Tag: Sports Radio Service

MLB The Show podcast with Charlie O: SRS’s Amaury speaks out on A’s ownership; Orioles announcer Brown back after suspension; plus more

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Oakland A’s broadcaster Amaury Pi Gonzalez said in a recent interview that if Oakland A’s owner John Fisher sold the team there would be a parade in Oakland the following week (photo provided by Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

On the MLB The Show Podcast with Charlie O:

#1 One of the biggest quotes coming out of the San Francisco Chronicle interview with Oakland A’s broadcaster Amaury Pi Gonzalez on Thursday saying, if A’s owner John Fisher sold the team there would be a parade in Oakland next week, also saying that Fisher was not professional for the way he relocated the A’s and that he didn’t want the A’s to leave Oakland he wants them to stay. The interview has gone viral in the baseball community on social media.

#2 Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown’s suspension ended on Saturday in time for him to broadcast the Orioles and Seattle Mariners game. Brown was suspended five games for negative comments regarding the Orioles loosing records in previous seasons. The Orioles are in first place this season. Brown also said that the Orioles have had a losing record against the Tampa Bay Rays. The fans during the suspension chanted “Free Kevin Brown” and owner John Angelos received lots and lot of emails regarding the Brown suspension that became a national story.

#3 San Francisco Giants pitcher Ross Stripling showed catcher Blake Sabol an article on his phone when they were in Anaheim to play the Angels last week showing that Sabol would be part of a package to get Angels two way player Shohei Ohtani. Stripling said to Sabol, ” Sabes, I love you but we would have to do this” Sabol said “Yeah I get it.” Ohtani would fetch up to $600-800 million after this season on the free agent market. The Dodgers and Angels are the front runners in the Ohtani sweepstakes.

#4 The Giants who nearly signed Carolos Correa for $350 million for 13 years as the Giants nearly introduced Correa to the media before finding out that he failed a physical. Then failing another physical with the Mets eventually signing $200 million with the Minnesota Twins. Correa in 109 games with the Twins has hit .230, 15 home runs, and has 54 RBIs. Has Correa underperformed the Twins expectations?

#5 The Los Angeles Dodgers long awaited ceremony for pitcher Fernando Valenzulea arrived on Friday night when the Dodgers retired his number. Fernando Fever arrived in the Southland in 1980 when Valenzuela arrived pitching for the Dodgers until 1990 and playing for Angels, Orioles, Padres, before retiring with the Cardinals in 1997. Fernando in case many of you don’t know is a class act, he acts like a regular guy and not this legendary figure, the honor the Dodgers gave him was well deserved.

Join Charlie O for the MLB The Show podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants trounced by Rangers 9-3 on ’90s night, and drop fourth-straight

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Texas Rangers’ Mitch Garver who had three RBIs against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Aug 12, 2023 (USA Today photo)

Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Texas Rangers 9 (70-47)

San Francisco Giants 2 (62-55)

Win: Grant Anderson (2-1)

Loss: Alex Cobb (6-3)

Time: 2:44

Attendance: 33,112

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants’ offense sputtered again, as Rangers beat the Giants on 90s night at Oracle park, 9-3, to hand the Giants their fourth-straight loss, and their sixth loss in their last seven games.

Alex Cobb, who has struggled in the second half since his All-Star Game appearance, made the start for the Giants, and his struggles continued. Cobb got Marcus Semien to fly out to left field to start the game, but Corey Seager then hit a home run to straightaway center to put the Rangers on the board.

The Giants responded in the bottom of the first inning. Rangers starter Andrew Heaney set down the first two men he faced, but Wilmer Flores doubled, and Patrick Bailey singled him in, as the throw from Rangers left-fielder J.P. Martinez appeared as if it was going to get Flores at the plate, but it skipped in front of the catcher, Mitch Garver, which allowed Flores to score.

Cobb survived a two-out double in the top of the second, and the Giants appeared as if they were going to strike in the bottom of the second. Luis Matos walked to start the inning, and got to third on a long single off the right field wall by Michael Conforto.

