Tag: Oakland A’s

A’s and Mariners start a three-game series Tuesday night in Oakland

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @KPOD1240AM

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, perhaps the surprise team of the American League, return home for a 10-game homestand. The A’s finished a 10-game road trip to New York, Boston, and Toronto with a record of 7-3. They split the first six games with New York and Boston and then won all four against Toronto. The A’s hit 19 home runs on the trip, and people around the league are starting to pay attention to what’s happening in Oakland.

There was a downside as two starting pitchers were placed on the 10-day DL. Andrew Triggs is out due to nerve irritation in his right arm, and Brett Anderson injured his left shoulder. Josh Lucas did well filling in for Anderson, and he may be called on to start a game. The A’s are now 25-22 and are 4 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros for the lead in the AL West Division.

The A’s start the homestand against their division rival, the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners own a 4-2 record against Oakland so far this year. All six games were played in Seattle, and this will be the first meeting of the teams in Oakland. The Mariners are currently in second place in the AL West with a record of 27-19. They trail the first-place Astros by two games. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and are on a three-game winning streak.

The Mariners, however, seem to be in a bit of turmoil. Their All-Star second baseman, Robinson Cano, was hit with a double whammy last week. Cano suffered a broken thumb or wrist when he was hit by a pitch and would miss about six weeks of playing time. The second whammy that hit was an 80-game suspension for using a banned substance. The substance was Lasix or Furosemide, which is a drug used as a diuretic to remove excess water from the body. The drug is used to mask the use of steroids. Cano apologized to his teammates for his transgression. Cano can probably return in August, but he will not be eligible for postseason play.

The Mariners, as mentioned earlier, have beaten the A’s four times and lost just twice so far this year. The Mariners brought up Gordon Beckham to fill in for Cano at second. The M’s have a lot of power in their lineup. Ryon Healy, playing first base for the Mariners, came to Seattle in the deal that netted Emilio Pagan for Oakland. They have quality players such as Jean Segura at shortstop and Kyle Seager at third base. Ben Gamel, Dee Gordon, and Mitch Haniger handle the chores in the outfield. Gordon is an awesome leadoff hitter, and he plays as if he were Rickey Henderson. Haniger and Gamel have caused A’ pitchers a lot of distress and have to be shut down if the A’s want to come out with wins. Mike Zunino does most of the catching.

The Mariners’ designated hitter, Nelson Cruz, is having a tough time with injuries this year. Cruz missed two weeks when he was on the DL. After returning to action, he got sick in Toronto and then was hurt when he was hit in the foot by a pitch in a game against the Texas Rangers.

The A’s will be facing Mike Leake Tuesday night, Marco Gonzalez on Wednesday night, and their nemesis, Felix Hernandez, Thursday afternoon. Leake is 4-3, but his record is deceptive as the M’s have given him an abundance of run support. Gonzalez faced the A’s in April and went 3 1/3rd innings and gave up four runs and five hits and he was rewarded with a no-decision. On Thursday, it will be King Felix. Hernandez has a lifetime record of 26-10 against Oakland. His eyes light up when he sees the Green and Gold.

Hopefully, the A’s can turn the tables on Hernandez. The M’s lefty James Paxton will not see action in the series. Paxton’s last two outings have been outstanding. The Canadian-born Paxton threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays for his first career complete game and then had his second complete game in his last start.

The M’s bullpen has performed well. The bullpen is staffed by setup men such as Juan Nicasio, Nick Vincent, Marc Rzepczynski, and dynamite closer Edwin Diaz. There is a new face in the M’s pen, and he is former A’s reliever, Ryan Cook. Cook, who was an All-Star with the A’s in 2012 and pitched for them until 2015, was recalled from the minors last week. Cook missed all of the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery. Cook last pitched in the Majors in 2015, and it will be interesting to see if he has regained the form that made him an All-Star.

