Tag: Ramon Laureano

1,000 Ways To Thrive: A’s nip the White Sox, acquire starter Homer Bailey from the Royals

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–When it comes to post All-Star break success, the A’s have no peer. With Bob Melvin pulling the strings, the Billy Beane-led front office making the deals, not to mention the baseballs flying over the fence, the A’s know how to put the finishing touches on a 162-game season.

On Sunday at the Coliseum, the A’s laid the foundation for the 2019 version of the climb up the American League standings with a 3-2, walkoff win over the White Sox.

Baserunner Chad Pinder, looking to take second base on Ramon Laureano’s ground ball in the hole, instead raced home with the winning run when shortstop Jose Rondon’s throw sailed past second and into foul ground as the alert Pinder crossed the plate.

“I was just trying to beat the throw, and as I’m sliding, I saw the second baseman lunge a bit,” Pinder recounted. “And from there, I was trying to get ahold of Matt (the third base coach) and see what he sees. He sent me, so I went home.”

After the Sox were basically no-shows on Friday and Saturday, losing both days by a combined score of 18-3, starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez set the tone by limiting the A’s to three hits with seven strikeouts through six innings.

Lopez had allowed at least one home run in ten consecutive starts, while the A’s had homered in 14 straight games, but that intersection was bypassed when Lopez exited with a 2-1 lead.

A’s starter Brett Anderson stepped on a bat in foul territory, allowed a tie breaking homer to Eloy Jimenez, and exited in the seventh after a Yolmer Sanchez double. But other than those unfortunate moments, Anderson was steady in pursuit of his tenth win of the season.

Once Lopez departed, the home run ball appeared. Laureano got the A’s even leading off the seventh with his career-best 18th off reliever Evan Marshall.

“We felt like he had a chance to be a 30-homer guy,” Melvin said. “Maybe he’s on pace a little sooner than we expected.”

The A’s have won 12 of 15, and surpassed Cleveland, Texas and Boston in the ever-changing wild card race. The A’s are within striking range of the Astros in the AL West as well.

Given that, the Sunday morning’s timing of the deal with the Royals to acquire starting pitcher Homer Bailey was brilliant. Bailey was scratched during warmups in Kansas City, and will be available on Wednesday afternoon for his first start with the A’s.

The deal for the 33-year old former Red who pitched a no-hitter against the Giants came at the cost of 2017 compensatory pick Kevin Merrell, an infielder with speed currently at AA-Midland.

Sad Saturday Night in Seattle for the A’s

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
7-6b
Matt Olson rounds the bases after hitting home run number 18 Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland A’s hoped to guarantee a series win in their final set before the All-Star Break by downing the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night. That opportunity to win the series will now have to happen on Sunday in the “rubber game” of the three-game series after the A’s lost to the M’s 6-3 on Saturday night.

The A’s staked their starting pitcher Chris Bassitt to a 2-0 lead through three innings, but the game took a dramatic turn in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bassitt gave up four runs off just four hits.

With Domingo Santana on at first and no one out, DH Daniel Vogelbach launched the first pitch from Bassitt high into the right-field seats to tie the game at 2-2. The next batter, Omar Narvaez, singled to right. Kyle Seager then hit a 2-0 pitch into the right-field seats for a two-run home run. The inning ended with the M’s up 4-2, and they would never look back after that frame.

Focus on the A’s

7-6a
Graphic/Photo: @Athletics
  • Bassitt was charged with the loss and his record fell to 5-4 on the season. Bassitt gave up multiple home runs for the first time since May 21st in Cleveland. This was just the second time in 14 games that he had allowed more than three runs.
  • Matt Olson hit his 18th home run of the year in the third inning. Those 18 round-trippers have come in just 50 games. Interesting fact: 12 of his 18 home runs have been hit on the road.
  • Ramon Laureano put another home run in the scorebook. He hit his 15th HR of the season in the top of the ninth inning. Seven of his home runs and 22 of his 44 RBI have come in the last 22 games.
  • Bob Melvin said after the game, “He (Bassitt) got off to a good start, he was throwing hard. Everything looked like it was working. Then, he ends up getting a couple of two-run homers and now we’re behind. Maybe not his best outing and I just couldn’t let something happen with Vogelbach at the plate. Looks like he had good stuff today, it just happened quickly on him.”