Heliot Ramos then walked to load the bases with nobody out, but Mark Mathias struck out swinging, and Bruce Bochy surprisingly pulled Heaney from the game for Grant Anderson. Anderson then got Austin Slater to ground into a 3-6-1 double play to end the inning, as it was another opportunity wasted by the Giants.

The teams traded scoreless innings again in the third, as Cobb pitched a 1-2-3 inning, and Anderson pitched through a leadoff infield hit by Thairo Estrada.

Alex Cobb then faltered in the fourth. Nathaniel Lowe led off the inning with a base-hit, followed by an infield hit off the bat of Ardolis Garcia. Garver then singled to knock in Lowe and give the Rangers the lead, and Martinez singled to load the bases. Ezequiel Duran hit a sacrifice fly to center; Josh Smith walked; and Leody Tavares singled to knock in the third run of the inning and extend the Rangers lead to 4-1.

Michael Conforto hit a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-2, but the Rangers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth, and that prompted Gabe Kapler to pull Alex Wood.

In his last five starts since July 20 in Cincinnati, Wood has gone 0-2 with a 6.58 ERA, as he has given up 19 runs over his last 26 innings.

“I don’t think it was his best outing, obviously,” said Kapler. “He’s the guy that we’re always depending on. He’s been one of our best pitchers. He’s done a really nice job for us all season. I don’t think it was his best outing, and [hopefully, he can] come back next time and get em.”

Kapler went to Alex Wood, who was coming off a decent four-inning performance on Tuesday against the Angels in Anaheim. J.P. Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to center to knock in Seager and get the run back, and Ezequil Duran singled in Adolis Garcia for an extra run to open their lead to 6-2.

Blake Sabol pinch-hit and walked, and advanced to second on a base-hit by Thairo Estrada to start the bottom of the fifth. Bochy then went to former Giant Chris Stratton, and like the second, the Giants wasted the opportunity, as Stratton set down the next three men in order.

Luis Matos singled to start the bottom of the sixth after a ground ball off his bat took a weird hop off the lip of the infield grass and ricocheted into left field. Michael Conforto walked, and just like the second and fifth, the Giants had two runners on and nobody out to start the inning, but just like the second and fifth, the Giants wasted it and had nothing to show for it.

“We haven’t been as productive as we can be, whether we have the platoon advantages, or we don’t,” said Kapler. “We’re not swinging the bat[s] consistently to put up crooked numbers. We didn’t play good enough as a team; [the Rangers] played very good as a team, and we just weren’t able to counter that.”

Alex Wood meanwhile set down eight-straight following the Duran base-hit in the fifth. Wood pitched a pair of 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh, and he survived a one-out triple off the bat of Duran unscathed in the top of the eighth.

“We had a decent thought that Alex could give us some length today,” said Kapler. “I thought he did a nice job of getting us through the middle innings. It’s not easy to come into that situation; I thought he did a good job.”

Stratton pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh, and Josh Sborz pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.

Wood then fell apart in the top of the ninth. Despite Wood’s solid innings, the Rangers made hard contact off him, but he finally paid for it in the ninth. Marcus Semien tripled to start the ninth, and he scored on a base-hit by Seager.

Nathaniel Lowe hit a nubber on the first base side, and when Webb went to get it, he fired it down the right field line, allowing the runners to get to second and third. Garcia flew out to right, but Mitch Garver singled in a pair to make it a laugher.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting to throw four-plus, five innings,” said Wood. “[I’m] just trying to go do what’s best for these guys in the clubhouse.”

There was a highlight in the bottom of the ninth, as with one out, Heliot Ramos, who has struggled over the course of two seasons between the majors and Triple-A, hit his first big league home run out to left-center field. Fortunately for Ramos, he was able to get the ball

“I got [the ball] right here,” said Ramos. “I gave up a bat, and two signed. I’m glad [the fan] brought it back. I thought I was going to lose the ball.”

Mark Mathias singled to left, but Blake Sabol was called out on strikes, and Thairo Estrada struck out swinging to end it.

