Tag: Oakland A’s

A’s thwart Giants 9-5, split Bay Bridge Series

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, behind a superb performance by Homer Bailey, downed the San Francisco Giants 9-5. Bailey went seven innings and allowed two hits. He walked one and struck out seven to earn his tenth win of the season. The Giants starter Tyler Beede took the loss.

The A’s were in cruise control for most of the game. Bailey left the game with a 7-0 lead, and it appeared the A’s were going to coast to an easy victory. However, the Giants weren’t ready to roll over. They scorched the A’s for five runs in the bottom of the eighth. A’s relievers Joakim Soria, and Yusmeiro Petit did not do well. A’s manager Bob Melvin had to bring in his closer, Liam Hendriks, to get the final four outs of the game. Hendriks rose to meet the challenge.

The A’s Matt Chapman hit a solo home run with two out in the top of the first to give Oakland an early 1-0 lead midway through the inning.

The A’s added a run in the second. Stephen Piscotty received a free pass to first when he worked Tyler Beede for a walk. He went to second on a ground out by Corban Joseph. Joseph was making his first start since being called up from Tripe-A Las Vegas. A’s catcher Chris Herrman ground out the first baseman to the pitcher. Piscotty went to third on the play. Homer Bailey reached on an infield single. Piscotty scored and the A’s lead 2-0.

The A’s plated two more in the third. Robbie Grossman led off with a double to left. Beede hit Matt Chapman with a pitch to put two men on with no out. A’s first baseman Matt Olson then lined a double off the right-field wall to drive in Grossman and Chapman. The A’ lead 4-0.

The A’s scored two more in the sixth. A’s catcher led off with a single. Giants’ lefty reliever Travis Bergen retired Bailey and Semien for the first two outs of the inning. Robie Grossman, batting from the right side, blasted his sixth home run of the season into the seats in left field. The A’s have a commanding 6-0 lead.

The A’s added another run in the top of the eighth. With two out, Khris Davis, pinch-hitting for Homer Bailey, walked. Marcus Semien drove in Davis with a blast that went into the triangle known as “Triples Alley.” Grossman struck out to end the inning. The A’s lead 7-0. The Giants finally put some runs on the board in their half of the inning. They sent nine men to the plate and put five on the board. Bob Melvin brought in Joakim Soria to start the eighth. Soria did not have it as he gave up a single to Brandon Crawford and walked Austin Slater. Crawford went to third on a flyout to right. He then scored the Giants first run on a wild pitch. Slater went to second. Another wild pitch sent SLater to third. Soria walked Brandon Belt. Mike Yastrzemski blasted his 13th bomb of the season to make it 7-4. Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to pitch. Evan Longoria singled, and Stephen Vogt doubled to put men on at second and third with one out. Alex Dickerson, pinch-hitting for the pitcher, grounded out and that allowed Longoria to cross the plate with the fifth run of the inning. Bob Melvin replaced Petit with Liam Hendriks. Hendriks struck out Kevin Pillar for the final out. The Giants trail the A’s 7-5 after eight.

The AS’s added two insurance runs in the ninth. Matt Chapman led off the inning with his second home run of the game. For Chappie, it was his 27th of the season. With one out, Mark Canha singled and went to third on Piscotty’s single. Corban Joseph drove in Canha with a sacrifice fly to center. The Giants failed to score in their half of the ninth. The A’s win 9-5.

Game Notes- The A’s are now 68-52 for the year. They picked up a game on the Tampa Bay Rays as the Rays lost to the San Diego Padres 7-2 on Wednesday. The A’s trail the Rays by two games in the race for the second Wild Card.

Homer Bailey owns an ERA of 1.20 in his last five starts against the Giants.  In nine career starts against the Giants, he is 5-0 and has an ERA of 3.15. He also drove in a run, and it was his first since June 8th, 2014 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. He also had two hits in the game.

Matt Chapman recorded his third career multi-homer game with two home runs on Wednesday.  Robbie Grossman had his first homer since June 18th at Baltimore. Corban Joseph had his first hit since September 28th, 2018 when he was with Baltimore.

The A’s are 11-7 in interleague play this season and have not lost a series to the Giants since 2015.

Giants notes- Mike Yastrzemski hit his 13th homer of the year with a three-run blast in the eighth. He became the second Giants rookie since 2010 to hit 13 or more homers in a season. Buster Posey was the other in 2010. His 41 RBIs are second-most among NL rookies. The Mets’ Pete Alonso leads with 42. Kevin Pillar was 2-for-four on Wednesday, and he extended his hitting streak to eight games.

