Tag: sonny gray

Gray looks like old self in his return, but the A’s are swept in Houston

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By Morris Phillips

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Marc Rzepczynski reacts after committing a fielding error on Houston Astros Colby Rasmus at Minute Field on Sunday

Sonny Gray’s performance and the circumstances surrounding his appearance may have perked up A’s fans, but the team did little else to raise spirits in a 5-2 loss to the Astros on Sunday.

Gray returned from the disabled list in far better shape than when he left, throwing 69 pitches and looking like a No. 1 starter now that he’s recovered from the strain of his right trapezius that sidelined him for 16 days. The 26-year old right hander let it rip, hitting 96 mph with his fastball and consistently throwing his heater in the mid-90’s as he pitched five innings, allowing five hits and a run.

The A’s staked Gray to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and after a Carlos Gomez solo shot in the fifth, they led 2-1 to start the sixth. But three different Oakland relievers allowed runs while the A’s offense disappeared after the first inning, allowing the Astros to complete a three-game sweep in the series.

With the loss, the A’s fell a season-worst 9 ½ games off the pace in the AL West, and they’ll need to wait at least until Tuesday in Milwaukee to get their first win on this eight-game road trip.

But at least Gray provided hope.

The A’s top starter was scheduled for a rehab start with Single A Stockton before rejoining the parent club on Friday in Cincinnati. But when Gray got wind of Rich Hill’s injured groin and the decision to shelve the veteran for at least the weekend, he called head trainer Nick Paparesta and lobbied to rejoin the club without doing the stint for Stockton. Gray then spoke to both manager Bob Melvin and pitching coach Curt Young, explaining that he was feeling good and capable of making a start.

Once everyone involved signed off, Gray jumped on a plane to Houston, arriving on Saturday. And based on the crispness and velocity on his pitches, it appears that the decision to reinstate Gray was the right one.

“Just the conviction and the freeness he was throwing with, I thought looked like him,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “He had his movement down in the zone and was getting ground balls… and swing-and-misses with his breaking balls. That’s Sonny. He looked outstanding.”

 

 

Yankees beat A’s 5-4 to sweep the series

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
MLB: New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics relief pitcher John Axford Photo Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND–The New York Yankees downed the Oakland Athletics 5-4 on Sunday at the Coliseum in Oakland. It was a painful loss on three fronts.

First, the loss gave the Yankees a four-game sweep over the A’s in the series. The last time the Athletics were swept in a four-game series at home was in April of 1999. After sweeping the Texas Rangers in three games to begin the home stand, the A’s could have never imagined closing it out 0-4 against a team they swept in New York earlier in the season.

Second, the A’s are not being able to take advantage of their home field environment. Oakland’s record is now just 8-15 at home while they are 11-11 on the road. That is really quite extraordinary as most teams fare much better in home stadiums before fan friendly crowds. For some unknown reason that is not happening for the Athletics at this point in time.

Third, it was another one-run loss. All losses are frustrating, but the one-run loss games just seem to come back to haunt a team because they are contests that could have been won if one thing had gone differently in the game. The A’s are 6-7 in one-run games this season.

On Sunday, the A’s took the lead in the bottom of the first inning when Billy Burns was able to steal second and third base and then score on a Stephen Vogt ground out. It looked like things might be going to go the A’s way in the game.

The Yankees scored single runs in the second and third innings off solo home runs from Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury. The crowd became nervous as New York took the 2-1 lead.

Oakland came back to score to two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Stephen Vogt hit a double to left field that scored Jake Smolinski and Billy Burns. The crowd came to life with the A’s back in the lead 3-2.

The Yankees served notice that they were not going to go down easily by putting together a four-hit two-run inning in the top of the sixth to retake the lead 4-3.

The Yankees put the dagger into the A’s in the top of the seventh inning. With two and runner at first, Carlos Beltran hit a double down the left field line that allowed the Aaron Hicks to score from first giving New York a 5-3 lead.

The A’s did make it interesting by scoring a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, but it ultimately was too little too late and the Yankees won the game 5-4.

In the batter’s box

Carlos Beltran went 2-for-4, scored a run, had a double and a RBI for the Yankees. He has now hit safely in five straight games (10-for-22, .455).

Jacoby Ellsbury had a 1-for-4 day that featured a home run. He is hitting .310 over his last 24 games.

Mark Teixeira snapped an 0-for-19 hitless streak with an RBI single in the sixth inning

Billy Burns had a big day for the A’s scoring three runs to go with two stolen bases. He went 2-for-4 for the game.

Coco Crisp hit a double and that extends his hitting streak to six games.

Stephen Vogt had a big day going just 1-for-4 but he had three RBI in the game. Two of those RBI came off a two-out double in the bottom of the fifth.

On the hill

The Yankees put together a strong pitching performance on Sunday against the A’s. Starter Michael Pineda (2-5) picked up his second win of the season working six strong innings. Pineda gave up three runs (all earned) on six hits while striking out six batters and walking just one.

Pineda working six innings allowed the Yankees to then go to their three-headed bullpen monster of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. Miller did give up a run but it was unearned as it was created by an error. Chapman picked up his sixth save of the season and threw a number of pitches in excess of 100 mph.