The Giants have now lost four-straight, and six of their last seven, as they fall to 62-55, and their playoff lead in the wild card is now just a game and a half over the Cincinnati Reds.

The Giants will try to salvage a game in the series, as they will send their ace, Logan Webb, to the mound for a 1:05 start.

News and Notes:

Prior to the game, six members of the 1993 Giants gathered for the 30-year reunion of the improbable Giants team that won 103 games, but missed out on the National League West division title in playoffs in what was the final season of the four-team playoff format.

They were joined by the wives of the late Barney Nugent and Rod Beck, and the ceremony was emceed by the Giants’ public address announcer from 1993 to 1999, Sherry Davis, the first woman public address announcer in sports history. This was Davis’ first public appearance since her tenure ended, as well as her first time on the field at Oracle Park.

“These are my guys,” said Davis. “They’re so sweet, and they’re so nice. It’s so nice to see them again after all this time.

Davis also talked about the stress of her first year of 1993.

“It was the most exciting year [of my career], but it was also the most stressful,” Davis said. “I faced a lot of opposition, but I [had] a lot of support. It was a very stressful year for me, but it was wonderful. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

A’s Give Up Lead In the Ninth-Fall to the Nationals 3-2; Fourth loss in five games for Oakland

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Oakland Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler (22) warms up before the game against the Washington Nationals, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in DC (AP News photo)

A’s Give Up Lead In the Ninth-Fall to the Nationals 3-2

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (33-84) couldn’t hold onto a ninth inning lead and once again fell to the Washington Nationals (52-66) 3-2 at Nationals Park in DC on Saturday.

The Nationals got the first run of the game in the second inning, a fielders choice to third allowing Ildemaro Vargas to score giving Washington the early 1-0 lead.

Oakland took the lead with a home run in the third and sixth innings. JJ Bleday homered to center a 432 feet shot for the 1-1 tie. In the sixth inning Brent Rooker gave Oakland the lead 2-1 hitting s home run to right center field. The A’s had an opportunity to extend their lead in the seventh inning with two runners on base but left them both stranded.

A’s starting pitcher Luis Medina went 4.0 innings allowing four hits but limiting the damage to one run.

Oakland held onto the lead into the eighth when it began to unravel. With no outs the Nationals loaded the bases. The A’s relief pitcher Angel Felipe walked two runners and Jake All bunted. Washington tied up the game 2-2 when Lane Thomas singled and Stone Garrett scored. Washington left two runners stranded to end the eighth inning.

It was a three up three out ninth inning for the A’s and the Nationals were looking for the walkoff. It was a very brief ninth inning. Keibert Ruiz knocked the ball out of the park, a 391 feet shot to right giving the Nationals the come from behind win.

It was a tough loss for Oakland who came so close but could not hang onto the lead. It all came apart in the eighth inning and the A’s weren’t able to produce badly needed defense in the eighth inning.

A’s post game notes: Friday night the Oakland A’s began a three -game series with the Washington Nationals. The game started out well for Oakland leading 2-0 going into the second inning. It all fell apart for the remainder of the game for the A’s. The Nationals tied up the game 2-2 in the second inning. They went on to score in four of the next six innings winning the game 8-2.

Sunday the A’s will be looking to avoid a sweep in game three. Ken Waldichuk will take the mound for Oakland with a 2-7 win/loss record, ERA 6.30. Trevor Williams (5-7 ERA 5.00) will get the nod for Washington. First pitch is scheduled for 10:35 AM.

Rangers get all the scoring they need in two run sixth edge Giants 2-1 at Oracle

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Texas (69-47). 000 002 000. – 2. 6. 1

San Francisco (62-54) 000 001 001. – 1. 3. 0

Time: 2:19

Attendance: 35,689

Friday, August 11, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, center, walks out of the dugout for batting practice for the team’s baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP News photo)

SAN FRANCISCO–Before tonight’s battle began, the buzz centered around Bruce Bochy’s coming back to the bay (the terrafirma – or should I call it the terratremula?– side, that is). The ex Giants’ skipper, who guided the ragtag teams of the early 2010s to upset World Series championships in 2020, ’12, and ’14, had come out of retirement for this season, at the helm of the AL West division leading Texas Rangers.

