Tag: Seattle Mariners

The A’s Rich Hill tosses a shutout, snaps the four-game losing streak

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Rich Hill throws at the Seattle Mariners line up in the first inning at Safeco Field on Monday night

The A’s lefty, Rich Hill, became King of the Hill Monday night as the A’s defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-0. Hill and the Mariners’ Tijuan Walker engaged in an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel Monday night at Safeco Field in Seattle. The A’s must love playing there as they won their fourth straight there this year. They also snapped the Mariners’ four-game winning streak.

The A’s scored all the runs they would need in the top of the seventh. A’s catcher, Stephen Vogt, homered to put the A’s in the lead 1-0. They scored four unearned runs in the top of the eighth when shortstop Chris Taylor made two errors to open the floodgates.

Hill went eight innings and allowed just eight hits, no walks and had six strikeouts. Hill became the first A’s pitcher to pitch into the seventh inning. Ryan Madson closed out the game for Oakland in the ninth.

Hill’s record for the year is 7-3. Walker drops to 2-4. Game two of the series will be played Tuesday night at 7:05 PM at Safeco field in Seattle.

The Mariners Rally to defeat the A’s and Sweep the Series.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Seattle Mariners Dae-Ho Lee is congratulated by teammates Leonys Martin (12) and right Kyle Seager after hitting a two run home run in the seventh inning off A’s pitcher John Axford

OAKLAND–The A’s and Mariners played a wild and woolly game Wednesday afternoon. The difference in the game was the Mariner bullpen as they kept the A’s from scoring after the fifth inning and allowed their offense to come back from a four-run deficit to win 9-8. The A’s starter Sean Manaea pitched well for the first four and 2/3rds innings. Things fell apart for him when the Mariners scored four times to take a 4-2 lead in the middle of the fifth. The A’s, however, scored six times in the fifth to take the lead 8-4, and that put Manaea in position to receive credit for his first win in the Major Leagues.  The A’s were able to send their nemesis, Felix Hernandez to the showers in the fifth. Hernandez pitch four-plus innings and he was on the hook to take the loss if the A’s could hold the lead. They didn’t. The A’s bullpen, so good so far this season, failed. Ryan Dull took over for Manaea in the sixth, and he went 2/3rds of an inning, allowing two runs, including a solo home run to Dae-Ho Lee. Sean Doolittle finished the sixth for the A’s but ran into trouble in the top of the seventh. Doolittle gave up a walk and a wild pitch to put a man in scoring position. The one hit Doolittle allowed drove in the run. John Axford replaced Doolittle and gave up a two-run dinger to Dae-Ho Lee. Axford took the loss.

The A’s shortstop, Marcus Semien, gave the Green and Gold the early lead when he hit a solo home run into the left-field seats over the out-of-town scoreboard. For Semien, it was his seventh of the year, and he leads the club in that department.

The A’s scored another run in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Reddick and Khris Davis singled to start the inning. They advanced to second and third when Stephen Vogt hit a swinging bunt. Designated hitter Billy Butler drove in Reddick on a fielder’s choice. The A’s lead 2-0 after four.

The Mariners scored four runs in the top of the fifth. Sean Manaea was pitching very well up to this point in the game. He retired the first two hitters in the inning but the Seattle hitters were able to get five straight hits to take the lead 4-2. Nori Aoki singled to get the rally started. shortstop Ketel Marte doubled to left to drive in Aoki. Robinson Cano singled to drive in Marte to tie the game. Seattle DH Nelson Cruz hit a monster homer into the second deck of bleachers in centerfield that gave the Mariners the lead. The A’s, however, came back in their half of the fifth and scored six times The A’s sent eleven men to the plate. They had five hits and the Mariners made two errors that allowed the A’s to send Hernandez to the showers. The A’s lead 8-4 after five.

The Mariners made it an 8-6 game in the sixth. Ryan Dull replaced Sean Manaea on the mound. Mariner first baseman Dae-Ho Lee hit his third homerun of the year to make it 8-5. Leonys Martin singled, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Ketel Marte doubled to drive in Martin with the sixth run of the game Seattle.