Mariner’s notes

7-6c
Gonzales recorded his 10th win Photo: @Mariners
  • Marco Gonzales recorded his 10th win of the season in this game. He worked 8.0-innings giving up two runs (both earned) on five hits. Gonzales struck out six and walked just one. He has now recorded 10 wins before the All-Star Break in back-to-back seasons.
  • Daniel Vogelbach hit his 21st home run the year on Saturday night. The launch angle on his home run was 43 degrees. It was truly a “moon shot”.
  • Kyle Seager ended an 0-for-21 streak at the plate when he hit his two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. This was his first HR since June 21.
  • There has been a home run hit in each one of the Mariners first 93 games this season. That is an MLB record.
  • Bob Melvin on Marco Gonzales: “It seems like we’ve played that game against him where we’ve had him on the ropes early in the game and he’s limited the damage and ended up going seven or eight innings. It feels like we’ve played that game quite often against him. So you’ve got to give him some credit. We would have liked to have (done) a little bit more damage early on and scored a few more runs and got a little more distance but we didn’t and he settles in and pitches well.”

Up next

RHP Daniel Mengden (3-1, 4.67 ERA) will take the hill on Sunday for the A’s. The M’s will use RHP Matt Carasiti (0-0, 1.80 ERA) to open the game with the plan being to turn the game over to Wade LeBlanc as the primary pitcher. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM PDT.

A’s enjoy Saturday at the park, down the Rays 4-2

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Rays Scoreboard
Scoreboard celebrates the win Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The A’s jumped back into the win column on Saturday as they beat the  Tampa Bay/Montreal Rays 4-2. The win upped the A’s record to 41-37 on the season and makes them 6-3 for the homestand. The loss drops the Rays to 44-33 for the year.

Mike Fiers made the start for the A’s, and he fought for six tough innings on the mound. Fiers allowed just one run (earned) off four hits. He struck out two Rays and walked three. Fiers also hit three Tampa Bay batters which put him some peril that his defense helped put down several times. For all of his efforts, Fiers wound up with a no-decision for the outing.

Ryan Buchter relieved Fiers in the seventh inning but was ineffective, and Yusmeiro Petit was brought into the contest with two out and a runner at third. Petit struck out Kevin Kiermaier to end the inning.

Petit would come back out for the top of the eighth inning. Petit made short work of the Rays as he struck out the side. He faced four hitters and struck out all four. Petit would also pick up the win to make his record 2-1 for 2019.

Liam Hendricks entered the game in the ninth to close things out for the A’s. He sat the Rays down in order to earn his first save of the season.

Focus on the A’s

Rays Bobblehead
It was Matt Olson Bobblehead Day Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
  • Matt Chapman continued to give Oakland big hits as launched his 18th home run of the season off Yonny Chirinos in the third inning. He then hit a double (20) in the seventh that drove Josh Phegley home to score the go-ahead run in the game. It was his 43rd RBI of the season. Bob Melvin said in his postgame comments that he really intended to give Chapman the day off, but his third baseman would not have anything to do with sitting on the bench.
  • Ramon Laureano went 2-for-2 in the game and was hit twice by pitches. In fact, a total of five batters were hit pitches in the game on Saturday (Rays 3, A’s 2). Laureano also made two fine defensive plays in center field. In the top of the third inning, he caught a fly ball off the bat of Austin Meadows. Brandon Lowe was at third and thought about tagging up then heading home. Laureano gunned the ball to Beau Taylor. Lowe had to hold at third. Then in the fourth inning, Joey Wendle hit a ball into the gap in left-center field. Laureano fielded the ball while Wendle decided to stretch his single into a double. The A’s centerfielder threw Wendle out at second base.
  • The A’s moved two runners up in the game twice via the steal. One was a steal of second. The other was a steal of third base by Laureano.
  • The A’s were 2-for-11 with Runners in Scoring Position. They left eight runners on base.

