Tag: Sports Radio Service

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Why the Athletics should trade for Nelson Cruz

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The Minnesota Twins Miguel Sano (center without cap) hugs and congratulates teammate Nelson Cruz (with batting helmet on) after Cruz hit a two run home run against New York Yankee pitcher Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thu Jun 10, 2021 at Target Field in Minneapolis can the Oakland A’s swing a deal before the trade deadline to bring Cruz to Oakland? (AP file photo)

Why the Athletics should trade for Nelson Cruz

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The Minnesota Twins are one of the biggest underachievers this season, on their way to one of their worse seasons in recent memory. They will be sellers for sure and DH Nelson Cruz could be a very good strategic pick-up for the A’s. The Minnesota Twins last season had an identical record to the Oakland A’S 36-24. The Twins won the Central Division and the Athletics won the West.

After beating the Angels 6-0 Monday, the Athletics are enjoying a couple of days off before they re-start their engines Thursday at T Mobile Field in Seattle for the first of four-games in Rain City and the beginning of a long 10-game road-trip. Their next game at home is a couple of weeks away, on August 3 against the San Diego Padres.

Their offense has not been clicking in all cylinders and they could use Cruz’s potent bat, for the last two months and weeks. The DH spot this season for the A’s has a combined .226 average and not the power the A’s envisioned this season. Only Texas and Detroit among all American League teams have less productivity from the designated hitter slot in the lineup.

There might still be a chance that Nelson Cruz ends the season with the Twins, but that seems to be a very slim possibility. Cruz and the glove have not been acquainted much in the last few years. He is the quintessential veteran DH with that power that if inserted in the middle of this Athletics lineup could be a serious power injection to their offense.

Nelson Cruz is hitting .295 with 19 home runs and 49 runs batted-in during his first 84 games with the Minnesota Twins. Those numbers (if he came to Oakland) will make him second in home runs and runs batted only to Matt Olson. Cruz can still hit, is healthy and towards the end of his great career and seems to have something left in the tank.

During a 17 year career in the major leagues, Dominican slugger Nelson Cruz is hitting a combined .279 with 436 home runs and 1,201 runs-batted-in. The A’s are in a good position to either win the division again or advance as a wild card, the trade deadline is 10 days away. The A’s always can pull the trigger at this time in the season when they have a chance and they do. Do not be surprised Nelson Cruz wears the Green and Gold very soon.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play announcer for the Oakland A’s Spanish flagship station 1010 KIQI LeGrande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Preview of A’s four-game series in Seattle with Mariners starts Thursday night

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Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea shown here throwing against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Minute Maid Field on Wed Jul 7, 2021will be the starting pitcher of record tonight against the Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s are en route to Seattle to start a four-game series against the Mariners starting Thursday night. The A’s, 55-42 for the season and 6-4 in their last ten games, are in second place in the AL West, trailing the Houston Astros by three and 1/2 games. The Mariners are in third place with a record of 41-44 and are three games behind the A’s in the race for the second AL Wild Card.

The A’s have played the M’s six times so far this year. The teams have each won three games. The teams last met on June 4th, and the A’s won the contest 9-5 that day.

The A’s will send lefty Sean Manaea to the hill Thursday night. Manaea is 6-6 with an ERA of 3.28. Righty Chris Flexon, 9-3 ERA 3.35, will go for Seattle. Frankie Montas, 8-8 era 4.33, goes for Oakland on Friday. Seattle will counter with lefty Yusei Kikuchi.

His record is 6-5, ERA 3.92. The A’s will have Chris Bassitt going on Saturday against the M’s Logan Gilbert. Bassitt is 10-3 with a 3.31 ERA. Gilbert is 4-2 and has a 3.5 ERA. On Sunday, lefty Cole Irvin goes for Oakland. Irvin is 7-8 with a 3.42 ERA. Lefty Marco Gonzalez goes for Seattle. Gonzalez is 1-5 for the year. The M’s are hoping Gonzalez regains his form and can handle the A’s.

The A’s have been struggling at the plate this year. As a team, they are hitting .233. They have a team on-base percentage of .311 and an OPS of .716. The M’s team batting average is .219. Their on-base percentage is. 295. They have a team OPS of .712.

