Tag: Oakland A’s

Moving Up: A’s, Chapman at their best in series-clinching rout of the Angels

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By Morris Phillips

The A’s have their best record of the season to date, now can they sustain their success?

Oakland stymied the Angels for the second day in a row, slugging their way to a 12-3 win to capture three of the four-game set in Angel Stadium of Anaheim, giving the A’s a statement weekend in the AL Wild Card chase.

But the A’s finished the series without Khris Davis and Stephen Piscotty, and continue to operate without closer Blake Treinen as well as suspended, staff ace Frankie Montas. In 14 of their next 22 games, they’ll face the first-place Astros and Twins, as well as the Rangers, currently in possession of the second wild card spot.

Given the adversity and the upcoming schedule, can the A’s continue their ascent? Sunday’s winning pitcher, Chris Bassitt, thinks so.

“It’s kind of absurd that we’re even in this position,” Bassitt said. “It just shows how good this team can be when we’re all healthy.”

Baseball-Reference’s Playoff Odds says yes, in that statistics-based simulation, the A’s are favored to over take the Indians and Rangers, and capture the second wild card spot with a modest–by recent AL playoff records–88-74 record. That simulation is heavily weighted on what the A’s have done in their previous 100 games, including a partial sample of their blistering 2018 finish. If so, the A’s will qualify for the second, consecutive season and most likely end up with a much better matchup at Tampa Bay, as compared to last season’s trip to Yankee Stadium.

The biggest sign the A’s are headed in the right direction? Their performances on the road have improved dramatically. They started the season by dropping 15 of their first 20 road contests. Since then, they’re 17-5 when traveling.

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: A chat with Orioles TV announcer and former pitcher Jim Palmer

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photo from camdenchat.com: Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer winds up to throw a pitch in 1966 is interviewed by Amaury Pi-Gonzalez.

By: Amaury Pi-González

Through the years, I always look forward in talking with Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, who’s currently on Baltimore Orioles television as a color announcer with play-by-play man Gary Thorne. On the visit this season by the Orioles to the Oakland Coliseum this past June, I had the chance of talking again with Palmer. Sometimes, we chatted at Oakland, other times at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

He is not shy and always wants to talk baseball, even thought a generation of fans saw him a lot on television as a model for Jockey Underwear. A lot of non-baseball fans recognize him more for that. Not the first time this happened in advertising and baseball, another great Hall of Fame player, The Yankee Clipper (Joe DiMaggio) was introduced to a non-baseball audience generation as a pitch man for Mister Coffee, a very popular coffee maker.

The Orioles were my número uno team since I arrived to the US as a young kid in Miami. One of my first jobs was as ball boy and bat boy for the O’s when they had their Spring Training home at Miami Stadium. I remember all the players then like John “Boog” Powell, Davey Johnson, and many more under manager Billy Hitchcock. Those years Miami did not have any MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL teams so the biggest attraction was the O’s in Spring Training aside from the University of Miami Hurricanes football team.

Jim Palmer is a special guy. A great career that took him to the Hall of Fame, Palmer pitched for 19 seasons from 1965-1984, which ended with 268 wins and 152 loses and an ERA of 2.86. In four of the 19 seasons he won over 20 games in a row from 1970 to 1973.

He was part of a record that will probably will never be broken. In 1971 with the O’s, he was one of four starters on that staff to win 20 or more games. They were Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, and Jim Palmer. Palmer is the only living pitcher amongst the four.

Q: “Will we ever see that again, four pitchers on the same team with 20 wins?”

JP: “Probably not, and Pat Dobson is the one most people forget when that question is asked.”

Q: “You have a unique statistic during your great career. Pitched for 19 years and never gave up a Grand Slam, how come?”

JP: “That’s easy, I usually walk the guy.”

Q: “Your memories of this Oakland Coliseum?”

JP: “I always did well here,this is a typical pitchers ballpark, I always enjoyed this place” Ironically his best outing against the A’s was not at Oakland. On August 13,1969, Palmer no-hit the A’s for an 8-0 win at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. He walked six A’s, struck out eight and was 11-2 at that time. He would win five games and lose two to finish with a 16-4 record and a 2.34 ERA.”