Tampa Bay notes

  • The Rays did not use an “opener” in the game on Saturday. Yonny Chirinos made the start and worked 6.0-innings giving up two runs (both earned) on two hits. He struck out three and walked two. Chirinos did not figure into the decision.
  • Diego Castillo came on in relief of Chirinos. He gave up two runs off two hits. Castillo (1-6) was tagged with the loss. Castillo was also the loser on Thursday night.
  • Ji-Man Choi has hit six home runs in his last 25 games. His home run (9) on Saturday off Buchter was his first versus a left-handed pitcher this season.
  • Avisail Garcia was hit by a pitch in each of his first two plate appearances.

Injury news update from the A’s

Rays Melvin
Melvin after the 4-2 win over the Rays Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Manager Bob Melvin announced during his postgame press conference that closer Blake Treinen has been placed on the Injury List for a “mild shoulder issue”. More details will follow.

Up next on the schedule

The A’s will send LHP Brett Anderson (7-4, 3.68 ERA) to the mound on Sunday to close out the 10-day homestand. The Rays are going with infamous “To Be Determined”. That probably means an opener followed by a group of relievers.

Twitter: @Charlieo1320

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s close out road trip, taking 2 out of 3 from Rays; Oakland City Council questioning new A’s ballpark

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from newsday.com: Oakland Athletics’ Ramon Laureano connects for a grand slam off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Colin Poche during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 12, 2019, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

On the A’s on podcast with Jerry F:

#1 The Oakland A’s Ramon Laureano’s grand slam was certainly a huge part of the A’s 6-2 win on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

#2 The A’s had a decent road trip, finishing two games over .500 at 6-4, a nine-game swing that took them to Anaheim, Arlington, and Tampa Bay.

#3 The A’s Matt Olson is swinging the bats he clouted his 11th home run of the season with a home run off Rays pitcher Yonny Chirinos.

#4 Tampa has a potent line up being first in their division and very difficult to get a win at Tropicana Field and the Rays being tied with the New York Yankees in the American League East for first place the A’s came away from Tampa with two wins out of the three game series.

#5 The A’s still have a lot of work in front of them as they open up a ten game homestand starting Friday night against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners will start Marco Gonzalez (6-6, 4.77 ERA) and for Oakland Chris Bassitt (3-2, 3.57 ERA).

#6 With the Oakland City Council not ready to vote on moving forward with approving the plans at Howard Terminal for the A’s new ball park.

#7 Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb didn’t beat around the bush he made it clear that Council members want a full understanding about how finances for infrastructure and one of their biggest issues is on public transportation while the gondola from 12th Street BART to Jack London Square is a start Kalb is asking the A’s for a more comprehensive plan for public transit for the public to get to and from the ball park.

#8 In answer to the Council’s concerns on these issues, Oakland A’s media relations manager Catherine Aker said the team is working on an infrastructure plan. The A’s are expected to ask the city for $200 million for infrastructure plans.

#9 This was the same amount the Oakland Raiders asked for in order to build a new stadium, but the Raiders never got a deal with the city. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said public tax dollars will not be used for the project but a special tax around the new ball park a district tax will help pay for the infrastructure plans, including taxes coming from the 3,000 housing units and a 400-room hotel.

Listen for Jerry’s podcasts each Thursday on Oakland A’s baseball at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ramon Laureano’s grand slam propels the A’s to a 6-2 win over the Rays

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

Photo credit: nbcbayarea.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s ended the 10-game road trip with a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday afternoon. The A’s finished the road trip with a 6-4 record and return home to face the Seattle Mariners Friday night.

The A’s veteran lefty Brett Anderson pitched well again on Wednesday. Anderson gave the A’s 6 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits and two runs. The Rays’ Yonny Chirinos also pitched well. The young man from Venezuela gave the Rays six innings of work. He allowed two runs and seven hits.

The A’s put one on the board in the top of the fourth. A’s DH Khris Davis led off the inning with a double. He tagged and went to third on Stephen Piscotty’s fly ball to centerfield. Ramon Laureano drove in Davis on an infield single. The A’s added a run in the sixth when Matt Olson took Chirinos deep with his eleventh big fly of the season. The A’s led 2-0 after six.

Anderson started the seventh inning. He was effective all game long as he mixed his pitches well and kept the hitters off balance with fastballs, sliders, and changeups.

