Tag: Oakland A’s

A’s squeak by the Royals 2-1

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

What a difference a day makes. On Monday night the A’s routed the Kansas City Royals 19-4. The A’s pounded out 22 hits to trounce KC.  On Tuesday night, it was a different story. The A’s had just five hits, none after the second inning, and two runs. The A’s starter Mike Fiers went 5 1/3 innings and gave up only one run to earn his 13th win of the year and helped the A’s beat the Royals 2-1.

The late Joaquin Andujar had a saying; “You never know.” That is so true in baseball as one never knows what is going to happen in any particular game. You never know when you go to the park what you are going to see. One night it’s a blowout. The next night it’s a pitcher’s duel.”

That was what happened in Kansas City Tuesday night. The A’s, fighting for a playoff berth, need to put as many games as possible in the win column. They entered the game tied for the second Wild Card with Tampa Bay. They trailed the Cleveland Indians by 1/2 game for the first Wild Card. The Indians trounced the Detroit Tigers 10-1, and the Houston Astros clobbered the Tampa Bay Rays 15-1. The A’s now lead the Rays by one game and trail the Indians by 1/2 game. The first Wild Card hosts the one-game playoff between the first and second Wild Cards.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the first. Marcus Semien reached on an infield single. Royals starter, lefty Mike Montgomery, who entered the game with a 3-6 record, struck out Matt Chapman and Matt Olson swinging. A’s center fielder Mark Canha reached on Royals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert’s fielding error. Khris Davis reached on an infield single to load the bases. Chad Pinder walked to drive in Semien with the A’s first run.

The A’s put another run on the board in the top of the second. With one out, A’s catcher Josh Phegley doubled to deep left center field. Marcus Semien followed his second hit of the night to drive in Phegley. Semien was caught stealing as he tried to advance to third base. That may have cost the A’s a run as Matt Chapman followed with a double. Matt Olson struck out to end the inning. The A’s led 2-0

Mike Fiers escaped jams in the second, third and fourth innings to keep the A’s ahead. In the bottom of the sixth, the Royals scored their only run of the game. Royals right fielder Hunter Dozier led off the sixth with a single. Left fielder Alex Gordon doubled to deep right-center field to drive in Dozier. Fiers retired Cuthbert for the first out. Fiers walked Ryan O’Hearn and that was the last batter he faced. A’s manager Bob Melvin went to the bullpen and brought in Yusmeiro Petit for the 66th time this year. Petit got Bubba Starling to fly out to center then struck out Meibrys Viloria looking for the third out, The A’s led 2-1.

There was no more scoring in the game. The A’s bullpen of Petite, Joakim Soria, and Liam Hendriks pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball and allowed one hit. The Royals’ bullpen did its job, too. Royals manager Ned Yost pulled Montgomery from the game with one out in the seventh. Kevin McCarthy, Scott Barlow, and Ian Kennedy did not allow a hit and kept the A’s scoreless. The A’s managed to hold on to win 2-1.

Game Notes: Mike Fiers won his 13th game of the year. It was a career-high for him. He started the season 2-3, but he has not lost since the beginning of May and has won his last 11 decisions. He is now 13-3.

Montgomery took the hard-luck loss, and his record drops to 3-7.

Fiers’ line was 5 1/3 innings of work, eight hits, and one run. Montgomery’s line was 6 1/3 innings, five hits, and two runs (one unearned).

Joakim Soria pitched in his 61st game this year. Soria was with the Royals from 2007 to 2011 and recorded 162 saves for Kansas City. He is third on the save list in Royals history.

The A’s scored runs in the first and second innings Tuesday night. They scored in the last eight innings Monday night. The 10 consecutive innings scoring a run set a new Oakland franchise record.

Mark Canha failed to get a hit, and his 10-game hitting streak came to an end.