Jesse Hahn did not have a bad start for the A’s. He went 5.2 innings giving up four runs (all earned) on six hits. He struck out three and walked none, but he did give up two home runs.

John Axford was asked to come in and get Hahn out of trouble in the sixth was not able to make it happen. The bullpen cannot save the day every time.

Daniel Coulombe who was just called up from Nashville worked the final two innings of the game. He did not give up a hit or a run. Coulombe struck out two and walked none.

The Disabled List continues to grow

The Athletics announced on Sunday that Sonny Gray has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right trapezius. The A’s now have 13 players on the DL which is the most in the Major Leagues.

Gray had been struggling through a very tough beginning to his 2016 season. His record stands at 3-5 with a 6.19 ERA in nine starts.

This is the first time Gray has been on the disabled list in his career.

Left-hander Daniel Coulombe was brought up from Triple-A Nashville to replace Gray on the Major League roster.

This is Coulombe’s second time up with the big club this season. He faced the Red Sox on May 10 giving up three runs (all earned) in two innings of work. Coulombe had a 0.56 ERA in 13 appearances for Nashville.

 

Up next

The A’s travel to Seattle for a three-game series with the Mariners. The Mariners are coming off a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds and have won four games in a row. Seattle has sole possession of first place in the American League West.

The pitching probables are:

Mon 5/23 LHP Rich Hill (6-3, 2.54) vs RHP Taijuan Walker (2-3, 2.95)

Tue 5/24 RHP Kendall Graveman (1-6, 5.48) vs. RHP Nathan Karns (4-1, 3.33)

Wed 5/25 Athletics To Be Announced vs, Hisashi Iwakuma (2-4, 4.39)

The Yankees return to New York City and will begin a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

A’s beat Rays 7-6 in comeback victory

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
MLB: Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays
Oakland Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics (16-22) closed out their nine-game road trip on a high note with a 7-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays (16-19) on Sunday. The victory also gave the A’s the series win two games to one.

Trailing the Rays 6-5 with two out in the top of the ninth inning the Athletics played like a team that refused to lose. With two out, Billy Burns hit a 1-2 pitch into center field for a double. That brought Danny Valencia to the plate. Valencia had already hit two home runs in the game. Valencia hit the first pitch to him from reliever Steve Geltz over the left center field wall for a two-run home and gave the A’s a 7-6 lead.

Oakland closer Ryan Madson came on in the bottom of the ninth and needed just four ptiches to retire the side and preserve the win for the A’s. It was save number 10 of the season for Madson.

This is a significant win for the A’s for three reasons. First, they won a game on day when their pitching ace Sonny Gray did not have a great outing. Second, the A’s had to come from behind to win on Sunday proving to themselves they can fight their way back into games. Third, Oakland won a one-run game. For whatever reason, this is a team that finds itself in one-run games frequently. The Sunday win works as a reminder they can win those close game.

In the batter’s box

Danny Valencia was the man with the bat today for the Athletics. He hit three home runs on Sunday to bring his total to five for the series in Tampa Bay and for the season to date. Valencia drove in five runs and scored three. He hit in the number three spot Sunday as Josh Reddick was given the day off versus a left-handed starter.

Coco Crisp played center field and hit lead off Sunday. Crisp went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored.

With Reddick given the day off, Billy Burns played right field. Burns went 1-for-5 with one run scored. That one hit was the double in the top of the ninth that kept the inning alive for Valencia to hit what became the game-winning home run.

Chris Coghlan was brought in to pinch hit for Tyler Ladendorf in the top the seventh inning. Coghlan took a 0-1 pitch over the left center field wall for his fifth home run of the year.

The A’s scored seven runs on 12 hits while leaving six men on base. They struck out eight times and walked twice.

Brandon Guyer was the leader at the plate for the Rays on Sunday. He had a lead off home run in the bottom of first inning off Sonny Gray to tie the game at 1-1. Guyer came to bat in the bottom of the second with two runners on when the inning was extended by a two-out error. Guyer hit the ball into the left field stands for a three-run home run. Guyer finished with five RBI on the day.

Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 for the game. Longoria hit his seventh home run and a double on Sunday.

The Rays scored six runs on six hits and left four runners on base. Rays batters struck out nine times and walked two times.

On the mound

A’s starter Sonny Gray had another tough outing on Sunday. Gray has not recorded a win in his last four starts. He had a no decision on Sunday. Gray worked 5.2-innings giving up six runs (three earned) on six hits. He struck out four and walked two. Gray gave up three home runs (Guyer 2, Longoria). He threw 99 pitches (67 strikes). Gray’s ERA now stands at 5.84.

The A’s bullpen came in and did the job for their team on Sunday. Ryan Dull relieved Gray in the sixth and worked 1.1-innings. Dull allowed no runs or hits. He struck out four and walked none.

John Axford pitched the eighth inning for Oakland. Axford gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and struck out one. Axford (3-1) is credited with the win as he was pitcher of record when the A’s scored in the top of the ninth.

Ryan Madson threw a perfect ninth inning needing just four pitches to retire the side. Madson now has 10 saves for the A’s.

