Tag: Oakland A’s

Joey Meneses gets quite a greeting at home plate after hitting the game winning 10th inning three run home run against the Oakland A’s at Nationals Park in DC on Thu Aug 31, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Washington Nationals (45-86) beat the A’s 7-5 in ten innings on Thursday to win the series two games to one. In a game that took four hours and two minutes, the Oakland A’s (49-83) scored two runs in the top of the tenth to take a 5-3 advantage. With rookie Norge Ruiz on the mound for Oakland, the Nats scored four runs in their half of the tenth to win in a walk-off.

The A’s had two players in the lineup making their Major League debuts. They were Ken Waldichuk and Cody Thomas. Thomas came to the A’s in a trade for Sheldon Neuse in 2021.
Lefty Ken Waldichuk was acquired from the Yankees in the trade for Frankie Montas. Waldichuk, who played his college ball at St. Mary’s in Moraga, went four and 2/3rds innings.

He allowed five hits and one run, struck out six, and walked four. Waldichuk showed grit as he worked out of jams in the first three innings. The Nats’ centerfielder Lane Thomas doubled on Waldichuk’s first pitch.

Joey Meneses singled to drive in Thomas with the Nats’ first run of the game. Nelson Cruz singled to put men on at first and third with one out. Waldichul retired the next two hitters to end the threat. The Nats’ Alex Call led off the frame in the second inning with a triple. The Nats failed to score as Waldichuk retired the next three hitters, two on strikeouts.

The Nationals threatened to score in the third. They had men on at first and second with one out. Waldichuk struck out Ildemare Vargas for the second out. Cesar Hernandez walked to load the bases. Alex Call was retired on a fly ball to left to end the inning. Washington led 1-0 after three.

The Nats’ hurler, Paolo Spino, kept the A’s off balance with his mix of sliders, curveballs, and a 90-mile fastball. Rookie catcher Shea Langeliers broke the spell in the top of the fifth. Shea led off the fifth with his third home run of the year. The ball just made it over the fence in left.

The game remained tied until the top of the seventh. Cristian Pache, pinch-hitting for Thomas, drew a walk. Nick Allen laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to send Pache to second. With two out, Tony Kemp singled to drive in Pache.

Sean Murphy singled to right. Joey Meneses overran the ball, allowing Kemp to go to third. Seth Brown singled to drive in Kemp. The A’s led 3-1. Washington got a run back in their half of the inning. With one out, Meneses singled. It was his third hit of the game. Luke Voit followed with a single and sent Meneses to third. Nelson Cruz hit into a fielder’s choice to drive in Meneses with the run.

The Nationals tied the game in the eighth. Sam Moll was now pitching for Oakland. Moll hit Cesar Hermnadez with a pitch. The ball appeared to hit Hernandez on the top of his foot. The A’s challenged the call. After a short review, the call on the field was upheld. Hernandez stole second and scored the tying run on a single by Gargas.

Neither team scored in the ninth. In the tenth, the A’s scored two runs to take a 5-3 lead. Sean Murphy was the ghost runner at second base. Hunter Harvey, armed with a 100-mile-an-hour fastball, retired Brown and Stephen Vogt. Vimael Machin walked. Shea Langeliers doubled to drive in both runners to put the A’s ahead 5-3.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay summoned Norge Ruiz from the bullpen to pitch the tenth. Cesar Hernandez was the ghost runner. Ruiz retired Josh Palacios for the first out. Keibert Ruiz singled to drive in Hernandez. The A’s led 5-4 at this point in the game.

Vargas struck out for the second out. Ruiz walked Lane Thomas. The next hitter Joey Meneses, who had three hits earlier in the game, homered to win the game for the Nationals. The Nats win 7-5. It was the Nationals’ first walk-off win of the year.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are 49-83. Oakland has 30 games left to play in 2022. The Nationals improved to 45-86.

The hitting star for Oakland was Shea Langeliers, with a home run and a double. Langeliers drove in three runs. The Nats’ Joey Meneses had three singles and a game-winning three-run home run.
The line score for Washington was seven runs, 11 hits, and one error. The A’s line was five runs, 11 hits, and no errors.

In his first Major League game, Cody Thomas recorded his first hit in the fifth inning.

Oakland set a franchise record, having used 58 different players in 2022. They set an Oakland record using 29 rookies, another Oakland record with 15 rookie pitchers.

The A’s meet the Baltimore Orioles for three games starting Friday night. J.P. Sears (5-1, 2.28) will go for Oakland. The O’s will counter with righty Drew Kremer (6-4, 3.24 ERA) a 4:05 pm PDT.