Since the O’s visit Oakland just once per year, he promised we will talk more and I am looking forward for the next time Jim Palmer comes to town.

During batting practice, an hour prior to the game that night, rap music was played very loud at the Coliseum, he rolled his eyes and I asked him, “Are you a fan of rap music?”

JP: “No, not really.”

I told him “Don’t feel bad, I am still listening to Sinatra.”

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez does A’s baseball Espanol for KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s win four of last five games; Oakland just 1 1/2 out of the wild card; plus more

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photo from mercurynews.com:  Jurickson Profar #23 congratulates Matt Olson #28 of the Oakland Athletics on his three run home run against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the third inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California

On the A’s podcast with Joey F:

#1 The A’s continue their winning ways after defeating the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night in a 4-0 shutout at the Big A in Anaheim the team now are 4-1 on the current road trip

#2 Oakland starter Brett Anderson pitched 7.2 innings of shutout ball surrendering just two hits, two walks and striking out three.

#3 A’s closer Liam Hendricks shut the door on the Angels in the eighth and ninth innings pitching 1.1 innings and striking out two hitters.

#4 The A’s Matt Chapman not only noted for his great defense at third base hit his 20th home run on Saturday night

#5 Starting pitchers for game three of the series in Anaheim on Sunday: For Oakland Chris Bassitt (4-3 ERA 3.86) and for Los Angeles Andrew Heaney (1-1 ERA 4.99)

A’s podcast with Joey Friedman are heard each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB podcast with Matt Harrington: MLB counting on London games to pay off; What will A’s do if City Council votes no on new stadium?; plus more

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Photo credit: @NYDNSports

On the MLB podcast with Matt:

#1 How important is it that MLB is played in London between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox marking a first time to play a regular season game across the pond?

#2 This will be a two-game weekend series and they’ll be big for each team. The Red Sox are nine games behind the first-place Yankees and it gives the Red Sox a chance to try and capitalize on them if they take two games.

#3 How big is it for the game of baseball to be played in London and will it be possible for baseball to be played in London as an annual event?

#4 The Oakland A’s new ballpark discussion has reached the topic of what happens if the Oakland City Council doesn’t come to an agreement to have the A’s build their own ball park at Howard Terminal. The top issues that concern the council are how are fans and the public going to get to the stadium with mass transit being a huge concern and secondly how the stadium, housing, hotels, and retail built by the A’s plan to cover the cost by charging a tax on each business and property.

#5 The A’s Matt Olson continues to crush the ball with two home runs and five RBIs sending the A’s to a five-run 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium in Anaheim on Friday night.

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

Olson Homers Twice, A’s Crush Halos 7-2

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics mashed their way to a 7-2 win over the hosting Los Angeles Angels Friday night in SoCal, thanks to the bat of Matt Olson. The A’s Gold Glove first baseman hit two homers and knocked in five runs while designated hitter Mark Canha went deep as well. Mike Fiers went 6 2/3 innings, giving up only one run.

Olson opened the first inning with a bang, taking opener Noe Ramirez deep on an 0-1 pitch with a runner on and two outs for a 2-0 lead. After Ramirez (L, 3-1, 3.32 ERA) was removed after an inning for long reliever Felix Pena, Olson again would strike in his next at-bat. With runners on first and second, Olson this time went to right field for a 5-0 lead.

Fiers was dominant, working around six hits to only give up the one RBI on an Albert Pujols single in the 5th inning. Friday marked his eighth straight start of six-plus innings and three runs or fewer. In fact, of his last 12 starts, all were three-run or less affairs, though a May 13th outing only lasted five innings. Friday he went 6 2/3, while throwing 104 pitches to improve his record to 8-3 with a 4.01 ERA.

After Pena went five innings, only yielding the three-run shot to Olson, Luke Bard took over the seventh. Mark Canha tagged him with a two-run blast. Canha was filling in for Khris Davis who was hit by a pitch earlier in the week.

The A’s bullpen was almost flawless, but Lou Trivino gave up a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning off the bat of one-time Athletic Jonathan Lucroy. The run was unearned due to a passed ball earlier in the inning.

The A’s hope to have Davis back in the lineup Saturday when they send Brett Anderson to the mound. He’ll be opposed by Tyler Skaggs of the Halos.

