Tag: Oakland A’s

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Lawsuit filed against Nevada Schools Over Stadiums; A’s lobbyists say educators leave out crucial information on petition measure

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Laborers Union Local 872 retired political director of Laborers Thomas Morely is one of the plaintiffs who filed a challenge in First District Court of Carson City challenging Schools over Stadiums from putting an initiative on the Nevada ballot to stop public funding of the Tropicana Hotel Ballpark for the Oakland A’s. If Schools over Stadiums get enough signatures in four Nevada districts the measure would go on the ballot Nov 2025. A no vote against funding the ballpark with public money would stop the ballpark funding unless the A’s can raise the money privately. (photo from Laborers International Union 872)

Lawsuit filed against Nevada School Over Stadium

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

ByAmaury Pi-González

A Lawsuit by two labor leaders in Nevada challenges the Nevada teacher union-led PAC “School Over Stadium.” A petition to repeal public funding for the new proposed stadium for the Oakland A’s in Las Vegas. Who filed it? Once the head of the Nevada AFL-CIO, Danny Thompson was joined by Thomas Morley, a retired political director of Laborers Local 872.

Morley is currently a private consultant. The filing took place in the 1st District Court in Carson City, the capital of the State of Nevada, where all legal challenges are filed. Oakland A’s representatives deferred comment to the attorney working on the case.

According to The Independent of Nevada, Bradley Schrager represented a broad, emerging coalition of business and labor interests. The Oakland A’s are part of that coalition, according to Mr.Schrager, who said, “SB1 passed with majorities in both houses,” referring to the bill that authorized public financing to help the A’s construct a 33,000-seat ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. “The governor approved it, so it’s no surprise that support exists.”

The lawsuit argues that the School Over Stadiums petition “doesn’t include the full text of the proposal as required by Nevada State Constitution and alleges the referendum is “inaccurate, misleading and argumentative, and therefore is legally inadequate and does not meet the requirement of Nevada State law.”

This is a battle between the educators in Nevada (not all but the School Over Stadium group) vs. Labor and Business interests in Nevada. Organized labor backed the A’s when the bill was before the Legislature. The Southern Nevada Building Trades has a project labor agreement with A’s for the ballpark construction.

Culinary Workers Local 226 has an agreement with the team to organize workers at the stadium once it opens. The A’s were also the main sponsors of the Nevada AFL-CIO Convention in August at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 is the largest labor union in Nevada and alongside the Bartenders Union Local 165, represents 60,000 guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers statewide in Nevada.

This is very interesting, schools are very important any place in the country, but Nevada is the one place in the US where the hospitality business has ruled since Las Vegas was founded from the days of the first hotel resort, El Rancho Vegas, on the Las Vegas Strip in 1941, to this day.

Could the Schools over Stadiums group have been late to the party? The PAC behind the ballot measure was launched in June by the Nevada State Education Association following the approval of SB1. The Legislature approved the funding bill, and the A’s are waiting for Major League Baseball to vote for the team’s relocation request, which the Commissioner expects to take place this November, with the beginning of the construction of the new Las Vegas ballpark in early 2024.

In 2024, the American League schedule calls for the Oakland A’s to play their 81 home games at the Oakland Coliseum, where they have been playing since 1968. So what happens now? Who is going to win this? Only God knows when lawyers decide this type of stuff; if you do not understand it, you are not alone. Q:What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer? A: An offer you can’t understand.

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

Good pitching, Timely hitting, give A’s 2-1 win over Twins at Target Field

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Oakland A’s starter Ken Waldichuk will duel against the Los Angeles Angels on Fri Sep 29, 2023 at the Big A in Anaheim. This will be the last series of the 2023 season for Oakland. (photo from White Cleat Beat)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s, behind Luis Medina’s best performance of the year and timely hitting by the A’s offense, gave the A’s a 2-1 win over the Central Division champions, the Minnesota Twins. It was Medina’s last start in 2023, and he made it a good one. The young man from the Dominican Republic can go home knowing how well he pitched Thursday afternoon.

