Tag: Oakland A’s

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s can’t hold onto lead in late innings drop another one run game 7-6 in Cleveland

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Oakland Athletics’ Esteury Ruiz steals second base as Cleveland Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario catches the throw during the fourth at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Wed Jun 21, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor slugged his first big league hit and then later scored an eighth inning run to put the Guardians on top 7-6 on an Oakland A’s throwing error.

#2 After winning seven straight games, the A’s have lost seven in a row, including the last four games, by a single run.

#3 Unfortunately for Oakland, the pen couldn’t keep the Guardians off the board. The Guardians’ big first baseman, Josh Naylor, blasted his ninth home run of the year to make it a one-run game, 6-5 in favor of the A’s after seven.

#4 The Guardians led 7-6 after eight. The Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase squirmed out of a jam in the ninth to earn his 22nd save of the year. With Tony Kemp at first and no out, Clase received a gift from the home plate umpire.

#5 The A’s finish the three-game series with Cleveland on Thursday. It will be a battle between two lefties. JP Sears (1-4 ERA 4.24) will go for Oakland, and Logan Allen (3-2 ERA 3.95) for Cleveland will oppose him. The game will start at 10:10 am.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Could Marlins Arraez arrive at .400 for the season? Giants-Cards to play on Willie Mays’ first pro field in 2024; plus more

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Rickwood Field in Birmingham will host the St Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants in June 2024 a the first regular season Major League game held there. It was the field that Willie Mays broke in on 72 years ago for the Birmingham Barons. (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 The Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez is hitting at a .400 clip if he finishes the season at .400 he would be the first player to hit .400 or over since former Boston Red Sox Ted Williams did it in 1941.

#2 The San Francisco Giants and the St Louis Cardinals will play a regular season game at Rickwood Field in Fairfield Alabama in 2024. The game will be a tribute to Willie Mays who broke in with the Birmingham Barons some 75 years ago.

#3 The Boston Red Sox Tanner Houck took a come backer to the face on Monday night as New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka hit a 89.7 MPH pitch that struck Houck in the face that caused him to bleed out. Houck was able to walk off the field under his own power. Houck is listed as out indefinitely with a facial fracture.

#4 The Boston Red Sox who are last place in the AL East are showing interest in the Oakland A’s who are in last place infielder Aledmys Diaz. Diaz is in the first year of his two year contract worth $14 million with the A’s. Diaz is hitting .212, six doubles, two home runs, and 11 RBIs for 2023. The Red Sox like his glove and he could help the club up the middle.

#5 In just three games the New York Yankees have scored just eight runs and they badly miss Aaron Judge out of the line up who out with a right toe sprain. The Yankees are 4-8 and have lost four straight games.

Join Jessica Kwong for Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s lose another one run game fall to Guardians 7-6; Loss is Oakland’s 7th straight

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Oakland Athletics’ Ryan Noda watches his three-run home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams during the third inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Wed Jun 21, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg.

The Oakland A’s (19-57) lost another one-run game to the Cleveland Guardians (35-38) Wednesday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The final score was 7-6. After winning seven straight games, the A’s have lost seven in a row, including the last four games, by a single run.

The A’s gave starter Paul Blackburn a 4-0 lead in the top of the third. Cleveland scored three in their half of the inning. Cleveland tied the game in the fifth. The As’ went ahead 6-4 in the top of the seventh. The A’s needed the bullpen to stop the Cleveland offense in the seventh and eighth to secure the win.

Unfortunately for Oakland, the pen couldn’t keep the Guardians off the board. The Guardians’ big first baseman, Josh Naylor, blasted his ninth home run of the year to make it a one-run game, 6-5 in favor of the A’s after seven.

Naylor also drove in his 55th RBI with the homer. A’s skipper Mark Kotsay summoned Austin Pruitt from the bullpen to pitch the eighth. The Guardians found a way to put two more runs on the board. The rally began when Myles Straw singled with one out.

When he singled, Bo Naylor, Josh’s younger brother, recorded his first Major League hit, sending Straw to second. It was Bo Naylor’s first hit in Major League baseball. Pruitt now had to face the Guardians’ left-fielder Steven Kwan, the young man from Fremont doubled to drive in Straw with the Guardians’ sixth run of the night.

Ramon Laureano’s throw to second base went awry, and Naylor was able to score on the errant throw. The Guardians led 7-6 after eight. The Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase squirmed out of a jam in the ninth to earn his 22nd save of the year. With Tony Kemp at first and no out, Clase received a gift from the home plate umpire.