The A’s have shown that they have a very potent lineup. Everyone can hit the ball out of the park. Jed Lowrie, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Matt Joyce, Chad Pinder, Mark Canha, Stephen Piscotty,  Dustin Fowler, and Jonathan Lucroy are all dangerous hitters.

However, the A’s most-feared hitter, Khris Davis, strained his right groin in Sunday’s game in Toronto. The injury usually takes a while to heal, and Davis is currently day-to-day, but there is a possibility that he will be placed on the 10-day DL. Chad Pinder would probably fill in for Davis as the DH.

As mentioned above, the A’s rotation is in dire straits due to injuries. Sean Manea and Daniel Mengden pitched in Toronto and are not available under the series with Arizona. Cahill is pitching on Tuesday, and the starters for Wednesday and Thursday are to be determined. The A’s may call up Kendall Graveman from Nashville to fill in.

In other news, the A’s reinstated catcher Bruce Maxwell from the ineligible list on Monday and sent Josh Phegley back to Nashville.

A’s cap sweep, impressive road trip with Mengden’s gem in 9-2 win over the Blue Jays

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

Ten-game roadie through three of the toughest venues the American League has to offer, seven wins, at least one home run hit in every game, a signature moment in Chad Pinder’s eighth inning, grand slam on Saturday, an aggressive approach to every at-bat that brought definition to the Oakland A’s offense, and one, significant injury that will be of concern going forward.

With all that happening and more, starter Daniel Mengden could have struggled to carve out his own niche of notoriety, but his pitching performance Sunday afternoon at the Rogers Centre was too good for that.

Mengden went seven innings, allowing two hits as the A’s romped, capping a rare, four-game road sweep with a 9-2 spanking of the Blue Jays.

“We went right after it the first couple times through and then started pitching backwards,” Mengden explained. “We just tried to pitch unpredictable as much as we could, and the defense was extraordinary behind us.”

Sunday’s stellar performance marked yet another breakthrough for the former Texas A&M starter who needed 13 starts to win at the Coliseum in Oakland for the first time. Now, Mengden can say he’s the prince of daytime baseball, having won a day start for the first time in 2018 after coming up short on four occasions.

As for the A’s, they came into their own on the completed 7-3 road trip: the starting pitching continued its steady, incremental improvement after a rough start over the first 15 games of the season. Meanwhile, the bullpen was needed early and often over the duration of the trip, and delivered consistently. The offense was carried by the long ball, with Marcus Semien’s fifth inning blast on Sunday the 19th of the trip through New York, Boston and Toronto. And as Mengden mentioned, on Sunday, while he dealt, the A’s defense ran circles in support.

 

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Pinder’s slam gets A’s third straight win over Jays; Giants’ Melancon may not close for SF; Giants Utility man Panda likely to fill in at second

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from sbnation.com: Chad Pinder clears the bases with this swing a grand slam that helped the A’s win three straight over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. The A’s and Jays meet again on Sunday.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Chad Pinder hits grand slam in A’s win at Toronto.

2 Mark Melancon not likely to jump back to closer’s role with Giants; Bumgarner making progress.

3 Panda may see action at second base for Giants before Joe Panik returns.

4 Brandon Belt hears from Joe Torre for comments about umpires.

5 Twins put former MVP Joe Mauer on DL with concussion symptoms.

6 Tim Tebow having great month at Double-A, could move up.

Daniel Dullum does the MLB The Show podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s ‘Pen Near Perfect Despite Early Call, Oakland Beats Jays 3-1

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s were forced to turn to their bullpen earlier than anticipated Friday night North of the Border, but the result wound up a surprise for the Green and Gold. Despite having starter Brett Anderson exit the game after just one inning with an apparent leg injury, the Oakland bullpen fired eight innings of one-run ball in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays to put the A’s one game over .500. Dustin Fowler had a big night at the plate, hitting his first career homerun and adding a game-winning RBI double. Josh Phegley also knocked in a run off Toronto starter Marco Estrada to give the A’s (23-22) wins in back-to-back games in Toronto.