Washington Nationals starter Anibal Sanchez picked up his first win of the season against the Oakland A’s at Nationals Park in DC on Wed Aug 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Oakland A’s (49-82) were just baffled facing Washington Nationals (44-86) pitcher Anibal Sanchez who three hits, one run in seven innings of work.

#2 Jerry, the A’s just couldn’t figure Sanchez out talk about his mix of pitches where the A’s hitters just couldn’t wrap enough of them to even catch the Nats on the scoreboard.

#3 The loss snapped the A’s three game win streak that Oakland had built up when they were at home taking the last two of a four game series against the New York Yankees and then taking the opening game in Washington on Tuesday night against the Nats 10-6.

#4 For Sanchez it’s his first win of the season and defeating a team that’s just above them for the worst record in baseball.

#5 The A’s and Nats conclude this three game series at Nationals Park in DC Thursday. Starting for the A’s Ken Waldichuk whose making his first start for the A’s he’ll be opposed by Nats starter Paolo Espino (0-6, 4.35 ERA) a 1:05 pm PDT first pitch.

Join Jerry for the A’s podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez delivered a pitch in the third inning against the Oakland Athletics at Nationals Park, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in Washington (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Behind a superb performance by the veteran Hurler Anibal Sanchez, the Washington Nationals snapped the Oakland A’s modest three-game winning streak Wednesday night with a 5-1 win at Nationals Park in DC. Sanchez had not won a game since the 2020 season. He was 0-5 before the start of the game, and his ERA was 5.72.

The A’s starter James Kaprielian absorbed the loss. Kap’s record is 3-9. Kaprielian has pitched six innings or fewer in his last 32 starts. Kap seems to run into trouble whenever he faces the opponent’s lineup for the third time.

The A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. First baseman Dermis Garcia hit a 457-foot blast into the left-field seats with one out. It was Garcia’s second homer run in the last two games and his second home run in his Major League carer. Garcia did not doubt that the ball would leave the yard after he hit the ball. The A’s didn’t know it at the time that they were done putting runs on the board.

Kaprielian had his way with the Nats for the first three innings. He got out of a jam in the fourth. With two out, Nelson Cruiz and Keibert Ruiz singled to put men on at first and third. Kap struck out Lane Thomas for the third out.

Things went south for Kap in the bottom of the fifth. Kap walked the leadoff hitter CJ Abrams. A’s second baseman Jonah Bride misplayed Idelmaro Vargas’ ground ball. The speedy Abrams went to third on the play. Josh Palacios singled to drive in Abrams. Nats’ second baseman Luis Garcia singled to drive in Vargas.

The Nats led 2-1. Kaprielian got the 30-year-old rookie, Joey Meneses, to hit into a 5-4-3 double play. All Kaprielioan had to do to get end the inning was retire Luke Voit. Voit had a tough night in Tuesday’s game. He was hitless in five trips to the plate and struck out three times. Voit was hitless in his first two appearances Wednesday night. Voit ended the drought when he blasted his 17th home run of the year into the right-center-field seats to put the Nats ahead 4-1.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay elected to send Kap out to pitch the sixth. Three of the four runs the Nats scored in the fifth were unearned. Kaprielian retired Ruiz and Thomas for the first two outs. Abrams ended Kap’s night when he doubled. Kotsay brought in lefty Zach Logue to pitch to the switch-hitter, Ildemare Vargas. Vargas doubled to make it a 5-1 game.

As mentioned above, Sanchez went seven innings, allowing three hits and one run. His only mistake was Demis Garcia’s monster home run. Charles Edwards, Jr. and Kurt Finnegan held the A’s scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve the win for Sanchez and the Nationals.

Game Notes- With the loss, the A’s are 49-82. The Nats are 44-86. Washington entered the game with a woeful home record of 20-47.

The line score for Washington was five runs, nine hits, and one error. The line for Oakland was one run, five hits, and no errors. The A’s loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth but failed to score.

The A’s meet the Nationals Thursday at 1 pm. The A’s will start Lefty Ken Waldichuk, who will make his first Major League start. Waldichuk came to the A’s from the Yankees in the trade for Frankie Montas. Righty Paolo Espino (0-6, 4.35 ERA0 will be on the mound for the Nats.
After the series with the Nationals end, the A’s will head to Baltimore to play three games against the revitalized Orioles.