The A’s return home to face the AL West leaders, the Houston Astros, Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Mike Fiers will go for Oakland, and Aaron Sanchez will be on the hill for Houston.

The game will start at 7:07 Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum

Pillar comes through in the clutch in Giants’ 3-2 win

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Photo credit: @KNBR

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Night in and night out, the San Francisco Giants are finding ways to win ballgames when it is needed the most.

Kevin Pillar doubled in the bottom of the sixth inning to score Evan Longoria, as the Giants came back to defeat the Oakland As 3-2 before a crowd of 36,663 at Oracle Park.

The double by Pillar was the third double in a row off of As starter Brett Anderson, who was cruising until that fateful sixth inning.

Buster Posey got the rally started, as his two-out double went all out to the 421 in right-center field. Longoria then tied up the game, as he lashed a double of his own and then Pillar picked up his 16th go-ahead run batted in and 11th game-winning RBI. Both total lead the Giants.

Jake Diekmann got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he walked Aramis Garcia and Brandon Crawford to bring Madison Bumgarner, who laid down the most perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Garcia and Crawford an additional 90 feet. Scooter Gennett then came off the bench to pinch-hit for Donovan Solano, and hit a sacrifice fly that easily scored Garcia from third base.

That sacrifice fly from Gennett was huge, as the As came back to score one run in the top of the ninth inning.

Dustin Garneau and Chris Davis each singled off of Giants closer Will Smith, but then Smith struck out Marcus Semien for the first out of the inning.

Matt Chapman narrowly missed tying the game, as his ball down the left field line went just foul. Chapman then singled to load the bases; however, Smith then struck out Matt Olson for the second out.

Mark Canha then got the As within one run, as he walked on a 3-2 pitch that scored Garneau from third base.

Smith then struck out Chad Pinder to end the game, as he picked up his 29th save of the season in 32 opportunities.

Stephen Piscotty hit a solo home run on a 1-2 pitch that gave the As a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning.

It was the 12th home run of the season that stopped a streak of 13 in a row retired by Bumgarner since he gave up a leadoff single to Semien that curved into fair territory just out of the reach of Garcia at first base in the top of the first inning.

Anderson pitched a solid game for the As, as he went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking no one and striking out four; however, that sixth inning did him in and his record fell to 10-8 on the season.

Despite allowing the home run to Piscotty in the fifth inning, Bumgarner was lights out for the Giants, as he went seven innings, allowing one run on two hits, walking no one and striking out nine.

This was the 17th quality start of the season for Bumgarner, trailing Hyun- Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who leads the league with 19.

NOTES: With the win, the Giants are now 28-11 this season in one-run games and their 28 wins along with .718 winning percentage lead the major leagues.

The Giants have also won three games in a row for the first time since July 21-23 against the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs.

It was the Giants 34th come-from-behind win of the season, and their 12th since the All-Star break.

UP NEXT: Tyler Beede closes out the home stand on Wednesday afternoon, as he takes the hill for the Giants, while Homer Bailey closes out the As road trip with a trip to the Oracle Park mound.

Giants nip A’s 3-2, take Game 1 of Bay Bridge Series

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO–The Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants played a very entertaining game Tuesday night in the Battle of the Bay. The Giants’ Madison Bumgarner was on the top of his game as he went seven innings and allowed just two hits. The only mistake he made was a gopher ball to Stephen Piscotty in the fifth inning. Bumgarner looked like he has regained the form that made him an All-Star. The A’s starter lefty Brett Anderson pitched well enough to win. He went six innings and allowed two runs and six hits. The Giants had to hang on in the ninth as the A’s scored a run and left the bases loaded as they fell 3-2 to the Giants at Oracle Park.

Both teams played well, and the outcome was in doubt right up to the last out in the ninth. Both teams are in the hunt for a playoff berth, and it felt like it was a playoff game. The Giants evened their record at 60-60, and the A’s fell to 67-52

The A’s drew first blood in the top of the fifth. Madison Bumgarner, who gave up a bloop single to Marcus Semien to start the game, had retired 14 in a row before Stephen Piscotty unloaded his 12th dinger of the year to give the A’s the lead 1-0 midway through the fifth. The Giants failed to score in the bottom of the fifth.

The Giants broke through in the bottom of the second to score two runs. With two out, Anderson gave up three consecutive double to Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, and Kevin Pillar. The Giants lead 2-1 heading into the seventh.

