Tag: Oakland

Winless Raiders to host Baker Mayfield and the Browns in Week 4

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — With the first quarter of the season drawing to a close, the Oakland Raiders are in dire need of their first win…and they hope it’ll be versus the Cleveland Browns.

After playing two of their first three games of the season on the road, the Raiders return home to play two of their next three games beginning this Sunday when they will host the Browns and rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum.

Week 4’s matchup will mark only the second time since the Browns have traveled to the Black Hole and their most recent game, in 2015 at Cleveland, the Raiders defeated the Browns 27-20 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. PT. The Browns are 12-10 all-time versus the Raiders in the regular season.

Last week, Oakland (0-3) lost to the first-place AFC East Miami Dolphins 28-20 in South Florida. Wide receiver Jordy Nelson had the biggest day for the Raiders, hauling in six catches for 173 yards (28.8 yards per catch) and a touchdown. In his last two meeting with the Dolphins, Nelson has destroyed Miami catching 15 passes for 280 yards (18.8 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.

Nelson became just the third Raider pass-catcher this season to top 100 yards in a game, joining tight end Jared Cook (180 yards against the Rams in Week 1), and fellow wide receiver Amari Cooper (116 yards against AFC West rival Denver in Week 2), making Oakland one of two teams to accomplish the feat.

Quarterback Derek Carr threw for 345 yards on 27-of-39 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions. It was Carr’s second 300-yard passing day of the season (Carr threw for 303 yards against the Rams in Week 1). Through the first three games of the season, Carr is sixth in the NFL in passing yards per game (302) and second in completion percentage (76.6).

Oakland held a 17-7 lead midway through the third quarter before the Dolphins scored 21 unanswered points in the second-half to overtake the Raiders. Before kicker Mike Nugent booted a 52-yard field goal, the Raiders didn’t score a single point in the fourth quarter in their previous two games.

Speaking of Nugent, the Raiders placed Nugent on injured reserve with a hip injury and signed kicker Matt McCrane. McCrane is in his first year in the NFL after signing as an undrafted free agent with Arizona at the conclusion of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Strangely, the Raiders have led after three quarters in each of their previous three games but have yet to notch a win this season.

The Browns (1-1-1) are coming off 21-17 victory over the New York Jets in Cleveland on Thursday Night Football. Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson is just 2-32-1 as he enters his third season at the helm. Jackson, who spent 2010 as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach in 2011 where he led the club to an 8-8 finish, but wasn’t retained as the team hired Dennis Allen heading into the 2012 season.

Allen finished 8-28 in his two-plus seasons in Oakland before being fired four games into the 2014 season as the team got off to a 1-10 start.

For Cleveland, quarterback Baker Mayfield will make his first-career NFL start when he leads the Browns into the Black Hole. Mayfield was selected first overall by the Browns in this year’s NFL Draft, but the Browns opted to start the season with Taylor under center and wanted Mayfield to watch and learn.

With Cleveland trailing 14-3 shortly before halftime, the rookie replaced veteran Tyrod Taylor, who was already playing poorly completing just 4-of-14 passes for 19 yards, when Taylor suffered his third concussion in the past 13 months.

In the second half, Mayfield energize that team and the home crowd, helping the Browns outscore the Jets 18-3. Mayfield threw for 201 yards on 17-of-23 attempts and even caught a two-point conversion from wide receiver Jarvis Landry that tied the game 14-14 in the third quarter.

Landry caught a game-high eight catches for 103 yards against the Jets, and leads the Browns with 20 catches for 278 yards. Rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway has the Browns’ lone touchdown catch this season.

Running back Carlos Hyde rushed for 98 yards on 22 attempts and scored two touchdowns last week and given the Raiders inability to stop the run, (Oakland surrenders 116.3 yards on the ground per game, which ranks 22nd in the NFL), there could be some opportunities for Hyde to have another big game.

Defensively, Cleveland has some good, young players on that side of the ball that new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams can mold into a formidable group.

Second-year defensive end Myles Garrett has become one of the more feared pass rushers in the NFL. Garrett’s four sacks this season are tied for the most in the NFL with New Orleans defensive end Cameron Jordan, Chicago defensive end Khalil Mack (sorry Raider Nation), and Von Miller.

Garrett also has two forced fumbles.