Anderson pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, but exited the game after taking his warm-up tosses to open the second inning. Relieve Josh Lucas came on, firing 3 2/3 innings. He would exit the game with a no-decision though.

Despite Fowler’s first career big fly, a solo homer in the top of the 3rd of starter Marco Estrada, Lucas exited the game with Oakland tied 1-1. Lucas gave up a one-out double to catcher Luke Maile and a two-out single by Gio Urshela tied the game. Manager Bob Melvin then tabbed Danny Coulombe to finish out the inning, which he did by striking out the resurgent Curtis Granderson. Coulombe (1-1, 4.96 ERA) fired a perfect sixth inning as well, putting him in line  for the win after the A’s rally in the 7th inning.

With Estrada getting two quick outs in the inning, the Jays appeared safe. Chad Pinder doubled, then Fowler and Phegley each hit two-baggers to give Oakland a 3-1 lead and knock Estrada (2-4, 5.15 ERA) out of the game. In total, three of the A’s seven hits off Estrada came in the inning.

Chris Hatcher pitched a scoreless seventh, but Yusmeiro Petit couldn’t quite get the third out when it was his turn in the eighth. Blake Treinen came in with runners on second and first, striking out Kevin Pillar to end the inning. He then went 1-2-3 in the ninth, closing the game out with back-to-back punch outs of Maile and Dwight Smith Jr. for his ninth save of the year.

Oakland can push itself further above .500 and take the weekend series Saturday with a win from ace Sean Manaea. He’ll be opposed by righty Sam Gaviglio who will be making his first start of the season. Gaviglio has appeared in two games in relief, firing 4 1/3 innings.

It’s bombs away as the A’s pound the Blue Jays 10-5

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s continued to send baseball flying out of the park as they hit three home runs to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-5 in the first of four games at the Rogers Centre. The A’s have not had great success in Toronto as they had lost 12 of the last 13 games played in Canada. They rectified the situation with a resounding win Thursday night.

Andrew Triggs started for Oakland. Triggs’ record was 3-1, but he was hammered by the Yankees in New York last Saturday. Triggs left the game in the third inning when he complained about tightness in his right forearm. Aaron Sanchez toed the rubber for Toronto, and he did not make it out of the fifth inning and was charged with his fourth loss.

The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Jays’ center fielder Kevin Pillar led off with his 18th double of the season to get the ball rolling for Toronto. Pillar advanced to third on a long flyout to center field. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales grounded out to drive in Pillar. The Jays lead 1-0.

The A’s scored three times in the top of the third. With one out, Matt Joyce singled. Jed Lowrie, one of the hottest hitters in baseball, doubled to drive in Joyce. Khris Davis then hit his 13th dinger of the year. Davis now has 38 RBIs to his credit and is tied with Manny Machado for the most RBIs in the league. The A’s are ahead 3-1

Aaron Sanchez walked Jed Lowrie to start the fifth inning. Toronto’s skipper, John Gibbons, replaced Sanchez with Seung-hwan Oh. Davis singles, sending Lowrie to third. The next hitter, Matt Olson, took Oh deep for his seventh big fly and the A’s upped the lead to 6-1. The A’s weren’t done scoring as third baseman Matt Chapman double. Dustin Fowler singled to knock in Chapman with the As’ fourth run of the inning, and they owned a 7-1 lead halfway through the fifth inning. The Blue Jays showed some life in their half of the fifth as they put three runs on the board to cut the lead to 7-4.

The A’s responded by scoring two more runs in the sixth. Former A’s reliever John Axford was brought in to pitch. He hit Khris Davis with a pitch, and Matt Chapman homered to make it a 9-4 game.