Angels down the A’s 8-3 to win the series opener

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Photo credit: @Angels

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s dropped the opener of the four-game series to the LA Angels by a score of 8-3 at Angel Stadium on Thursday night. A’s starter Tanner Anderson had a rough outing Thursday night in Anaheim. The Angels rocked him for two runs in the second and five in the third.  Anderson went 2.2 innings and allowed eight hits, and seven runs (all earned).

Angels starter Griffin Canning went six innings and allowed three hits and two runs. Home runs by Ramon Laureano in the second and Matt Olson on the fourth were the only damage done by the A’s offense.

The Angels added a run in the sixth, and the A’s put their third run on the board in the eighth.

Anderson gave up two two-run homers to the Angels. Kole Calhoun hit his 17th in the bottom of the second to put the Angels ahead 2-1. In the bottom of the third, Shohei Ohtani hit his 10th with a man aboard to make it 4-1. The Angels scored three more before A’s manager removed Anderson from the game.

Game Notes: The A’s drop to 43-39 and the Angels improved to 42-40. The Angels have now won four in a row. The Angels have welcomed back two position players back to their lineup. Justin Upton was in left field Thursday. Upton missed over 70 games with a turf toe injury. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was back in the lineup after missing 39 games.

The A’s missed an opportunity to pick up a game on the Houston Astros as the Astros lost to Pittsburgh 10-0 Thursday. They trail the Astros by seven games in the race for first place in the AL West. The Texas Rangers are in second place with a 2 1/2 game lead over the A’s. The Angels are in fourth place, and they trail the A’s by one game.

Time of game was two hours and 46 minutes. 40,631 fans watched the Angels win the fourth in a row.

Up Next: Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday night. Game time will be at 7:07 pm. Mike Fiers (7-3, 4.20 ERA) will go for Oakland. Fiers’ ERA is 2.51 in his last nine starts. The Angels will use an opener to start the game. Felix Pena will come in after the first or second inning. The Angels have used an opener in 10 of Pena’s 11 appearances.

The A’s line score was three runs, five hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was eight runs, 12 hits, and no errors.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s Mengden demonstrates the evolution of the comeback, shutout Red Birds 2-0

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mercurynews.com photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden serves up a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in a four hit shutout on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Oakland A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden is back from his rehab assignment from Las Vegas and pitched a shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 2-0 win.

#2 Mengden pitched for six innings giving up four hits and no runs striking out five. Not bad for his first game of the 2019 season.

#3 Mengden takes over for Frankie Montas’ spot and gets a great performance in after Mengden pitched lights out. The A’s are really looking for someone to also be an effective pitcher as well.

#4 The St. Louis Cardinals players got a chance to honor the St. Louis Blues before the game on Wednesday night by giving the Blues players a ride around the park with the Stanley Cup in the open convertible car.

#5 The A’s are back on the west coast after the St Louis trip and are in Anaheim tonight against the Los Angeles Angels. For the A’s, Tanner Anderson ,who is looking for his first win of 2019 (0-2, 4.20 ERA), and for the Angels, Griffin Canning (2-4, 3.88 ERA).

Catch Jerry on the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s beat the Cardinals 2-0 to sweep the 2-game series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s, behind Daniel Mengden’s outstanding outing, downed the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 at Busch Stadium on Wednesday. A’s catcher Beau Taylor hit a solo home run in the fourth, and Matt Chapman homered in the seventh to provide the offense the A’s needed.

The start of the game was delayed a few minutes due to a short rainstorm in the St. Louis area. The Cards gave some time to members of the St. Louis Blues to drive around the stadium with the Stanley Cup. The Blues won the cup for the first time in their history.

Mengden, who was called up from Las Vegas to take Frankie Montas’ position in the starting rotation, pitched exceptionally well. He gave the A’s six innings of work, and he allowed just four hits and no runs. Mengden walked one and struck out five. Yusmeiro Petit worked the seventh, and Joakim Soria the eighth. Both retired the Cardinals in order. Liam Hendriks worked the ninth. With one out, he gave up a double to Marcel Ozuna. Hendriks retired Jose Martinez and Yadier Molina to seal the win for the A’s. Mengden’s record improved to 2-1, and his ERA dropped to 4.09. Hendriks earned his second save. Hendriks is now the closer until Blake Treinen returns from the 10-day IL.

