earned his third win of the season as he shut down the Oakland (15-10) offense with seven innings with no runs and five hits. Glasnow struck out ten. The A’s starter, Cole Irvin, pitched well for the third consecutive game.

Irvin allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings of work. Irvin struck out eight Rays’ hitters. Had the A’s mounted any attack, Irvin could have picked up a win. A’s manager Bob Melvin had to be impressed with Irvin’s outing.

The Rays scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth. With two out, Ray’s catcher, Mike Zunino, homered to left field. The ball hit either the C or D catwalk—the ground rules at Tropicana Field state that a ball that hits either catwalk is a home run. The Rays added another run in the inning. Irvin walked the next hitter, Brett Phillips. Randy Arozarena singled, sending Phillips to third. Manuel Margot drove in Phillips with a single. The Rays had all the runs they would need to win.

Lefty Jeffrey Springs retired the A’s in order in the eighth. He recorded the first out in the ninth. Singles by Matt Chapman and Sean Murphy had Rays’ manager Kevin Cash call for his closer, Diego Castillo, to put out the fire. Castillo struck out Tony Kemp and got Vimael Machin to ground out to first baseman Yandy Diaz for the final out.

Game Notes and Stats- With the loss, the A’s are 15-10 for the year. They are still in first place in the AL West. Their line was no runs, seven hits, and no errors. Tampa Bay improved to 13-12 and are in second place in the AL East. Their line was two runs, eight hits, and no errors.

The A’s struck out 13 times Wednesday night. They suffered their first shutout of the season.
The time of the game was two hours and forty-five minutes.

The A’s finish the four-game series with the Rays Thursday morning. Chris Bassitt will handle the pitching chores for Oakland. Ray’s rookie lefty, Shane McClanahan, will be making his Major League debut. The game starts at 10:10 am.

The Tampa Bay Rays jump for joy after defeating the Oakland A’s in the second of the four game series on Tue Apr 27, 2021 (@RaysBaseball photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Joey Wendle’s stroked an insurance RBI single, and Diego Castillo earned his fifth save, as Tampa Bay edged Oakland 4-3 Tuesday at Tropicana Field.

Wendle singled to shallow left field drove in Randy Arozarena in the bottom of the seventh. The Athletics battled back when Sean Murphy homered to left in the top of the ninth off Castillo, his third of the season, cutting the Rays’ lead to 4-3.

Tampa Bay went ahead to stay in the bottom of the sixth on Brett Phillips’ two-run home run that erased a 2-1 A’s lead and eventually gave A’s starter Frankie Montas (2-2) the loss. Earlier, Mitch Moreland’s sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth broke a 1-1 tie.

Jeffrey Springs (1-0) worked the sixth inning to earn the win. Rays starter Michael Wacha struck out two without a walk in five innings.

Montas gave up three earned runs on six hits while striking out five and walking two in six innings. He was followed on the mound by J.B. Wendelken and Reymin Guduan.

Matt Olson had two of Oakland’s eight hits, while Francisco Mejia was 3-for-4 for the Rays, leading their 10-hit attack.

The two teams meet again on Wednesday, with Cole Irvin (2-2, 3.86) on the mound for Oakland, facing the Rays’ Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 2.05).

The Oakland A’s picked up their 14th win in 15 games over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay on Mon Apr 26, 2021 (@Athletics photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s opened the four-game series with the Tampa Bays Monday night at Tropicana Field. The game featured a matchup of two left-handed pitchers. The A’s had Sean Manaea on the Hill looking for his third win of the year. The Rays sent 41-year-old lefty Rich Hill to the mound. Hill, who pitched for Oakland in 2016, is a master of the curveball.

He throws from different arm angles, and the A’s knew he would be one tough customer. The Orioles snapped the A’s thirteen-game winning streak Sunday in Baltimore. Oakland was hoping to get back on the winning track with a win. 

The Rays put a run on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Rays’ right fielder Randy Arozarena led off the frame with a single. The next hitter, Yandy Diaz, lined a rocket off Sean Manaea’s right leg. Manaea was able to pick up the ball and fire to first to get the out. Arazarena made it to second. He stole third and scored on Austin Meadows’ sacrifice fly to center field. The Rays lead 1-0.

The A’s defense saved a run in the bottom of the third. With two out and a man on second, Stephen Piscotty made a diving catch on Manuel Margot’s fly ball to right. 

Rich Hill had his way with the A’s hitters. He had his curveball working its magic. The A’s had one hit in the first three innings, and Hill had struck out five A’s. In the fourth, he retired the first two hitters. The next hitter, Matt Chapman, worked Hill for a walk. Sean Murphy, who struck out in the second inning, blasted a flyball to left that barely made it over the fence to put the A’s ahead 2-1.

Neither team would score. Manaea lasted five innings. He threw 100 pitches in five innings of work. The A’s used Yusmeiro Petit in the sixth and seventh. Jake Diekman pitched the eighth, and Lou Trivino closed out the game for Oakland.

Game Notes and Stats: In the top of the seventh, the A’s manager Bob Melvin was tossed from the game. With two outs and a man on first, Tony Kemp hit a popup that landed in between three Rays’ fielders. Tropicana Field’s covering for the dome contributed to the ball dropping in safely.

Elvis Andrus, running on the play, appeared to have slid in safely at home. The home plate umpire called him out. The A’s asked for a review. The replay showed that Andrus’s hand slid across the plate before Ray’s catcher, Mike Zunino, applied the tag. The review crew in New York did not overturn the call. Melvin was incensed and let the umpires know they were wrong. They sent Melvin to the clubhouse. 

Manaea’s line was five innings of work, four hits, and one run allowed. His record improved to 3-1. Lou Trivino earned his third save in three opportunities. Rich Hill was the hard-luck loser. He went six innings and allowed two runs and two hits. His only mistake was the gopher ball that he served up to Murphy.

Rich Hill hit Mark Canha with a pitch in the third inning. It was the 59th time that a pitch has hit Canha in his time with the A’s. He and Sal Banda are tied for first in Oakland A’s history in that department.

With the win, the A’s are 15-8 for the season. The Rays, defending American League champions, are 11-12.

The A’s and Rays play game two of the series Tuesday night. Righty Frankie Montas (2-1) will go for Oakland. The Rays will counter with righty Michael Wacha (1-1). The game will start at 4:05 pm.