The A’s sparkled on defense. Left fielder Seth Brown made two outstanding defensive play. Brown threw out Meibrys Viloria trying to score from second on a single by Whit Merrifield. He also made a great diving catch. He left his feet and threw out his glove to keep the ball from going to the wall for at least a double. Matt Chapman mad at least three sterling defensive gems to help out his team One of the plays was a bunt by Merrifield that went right down the line. Chapman barehanded the ball and threw to first to nail Merrifield. Merrifield, who has excellent speed, could not believe he was thrown out.

Up Next: Game three of the four-game series will be played Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. The game will start at 5:15 pm PDT.

The A’s will have Tanner Roark handle the pitching chores. Roark is 8-8 with a 3.95 ERA. His opponent will be the Royal’s Jakob Junis. Junis is 8-12 with a 4.89 ERA. Junis labored in his last start against the Cleveland Indians last Friday. He threw 94 pitches in just four innings of work and allowed all four runs in the 4-1 loss to Cleveland.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Giants try to knot up series with Diamondbacks tonight; Gruden happy with quarterbacks in camp; plus more

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Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

On Headline Sports with Barbara Mason:

#1 The Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants Bay Bridge Series was expected to be a real Battle of the Bay since both teams are vying for a wild card birth. The Giants ended up winning the two-game series with a 10-6 win on Saturday and a 5-4 win on Sunday took a loss on Monday night in San Francisco to Arizona 6-4.

#2 The A’s had a breakdown in their bullpen in each of the two games. Frustration took hold when A’s reliever Ryan Butcher threw high and inside to Giants catcher Stephen Vogt, who hit the dirt. No warnings were drawn. Vogt hit a grand slam home-run off Butcher on Saturday and Vogt said he had his suspicions about Butcher’s pitch since he’s noted to have decent control.

#3 The Oakland Raiders quarterbacks have the confidence of Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Gruden said starting quarterback Derek Carr, backups Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman all had good preseasons and the Raiders are expected to come out of the gate strong. The Raiders head to Century Link in Seattle for the final pre season game against the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.

#4 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has a great outing in his last preseason game on Saturday night against the Kansas City Chiefs after having a tough preseason. Garoppolo threw for 14-20, 188 yards, and one touchdown. The 49ers host the San Diego Chargers on Thursday Night Football.

#5 Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who announced his retirement from football over the weekend, said that it was not fun anymore waking up each day to pain, rehab, and more pain. It was repeat and repeat again. He at 29 year old said it’s unlikely he will return to the NFL.

Barbara Mason does Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Fans and players not big fans of the weekend uniforms; When will Brown’s helmet issues get settled?; plus more

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Photo credit: foxnews.com

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 How bad were the weekend uniforms, some said the home whites looked like they were cricket players or they were selling ice cream in the stands like the concession salespeople. MLB said and made sure each player wore the proper uniform.

#2 The helmet issue of Oakland Raiders’ Antonio Brown has not yet gone away yet. Brown filed a grievance with the Players Union. Brown said the helmet that he used to use in Pittsburgh was a good-fitting helmet that did its job. The league is saying Brown needs to wear the proper helmet to protect himself from concussion and if he collides with another player.

#3 The Raiders picked up a close win in Winnipeg against the Green Bay Packers 22-21 last Thursday. It took a Daniel Carlson field goal with eight seconds left to get the Raiders the win on a rugged short field that’s normally used for Canadian Football.

#4 The A’s will try and shake off the double loss to the Giants from the weekend series and tango with the Kansas City Royals. The A’s really need this series in order to keep pace with Cleveland and Tampa Bay in the AL wild card.

#5 It’s hard to believe that former San Francisco Giant pitcher Juan Marichal is 81 years old. He’s had a storied career, most notably when he got into that ruckus with John Roseboro and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965 in a brawl that Marichal hit Roseboro on the head with a bat. Marichal is also noted for his high leg kick and his multiple 20-win games.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the radio voice for the Oakland A’s Spanish radio on 1010 KIQI, is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Did A’s reliever really go up and in on Vogt?; Canha having his best part of the season; plus more

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics’ Mark Canha, right, is congratulated by third base coach Matt Williams after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Oakland.