Sean Doolittle replaced Ryan Dull on the mound for Oakland. Doolittle walked Nelson Cruz to start the seventh inning. Franklin Gutierrez reached first on a fielder’s choice. Gutierrez went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Kyle Seager. A’s Manager brought in John Axford to pitch. Axford retired Chris Iannetta for the second out.Dae-Ho Lee put the Mariners back in the lead when he hit his second home run of the game with a man on board. Seattle leads 9-8 as the fans rise for the seventh inning stretch.

Game Notes –  The A’s went down to their fourth consecutive loss and are winless in May.  Sean Manaea is 0-0 with a 7.20 ERA since coming up to Oakland. The Mariners recorded their first sweep of the season and are 11-4 in their last fifteen games. King Felix went four innings, his shortest outing of the season and the shortest against Oakland since May 16th, 2006. Felix is 22-8 lifetime against Oakland.

The line score for Seattle was 9runs, sixteen hits, and two errors. The A’s had eight runs, eleven hits and they also made two errors.

Stephen Vogt had this to say about the A’s effort Wednesday after the game “You said it, I mean we won the first two games and played really goodbaseball.I think that’s the frustrating part, losing three one-run
games on the homestand. That was very frustrating. Obviously, we’re
not happy with the way we’re playing at home.  We know we need to get
better and the fans deserve better. And we need to do that but that
being said we just went through a 16 game stretch without an off-day
with some tough travel, so an off-day tomorrow would be good for us
going into this road trip” said Vogt

The A’s are off on Thursday as they are heading to Baltimore to play the Orioles. The Orioles have another powerful lineup and are led by Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, and the other Chris Davis. Rich Hill will go for Oakland and Baltimore will counter with Ubaldo Jimenez.

Time of game was three hours and ten minutes, and 16,328 fans watched the A’s lose.

 

 

 

 

The Mariners pound the A’s into submission, Win big.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: On the fence Josh Reddick Oakland A’s outfielder watches a ball sail into the crowd hit by the Seattle Mariners Leonys Martin in the third inning Tuesday night

OAKLAND–The Seattle Mariners used the long ball to pound the A’s Tuesday night. The M’s beat the A’s ace, Sonny Gray to win the second game of the three-game series by a final score of 8-2. Gray went seven-plus innings but gave up two home runs while taking the loss. A’s manager Bob Melvin thought Gray had good stuff and had his pitches “down in the zone” but he could not stop the Mariners’ hitters. The Mariner starter, Hisashi Iwakuma pitched seven innings and allowed just one run and four hits in his best outing this year

The Mariners scored twice in the top of the third. With one out, Mariner catcher Steve Clevenger singled. Center fielder Leonys Martin hit his fifth home run of the season to deep right field to give the Mariners the early lead. The Mariners’ Robinson Cano led off the top of the fourth with a solo blast to that went over the 362-foot marker in left field to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.

The A’s finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Billy Burns led off with a single, stole second and scored on a Jed Lowrie single.  The A’s trailed 3-1 after six. The Mariners got the run back in the top of the seventh. Ketel Marte singled to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a fly ball to center field. Nori Aoki drove him in with an infield single.

The Mariners blew the game open in the top of the eighth. Sonny Gray was still pitching for the A’s, but Robinson Cano led off with a double. Nelson Cruz and Adam Lind singled to add another run. A’s manager Bob Melvin decided that Gray was done for the night and brought in lefty Marc Rzepczynski to face the dangerous Kyle Seager. Seager, hitting just .167 before the start of play Tuesday night, sent one of Rzepczynski’s pitches into the right-field seats for an “Earl Weaver special.” Weaver, the former manager of the Baltimore Orioles and a member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame, loved three-run homers. Seager’s blast, his fifth of the year, increased the Mariner lead to 8-1. The A’s Khris Davis hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth for the A’s second run of the game. For Davis, it was his sixth of the year and his third in the last two games.