Fellow defensive lineman in second-year defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is quickly making a name for himself too, pacing second on the Browns with three sacks.

Rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, who the Browns selected fourth in the same draft as Mayfield, has played great for Cleveland so far this season. In his first pro game, Ward intercepted Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger twice.

Ward leads the team with two interceptions and along with fellow cornerback Terrance Mitchell, has solidified Cleveland’s pass defense.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders heads south to Los Angeles for a tough matchup in the AFC West against the Chargers in Week 5 before flying to London to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6, while Cleveland will head home to prepare for back-to-back visits from AFC North rival the Baltimore Ravens and Chargers.

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: A’s pennant plans for today; M’s again erased from postseason; Tribe pitchers combine for 200 K’s in a season; plus more

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On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel:

1 Pennant race status as of Sunday. The A’s magic number is 1

2 Mariners extend longest postseason drought in major North American sports to 17 years.

3 Indians’ first time in MLB to have four pitchers with 200 strikeouts in a single season.

4 Giants celebrate National Singles Day by hitting 10 singles.

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

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Jaime Jarren at the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum & Hall of Fame Wall at the Coliseum

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Jaime Jarrin has been the Spanish voice for the Los Angeles Dodgers for over half a century. As you can see, Jarrin is standing at the popular Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame wall conveniently located at the Club Level entrance of the Oakland Coliseum, the home of the Oakland Athletics.

Jarren is pointing at the flag of Ecuador. Ecuador is his country of birth. Aside from Jarren, other folks love to stop by the same area to take pictures of the colorful wall.

Amaury Pi-González serves as the Vice President of The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame, a nonprofit organization that was founded in San Francisco in 1998.

Click the link for more information: http://www.hispanicheritagebaseballmuseum.org/

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders need to button down the hatches on defense; Carr can beat the Dolphins

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On the Raiders podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 The Raiders continue their road trip. This time, Week 3 brings them to Miami as they come off a razor edge loss in Denver last Sunday 20-19.

#2 Last season in Week 9, both the Raiders and Dolphins played to a 27-24 Raiders win when Marshawn Lynch carried a three-yard, fourth quarter touchdown for the win.

#3 The Raiders lost on a game-winning field goal after leading the Broncos by as much as 17 points. Broncos quarterback Casey Keenum helped the Broncos’ down field to set up a score.

#4 After Khalil Mack went to Chicago, the Raiders’ defense has been suspect and that was evident after dropping the 17 points in the second half of Sunday’s game.

#5 The Raiders now face the Miami Dolphins (2-0) with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, whose 31-57 for 398 yards. Joe takes a look at these two teams matching up.

Joe does the Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: No mercy rule as A’s circle the bases all afternoon against Angels

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On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 There’s no mercy rule and the Los Angeles Angels badly needed it during this series with the Oakland A’s. On Wednesday, the A’s treated the Angels like it was some kind of sandlot game with a 10-0 win. The next day, Thursday, the A’s wore out the Angels 21-3.

#2 Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is rumored to be close to announcing his retirement, had to wish that would come sooner after the A’s wasted no time scoring runs, five in the third, seven in the fourth inning, six in the sixth, and three more in the seventh.

#3 The Angels’ only bright spot was a home run in the sixth by Mike Trout off A’s pitcher Edwin Jackson, but that was a blip on the Angels’ scoring radar.

#4 The A’s lost four of the last five games before the series with the Angels. The A’s showed us in the last two games that they can break out the bats giving the A’s that confidence again.

#5 The A’s host the Twins for three. The Twins are second in the AL Central, but not in the Wild Card hunt.

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Despite obvious flaws, Shohei Ohtani continues to shine for the Angels

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By Mizhuo Takagi

OAKLAND — Despite him missing 2/3rds of the season as a pitcher and the Los Angeles Angels having a losing season, two-way phenomenon Shohei Ohitani has proven his abilities and remains a candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Ichiro Suzuki was the sensation when he made his Major League debut with the Mariners in 2001, and the high-volume contact hitter not only won the AL Rookie of the Year, but also the AL MVP. 17 years later Ohtani crossed the ocean from Japan, but he is totally different. He is a slugger and a pitcher who can throw the ball over 100 miles per hour.

Ohtani made his debut as DH on March 29, and as a pitcher on April 1. Both debuts occurred in Oakland and the lucky fans in the Bay Area got to watch him hit and pitch.