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Did A’s reliever Ryan Butcher really go head hunting on former Athletic and Giant catcher Stephen Vogt on Sunday after Vogt hit a grand slam on Saturday off Butcher? Butcher put Vogt on his backside with an up and in fastball.

#2 How bad is the A’s bullpen after having a breakdown Saturday and Sunday? They certainly looked a lot different than they did from the Houston and New York series.

#3 Evan Longoria had a day on Sunday with a go-ahead two-run single that helped get the Giants a two-run win over the A’s. Longoria also hit for his 17th home run of the season.

#4 Despite the loss, the A’s Mark Canha hit for multi-home runs and made a spectacular catch in center field. A’s manager Bob Melvin said he’s seen him good before, but can’t recall ever seeing him be this good.

#5 The A’s are in Kansas City for four games. Charlie tells us how important this series is and can the A’s keep pace in the wild card race?

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s rout the lowly Royals 19-4

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s pummeled the Kansas City Royals 19-4 to start the seven-game, two-city road trip. The A’s went down in order in the first inning. They scored in every inning after the first. A’s starting pitcher Homer Bailey, who was acquired from the Royals in July, faced his old team for the first time in his career. Bailey had now faced 29 of the 30 teams in the MLB. The only team he hasn’t met is the Cincinnati Reds. He played for them for 12 years before coming to the Royals at the start of the 2019 season.

Bailey improved his season record to 12-8, He is now 5-2 in eight starts for the A’s. The Royals’ starter Brad  Keller was tagged with his 14th loss of the season. The A’s put five on the board in the second inning. Keller went 1 1/3 innings and allowed five runs and three hits.

The A’s scored five runs in the second and five in the third. In the second, Mark Canha, who was named as AL Player of the Week, singled. A’s left fielder Seth Brown, making his Major League debut, singled in his first at-bat as a bi-leaguer. The big left-handed hitter from Oregon was hitting .297 with 37 homers and 104 RBIs at Triple-A Las Vegas. The 6-foot-2, 225 pound Brown was a sixth-round draft choice in 2016. Several members of his family were seen cheering him when he made his first hit. Keller walked Khris Davis to load the bases. He walked Jurickson Profar to drive in Canha with the A’s first run. Phegley walked to plate Brown and the A’s led 2-0. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien blasted a triple to deep right-center field, which cleared the bases. The A’s led 5-0. The Royals scored two in their half of the inning. With two out, Bubba Starling singled. He scored on Brett Phillips home run. The A’s led 5-2 after two.

The A’s put five more on the board in the third. Matt Olson got things going with a long single to right field. Mark Canha singled to send Olson to second. Brown singled again, and Olson scored on the play. It was Brown’s first Major League RBI. Josh Phegley reached on a swinging bunt. The ball could not be fielded cleanly by either the pitcher or the catcher. Canha scored on the play. Marcus Semien then hit his 23rd bomb of the season to make it 10-2 midway through the third inning.

The A’s added one in the fourth, and three in the fifth to make it 14-2.  The Royals got one back in the fifth. In the sixth, Profar hit his 16th of the season. In the seventh, Matt Chapman blasted his 30th. The A’s continued to pour it on. They scored two more in the eighth, and Khris Davis homered in the ninth to put the A’s way ahead 19-3. Lou Trivino pitched the ninth for Oakland, and he gave up the Royals fourth run of the night. The A’s won by a score of 19-4.

Game Notes: The A’s, as mentioned above, brought up Seth Brown to help in the outfield. The A’s needed another outfielder as Stephen Piscotty was placed on the 10-day IL with a high ankle sprain. The A’s had to make room on the 40-man roster. The team designated Nick Martini for assignment. If Martini clears waivers, he can go back to the A’s Triple-A club in Las Vegas.

The A’s had a long list of hitting stars Monday night. Josh Phegley and four hits and three RBIs. Marcus Semien had a triple and a home run and drove in seven runs. It was quite a night for Marcus. Matt Olson had three hits and two ribbies. Mark Canha had three hits and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Seth Brown had two, hits, one RBI, and he scored two runs. Khris Brown had three hits, one of which was home run, and he had two RBIs. Profar’s line was the same as Davis. Three hits, two RBI’s and a home run.