Game Notes- The A’s lost their third straight game and are 3-8 in the last eleven games. Sonny Gray went seven-plus innings and allowed eleven hits, seven runs, and two home runs. His record is now 3-3 for the year. Khris Davis is batting .304 (17-for-56) with six home runs and twelve RBIs over his last fourteen games. Stephen Vogt extended his hitting streak to six games. The A’s are now 13-15 for 2016.

The Mariners improved to 15-11 with the win. The line for Seattle was eight runs on thirteen hits and no errors. Hisashi Iwakuma won his first game of the season. The Mariners hit three home runs in the contest.They had a solo job by Cano, a two-run dinger by Leonys Martin and the crusher, a three-run shot by Kyle Seager.

The A’s and Mariners conclude the three-game series Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 pm. Sean Manaea will pitch for Oakland and Seattle will send King Felix Hernandez out to handle the pitching chores. The A’s will have their work cut out for them as they will have to beat Hernandez to avoid getting swept by the M’s. That will be no easy task as Hernandez has owned them over the years.

Time of the game was two hours and thirty-eight minutes and 12,584 faithful A’s fans watched their heroes go down to defeat. The A’s game finished before the Warrior game and the people in the press box were able to watch the Dubs come back from a ten-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers.

 

The Mariners Squeak by the A’s, win 4-3.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s played another one-run game Monday night. This time, it was against the Seattle Mariners and the outcome was not a happy one as they lost 4-3. Kendall Graveman started for the A’s and went six and one-third innings. He gave up four runs on ten hits and saw his record drop to 1-3. Nate Karns pitched for Seattle, and he won his third game of the year for the Mariners. Karns allowed three runs on six hits. The A’s Khris Davis hit two dingers to drive in all three runs they A’s scored.

The A’s jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. A’s left fielder Khris Davis lined a home run to left over the 367-foot sign. For Davis, it was his fourth home run of the year and his first at the Coliseum.

The Mariners tied the game in the top of the fourth. Robinson Cano doubled to start the frame. Nelson Cruz singled to right center. Cano did not score as he had to hold up to make sure the ball dropped safely for a hit. Mariner first baseman, Adam Lind, followed with a single to drive in Cano. Graveman threw four pitches and three were whacked for hits. Graveman retired Kyle Seager on a fly to left for the first out of the inning, and Chris Iannetta’s fly out to center was turned into a double play as Billy Burns’ throw to third nailed Cruz for the final out of the inning.

The Mariners scored two runs on four hits in the top of the sixth. Cano singled to start the Mariners’ rally. Nelson Cruz followed with his third hit of the night to put men on at first and second with no out. Adam Lind hit into a double play. Cano advanced to third on the play and scored when Kyle Seager doubled to right. Chris Iannetta singled to drive in Seager to put Seattle ahead 3-1 in the middle of the sixth. Seattle added another run in the top of the seventh. Nori Aoki doubled with one out. He stole third and scored when Stephen Vogt’s throw to third went for an error.  In the bottom of the seventh, the A’s scored twice in their half of the seventh. Josh Reddick led off with a single. He scored when Khris Davis hit a monster home run to deep left centerfield. The ball landed near the TV cameras. For Davis, it was his second home run of the night and fifth of the year. Stephen Vogt followed with a double, but the A’s failed to get a hit to drive him in to tie the score. Seattle leads 4-3 after seven.

The A’s bullpen kept Seattle off the board in the eighth and ninth. The A’s rally in the ninth fell short when Mariner closer Steve Cishek struck out Jed Lowrie to end the game.

Game Notes- The A’s record is now 13-14 while Seattle improves to 14-11. Texas won again to remain in first place. Seattle currently resides in second place, and the A’s are still in third as the Angels and Astros lost their games Monday night.

The A’s will send their ace, Sonny Gray, to the mound Tuesday night. Seattle will counter with Hisashi Iwakuma. Gray will be trying to win his fourth of the year, and Iwakuma will be seeking his first.

Time of game was two hours and forty-five minutes, and there were 10,535 devoted A’s fans in the stands to watch the game. Game time Tuesday night will be at 7:05 pm PT and fans should get here early as the Warriors are playing the Portland Trail Blazers next door at the Oracle Arena at 7:30.

