Photo credit: @athletics_fanly
On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:
1) Let’s talk Tommy John — the surgery and the pitcher!
2) Since we’re talking pitching, let’s talk Frankie Montas and what he’s doing for the A’s.
3) Speaking of Tommy John surgery, let’s talk about the A’s Chris Bassitt.
4) What’s coming up for the A’s?
Charlie O does the Oakland A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: youtube.com
By Jerry Feitelberg
OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s (34-32; fourth place in the AL West) start a three-game series with the World Champion Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
The Astros are currently in a dogfight with the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West. They are currently 42-25 and have one more loss than the M’s.
The Astros come to Oakland having won seven of the last 10 games. They will be sending three tough pitchers at the A’s. On Tuesday night, Lance McCullers Jr. will pitch for Houston. McCullers’ season record is 7-3, and his ERA is 3.94. McCullers has beaten the A’s twice this season and will be hoping to record his third win over them on Tuesday. In his two prior starts against the A’s he has allowed just two earned runs, four walks, and has struck out 10.
The A’s will counter with Houston native Daniel Mengden. Mengden had a terrific May but was pounded by the Texas Rangers in his last start. Mengden was tagged for four big home runs and six runs in just four innings of work.
On Wednesday, Astros’ Gerrit Cole will face the Green and Gold. Cole is having a terrific season with a record of 7-1 and a sparkling ERA of just 2.16.
The A’s Paul Blackburn will make his second start since coming off the DL. Blackburn is 1-0, and his ERA is 1.50. He went six innings and allowed just one run and three hits in recording the win over the Kansas City Royals. He threw 67 pitches and looked sharp.
Thursday’s game will feature Justin Verlander going for the Astros against the A’s Frankie Montas. Verlander, a former Cy Young Award winner and MVP with the Detroit Tigers, has a record of 8-2 and a 1.45 ERA.
The Astros are 14-5 in games that Verlander has started since he came to Houston from the Tigers last year. Montas has made three starts and won them all. He is 3-0 and has a 1.25 ERA. In three starts (and wins), Montas has allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings of work.
The A’s pitchers will have their hands full trying to contain the Astros’ powerful lineup. Second baseman Jose Altuve is leading the league in hitting again. Shortstop Carlos Correa is a tough out. Alex Bregman at third, and Yuli Guriel round out the infield. George Springer, Josh Reddick, Jake Marisnick, or Marwyn Gonzalez will handle the outfield chores. Evan Gattis, who also doubles as a DH, Brian McCann, and former Athletic, Max Stassi are all guys that can hit and cause damage. The Astros’ bullpen is deep with Collin McHugh, Brad Peacock, Hector Rondon, Will Harris, and Tony Sipp seeing action. Chris Devenski and Ken Giles are the closers.
The A’s are just 1-5 against Houston this year. The A’s also have power up and down the lineup. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson are threats to go deep, and pitchers have to be careful not to make a mistake with their pitch selection. If they fail to locate the ball, Olson and Chapman will send the pitch into the seats. Jed Lowrie, who was hot early in the season, has cooled off a bit but is still a dangerous hitter. DH Khris Davis leads the A’s in homers and RBIs and is a very dangerous hitter. Davis can hit the ball out of any park. Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Dustin Fowler, and Stephen Piscotty all have power.
Johnathan Lucroy and Josh Phegley are the catchers. Lucroy is a better contact hitter while Phegley has power but hasn’t played very much this season.
The Astros have had the advantage over the A’s the last couple of years. If the A’s are going to make progress, they will need to take the series from the Astros. That will be a tough task, but the A’s know they can play with the big boys. Just ask the Boston Red Sox.
Photo credit: sfexaminer.com
By Morris Phillips
OAKLAND–The A’s had everything covered on Sunday. Sean Manaea took care of the pitching mound. Blake Treinen provided Manaea’s much-needed assistance. Marcus Semien made the defense sing, and the Oakland gloves golden. Bill from Pittsburg held down Section 216–and a whole bunch of other sections for that matter–with his foul ball dramatics. And Matt Chapman provided the late inning pop, with the game-winning home run in the eighth.
With that type of synergy, it’s hard to believe the Royals had a chance, or that the game was still up for grabs in the eighth inning.
The A’s 3-2 win gave them best type of series victory: three out of four over Kansas City, when they nearly settled for a 2-2 split. And if A’s baseball is about youth being served, then Chapman served ’em with his blast off reliever Jason Adam. But we digress, enough of Chapman, this story starts with Semien, and ends with Treinen.
“Chapman made a great swing, but that swing doesn’t get us the win if Marcus doesn’t make that play,” Treinen recounted.
“That’s about as good a play I’ve seen him make since he’s been here,” manager Bob Melvin said of Semien’s bang-bang diving snag of a hard hit ground ball of the bat of Salvador Perez that he then turned into an out at the plate with a snap throw across the diamond that nipped Whit Merrifield as he attempted to give the Royals the lead.
