Tag: Oakland A’s

A’s Surprise Phillies In a Blow-Out, Winning Series and Game Three 18-3

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Oakland A’s Brent Rooker slugs a top of the fourth inning two run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Sun Jul 14, 2024 (AP photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (36-61) were looking to take a series off the best team in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies (62-33) Sunday afternoon. The series was tied going into game three and the A’s had a little something for the Phillies.

When the dust had settled, Oakland came away with a 18-3 win. Lawrence Butler had a huge game with three home runs that brought 6 runs in. Collectively, Oakland had eight home runs in this game scoring in six frames.

Game recap: Philadelphia took an early 1-0 lead off a Trae Turner home run but the A’s had a little something that was brewing as this game went into the fourth inning. For most of the game the Phillies were merely spectators watching home runs sail out of their park.

In the fourth inning, Brent Rooker got the marathon going hitting a two-run home run taking the lead 2-1. Oakland went on a wild run for the next two innings. In the fifth inning the red-hot Lawrence Butler hit another two run home run with Max Schuemann on base taking a 4-1 lead.

There were more long balls coming for the A’s in the sixth inning. Rooker had his second home run of the game, a two-run homer with JJ Bleday on base taking a 6-1 lead. Seth Brown would add another run in the sixth, a solo home run and the A’s took a 7-1 lead into bottom of the inning. We all know how explosive the Phillies can be and so there would be no sitting back on this lead.

Philadelphia scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Bryson Stott sacrificed to left and both Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper scored on errors but still trailing 7-3.

There would be more home run action in the top of the seventh inning when Butler hit his second home run of the game with Schuemann on base extending their lead to 9-3. Rooker hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh driving Bleday home from third. Bleday had hit a triple in the inning.

Seth Brown came to the plate in the top of the eighth inning hitting a solo home run giving the A’s an 11-3 lead. This was great to see from Brown who had struggled in the first half of the season. The home run derby continued when Butler knocked a hat trick out of the park with Schuemann on base and Oakland was cruising to the tune of 13-3. Through eight innings the A’s had hit seven home runs and had 11 hits in this game.

Oakland was not finished and there would be another home run in the ninth inning to add to the collection of long balls. Zach Gelof wanted in on the action and went the distance with a grand slam. Brown had singled earlier in the inning driving Bleday home and Oakland had an insurmountable 18-3 lead. They were three outs away from annihilating the Philadelphia Phillies. They took this home, and what a way to go into the break. The final was 18-3.

The A’s hit eight home runs in the game and had 15 hits. Butler had another amazing game with the three home runs, and Rooker had a couple himself. Butler had three huge hits, Bleday had three hits and Brown also had three hits. The A’s had a blow-out win today and a series win over the best team in baseball showcasing some amazing offense.

Game notes: Sunday afternoon on the eve of All-Star week, the A’s took on the Phillies in the third game of their series. Oakland got a series win over the best team in baseball crushing the Phillies in game three of the series. The A’s got beaten Saturday by a significant margin 11-5 despite a rally in the ninth inning to tie up this series.

Joey Estes started the game for Oakland pitched six innings allowed four hits and two earned runs. The Phillies relief pitcher Orion Kerkering started going just one inning and went unscathed. with right-hander Michael Mercado operating in a bulk role pitched four innings allowed five hits and six runs. Zach Wheeler was scheduled to take the mound but Philadelphia decided to give their ace a little more rest after he experienced back tightness in his last game.

Oakland will now get a chance to relax and root on Mason Miller in the All-Star game. They will not see action until next Friday night when they take on the Los Angeles Angels in a three-game series at the Coliseum. Pitching assignments are still up in the air right now but first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM.