Aledmys Diaz was called out on strikes when charged with a time clock violation. Diaz stepped out of the batter’s box and nodded to the umpire for time. When Diaz stepped back into the box, the umpire called the violation, and Diaz was out.

Confusion reigned as Diaz and Kotsay argued for clarification. It was to no avail. Esteury Ruiz singled, sending Kemp to third. Ruiz stole second. It was Ruiz’s second steal of the game and 38th of the year. Clase struck out Ryan Noda for the second out and retired Seth Brown on a fly ball to center.

The A’s scored four in the third. Kemp and Tyler Wade singled to get the rally going for Oakland. Ruiz singled to drive in Kemp with the A’s first run Ryan Noda followed with his ninth big fly of the season to make it 4-0.

The Guardians scored three times in their half of the third. Catcher Bo Naylor walked to start the rally. Singles by Steven Kwan, Amed Rosario, Jose Ramirez, and Josh Naylor produced three runs. Cleveland sent eight men to the plate in the inning.

In the fifth, Jose Ramirez tripled to right field, leading off the inning. Josh Naylor’s infield single drove in Ramirez with Cleveland’s fourth run. The score remained tied until the top of the seventh. The A’s scored twice to take a 6-4 lead.

With one out, Tony Kemp singled. Aledmys Diaz, pinch-hitting for Tyler Wade, singled, sending Kemp to third. Terry Francona brought in setup reliever Trevor Stefan to pitch. Esteury Ruiz singled driving in Kemp. It was Ruiz’s second RBI of the game.

Stefan retired Ryan Noda for the second out. Seth Brown broke an 0-for-14 slump with a single to drive in Ruiz with the A’s sixth run. As mentioned above, Cleveland scored in the bottom of the seventh when Josh Naylor Homered. Cleveland added two more in the eighth to win 7-6.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are 19-57. Cleveland improved to 35-38. The line score for Oakland was six runs, nine hits, and two errors. The line for Cleveland was seven runs, 13 hits, and no errors.
The Winning pitcher was Elijah Morgan. Austin Pruitt took the loss.

A’s starter Paul Blackburn went five innings and allowed nine hits and four runs. He struck out seven and walked one. Cleveland’s starter, rookie Gavin Williams went five and 2/3rds innings. He allowed four hits and four runs. Williams struck out four and walked three.

The A’s Esteury Ruiz had three hits, all singles, drove in two and stole two bases. Tony Kemp also had three hits. The hitting stars for Cleveland were Hosh Naylor and Jose Ramirez. Naylor had three singles and a home run. Ramirez had two singles and a triple.

The A’s finish the three-game series with Cleveland on Thursday. It will be a battle between two lefties. JP Sears will go for Oakland, and Logan Allen will oppose him. The game will start at 10:10 am.

It takes ten innings for Cleveland Guardians to down A’s 3-2

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Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Luis Medina walks to the dugout after a groundout by Cleveland Guardians’ Will Brennan during the sixth inning at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Tue Jun 20, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (19-56) lost for the sixth straight game Tuesday night. The A’s lost 3-2 in ten innings. While the pitching has improved in the last two weeks, the A’s could not snap the five-game losing streak. They needed a key hit in the tenth, but they could not get the one they needed. The Cleveland Guardians(34-38) rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the seventh to tie the game. Cleveland scored in the tenth to end it. The game summary follows below.

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the top of the third. Singles by Tony Kemp and Esteury Ruiz put men on at first and third with one out. A’s first baseman Ryan Noda’s ground out drove in Kemp with the run.

The A’s went ahead 2-0 in the seventh. Tony Kemp slugged his second home run of the year into the seats in right field. Cleveland tied the game in their half of the inning. Center fielder Myles Straw started the Guardians’ rally with a double.

With one out, A’s manager replaced Luis Medina with lefty Sam Moll. Moll retired Steven Kwan for the second out. Sam Moll gave up a single to Amed Rosario. Straw scored to make it 2-1. Jose Ramirez was the next hitter. Ramirez, a switch hitter and very dangerous in the clutch hit a line drive that got by a diving Seth Brown in left field. The ball rolled to the wall. Rosario scored on the play to tie the game.