The Twins did score a run off Medina in the bottom of the sixth. However, relievers Lucas Erceg, Dany Jimenez, and Trevor May pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth inning to secure the win for the Green and Gold.

The A’s were facing their former teammate Sonny Gray in the final game of the three-game series. Gray had been a first-round pick of the A’s in the 2011 Amateur Draft. Gray had been a standout pitcher at Vanderbilt University. The Twins’ manager, Rocco Baldelli, planned to have Gray pitch four innings as he will pitch the second game of the AL Wildcard series slated to start next Tuesday.

The A’s scored the game’s first run in the top of the second inning. With one out, JJ Bleday, recently activated from the IL, singled. Bleday went to second base on Aledmys Diaz’s ground out. A’s shortstop Nick Allen singled to drive in Bleday.

The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Willie Castro, playing third base for the Twins, laid down a perfect drag bunt to reach safely. Former San Francisco Giant Donovan Solano singled, sending Castro to second.

Medina hit Alex Kiriloff with a pitch to load the bases with no out. The next hitter, Matt Wallner, who hit a grand slam Tuesday night, hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Castro scored to tie the game. Medina retired Ryan Jeffers for the final out.

The Twins threatened to break the game open in the bottom of the seventh. A’s reliever Lucas Erceg walked Trevor Larnach to start the inning. Erceg retired the next two hitters. Erceg suddenly could not find the strike zone. He walked Edouard Julien and Willie Castro to load the bases.

The next hitter was the ever-dangerous hit machine, Donovan Solano. It was quite a battle. It took 12 pitches as Erceg struck out Solano with a 99-mile-per-hour fastball that ended the inning.

The Twins brought Kenta Maeda to relieve Sonny Gray in the fifth inning. Maeda held the A’s hitless for three innings. The game-winning hit came in the top of the eighth. A’s rookie first baseman Ryan Noda blasted his 16th home run of the year into the right field seats to give the A’s a 2-1 advantage.

Dany Jimenez gave up a one-out double to Matt Wallner. The Twins needed a hit to tie the game. Jimenez retired Ryan Jeffers on a fly ball to left and Trevor Larnach on a ground out to first baseman Ryan Noda. Trevor May, a former member of the Minnesota Twins, retired his former 1-2-3 in the ninth. The A’s win 2-1.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 49-110. It was the A’s third win in their 14 games. The winning pitcher was Lucas Erceg. The Twins dropped to 85-74. The losing pitcher was Kenta Maeda.

The line for Oakland was two runs, four hits, and no errors.
The line for the Twins was one run, four hits, and no errors.

The line for Luis Medina was six innings pitched, allowing one run, four hits, walking three, and striking out four. Medina threw 93 pitches, 55 for strikes. It was his best performance of the year.

The A’s play the season’s final three games with the Los Angeles Angels. Both teams have had a dismal season. The A’s set an Oakland record with 110 losses. The Angels lost their two All-Stars to injury. Mike Trout broke his hamate bone last July and did not fully recover.

Shohei Ohtani had UCL surgery and is out until next year. The big question in Anaheim is whether the players will wear an Angel uniform next year. Ohtani is a free agent and will be a hot property on the market. The big-money teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, or Mets will be trying to sign Ohtani.

The A’s will send lefty Ken Waldichuk to the hill Friday night to face the Angels. Waldichuk will be trying to win his fifth game of the year. Chase Silseth will pitch for LA.

For this writer, this will be my final A’s game summary for 2023. It has been difficult to watch the A’s lose so many games. However, as dismal as it has been, there are some bright spots. First, I would like to commend A’s manager, Mark Kotsay, for the job he did in such unfortunate circumstances.