Homer Bailey went six innings and allowed eight hits and three runs. Lefty A.J. Puk pitched two scoreless innings and allowed one hit.

The A’s line score was 19 runs, 22 hits and no errors. The Royals’ line was four runs, 11 hits and no errors.

The A’s improved to 75-55. They are now in a virtual tie with the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card. They also picked up 1/2 game on the Cleveland Indians in the race for the first Wild Card. They trail the Indians by 1/2 game. The Rays play three with the Houston Astros this week. Houston can help the A’s if they can handle the Rays. The A’s, in the meantime, Oakland must not let the Royals beat them. They have three more in Kansas City this week with and then in September when the Royals visit Oakland for three starting on September 16th.

The A’s have 32 games left on the schedule. They will finish the suspended game with Detroit on September 6th when the Tigers arrive in Oakland for three. The A’s were ahead when the game was suspended.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will be played Tuesday night in Kansas City. Mike Fiers (12-3, 3.46 ERA) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by lefty Mike Montgomery (3-6, 4.99 ERA). Montgomery had a rough outing against the lowly Baltimore Orioles last week. Game time will be at 5:15 pm.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants’ two wins in Oakland puts SF four games back in NL wild card

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants’ Kevin Pillar, right, slides into home to score a run next to Oakland Athletics catcher Chris Herrmann during the second inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Giants took two from the Oakland A’s. It was something that was not expected after the A’s had took three out of four from the Astros and swept the Yankees.

#2 With the wins, the Giants cut their games back number from six to four. Manager Bruce Bochy in the past has brought Giants teams back from the doldrums to get into postseason. Does this team have faith?

#3 Special day for San Francisco third baseman Evan Longoria, who got his 1000th career RBI — a two-run single in the top of the seventh at the Coliseum to cap the Giants’ win 5-4.

#4 Longoria was key. He hit his 17th home run of the season. The Giants won by a run and needed every bit of luck they could muster. Was it a series that showed that they’ve haven’t given up?

#5 The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the City for a three-game series with the Giants. It’s another crucial series in the Giants’ bid for the wild card. For the D-Backs, Alex Young (5-3, 4.04 ERA), and for the Giants, Tyler Beede (3-7, 5.82 ERA).

Morris is the podcast host for Giants baseball each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

After superior showing against the Astros and Yankees, A’s come up empty against the Giants, lose finale, 5-4

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Well that’s not how great teams cap a superior home stand.

The A’s were flying high–and leading the wild card chase–after taking six of seven from the Astros and Yankees. But with two games remaining on their nine-game stand at the Coliseum, the A’s flopped dropping a second straight to the Giants on Sunday, 5-4.

Donovan Solano went 4-for-4 and Evan Longoria knocked in three runs as the Giants came across the Bay and achieved the two-game sweep. The A’s appeared to be in business after Mark Canha homered for the second time off San Francisco rookie Logan Webb to take a 4-3 lead in the fourth. But Webb and five relievers limited the A’s to a pair of hits the rest of the way, and the Giants kept their playoff hopes on life support with a second, straight win.

The A’s normally reliable bullpen played the culprit for the second straight game, as Blake Treinen allowed the go-ahead, two-run single to Longoria in the seventh. Treinen was on to pick up Jake Diekman, who walked Donovan Solano, and hit Mike Yastrzemski with a pitch, two of the only three batters he faced. After battling Buster Posey, Treinen allowed the hit to Longoria on the first pitch.

“I got a groundball,” Treinen explaned. “I can’t control where it goes.”

The A’s fell a half game behind the Rays in the wild card stack with the Indians a full game ahead, and in control of the top spot, and the opportunity to host the wild card game. All three teams fell on Sunday, putting greater focus on the A’s inability to pull out a win at home.