Ohtani’s two-way endeavor brought excitement to both sides of the Pacific. In fact, there were approximately 200 Japanese reporters and crew members on Opening Day and 100 to 150 through the season when he plays at home.

Ohtani was met with skepticism, but he was named AL Player of the Week on April 8, and later AL Rookie of the Month for April.

When Ohtani’s right elbow injury was reported in June, disappointment spread. It was like, “the dream is over!” But he came back after missing six weeks with the injury and one of the two dreams is still alive. He continues to hit homers and contribute to production.

On September 2, Ohtani became the first player to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings since Babe Ruth. Now, he has extended the number of HRs to 20. He received his second career Player of the Week honor on September 10.

Ohtani played DH during three-game series against the A’s from September 18 to 20, and there were Ohtani fans all the way from Japan who stopped by Oakland just to watch him play.

Osamu and Noriko Suzuki, who used to live in Menlo Park in 2001, visited the Bay Area to watch Ohtani play. His first season in the MLB may be a let down, but they felt relieved rather than disappointed.

The Suzukis said, “We were worried about his injury, but he is hitting well and even a Rookie of the Year candidate. It could have been a better season, but I think he has a great season and we are happy for him.”

Japanese college student, Taku Shibata, and his three friends were all decked out in Ohtani t-shirts in Oakland.

Shibata said, “I hope he will continue to play two-way as long as he can. It would have been awesome if I could watch him pitch too, but I will definitely come and watch him when he recovers from injury. He is truly a star for my generation.”

If Ohtani undergoes Tommy John surgery, he will likely not return to the mound until 2020. It has been reported that he has not made any decision yet and is trying to look at other options. So many pitchers have gone through Tommy John surgery, but there is no example nor two-way player like him.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Angels Manager Mike Scioscia Likely to Say Goodbye

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By: Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND, Calif. — Chances are very good that this week was the last time we will see Angels manager Mike Scioscia as manager with the Angels at the Oakland Coliseum. During their last home stand of the season and during the penultimate game at Angel Stadium on Saturday, September 29, the Angels will give everybody in attendance a Mike Scioscia bobblehead, a sellout of 45,000 is expected.

As a manager, Scioscia led the Angels to their only World Series championship on 2002 against the San Francisco Giants.

Scioscia is the all-time managerial leader in wins, games managed and division titles. He also was honored as the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2002 and 2009.

I have very good memories and experiences with Scioscia. Not only did I have the privilege of calling the 2002 World Series for the Giants, but during the past eight seasons, I traveled to Anaheim to do the Spanish play-by-play for the Angels at Fox Sports Network with my good friend José Mota, who does commentary. Mota is bilingual and as qualified as anybody I have ever met in baseball.Although this season the Spanish Fox Sports West production of the Angels ceased to exist due to a business decision by Disney, who acquired a ton of regional sports networks, including Fox Sports West. Anyhow, you can still see Mota during pre and post games for the English Fox Sports and sometimes on Angels’ radio and other MLB outlets.

There were many times where I have interviewed Scioscia in Spanish (Scioscia speaks conversational Spanish) for the Fox Sports’ Angels pregame in Anaheim. He was always available to talk baseball. A man that was in the Los Angeles area was always thought to be the perfect manager for the rival Dodgers, a team he played for 13 seasons from 1980-1992. He was arguably one of the best defensive catchers of any generation. To try to score on a close play at the plate against Scioscia was a tough thing to do, he was Fernando Valenzuela’s first and foremost catcher. Fernando has always told me great things on how Scioscia guided him when he was a Dodgers rookie. Preston Gómez, a great pioneer manager and lifetime baseball man, once told me: “Scioscia era el hombre que los Dodgers debían de haber firmando de manager.” Translation: “Sciosica was the man that the Dodgers should have signed as their manager.”

On March 29th when the Angels played the A’s at the home opener in Oakland, Scioscia told me this: “I really like my ballclub this year.” Unfortunately, injuries to his pitching staff, many Tommy John surgeries–all while the news broke that Japanese rookie sensation Shohei Othani, who could be the Rookie of the Year in the AL, was also told he had to submit to the surgery.

