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Oakland A’s Saturday game wrap: It’s a laugher, A’s trounce Texas 12-3; A’s could sweep Rangers Sunday

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photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Marcus Semien (10) celebrates with Matt Olson, right, after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

Texas: 3 | 8 | 2

Oakland: 12 | 14 | 0

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND — Before today, the only time the A’s had faced Brad Burke, tonight’s starter for the Rangers, was last week in Arlington on Friday 13th. It was an unlucky day for Texas, who lost the game, 14-9, and the left handed rookie, who was lifted after six innings of work with his team leading 7-6. In his brief stint on the mound, all of the six runs scored against him were earned, coming on six hits, three of which were home runs.

Nonetheless, Burke is a promising youngster. He came to Texas in the three way trade between the A’s, Rangers, and Rays that brought Jurickson Profar to Oakland this past off season. Before that, he had been in the Tampa Bay organization, where he was the 2018 pitcher of the year, with a combined record in advanced-A and double-A of 6-2, 3.08 ERA. It’s noteworthy that his numbers were better in the higher classification. His main pitch is the four-seam fastball, which he mixes with curves, sinkers, change ups, and the very occasional slider.

His opposite number tonight was Sean Manaea, whose long awaited return from shoulder surgery and its consequent rehab assignments he celebrated with a 2-0, 0.50 ERA record in his three starts. One of those was on the road against Texas, where he threw six innings of three hit shutout ball, chalking up three strike outs in the process. That was a week ago Sunday.

Manaea got off to a shaky start, but a timely double play and a running catch in right by Laureano with a runner on second got him out of trouble. Burke, on the other hand, had a nightmare of a first inning. Two-thirds of an inning, to be exact. The A’s batted around, with hits by Chapman, Olson, Laureano (a double) off Burke and by Phegley and Chapman off his replacement, Luke Farrell, bringing in seven runs, all charged to Burke. A wild throw to first by third baseman Danny Santana on what would have been a double play ground ball by Canha allowed runners to advance, but they would have scored any way. So, after one inning of play, Oakland was up by seven.

Manaea continued to be unsteady in the second frame, allowing two hits before the second out was made, but, once again he followed the Lefty Gomez plan for successful pitching, clean living (we assume) and a fast outfield, to escape unscathed.

There was no reason for Farrell, who had surrendered two hits and a walk in his one-third of an inning performance, to remain in the game, and he didn’t. Jonathan Hernández was didn’t fare any better. He gave up two hits and three walks and already had allowed two runs when he left with the bases loaded and two outs in the second. Adrian Sampson, the Rangers’ fourth pitcher in two innings, came in and struck out Chapman on a full count.

The Rangers’ third was notable for two spectacular defensive plays: Laureano’s diving, rolling over catch of Andrus’s fast falling foul in right and Chapman’s backhand grab in the shift of Willie Calhoun’s hard shot towards left and then his off balance throw to get him at first.

Sampson’s effective relief work restored a semblance of order, so when Shawn Kelliey replaced him to face the top of the A’s lineup in the bottom of the fifth, the score still was 9-0. That expectation lasted three pitches. On the fourth Semien blasted Kelley’s 80 mph offering into the left center field seats for his 35th home run of the year. Three men later, Canha made it 11-0 by going long for the twenty-sixth time of the season, slamming a 368-foot drive over the left field fence. Kelley finished the inning but gave way to Joe Palumbo, who pitched the home sixth without allowing anyone except Davis, who got to second on a throwing error by Odor, to reach base.

The top of the sixth finally saw the Rangers get on the board. Elvis Andrus led off with his 11th dinger, a no doubter to center. Danny Santana hit his 26th two outs later, a fly to left that narrowed the gap to 11-2. The long and short of it is that Rougned Odor then dropped a bunt down the third base line against the shift for a single, and JB Wendelken came in to relieve Manaea, who either was tiring or had lost his concentration. He had worked 5 2/3 innings, allowed two runs, both of which were earned, on six hits, two of them home runs. one walk, a wild pitch, and a hit batter. His ERA ballooned to 1.14. He would get the win.

Wendelken got his man, DeShields, out on a grounder to Neuse at second.

Joe Palumbo took care of the A’s with a scoreless bottom half of the sixth, and Jesús Luzardo answered the bell for the visitors’ seventh, punching out two of the four Rangers he faced. Of the remaining two, one walked, and the other flew out.

Ryan Bouchter took his turn on the mound for Oakland in the eighth and coughed up the Rangers’ third solo home run. It came from the bat of Nick Solak and ended up over the left field fence.

Jeffrey Springs was the last Texas pitcher the A’s had to face. They touched him for their 12th and final run, Phegley driving in Davis from third on a single to left.

Once Manaea had lost his touch, hitting was the story for the A’s. Semien went three for three; Chapman, two for four; Canha, two for four; and Neuse, three for four. Semien and Canha homered.

Daniel Mengden closed out the game, throwing a shut out ninth with the help of two splendiferous plays by Franklin Barreto at short.