All three teams have concerns going into the season’s final 30 ballgames, mostly on the injury front. The Rays lost Brandon Lowe earlier this week, and now Kevin Kiermaier has bruised ribs. Tampa also just ended a lengthy, favorable portion of their schedule, and will face all playoff-worthy competition in the upcoming weeks.

The Indians placed Jose Ramirez on the injured list over the weekend, as they uncharacteristically lost a pair to the downtrodden Royals. Cleveland briefly lost control of the top wild card spot before regaining it on Saturday.

And the A’s are dealing with Stephen Piscotty’s high ankle sprain that will likely land him on the injured list. With Mark Canha getting hot, they might not miss Piscotty terribly over the short run, but Khris Davis’ prolonged slump continues to be an issue. Davis was benched Sunday in favor of Jurickson Profar as the designated hitter.

The A’s hope the schedule will aid their efforts with them visiting the Royals for four games, while the Rays visit Houston, then host Cleveland for the only three, remaining games between the three wild card hopefuls.

The A’s honored the 1989 World Series champs before the game, a chance for the fans to reconnect with Dave Stewart, Rickey Henderson and the other heroes of their most recent World Series title.

On Monday, the A’s open a week-long road trip at Kauffman Stadium with Homer Bailey facing Brad Keller.

 

 

Longoria gets 1,000th RBI in Giants win 5-4

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants’ Evan Longoria hits a two-run single against the Oakland Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday,

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND-After the game Evan Longoria wore a vintage Chris Mullin Golden State Warriors jersey from the 1980s, and it was a vintage day for the third baseman.

Longoria hit a two-run single in the top of the seventh, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Oakland As 5-4 before a crowd of 47,321 at the Coliseum.

It was a huge day for Longoria, who tied up the game in the top of the third inning, as he hit his 17th home run of the season and it was also the 1,000th RBI of his career.

Since returning from the injured list on August 4 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Longoria is 23-for-68 (.338) with two doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 17 games.

With the victory, the Giants swept the two-game series, giving them the Bay Bridge Trophy, as they won the season series three games to one.

This was the 4,000th career game for Bruce Bochy, who became the just eighth manager in major league history to join this exclusive club. All seven managers in front of Bochy are all in the Hall of Fame.

Donovan Solano went four-for-four on the afternoon, as he also reached base on a walk. It was the second four hit game of the season, as he also did it on July 17 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The Giants final rally of the game began when Brandon Crawford reached on a Matt Olson fielding error to lead off the top of the seventh inning, Solano then reached for the fourth time in the game, as he walked on a 3-2 pitch. Mike Yastrzemski was then hit on the left hand to load the bases.

After an epic 11 pitch at-bat that Buster Posey strike out for the first out of the inning, Longoria singled thru the hole between second base and shortstop to score Crawford and Solano.

Unfortunately, the Giants ran themselves out of the inning, as Yastrzemski was caught stealing at third base.

Former As catcher Stephen Vogt, who hit a big three-run home run in Saturdays 10-5 victory gave the Giants a 1-0 lead, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Kevin Pillar from third base. Pillar led off the inning with a double high off the wall in left-center field.

After Brett Anderson was able to retire Austin Slater on a groundout to first base, and Pillar went to third. Vogt then hit a sacrifice fly to Mark Canha that scored Pillar from third base.

Brandon Belt then walked, then Crawford and then Solano made it 2-0, as he singled to score Belt.

Unfortunately for the Giants, that lead would not last long, as Canha took the first pitch he saw from Logan Webb over the fence for his 21st home run of the season.

Jurickson Profar then followed that up with a double, and then scored, as Corben Joseph made it three straight hits with a double of his own to tie up the game. Chad Pinder then gave the As the lead, as he was the fourth consecutive As batter to get a hit, when he singled to score Joseph.

Canha made it two home runs in as many at-bats, as he launched a solo home run over the left-center wall to give the As the lead for good.

It was a troublesome second career start for Webb, who grew up in Rocklin, as he went 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

Anderson went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking three and striking out two; however, he did not fare in the decision.