The A’s went down in order in the seventh. A’s manager Bob Melvin, brought in left Jake Diekman to pitch. Anderson’s line was six innings pitched, and he allowed six hits and two runs. The Giants scored a run without the benefit of a hit. Diekman walked Aramis Garcia and Brandon Crawford to start the frame. Bumgarner laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Garcia scored when pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett hit a sacrifice fly to center. A’s centerfielder Mark Canha made a sensational catch to rob Joey Rickard to end the inning. The Giants lead 3-1 after seven.

In the top of the ninth, the A’s loaded the bases with one out. Giants reliever Will Smith struck out Matt Olson for the second out, With the crowd on their feet and screaming, Smith walked Canha to force in a run. The A’s now trail 3-2. Smith struck out Chad Pinder to end the game.

Game Notes: The A’s Brett Anderson dropped to 10-8 for the year, and the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner improved to 8-7. Bumgarner has looked like the pitcher of old in his last ten starts. Will Smith earned is 29th save of the season. The Giants are 46-6 when Smith appears in a game.

Up Next: The A’s will conclude the two-game set with the Giants on Wednesday. Homer Bailey will go for Oakland, and Tyler Beede will be on the hill for the Giants. Game time is at 12:30 pm.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Davis looks to return to lineup after sitting on Sunday; Sweet revenge in shutout for Bassitt and Golito

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Photo credit: @sfchronicle

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Oakland A’s Khris Davis has hit only one homer in his last 18 games and has OPS of .801 in the last ten games. Davis is hitting .281, but was benched on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.

#2 A’s manager Bob Melvin had Nick Martini at designated hitter for Davis. Martini struck out four times, but it gave Davis some time to think on the bench. Davis is expected to be back in the lineup against the Giants on Tuesday night.

#3 How much sweet revenge was it for A’s pitchers Chris Bassitt and Lucas Golito, who combined in a shutout over the Sox? Both Bassitt and Golito formerly pitched for the Sox.

#4 Stephen Piscotty has had his share of injuries. He’s close to returning back after suffering the flu. What will it mean to have his bat back in the lineup?

#5 The A’s open up a series with the Giants tonight at Oracle Park with the A’s starting Brett Anderson (10-7) and the Giants starting their ace Madison Bumgarner (7-7).

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

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Sox get a taste and get shut out from former Sox pitchers Bassitt and Golito

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Photo credit: nbcsports.com

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 The Oakland A’s on Sunday combined for a shutout 2-0 against the Chicago White Sox and got it from pitchers Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito, who combined for 20 strikeouts, allowing three hits over 13 innings

#2 The Sox gave up on Giolito and Bassitt while they were struggling to stay on the team. Both pitchers had the date circled on their calendar for an opportunity to get some pitching revenge out on the team who gave up on them.

#3 Bassitt, who pitches every other five days, has a career wins total tying his total in 2015.

#4 On the shutout, A’s manager Bob Melvin said that was the best outing that he’s seen out of Bassitt this season.

#5 The A’s head to San Francisco where you and Manolo will be doing play-by-play coverage for the A’s Spanish. What’s that going to be like getting back to the City and watch these two teams who are hungry for a wild card spot?

Amaury does News and Commentary each Tuesday and is the Oakland Spanish A’s play-by-play voice on KIQI 1010 San Francisco

Preview of the Bay Bridge series between the A’s and Giants

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Photo credit: youtube.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s have an off-day on Monday. They finish the eight-game road trip by visiting the San Francisco Giants to play two starting on Tuesday at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Since the game will be played in a National League Park, the A’s will not be able to use a designated hitter.

Tuesday night’s game will feature a battle between two left-handed pitchers. The A’s will send Brett Anderson to the hill to face the Giants. Anderson is 10-7 and has an ERA of 3.99. Anderson earned a win over the Chicago Cubs last week when he went seven innings and allowed just two runs. The Giants will counter with their ace, Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is 7-7, and his ERA is 3.74. Most people felt that Bumgarner would not be with the Giants at this point in the season, has pitched well lately. He has an ERA of 2.78 over his last nine starts. Bumgarner has started seven games against the A’s and own a record of 4-2.