Kotsay made sure his players gave 100% every day. They may not have produced better results, but it was not for lack of effort. The guys were all grinders. They did not lay down. The A’s have some young talent that may change their fortunes. Second baseman Zack Geldof has shown he is a big-league talent.

In the coming seasons, Ryan Noda, Esteury Ruiz, and Shea Langeliers will all be building blocks. The A’s need to improve the starting rotation. The only pitcher with five wins was Shintaro Fujinami. The A’s traded Fuji to Baltimore, and the young pitcher from Japan will be in the playoffs.

Starting pitcher for Oakland to open the three game series in Anaheim Friday night for the A’s Ken Waldichuk (4-8 ERA 5.29) for the Los Angeles Angels Chase Silseth (4-1 ERA 4.10) a 6:38pm PT first pitch.

Let me finish by saying adios to the Green and Gold. Let’s hope next year will be better.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Manfred hopes for owners vote to relocate A’s on Nov 14th in Texas

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Artist’s renderings of a Las Vegas A’s ballpark at the Tropicana Hotel and Resort which is expected to open in 2028 if approved at the MLB owners relocation vote in Arlington Nov 14-16, 2023 (renderings image furnished by the Oakland A’s)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Jerry, On Wednesday Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he hopes MLB owners will hold the vote to relocate the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas.

#2 Jerry, Manfred said he hopes the relocation vote will take place in Arlington between Nov 14-16th.

#3 Las Vegas will be the A’s fourth city since the franchise started in Philadelphia in 1901-54, then to Kanas City from 1954-67, and to Oakland from 1968 to the present.

#4 The only thing that can stop the A’s from relocating is the owners vote no on the move. Manfred appears to be very confident to a point that he’s looking past the vote but when the A’s will pull up stakes and move out of Oakland.

#5 The other move that could stop the A’s moving to Vegas is the Schools over Stadiums group who aim to put a ballot measure that says the state should not be using public funds to subsidize building a ballpark at the Tropicana location but the funds should be going to schools. If there are a enough signatures from four different districts on the Nevada petitions the vote would take place Nov 2025.

Jerry Feitelberg did the Oakland A’s podcasts during the 2023 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s lose No.110, Twins break 8th inning tie in 6-4 win

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Oakland Athletics left fielder Seth Brown lies on the ground after trying to catch an RBI double by Minnesota Twins’ Kyle Farmer during the second inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Wed Sep 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

It was another tough night for the Oakland A’s as they were beaten for the second night in a row by the Minnesota Twins. The A’s played a more competitive game on Wednesday, but the result was the same: another loss by a score of 6-4.

The Twins starter, Pablo Lopez, worked just four and 1/3rd innings. Twins’ skipper Rocco Baldelli wanted Lopez to get some work in before the playoffs start next Tuesday. Lopez will get the start in that game. The A’s pitcher, 21-year-old Joey Estes, made his second big league start.

Estes, acquired in the trade that sent Matt Olson to Atlanta last year, pitched well. Estes went five and 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and three runs. He threw 75 pitches and did not get a decision.

The Twins drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning. Estes’ first pitch to Edouard Julien flew out of the park. One pitch, one run. The Twins led 1-0. The Twins added another run in the second inning to go ahead 2-0.

With one out, Estes hit Twins’ centerfielder Willi Castro with a pitch. Castro stole second and scored on Kyle Farmer’s double to right field. The A’s right fielder, Seth Brown, almost made the play of the night on Farmer’s ball. Seth dived for the ball, but his glove hit the ground and squirted out of the glove. 

The A’s scored their first run of the night in the top of the third. Lawrence Butler led off the inning with a double. Butler went to third on Ryan Noda’s ground out. Lopez struck out Zack Gelof for the second out. Seth Brown singled to drive in Butler with the run. The A’s trailed 2-1 midway through the third.

The A’s scored three times in the fifth. With one out, Butler doubled for the second time in the game. Ryan Noda singled, sending Butler to third. Rocco Baldelli replaced Lopez with reliever Caleb Thielbar. Geldof struck out for the second out.