With one out, Rays’ centerfielder Guillermo Heredia singled. Former San Francisco Giant Christian Arroyo walked. Ryan Christensen, who was managing, the club as manager Bob Melvin was tossed for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire, brought in Liam Hendriks to pitch. Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz double to drive in Heredia with the Rays’ first run. Arroyo stopped at third. The A’s walked Austin Meadows, who is leading the AL in hitting, to load the bases. Rays’ right fielder Avaisal Garcia reached on a fielder’s choice. Marcus Semien fielded the ball, and since there was a force play at any base, he looked to get the out at third. Chapman wasn’t covering the base, and that forced Semien to try to get the out at second. The throw was just a hair late. Arroyo scored to tie the game.

The A’s regained the lead in the top of the eighth. Matt Olson led off with a single. Davis struck out. Piscotty walked. Rays’ reliever uncorked a wild pitch to advance Olson and Piscotty. The Rays walked Robbie Grossman to set up an inning-ending double play. The Rays brought in lefty Colin Poche to pitch to Ramon Laureano. The strategy failed as Laureano hit his ninth home run of the year to put four on the board.

The A’s called on Lou Trivino to pitch the eighth. Trivino gave up three hits, but the Rays failed to score. Blake Treinen retired the Rays to preserve the win for the A’s.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 35-34. The Rays are now 41-26 and fall 1/2 game behind the New York Yankees in the race for first place in the AL East.

Liam Hendriks was credited with the win, and his record is now 3-0. He also received credit for his first blown save. Adam Kolarek was the losing pitcher for Tampa Bay.

Up Next: The A’s are off on Thursday. They resume play Friday night when they meet the Seattle Mariners for a three-game set at the Oakland Coliseum.

Montas, Laureano help A’s snap 5-game losing streak

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s snapped their five-game losing streak Tuesday night as the beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2. It was also the start of a nine-game road trip. Frankie Montas, who has pitched very well for Oakland this season, had another outstanding outing as he went six innings and allowed four hits and two runs while improving his record to 7-2. He was cruising along until the bottom of the sixth. With one out, he had a 13-pitch battle with the Angels’ superstar, Mike Trout. Trout refused to strike out. He fouled off seven or eight pitches. With the count at 3-2, Montas drilled Trout on his left elbow. It seemed that Montas was a bit rattled by the battle that he had with Trout. He had to face Angels’ DH Shohei Ohtani, and Montas lost that battle as Ohtani blasted his fourth homer of the year to cut the deficit to two 4-2

The Angels’ starter Griffin Channing, who pitched well against Oakland last week at the Coliseum, did well except for two innings. The A’s were able to put two on the board in the second inning. With one out, Matt Chapman singled. Matt Olson walked to put men on at first and second. Khris Davis, the A’s DH, smoked a double over the head of Mike Trout that went for a double. Chapman scored. Stephen Piscotty hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Olson with the A’s second run.

The A’s made in 4-0 in the top of the sixth. Robbie Grossman singled with one out. Ramon Laureano homered into the left-field seats. The blast was measured at 403 feet. The Angels, as mentioned above, scored twice in their half of the inning.

The A’s manager Bob Melvin had Yusmeiro Petit pitch the seventh, Liam Hendriks, the eighth, and Blake Treinen the ninth. The A’s relievers did the job. They did not allow a hit in the last three innings of the game. Treinen set the Angels down in order in the ninth, and he earned his 12th save of the year.

Game Notes – With the win, the A’s improved to 30-30 while the Angels fell to 29-32. The A’s are in third place in the AL West. The A’s trail the Texas Rangers by one game in the race for second place in the division.

Ramon Laureano was the hitting star for Oakland, He had a double and home run in the game, and that extended his hitting streak to sixteen games.

The line score for Oakland was four runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was two runs, four hits, and no errors.

Time of game was three hours and four minutes and over 36,000 fans were on hand to see the A’s take the first game of the three-game series.

Game Two will be played Wednesday night in Anaheim. The A’s will send Daniel Mengden to the mound, and Felix Pena will go for the Angels. The Angels may use an “opener’ and then have Pena come in to pitch in the second inning.

The game will start at 7:07 pm.