The A’s and Giants finish the short two-game series on Wednesday. It will be a day game, and Homer Bailey will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Tyler Beede. This will be Bailey’s sixth start since coming to Oakland from the Kansas City Royals. His record is 9-8, and his ERA is 5.54. Baily had a bad outing against the Cubs last week. He went 4 2/3 innings and was tagged for seven runs. Beede’s record is 3-6, and his ERA is 5.61. Beede, in his last start, went five innings and allowed five runs. His ERA over his previous four outings is 8.38

The A’s will be seeing a lot of familiar faces in the Giants’ lineup. The Giants’ infield will be Brandon Belt at first base, Brandon Crawford at shortstop, Evan Longoria at third, and newcomer Scooter Gennett at second. Pablo Sandoval is day-to-day with inflammation in his right elbow. Donovan Solano is the backup utility man. The Giants have remade their outfield. They acquired Kevin Pillar from the Toronto Blue Jays. Pillar is an excellent defensive centerfielder. Also, Pillar can steal a base, and he has a lot of pop in his bat. He has hit 15 homers and driven in 62. Austin Slater will probably be in right field, and Mike Yastrzemski will be in left. Mike’s grandfather, Carl Yastrzemski, is in the MLB Hall of Fame.

The catching chores will be handled by Buster Posey and Stephen Vogt. Vogt, who was designated for assignment by the A’s in 2017, would love nothing better than beating his old team. It would be a reminder that they made a huge mistake cutting him loose. Vogt was a huge fan favorite when he was with the A’s.

Bruce Bochy, who is in his final year managing the Giants, has a strong bullpen. The Giants did trade away three relievers at the trade deadline, but they still have standouts such as righties Trevor, Gott, Sam Coonrod, Jandal Gustave, and Reyes Moronta. They will use lefties Williams Jerez, Andrew Suarez, Tony Watson, and Will Smith. Smith has 26 saves and represented the Giants at the All-Star Game.

Both teams have a lot to play for. The A’s are in a dogfight with the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card. The A’s trail Tampa by just 1 and 1/2 games. The A’s are also in second place in the AL West with a record of 67-51. The Giants had a beautiful month of baseball in July. Their record was 17-3, and that propelled them into the race for the second Wild Card in the National League. They have been struggling a bit in August, but they are 59-60 and are 3 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

The A’s would like to sweep the Giants. They return home to face the two best teams in the American League. They start a four-game set with the rampaging Houston Astros. The Astros have improved their starting rotation and have tormented the A’s this year. Following the Astros series, the A’s meet the New York Yankees for three starting a week from Tuesday. The Yankees, even though they have had so many injuries, sport a potent lineup. Their starting pitching has been suspect, but they have an outstanding bullpen. The A’s pitchers will have their work cut out for them as they try to shut down the Yankees offense. After the Yankee’s series, the A’s finish the homestand with two more games against the Giants. The next 11 games should be terrific baseball. It is what the players live for.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Pillar’s gamer proves it takes a good team to come back and win

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski (5) is congratulated by Scooter Gennett, right, after scoring against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, in San Francisco.

On the Giants podcast with Morrris:

#1 San Francisco Giants Kevin Pillar got the game-winner in the eighth inning with a go-ahead triple leading the Giants to a 9-6 victory.

#2 It was a series win for the Giants. Their first series win since defeating the San Diego Padres at Petco Park back on July 26-28th.

#3 The Giants had struggled right after the trade deadline after having a great run in July. What was the difference from the month they had in July going into a slight slump in early August?

#4 The Giants got swept by Washington on this current homestand, but won this series against the Phillies, three out of four.

#5 Now the Giants have the day off on Monday and play the Oakland A’s for two games at Oracle. The A’s can be a tough customer talk about the upcoming series.

Morris does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bassitt, Giolito duel the highlight of A’s 2-0 shutout of the White Sox

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By Morris Phillips

Lucas Giolito was determined to rebound from a disastrous 2018 season, and realize his enornmous potential. Chris Bassitt wasn’t happy with how the Chicago White Sox lost faith in him, and traded him in 2014.

Those two motivational tales made for a whale of a pitcher’s duel on Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. Giolito and Bassitt combined for 20 strikeouts while allowing just three walks over 13 innings of work, and just one mistake: Matt Olson’s home run off Giolito that stood as the difference in the A’s 2-0 getaway day win.

For Bassitt, Sunday’s seven innings of scoreless work may qualify as the apex of his major league career. After he landed in Oakland in the Jeff Samardzija trade, his career stalled. Bassitt went 1-8 in 2015, 0-2 in 2016 and didn’t pitch at all at the major league level in 2017 after Tommy John surgery in the off-season.

2018 wasn’t much better. Bassitt made just seven starts, compiling a 2-3 record.

But the A’s didn’t give up on the right-hander. Instead they promoted Bassitt in late April, and were finally rewarded. Bassitt has taken his turn in the rotation every fifth day since, compiling career-best numbers in wins, ERA (tied with 2015), innings pitched and strikeouts. Then on Sunday, Bassitt kept ascending, topping Giolito, the All-Star and White Sox staff ace in a tense, low-scoring affair.