Headline Sports podcast with Bruce Magowan: Phillies Sanchez to replace Braves Sale on All Star roster; Judge holds Yanks record for most homers before All Star break; plus more news

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Philadelphia Phillies Christopher Sanchez seen here pitching against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wed Jul 10, 2024 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia has been selected to the National League All Star team replacing Atlanta Braves Chris Sale. (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Bruce Magowan:

#1 Philadelphia Phillies LHP Christopher Sanchez (7-4, ERA 2.96) will be replacing Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale on the National League All Star roster. Sale is scheduled to pitch today and won’t pitch in the All Star Game in Arlington on Tuesday. With the addition of Sanchez that gives the Phillies eight all stars five of them pitchers a All Star record for most pitchers from one club.

#2 Not even Babe Ruth did it New York Yankees Aaron Judge belted his 34th home run the most home runs by a Yankees player before the All Star Break. Roger Maris who held the record for the most home runs in a season until being eclipsed by the St Louis Cardinals Mark McGwire hit 33 home run before the All Star break in 1961. So big achievement for Judge.

#3 The Detroit Tigers Gio Urshela hit a two run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to help the Tigers make a comeback on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Comerica Park. The Tigers were down 9-4 in the ninth and tied it up 9-9 to force extra innings. With Urshela’s home run the Tigers came away with a 11-9 win.

#4 It was reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Skenes is disrupting the sportsbook with his success. One sportsbook had stopped betting on the possible National League Rookie of the Year. Skenes has been on a roll. Skenes was a 200-1 odds on long shot to win the Cy Young Award. Skenes is now in third place at a shot at winning the Cy Young behind the Phillies Zack Wheeler and the Braves Chris Sale. Skenes has also been named to the NL All Star team.

#5 Oakland A’s Spanish broadcaster Amaury Pi Gonzalez wrote that the A’s last home game ever in Oakland before moving to Sacramento next season could very well be a sell out. Amaury said that final home game on Thu Sep 26th at the Oakland Coliseum could see a capacity of 42,000 the fans last chance to say goodbye to the A’s as an Oakland team.

#6 Before we let you go we have to ask you about the announced retirement of A’s broadcaster Vince Cotroneo who has called A’s games since 2006 and will not work A’s games next season as the club plays it’s 2025 season in Sacramento.

Join Bruce Magowan for Headline Sports podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Phillies even series with A’s; Phils Harper provides power at Citizens Bank

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Philadelphia Phillies hitter Bryce Harper connects for a bottom of the seventh home run. Oakland A’s catcher Shea Langeliers (left) watches at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Sat Jul 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

#1 Philadelphia Phillies starter Tyler Phillips pitched into the seventh inning against the Oakland A’s allowing six hits and four runs, striking out five batters. The A’s couldn’t figure out the Phillies pitching and dropped Saturday’s contest 11-5.

#2 On the other hand the Phillies hitters solved the A’s pitching slugging for 11 runs including a four run eighth inning that put the game out of reach. The Phils got home run help from Bryce Harper and Trea Turner.

#3 The Phillies in all hit four home runs and Spence absorbed most of the damage in the early innings of his start giving up five hits and six earned runs in three and two thirds innings of work.

#4 The A’s Brent Rooker provided most of the offense with a home run, double and a single. It wasn’t enough but Rooker never gave up at the plate.

#5 The A’s will try and salvage this series in game 3 against the Phillies. Starting pitcher for the Phillies hasn’t been announced the A’s will be leaning on starter and RHP Joey Estes (3-4, ERA 5.53). First pitch 10:35AM PT. Can the A’s do what they did in game one and get some offense and some pitching to have a shot at winning this series?

Titus Wilkinson is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Drop Game Two In Series With Philly 11-5

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Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper (right) waves to the crowd after belting a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia as Oakland A’s catcher Shea Langeliers (left) looks on on Sat Jul 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

It was a given that the Philadelphia Phillies (62-33) would come into game two determined to even the series and that is exactly what they did. They beat the Oakland A’s (36-61) 11-5 but Oakland did put up a fight.