Defense

The A’s were able to overcome a defensive miscue that took place in the bottom of the second inning. With two out and catcher Hank Conger at bat, the A’s defense went into a shift overloading the infield to the right. Second baseman Tyler Ladendorf was playing in shallow right field. Conger hit the ball to where the second baseman would normally be stationed. Ladendorf charged the ball and was unable to field it. Conger was safe. The next hitter Guyer hit a three-run home run. The error resulted in three unearned runs.

The A’s lead the American League in errors with 28.

Up next

The A’s return home to begin a three-game home series with the Texas Rangers on Monday night. LHP Derek Holland (3-2, 6.09) will start for Texas while the A’s will go with LHP Sean Manaea (0-1, 11.37).

On Tuesday, Texas will send LHP Cole Hamels to the mound to face the A’s LHP Eric Surkamp.

In the finale on Wednesday afternoon, LHP Martin Perez will start for the Rangers while LHP Rich Hill will take the hill for Oakland.

 

 

Oakland Athletics: Day Off Report

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Where will they finish?

One of the rituals of every baseball season is predicting where your team will finish in the standings come October. With a 162-game schedule, baseball has to be the toughest sport to predict the outcome for of all the sports.

Unfortunately for A’s fans, the predictions of the experts are not positive when it comes to Oakland:

  • Fangraphs predicts the A’s will finish in a tie for fourth place with the Texas Rangers
  • Baseball Prospectus sees Oakland in fifth and final place after 162 games
  • USA Today also has the A’s finishing in last place (5th place)
  • Sports Illustrated concurs and has the A’s finishing fifth
  • CBS Sports agrees and says the A’s will finish the season in the cellar

The prognosticators see the A’s winning as few as 66 games on the low end and 80 games on the high end.

One run games

The Athletics had a 19-35 record in one-run games in 2015. Improving that record to .500 in 2016 would add at least eight wins for the team. The A’s must improve their record in one-run contests in 2016 if they are to beat the predictions of the experts.

Cut down on the errors

The A’s led the American League in errors with 126 miscues in 2015. Winning a baseball game is tough enough and it is made even harder when you make mistakes that allow your opponent to put men on base or move them into scoring position. Oakland has to reduce the error total if they are to win more games this season.

The Athletics need to see real improvement from shortstop Marcus Semien. Semien was charged with 35 errors in 2015. He is an outfielder that the team is trying to convert to an infielder “on the fly”. That is a difficult task at any level but especially at the major league level.

By all reports, Semien has been working very hard with Coach Ron Washington to improve at the position and to cut down on the errors.

Jarrod Parker Update

Parker underwent successful surgery on his right elbow on Friday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neil ElAttrache at the Kerlan Jobe Clinic.

This was a revision of a UCL graft that was performed on Parker’s elbow two years ago. He has returned to Arizona.

Opening Day items

  • The parking lot will open at noon for you who want have big and long tailgate party
  • Stadium gates will open at 5:00 pm
  • 32,000 magnet schedules will be given out
  • Special tributes along with a moment of silence will be observed for Dave Henderson and Tony Phillips

Take BART on Tuesday

  • There is a Warriors game on Tuesday as well as the A’s game. Parking will cost $30. If you have ever thought about taking BART to a game, Tuesday night would be an ideal time to give it a try.

Last opening day for Sonny?

Many “experts” are speculating that this will be Sonny Gray’s final opening day outing as a member of the Oakland Athletics. Most feel that other teams will be making offers for Gray that A’s “cannot refuse” at the 2016 trade deadline.

What’s happening down on the farm

Make sure to listen to out weekly Oakland A’s podcast. We will keep you up to date on what is happening with A’s farm teams. Who will be the next call up from Nashville? Who will be the opening day starter in 2018? How is the number three draft pick doing in A-ball in Stockton? We will answer those questions and more on the Farm Report.

 

A’s Don’t “Look Like Idiots”, Wait Out Walk-off Win

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Athletics hosted their 16th annual Root Beer Float day Wednesday night at the O.Co Coliseum, treating fans to a sweet treat before the game before Ike Davis served des the dessert during the game. After raising $34,709 for the Juvenile Diabetes Relief Fund, the A’s topped Felix Doubront and the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on a pinch-hit single.

Josh Phegley, Stephen Vogt and Jake Smolinski all knocked in runs as well, and starter Sonny Gray pitched seven innings of two-run ball to help Oakland (44-52) pass the Seattle Mariners to move a half-game out of the American League West cellar. The Blue Jays (48-48) fall back to .500 after winning the first game of the series.

The walk-off came in bizarre fashion in the bottom of the 10th, with the A’s not sure if they in fact were winners. Davis bounced a chopper that Jose Reyes dove for before tossing to first, allowing another late inning sub Josh Reddick to score on what first base umpire Marvin Hudson ruled a base hit in a bang-bang play.

“I didn’t think he was going to catch it,” said Davis. “As soon as I hit it I thought ‘that’s going to be a hit’. He made a good play and it was really close.”