The A’s swept the last two games played against the LA Angels. The A’s welcomed back leadoff hitter, Mark Canha, from the 10-day IL. A’s Designated Hitter Mitch Moreland also returned to action from a stint on the IL. Moreland has not been as productive as the A’s had hoped. Rumors are swirling that the As’ are looking to trade for the 41-year -old slugger Nelson Cruz, currently with the Minnesota Twins. .

The Mariners, despite their lowly team batting average, have been winning. They have a solid starting rotation. Their closer is former A’s starter, Kendall Graveman. Graveman is 2-0 and has a sparkling 0.90 ERA. He has recorded nine saves so far. Rafael Montero and Kenyon Middleton have 11 saves between them, closing out games for Seattle.

The M’s Mitch Haniger will be in the lineup for the series. Haniger has been productive against Oakland in the years he has been with Seattle. Haniger is hitting .265 with 22 homers and 58 RBIs. Other players to keep an eye on are first baseman Ty France, third baseman Kyle Seager, shortstop J.P.Crawford, and catcher Tom Murphy.

The A’s have played 97 games so far this year. They had a rough stretch where they went 9-15 and fell out of first place in the West. They need to have everyone contribute if they hope to gain ground on the Astros. The starting rotation has been good all year.

Lou Trivino has found a home as the A’s closer. Yusmeiro Petit has been solid all year. A’s first baseman Matt Olson leads the team with 25 home runs. The A’s need Moreland and other players to step up to keep opposing pitchers from pitching around Olson.

The A’s do not want to make the playoffs as a Wild Card. They would be the road team if the playoffs were to start today. They have not fared well in the past in that position. The trade deadline is nine days away. Will they make a deal for Nelson Cruz? Will they trade for Joey Gallo? Will they make a deal to strengthen the bullpen? The A’s have made deals in the past at the trade deadline. I suspect they will be active before the deadline passes on July 30th.

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: 911 dispatcher was off the hook in Richard Sherman incident

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Former Seattle Seahawk and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman sitting to left with attorney Cooper Offenbecher (right) and Sherman’s wife Ashley sitting in the back at a hearing at King County District Court in Seattle on Fri Jul 16, 2021. Sherman was later bailed out. (AP News photo)

On the 49ers podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 David on Tue Jul 13th’s 911 call by former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman’s wife Ashley a recording was heard of as those who listened to the call between Ashley and the 911 dispatcher from King County in Washington. Telling Ashley to stop when Ashley was saying Sherman was being drunk and belligerent and when Ashley said this is an emergency the dispatcher said “you need to stop interrupting me so I can get the information I need to get officers expedited.”

#2 Former King County sheriff John Urquhart, defended the 911 on KIRO Newsradio saying “She’s short with the woman because she’s taking control. Any time you’re in a conversation with someone, when someone takes control, that makes people step back and say, ‘hey wow what’s going on here?’ But in this case, they don’t understand why it’s so important, why it’s absolutely critical and it can be life and death. They may be upset with kind of the tone of it. But when you realize all that has to be done, it’s just fine.”

#3 The Seattle Times reported that Sherman has pleaded not guilty to the charges: criminal trespass in the second degree with a domestic-violence element, reckless endangerment of roadway crews, driving under the influence, resisting arrest and malicious mischief with a domestic-violence element.

Join David for the 49ers podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Smith walks it off for Dodgers 8-6

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Los Angeles Dodger Will Smith (16) reaches home to the entire Dodgers bench to greet him after hitting a three run in the bottom of the ninth inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles against the San Francisco Giants on Tue Jul 20, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

Will Smith came off the bench to pinch-hit for former San Francisco Giants reliever Jimmy Sherfy, and he ended it with one swing of the bat.

Smith hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers to a come-from-behind 8-6 victory over the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

Tyler Rogers came onto get the save for former Dodgers starter Alex Wood, but Rogers walked both Chris Taylor and Matt Beaty and then Smith ended it with one swing of the bat.

The Dodgers took an early 1-0 lead, as nemesis Max Muncy singled off of Wood in the bottom of the first inning to score Taylor.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the lead would not last long, as Alex Dickerson hit a two-run home run in the top of the second inning to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

It was the ninth home run of the season for Dickerson, and then an inning later, LaMonte Wade, Jr., also hit his ninth home run to extend the Giants lead up to 3-1.