The A’s hung in this game until the Phillies broke it open in the eighth inning. The A’s had ten hits in this game with a couple of homers from Zach Gelof and Brent Rooker. It was the four home runs that the Phillies sent out of the park that made all the difference in the game.

Game recap: Oakland took the early lead in the second inning of the game 1-0. Seth Brown doubled Brent Rooker home and Oakland felt good about their start in this game. The A’s lead was short-lived in the same inning. The Phillies Nick Castellanos hit a long ball, a two run home run off a Mitch Spence pitch giving Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.

Zach Gelof tied up the game for Oakland with a 384 ft home run in the third inning 2-2. Again, the Phillies had the answer taking back the lead 3-2. Kyle Schwarber doubled to center and Garrett Stubbs scored.

The Phillies scored again in the fourth inning. They had scored runs in the second, third and fourth frames taking a 6-2 lead distancing themselves from Oakland. Johan Rojas hit a solo home run and another long ball from Trea Turner followed, a two run home run, and Philadelphia was coasting.

Mitch Spence pitched through 3.2 innings before being pulled and relieved by Tyler Ferguson. He allowed five hits, six earned runs, five walks with six strikeouts. Ferguson went 1.1 innings with some great work allowing no hits, no runs with three strikeouts. Scott Alexander relieved him in the sixth inning with much the same success with no hits and no runs.

The A’s would inch a bit closer when Brent Rooker hit a 416 foot bullet to center in the seventh inning and Oakland trailed by the score of 6-3. Oakland continued to rally putting two runners on base, Shea Langeliers on third, Daz Cameron on first with one out and Brett Harris at the plate. Harris delivered, Langeliers scored and the A’s added another run 6-4 going into the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Phillies added to their lead with a solo shot from Bryce Harper in the bottom of the seventh inning. Going into the eighth inning, the A’s had a lot of work to do.

Oakland put two runners on base in the eighth inning with two outs and Seth Brown at the plate. Earlier in the game Brown missed hitting a home run by the narrowest of margins and unfortunately he struck out and it was on to the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Unfortunately A’s pitcher Michel Otanez took a horrible hit to the forearm when a Trea Turner shot smoked him. He was forced to leave the game and T.J. McFarland took over on the mound.

The dangerous Bryce Harper came to the plate hitting a double and both Garrett Stubbs and Kyle Schwarber scored. The Phillies had broken this game wide open. Two more runs came in and when the dust had settled, the Phillies had a 11-4 lead going into the top of the ninth inning.

The A’s had a bit of a late rally in the ninth inning. Brett Harris had a single in the inning and Miguel Andujar also singled. Zach Gelof walked followed by a JJ Bleday walk loading the bases. Brent Rooker came to the plate and a home run would have been sweet indeed but did not come to be as he struck out. The A’s finished the game with ten hits losing the game 11-5.

Game notes: The A’s against the league leading Phillies dropped game one of this three game at Citizens Bank Ballpark on Friday night. The Phillies took the early lead in game one, the A’s came around in the third inning with three runs and never looked back. The A’s had to play well offensively and defensively in game one and they did not disappoint.

They won Friday’s game 6-2 with some great at-bats which included a Lawrence Butler two run home run in the eighth. There was some great work on the mound by starter Hogan Harris and the relief core which also contributed to this win.

It was a given that Philadelphia would come out very grumpy in game two Saturday after losing Friday’s game to open the series.

Oakland’s Mitch Spence was the starter Saturday going 3.2 innings allowing five hits and six runs. The Phillies starter Tyler Phillips went six innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs. The A’s were looking to take game two and the lead in the series from the best team in baseball. That would have been an ideal scenario for Oakland going into the All-Star break now the series is tied 1-1 going into Sunday.

Game three will be played Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 10:35 AM to finish off the series before the All-Star break. Joey Estes will take the mound for Oakland with a 3-4 win-loss record and a 5.53 ERA.