Aledmys Diaz, pinch-hitting for Seth Brown, doubled to drive in Butler, and Noda went to third. Brent Rooker’s bloop single to shallow right plated Noda and Diaz. The A’s led 4-2 . 

Joey Estes kept the Twins off the board after the second inning. A’s manager Mark Kotsy had Estes start the sixth inning. With one out, the Twins’ Max Kepler singled.

It was Kepler’s third single of the game. Kotsay brought in Kyle Muller to pitch. Muller struck out Jordan Luplow for the second out. The next hitter, Ryan Jeffers, homered to tie the game. It was 4-4 after six complete.

The Twins put the winning runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth. Dany Jimenez was on the hill for Oakland. Max Kepler singled for the fourth time. Andrew Stevenson was sent in to run for Kepler. Trevor Larnach pinch hit for Jordan Luplow. Larnach doubled high off the wall in right field. Stevenson scored on the play. Larnach went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Jeffers’ sacrifice fly to make it a 6-4 advantage.

The Twins had lefty Dallas Keuchel on the mound to start a second inning of relief. With one out, Keuchel walked Nick Allen. Carlos Perez, pinch-hitting for Lawrence Butler, was hit by a pitch. The A’s had two men on and one out. Baldelli brought in Griffin Jax to end the game. Jax struck out Ryan Noda and Zack Gelof to preserve the Twins’ win. The Twins win 6-4.

Game notes: With the loss, the A’s, after 158 games, are a woeful 48-110. They have the worst record of any Oakland Athletics team. The only A’s team with the worst record was the 1916 Philadelphia A’s team. That team lost 117 games.

The Twins improved to 85-73. The Twins hit two more home runs to bring their season total to 225 for the year, third best in the American League.

The line score for Oakland was four runs, nine hits, and no errors.

Minnesota’s line was six runs, thirteen hits, and no errors.

The A’s will try to salvage a win on Thursday. Luis Medina (3-10 ERA 5.64) will go for Oakland, and his opponent will be Sonny Gray (8-8 ERA 2.80), who broke in with the A’s in 2013. The game will start at 10:10 a.m. Following Thursday’s game, the A’s will finish the season with the Los Angeles Angels.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary Podcast: Mayor and MLB Commissioner very far apart on any baseball future in Oakland

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Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao (pictured) and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (not pictured) seem much further apart after Manfred said in a recent San Francisco Chronicle report that there was no discussion between he and Thao about an expansion team for Oakland or the city keeping the A’s name (AP News photo)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says in a San Francisco Chronicle report, that everybody likes to pile on MLB adding that you have to look at what Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has done and hasn’t done. She is great saying MLB did this wrong and that wrong but did she handle this well, “I don’t think so” said Manfred.

#2 It should be noted that Mayor Thao was only in office four months when the A’s announced that they would leaving Oakland and prior to that she said she was in negotiations with the A’s to secure a deal that was nearly 10 percent of the way being completed before the A’s said they had a binding deal with the Rio in Las Vegas.

#3 It also was reported that Manfred was agitated during the interview saying that Thao should be blamed for losing it’s third professional team after Oakland lost the Raiders and Warriors under previous Mayor Libby Schaff.

#4 Manfred went onto say that there was never a discussion about expansion in Oakland and keeping the A’s name, that it was simply not true, and that he and Thao never discussed these alleged demands.

#5 Amaury, the way you see the relationship between the Commissioner and the Mayor of Oakland being so far apart would say the chances of getting anything for baseball done in Oakland is almost all but dead?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Twins send A’s down to their 109th loss in 2023; Minnesota puts a Twin killing on Oakland 11-3

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Minnesota Twins’ Matt Wallner runs the bases after hitting a grand slam against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tue Sep 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost again for the 109th time in 2023. The Minnesota Twins, third in the American League with 223 home runs, used the long ball to beat the A’s 11-3.