Thairo Estrada hit a solo home run and then Mike Yastrzemski added a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning, as the Giants broke the game wide open after they took a 6-1 and it looked Like the Giants were on their way to another victory and extending their lead in the National League West up to three games.

Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tell the reigning World Champions that the game was lost, as Taylor hit the first of his two home runs that cut the Dodgers deficit down to 6-2 against their longtime rivals.

Austin Barnes then cut the Giants in half in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he doubled to left field that scored the speedy Cody Bellinger.

Taylor hit a two-run home run later in the inning that got the Dodgers within one run, and that was the score when Smith hit his walk-off home run that gave the Dodgers a dramatic win over the leaders in the NL West.

Wood, who was in line for the win, as he went the required five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out seven ended up with a no-decision.

John Brebbia gave up a two-run home run to Taylor, as he went 0.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, walking zero and striking out two.

The duo of Jarlin Garcia and Jake McGee pitched a combined 2.1 innings, allowing a hit and a striking out and held the lead for Rogers, who walked two and then gave up the game-winning three-run homer to Smith and the series was even after two games with two to go.

Darien Nunez started for the Dodgers, and lasted just two innings, allowing two runs on two hits, walking one and striking out two before giving way to Josiah Gray.

In his major-league debut, Gray pitched four strong innings, allowing four runs on four hits, walking one and striking out seven.

Garrett Cleavinger and Joe Kelly got the Dodgers thru the seventh and eighth innings unscathed, as they struck out three before Dave Roberts gave the ball to Sherfy, who struck out two in the top of the ninth and picked up his second win of the season when Smith launched that three-run home run into the Los Angeles night that gave the reigning World Champions a huge victory.

NOTES: With three more home runs on the night, the Giants have now hit 141 home runs on the season, tying them with the Toronto Blue Jays for the most home runs in the major leagues.

When the Giants and the Dodgers each went back-to-back in the top of the first inning on Monday night, it was the first time in the history of the rivalry that both went back-to-back in the first inning. According to STATS, LLC, it is only the second time in major league history that two teams hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, and the last time it happened was on July 29, 2004, when the Oakland As and the Texas Rangers accomplished the feat at the Ballpark in Arlington.

UP NEXT: Logan Webb looks for his fifth win of the season on Wednesday night, as Julio Urias goes for his 13th win of the season for the Dodgers.

Dealbreaker on Howard Terminal ballpark: A’s looked for two infrastructure projects Oakland Council gave them only one

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Oakland A’s owner John Fisher and team president David Kaval behind the Oakland A’s dugout in undated photo have turned down the Oakland City Council’s offer after they voted yes on Tue Jul 20, 2021 (file photo from Athletics Nation)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Oakland City Council held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the A’s Howard Terminal Development Proposal. The meeting took place at 9 AM local time over zoom.

Tensions were high heading into the meeting on Tuesday. The climate over the development project has been hot since Major Lague Baseball and the Oakland A’s essentially delivered an ultimatum to the city. The ultimatum was essentially, “approve our Howard Terminal ballpark plans or we are leaving town.”

MLB has stated they do not beleive the current site to be viable for the future of the MLB product. This obviously leaves the A’s with little choice but to pursue a more updated model of a downtown ballpark with other amenities.

On Tuesday after the community input section of the meeting, Councilmember Fife asked A’s President Dave Kaval a very direct question to the tune of, “If the current city proposal isn’t in consideration from the A’s what are we doing here?”

The response from Kaval drew mixed responses after the meeting. The A’s appeared very set that the council either vote on the A’s proposal or the A’s were not interested in hearing what they had to say. The council did not do so. Instead, after hours of community input and conversation with the council they decided to vote on the term sheet the city had released on the prior Friday.

One key difference between the two are the number of IFD’s (Infrastructure Financing Districts). The A’s want two in order to pay for the project while the city of Oakland only wants one. The city did appear to make the concesison of adding a BID (Business Improvement District).

However, the A’s did not appear to want to play ball at all with the city on this issue. One concession the city did seem to make is that the A’s would not have to pay for off-site infrastructure. It appears the city is willing to reimburse the A’s through taxes of these costs or at a minimum subsidise them.