HOU 2
Photo/Graphic: @Astros

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Coming home to the Oakland Coliseum has not been a good thing for the Oakland Athletics. After winning 11 consecutive games, the A’s have now lost four games in a row at home. They have also lost a second consecutive series at home.

The first-place Houston Astros downed the A’s 5-1 on Saturday night at the Coliseum behind the “lights out” pitching of Justin Verlander (9-2, 2.27 ERA). The perennial All-Star pitcher worked 8.0-innings allowing just one run (earned) off four hits. Verlander struck out eight Oakland hitters while walking just two.

The A’s only run of the game came in the second inning when Stephen Piscotty hit the first pitch from Verlander over the wall in right field for his seventh home run of the season.

Brett Anderson (6-4, 3.95 ERA) made the start for Oakland. He worked 5.1-innings giving up three runs (all earned) on eight hits. Anderson struck out two and walked two.

The A’s used two relief pitchers in the contest. Yusmeiro Petit pitched 2.2-innings of perfect baseball while striking out two Astros. Joakim Soria closed out the game pitching the ninth inning and giving up two runs off two hits (1 HR).

A’s Spotlight

HOU3
Marcus Semien ejected Photo: @Athletics
  • Anderson has allowed five home runs in his last four starts after he gave up just one homer in his previous eight starts.
  • Ramon Laureano recorded his sixth assist of the year on Saturday. The center fielder threw Robinson Chirinos out as he attempted to advance to second base in the fourth inning.
  • Speaking of Laureano, he extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games when he singled off Verlander in the fifth inning.
  • Marcus Semien was ejected in the fifth inning of the game. It was the first time Semien has been ejected from a game in his career.
  • Stephen Piscotty has possessed the hot bat for the A’s during this homestand. He went 2-for-4 on Saturday and he is batting .417 (10-for-24) with five runs, two doubles, two home runs, and four RBI in the eight games.

Houston Notes

HOU 4
Graphic: @Astros
  • Justin Verlander passed Cy Young for 21st on the all-time strikeout list (that’s impressive). Verlander is now for tied for the most wins in the Major Leagues with nine victories.
  • Josh Reddick is happy to back in the Coliseum. He has hit home runs in consecutive games for the first time since September 15 and 16, 2018. Reddick is hitting .412 (7-for-17) with three home runs and five RBI in four games in the Coliseum this season.
  • Michael Brantley now leads the MLB in multi-hit games after going 2-for-3 with a walk on Saturday. He has posted 27 multi-hit games. Brantley has recorded 72 hits already this season and is tied for first in the American League.

Up Next

The Astros and A’s will wrap up their series on Sunday at 1:07 PM PDT. Houston will send RHP Gerrit Cole (5-5, 4.04 ERA) to the mound to try and make it a sweep over Oakland. The A’s will counter with RHP Chris Bassitt (3-1, 3.27 ERA) in order to try and stop their losing streak.

A’s have won eight in a row after beating the Mariners 6-5 on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
AM4
Matt Olson bunts for a single Photo: @NBCSBA

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Every analyst and reporter that covers the Oakland Athletics kept telling fans that their team was going to wake up and start playing up to their potential any day now. They (including this reporter) kept reminding you that the A’s started slowly last season but found their legs in June.

After a while, it began to feel like the front office, team, media, and the fans were all in the same sports bar after a game trying to convince each other that the turnaround was going to happen.

Now, the great turnaround of 2019 is underway. The A’s have won eight consecutive games. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Oakland has won five of their last six series. The A’s swept the series in Detroit and Cincinnati.

This is how the A’s turned their season upside down in 2018 by winning series after series at home and on the road. The 2019 A’s may be on the verge of unlocking the secret to repeating that accomplishment.

Oakland is two-hundredths of a percentage point out of second place in the AL West. Both Texas and the A’s trail the Astros by 7.5 games. The A’s are in a virtual tie for the second Wild Card spot in the American League (don’t laugh — it’s never too early to look at the Wild Card when Houston is in your division).

Fiers first home start since the no-hitter

Mike Fiers took the mound for the A’s on Saturday and did not throw a no-hitter, but he did keep his team in the game. The veteran worked six innings giving up three runs (all earned) off five hits. Fiers struck out three Mariners and walked two. He also earned the win which upped his record to 4-3.