Estes had a rough outing last Tuesday against the Red Sox only going 1.2 innings allowing seven hits and eight earned runs. Estes will be looking for an improved effort on the mound. Right now the Phillies are undecided as to who will start in the rubber game of this series.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Last Hurrah September 26 at the Coliseum will be a Sellout

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This is what the Oakland Coliseum would look like with a sellout crowd expected for the very last Oakland Game on Thu Sep 26, 2024 before the teams moves to Sacramento for the 2025 season (MLB photo file)

The Last Hurrah. September 26 at the Coliseum will be a Sellout

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Undoubtedly, the last game of the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on September 26, against the previous World Champion Texas Rangers, the first pitch scheduled at 12:37, will be a sell-out crowd of over 42,000.

This will close a chapter that began on April 17, 1968, when they played their first ball game at the then-brand-new Coliseum against the Baltimore Orioles. They could sell many more tickets if they chose to open the Football seats.

The Coliseum has a seating capacity of up to 63,132 depending on its configuration; an upper deck dubbed “Mount Davis” by fans was added as part of 1996. According to David Rinetti, Vice President of Stadium Operations, Mount Davis will not be open for that last game, Rinetti has been with the A’s since they first opened the Coliseum.

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum will close for business as far as the A’s after this game—fifty-six years of Major League Baseball, all with four World Series titles.

Only the Los Angeles Dodgers have won more World Series among the five Major League teams in California, Next stop for the A’s, the 2025 schedule to be announced by Major League Baseball at Sutter Sutter Health Park, Sacramento. Like we say during broadcasts “stay tuned”.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Thursday game wrap: A’s Drop Series to Red Sox In a Game Three Shutout 7-0

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Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck delivers against the Oakland A’s line up on Thu Jul 11, 2024 at Fenway Park in Boston in game three of the the three game series (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Thursday evening the Oakland A’s (35-60) got blasted by the Boston Red Sox (51-41) 7-0. Boston got three early runs and it snow-balled from there. They had three home runs in the third, fourth and six innings of the game and Oakland struggled offensively from the get-go. Oakland pitcher Luis Medina had an awful outing and the A’s came out of this game with only four hits.

Game recap: This game got off to a rocky start for Oakland giving up three runs in the first inning. Masataka Yoshida singled two runners home, Jarren Duran and David Hamilton for a 2-0 lead. Wilyer Abreu came to the plate and doubled giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead as Connor Wong came home from third base. It was not the way that Oakland had envisioned the start of this game and it really went sideways as this game progressed.

Boston hit three home runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings taking a 7-0 lead which turned out to the be the final in this game. Connor Wong homered in the third, a solo shot. In the fourth inning another solo off the bat of Wilyer Abreu and to finish it off, Masataka Yoshida hit a a 2-run homer for the final score of 7-0. The A’s only managed four hits in the game and the Red Sox had ten hits making every one of them count.

It was a rough outing for Oakland pitcher Luis Medina who gave up seven hits, seven runs, two walks with seven strikeouts through five innings. Michel Otanez relieved Medina in the sixth inning allowing two hits and another run. This game was a tough one for the A’s anyway you look at it. There would be no home runs for the A’s in this game.

The Red Sox all-star pitcher Tanner Houck contained the Oakland offense. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning striking out six batters in a great outing for Boston. The A’s only had two hits through six innings. Boston is on a roll winning their last eight games out of ten and they have won five of six against Oakland.

The A’s got into deep trouble in the first inning falling behind 3-0 and it just snowballed from there. They could not get much offense going at all. The Red Sox jumped all over them offensively from first pitch and never let up.

Game notes: Thursday evening the A’s lost to the Red Sox in the rubber match of their series in a 7-0 shutout.. Oakland won Wednesday night’s matchup 5-2 and dropped the rubber game. They won a game two in their last series with the Baltimore Orioles but just could not finish that series with a win.