Oakland’s pitchers helped the Twins by issuing three walks in the first, and all three scored on Matt Wallner’s grand slam. Again, in the seventh. A’s pitchers Francisco Perez and Zach Neal walked three Twins hitters. One walked forced in a run, and Twins’ catcher Christian Vazquez’s double to right-centerfield cleared the bases.

The Twins scored two in the fifth. Former San Francisco Giants’s Donovan Solano started the rally by getting a walk. Twins’ first baseman blasted an opposite-field home run to put the Twins ahead 7-0.

The only offense the A’s could mount came in the top of the seventh. Brent Rooker singled, and Seth Brown homered to make it 7-2. The Twins put four on the board in their half of the seventh to break the game wide open.

As mentioned above, it was the A’s 109th loss of the year. The A’s broke the record for futility set by the 1979 A’s team. Fortunately, there are only five games left to play this year.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are 48-109, 61 games below 500. The Twins, who captured the Central Division crown yesterday, improved to 84-73. The Twins will be the third seed in the American League playoffs and have the home-field advantage in the Wild Card Round.

The hitting star for the Twins was Donovan Solano. Solano had three singles and a double and reached base five times. Matt Wallner and Alex Kiriloff homered for the Twins.

The only bright spot for Oakland was Seth Brown’s home run.

The line score for Oakland was two runs, eight hits, and no errors. Paul Blackburn was the losing pitcher. His line was three innings pitched, and he allowed five runs and four hits. Blackburn walked four, and three scored.

The Twins line was 11 runs, eight hits, and no errors. Bailey Ober was the winning pitcher.

The A’s play the Twins again Wednesday night. A’s rookie pitcher Joey Estes (0-1 ERA 9.64) will make his second Major League start. The Twins will counter with Pablo Lopez (11-8 ERA 3.61).

Over 22,000 fans sat through a rainy evening to watch the Twins pound the A’s

Oakland A’s preview: A’s open up three game series against Twins Tuesday night

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Oakland Athletics’ Ryan Noda reacts after striking out against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Sep 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are off on Monday. On a sour note, they finished the final home game of the season at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday. The A’s lost to the Tigers 4-1, which was the 108th of the year. The 108 losses tied the A’s 1979 team, which also lost 108 games.

The A’s start the final six-game road trip of the year starting on Tuesday with three games against the Minnesota Twins. Neither team has anything to achieve. The Twins are the champions of the Central Division and will be the number three seed in the American League playoffs.

The A’s will finish the season with the worst record in baseball. They will likely only win some of the six games on the trip and will set a new A’s team record for most losses in a season.

The Twins were fortunate to be in the Central Division. If they were in the AL West or Al East, the Twins would be in the race for the last Wild Card slot. The Twins are the only team in the Central Division with a winning record, 83-73.

That is the seventh-best record in the league. Toronto, Texas, Houston, and Seattle all have a better record. In the AL West, it will be a dogfight until the final day of the season. The Rangers play three against the Angels starting on Monday, then four against the Seattle Mariners starting on Thursday.

The Mariners trail the Rangers by three games, but Houston could sneak in as Division Champs if they can sweep the Rangers. Houston plays Seattle for three games, starting Tuesday, and finishes the season against the Arizona D-Backs. Seattle has seven games against the two teams ahead of them in the standings. Seattle still has a chance to make the playoffs.

If the playoffs were to start today, The Orioles and Rangers would have byes. The Twins would be playing the Astros, and the Tampa Bay Rays, with the second-best record in the AL, would face off against the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round. The Rays’ record is seven and 1/2 games better than the Twins, 95-62 compared to the Twins 83-73.

While the A’s don’t have anything to achieve, A’s skipper Mark Kotsay wants to have his team continue to give a total effort. Many of the young A’s players want to show they are in the team’s plans for 2024.