Neither team scored in the eighth or the ninth. In the tenth, with Shea Langeliers as the ghost runner, Guardians’ reliever Enyel De Los Santos shut down the A’s offense. The Guardians scored in the tenth. Jose Ramirez was the ghost runner. The A’s issued a free pass to Josh Naylor.

Tyler Freeman laid down a sacrifice bunt. The A’s tried to nail Ramirez at third. The throw did not get there in time. The Guardians had the bases loaded with no out. All Cleveland needed was a sacrifice fly to win the game. The next hitter, Andres Gimenez, settled the affair with a single to right field to win the game for Cleveland. The A’s lost 3-2.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 19-56. The guardians improved to 34-38.

The line score for Oakland was two runs, six hits, and no errors.

Cleveland’s line was three runs, ten hits, and one error.

The A’s Ken Waldichuk started the game. He was the opener and went one and 2/3rd innings. Luis Medina replaced him, and he pitched 4.1 innings. He gave up four hits and one run. Sam Moll replaced Medina and allowed two hits and one run. 

The Guardians’ starter Aaron Civale gave his team a quality start. He went six and 2/3rd innings of work. Civale allowed five hits and two runs. 

Tony Kemp had a single and a home run to extend his hitting streak to five games. Esteury Ruiz singled in the third and has now hit in six straight games.

The hitting star for Cleveland was Amed Rosario. Rosario had two singles and a double.

Game two of the three-game series will be played Wednesday night. The A’s will send Paul Blackburn to the hill. Blackburn is 0-0, with a 3.48 ERA. The Guardians’ starter will be Gavin Williams. Williams will be making his Major League debut. A 4:10pm PT first pitch at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast: Were horses traded in the Nevada Legislature in order to approve the A’s Vegas ballpark?

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Oakland A’s have billboards up and around Las Vegas extending their congratulations to the recent NHL Stanley Cup champions Vegas Golden Knights. The A’s are already trying to make inroads in the Las Vegas community. (photo by the Las Vegas Review Journal)

On That’s Amaury News and Commentary podcast:

#1 The Las Vegas Review Journal got a letter from a reader that says they rarely disagrees with the Journal saying that there will be new taxes and the Nevada tax payer will be on the hook for the new Las Vegas A’s ballpark at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.

#2 Amaury, the paper points out, the average wage for the Nevada citizen $44,000, the average salary for a player is $724,000, while A’s owner is a multi billionaire. The paper goes onto to say that the citizens should not have to pay for a wealthy owner who owns a ball club.

#3 Amaury, a vote on the A’s relocation could come as soon as next week. This would be well ahead of the MLB drop date of Dec 2023. Will the MLB owners vote no because there is no share of relocation money to be divided or will they vote yes because the next owner who wants to move can do so without paying the relocation fee?

#4 Amaury, how interesting do you find it that despite 87 percent who were polled in a written opinion poll at the Nevada Legislature were against the funding of public dollars for the new A’s ballpark the Nevada Legislature had voted 25-15 in favor of funding the park worth $380 million in tax credits.

#5 Amaury, I know you wrote about this in your column yesterday that gambling is in the veins of those who live in Vegas and baseball is coming to casinos right outside of the ballpark and across the street from the park and that asks the question should lifetime banned players Shoeless Joe Jackson of that famous 1919 Chicago Black Sox team and former Cincinnati Reds player-manager Pete Rose be reconsidered for induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Amaury Pi Gonzalez if the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s Move to Las Vegas and Gambling Scandals in Major League Baseball

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Shoeless Joe Jackson is serving a lifetime ban for being associated with seven of his other 1919 Chicago White Sox teammates. Jackson tried to plea that he did not bet on the 1919 World Series or throw the World Series (photo from baseballhistorycomesalive.com)

A’s Move to Las Vegas and Gambling Scandals in Major League Baseball

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Notwithstanding the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal with the use of technology during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Major League Baseball has a much larger history of gambling scandals, the most recent in the 1980s.

Pete Rose’s betting scandal is the only reason the man with 4,256 hits, more than any other player in history as well as another four batting records, is banned from baseball and his election into the Hall of Fame.

Another gambling-related scandal was the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, where eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds for money; gambling syndicate boss Arnold Rothstein led the fix.

Other gambling-relating incidents in Major League Baseball include the 1877 Louisville Grays scandal, a 1908 bribery attempt, the 1914 World Series “upset”, and suspicions in 1917-1918. Gambling has been in the DNA of America’s pastime.