It looked like the Giants won the game on a great defensive play from Pillar to Solano, when Josh Phegley was tagged out at second base; however, the call was overturned and then Will Smith was able to get Marcus Semien to ground out to Crawford to end the game.

Smith picked up his 30th save of the season, as he faced the final four batters of the game.

NOTES: Posey struck out for the second time in his career, as the first came earlier this season, when it occurred on against the New York Mets on July 18 at Oracle Park in a game that the Giants won 3-2 in 16 innings.

This was the first time that the Giants won back-to-back games at the Coliseum since September 26 and 27, 2015.

It was the also first series sweep by the Giants over the As since they swept them in three straight from July 24-26, 2015 at what was then called AT&T Park.

Once again, the Giants won a game by one run and it was their 30th win by one run on the season and are now 30-13 (.697).

UP NEXT: Tyler Beede opens up the six-game home stand on Monday night, as he faces the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park, while the Diamondbacks will send Alex Young to the mound.

MLB The Show Podcast with Matt Harrington: Giants need to sweep a lot of series to get wild card in their sights; Cervelli hooks up with Braves, feels no concussion issues; plus more

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photo from sfgate.com:  Scooter Gennett #14 of the San Francisco Giants turns a double play in the fourth inning against Nicholas Castellanos #6 of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 22, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.

On the MLB podcast with Matt:

#1 Last chance for the San Francisco Giants, who open a two-game road trip to Oakland and face the A’s. The A’s are rolling they have won eight out of their last ten games and are tied for second for a wild card spot with Cleveland.

#2 The Giants’ wild card chances are becoming distant they got swept in Chicago and are six games back of second for a shot at the wild card.

#3 The Atlanta Braves in need of catching after Brian McCann was injured with a sprained left knee and picked up former Pittsburgh Pirate Francisco Cervelli at the pro-rated minimum MLB salary at the pro-rated amount of $119,000. Cervelli, who had concussion issues, caught six games with Pittsburgh Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis without any signs recurring problems.

#4 In Los Angeles on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant and comedian Larry David both took in the Dodgers-Yankees game. It’s not too often you’ll see the two New Yorkers in the same place in LA, but they were the talk of the game.

#5 Can the Atlanta Brave Ronald Acuna Jr. get to 40-40? Right now, he has 30 homers and 30 steals with a month and a week left in the season. September could be an exciting month for Acuna Jr chasing down 40-40.

Matt does the MLB podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s and Giants headed in two different directions before Bay Bridge series; Bailey and Puk can be of big help down the stretch;

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photo from sfgate.com: Juan Contreras of Stockton waves an Oakland A’s flag near the top of Oakland Coliseum’s Mount Davis during an MLB game between the A’s and the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, July 21, 2018, in Oakland. A’s president David Kaval has announced he will open up Mount Davis to the fans for the two game series in Oakland.

On the A’s podcast with Joey Friedman:

#1 The Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants could be headed in two different directions. The A’s, who are tied for second with Cleveland for the AL wild card, have day light to get into postseason. Meanwhile, San Francisco, which came off a three-game sweep in Chicago, are now six games back in the NL wild card standings.

#2 San Francisco Giant pitcher Logan Webb got to throw to his childhood favorite former A’s catcher Stephen Vogt. Vogt caught Webb on the last road trip in Arizona on Sun., Aug. 18th and Webb faced his face his childhood favorite team, the A’s.

#3 The A’s in this brief two-game series will be starting Homer Bailey on Sunday. Bailey (11-8) is expected to pitch high performance and he could be one of the key pitchers that helps the A’s get to postseason as it’s a very tight wild card standings.

#4 How do you see A’s reliever AJ Puk coming around? He struggled against the New York Yankees in relief on Wednesday, but manager Bob Melvin has high expectations for Puk, who is presumed to be a starter at some point.

#5 The A’s past some tough tests this past week taking three out of four from the Astros and sweeping the Yankees and are tied for second in the wild card. They’re expected to at least split with the Giants.

Join Joey on the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com