Fiers faced 23 batters and gave up just two extra-base hits. Domingo Santana hit his 10th home run of the year off Fiers in the fourth inning and Mitch Haniger hit his 13th round-tripper off the starter in the fifth.  Jay Bruce hit his ninth double of the season off the starter. Fiers threw 89 pitches (66 strikes). He has pitched at least five innings in each of his last six starts, which dates back to April 26 in Toronto.

The A’s scored first

AM2
Chapman celebrates the 50th HR of his career Photo: @athletics

The A’s are 18-9 when they score first this season.

Matt Chapman put the A’s first run up on the board when he hit his 12th home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning off Seattle starter LHP Yusel Kikuchi with two out and the bases empty. Chapman is hitting just .229 versus left-handed pitching, but he has six home runs in 48 at-bats against southpaws.

Ramon Laureano went 2-for-3 on Saturday with a double and an RBI. Laureano extended his hitting streak to eight games (12-for-31) which is also a new career high. His double in the fifth inning tied an Oakland record. It was the fifth consecutive game in which Laureano had hit a double tying a record that has been done five times in A’s history. The last to do it before Saturday was Miguel Tejada back in 2003.

Treinen gets the save

Blake Treinen picked up his 62nd save as an Athletic (10th of 2019). The save did not come without some excitement. Treinen gave up two runs (earned) on three hits, including a home run, but he held on to get the save.

Seattle

The M’s have now lost five consecutive games and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Seattle currently is in sole possession of last place in AL West 5.0 games back of the A’s and 12.5 games behind the division-leading Astros.

Starter Yusel Kikuchi lasted just 3.1 innings, his shortest start of the season since April 26. Kikuchi gave up five runs (4 earned) off 10 hits including one home run. He struck out one and walked one batter. Kikuchi was tagged with the loss and his record now stands at 3-2.

Kyle Seager made his first appearance of 2019 since coming off the injured list — it was his first ever trip to the IL. Seager hit his 250th career double in the ninth inning of the game on Saturday.

Domingo Santana had quite a game. He went 2-for-4 on the day with both his hits being home runs. He has touched them all 11 times this season. It was his first multi-home run game of the year.

Mitch Haniger loves to face the A’s. He is batting .296 (45-for-152) including 11 home runs versus Oakland in his career. Haniger went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI on Saturday.

Seattle is now 0-18 when their opponent scores first this season. The Mariners have scored 147 of their 278 runs (52.9-percent) via the home run.

Up Next

The A’s and M’s will wrap up their three-game series on Sunday at 1:07 PM. Seattle will go with RHP Mike Leake (3-5, 4.73 ERA) while the Oakland will counter with LHP Brett Anderson (5-3, 4.14 ERA).

Mariners nip the A’s 4-3 to sweep the 2-game series

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

photo from yahoosports.com: Seattle Mariners closing pitcher Roenis Elias reacts as stadium lights flash after the team’s baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in Seattle. Elias earned the save as the Mariners won 4-3.

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland  A’s road woes continued as they fell to the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Seattle Tuesday night. The A’s, who were 1-8 on their last nine-game road trip, started this road trip 0-2. The A’s are off on Wednesday and will start a four-game set with the Tigers in Detroit before finishing the trip with three games with the Cleveland Indians.

Brett Anderson was on the mound for Oakland Tuesday night. Anderson gave the A’s six innings, and he allowed six hits and four runs. He was the losing pitcher, and his record dropped to 4-3. Mike Leake started for Seattle, and he picked up his third win of the year. Leake went 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and three runs (one earned).

The M’s put two on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Anderson gave up solo homers to Daniel Vogelbach and Tim Beckham.

The A’s tied the game in the top of the fifth. Leake walked Ramon Laureano and gave up a single to Robbie Grossman. Both runners advanced when Josh Phegley flew out to deep center field. Marcus Semien reached on Beckham’s throwing error, and that allowed Laureano and Grossman to score.

The game didn’t stay tied for long. With one out, Anderson walked J.P. Crawford. M’s centerfielder, Mitch Haniger, who loves to play against Oakland, hit his second home of the series to give the Mariners the lead 4-2.