The Angels’ best player in the game is Mike Trout. Scioscia and Trout have the ultimate respect for each other. They are both huge fans of the Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles. Trout was born and raised in southern New Jersey and Mike Scioscia hails from Pennsylvania. Obviously, Scioscia’s team was not the one that was going to chase the Houston Astros or even contend for a Wild Card spot.

Scioscia could write his own ticket. I do not know what he will choose to do after his managerial life, but whatever he does, he will be just as good as he has been as the Angels manager for the last 19 seasons–the longest tenured manager in the MLB. He could possibly take an advisory position and assistant to Angels owner Arturo “Arte” Moreno. I can easily see that.

Listen to A’s home games in Spanish on KIQI 1010AM/990AM in San Francisco/Oakland/San José/Sacramento/Stockton.

A’s win the series vs. Angels with 21-3 blowout

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By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The A’s won a laugher as they rapped out 22 hits and put 21 runs on the board to blowout the Los Angeles Angels 21-3 and win the series 2-1. Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is rumored to be retiring at the end of the season, probably will need some Tylenol to remove his headache or antacid to calm his stomach after Thursday’s debacle. The A’s hitters were scorching hot, and it is too bad there is not a run bank so that the A’s could have some stored for the weekend series versus the Minnesota Twins.

The Angels drew first blood in the top of the third. With one out, A’s starter Edwin Jackson walked Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun. The next hitter, Jose Fernandez’s drive into right field went for a double that drove in Calhoun to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.

In their half of the third, the A’s jumped all over Angels starter Matt Shoemaker as they put five runs on the board and sent Shoemaker to an early shower. A’s catcher Josh Phegley got things going when he led off the inning with a single. Nick Martini followed with a single to put two men on with no out. Matt Chapman, who has been playing well in the second half of the season, doubled to drive in Phegley and Martini. Jed Lowrie hit a solid line drive for a single. Chapman went to third on the play. Shoemaker settled down as he struck out Khris Davis and Matt Olson. He did not get out of the inning as Stephen Piscotty, who had homered and doubled last night to drive in five, continued his hot hitting as he blasted his 26th big fly of the year into the seats in left field to put the A’s ahead 5-1. Scioscia brought in former A’s reliever, Jim Johnson, to get the final out of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, the A’s put on a hitting clinic. Johnson was greeted by a single off the bat of Marcus Semien. The next hitter, Josh Phegley, lined out to Mike Trout who was able to double up Semien, who was running on the pitch. The inning appeared to be over when Martini hit a ground ball to Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Simmons throw to first went for an error. That miscue opened the floodgates as the A’s hitters went to town on Johnson. The A’s had five straight singles before Ramon Laureano doubled. Semien singled. Josh Phegley flew out to right field to end the inning. The A’s put seven runs on the board and had eight hits in the inning. Six of the runs were unearned. The A’s had a commanding 12-1 lead after four complete.

Angels star Mike Trout hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth off of Jackson. Jackson then walked Angels’ DH Shohei Ohtani. A’s manager Bob Melvin went to the mound and brought in Emilio Pagan to finish the inning. The A’s onslaught continued in the bottom of the sixth. Davis started the rally with a double. Angels’ reliever Miguel Almonte walked Olson and Piscotty to load the bases. Ramon Laureano’s single drove in Davis for the first run of the inning. With the bases loaded, Semien’s double cleared the bases. For Semien, it gave him a career-high five RBIs in a game. The hit parade continued when Phegley singled to drive in Semien with the A’s 17th run of the day. Phegley scored the sixth run of the inning and eighteenth of the game on Nick Martini’s single.

In the seventh, Scioscia decided to use his catcher, Francisco Arcia, as the pitcher. The use of a position player as a pitcher worked for just two hitters. Arcia retired Semien and Matt Joyce. He gave up a single to Phegley. It was Phegley’s third hit of the day. Martini then blasted the first home run of his career to make it 20-2. Chad Pinder, who replaced Chapman at third, took Arcia deep for his 12th of the year and the A’s increased the advantage to 21-2.

The Angels scored a run in the top of the ninth. Francisco Arcia homered with two out to score the Angels’ third run of the game, but it was too little, too late. Arcia became the first player in MLB history to pitch, catch and homer in the same game.

The A’s routed the Halos 21-3.

Game Notes: Edwin Jackson was the winning pitcher. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run and three hits. His record for the season improved to 6-3 and the A’s have won 13 of the 16 games that he has started.