Oakland A’s infielder Dermis Garcia raises his hand in appreciation of the success the A’s offense was having against the Washington Nationals on Tue Aug 30, 2022 at Nationals Park in DC (@Athletics photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s(49-81) playing in the fairly new Washington Nationals (43-86) stadium for the first time, beat the Nats 10-6 in a wild and woolly contest. It had been hot and humid in the Nation’s Capitol earlier in the day. However, after a rain shower, the temperature at the start of the game was 73 degrees, and the humidity was 95%.

With humidity numbers in that range, the players on the field will work up quite a sweat, and the players know the ball carries better with high humidity. Would the starting pitchers be able to keep their opponents’ bats quiet? Could Cole Irvin get run support from his mates? The A’s hitters did give Irvin support.

The A’s put ten runs on the board and recorded 13 hits. After a great performance against the Miami Marlins last week in Oakland, Cole Irvin was not sharp. Irvin allowed nine hits and five runs in five and 1/3rd innings.

Irvin did not get a decision in the game against the Marlins. Baseball is a strange game. Irvin gave up five runs and got the win. This game leaves so many fans scratching their heads.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Playing in left field, Tony Kemp led off the inning with a double. Nats’ starter Erick Fedde struck out Seth Brown for the first out. A’s catcher Sean Murphy singled to center to drive in Kemp with the run.

The lead didn’t last long. Nats’ leadoff hitter Lane Thomas sent Irvin’s second pitch of the game over the fence to tie the game. The next hitter, Joey Meneses, doubled. Meneses tagged and went to third on Luke Voit’s fly ball to right. Nats’ DH Nelson Cruz, who loves to torment the A’s, drove in Meneses with a sacrifice fly. The Nats led 2-1 after one inning of play.

In the bottom of the second, Washington plated two more runs to go ahead 4-1. With one out, Victor Robles singled. Irvin hit CJ Abrams with a pitch to put two men on with one out. Lane Thomas singled to drive in Robles. It was Thomas’ second RBI of the game. Meneses followed with his second double of the night to make it 4-1.

The A’s, in the third, sent nine men to the plate as they put five runs on the board to lead 6-4. With one out and Sean Murphy at second, A’s first baseman Dermis Garcia hit his first Major League home run to make it a 4-3 game.

Fedde retired Vimael Machin for the second out. Three straight singles by Jonah Bride, Cal Stevenson, and Nick Allen plated the A’s fourth run of the game. The Nats brought in Hunter Harvey to pitch to Tony Kemp. Kemp doubled to drive in two more runs. The A’s led 6-4 midway through the third inning.

Washington added a run in the bottom of the fourth to make it a one-run deficit 6-5. With two out, Lane Thomas walked. Joey Meneses doubled for the third time to drive in Thomas.

The A’s put four more on the board in the top of the fifth. With one out, Cal Stevenson walked. Nick Allen struck out. Tony Kemp singled.

It was Kemp’s third hit of the game. Seth Brown walked to load the bases. Sean Murphy, who had two singles in his first two trips to the plate, hit a grand slam to propel the A’s to a 10-5 advantage. For Murphy, it was his first-career grand slam. As the late Dave Niehaus would say:” Grandma, get out the mustard and the Rye bread; it’s a grand salami.”

The Nationals’ Luis Garcia homered off Austin Pruitt in the eighth to make it 10-6. Domingo Acevedo set the Nats down in order 1-2-3 in the ninth to secure the win for Oakland, 10-6.

Game Notes: The A’s won their third straight game. They are now 49-81. They have 32 games left to play this year. The Nationals dropped to 43-86. Washington owns the worst record in all of baseball. The A”s have the second-worst record. 

The A’s line was ten runs, 13 hits, and no errors. Tony Kemp had two doubles and a single. Sean Murphy had two singles and a grand slam. Quite a night for Murphy. A’s rookie, Jonah Bride, had a single and a double.

The hitting star for Washington were Joe Menses and Lane Thomas. Meneses had three doubles in his first three trips to the plate, and Thomas had a home run and a single. Victor Robles had two singles for the Nats. Luis Garcia had a solo home run.

The A’s announced pitchers Dany Jimenez and Zach Jackson are on the ten-day IL. 

The A’s and Nats will meet Wednesday evening again. James Kaprielian (3-8, 4.88) will pitch for Oakland, and Anibal Sanchez (0-5, 5.72) goes for the Nats’. The game will start at 4:05 pm.

The time of the game was 3:24. 26,321 fans were in attendance, but it appeared a lot of fans stayed away due to the possibility of rain.