Davis came off the bench to pinch hit against deposed Jays closer Roberto Osuna (1-4, 2.28 ERA) and quickly fell behind 0-2. He managed to fight off a fastball, trickling it to the opposite field for the hit.

“Ike was coming in cold,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “That’s a tough assignment. After the first couple pitches he was behind. He fouled some back, wasn’t trying to do too much. He wanted to put it in play on the other side of the diamond.”

“He blew it by me twice,” said Davis. “I knew I had to shorten up. I tried to hit the ball hard the first two times.”

It wasn’t without drama though. Amidst a brief A’s celebration, Toronto manager John Gibbons asked for, and was granted, a replay review. The A’s players gathered on the mound, awaiting their fate.

“It’s a tough position to be in,” said Reddick. “If they turn it over, we’re going to look like idiots.”

After a 2 minutes and 45 seconds of review, home plate ump Hunter Wendelstedt confirmed that the call on the field would stand, with there being inconclusive evidence to overturn the call.

“They stayed with what they were told to do,” said Melvin on the ruling. “If there’s no definitive proof to overturn, you stay with it. It was nerve-wracking waiting on the verdict, but we’ll take it.”

“It felt like the longest replay of the year,” noted Reddick.

The A’s very briefly celebrated before racing into the dugout.

“We had a lot of fun out there planning our exit,” said Davis on the pre-concocted curtain call.

The game could have gone entirely the other way though. With Oakland leading 3-2, Tyler Clippard took over in the ninth inning looking for save number 18. He opened the inning issuing a free pass to Danny Valencia then coughing up a double to Devon Travis. Jose Reyes walked to load the bases with former A’s slugger Josh Donaldson up to the dish.

Clippard managed to down Donaldson on strikes, but brought around the tying run after walking Jose Bautista. He managed to coax an Edwin Encarnacion strikeout and Dionner Navarro fly out to escape the jam tied. Fernando Rodriguez (1-1, 3.21) then pitched a scoreless tenth to pick up the win.

“That’s tough,” said Melvin on Clippard’s outing. “Now you’re in a no-win situation. All you can do is keep it tied. You have the middle of their order up, some tough customers to deal with.”

“To get back into the dugout a tie game allowed us to win that game later,” added Melvin.

For the second night in a row Josh Donaldson managed to sour his warm homecoming by driving in a run, plating the first run of the game on a single up the middle in the top of the third inning. He’d endear himself to A’s fans again an inning later, throwing a tricky grounder in the dirt to give Smolinski a two-base error. Smolinski moved over to third base on a Ben Zobrist single, then came around to score on Phegley’s liner up the middle, knotting the game 1-1.

With starter Sonny Gray not featuring his sharpest stuff the A’s offense supported its ace, tacking on a pair of runs in the fifth. Billy Burns reached on a single, then swiped second before being knocked in on Stephen Vogt’s base hit. Melvin wasn’t able to see the singling, getting ejected after arguing a strike call on a botched pitchout during Burns’ steal.

“There was a bit of a miscommunication,” said Melvin on the situation. “I was asking if it was a pitchout. I think (homeplate umpire Wendelstedt) thought I was continuing to argue.”

Zobrist would also single, forcing Doubront to issue the intentional walk to Billy Butler to create a force out. Smolinski hit a deep fly to center field, but center fielder Kevin Pillar managed to pull in the ball. Vogt scampered home to convert the sacrifice. Brett Lawrie appeared to crack the game open with a scorching liner up the middle, but second baseman Devon Travis was perfectly positioned to field the hot shot.

Gray gave the fans a scare in the sixth, taking an Edwin Encarnacion liner up the middle off his back foot. After a brief visit from the trainer and a smile from Gray, the ace continued on no worse for wear.

“I knew he broke his bat, I just didn’t know how fast it was coming,” said Gray. “I knew it hit me pretty solid.”

“I was telling Vogt and Phegley I was fine,” said Gray on why he was smiling during the trainer’s visit. “They told me to tell the dugout that, but the trainer was already out there.”

The A’s would need both runs after Danny Valencia opened the 7th inning with a first-pitch homer to straight-away center field. Gray would finish out the inning, sandwiching a Donaldson walk between a pair of outs. He’d depart the game after finishing the inning, having struck out three while walking two and allowing 9 hits for two earned runs but wound up with a no-decision.

“They really made him work for a while,” said Melvin. “He was throwing some good pitches and they weren’t trying to do too much with them. They were hitting the ball the other way, fouling some pitches off.”

“There are outings like that where you really have to work hard on it,” stated Melvin. “He ends up leaving with the lead. I thought he pitched really well.”

Edward Mujica relieved Gray in the 8th, opening the inning with a leadoff single to Encarnacion. Mujica would erase the baserunner, fielding a grounder from Chris Colabello to start the 1-4-3 double play. He would cough up a two-out single to Russell Martin, then hand second base to pinch runner Ezequiel Carrera on a wild pitch before mowing down Pillar on a ground out to shortstop Marcus Semien.

Doubront would have been the hardluck loser. The southpaw went just 4 2/3 innings, allowing 7 hits and two earned runs to go with the unearned marker.