“To dive like that, get up and have to throw it off balance on the money like that, no legs underneath him…”
By Charlie O. Mallonee
OAKLAND — The Kansas City Royals snapped a six-game losing streak on Saturday when they shutout the Oakland Athletics 2-0 to win their first game of the four-game series between the two clubs. The A’s beat the Royals on Thursday and Friday.
This game was all about pitching. For the Royals, their starter — LHP Danny Duffy — pitched well above his record for the season on Saturday. Duffy came into the contest with a record of 2-6 with a 5.81 ERA in 13 starts. He was coming off a loss on Monday to the Angels in Los Angeles where he lasted only 5.0 innings.
On Saturday versus Oakland, Duffy pitched 7.0 innings, giving up no runs off just three hits. Duffy walked three and while striking out 10 batters. The 10 strikeouts were his most in a game since May 18, 2017.
Even though Oakland lost the game, they had quite a pitching story of their own. RHP Chris Bassitt made the start for the Athletics which was his first major league start since May 6, 2016. Bassitt had to undergo the dreaded UCL reconstruction surgery — better known as “Tommy John Surgery.” The rehabilitation from that procedure is long and arduous. Bassitt surprised everyone by pitching seven strong innings today against the Royals even though he was saddled with the loss.
On the Hill
Kansas City (22-33)
Oakland (33-32)
In the Batter’s Box
Royals (5th place AL Central)
Athletics (4th place AL West)
Hits vs Strikeouts watch
KC
On Saturday, the Royals collected four hits and struck out seven times.
Oakland
Your A’s also posted four hits while striking out a total of 13 times.
Up Next
The four-game series and the season-series between the Royals and the A’s will come to an end on Sunday at 1:05 P.M. at the Oakland Coliseum. The Royals will send RHP Brad Keller (1-2, 2.12 ERA) to mound to face the A’s LHP Sean Manaea (5-6, 3.59). Keller lost his last outing in Los Angeles to the Angels on Tuesday night 1-0. Manaea had a no-decision in his last start in Texas on Tuesday night. The A’s eventually lost that game 7-4.
Photo credit: @Athletics
By Matthew Harrington
OAKLAND, Calif. — Frankie Montas continues to get it done for the Oakland Athletics, winning his third-straight start Friday night against the Kansas City Royals 7-2 at O.co Coliseum on Friday night.
The A’s hosted Pride Night at the Coliseum, and made it very clear that baseball was for everyone, regardless of their gender and/or sexual orientation.
In case you missed the celebration, you can check out the A’s team store for rainbow-oriented gear in the MLB Shop and its website.
Montas (3-0, 1.25 ERA) nearly matched his last outing, an eight-inning no-run performance against these same Royals with a duplicate performance, but a two-run homer to Mike Moustakas spoiled the shutout for the starter. Khris Davis hit a pair of homeruns for Oakland, Dustin Folwer blasted a solo shot and Jonathan Lucroy knocked in three runs for the Green and Gold, moving the A’s two games over .500 at 33-31. Lou Trivino picked up his first career save after firing the final 1 1/3 innings.
Montas was two outs away from eight innings of shutout baseball, but a Whit Merrfield single put a runner on. Montas got Alcides Escobar to line out but couldn’t put Moustakas away after falling into a full count. Montas’ two-seamer wound up right in the middle of the plate, giving Moustakas a meatball for his 13th long ball of the year.
Montas would depart the game leading 6-2, having his full arsenal of pitches working Friday. He used his slider and offspeed pitches to rack up five strike-outs, but also used his heavy two-seamer to work deep into the game. He faced 30 batters, needing just 96 pitches to get one out away from a full eight innings. After three starts of 2018, he now sports the sparkling ERA of 1.25 runs.
Just like in last week’s win for Montas, a 16-0 win, Montas didn’t even need to be near peak performance. Khris Davis continued his torrid stretch after returning from injury. He took Royals starter Jakob Junis (5-6, 4.05) deep twice Friday, once in the first inning and once in the fourth, to boast four homers over his last seven games and 17 on the season. Dustin Fowler also tagged Junis with a solo shot in the bottom of the 3rd inning.
Davis’ second homer in the fourth inning wasn’t the only damage the A’s would do in the frame. Leading 3-0, Jonathan Lucroy would knock in a run on a single. Two innings later, he’d tag Junis with two more runs, plating Marcus Semien and Stephen Piscotty on a double for a 6-0 A’s lead. Oakland would score an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth for the seventh run of the game.
The A’s send Chris Bassitt to the mound for his 2018 debut, hoping the young righty’s return to the rotation will go as well as recent returnees Montas and Paul Blackburn. He’ll be opposed by Danny Duffy, who sports a 5.81 ERA with six losses to just two wins.