 

 

 

A’s beat M’s 2-1 in 10 innings and sweep the series

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
MLB: Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners
Photo Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The majority of the preseason prognosticators had the Oakland Athletics finishing dead last in the American League West. Evidently, the A’s forgot to read the predictions for their 2016 season.

On Sunday, the Athletics survived seven innings of shutout baseball pitched by “King Felix” Hernandez (0-1, o.69 ERA), had strong pitching performances by their own stater and bullpen, used the long ball to defeat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in 10 innings and won the series on the road three games to none.

The Athletics won the game via  a solo home run hit by Coco Crisp in the top of the 10th inning off Seattle reliever Nick Vincent. With two outs, Crisp hit a 3-1 pitch 376 feet over the right field wall to give Oakland a 2-1 lead.

Sean Doolittle took the mound for the Athletics in the bottom of the 10th inning and closed out the game for his first save of the season.

The A’s record improves to 4-3 with the win and puts them in sole possession of first-place in the American League West.

The Mariners are struggling to figure out how they squandered such an outstanding pitching performance like the one turned in by “King Felix” on Sunday.

On the mound

Hernandez was a master on the mound. He pitched seven innings giving up just three hits and no runs. The “King” recorded 10 strike outs and issued just two walks. He threw 99 pitches (62 strikes). The Seattle radio broadcasters said the outing was Hernandez at his best especially with the command he showed on his change-up and breaking ball. It is hard to imagine that such a quality outing simply ended in a no decision.

Chris Bassitt made his second start of the season for Oakland. Bassitt worked seven innings giving up three hits and one unearned run. He had four strikeouts but issued base-on-balls to five Seattle batters. Bassitt threw 97 pitches (58 stikes). Bassitt has yet to figure into a decision in his two starts this year.

The A’s used three pitchers out of the bullpen on Sunday. Ryan Madson, John Axford and Sean Doolittle worked one inning each. The three relievers gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and struck out two hitters. Axford was credited with his first win of the year while Doolittle recorded his first save of the season.

Seattle also used three pitchers out of their bullpen. Joel Peralta was charged with a blown save when gave up a home run to Marcus Semien. Steve Cishek worked a scoreless inning. Nick Vincent was tagged with the loss when he gave up the game winning home run off the bat of Coco Crisp.

In the batter’s box

The A’s scattered five hits over the 10 innings versus Seattle. No Oakland player had a multi-hit day. Crisp, Lowrie, Alonso, Phegley and Semien all had one hit each.

Marcus Semien tied the game at 1-1 when he hit his first home run of year in the top of the eighth inning off Peralta. Semien hit a high fly ball over the left field wall on a 3-2 pitch.

The Mariners managed to get just six hits off the four Oakland pitchers. Nelson Cruz had a two-hit game than included his second double of the year. Seattle catcher Leonys Martin also had a two-hit game.

The Athletics went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

The M’s were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base.

MVP

The MVP of the game has to be Felix Hernandez. The “King” was brilliant on the mound and showed why he is one of top pitchers in the major leagues. Plus, he deserves to get something for pitching that well and having his team lose the game.

Honorable Mention

Coco Crisp deserves this honor for hitting his first home run since August 27, 2014. After battling through injuries last season, it was nice to see Crisp carry his team to a big win using his bat.

Up next

The Athletics will be back in action on Monday in Oakland when they open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

 

A’s Continue to Struggle, Fall to the Mariners

Published on by Jeff HallLeave a comment

By Jeff Hall

SEATTLE — If the A’s have any hope of making the post-season, simply put they are going to have to play better baseball. It was more of the same for the A’s, poor execution on defense and lack of timely hitting; or hitting at all on offense. The A’s fell 4-2 to the Mariners losing the first game of the series and now cling to a half game lead in the wild card over both the Kansas City Royals and the Mariners. With the loss the A’s have dropped 12 of their last 15 games

The Mariners jumped out to an Early 1-0 lead when Robinson Cano homered just over the left field fence with 2 outs in the bottom of the first inning off A’s starter Jason Hammel (10-11)

The Mariners added a run when Kyle Seager led off the  bottom of the second with a walk, he stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by A’s catcher Geovany Soto. Two batters later Mike Zunino blooped a ball into shallow right that eluded the outstretched arms of A’s shortstop Jed Lowrie and left fielder Jonny Gomes who seemed to lose the ball in the lights, the ball landed for a double and scored Seager from third base.