Donaldson and the Jays wrap up their first visit to the Coliseum this season with a matinee game Wednesday. Scott Kazmir takes the mound in what may be one of his last starts in the green and gold with the trade deadline approaching. He’ll be opposed by youngster Drew Hutchinson.

Hahn Sidelined Longer Than Expected As Oakland Opens Second Half

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Oakland Athletics might know their fate as buyers or sellers when the trade deadline comes sooner than they’d imagine. According to an interview with the Bay Area News Group’s John Hickey, A’s general manager Billy Beane does not expect Jesse Hahn to return from his flexor tendon injury anytime soon.

With the young righty, acquired from San Diego in the Derek Norris deal in the offseason, shelved for a significant period of time, the A’s rotation is now Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir, Kendall Graveman, Jesse Chavez and either Drew Pomeranz filling in as a spot starter or another call-up for Chris Bassitt. With the trade deadline looming at the end of the month, it’s almost guaranteed that Kazmir will be out of that equation and pitching for another club come August.

Bassitt, in 8 games (3 starts), has compiled a 2.93 ERA with 17 punchouts over 27.2 innings. The sophomore righty has started in his last three consecutive outings, going 5 innings or more in all three starts. He’s surrendered 5 earned runs over 17 innings as a starter, striking out 9 while walking just a pair batters. The 26-year-old hurler came to the A’s in the offseason deal that shipped Jeff Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox, with Rangel Ravelo also coming to Oakland in the deal.

The absence of Hahn, who has compiled a 6-6 record with a 3.35 earned run average this year, hurts more due to its timing. The Oakland A’s open the second half of the season facing the Minnesota Twins for three games at O.Co Coliseum. The Twins are riding a three-game winning streak and are looking to add to their four-game wild card lead.

Once the resilient Twins leave town, the Toronto Blue Jays potent offense comes to Oakland. The Jays are trying to gain ground on the Yankees in a wide-open American League East. After that, the A’s “travel” across the Bay for the Bay Bridge series before facing the National League West leaders the Los Angeles Dodgers in Southern California.

Sonny Days No More? Why Trading Sonny Gray Makes Sense for Oakland

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Oakland Athletics have officially become Sonny Gray’s team. No player donning the Green and Gold will mean more to his team’s success and no individual in Oakland’s 25-man roster has an equal skillset and pedigree as the 25-year-old ace. That makes it all the easier to trade the fire-balling Commodore out of Vanderbilt University striking while the iron is blazing atop the hot stove that is the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

The 18th overall pick in the draft elevated his stock greatly with a first half performance that puts him in the American League Cy Young Award conversation with the White Sox Chris Sale and Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros. He earned his first All-Star appearance in just his second full season this year on the back of a 10-3 record and a scant 2.04 earned run average.

In his last outing, the Nashville, TN native fired a complete-game, one-hit shutout of the Cleveland Indians. It was the kind of outing that Gray’s become known for, with every fifth day becoming winning day for the Division cellar-dwelling A’s. Any chance the A’s have at making up the 8.5 games they trail the AL West leader Los Angeles Angels comes with Gray winning at least two-thirds of his go-arounds as July rolls to October.

Of course, the A’s have struggled all season to remain relevant, so in all likelihood, they will be sellers (is Billy Beane ever not considered a threat to sell?) by the end of the month. Scott Kazmir could certainly pry some decent prospects from a team looking for pitching depth. Ben Zobrist will return a blue-chipper despite being a career .264 with only one season of more than 20 homers under his belt. But Gray, Gray’s ransom could fill the cupboards of a team twice over.

The biggest hurdle in dealing Gray is the fact that he’s technically under team control until 2020, with his arbitration years set to kick in in 2017. The A’s proved in the offseason that they’re not afraid to deal away a player under club control with a bright future, dealing Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays before having to sign him to the big money no player gets in Oakland.

Gray’s contract status immediately makes him a better haul for a playoff hopeful team than the mercenary options being floated around at the trailing end of deals like Johnny Cueto or Mat Latos. A team like the cash-strapped Los Angeles Dodgers could easily handle Gray’s arbitration figure and may even jump to extend him to a long-term deal well before the expiration of his contract. With that luxury, here’s where the A’s need to play hardball.

In the offseason, Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was criticized for demanding teams like the Dodgers or Boston Red Sox offer up two or three can’t-miss prospects for Cole Hamels, another pitcher locked up beyond this season. If the Phillies could get Boston to entertain the idea of sending over Blake Swihart, Mookie Betts and Henry Owens, why couldn’t Billy Beane try to pry the same deal (or better) for a player who younger than Hamels and will come with a cheaper price tag?

The obvious fit is dealing with the Dodgers, who would become locks to win the World Series if they could lock down a rotation of reigning Most Valuable Player Clayton Kershaw and All-Star starting pitcher Zack Greinke along with Gray. In return, the A’s could potentially pull in A+ prospects like shortstop Corey Seager and starter Julio Urias (though perhaps they’d have to throw in Kazmir or Zobrist to sweeten the pot). Plug them in with the emerging Oakland talents of players like Kendall Graveman, Marcus Semien and Billy Burns and the prospects in the pipeline in Matt Olson, Renato Nunez and Sean Nolin and suddenly you’d have a core five years from now with potential All-Stars at every position.