“I think I’ve said this a couple times this season, ‘That might be the best game I’ve seen him pitch,’ but that one ranks right up there,” said manager Bob Melvin. “I know he was up for the challenge.”

Bassitt allowed Tim Anderson’s one-out double in the second inning, but quickly settled down, retiring Jose Abreu and James McCann on ground outs to quell the threat. Bassitt wasn’t stretched further, spreading the three singles and two walks he allowed across the other six innings he pitched.

He was facing the White Sox for the fourth time–going 1-1 in three, previous starts–but he hadn’t shown them this level of proficiency. Bassitt made it clear afterwards that it was point of emphasis.

“Every time I pitch against these guys for my career, I’m going to try to prove to them they made a mistake,” Bassitt said.

Giolito walked 90 batters and compiled a 6.18 ERA in 2018, numbers that were among the worst for AL starting pitchers. But some adjustments in the off-season–most importantly, refining and simplifying his delivery–have the Los Angeles native pitching at a level befitting his status as one of MLB’s top five prospects as a 21-year old in 2016. Now 24, Giolito opened the season with nine wins in his first 10 decisions, made the All-Star team, and came in to Sunday’s appearance rolling with four quality starts in his last five appearances.

Giolito had the A’s swinging and missing, striking out every batter in the A’s lineup with the exception of Jurickson Profar. But one pitch was his undoing, a fastball that nabbed too much of the middle of the plate against Olson, who parked it in the right field bleachers for his 23rd home run of the season.

The A’s ended their week in Chicago with a 3-3 record, not disappointing until the week of the streaking Tampa Bay Rays is factored in. The A’s return to the Bay Area for games against the Giants Tuesday and Wednesday trailing the Rays by a 1 1/2 games for the league’s second wild card spot.

The A’s schedule may be their biggest enemy down the stretch run. With 43 full games remaining (and the remainder of a suspended game with Detroit, in which they lead 5-3 after seven innings), the A’s have seven games with the Astros, six with the Yankees, and none against the Rays, Indians, Twins and Red Sox, their competitors for the wild card. Without the ability to affect the fortunes of the teams they’re competing against, they’ll need to hold their own with the division-leading Yankees and Astros while taking full advantage of the Royals, Mariners, Tigers in the 13 combined games they have against those clubs.

On Tuesday, Brett Anderson faces the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner at 6:45pm.

 

 

 

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: Reds Aquino and Astros Alvarez belt 3 HRs; Mets hot win their eighth straight game; plus more

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photo from nytimes.com: The Cincinnati Reds Aristides Aquino gets the warm welcome at the plate after belting one of his three home runs at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati in the Reds 21 run win over the visiting Chicago Cubs

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt:

#1 The Cincinnati Reds Aristides Aquino connected for three home runs all in the first four innings of Saturday’s game in the Reds 10-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Reds hit a total of six homers in the game.

#2 The New York Mets continued their winning ways with their eighth straight win and for the second night in a row a come back win over the Washington Nationals 4-3. The Mets have won 15 out of their last 16 wins.

#3 Is the three game homer going to be the norm the Houston Astros as Yordan Alvarez accomplished the feat in a 21 run win over their hosts the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Saturday in a 23-2 win. The Orioles who are going the other way have had their share of frustrations including this week when Chris Davis and manager Brandon Hyde who got into a out of control argument in the Orioles dugout during a game.

#4 In the game on Saturday night Astros Carlos Correa hit the longest home run ever hit at Camden Yards which landed in the back of the center left bleachers. The Astros were just teeing off.

#5 Speaking of comebacks the Chicago White Sox just got by the Oakland A’s on Saturday night. The Sox with a 3-0 lead in the top of the ninth all they needed to do was put the A’s away but not so easy the A’s scored twice falling just a run short to tie it up and lost to the Sox 3-2.

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

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Rookies with three homer games; Cleveland all knotted up with Twins in Central; plus more

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photo houstonchronicle.com: The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez gets congratulations in the Astros dugout after a first inning home run at Camden Yards, the first of three against the Baltimore Orioles in a 21-run win 23-2 Saturday night.

This week on MLB The Show with Daniel Dullum, who is Sports Editor of the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon News at the home office in Gold Canyon:

1 Rookies making baseball history with three-homer games

2 Indians erase 11-game deficit in AL Central, tie Twins for first

3 Swingin’ A’s 1 ½ games out of AL wild card

4 Samardzija beats Phils, Giants 4 games out of NL wild card

5 Tim Tebow’s baseball season over due to injury

Catch Daniel each Sunday for the MLB podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com