The A’s pulled within a run in the top of the third. Mariners Starter James Paxton (6-2) struggled finding the strike zone and with one out walked Sam Fuld. Fuld stole second the next batter Coco Crisp walked and they A’s had their first real threat of the ballgame with Josh Donaldson at the plate. Donaldson singled to right center to drive in Fuld and move Crisp to third. Derek Norris was walked to load the bases, but Lowrie struck out leaving the bases loaded.

The A’s tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fourth. Nate Freiman singled to lead off the inning and Hammel who became a hitter after the A’s lost their designated hitter in the bottom of the third inning laid down a good bunt that ended up with him  being safe at first on Kyle Seager’s throwing error trying to get Freiman at second base, Freiman would get to third on the error . The A’s lost their DH when Geovany Soto left with back spasms. Derek Norris took over behind the plate costing the A’s their DH in the move, and  putting Hammel in the lineup . Freiman scored the tying run on  a safety squeeze by Sam Fuld.

From that point on Paxton found his groove and shut the A’s down and at in a stretch of 8 hitters he struck out 7.

Fernando Rodney came on in the ninth and gave up back to back singles to Brandon Moss and Fuld, but settled down and picked up his 45th save to close out the game for Seattle.

Up Next, the A’s will face Felix Hernandez (14-5). The A’s will send Sonny Gray (13-8) to the mound.

Notes: Before the game the A’s  activated closer Sean Doolittle from the 15-day disabled list. Doolittle was placed on the DL on Aug. 24 because of a strained right intercostal muscle. Since taking over as closer, Doolittle has 20 saves in 23 chances. He has a 2.28 ERA in 54 total appearances and currently is on a 13-inning scoreless streak. Doolittle has struck out 80 and has walked only five this season.

The A’s announced they are renewing their contract with Double A Midland through 2016.

 According to the A’s Public Relations department the club has extended its player development contract with Double-A Midland of the Texas League through the 2016 season.  The Midland RockHounds have had a minor league affiliation with the A’s since 1999.

 “We are extremely pleased to continue our affiliation with the Midland RockHounds,” said A’s Vice President and General Manager Billy Beane. “Their owners, Miles Prentice and Bob Richmond, and their entire front office, led by Monty Hoppel, have been fantastic to work with over the last 16 years.  I believe it has been a mutually beneficial relationship, and we look forward to playing at Security Bank Ballpark through 2016 and beyond.”

 The RockHounds, who face Tulsa in Game 3 of the Texas League Championship Series at Security Bank Ballpark tonight, posted a 77-63 record this season and advanced to the championship round by beating Frisco, three games to one, in the division series.

 Security Bank Ballpark, a 4,709-seat venue that features grass berm areas that add substantially to the overall capacity, first opened in 2002.  The A’s affiliation with Midland dates back 16 years and is the longest tenure in franchise history.  It is also among the longest active in all of Double-A Baseball.  The RockHound’s Monty Hoppel, a five-time Texas League Executive of the Year and the 2010 Minor League Baseball Executive of the Year, has served as team’s general manager for 25 years.

 

A’s Rally Falls Short

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost a golden opportunity to pick up a game on the Los Angeles Angels in the race for the AL West division lead as the A’s lost to the Mariners 6-5 while the Houston Astros beat the Angels

in Houston. The A’s Sonny Gray was looking for his fourteenth win of the year but the Mariners drove him to the showers after just five innings of work. Gray allowed six runs on seven hits and took his eighth loss of the year. Gray was 4-0 with an ERA of 1.10 in five starts against the Mariners. The win went to Mariners lefty James Paxton. Paxton’s record is now 5-1 for the season. Paxton kept the A’s at bay for 7 2/3rds innings as he allowed 2 runs on just four hits. The A’s were down 6-0 with two out in the eighth but rallied to score three runs and then in the ninth they scored two runs with two outs but

could not get the hit they needed to tie the game. Mariners closer, Fernando Rodney, notched his fortieth save of the year. With the loss, the A’s remain 4 ½ games behind and are 4 ½ games ahead of the Mariners in the race for the first wild card slot.