He’d been in the east side of the bay for a three game series with Oakland, where his charges had their eight game winning streak broken by losing the last game of the series.

The last time he was the visiting team’s manager at Oracle Park was in 2006 when his San Diego Padres defeated their hosts, 10-2. Tonight’s crowd gave him a rousing standing ovation when his picture appeared on the jumbotron before the lineups were announced. And again when it showed a welcome back slide show between halves of the third.

Bochy’s team won a squeaker, 2-1.

The Giants, struggling to stay in the National League wild card race after going 0-2 in Oakland and 1-2 in Anaheim, chose the bullpen route for the third consecutive time. Friday night’s opener was Scott Alexander (6-2, 4.01) at game time, who had been chased from the mound in the first inning on Tuesday before he could get a man out, but not before he had given up three hits, which resulted in three runs. He did better in his one inning of work tonight, allowing only one base runner (on a walk) and striking out two. Ross Stripling came on in the second for his turn as follow up man.

Bochy and crew went with the 31 year old right hander Jon Gray, who toed the rubber at 7-5, 3.88. Gray was 2-8, 5.96 against the Giants and 67-61, 4.42 in his overall big league career before tonight. His work tonight was excellent, seven innings of shutout ball, in which he conceded only two hits, both singles. He didn’ walk anyone. His pitch count reached 87 (with only 26 balls). He earned the win and now has a record of 8-5, 3.65.

Both pitchers were in command as the teams traded zeroes until the top of the sixth, when the Rangers broke through with back to back solo homers by Nathaniel Lowe (his 14th, to right) and Mitch Garver (his eighth, to left).

That did it for Stripling; he struck out JP Martínez to end the inning and his tenure. He’d thrown 73 pitches, 47 for strikes, over five frames, allowing five hits and no. walks. His ERA briefly dropped below 5.00, but he left the game with it at 5.10. He was tagged with the loss; his record now stands at 0-5, 5.10.

Ryan Walker put the visitors down in order in the seventh and was pulled for Taylor when Marcus Semien led off the eighth by beating out a grounder to third for a single. The left handed twin emerged unscathed in spite of a passed ball on the third strike to Lowe. (It’s not having been scored as a wild pitch occasioned some questions in the press box).

Aroldis Chapman replaced Gray for the eighth, struck out Conforto and walked Bailey. Mark Mathias, batting for Crawford, fanned, but Chapman unleashed two wild pitches in the process, putting Conforto on third. Matos also went down swinging, and that was the end of the threat.

Luke Jackson was hit hard in the Texas ninth but put the Rangers down while allowing nothing more harmful than a walk.

Will Smith, the Texas closer, looking for his 22nd save in 24 opportunities, gave up a leadoff double to center by Heliot Ramos, who took third Leody Taveras’s throwing error. He scored on a ground out to third by Estrada, but that was all the offense the Giants could muster. Smith got his save and the Rangers, their win.

Saturday, the game will start at 6:05. Alex Cobb (6-3, 3.30) is scheduled to be on the mound for San Francisco. Andrew Heaney (9-6, 4.14) will pitch for the team from Arlington.

Aces Push Past Mystics 113-89; A’ja blows it wide open with 40 points

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Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson led with 40 points in the Aces win over the Washington Mystics at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Fri Aug 11, 2023 (@WBBWorldWide photo)

Aces Push Past Mystics 113-89

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Aces took on the Washington Mystics (13-15) at Michelob ULTRA Arena and won their second game in a row 113-89 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Vegas. Las Vegas led after the first quarter 30-21. The Aces ran into a bit of trouble in the second quarter. In the final minutes the Mystics had pulled to within two points and the Las Vegas lead had all but disappeared.

The Aces capped off the quarter with a nice run leading at the half 57-48. With the season winding down, these teams know each other all to well and barring injury every game going forward will be a serious challenge.