The reality is that the Angels window for success is coming to an end, and the Astros is just beginning to open with young stars like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer and Dallas Keuchel being just a few of the names that litter the talent-rich organization’s depth charts. The A’s meanwhile would need a significant free-agent signing to be competitive now and in the immediate future. By the team they’ll see dividends on the current minor leaguers could very well be after 2017 when Gray will make the big bucks. So why not move Gray now and add more pieces for the run to come in a few seasons?

Everyone in the A’s organization has been adamant that Gray is off limits, but why suddenly make a player untouchable? With 5 of 7 Oakland All-stars from 2015 dealt since last July, it’s pretty clear that even the best of the best are available to depart from Alameda County. In fact, perhaps this is a move by Oakland brass to raise the price even higher. Who doesn’t covet what they’ve been told they can’t have?

It’s a longshot of a scenario, one that certainly might not play out considering there are rumblings that the A’s may be buyers and sellers at the deadline. With Beane at the helm, one thing is for certain; never say never.

Martinez Out-duels Gray, A’s Drop Fourth-Straight Game

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – The dark days have returned for the Oakland Athletics. Mired amongst the dredges of the American League cellar, the A’s find themselves fading once again after an 2-1 loss to the visiting Texas Rangers Tuesday night at O.Co Coliseum. Nick Martinez topped Sonny Gray, while Shawn Tolleson pitched a scoreless ninth for his 8th save of the season.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” said Melvin. “There’s a lot of things going. We lost a lot of one run games. It’s not uncommon to want to press because of it. When you don’t come through and you have opportunities, it’s frustrating.”

Oakland (23-37) has now dropped four-straight contests following a weekend sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. Prior to that series, the A’s were turning a corner. They swept long-time nemesis Detroit in convincing fashion before moving further East to Boston.

“We have to look at the big picture,” said A’s catcher Stephen Vogt. “We’re 9 of our last 15. We have to keep that perspective, that attitude. We played really well the last half of the home stand and in Detroit.”

If any could have put the A’s back on the winning track, it’d have been the pitcher on the hill Tuesday night. Sonny Gray (7-3, 1.74 ERA) grabbed the ball to open the three-game set, and despite a well-pitched effort, wound up the loser in tightly-contested pitching battle. The A’s stranded nine runners against the second-place Rangers (31-27).

“We had some opportunities,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “We didn’t get the one big hit when we needed to. That’s usually the case when you have close games like that.”

Despite Gray’s best efforts, the Rangers struck first in the third inning. Delino DeShields jetted his way to a one-out triple with a wall ball to right centerfield, but Shin-Soo Choo succumbed to Gray’s best offerings with a swinging strikeout. Prince Fielder bested the AL’s ERA leader in the next at-bat, blooping a flare between Marcus Semien and left fielder Ben Zobrist.

The A’s found themselves in a similar situation in the bottom of the fourth after Josh Reddick broke up Martinez’ no-hit bid. The A’s right fielder lead off the frame with a double then scooted to third on Ben Zobrist’s warning track pop-out.

With only one out and the heart of the order due up, Oakland looked sure to tie the contest up. Instead Stephen Vogt grounded out into a drawn-in infield, then Billy Butler followed suit with a slow bouncer up the middle to strand Reddick at third.

The A’s would load the bases with two outs the following inning despite collecting a single hit after Martinez hit Mark Canha, walked Semien and mishandled a Billy Burns squibber for an error. Reddick couldn’t cash in the run though, instead rolling out to second base.

Mitch Moreland punished the Athletics for not converting in the next half-inning, scorching a 2-1 Gray offering halfway up Mt. Davis to open up the top of the sixth. Moreland’s 7th dinger of the year, the 21st run batted in of the season, doubled the Rangers lead 2-0.

Gray would close out the sixth before turning the contest over to the bullpen. Gray threw 95 pitches in his six-inning outing, striking out six Texas batters while issuing a sole free pass but wound up the hard-luck loser due to a sputtering offense.

“I thought he threw the ball well,” said Melvin. “He gives up the bloop hit then Moreland scores the one run. You give up two runs and that’s a bad game? I’ll take that it any day.”

On many nights, Gray’s showing would be enough to top many a league’s ace. Not Tuesday though, as Martinez locked down on the bump. The 24-year-old threw a near flawless six innings, surrendering only one hit while walking one and hitting another batter.

“He cuts it, curveball, sinks it, late movement on the changeup,” said Melvin of the opposing starter. “He pitches backward when he has to. For the last year and a half or so he’s been one of the better pitchers in the American League.”

“He did a good job of keeping us off balance,” added Vogt. “He’s having a great year. He knows how to pitch. He’s an athlete.”