The Mariners scored two runs on just one hit in the top of the third. Sonny Gray walked the first two batters to put men on at first and second with no out. Mariners catcher, Jesus Sucre, bunted down the third baseline to move the runners up to second and third. Austin Jackson then singled to drive in both runners to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

Seattle put two more runs on the board in the top of the fourth Kendrys Morales singled to start the inning. He advanced to third on a double to left center off the bat of Logan Morrison to put men on at second and third. Endy Chavez hit a ground ball up the middle to drive in both men and Chavez was credited with a double when no one covered second base. Gray got the next two batters to end the inning. The A’s could not do anything in their half of the inning. After four complete, Seattle leads 4-0.

The Mariners scored two more runs in the top of the fifth. With two out, Robinson Cano singled to right field. Mariners’ clean up hitter, Kyle Seager, hit his twenty-first home run of the year into the right field bleachers to make it a 6-0 game in the middle of the fifth.

The A’s rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Derek Norris singled to start the inning.

That was followed by a walk to Nate Freiman. Geovany Soto hit into a double play with Norris advancing to third. Josh Reddick walked and at this point the Mariners’ manager Lloyd McClendon

took starter James Paxton out of the game and brought in righty Yoervis Medina. Bob Melvin sent Adam Dunn in to pinch hit and he came though with a single to drive in the A’s first run of the game.

Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and they came in to score on a double by Craig Gentry to

make it a 6-3 game. Jed Lowrie struck out to end the inning and the A’s trail 6-3 after eight complete.

In the ninth, the A’s rallied again with two outs. The Mariners brought in their closer, Fernando Rodney,

to end the game. Rodney struck out the first two men he faced but the A’s would not quit. Derek Norris doubled. That was followed by a pinch hit double by Brandon Moss to drive in Norris. Sam Fuld, pinch hitting for Geovany Soto ,doubled to drive in Moss. The crowd was on its feet hoping for a miracle but Josh Reddick ground out to end the game. A’s lose 6-5 to the Mariners.

The A’s conclude the three game series with the MarinersWednesday afternoon at the O.co Coliseum at 12:35pm.It will be a matchup of two of the best pitchers in the American League. Jon Lester will be on the hill for the A’s and the Mariners will counter with their ace, Felix Hernandez. Should be a great game.

Attendance was 23,859.

Surprise Starter Plays Stopper for A’s in Game Two of Double Header

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew Harrington

Very few teams can feel confident after losing three of four games in a series, but the Oakland Athletics gained some piece of mind after dodging a four-game sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners (17-16) Wednesday evening at O.Co Coliseum. Yoenis Cespedes hit his sixth homer of the season, Drew Pomeranz fired five scoreless innings in his spot start and newly reinstalled closer Jim Johnson cruised to his second save of the season to close out a 2-0 A’s victory in game two of double header against the M’s.

The quality start by Pomeranz (2-1, 1.45 ERA), a starter by trade but long reliever out of Oakland’s necessity this season, could normally have been considered the surprise of the day. Instead, it was the fact that Oakland manager Bob Melvin penciled number 61 in for the start that most caught fans and writers alike off guard. The A’s had called up Arnold Leon from Sacramento to fill the 26th roster spot allowance for double the headers, leading many to conclude that top pitching prospect would make his Major League debut Wednesday night.

Instead Pomeranz, acquired from Colorado in the offseason in the Brett Anderson trade, got the nod and picked up his first win as a starter for the green and gold. The southpaw cruised through his five innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while striking out five. His skid-stopping appearance showed the Oakland coaching staff that he’s ready as an understudy if starters Dan Straily (1-2, 4.93) and Tommy Milone (0-3, 5.86) continue to falter. With the A’s offense scoring three runs or less in six of seven May games, it’s imperative that pitching picks up the offensive slack.