Game time is set for Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.
Photo credit: @Gloves_And_Bats
By Jerry Feitelberg
OAKLAND — Oakland A’s starter Paul Blackburn was activated off the 60-day DL and made his first start of the year. Blackburn, who missed a lot of time last year due to an injury and suffered a right forearm strain in spring training, was very impressive in his return to action Thursday night against the Kansas City Royals. Blackburn went six innings and allowed just three hits.
The only run the Royals scored came in the third inning when shortstop Alcides Escobar homered. The A’s rallied for three runs in the sixth, and the bullpen shut down the Royals offense as the A’s won the game 4-1.
The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Matt Olson blasted his 13th homer of the year over the 388-foot marker in deep right center field. The blast traveled 414 feet. Olson has nine homers in his last 23 games.
In the bottom of the sixth, the A’s put together four hits and a walk that produced three runs and ended Jason Hammel’s night. With one out, A’s DH Khris Davis singled. Hammel walked Matt Olson to put men on at first and second. Matt Chapman hit a towering fly ball to center. Royals’ center fielder Paulo Orlando appeared to have trouble determining where the ball was going to come down. He seemed to be twisting and turning to find the ball, but when he did locate the ball, it was too late as the ball hit the wall for a double. Davis scored, and Olson stopped at third base. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Olson, and that was followed by Stephen Piscotty’s third single of the game to drive in Chapman with the A’s third run of the inning and the fourth of the game. The A’s led 4-1 after six.
A’s manager Bob Melvin used Lou Trivino in the seventh, Yusmeiro Petit in the eighth, and Blake Treinen in the ninth. The relievers did their job to secure the win.
Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 32-31. Blackburn won his first game since August 22, 2017, against the Baltimore Orioles. Blackburn is 1-0, and has a 1.50 ERA. Jason Hammel’s record dropped to 2-6.
The A’s line was four runs, nine hits, and no errors. The Royals’ line was one run, four hits, and no errors. It was the Royals’ fifth loss in a row.
To make room for Blackburn on the roster, the A’s optioned catcher Bruce Maxwell to Nashville.
Time of game was two hours and 18 minutes and a sparse crowd of 7,967 fans were on hand to see Blackburn’s return to Oakland.
Up Next: Game 2 of the four-game series will be played Friday night at the Coliseum. Frankie Montas (2-0, ERA 0.64) will pitch for the A’s, and Jakob Junis (5-5, ERA 3.62) will go for Kansas City. Game time is at 7:05 pm PDT.
Photo credit: @BR_MLB
On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:
#1 Since pitching a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox, Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea has struggled. He had a 7.18 ERA in his last six starts and in the six starts before that, he had an 1.03 ERA.
#2 Manaea went 5.1 innings with four hits, two runs, four walks and two strikeouts, against Texas in Tuesday night’s 7-4 loss.
#3 The A’s faced the Texas Rangers on Wednesday and got crushed 8-2. The Rangers starter Bartolo Colon got his 243rd win, tying Juan Marichal’s record for wins the most by a Dominican pitcher.
#4 Colon went five innings, six hits, and gave up two runs. The Rangers’ bullpen held the A’s to no runs for the rest of the ball game and the A’s continued to struggle at the plate.
#5 The A’s are back home Thursday night against the Kansas City Royals to open a four-game series at the Oakland Coliseum after coming off Texas’ two-game sweep. The A’s are looking for their luck to change.
Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: @athletics_fanly
By Jerry Feitelberg
The Rangers hit four home runs to beat the A’s for the second night in a row at Glove lIfe Stadium on Wednesday night.
Rangers’ starter Bartolo “Big Sexy” Colon won his third game of the year. With the win, the 243rd of his 20-year career, he tied Juan Marichal for most wins by a pitcher born in the Dominican Republic. He went five innings and allowed six hits and two runs. The Rangers’ bullpen held the A’s scoreless the rest of the way and won 8-2.
The Rangers plated three runs in the bottom of the first to take an early 3-0 lead. With two out, Nomar Mazara doubled. Jurickson Profar slammed his fifth big fly of the season to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. A’s starter Daniel Mengden then served up a gopher ball to Joey Gallo. Gallo sent his 17th of the year into the seats in the second deck in right field to make it 3-0.
Mengden continued to struggle as Profar hit his second dinger of the night to give Texas the advantage 4-0 in the bottom of the third. The Rangers’ onslaught continued as they tallied two more runs in the fourth. Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos walked and scored when Ronald Guzman took Mengden deep for his seventh of the year. The A’s trail 6-0.
The A’s put two on the board in the top of the fifth. A’s leading hitter, Jed Lowrie, reached on a double. Designated Hitter Khris Davis hit his 15th dinger to drive in Lowrie, and the A’s trailed 6-2.