1914-The Philadelphia Athletics franchise in the 1914 World Series, some of the A’s players may have been upset at their owner/manager Connie Mack, because he was a penny-pincher, and the rumor was that the A’s players did not play hard in coordination with heavy wagering against Philadelphia A’s placed by famous Broadway entertainer George M. Cohan who was a good friend of Connie Mack.

Did somebody say “collusion”? More recently and now, for over a decade, MLB has partnered with DraftKings North America. In 2012, President and co-founder of Draft Kings North America, Matt Kalish, said, “As we adapt and scale integrations within the constantly evolving sports landscape, MLB and DraftKings will again shape the future of fan engagement in baseball and beyond.”

Major League Baseball helped ignite the daily fantasy industry. Millions of fans bet on baseball. I do not. However, I know people (not baseball players) that are “into the fantasy baseball thing”. Nobody did more for popular gambling in sports than Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder.

He changed the perception of sports betting, which used to be limited to sleazy bookies. Snyder shared his knowledge on radio and television, and even newspapers. He would be The Gambling King of Vegas if he were alive today.

He died in Las Vegas in 1996 at the age of 78 years old. He died eight years after making controversial racist comments that damaged his reputation. Today, some of the big media that cover legalized gambling in sports: are ESPN Radio 24/7 Sports Coverage, Sports Grid Radio Network, Sports Gaming Info and Entertainment, ESPN New York 98.7, Fox Sports Radio, Sports Byline USA.

On October 10, 2022, Cumulus Radio in San Francisco 810AM (old KGO radio) launched The Bay Area First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting. And, of course, all the commercials on network TV during televised sporting events.

The proposed new Athletics baseball park stadium is scheduled to inaugurate in 2028 in the Gambling Capital of the World. The location is at the southern end of The Strip, near the airport, which takes more sports bets (for all sporting events) than any other in the world.

Gambling is what’s in the blood veins of Las Vegas, Nevada. Will this move to Vegas finally get Pete Rose into Cooperstown? Stats: The new proposed A’s stadium in Las Vegas across from the MGM Grand is nine acres large and should have a half-retractable roof. Target Field in Minneapolis, the home of the Twins, is only 8.5. acres (smallest in MLB) and does not have a roof but a canopy above the top deck.

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

Oakland A’s day off report: Medina gets the call to open series in Cleveland on Tuesday; Ruiz leads off and has MLB stolen base lead

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Oakland A’s Esteury Ruiz slides home safely after scoring on a Ramon Laureano single against the Seattle Mariners Tue May 23, 2023 in first inning action at T Mobile Field in Seattle (AP file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s finished an up-and-down week, ending the seven-game homestand with two wins and five losses. The A’s had won seven games in a row before they lost two to the Tampa Bay Rays and three to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The A’s seven-game win streak saw them win two against the Pittsburgh Pirates and a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates and Brewers are in a dogfight for first place in the NL Central. The A’s won the first two games of the four-game set with the Rays.

It was no easy task as the Rays own the best record in baseball. The team had almost 28,000 people in the seats on Tuesday, June 13th. Organizers of a reverse boycott hoped to show A’s owner John Fisher and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred the fans would support the team in Oakland.

Fisher, as usual, said nothing. Manfred dismissed the effort as meaningless as he said their effort was no better than the average attendance at a game in Major League baseball. Manford also said the city of Oakland needed to do more.

Oakland needed a program in place to build the stadium. Manfred is tone-deaf. Oakland had raised over 400 million dollars in grants for infrastructure needs. The City Council was two days away from a vote. The A’s ownership had turned the fans off by trading away their best players and leaving the fans with a team with the worst record in all of baseball.

Winning brings people into the seats. Then, to make matters worse, the Nevada legislature voted to approve $380 million to give to the A’s to help build a stadium in Las Vegas. The Nevada governor signed the bill.

The only hope the A’s fans have is that the owners of the other 29 teams will reject the move. Manfred has said baseball will waive the $300 million relocation fee. The owners share those fees. Many of them say they want Las Vegas to get an expansion team. The fees for an expansion team are around two billion. That’s a lot more money to share.

None of the drama on the relocation situation should affect what’s happening on the field. The A’s still have to go out and play the game. A’s manager Mark Kotsay has to be pleased with his team’s performance in the last 12 games.

They went 7-5. During the winning streak, the A’s starters and relievers pitched well. The A’s offense came to life, and the team showed improvement. They split four games with the Rays. They lost three games to the Phillies. Two of the losses were by one run. The Phillies are the hottest team in baseball. They have won fourteen of the last 16. The Phillies were in the World Series last year.