The A’s have been able to win games off some very good teams but have fallen short winning series. They create a lot of momentum in single games but cannot piece that momentum together to finish with any series wins. Thursday night they couldn’t get over the hurdle getting shutout by the Red Sox starter Tanner Houck and the Boston relief staff.. Luis Medina took the mound for the A’s and giving up seven hits and six earned runs.

It does not get any easier for the A’s in their next matchup as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the best team in baseball right now, the Phillies. Hogan Harris will be the probable pitcher for Oakland in Friday’s game. He has a 1-3 win/loss record and a 3.22 ERA. Philly will more than likely send a good one in Ranger Suarez who comes into this game with a10-3 win/loss record and an outstanding 2.58 ERA.

A’s Take Game Two In Red Sox Series 5-2; A’s-Sox meet for rubber game Thursday

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Oakland A’s catcher Shea Langeliers (23) puts the tag on the Boston Red Sox Jamie Westbrook at the plate in the bottom of the fifth at Fenway Park in Boston on Wed Jul 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday the Oakland A’s (35-59) beat up on the Boston Red Sox 5-2 (50-41) winning the series. JP Sears had a terrific outing going 5 2/3 innings allowing four hits and one earned run. Mason Miller was up to his usual excellence closing out the game earning a rubber match.

Wednesday evening the A’s and the Red Sox met in game two of their three game series. The two teams met under cloudy skies, but unlike yesterday there was no rain in the forecast but conditions did get very windy in this game. Oakland evened up this series against a very tough opponent with a 5-2 win. JP Sears took the mound for the A’s and went 5.2 innings allowed four hits and one run and for the Red Sox Nick Pivetta went 6.2 innings, allowed six hits and two earned runs.

Game recap: There would be no scoring through the first two innings of this game. As in Tuesday’s game the A’s on Wednesday night got the first lead of the game in the third inning. Langeliers scored the first run of the game with the bases loaded and Oakland had the early 1-0 lead. The A’s would add to their lead in the third when Lawrence Butler doubled and Miguel Andujar and Brent Rooker scored for a 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox did not answer in the third, in fact, they would not score until the sixth inning. JP Sears had some great innings in this game going three up and three down in the second, third and fourth innings.

He threw a pitch in the sixth inning that Rob Refsnyder connected with for a solo home run. With two outs, Austin Adams relieved Sears to try and get out of the inning. Adams was perfect and the only damage in the sixth inning was the single run. Sears had gone 5 2/3 innings allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run. He had a terrific outing.

Oakland extended their lead in the seventh inning when the long overdue JJ Bleday connected for a double bringing Max Schuemann home and giving the A’s a 4-1 lead. T.J. McFarland relieved Adams in the bottom of the seventh inning.

When Adams allowed two runners on base, Lucas Erceg came in to relieve. It was not his finest hour as he walked the first at-bat he faced loading the bases. With two outs the Red Sox scored one run but Oakland got out of the inning still leading 4-2. It was a shaky seventh for the A’s but the damage was minimal and the insurance run the A’s scored in the seventh really came into play.

In the top of the eighth inning the A’s had loaded em up with no outs and Oakland had another great opportunity to add to their lead. Tyler Nevin hit a sacrifice fly and Brent Rooker scored for a 5-2 Oakland lead.

Oakland took the 5-2 lead into the ninth inning, three outs away from tying up this series. It’s always so much fun to say “it’s Miller time” as the reaper got warmed up. All-Star pitcher Mason Miller took the mound in the ninth to finish off the Red Sox and he did so with ease, as we have seen so often. The A’s tied up this series winning the game 5-2 and there would be a rubber match played Thursday.

Game three of this series will be played Thursday evening with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 PM. Probable pitchers for game three will be Luis Medina (2-3, 4.37) for Oakland and for Boston Tanner Houck (7-6, ERA 2.68).