Once Martinez (5-2, 2.65) departed, the A’s saw an opening, winding up with runners on 2nd and 3rd against the Rangers bullpen with two down in the seventh. Again, A’s base runners would be denied the final 90 feet, as Rangers reliever Ross Detwiler coaxed a strikeout of pinch-hitter Josh Phegley after issuing three-straight balls to open the at-bat., b

“Phegley’s hitting .333 against lefties,” said Melvin. “It’s not often that I’ll hit for Reddick. You have to do what you the best you can in the situation. Phegley’s been swinging really goo

The A’s broke the shutout in the eighth after Zobrist, struggling to a .205 average this year while recently returning from injury, opened the inning with a liner to left field that DeShields misjudged into a double.  Another struggling hitter, Vogt, plated Zobrist on a single to center to put the A’s on the ledger.

On a night where the A’s struggled to score in general, even an easy RBI single turned into a struggle. The strong-armed Leonys Martin fielded Vogt’s liner and fired a rocket to home plate that skipped past the cutoff man right to catcher Robinson Chirinos. Zobrist was past Chironos, but didn’t slide, allowing the Rangers catcher to attempt a swipe tag. Zobrist was ruled safe, a hair ahead of the tag. Texas manager Jeff Banister challenged the play, but the call stood to cut the Rangers edge 2-1.

Oakland fans who chose to skip over game 3 of the NBA Finals had little to be excited for, but they were treated to a special moment. Switch pitcher Pat Venditte made his O.Co debut, warming up from both sides of the mound before firing off a 1-2-3 inning. He faced three righties, electing to pitch from the right side for all three.

“Like every inning we’ve seen from him, whether it’s here or in spring training, he’s focused,” said Melvin. “He’s confident. You know you’re going to get your match-up. He’s having a real good time, his first time in the Big Leagues. There can be some nerves involved but he’s showing it hasn’t bothered him. He’s having a great time and he’s pitching well on top of it.”

Oakland turns to another starter capable of turning in a gem, Jesse Hahn, for game 2 Wednesday night. He’ll be opposed by Yovani Gallardo, the Rangers offseason acquisition meant to be the complement to the now-injured Yu Darvish at the front of their rotation.

Gray’s 12 K’s Not Enough For A’s Against LeBlanc, Halos

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. – Despite a dominant rebound performance from starter Sonny Gray at the O.Co Coliseum Tuesday night, the Oakland Athletics once again found their efforts to string together three consecutive wins come up short.

After dropping game two of a three game series against the 2014 American League West Champion Los Angeles Angels 2-0, the Green and Gold (86-71) still seek their first uninterrupted trio of wins since August 7-9. Wade LeBlanc pitched 5 2/3 of shutout innings for the Halos, while former Athletic Houston Street nailed down his 40th save of the season after retiring the side in order.

The Athletics loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth inning with reliever Joe Smith on the mound and two men retired, but Stephen Vogt’s fly-out derailed the Oakland rally.

“I left a small village of runners in scoring position tonight,” said Vogt. “It’s really frustrating to not get them in.”

It marked only the second time all night the home team advanced a runner past second base. In total, the A’s left eight runners on base.

“That’s baseball in a nutshell,” said Vogt. “It’s frustrating, absolutely. But just because we didn’t have offense today doesn’t mean our offense isn’t good. I think we’re still playing good baseball right now, we just didn’t get any hits when we needed them tonight.”

An Oakland loss, paired with a Kansas City Royals win in Cleveland, knots the two squads up with identical records in the chase for the top Wild Card spot and home-field advantage in the one-game playoff. Despite the result Tuesday, the A’s magic number to clinch a playoff berth drops to three games by way of a Seattle Mariners lost. Just five regular season games remain.

Gray (13-10, 3.21 ERA) recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, including three by potential AL Most Valuable Player Mike Trout, yielding only two runs in the losing effort.

“He came in the dugout with this look in his eye,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “He was going to get after it. Unfortunately we didn’t give him the support. Three hits and he struck out nine of the first 12 guys. Everything was working today.”

Gray’s ability to rack up strikeouts in a hurry wasn’t lost on his teammates.

“I looked up in the fifth and he had ten punch-outs,” said Vogt. “That was a remarkable thing. He threw the ball well. We had some opportunities to score runs and we just weren’t able to come through.”

The youthful right-hander picked up eight of his first nine outs on K’s and nine of his first 12 by way of the whiff. It was the one non-strikeout that made him the hard luck loser against Los Angeles (97-61).

With runners on first and third and one out in the second inning, Gray caught Hank Conger swinging at strike three. The runner at first, Efren Navarro, took off with the pitch, drawing a throw from catcher Geovany Soto.

“There was a miscommunication on that,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “Aybar was coming down the line. We needed to stop the run there.”

With Erick Aybar crashing down the line from third base after the throw to second, Navarro froze between second and third base. Already dead to rights on the Soto throw, Navarro stalled long enough in a pickle for Aybar to cross the plate.

“He’s fast,” said Gray of the Angels shortstop. “He puts pressure on the defense, as you could see there. He’s a good player, he has good baseball instincts.”

The Angels added another run in the sixth inning after Gordon Beckham ripped a solo home to left field for the only earned run of the day. The long ball stood as the Angels first hit since the second inning as well as the third and final hit the visitors would collect on the evening.