The A’s (20-15) received all the offense needed after shortstop Jed Lowrie singled Craig Gentry home off Seattle spot-starter Erasmo Ramirez (1-4, 6.00) in the third inning. Cespedes doubled the lead in the fourth after connecting on a 2-0 changeup from Ramirez to rip a liner over the wall in left field for his 20th run batted in on the season. While Cespedes now has homered on back-to-back days, third baseman Josh Donaldson saw his run of 29-straight games reaching base come to an end. Donaldson struck out three times and failed to reach base in four at-bats Wednesday.

Reliever Dan Otero strung together three shutout innings out of the pen after going a third of an inning in game one to save a staff that pitched four innings in the extra innings afternoon loss. Jim Johnson, taking the mound to a smattering of boos, silenced the critics momentarily by pitching a perfect ninth for his first save since April 6th. The A’s bullpen opened the second game down a man after Ryan Cook left game one in the tenth with an arm injury. The initial belief with the Oakland staff is that Cook’s injury is not that serious. Coco Crisp also exited game one after suffering a neck strain after crashing into the wall on an outstanding catch in the top of the fourth. Melvin expects his starting center fielder to be out for a few days, but will avoid time on the disabled list.

The A’s take Thursday off before welcoming their first interleague opponent to Oakland this season when the Washington Nationals come to town for a three-game set. Doug Fister is expected to make his 2014 debut with the Nats, facing Milone to open the series.

Crisp’s First Walk Off Homer In the 12th Beats Mariners 3-2

Published on by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment
Oakland Athletics center fielder Coco Crisp is congratulated after hitting a walk off home run during the twelfth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Thursday, April 3, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)
Oakland Athletics center fielder Coco Crisp is congratulated after hitting a walk off home run during the twelfth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Thursday, April 3, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Coco Crisp hit his first walk off home run of his career in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the A’s (2-2) a 3-2 win over the previously undefeated Seattle Mariners (3-1).

“I was just going up there to swing as hard as I could. Probably nine times out of 10, I ended up with a strikeout with that approach. Tonight was that one time that it ended up working out. I’m not going to have that as my everyday approach but I’m just grateful that it worked out tonight,” said Crisp on his game winner. Head Coach Bob Melvin said, “That was his intent, and that’s tough to do. Going up there trying to hit a home run especially when you’re a leadoff-type guy.” Then when asked about Coco’s power and if many teams take his power for granted Melvin said, “Some teams do. But we don’t.”

Jesse Chavez took the mound for the A’s tonight for his first official game of the year after leading the majors in wins in Spring Training and he performed well. Chavez scattered five hits over six innings and struck out four Seattle batters and only walked two.

The start of the game didn’t look like it was going the A’s way as Alberto Callaspo; who was starting at first for the first time in his career, let a grounder from Almonte go through his legs and the ball ended up in short right field. Nick Punto who was playing second tonight went to back up the ball but after he picked it up, he threw the ball wide to Callaspo who had hustled back to first and gave the A’s their second error on the very first batter of the game and landed Almonte at second.

The Mariners capitalized on this error when after a Brad Miller fly out moved Almonte to third, Robinson Cano hit a hard grounder to A’s second basemanb Nick Punto who tossed him out at first but allowed Almonte to score and gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead. Seattle scored again the top of the fifth when Almonte hit a single into center field that scored Logan Morrison who had singled earlier in the inning and gave the Mariners a two run lead.

The A’s had been held hit-less into the bottom of the fifth until Punto smacked a sharp single to left field. With the momentum switching, Punto stole his first base of the year and landed at second with new fan favorite Sam Flud up to bat.