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s announcer Vince Cotroneo announces retirement after 41 years behind the mic

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Oakland A’s broadcasters Vince Cotroneo, left, and Ken Korach talk in the radio booth before the start of the game against the San Francisco Giants Sunday May 21, 2006 at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. This was Cotroneo’s first year with the A’s. (Bay Area News Group, Bob Larson/Staff Archives)

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

After 41 years of calling professional baseball Oakland A’s broadcaster Vince Cotroneo is hanging up the microphone. This is my 32nd year calling Major League Baseball.” Cotroneo said, “2024 will be my last year broadcasting for the Athletics.”

Cotroneo joined the A’s after the passing of legendary broadcaster Bill King in 2006. Cotroneo worked minor league games from various locations from 1984-1990. In the 1991 season he got his break with his first Major League job in 1991 broadcasting Houston Astros games until the 1997 season. Cotroneo called Texas Rangers games from 1997 to 2003 and was out of broadcasting in 2004 and 2005.

It was not until 2006 after the passing of Bill King that Cotroneo was hired to be the number two announcer in the A’s radio booth behind lead announcer Ken Korach. Last season (2023) after A’s TV play by play announcer Glen Kuiper who used the N word on live TV and was fired by the A’s Cotroneo stepped in and did a spectacular job as the TV play by play announcer.

For the 2024 season Cotroneo went back to doing radio and the A’s had announced in the off season that they would be moving to Sacramento to play for the interim while their Tropicana ballpark is being built in Las Vegas. With Sutter Health Field being a minor league facility a smaller venue to work in for radio it might have been part of the reason why Cotroneo is leaving.

Jerry Feitelberg is an Oakland A’s podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Lose Game One In Series With Boston Red Sox 12-9

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Oakland A’s Lawrence Butler (4) is congratulated by teammate Shea Langeliers (23) after hitting a three run home run in the top sixth against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston on Tue Jul 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (34-59) had a nice start taking an early 2-0 lead but a horrendous second inning that gave Boston Red Sox (50-40) eight runs after scoring 3 in the first inning made all the difference in the game. The Red Sox only scored one run for the rest of the game. Each team had 13 hits but those stats that indicated a close game were clearly inaccurate. Boston had control of this game from the second inning on.

Tuesday afternoon the A’s traveled back to Boston to take on the Red Sox in a another tough set of games. Again the A’s face another giant in the American League East. Every team in this division is a tough customer and the Red Sox are currently in third place.

Oakland is enjoying some pretty decent offense and in the second game of their last series, they managed 19 hits and 18 runs in a blowout win over the Baltimore Orioles. These guys can hit and were looking to be more consistent over their past two series against the Orioles and the Angels and they had some success.

Joey Estes started for Oakland and went 1.2 innings, allowing seven hits, eight earned runs, and struck one batter. For the Red Sox starter Brayan Bello pitched 5.1 innings allowing nine hits and five earned runs.

Game recap: Oakland got a great start scoring two runs in the opening inning as they got going early. Brent Rooker doubled Miguel Andujar home and Shea Langliers singled Brent Rooker home for the early 2-0 lead.

The Red Sox answered back in the same inning scoring three runs and taking the 3-2 lead. A couple of singles from David Hamilton and Rafael Devers brought runners home and Oakland had given up the lead. A’s pitcher Joey Estes began to struggle early.

Joey Estes’ struggles continued into the second inning and when the dust had settled, he had given up seven hits and eight earned runs in a disastrous 1.2 innings. Tyler Ferguson relieved Estes looking to stop the bleeding but did not fare much better giving up three more hits and three more runs in 0.1 innings.

Boston now led 11-2 and Oakland was digging a huge hole with a lot of game still left to play. The Red Sox had an amazing second inning with a Ceddanne Rafaela triple, a Rafael Devers double, a Masataka Yoshida single and back to back home runs. Wilyer Abreu had a three run homer and Dominic Smith a solo home run.