Gray’s LA counterpart, starter Wade LeBlanc, managed to tame the A’s bats despite a repertoire of pitches that don’t break the 90 mph barrier. The Southpaw fired 5 2/3 innings, allowing only five hits to the Oakland hitters. The A’s didn’t manage a base runner to reach second base off LeBlanc until Josh Reddick’s doubled with one out in the fifth inning.

“He did a good job mixing his pitches,” said Vogt. “He didn’t really miss over the plate tonight. Typically, a guy like that, a junk baller, he knows how to pitch. That’s one thing about Wade LeBlanc, he knows how to pitch. He’s a really good pitcher. How you take advantage of those guys is when he makes mistakes over the plate, and he didn’t do that tonight.”

Of the five A’s hits off LeBlanc, four came counter to the lefty-vs-lefty pitcher’s advantage with Reddick (two hits), Sam Fuld and Eric Sogard all reaching base.

LeBlanc (1-1, 4.23) started the season in the minor leagues with the Angels, ultimately making his first Major League appearance at Oakland May 30th. LeBlanc pitched 6 1/3 innings of relief against the Athletics after starter Garret Richards exited with a season-ending knee injury, his longest outing to date this season.

Following his lone stint of game action, LeBlanc was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees on June 3rd. 12 days later, after only one inning of two run work against the A’s later, the Yankees granted the 30 year old free agency. The Lake Charles, La. native returned to the Angels roster on June 17th. Since then, he has made eight appearances, including two starts before his season-best Tuesday evening outing.

Manager Mike Scioscia tabs a third-straight left-hander to pitch Wednesday afternoon’s series finale. Hector Santiago takes the mound in the rubber match. Melvin counters with a lefty of his own, sending trade deadline acquisition Jon Lester to the hill. The winner of Wednesday’s contest takes the season series with each side claiming nine wins apiece in head-to-head play.

Super Sam’s Triple Seals The Deal, Oakland Defeats Anaheim 5-3

Published on by kahlilnajar7Leave a comment
OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 22: Sam Fuld #23 of the Oakland Athletics is congratulated by teammates after he scored against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the bottom of the six inning at O.co Coliseum on August 22, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – AUGUST 22: Sam Fuld #23 of the Oakland Athletics is congratulated by teammates after he scored against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the bottom of the six inning at O.co Coliseum on August 22, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

by Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – Sam Fuld hit a deep line shot to right center field in the bottom of the sixth that hit the wall that scored Alberto Callaspo from first to give the A’s their first lead of the game and proved to be the game winning run of the night. Fuld went 1 for 4 on the night with one RBI and one run and Alberto Callaspo went 2 for 4 with a run and of his own. Coco Crisp hit his second lead off homer of the year to contribute to the A’s scoring who are now 4-0 against the Angels at home this year.

On the offense coming through, especially Coco Crisp, head coach Bob Mevin said, “They hit a home run. Then Coco answers. That was big. That was huge. That was like alright we’re fine. You can’t put too much pressure on him but when we play our best he’s playing well.”

The bottom of the A’s batting order had 6 hits and three runs tonight.

“That’s what we need. We need to have a deep line up sometimes and that really is the strength of our line up and why offensively we’ve got the numbers we put up this year,” beamed Melvin.

Sonny Gray also had a gem of a game tonight. Gray (13-7) went 8 and 1/3 innings and gave up six hits, including a pair of homers but only allowed those two solo shots. Gray also struck out five and was backed up by some great defense by Josh Donaldson who started a nice double play in the top of the sixth. Gray is now 9-1 against all teams in the AL West.

“Mixing in all three of his pitches. Fastball had good life, curve ball backdoor to lefties, away from righties, enough change ups to keep you off balance. It was pretty impressive,” said Melvin on Gray.

Gray started off shaky in the first when after getting the Angels lead off batter to ground out, he threw an 81 mph curve ball that Mike Trout got a hold of and went over the left center field wall for his eighth home run of the year and give the Angels a 1-0 lead. Coco Crisp wasted no time to respond as he hit his 15th career lead off home run to the exact same spot and tied the game up at one a piece.

After the Trout home run, Gray was able to put out the next nine batters until Josh Hamilton ripped a curve ball into the right field stands to give the Angels the lead again 2-1.

The A’s tied it up in the bottom of the fifth when after a Crisp double and a Gentry walk, Josh Donaldson smacked a line drive to Angels pitcher Santiago who was able to get a hand on it and deflected the ball into the second baseman’s glove to get Gentry out at second but on a throwing error by shortstop Erick Aybar, Donaldson was able to advance to second and Crisp was able to cross the plate.

In the sixth, Sam Fuld came up and smacked his third triple of the year into right center to score Callaspo and give the A’s a 3-2 lead. Andy Parrino then followed with a sac fly to bring in Fuld and make it a 4-2 Oakland lead.

The A’s received an insurance run in the eighth when Stephen Vogt hit his ninth homer of the year to make it a 5-2 game. The Angels tried to make it interesting in the ninth as they put up a run against Sean Doolittle and got the bases loaded but he settled down and got Chris Ianetta to strike out and end the game 5-3.

Tomorrow the Angels send up their ace C.J. Wilson (10-8, 4.59) against the A’s ace Jon Lester (13-8, 2.58). Game time 6:05 pm.