The Council voted in a 6-1-1 decision to approve the preliminary term sheet the city put together. All members voted in favor excpet Councilmember Carroll Fife abstained and Councilmember Noel Gallo voted against the project. However, it will prove mute if the A’s refuse to return to the negotiating table on the approved term sheet and not the one the A’s put fourth.

The meeting did not end on an overly optimistic tone as it appears the A’s will not return to the negotiating table. Only the next few days if the A’s are headed out of town or if they are willing to try and get a deal done with the city that involves some compromise.

A’s Kaprielian, bullpen blank Halos on 7 hitter 6-0

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Oakland A’s closer Deolis Guerra gets congratulations from catcher Sean Murphy after closing the door on the Los Angeles Angels at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue Jul 20, 2021 (AP News photo)

LA Angels 0 – 7 – 0

Oakland 6 – 8 – 1

By Lewis Rubman

Tuesday, July 20 2021

OAKLAND–It was a lovely day for a slugfest. With a temperature of 66 and rising at game time under a bright, cloudless sky, we could expect a shower of long balls and high flies lost in the sun. What we got was a tight pitching duel for two thirds of the game, followed by a one sided offensive outburst that gave the home team a 6-0 victory.

José Suárez (4-2 ERA 2.29), the 23 year old Angels lefty best known for his effective change up, kept the A’s off the basepaths for the first 3-2/3 innings he pitched, until Matt Olson unloaded on an 80 mph hanging curve for a 356 foot homer to right, his 12th circuit clout of the season.

Suárez gave up a single to Laureano in the fifth but that was all the offense Oakland could muster until they began to play little ball in the sixth. Jacob Wilson, the Athletics’ 30 year old rookie who had nothing to show for his first four major league at bats, got his first hit in the bigs with a lead off single to center.

Tony Kemp promptly pinch ran for him. Suárez then hit Canha with a pitch, SOP for the Athletics´left fielder. Then Andrus dropped a sacrifce bunt in front of the mound, moving Kemp and Canha up a base.

LA elected to walk Olson to fill the bases, which brought Lowrie to the plate. His sac fly to right scored Kemp and streched Oakland´s lead to two runs. Laureano opened up the game with a two run double to left. Mike Mayers relieved Suárez and struck out Chapman.

Suárez had been almost impregnable but ended up with a line of 5-2/3 innings pitched, four earned runs allowed on three hits, including one round tripper, a walk, which was conceeded, and a hit batter. He threw 73 pitches; 49 counted as strikes

The floodgates opened when Junior Guerra was pitching to the rejuvenated A’s in the seventh. He retired Murphy and Piscotty, but back to back singles by Kemp, Canha, Andrus, and Olson brought in the first two and earned an RBI each for the second pair. Guerra then got Lowrie to ground out to second to end the inning.

Before Dylan Bundy could throw a pitch to inaugurate the bottom of the eighth, home plate umpire Bill Miller gave Angels manager Joe Maddon the heave-ho. Bundy retired the A’s in order

Meanwhile, James Kaprielian (4-3, 2.90), without approaching Suárez´s early near perfection, held the visitors scoreless for six frames, striking out the fearsome Shoei Ohtani twice in the process. Kaprielian held the Halos to five hits and two walks. He threw 100 pitches.

37 were balls. Sergio Romo took over in the seventh and also held the visitors scoreless, but, since he had only one chance to strike out Ohtani, had to settle for that. Sam Moll pitched a scoreless eighth, giving way to Deolis Guerra, who set the Angels down in order in the ninth.

The Athletics now go on a ten game, three city trip to Seattle starting Thursday, then move onto San Diego, and Anaheim they will have Wednesday off. Their next game at the Coliseum will be at 6:40 on August 3, an inter-league contest against the San Diego Padres.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Oakland City Council Approves Own Term Sheet- Kaval travels to Las Vegas Wednesday

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Artist’s rendering of the proposed Howard Terminal ballpark at Jack London Square in Oakland. Oakland City Council submitted a term sheet on Tue Jul 20, 2020 which the Oakland A’s and team president David Kaval rejected (image from lvsportsbiz.com)

Oakland City Council Approves Own Term Sheet -Kaval Travels to Las Vegas Wednesday

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–In the saga of the Oakland Athletics and the City of Oakland, regarding the construction of a new ballpark at the Howard Terminal, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Like I wrote last week on this so called “decisive” vote by the Oakland City Council, it was to be expected.