The Aces A’Ja Wilson continued her domination. After scoring 28 points last Tuesday against the Wings, she had already shot for 24 points and seven rebounds at the half. With an entire half of basketball left in the game, she was just getting warmed up.

While the first half that the Aces saw from Wilson was, brilliant , they cannot say enough about the amazing teammates that surround her. They enable her to do what she does so well. It takes a tribe and we see this in every game that Las Vegas has played this season

The Mystics started the third quarter with a three and the Aces answered with a three of their own and the battle was on. The Aces saw amazing ball movement from both teams in a very physical third quarter. The Mystics tied up this game at 68 with under four minutes left in the quarter. The Aces forged back and led 88-74 to end the quarter.

The Aces polished off the Mystics in the fourth quarter winning the game. It you thought A’Ja Wilson had a great game last Tuesday against Dallas, she was just warming up. She finished this game with 40 points and 12 rebounds, a career high. Kelsey Plum had her first double double of the season with 19 points and 10 assists

Aces post game notes: It has been less than a week since the Las Vegas Aces (25-3) got blown off the court in New York 99-61 on Sun Aug 6. The Liberty contained them offensively and defensively. They kept them out of the paint while driving through their defense with an electric offensive display. Just the fact that Ace A’Ja Wilson came away with only nine points was a shocker.

Las Vegas knew how important the next game in Dallas would be not wanting to drop another game especially in this fashion. As expected the Aces found their form dominating the Wings in the first three quarters that sealed the win 104-84 on Tue Aug 8th. Las Vegas was back.

With only 11 games left in the regular season every game is critical with the top three teams battling for home court advantage. The Aces cannot afford another loss the likes of which they saw in New York.

Las Vegas will next take on the Atlanta Dream on Sunday with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 PM.

Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum: Did A’s truly censor A’s fans protest last Sunday at Coliseum?

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Oakland A’s fans with Sell shirts at a Apr 28, 2023 game vs. the Cincinnati Reds in the Oakland Coliseum bleachers. The chant “Sell the team” has also caught on in other MLB parks as the A’s relocation to Las Vegas is proving to be not popular with the fans (AP News file photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 Daniel last Sunday in the suite bleacher area of the Oakland Coliseum fans were escorted out of a suite by order of a female employee who was wearing A’s employee credentials and ushered the group of fans wearing “Sell” shirts to the elevator and out of the area.

#2 A fan told Sam Warren of the San Francisco Chronicle that the “Sell” shirts were not permitted on the suite level and those fans wearing them had to leave. The A’s stated on Wednesday before the game with the Rangers that “We have no policy against prohibiting ‘SELL’ t-shirts in any area in the ballpark.” said an A’s spokesperson.

#3 The A’s fans had organized a second “reverse boycott” in a game against the San Francisco Giants last Sunday. The A’s and Giants fans were wearing “Sell” shirts in protest of the A’s moving to Las Vegas and wanting A’s owner John Fisher to sell the team to someone who will keep the team in Oakland. Does it strike you that it’s a little suspicious that on Sunday fans are not allowed to wear the “Sell” shirts in the bleacher suites but on Wednesday the fans were welcomed to wear them in the bleacher suites. Do you think all the publicity about this probably changed the narrative?

#4 When the A’s rebroadcasted their Sunday game against the Giants for television it was also reported that the top of the fifth inning where the fans started to chant “Sell the team” was cut off. The broadcast had indicated that there was technical difficulties and the A’s spokesperson said, “We encourage fans to express their fandom.”

#5 Taking these circumstances into account and the A’s say they deny they are not banning any fans with “Sell” shirts on to be prohibited from the bleacher suite level or anywhere else in the park fans have questioned why these fans were escorted out of the suite for the shirts now the A’s say the fans wearing the Sell shirts are welcome to go anywhere in the park with the Sell shirts.

Join Daniel Dullum for the Oakland A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s get blown out 8-2 by the Nationals

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Mary Anne

The Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals started this weekend with a three-game series at Nationals Park. The A’s lost 8-2 to the Nationals in their series opener on Friday. Oakland fell to 33-83, while Washington improved to 51-66.