The A’s start a six-game road trip in Cleveland Tuesday night. The A’s will play three against the Guardians and then finish the road trip with three against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Guardians are in second place in the AL Central with a record of 33-38.

They are two and 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins. Manager Terry Francona is in his 11th year as the skipper of the Guardians.

The A’s will send Luis Medina (1-6, 7.55) to the hill Tuesday night. Cleveland will counter with Aaron Civale(2-2, 2.67). Righty Paul Blackburn (0-0, 3.49) goes for the A’s on Wednesday. The Guardians have not announced a starter. Lefty JP Sears(1-4, 4.24) will be on the mound on Thursday. Logan Allen (3-2, 3.95) goes for Cleveland.

The key players for the Guardians are first baseman Josh Naylor, third baseman Jose Ramirez, and outfielders Stephen Kwan and Will Brennan. Their catcher is Josh Naylor’s younger brother Bo Naylor. Closer Emmanuel Clase leads the Guardians bullpen. Clase is 1-4 but has recorded 20 saves this year.

Their setup guy is Trevor Stephan. The Guardians do not have a left-handed pitcher in the bullpen. The A’s will see relievers Sam Hentges, Enyel De Los Santos, Elijah Morgan, Nick Sandlin, Xzavion Curry, and two recently recalled from Triple-A, Daniel Norris and Tim Herrin. The A’s will not see the Guardians’ ace Shane Bieber in the series.

The A’s want to get some wins on this road trip. They will need better pitching and timely hitting. They know they can win on the road. They are looking for players such as Esteury Ruiz, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, Seth Brown, JJ Blesday, Ramon Laureano, Roberto Perez, and Shea Langeliers to get back on the hit parade. Blackburn has pitched well since coming off the IL.

Also of note A’s leadoff hitter Ruiz leads the majors in stolen bases with 36 for the season and could get some good coverage on the base paths that could help Oakland get a leg up for this upcoming road trip.

Medina has improved, and Kotsay wants him to give the A’s a quality start on Tuesday night. JP Sears, acquired in the trade that sent Frankie Montas to the New York Yankees, has to find a way to stop serving up gopher balls. Sears has allowed 17 dingers in his starts this year.

The A’s still are the worst team in baseball. Kotsay continues to have a positive outlook. He has seen some improvement in the last two weeks. The A’s would love nothing better than winning each series against the Guardians and The Blue Jays.

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: A’s hope to end 5 game skid Tuesday night in Cleveland

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Oakland Athletics’ JJ Bleday, bottom right, steals second base next to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, left, and umpire Brennan Miller during the fourth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Jun 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 Tough loss for the Oakland A’s starter Hogan Harris who dropped his record to 2-1 in the A’s fifth consecutive loss on Sunday. The A’s lose by a run 3-2 to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 Harris went six innings, giving up four hits two runs, seven strikeouts. He had his pitches working for him and kept runners off the bases.

#3 The Phillies Kyle Schwarber led off with a left field home run in the top of the first for his 20th homer of the season and it didn’t shake Harris’ confidence.

#4 In the top of the eighth the Phils Trea Turner’s hit scored Cristian Pache and the Phillies went up by two runs 3-1. The A’s were able to pick up one run in the bottom of the eighth but weren’t able to tie the game going down by a run.

#5 The A’s will try it all over again as they have the day off on Monday and face the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field for a three game series starting on Tuesday night at 4:10pm. For the A’s Luis Medina (1-6 ERA 7.55) will go up against the Guardians Aaron Civale (2-2 ERA 2.67) to open the series.

Join Barbara for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: A’s Harris goes 6 innings but not enough in loss to Phils

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, right, gestures toward teammates after hitting a single next to Oakland Athletics first baseman Ryan Noda (49) during the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Jun 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Tough loss for the Oakland A’s starter Hogan Harris who dropped his record to 2-1 in the A’s fifth consecutive loss on Sunday. The A’s lose by a run 3-2 to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum.

#2 Harris went six innings, giving up four hits two runs, seven strikeouts. He had his pitches working for him and kept runners off the bases.

#3 The Phillies Kyle Schwarber led off with a left field home run in the top of the first for his 20th homer of the season and it didn’t shake Harris’ confidence.

#4 In the top of the eighth the Phils Trea Turner’s hit scored Cristian Pache and the Phillies went up by two runs 3-1.