Toronto scored a run in the eighth, and the A’s added another run in the ninth to win 10-5.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s have played seven games so far on the 10-game road trip and have homered in every game. The A’s season record improved to 22-22 while the Blue Jays’ record dropped to 22-22.

Khris Davis was 4-for-4, scored three times, and was on base five times. The line score for Oakland was 10 runs, 14 hits, and one error.

The line score for Toronto was five runs, seven hits, and no errors. Yusmeiro Petit was the winner, and Aaron Sanchez took the loss.

Bob Melvin used Triggs, Santiago Casillo, Yusmeiro Petit, Ryan Dull, and Lou Trivino.

The A’s announced that catcher Bruce Maxwell has been placed on the restricted list and he was not able to travel with the club to Canada. The A’s brought up Josh Phegley from Nashville to take his place.

Up Next: Game two of the series will be in Toronto at 4:10 pm PST. Brett Anderson will go for Oakland. Anderson is 0-2 with an ERA of 8.16. Anderson last pitched against the Yankees last week and was tagged for four runs in just five innings of work. Anderson will need to show improvement if he is to remain with the club. He will be opposed by the Jays’ Marco Estrada. Estrada is 2-3 and has aN ERA of 5.32. Estrada continues to have problems keeping the baseball from flying out of the park. He has allowed 10 big flys this season and gave up a career-high 31 last year.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Green-Harden battle could just be the beginning of a physical series; Cano says he didn’t know he was taking steroids; Does Gruden know what he’s doing?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @clevezirm

On the Headlines Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Tony will be looking back a bit on that first game with the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors when the Rockets’ James Harden and the Warriors’ Draymond Green got into a scrap in the first few minutes.

#2 The Seattle Mariners’ Robinson Can came clean admitting he took a substance Furosemide, a diuretic he told reporters that he was given the substance by a doctor in the Dominican Republic, but didn’t realize it was a banned substance. Cano was suspended by MLB for 80 games and is one of the highest-paid players in the MLB.

#3 Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has been getting some criticism about the way he’s handled personnel so far. He’s let go of Michael Crabtree, punter Marquete King and now Kahlil Mack’s contract, whose contract is coming up could be leaving. The Raiders are looking for some cap room.

#4 In spite of the A’s having the usual arm problems their starters have been coming through with Sean Manaea helping Oakland get a one run 6-5 win and Tuesday night with pitcher Daniel Mengden improving his record to 3-4, going six innings, eight hits, two runs, and three strikeouts and two wins in the series against Boston.

#5 The Giants, after losing five straight all on the road, have now won three straight and are preparing for the Colorado Rockies starting on Thursday night. The Rockies, who are in second place in the NL West, will be a test for San Francisco at AT&T Park after success against a last-place Reds team.

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s got some success in Boston series; A’s Manaea and Mengden lead the way in pitching in Bean Town

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 The A’s have won two games in this series with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Sox have to be sick of the A’s about now after getting no hit when they were out in Oakland and then the A’s come in and take the first two games of the series.

#2 The A’s got some great pitching out of starter Sean Manaea on Monday night and then on Tuesday night from starter Daniel Mengden.

#3 The A’s open a four-game series in Toronto starting tonight at Roger’s Centre. The A’s will be going with Jake Sanchez (3-2), who’ll open the series tonight.

#4 In the Sox series, Mark Canha, who was playing center on Tuesday, chased down a foul ball near the side wall in foul territory and made the catch. A fan took a swipe at the ball and hit the brim of Canha’s hat. Canha said the fan should have been thrown out of the game, but wasn’t.

#5 A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty came back to play on Tuesday after taking a week off for bereavement following the death of his mother. Piscotty, with a heavy hat, hit a home run over that historical fence the Green Monster for his third home run of the year.