The A’s starting lineup consisted of Esteury Ruiz, JJ Bleday, Zack Gelof, Seth Brown, Jordan Diaz, Tyler Soderstrom, Shea Langaliers, Lawrence Butler, Nick Allen, and Paul Blackburn. Blackburn (2-3, 4.52 ERA) took the loss after pitching 5 2/3 innings and giving up eight hits, four earned runs, four walks, and three strikeouts.

The A’s quickly got on the board with two runs in the top of the first inning. Jordan Diaz singled on a line drive to Stone Garett. JJ Bleday and Zack Gelof scored for a 2-0 lead.

The Nationals cut the A’s lead in half and tied the score in the bottom of the second inning. Ildemaro Vargas singled on a ground ball to Lawrence Butler. Keibert Ruiz scored to cut the A’s lead to 2-1 as Dominic Smith went to third base. Stone Garrett singled on a ground ball to Butler. Smith scored to tie the game 2-2 as Vargas went to second base.

The Nationals took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jake Alu was out on a sacrifice fly to JJ Bleday. Ildemaro Vargas scored for a 3-2 lead with two outs.

The Nationals extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Keibert Ruiz homered on a fly ball to right center field for a 4-2 lead.

The Nationals expanded their lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ildemaro Vargas homered on a fly ball to left center field. Lane Thomas and Keibert Ruiz scored for a commanding 7-2 lead.

The Nationals added to their lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jake Alu homered on a fly ball to right center field for an 8-2 lead.

Notes
The A’s recalled Lawrence Butler from Triple-A Las Vegas, placing Tony Kemp on the paternity leave list on Friday.

On Thursday, Zack Gelof became the fastest to reach six home runs in A’s history.

Up Next
The A’s and Nationals will continue their series on Saturday at 4:05 pm Pacific.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Can A’s surprise Nationals and Cardinals on this 6 game road trip

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Oakland Athletics’ Esteury Ruiz hits a single against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Aug 9, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Oakland A’s (33-82), fresh off winning their first (3-2) homestand of the year, are in Washington, DC, to play three games against the Nationals this weekend. 

#2 The Nationals are in last place in the NL East Divison with a record of 50-65. The A’s hope to take two out of three from the Nats this weekend.

#3 The A’s won three out of the last five home games. A’s centerfielder Esteury Ruiz and second baseman Zack Gelof have emerged as future stars for the A’s. Ruiz is second in baseball with 46 steals. Gelof has homered six times in 22 games.

#4 Mark Kotsay continues to have his players ready. Even though they have the worst record in baseball, Kotsay has them working to improve and has his guys wanting to grind out every at-bat to get a win.

#5  Paul Blackburn (2-2 ERA 4.35) will pitch Friday night 4:05PM PT the Nationals have not announced a starter for Friday. Two teams neither will be in the post season but if you ignore that can the A’s get some road wins against the Nats?

Join Jeremiah for the A’s podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s Preview: A’s open three game set with Washington Nationals in DC Friday

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Oakland Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn works against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum Sat Aug 5, 2023. Blackburn will be the A’s starting pitcher this Fri Aug 11, 2023 at Nationals Park in DC (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (33-82), fresh off winning their first (3-2) homestand of the year, are in Washington, DC, to play three games against the Nationals this weekend. The Nationals are in last place in the NL East Divison with a record of 50-65. The A’s hope to take two out of three from the Nats this weekend.

The A’s have announced their starters for the series. Paul Blackburn (2-2 ERA 4.35) will pitch Friday night 4:05PM PT, Luis Medina (3-8 ERA 5.47) goes Saturday 4:05PM PT, and lefty Ken Waldichuk (2-7 ERA 6.30) pitches on Sunday 10:35PM PT. A’s skipper Marl Kotsay hopes to see improvement from Medina and Waldichuk. Both performed well in the last couple of outings.

The Nationals, playing the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, have yet to announce their starters. Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, Patrick Corbin, Trevor William, and Jake Irvin are in the Nationals’ rotation. Nats’ manager Dave Martinez will announce which pitchers will perform after Thursday’s game.