The bright spots for Oakland are players like second baseman Zack Gelof, right fielder Brent Rooker, outfielders Esteury Ruiz and Lawrence Butler. The A’s need to rebuild their starting rotation. The bullpen did okay. Trevor May had almost 30 saves.

The Twins may want to keep their starting position players on the field or let them rest before the playoffs. Many people feel the regulars should continue playing in order not to let rust set in. Other people contend that the regulars should rest to avoid getting injured.

In any case, the A’s have three games to play. The Twins have a solid solid starting rotation. The A’s will see Bailey Ober on Tuesday night, Pablo Lopez on Wednesday, and former A’s starter Sonny Gray on Thursday. The A’s Paul Blackburn will pitch on Tuesday against the Twins. The A’s have not announced their starter for the two other games.

The Twins have only two players with more than 20 home runs. Outfielder Michael Taylor has twenty, and Max Kepler has twenty-three. The Twins will feature Alex Kiriloff at first base, Jorge Polanco at second, Carlos Correa at short, and Kyle Farmer or Polanco at third base.

Royce Lewis is out until October 1st. Willi Castro, Michael Taylor, and Max Kepler will be the outfielders. Byron Buxton and Joey Gallo will be available on September 26th. Both players have spent time on the IL.

The Twins have a solid bullpen. The setup guy is Griffin Jax and the closer is Jhoan Duran. Duran has 27 saves and has blown five saves this year. Other relievers include Caleb Thielbar, Emilio Pagan, Dylan Floro, Chris Paddack, Kody Funderbunk, Dallas Keuchel, and Louie Varland.

The A’s will be playing for pride. The Twins want to win to show the league that they are worthy of being in the playoffs.

The game will start at 4:40 p.m.

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s lack hitting in 4-1 loss to Tigers; Open 3 game set in Minnesota Tuesday

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Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof couldn’t make the catch on the Detroit Tigers Andy Ibanez’ line drive in the top of the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Sep 24, 2023. This was the A’s final home game for 2023. (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 JP Sears, who had struggled through a 5-12, 4.52 season, also struggled again Sunday. He faced 23 batters over five innings, throwing them 97 pitches 58 of them strikes. 

#2 Opposing Sears in this battle of southpaws, was Eduardo Rodríguez, (11-9, 3.57 at game time), who did a fine job in his seven innings of work. He shut the Athletics out on five hits, four walks, and a wild pitch.

#3 Miguel Cabrera was in Detroit’s starting line up as the designated hitter. He closed out his Coliseum career by going 0 for 4 with a walk but drew loud applause after his last at bat, at which he struck out.

#4 Esteury Ruíz, leading off instead of batting in his recent number nine slot in order to improve his chances of breaking the record of stolen bases by an American League rookie (66) made two attempts in the bottom of the first. He was successful in pilfering second but was out by a mile when he tried to steal third.

#5 The A’s will travel on Minneapolis and Anaheim for the half a dozen games remaining in their schedule. Paul Blackman (4-6, 4,11) will face the Twins on Tuesday at 4:40 Pacific Time. The Twins will go against Kenta Maeda (6-7, 4.28).

Barbara Mason did the Oakland A’s podcasts Mondays during the 2023 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Tigers end A’s home season with 2-0 shutout; Detroit sends out 3 pitchers to silence A’s hitting

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Detroit Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez throws to an Oakland Athletics batter during the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on the last A’s home game on Sun Sep 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

Detroit (73-83). 002 000 000. – 2. 11. 0
Oakland (48-108). 000 000 000 – 0. 7. 1

Time: 2:34

Attendance: 13,102

Sunday, September 24, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND—Well, that did it. The Oakland Athletics wrapped up their home season with 2-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers in a contest riddled with missed opportunities.