Jerry Feitelberg is a beat reporter for the Oakland A’s catch his exclusive coverage at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

A’s out-homer the Red Sox in an attempt to sweep, but drop series finale 6-4

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @RedSox

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost the finale of the three-game series to the Boston Red Sox 6-4 Wednesday night at Fenway Park. The A’s hit three home runs while Boston sent two into the stands. However, Boston’s two produced five runs while the A’s three were good for just four.

A’s pitcher Trevor Cahill, making his first start since coming off the 10-day DL, went five innings and allowed five hits and three runs. Cahill was charged with the loss and is now 1-2 for the season.

Red Sox ace Chris Sale also pitched five innings, and he allowed just two hits and two runs. Sale’s record improved to 4-1.

The Red Sox scored three times in the bottom of the first inning. Mookie Betts led off the inning with a single to left field. Betts advanced to second when Chad Pinder misplayed the ball. Betts went to third when Andrew Benintendi singled to right field. Boston’s designated hitter Hanley Ramirez grounded out, and Betts scored the first run of the game. The next hitter, J.D. Martinez blasted his 12th homer of the season 422 feet over the wall in centerfield. The Red Sox lead 3-0.

Sale did not allow a run in the first four innings of work. Sale, who is a strikeout pitcher, had a high pitch count as he started the fifth inning. He walked the leadoff hitter, Chad Pinder. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien homered into the Monster seats in left field to make it a one-run game 3-2.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in reliever Ryan Dull to start the sixth inning. Dull was greeted by a single off the bat of Hanley Ramirez. He walked J.D.Martinez to put men on at first and second with no out. Xander Bogaerts made Dull walk the plank as he blasted his fifth dinger of the year to put the Red Sox ahead 6-2.

The A’s Matt Joyce hit a solo homer off Heath Hembree in the seventh, and Matt Olson hit a high fly ball that barely cleared the top of the wall in left field for his sixth of the year in the top of the ninth off Boston’s closer Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel recovered to close out the game for Boston. The Red Sox win 6-4.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the A’s drop to 21-22. If the A’s were in the AL Central, they would be in a dogfight for first place with the Cleveland Indians. However, the A’s are in the AL Central and are in fourth place, looking up at the Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, and Seattle Mariners.

The A’s won the series two games to one and won the season’s series from Boston four games to two. The Red Sox were very happy to say goodbye to the A’s as they had their hands full with them this season.

The A’s are on their way to Toronto to start a four-game series with the Blue Jays beginning Thursday evening. Andrew Triggs (3-1, ERA 5.31) will go for Oakland. Triggs was pounded for six runs and six hits and did not make it out of the fifth inning last Saturday against the Yankees.

The Blue Jays will send Aaron Sanchez to the hill and Sanchez is 2-3 with an ERA of 4.08. Sanchez has been inconsistent and the A’s hope that Sanchez will not be able to shut down their offense.

Up Next: Game time will be at 4 pm PST.

A’s are back to .500 after 5-3 win over Red Sox

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Boston Red Sox must be asking themselves this question: “Who are these guys?” Well, these guys are the Oakland A’s and by defeating Boston 5-3 Tuesday night, they have won four of the five games played between these two teams so far this season.

A’s Daniel Mengden won his first game ever against Boston, and Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez absorbed his first loss.

The A’s scored two in the first and one in the second to take an early 3-0 lead. In the first inning, Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder singled to start the game. Rodriguez retired the next two hitters but could not get past A’s third baseman Matt Chapman. Chapman drove in Semien and Pinder with a double to deep right center field. In the second inning, right fielder Stephen Piscotty–in his first game since coming off the bereavement list–homered to left. The A’s lead 3-0 after two innings of play.

The Red Sox picked up a run in the bottom of the fourth. The run was unearned as Matt Chapman made a fielding error that allowed J.D.Martinez to get to second. Xander Bogaerts singled to send Martinez to third. Bogaerts was retired at second when Moreland reached on a fielder’s choice. Martinez scored on the play. In the bottom of the fifth, Andrew Benintendi hot a solo home run to make it a 3-2 game.