As mentioned earlier, the A’s won three out of the last five home games. A’s centerfielder Esteury Ruiz and second baseman Zack Gelof have emerged as future stars for the A’s. Ruiz is second in baseball with 46 steals. Gelof has homered six times in 22 games.

No player in A’s history has ever achieved that feat. On the IL list, Ryan Noda looks like he will be a regular at first base. The A’s pitching is another story. The A’s starting rotation’s combined ERAs are the worst in baseball. The same goes for the bullpen. There has been some improvement lately, but not enough to get the A’s out of the bottom of the barrel.

The Nationals are in rebuild mode, too. The Nats have gone from the penthouse( World Series champs in 2019) to the outhouse, last place in the NL East. Max Scherzer is gone, and Stephen Strasburg has yet to throw a pitch this year. Both pitchers were instrumental in helping Washington win the World Series.

This weekend, Key players to watch are the Nationals’ right-fielder Lane Thomas, DH Joey Meneses, catcher Kelbert Ruiz, and shortstop C.J. Abrams. Thomas is hitting.284 with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs. Meneses’ numbers are .279, 11 homers, and 63 RBIs. Ruiz is batting .244 with 12 dingers and 42 knocked in. Abrams comes in at .258, with 11 bombs and 44 RBIs.

The Nats’ close Kyle Finnegan has recorded 18 saves this year.

After the series with the Nationals, the A’s play three games with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals have the same record as Washington, 50-65. St. Louis, normally a contender for the NL Central Division crown, finds themselves in last place. The Cardinals were sellers at the trading deadline. St. Louis sent lefty Jordan Montgomery to the Texas Rangers and Jack Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles.

Mark Kotsay continues to have his players ready. Even though they have the worst record in baseball, Kotsay has them working to improve and has his guys wanting to grind out every at-bat to get a win. The A’s do not want to break the 1962 New York Mets’ record of 120 losses.

San Francisco Giants preview: San Francisco Looking to Turn Skid Around Taking On Rangers

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San Francisco Giants starter Scott Alexander gets the call for Fri Aug 11, 2023 at Oracle Park in San Francisco to open the series against the Texas Rangers (San Francisco Chronicle file photo)

San Francisco Looking to Turn Skid Around Taking On Rangers

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (62-53) had a great start to the month of August taking a four-game series off the Arizona Diamondbacks. They had pulled to a game or two away from the division leading Los Angeles Dodgers. It was all looking very promising until they hit a speed bump at the Coliseum getting swept by the Oakland A’s. San Francisco went on to drop a series to the Angels winning the first game but dropping the next two games and falling six games behind the Dodgers.

Friday night the Giants will take on a very tough Texas Rangers team. The Rangers have a 68-47 record and sit atop the AL West, 2.5 games ahead of the Houston Astros. They just came off a series win against the Oakland A’s.

ESPN Analytics have the Rangers as favorites despite the fact that this game will be played at Oracle Park.

The Giants will send Scott Alexander to the mound with a 6-2 record and a 4.01 ERA. This is the sixth opening assignment for Alexander who signed a minor league deal May 4, 2022 with San Francisco. Alexander opened in game two of the Giants latest series with the Angels.

The Giants fell behind in that game 4-0 in the first inning. Alexander was pulled in the first inning of that game and Jakob Junis came in to relieve. He did not fare much better allowing four hits and one run. The Giants made a valiant comeback bid that fell short losing 7-5.

The Giants will be looking to get back on the winning track in this upcoming series. The Rangers will send Jon Gray to the mound with a 3.72 ERA and a 7-5 W/L record. The Rangers have some solid hitters. Adolis Garcia has hit 29 homers with 89 RBi’s and Jonas Heim has a .280 batting average.

Heim is out on a 10-day IL. at the moment so San Francisco will not have to deal with him. The Giants will be depending on Wilmer Flores who has been exceptional with 15 homers and a .307 batting average. LaMonte Wade Jr. and J.D. Davis will also provide a threat at the plate for the Giants.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 PM.