The A’s scored a run in the top of the seventh. Stephen Piscotty led off with a double. Robbie Grossman singled to drive in Piscotty. The A’s trail 4-3.

The M’s brought in Roenis Elias to pitch with two-out in the seventh. Elias responded by getting the final seven outs of the game to preserve the win for Seattle.

The A’s drop to 19-24 while the M’s improve to 21-23.

Time of game was two hours and 37 minutes. 11,355 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s will have the day off on Wednesday before heading to Detroit and Comerica Park. Starting for the A’s on Thursday night Chris Bassitt (1-1, 2.55 ERA). The Tigers starter is yet to be determined.

Jerry Feitelberg is the Oakland A’s beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Fiers’ no-hitter against Reds is lights out after 1:38 delay in 2-0 win

Published on by rxsluggerLeave a comment

photo credit nbcsports.com screen shot by @adriangarro: Oakland A’s pitcher Mike Fiers is exuberant after tossing a complete, no hit game against the Cincinnati Reds as A’s catcher Josh Phegley prepares to meet Fiers on the mound Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum.

by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — People in baseball say “you never know what you are going to see at a baseball game.” Tuesday nights game featured Mike Fiers tossing his second career no-hitter. Fiers had everything working for him as he did not allow the hard-hitting Cincinnati Reds a single hit. The A’s won the game 2-0. The game was delayed about an hour and forty minutes due to a malfunction of the lights in left field, Play started at 8:45 pm.

In most games when a no-hitter occurs, pitchers are helped out by excellent fielding. The A’s made two great defensive plays in the sixth inning. Second baseman Jurickson Profar, who has been maligned for his poor defensive play this season, made a sensational catch robbing Kyle Farmer of a hit. The ball was hit into short right field and Profar made a diving catch to prevent the Reds from recording their first hit of the game. The next batter, Joey Votto, slammed a ball to deep left-center-field. Ramon Laureano made a leaping catch and robbed Votto of a home run. Fiers walked two hitters in the seventh, but he was helped when the A’s made a 6-4-3 double play.

In the bottom of the second, the A’s put a run on the board to grab an early 1-0 lead. With two out and Stephen Piscotty on first, Profar doubled into the right-field corner. Piscotty scored all the way from first and was called safe when the Reds’ catcher missed the tag.

The A’s added another run in the bottom of the seventh. With two, out, Profar slammed his third dinger of the year over the right-center-field wall. The A’s led 2-0.

Fiers continued his mastery of the Reds as he set them down in order in the eighth and ninth innings to record his second career no-hitter.

Game Notes: Jurickson Profar was not only a defensive star Tuesday night, but he also drove in both runs for the A’s, He drove in Piscotty with the A’s first run in the second, and his home run in the seventh gave the A’s their second run.

Bob Melvin said that “it was a great night.” He also said that it was no fun for me after he reached 120 pitches.”

Fiers threw 131 pitches as he won his second career no-hitter. His first came when he was a member of the Houston Astros and he no-hit the LA Dodgers.

Melvin also said that Fiers “was using all his pitches to be more effective.”

Mike Fiers had this to say about Bob Melvin: “I was ‘really thankful for him leaving me in.'”

When asked about the one hour and 40 delay due to the malfunction of the lights in left field, Fiers replied: “it didn’t affect me.

Fiers also said this about his performance: “I had to keep them off balance.” He did exactly that.

The line score for the game was this: A’s: two runs five hits and one error. Reds: no runs, no hits and one error.

It was the eighth no-hitter in Oakland history and 13th in A’s history. Fiers’ no-hitter is the 300th in MLB history, and he is the 34th pitcher with multiple no-hitters.

Matt Olson played his first game of the season. He was placed on the IL on March 25th after breaking his right hamate bone.

The A’s improved to 16-21 and the Reds dropped to 15-21. Tyler Mahle’s record fell to 0-5, and Fiers evened his improved to 3-3.

Time of game was two hours and 25 minutes. 11,749 people watched Fiers pitch his historical masterpiece.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will be at the Oakland Coliseum Wednesday night. Game time will be at 7:07 pm. The A’s will send lefty Brett Anderson to the hill and Sonny Gray, the former A’s ace, will pitch for the Reds.