The A’s added two insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Khris Davis and Matt Chapman singled to start the rally. With two out, Mark Canha doubled to drive in Davis and Chapman to ice the win for Oakland.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the A’s evened their season record at 21-21 and are 3-2 on the road trip so far. The Red Sox dropped to 28-14.

Daniel Mengden went six innings and allowed eight hits and two runs, one of which was unearned. Mengden earned his third win of the campaign.

Lou Trivino pitched the seventh and eighth and held the Red Sox off the board. Blake Treinen picked up his eighth save, even though he gave up a run.

The A’s announced that Trevor Cahill will start the final game of the three-game series on Wednesday. To make room for Cahill, the A’s sent Kendall Graveman back to Triple-A Nashville.

Like I’ve mentioned earlier, Stephen Piscotty returned to action after being on the bereavement list due to the death of his mother.

Cahill will pitch for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Boston’s ace, Chris Sale.

Up Next: Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday at 4:00 pm PST.

Sean Manaea hurls the A’s to a 6-5 win over the Red Sox

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s Sean Manaea continued his mastery over the Boston Red Sox as he beat them for the second time this season. Manaea didn’t pitch a no-hitter, but he pitched well enough to earn his fifth win against four losses. Manaea bested Boston’s Rick Porcello, who suffered his first loss of the year. The A’s hitters came through with three solo home runs and catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s double with two outs in the fourth drove in two big runs.

Oakland put a run on the board in the top of the third. With one out, Matt Joyce hit fourth big fly of the campaign off Porcello to give the A’s an early 1-0 lead. The Red Sox tallied twice in their half of the third. With two out, Mookie Betts singled. Betts stole second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Andrew Benintendi reached on a throwing error by Matt Chapman that allowed Betts to score and Benintendi was able to go to second when the ball got by Matt Olson. Hanley Ramirez’s singled to drive in Benintendi with Boston’s second run. The Red Sox lead 2-1.

The A’s regained the lead in the fourth. With one out, the Matts, Olson, and Chapman, singled. Lucroy followed with a double to drive them in, and Lucroy scored on Dustin Fowler’s first career triple. Oakland has a 4-2 lead after four.

The Red Sox crept closer in the bottom of the fifth. Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon singled, and Betts doubled to put men on at second and third with no out. Benintendi flew out, but Leon could not tag and score. Ramirez hit into a fielder’s choice that drove in Leon. Betts was thrown out a third and Manaea retired J.D.Martinez for the third out.

Matt Olson homered to right-center-field to make it a 5-3 game in the top of the sixth. The Red Sox got the run back in the seventh when Rafael Devers led off the inning with his seventh. In the eighth, Khris Davis homered for Oakland, and J.D.Martinez blasted his 11th to make it a 6-5. The A’s closer Blake Treinen earned his seventh save as he was able to get the final three outs of the game.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, The A’s improve to 20-21 and Boston drops to 28-13 and are now in second place in the AL East just a half game behind the idle New York Yankees. The A’s are now 2-2 on the 10-game road trip and have beaten Boston three out of four.

Sean Manaea went six-plus innings and allowed eight hits, four runs, one of which was unearned, four strikeouts, one walk, and one home run, and improved to 5-4.

Yusmeiro Petit pitched two innings and Treinen pitched one. Rick Porcello took the loss and is now 5-1. Porcello went six innings and allowed nine hits, and five runs, and two homers.

Trevor Cahill, who has been on the 10-day DL, is eligible to return to action on Wednesday. Outfielder Stephen Piscotty, who lost his mother to ALS last week, is expected to return from bereavement leave Tuesday night.

Up Next: Daniel Mengden (2-4, 4.06 ERA) will pitch for Oakland Tuesday. Mengden is 0-1 with an ERA of 8.00 in two career starts against Boston. He will be opposed by lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 4.58 ERA). Game time will be at 4:10 pm PT.