The Angels’ Matt Shoemaker absorbed the loss, and his record dropped to 2-2.

The A’s are now 92-61 for the season, while the Angels fell to 75-78.

With the win, the A’s improved their record to 58-25 dating back to June 16, which is the best record in the Major Leagues over that span.

The A’s lowered their magic number to five to clinch a Wild Card spot. They currently have a six-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays, who play tonight. They are currently two games out of the first AL Wild Card spot behind the Yankees, who play tonight.

The A’s accounted for 21 runs on the game, the most runs the A’s have scored in a contest since June 18, 2000, at Kansas City. The 21 runs are tied for second in Oakland history.
The 18-run margin of victory was second largest in Oakland history.

This is the third time in Oakland history, the A’s have scored five or more runs in an inning three times in one game (June 14, 1969, at Boston; Sept. 30, 2000, vs. Texas).

Matt Chapman amassed his 24th double of the second half, which is now tied with Rajai Davis for the most doubles post All-Star break in A’s history.

Stephen Piscotty clubbed his seventh homer of the month and now has 22 RBI in September. He recorded his 85th RBI of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning, matching his career best. He leads the Majors in RBI for the month and is tied for first with seven homers.

Marcus Semien tallied a career-high five RBIs in the contest.

Nick Martini clubbed his first career round-tripper in the seventh inning.

Up Next: The A’s play the last three home games of the season starting Friday night versus the Minnesota Twins at 7:05 pm PDT. After the home series versus the Twins, the A’s finish the season on the road with three in Seattle and three more in Anaheim.

The A’s have not announced their starting pitcher for Friday night. It is possible that it will be a bullpen game. The Twins will send Jose Berrios to the mound. He is 11-11 with a 3.81 ERA.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders couldn’t seal the deal in Denver Sunday; look to Miami for first road win

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On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

#1 For the last six seconds of Sunday’s game in Oakland, the Oakland Raiders looked as if they had game in hand with a 19-17 lead, but Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal for the 20-19 win at Sports Authority Field.

#2 The Broncos led by quarterback Casey Kennum led the Broncos down the field with just 1:58 left in the game, Kennum threw to Tom Patrick for 26 yards in the closing moments of the game to get the ball and McManus into field goal range for the winning score.

#3 Tony talks about some of the numbers starting for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr going 29-32 for 288 yards, one touchdown and one sack. Impressive outing for Carr who did all he could do to win in the Raiders’ first road game.

#4 Wide receiver Amari Cooper tallied up some yards with 10 receptions for 116 yards. Although Cooper didn’t get a touchdown, he averaged 11 yards and topped the team for total yards.

#5 The Raiders get set for their next meeting against the Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins are 2-0 and have Ryan Tannehill, who’s averaging 199 yards with four touchdowns on the year. Tannehill and the Dolphins have been fierce. Will the Raiders defense have their hands full this Sunday? Tony takes a look.

Tony does the Oakland Raiders podcasts each Thursday and is a beat writer for the Sacramento Kings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s need every win they can get as Angels open series with comeback win on Tuesday

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Stranger things have happened in baseball, but a fan interfered with the bags juiced in the sixth inning on Tuesday night. The A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty chased the Angels’ Andrelton Simmons fly ball in the corner at the high wall near the warning track a fan reached over with her glove and deflected the ball the ruling was no fan interference, which at that point going forward, the A’s could not score a run with the Angels leading 7-4.

#2 Talk about that top half of the sixth where the Angels rallied from being down 4-1 adding six runs to catch the A’s and score three runs and two hits off reliever Lou Trivino for a blown save for Trivino.

#3 Despite the Angels not being in the postseason and needing possible surgery for the throwing arm, the Angels’  Shohei Ohtani in DH hit one for two with a run scored and a .291 average and will be on the DH for the rest of the season.

#4 The A’s, who have been depending on the bullpenning, had some great outings from the staff before the six Angel runs in the sixth from Liam Hendriks, Daniel Mengden, Sean Kelly, and Ryan Butcher.

#5 The A’s have lost four of their last five games setting them back behind the AL Wild Card first place team the New York Yankees. The A’s coming into Wednesday night’s game is at a three-game losing steak.

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsrasdioservice.com