Oakland A’s starter Cole Irvin gets the ball back. Irvin will get the start Tue Aug 31, 2022 at Nationals Park in Washington DC to open a three game series. (@Athletics photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s will start a three-game series against the Washington Nationals Tuesday evening in Washington DC at Nationals Park. The Nationals, who won the World Series Championship in 2019, are currently in last place in the NL East Division.

The Nats own the worst record in the National League and the worst in all of baseball, 43-85. The A’s have the worst record in the American League, 48-81, and it is the second worst in baseball.

The Nats had a magical year in 2019. Things didn’t go well for them in the first half of the season. However, they caught fire and made the playoffs. They won the National League pennant and then defeated the Houston Astros to win the World Series Championship.

The A’s won 97 games that year. They didn’t advance past the first round. What happened to these teams is not unusual these days in baseball. Some of the players became free agents and went to work elsewhere. Other players got traded.

As a result, the A’s and the Nats find themselves at the bottom of the barrel for 2022. They are in the process of rebuilding the team. The A’s have traded players like Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, and Sean Manaea and lost Mark Cannha, Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, and Yan Gomes to free agency. They traded Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees at the 2022 trade deadline. The A’s hope the players they got back will develop into stars in the coming year.

The 2019 Nationals featured a very potent lineup. Their infield comprised first baseman Matt Adams, Brian Dozier, Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, and Howie Kendrick. Addams and Dozier each had 20 homers, Turner, 19, Rendon 34, and Kendrick had 17.

Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes were the catchers. 21-year-old Juan Soto homered 34 times. The pitching staff featured Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Joe Ross, and Anibal Sanchez. Turner and Scherzer were traded to the Dodgers last year. Soto is now with the San Diego Padres.

Rendon went to the LA Angels as a free agent after the 2019 season. Rendon has been injured for most of the last three years. Anibal Sanchez is the only player listed above who is still with the Nats.

So, on Tuesday night, the who are these guys Oakland A’s will be playing the who are these guys Washington Nationals. As bad as their record, the A’s still have some bright spots on their roster. Lefty Cole Irvin (6-11, 3.16 ERA) was brilliant in his last start against the Miami Marlins last Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum.

Irvin went seven innings and allowed three hits. He struck out a career-high eleven hitters and did not issue a walk. He has pitched way better than what his record would indicate. Adam Oller, who did not pitch well earlier this year, seems to have corrected some of his problems while at Triple-A Las Vegas. Oller was brilliant in his last outing against the Yankees.

He allowed one hit in eight innings of work. He did not get the decision, but his performance in his last couple of outings gives the A’s hopes that he will be a featured starter next year. J.P. Sears, acquired from the Yankees, has pitched well.

He took the loss against his former team last week, but all indications appear that Sears will be in the starting rotation. Another young player that the A’s got in the Matt Olson trade, Shea Langeliers, appears to be headed for a regular spot in the A’s lineup.

Langeliers has 11 hits in 47 At-bats since joining the team. He has hit the ball hard and has homered twice.

Oakland severed ties with Jed Lowrie, Stephen Piscotty, and Elvis Andrus. Nick Allen has become the A’s everyday shortstop. Vimael Machin has spent a lot of time at third base. Sheldon Neuse and Jonah Bride have played at several infield positions. Cal Stevenson is patrolling centerfield these days as Skye Bolt and Ramon Laureano are on the 10-day IL.

So, we now take a look at the Nats’ roster. Righty Eric Fedde will go for Washington Tuesday night. Fedd is 5-8, with a 4.88 ERA. On Wednesday, the pitchers will be James Kaprielian for Oakland against veteran Anibel Sanchez. The Yankees pounded Kap in his last start. Sanchez is 0-5 with a 5.72 ERA. The A’s have not announced a starter for Thursday. Cade Cavalli will pitch for the Nats.

The Nats’ bullpen will feature all right-handers except the well-traveled lefty, Jake Mcgee. Fans can expect to see Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards, Jr., Steve Cishek, Victor Arano, Hunter Harvey, and Erasmo Ramirez get the call from Nats’ manager Dave Martinez.

The power-hitting Luke Voit will be at first base. Voit came to the Nats from the Padres in the trade for Juan Soto. Luis Garcia will be at second, C.J. Abrams is the shortstop, and llDemaro Varga will be at third base.

The Nats will have Lane Thomas in left, Victor Robles in the center, and Joey Meneses in right. Josh Palacios is the backup outfielder. The DH will be Nelson Cruz or Luke Voit. Cruz, who loves to hit against the A’s, has hit just ten homers this season.

The Series will be about two teams trying to see what players will be on the roster next year. While neither team will be in the playoffs, the fans should watch to see who will be up to the challenge.