#5 The A’s will try it all over again as they have the day off on Monday and face the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field for a three game series starting on Tuesday night at 4:10pm. For the A’s Luis Medina (1-6 ERA 7.55) will go up against the Guardians Aaron Civale (2-2 ERA 2.67) to open the series.

Jeremiah regularly does the A’s podcasts on Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s come up short in 8th edged by Phils 3-2 at Coliseum

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, left, is congratulated by Trea Turner after hitting a home run during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Jun 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

Philadelphia (38-34). 100 010 010. – 3. 7. 0

Oakland (19-55). 000 000 110 – 2. 9. 0

Time: 2:35

Attendance: 24,326

Sunday, June 18, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Worst Record Standings (at end of today’s Oakland game)

Team W L Pct. June 18 Result 1899 Cleveland Spiders 9 39 .188 No game 1962 NY Mets 16 45 .262 Lost to Milwaukee 7-1 2023 KC ROYALS 18 52 .257 Lost to Angels, 5-2 2023 OAKLAND A’S 19 55 .257 Lost to Philadelphia, 3-2.

Mark Kotsay and Scott Emerson chose Hogan Harris, the A’s third round choice in the 2018 draft, to start this afternoon’s attempt at reversing yesterday’s bitter defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies, a team in the process of recovery from its own weak start.

The Phils opened the day at 37-34, good enough for third place in the NL East. They finished last year in third, too and then went on to represent the National League in the World Series.

Hogan was the winning pitcher in his last two appearances, which included his only start of the season, when he went five innings against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, allowing three runs, all earned, on four hits on June 7.

The 26 year old southpaw began the day at 2-0, 4.84 and ended it at 2-1, 4.45, He pitched very effectively for six innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on four hits, one a round tripper and issued only one base on balls against seven strike outs. 61 of his 96 pitches went into the books as strikes.

Right hander Zach Wheeler (5-4.3.73 at game time) was a first round draft choice in 2009. The Giants chose him as the sixth overall selection. Between then and his first pitch this afternoon, Wheeler was 79-61, 3.44 over 1,268-2/3 innings in 209 games.

He had struck out 1,283 batters and achieved the impressive WHIP of 1.20. In was an almost incredible 1.01 in 2021 and 1.04 last year. He brought a better than respectable 1.20 to the mound. When the dust settled the veteran had thrown 107 pitches, 67 for strikes over six frames, shutting the A’s out on six hits and a walk while striking out four. He lowered his ERA t0 3.48 and brought his won-lost record to 6-4 with the win.

It didn’t take long for Philadelphia to take the lead. Kyle Schwarber lined Harris’s fourth offering over the State Farm sign in left center field for his 20th homer and 40th RBI of the season. Harris settled down after that and kept Philadelphia off the board, allowing only one base runner until Cristián Pache got a leg double to center with two out in the fifth.

Schwarber drove him in with a single to right on an outside 2-2 offering that the Phillies’ DH just reached out and dropped into right field. The visitors now were ahead, 2-0, both runs having been driven in by Schwarber.

Shintaro Fujinami took over for Harris to pitch the seventh. He retired the Phils in order. Matt Strahm was not as successful in handling the A’s when he took over for Wheeler to start the seventh. Aledmys Díaz touched him for a one out home run over the 367 foot sign in left to bring Oakland within a run of the Phillies.

Philadelphia overcame the Curse of the Leadoff Double to score another run in the top of the eighth. The double was Pache’s second straight two bagger to center. The RBI came on Turner’s single to left. After Fujinami walked Bohm, Lucas Erceg came on to pitch. He got Realmuto out on a pop up to first and retired Stott on a fly to left. But the A’s now trailed, 3-1.

José Alvardo assumed mound duties for the visitors in. the eighth. He fanned Rooker before Esteury Ruíz, pinch hitting for Brown, smacked a double to center and Carlos Pérez, hitting for Bleday, drove him home with a single to left that made it 3-2.

Austin Pruitt s threw a scoreless top of the ninth for Oakland in spite of allowing a leadoff single to Josh Harrison.

The Aheltics faced Yunior Marte in their do or die half of the ninth. He struck out the side to earn his first save of 2023.

The Athletics have a day off Monday and will face the Guardians in Cleveland on Tuesday at 4:10 Pacific time. They’ll send Luis Medina (1-6, 7.55) against Aaron Civale (2-2, 2.67)