The City of Oakland voted “Yes” on their term sheet to keep the A’s in Oakland. Two days ago, Dave Kaval, President of the Oakland A’s said that the vote was “the bottom of the nine innings with two outs.” Within the hour after today’s vote, the Oakland A’s said they are not OK with today’s City Council final vote on what could be the conclusion of the game for the staying or leaving of the legendary franchise.

The Mercury News reported “City officials and the Oakland A’s did some last-minute negotiating Monday to keep the team’s waterfront ballpark plan on track, but neither side appeared ready to budge on the financial blueprint to set it into play.”

Some $500 million seems to be the issue. The City of Oakland would like the A’s to commit to infrastructure and affordable housing and other community endeavors, but A’s management doesn’t seem very enthusiastic about the idea as they already have said they (the team) will build the Howard Terminal ballpark.

Dave Kaval, President of the Oakland Athletics who said prior to today’s vote that both sides remained far apart, also announced that regarding of the vote, he will be traveling again to Las Vegas tomorrow (Wednesday) to continue the process on the possible relocation of the team to that city.

The Oakland A’s lease with the Oakland Coliseum runs out in 2024. The City of Oakland lost the Warriors to San Francisco and the Raiders to Las Vegas, now the Athletics are “on the clock”. Will they leave? Your guess is as good as mine. But if we hold both sides accountable to their words, this vote was not satisfactory to the Athletics, a lay person will say, that’s it, end of story, next case.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play talent for Oakland A’s Spanish flagship station 1010 KIQI LeGrande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Tokyo Olympic Village infected will games continue?; A’s looking to add before trade deadline; plus more

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2021 Tokyo Olympics/NBC Sports logo (image from pinterest.com)

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 2021 Tokyo Olympics has 14 athletes who have tested for Coronavirus and one South African TV analyst. The captain of the Japanese soccer team Maya Yoshida behind closed doors has said the Olympic Committee should reconsider this is too dangerous. The IOC and the Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga are status quo on the getting the Olympics games played as schedule as there is too much investment in the games to turn back now.

#2 In the last three weeks the A’s have hit a snag they have lost five of their last six series, have slipped from first place to second place now 3.5 games behind Houston. The trade deadline is approaching will A’s general manager David Forst add to the roster and who do you the A’s shopping?

#3 The A’s had a great start at the beginning of the season finishing the first half 12 games over .500, they had consistent starting pitching, a good bullpen now shaky, a line up that produced runs to beat and hold off the opposition in May and June. But now Forst is looking to fill the gaps since the team has slipped and wants to get some players to help out with a recovery.

#4 How relieved are the San Francisco Giants to be getting catcher Buster Posey back and available the team is in need for some hitting and hope that Posey can help out. Back up catcher Chadwick Tromp was handling some of the catching duties in Posey’s absence.

#5 Black female group African American Sports Entertainment Group is behind the big push to get a WNBA team in unoccupied Oracle Arena in Oakland. The group is behind many efforts and hope to be a part of the Coliseum proper and in the event the A’s move they want to see if they can buy and bring the NFL back to the Coliseum.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Daniel Dullum: Yanks manager Boone has choice words for fan who threw at Red Sox OF; Bucks can do it tonight in NBA Finals; plus more

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Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo (99) points into the Yankee Stadium bleachers at fans after getting hit with a baseball that he just tossed to a fan that was intercepted by a Yankee fan and thrown at his back on Sat Jul 17, 2021 in the sixth inning (photo from Sports Illustrated)

1 Yankees fan who threw ball at Red Sox OF banned from all MLB stadiums for life

2 NBA Finals – Bucks lead Suns 3-2, can clinch at home

3 Toyota pulls Olympic advertising in Japan amid national backlash

4 Interesting names available to Seattle Kraken for NHL expansion draft

Daniel Dullum does Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Shotime ends in sixth inning; LA’s Bullpen collapses Ohtani’s effort, A’s win 4-1

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Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani seen pitching in the fifth inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Jul 19, 2021 (AP News photo)

LA Angels 1 – 8 – 0

Oakland 4 – 7- 1

By Lewis Rubman

Monday, July 19, 2021

OAKLAND–Let’s pause for a moment to think about what the slumping A’s (54-42) were up against tonight. Facing them on the mound was a man who fit Cervantes’ description of Lope de Vega, perhaps the greatest poet and playwright of Spain’s golden age, “one of nature’s monsters.”