JP Sears, who had struggled through a 5-12, 4.52 season, also struggled again this afternoon. He faced 23 batters over five innings, throwing them 97 pitches 58 of them strikes. He allowed two runs, both of them earned but not entirely his fault. He struck out seven and walked two before being relieved in the sixth by Adrián Martínez, who threw 2+ scoreless innings. Sears took the loss and went home with a record of 5-13, 4.49.

Martínez held the Tigers in check for 2+ frames before yielding to Kyle Muller with Jake Rogers on first with a bloop single to center. Muller managed to keep the Tigers off the board in the eighth, with a little help from a great throw by Rooker to nab Zach McKinstry trying to advance from first to third. McKinstry had gotten on base when Noda made a fine grab and throw of his attempted sacrifice to force Rogers out at second. Zach Neal hurled a scoreless ninth..

Opposing Sears in this battle of southpaws, was Eduardo Rodríguez, (11-9, 3.57 at game time), who did a fine job in his seven innings of work. He shut the Athletics out on five hits, four walks, and a wild pitch.He threw an even 100 pitches; 61 counted as strikes, chalking up five Ks.

Jason Foley followed him and was pulled in favor of Alex Lange after allowing a two out single to Rooker. Langer fanned the pinch hitting Seth Brown to end the inning and then stayed on to close out the game. Rodríguez earned the win, his 12th against nine losses and brought his ERA down to 3.40. Langer earned the save, his 25th.

Miguel Cabrera was in Detroit’s starting line up as the designated hitter. He closed out his Coliseum career by going 0 for 4 with a walk but drew loud applause after his last at bat, at which he struck out

Esteury Ruíz, leading off instead of batting in his recent number nine slot in order to improve his chances of breaking the record of stolen bases by an American League rookie (66) made two attempts in the bottom of the first.

He was successful in pilfering second but was out by a mile when he tried to steal third. That brought his total to 64. Ruíz’s leadoff double in the fourth gave him another chance to steal. He took advantage of it as the lead runner in a double steal that he and Gelof pulled off, catcher Jake Robinson’s throwing straight through to second.

That gave the A’s two runners in scoring position with none out. They blew that opportunity. when Ruíz was thrown out at home on Rooker’s grounder to third and Díaz bounced into an inning ending double play. It was a case of The Curse of the Leadoff Double being compounded by The Curse of the Double Steal and The Curse of the Double Play.

Another base running error conspired with The Curse of the Leadoff Double one inning later. Shea Langeliers laced the fatidic two bagger and then tried to advance to third on Ryan Noda’s hard ground ball to short. He. was not successful. The A’s went on to load the bases and leave three more runners on base.

Sears was the victim of some poor fielding in the top or the third that teamed up with a couple of Tiger hits to give the visitors the 2-0 lead they would hold for the rest of the game. Parker Meadows banged a double off the Budweiser ad beneath the 362 foot marker in left field. Matt Vierling followed with a walk.

Andy Ibáñez lifted a pop fly to short right. Zack Gelof attempted an over the shoulder catch but couldn’t keep the ball in his glove; it was scored as. single. Spencer Torkelson’s fly to right fell in for a single, driving in the two runners, and Torkelson took second on Rooker’s errant throw to the infield. Sears bore down, and second base is where Torkelson was stranded. Sears, Martínez, Muller, and Neal shut the Tigers down from there on.

The A’s will travel on Minneapolis and Anaheim for the half a dozen games remaining in their schedule. Paul Blackman (4-6, 4,11) will face the Twins on Tuesday at 4:40 Pacific Time. The Twins will go against Kenta Maeda (6-7, 4.28).