Boston had dismantled both Joey Estes and Tyler Ferguson. As if things were not going bad enough for Oakland, rain began to fall over the ball park. This game had turned lopsided early.

Michel Otanez relieved Ferguson in the bottom of the fifth inning giving up no hits, no runs with two strikeouts.

Oakland made a bit of noise in the sixth inning. Going into the sixth the A’s had not yet hit a home run but Lawrence Butler turned that stat on it’s ear hitting a three run homer. Butler, Shea Langeliers and Zach Gelof scored on that long ball.

Otanez started to struggle in the bottom of the sixth inning with back to back walks and Boston had two runners on base with two outs. That was it for Otanez relieved by Scott Alexander. Alexander got Oakland out of the inning unscathed and the score remained 11-5 in favor of Boston going into the seventh inning.

With no outs, the A’s had runners on the corners, with Brent Rooker on third and Tyler Soderstrom on first. Zach Gelof sacrificed and Rooker scored and Oakland inched a bit closer 11-6. The A’s now had 11 hits through eight innings and had 15 runners on base leaving too many runners stranded.

Boston scored another run in the eighth inning extending their lead to 12-6. Wilyer Abreu sacrificed and Rafael Devers scored. Austin Adams had taken the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning for Oakland, walking Rafael Devers and hitting both Connor Wong and Masataka Yoshida to start the inning. Adams had gotten out of the inning with minimal damage.

Oakland went into the ninth three outs away from dropping game one to Boston. With two outs, the A’s had runners on the corners for the third time in the game. Zach Gelof came to the plate hitting home run #10, a three-run home run. Butler popped out for the third out and Boston had won game one 12-9. Both teams finished with 13 hits. It was the bottom of the second inning that turned this game around for Boston.

The A’s will be back at work in game two with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 PM with toasty temperatures getting up to 90 degrees and no rain predicted.

JP Sears will take the mound for Oakland with a 5-7 win-loss record and a 4.74 ERA. The Red Sox will start Nick Pivetta who has a 4-5 win-loss record and a 4.06 ERA.

Oakland A’s Relocation podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Ballpark Deal between A’s and Tropicana in Vegas could fall through

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The Tropicana Hotel is under construction even if the Oakland A’s deal fall through Bally’s plans to continue working on the property. The Tropicana towers are scheduled to be demoed by April 2025 ballpark or no ballpark according to reports. (Photo by Sports Radio Service on Fri Apr 8, 2024)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Things are changing around for the Oakland A’s and owner John Fisher. The price on the Tropicana ballpark in Las Vegas has gone up 20% according to developers, those working on the project in Las Vegas and according to Alex Espinoza at the Rickey Blog.

#2 Already Fisher is trying to get $500 million to pay for his share of the construction costs which he was looking for investors to help him out with there has been nothing but crickets since that was announced about a month ago. The cost of building the ballpark goes up every day every week as there is no plans on the drawing board how this is going to get started.

#3 It was also reported that Las Vegas developers and investors say that is very unlikely that Fisher will sign a binding stadium agreement and makes a deposit for $100 million for the Tropicana ballpark unless he can find partners or investors to help pay for the deposit which Bally’s who runs the Tropicana can not afford to pay the $100 million.

#4 The report continues saying that John Fisher needs to get a new partner for construction because Balley’s needs to complete construction on the project. Bally’s needs to have the deposit from Fisher and the A’s or the A’s loses it’s authority to develop the Tropicana site and the ballpark. Which would mean the A’s would have to start the process all over again.

#5 The report continues that the Tropicana will continue to be demolished but it hasn’t nothing to do with the ballpark. The deal between Bally’s and the A’s could fall through and the A’s who are out of Oakland at the end of the 2024 season are supposed to start playing interim games in Sacramento on artificial turf starting in 2025 that scenario could also turn ugly if the players complain about playing on turf.

Jeremiah Salmonson is podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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