Shoei Ohtani, fresh from opening the All Star Game for the American League, brought a record of 4-1, 3.49 with him. The relentlessly improving Los Angeles Angels (46-47) were outhitting the Athletics by 27 points, .259 to .232, and their starting lineup also featured a man who fit Cervantes’ description of Lope de Vega, Shoei Ohtani, the MLB leader in home runs, with 34 in 314 at bats.

Facing this juggernaut, the home team relied on Cole Irvin (6-8,3.65), who in spite of losing his last start and, with it, a three game winning streak, was 3-1, 2.95 in his last seven starts.

On the offensive side of the ledger, Oakland recently has been hitting below its modest average for the season. They were batting a lowly. .208 in their last dozen and a half games, good for only 64 runs, and have shown an alarming penchant for leaving runners on base, especially if they’re in scoring position

Tonight, the starting pitchers battled to a stand off, but Oakland used long balls by Ramón Laureano and Matt Olson against the Halos´ bullpen to take home a hard fought victory, 4-1.

The Angels fell victim to The Curse of the Lead Off Double in the first frame. Two innings later, David Fletcher, who had hit the fatidic two bagger, singled to center and tried to score from first on Ohtani’s single to center. Laureano and Andrus made two perfect throws that allowed Murphy to tag the fleet footed Fletcher out at home, a call that was confirmed after the obligatory, but thankfully brief, review.

It was the A’s chance to threaten in the bottom of the third. With one down, Kemp drew a walk. Canha dropped a fly that fell in front of the diving Adam Eaton in right for a double that sent Canha to third. Ohtani got Andrus to strike out swinging an 0-2 slider, bringing Olson to the plate. He grounded out to second baseman Fletcher, playing in short right field. Two more RISP stranded.

Kemp’s was the Athletics’ last hit until Olson singled to right with two out in the sixth, Oakland’s third safety in what was still a scoreless tie. Lowrie lined out to Ohtani to end the inning.

Ohtani didn’t pitch after the sixth. He moved to right field having surrendered three hits and a walk and chalking up eight strike outs. He threw 96 pitches, 59 for strikes.

Steve Cishek replaced Ohtani on mound and promptly walked Moreland and Chapman before throwing Laureano a 78 mph slider that he A’s centerfielder deposited in the left field seats for his 14th home run of the year. It put the Athletics ahead 3-0 and ended Cishek’s tenure on the mound, where Tony Watson took his place and put out the fire, but not before Kemp hit a bunt single and stole second.

When Adam Eaton opened the eighth with a single, Irvin gave way to Lou Trivino. The A’s starter had held the Angels to seven hits and a walk. Of his 84 pitches, 59 were strikes, and he struck out three of the crew from Anaheim. Lou Trivino retired the next three batters, the last of whom was Ohtani.

The bottom of the eighth began with Alex Claudio on the hill for for the Angels and Matt Olson the plate for the Athletics. Four pitches later, Olson was back at the plate, crossing it with his 24th home run of 2021, a 392 foot blast to right. Claudio stayed on to strike out Seth Brown, pinch hitting for Moreland, before handing the ball over to Junior Guerra, who got the final two outs.

Trivino stayed on to try for the six out save. He almost didn’t make it. After walking Phil Gosselin with one down, he surrendered a double to rookie Brandon Marsh, who went 3 for 4 in this, his second big league game. Trivino got Kurt Suzuki out on a fly to center, but Andrus flubbed Taylor Ward’s grounder that would ended the game. It took a great catch by Chapman of a foul by Taylor Ward next to the rolled up tarp behind the A’s bullpen to end the contest.

Irvin got the well deserved win, to bring his record to 7-8, 3.42. Trivino sweated his way to his 15th save. Cishek got the loss.

The A’s home stand will wind up tomorrow, Tuesday, at 12:37 with James Kaprielian (4-3, 2,90) penciled in to start against José Suárez (4-2-2.29)