Fuld didn’t disappoint as he hit a line drive into center field that Almonte dived for but missed and allowed Punto to score from second. The ball traveled so far on the ground that it looked like Fuld would have his first career inside-the-park home run but with some great fielding by the Mariners they were able to pick him off at home and only give the A’s one run. Umpire Crew chief Fieldin Culbreth called for a replay review of the play at the plate to see if  Zunino was in violation of the collision rule and gave Fuld a lane to get to home plate. The review proved that Zunino wasn’t in the way and confirmed the out and end the inning.

The A’s waited until the bottom of the Eigth to tie the game at two when Yoenis Cespedes hit his first triple of the year and scored Coco Crisp who had walked at the beginning of the inning.

After the issue with Jim Johnson and the longevity of the games over the past two days, Melvin brought in Sean Doolittle for the ninth and tenth inning and he only gave up one hit on 20 pitches and kept the game tight.

In the bottom of the twelfth Coco Crisp hit his first homer of the year and his first walk off homer ever into right field off of newly entered Seattle pitcher Hector Noesi.

New guys Sam Flud and Nick Punto impressed the crowd and Melvin tonight with their tremendous play.

“They both run the bases well and in the field. They were key to the win today and usually you need vets to come off the bench but these guys performed well,” said Melvin.

In addition to his almost inside-the-park homer, Flud had an amazing diving catch to end an inning and Punto had a head-first slide into first to load the bases.

The A’s and Mariners head back at it tomorrow night when Oakland’s Dan Straily takes on the Mariners Chris Young, game time 7:05 pm PST.

Relevant in Seattle: Why Mariners inked Cano’ for $240 million

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That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary

Of course the Seattle Mariners want to win, but last few seasons this team has been living in the cellar. The best news for the Mariners was the arrival of the 2013 season, when the Houston Astros joined the American League West. Now, the Astros have ownership of last place, and might own it for a while.

The main reason that Jack Zduriencik, General Manager of the Seattle Mariners signed ex-Yankee second baseman Robinson Canó for 10 years and $240 million, is to be relevant in Seattle(and also trying to keep his job)a few days ago, Seattle Mariners long time President Chuck Armstrong resigned after almost two decades, with no titles.

Their attendance is dwindling, the interest for the team is at an all-time low(specially with the resurgence of the Seattle Seahawks, who have become “the team in Seattle”.

The Mariners franchise founded in 1977 has never won a pennant or a World Series. This is the franchise that had such players in the past as: Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr, Edgar Martínez, Omar Vizquel, Alex Rodríguez and Ichiro Suzuki. among other excellent Hall of Fame type players.

Last few seasons the Mariners have waited for their young coveted talent to develop, but it has not happened, they still have a very good starting rotation, with ace Féliz Hernández, one of the best hurlers in the game. In 2013 the Mariners offense was totally absent, and they needed to “wake up”the fan interest in the Emerald City.

So, as far as shock value, the Canó signing is as good as it comes. We know it is a players market and every team need to have established star talent to draw well. The Mariners are one of those regional teams, they draw not only from Washington, but from nearby Idaho,Oregon and parts of Canada. Because of the geographical situation of Seattle, the Mariners do lead the league every season in one department; they travel more miles than any other team.

Seattle is a very nice city, and they can still revive that fan base. This is one step towards doing that. Yes, they probably overpaid for Canó, if he plays the rest of his career in Seattle he will be 41 on the last year of his contract and problably, with that swing, still a good hitter in the league, as their designated hitter by the 2025 season.

Safeco Field, still one of the very best facilities for baseball in the world, they continue to have very wealthy ownership,with the Nintendo Company of Japan at the helm, so there is hope for the Mariners after all.

The American League West have been won the last two season by one of the teams with the smallest payrolls in baseball, the Oakland Athletics. 2013 Executive of the Year, A’s General Manager Billy Beane continues to make the most with the owners budget.

Nobody has to be more creative as a General Manager than Beane. The American League West will continue to be one of the strongest divisions in baseball this next 2014, and the Mariners want to be part of that group of teams that will content for the title.

Now, what the Seattle Mariners need, is to acquire a couple of bats with power, and insert them on that lineup around Robinson Canó, then they could finally be relevant for the first time in a while.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commnentary each week for Sportstalk Radio