The Card Adam Wainwright also pitched well. He went 6 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits and two runs. Both runs came on home runs by Beau Taylor (#2) and Matt Chapman (#19). He walked one and struck out nine. He is now 5-7 for the season.

The A’s line was two runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Cards’ line was no runs, five hits, and no errors.

With the win, the A’s are now five games over the .500 mark with a record of 43-38. The Cards drop to 40-39. The A’s picked up a game on the Houston Astros and trail them by seven games. The Texas Rangers won their game, and they lead the A’s by 1 1/2 games in the race for second place in the AL West.

The A’s left for Anaheim after completion of the game. They begin a four-game series with the LA Angels starting Thursday night at 7:07 pm Tanner Anderson (0-2, 4.20 ERA) will go for Oakland, and Griffin Canning (2-4, 3,88 ERA) will pitch for LA.

Time of game was two hours and 46 minutes. 44,871 fans watched the game.

A’s put on a power display to beat the Cardinals 7-3

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s started the six-game road trip with a win over the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night. The A’s won the sixth of their last eight games and moved four games over the .500 mark with a 42-38 record.

The A’s put one on the board in the top of the second when first baseman Matt Olson bashed his 13th of the year. The lead didn’t last long as the Cardinals plated three off A’s starter Chris Bassitt. The Cards led 3-1 after two.

The A’s plated six in the top of the fifth. Josh Phegley led off with a double. Chad Pinder followed with his seventh big fly to tie the game. Marcus Semien hit a back-to-back jack to give Oakland the lead 4-3. The A’s scored three more in the inning. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson singled to put men on with one out. Cards starter Jack Flaherty retired Ramon Laureano for the second out. Former Cardinal, Stephen Piscotty, singled to drive in Chapman. Khris Davis entered the game as a pinch-hitter, and he came through with a double to drive in Olson and Piscotty. The A’s led 7-3.

Chris Bassitt was relieved in the bottom of the fourth. He went 3 1/3 innings in his shortest outing in 12 starts this year. Bob Melvin brought in J.B. Wendelken to pitch. Wendelken finished the fourth and was the pitcher of record. He was credited with his first Major League win. His record is now 1-1.  The A’s used four more relievers to finish the game. They held the Cards scoreless over the last five innings to seal the win for the A’s

Game two of the two-game series will be played Wednesday in St. Louis. The A’s will start Daniel Mengden, who was recalled from Las Vegas to take the spot in the rotation that was created when Frankie Montas was suspended for 80 games for the use of an illegal substance. The Cards will have the veteran pitcher, Adam Wainwright on the hill. Wainwright is 5-6 and has a 4.50 ERA. It will be his third career start against the A’s.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s get some light at the end of the tunnel with some pitchers returning

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sfgate.com photo: Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley, right, tags out Tampa Bay Rays’ Austin Meadows, center, at home as umpire Jim Reynolds (77) watches during the third inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, June 23, 2019.

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 After the A’s loss of Frankie Montas and Blake Treinen, the A’s are looking at having some pitchers come back and others they will have to wait for and might be able to fill the void with Jesus Luzardo, Sean Manaea, Brian Schlitter, AJ Puk, Jharel Cotton, and Yusmeiro Petit.

#2 The A’s travel to St. Louis for two games starting on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. The A’s take a 41-38 record to start the road trip and are in third in the AL West. The Cardinals are in third place at 40-37 and just two games out of first place. Charlie O tells us how he sees this series.

#3  Charlie talks about some of the Cardinals that the A’s starters will be facing: first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, third baseman Matt Carpenter, outfielders Marcel Ozuna, Jose Martinez, Dexter Fowler, and Harrison Bader and catchers Yadier Molina and Matt Wieters.

#4 Charlie talked about the odd schedule that had the A’s in St Louis for just two games and they have to fly back to the west coast to Los Angeles for a four-game series starting on Thursday with no day off in between after playing the Cards on Wednesday’s get away game.

#5 Starting pitchers on Tuesday for the A’s Chris Bassitt (4-3, 3.64 ERA), and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Jack Flaherty (4-4, 4.24 ERA). Charlie O clues us in on the matchups.

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