Texas scored two more in the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Jurickson Profar continued his big night when he singled to drive in two more runs. The Rangers were done scoring, and they won 8-2.
Game Notes: Jurickson Profar was the hitting star for the Rangers. He had his first multi-homer game and had a career-high five runs batted in.
Bartolo Colon won his 243rd game and needs just one more strikeout to reach 2500 for his career. Colon, who is 45 years old, evened his season’s record at 3-3.
A’s starter Daniel Mengden, who was so good in May, took the loss. Mengden is now 6-5 and his line for the night was four innings pitched, five hits, and six runs. Four of the five hits Mengden allowed were home runs.
The A’s announced that Matt Joyce was placed on the 10-day DL retroactive to June 3rd. They recalled outfielder Nick Martini from Nashville. Martini, if he gets into a game, will be making his Major League debut.
The A’s also announced that pitcher Paul Blackburn will be activated from the 60-day DL and will be making his season’s debut against the Kansas City Royals Friday night at the Coliseum.
The Royals will send Jason Hammel to the hill to handle the pitching chores. Hammel gave up seven hits and three runs in six innings of work against the A’s last Saturday in Kansas City. Hammel did not get a decision.
Sad News: Baseball lost one of its greatest players Wednesday. The St. Louis Cardinals announced that Albert “Red” Schoendienst passed away at the age of 95. Schoendienst had a great career as a second baseman and won championships with the Cardinals and Braves. Schoendienst was a member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Up Next: The A’s will welcome the Royals for a four-game series starting Thursday night at 7:05 pm PDT.
Photo credit: nbcbayarea.com
By Jerry Feitelberg
The Texas Rangers blasted five home runs to down the A’s 7-4 at Globe Life Park on Tuesday night.
A’s ace Sean Manaea, who was 1- 4 with a 7.18 ERA in his six starts in May, went 5 1/3 innings and allowed four hits and two runs. Rangers’ starter Matt Moore, who has struggled all season, pitched six innings and he allowed eight hits and three runs. Neither starter figured in the decision.
The A’s took an early lead in the top of the first. With two out, Jed Lowrie started the rally with a double to left field. A’s DH Khris Davis doubled to deep left field to drive in Lowrie. Matt Olson singled to drive in Davis with the A’s second run of the night.
Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos homered in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit to one. The A’s lead 2-1.
Khris Davis hit a solo blast in the top of the fifth to make it 3-1. Rangers’ Jurickson Profar sent a Manaea pitch out of the park in the sixth to make it a one-run game as they trail the A’s 3-2.
In the top of the seventh, Chad Pinder doubled to deep center field. Pinder tagged up and moved to third when Lowrie flew out. The Rangers issued a free pass to Davis, but Olson thwarted the strategy when he singled to drive in Pinder.
A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Yusmeiro Petit to face the Rangers in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Delino DeShields reached on a bunt single. Shin-Soo Choo homered to tie the game at four apiece.
The Rangers’ setup reliever retired the A’s in order in the top of the eighth. The Rangers took the lead for good in their half of the inning. Rookie reliever Lou Trivino was rocketed by the veteran Adrian Beltre’s second home run of the season. Beltre has missed 28 games so far this year due to an injury, but the future Hall of Fame player showed that he can still play. Jurickson Profar walked and then scored on big Joey Gallo’s blast that propelled the Rangers to a 7-4 advantage. Closer Keone Kela, struck out Lowrie, Davis, and Olson to earn his 14th save of the year. The Rangers win 7-4.
Game Notes: The Rangers evened the season’s series at four apiece.
The A’s fall to 31-30 and the Rangers improved to 26-37.
Chris Martin was the winning pitcher, and Lo Trivino took the loss.
The A’s announced that they placed Daniel Gossett on the 10-day DL with a strained right elbow. They also sent pitcher Josh Lucas back to Triple-A Nashville.
A’s relief pitcher Liam Hendriks was activated off the 10-day DL, and as a result, they recalled catcher Josh Phegley from Nashville.
Up Next: Game 2 of the two-game series will be played at 5:05 pm PDT. Daniel Mengden will go for Oakland, and the ageless Bartolo Colon will be on the hill for Texas.
@OU Baseball photo: Oklahoma Sooner centerfielder Kyler Murray who can do it all will turn down the Oakland A’s offer to be their number one draft pick to quarterback the Sooners in football next fall
Let’s talk the A’s MLB Draft with Charlie O!
1) Charlie, you told me you’re not to happy about the Athletics’ first-round pick Kyler Murray. What’s your objection?
2) You pointed out an interesting pattern in the first 10 draft picks.
3) Charlie, it took the A’s a while before the grabbed a pitcher in the draft. Does that surprise you?
4) What happens next with the draft?
5) How’s the big club doing and what’s coming up for Oakland?
Charlie O does the Oakland A’s podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