A’s May shuts door on Tigers for 4-1 win; Oakland wins second straight game

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Oakland Athletics pitcher Joe Boyle works against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Sep 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

Detroit (72-83). 001 000 000. – 1. 6. 0

Oakland (48-107) 002 000 02x. 4. 6. 2

Time: 2:38

Attendance: 9,776

Saturday, September 23, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND—About the only bright spot in the 10-1 beat down the A’s suffered at the hands of the San Diego Padres on September 17 was the brilliant debut of the 24 year old right handed pitcher Joe Boyle, who pitched three innings of one hit shutout ball before ceding the mound to a trio of his elders consisting of Ken Waldichuk, Darin Sweet, and Francisco Pérez, who proceeded to collaborate with Oakland’s impotent offense in the ignominious defeat that followed Boyle’s departure.

Friday night, the A’s bats regained their lost vim, vigor, and vitality, Waldichuk held the Detroit Tigers to a couple of runs on four hits in six innings as the Athletics broke their eight game losing streak in an 8-2 triumph over the visiting Bengals. Saturday, the green and gold defeated the orange in black, 4-1 in a game that was closer than the final score would indicate.

This afternoon Boyle was back on the mound for Oakland against the Tigers, who, with yesterday’s bitter defeat, joined the A’s in the group of teams mathematically eliminated from playoff competition. Boyle wasn’t as sharp this afternoon as he’d been six days ago, but he lasted longer and pitched extremely well.

He allowed a single in the first and a leg double to Parker Meadows in the second. A well hit two bagger by Zach McKinstry and an error by Jordan Díaz on a sharp grounder to third in the second combined for an unearned Tiger run in the third.

AJ Hinch, the ex-Athletic at the helm of the Detroit squad, indisputably used an opener, 28 year old right hander Miguel Díaz. He spent most of this season with the AAA Toledo Mud Hens, where he went 2-4-14, 5.05. His brief appearance ended after an inning and a third in which all he yielded was a second inning leadoff walk. The southpaw Joey Wentz took over after with one on and no outs and induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame.

The A’s reversed Detroit’s one run lead in the home half of the third. After Nick Allen’s one out single to center, Esteury Ruíiz lifted a fly just to the right of the left field foul pole for his fifth home run and 45th and 46th RBI of the season. Wentz took the loss because of those two runs, bringing his won–lost record down to 3-12 and his earned run average up to 6.45.

Boyle came out for the fifth with no one warming up in the Oakland bullpen, which qualified his performance as a traditional start in my book. He ended up going six innings and allowing just that one unearned run and a total of five hits and a walk while striking out five of the 24 Tigers he faced.

He threw 94 pitches, only 30 of which were balls, and maintained his immaculate ERA while winning his first victory in the show. Lucas Erceg relieved him at the beginning of the seventh and allowed nothing but a walk in his one inning tenure.

Dany Jiménez, who took over for Erceg for the eighth, wasn’t as effective as his predecessors. He struck out two but also walked three, with a wild pitch thrown into the bargain, before Trevor May was called in to bail him out with the bases loaded and Parker Meadows, who had gone one for two with a double and a walk, at the plate. May fanned him on five pitches.

Oakland scored a couple of much needed insurance runs off Jason Foley in the bottom of the eighth. He issued a one out walk to Nick Allen, who moved up a base on an infield single by Ruíz. Nola followed that with a double off the right field wall that drove in Allen and sent Noda to third. Gelof’s single to right made it a 4-1 Athletic lead. The rally was squelched when Seth Brown hit into a 4-6-3 twin killing.

The top of the ninth wasn’t easy for May. He issued a full count walk to Carson Kelly to lead off the inning. Akil Baddoo hit a hard grounder to Gelof. He had trouble getting the ball out of his glove, and the A’s had to settle for a force out at second.

Zach McKinstry smacked a hard ground ball to Allen at short. Rather than throw to second, he made a one hop throw to first that Noda couldn’t come up with. Matt Vierling’s single to center loaded the bases. But May celebrated his 34th birthday by fanning Torkelson and Carpenter to earn his 20th save.

Sunday’s, 1:07 game will end the A’s home season. JP Sears (5-12, 4.52) will face Detroit’s Eduardo Rodríguez (11-9, 3.57).