Because Tampa Bay pulled another victory out of the jaws of defeat back in St. Petersberg, they stayed two games behind Oakland in the race for home field advantage. Cleveland’s loss to the Phillies dropped the tribe to a game behind the Rays in the battle for the second wild card slot. The A’s magic number dropped to six. The magic number to eliminate any threat from Cleveland now is five.

Tomorow will be September 22nd, an appropriate time for number 22 Ramón Laureano bobblehead day. Game time is 1:07 p.m.Tanner Roark will try continue the A’s winning ways, facing Lance Lynn, who will take the mound for the Rangers.

In a brief ceremony before tonight’s contest, the A’s inducted Rickey Henderson, Walter Hass, Campy Campanaris, Vida Blue, Mark McGwire, and Tony LaRussa into the team’s Hall of Fame.

Fiers dominant in A’s 8-0 blow out win over the Rangers

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Photo credit: @Athletics

Texas: 0 | 2 | 1

Oakland: 8 | 8 | 0

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND — Major League Baseball players are a motivated group. They dedicate years in the minors to learning their craft in small towns and all-night bus riders until, when they reach the top, they report for what we call spring training, although the calendar insists it’s winter. They toil through 162 games, sometimes playing day games after night games, in what can be grueling weather, and travelling through three time zones (or more if they play in an overseas series) to face (or throw) a hard pellet at speeds of more than 95 mph. If their team qualifies, they play in a post season tournament that can last as long as twenty games. These men are driven. They’re also well paid at this level, which is a huge incentive for them to perform well in spite of the hardships and dangers they face. They also take a good deal of legitimate pride in their accomplishments.

When September rolls around a new layer of motivation is added. By Labor Day, the field of contending clubs in each of MLB’s six divisions narrows considerably, and the teams with a reasonable chance of making the playoffs push and shove, claw and gnaw to make the cut for postseason play and, once they’ve achieved that, to gain home field advantage throughout the remainder of play by having the best winning percentage of the lot.

But contenders aren’t the only teams who play with added intensity in the season’s waning days. They also have a chance to avenge five and a half months of being kicked around by spoiling the more successful teams’ bids for the different championships up for grabs in September. On the first of the month, the active rosters are expanded, and Spoiler Schadenfreude joins every non playoff team.

These are some of the reasons why stretch drive baseball can be so compelling even when the opponents are going in opposite directions. Not every game will provide as much drama, anticipated and realized, as the last three games of the 1951 National League season, which culminated with Bobby Thompson’s shot heard ‘round the world, or even the final game of 2012 when the A’s defeated the Rangers to occupy first place for the only time all season, which enabled them to advance to the playoffs.

Late season intensity wasn’t the only reason the teams had to be motivated for tonight’s contest. The stadium give away was a bobble head honoring the A’s starting pitcher, Mike Fiers (14-4, 4.09 ERA), who was coming off two dreadful starts. The statuette saluted him for his May 7 no-hitter against Cincinnati, but his bid to repeat that feat ended with his first pitch of the evening, which Shin-Soo Choo slapped into center field for a single. A double play and fly to left, however, set things straight. Fiers allowed only one more hit—and that was his only other base runner—in the rest of his eight inning stint. So you could say that he rose to the occasion.

His opposite number, Texas southpaw Mike Minor (13-9, 3.33 ERA) also had a bitter taste in his mouth from his most recent outing, in which he gave up seven earned runs in as many innings to the same A’s he was facing tonight. Just as Fiers’ recent bad experiences had been break in his pattern of success, Minor’s year had been a good one until recently. It included a spot on the AL roster for the All-Star Game, and brought a career-high 188 punch outs to the Coliseum mound tonight.

Minor’s troubles began later, but were more serious than the one Fiers had faced. With Laureano and Murphy on base and one down in the bottom of the second, the slumping Chad Pinder slammed a 94 mph four-seamer over the center field fence fore his 13th round tripper of the year, which gave the A’s an early 3-0 lead.

Oakland tacked on another run in the third on a walk to Chapman, who advanced to second on a ground out to first by Olson and scored on Canha’s two ball, two strike double to right. The A’s made it 5-0 in the fourth when Semien’s two-out two-bagger to left plated Sean Murphy, who had walked, advanced to second on Pinder’s single and to third on Neuse’s DP grounder to short. Canha’s lead off dinger to lead off the fifth brought his total to 25 and stretched the A’s advantage to 6-0.

After throwing five innings and 105 pitches (61 strikes) and allowing six runs, all earned, Minor’s exercise in frustration was over. He had surrendered six hits, giving his numbers a certain symmetry. He struck out only two, but this raised his year’s total to an impressive 190. He was replaced by Ariel Jurado, who set the side down in order before being replaced, in turn, by Yohander Méndez.

The A’s resumed their scoring ways once Méndez, like Minor a left handed hurler, entered the fray to pitch the seventh. With one out, Olson walked, as did Canha. Then Laureano doubled to right center, scoring the former and sending the later to third. A walk to Davis loaded the bases. This brought up Seth Brown, who had been brought in to pinch hit for Pinder when the Rangers switched pitchers from the left-handed, ineffective Minor to the right-handed, effective Jurado. Brown and Méndez went to a full count before the A’s rookie whiffed on a changeup, When Fiers got his first out in the eighth, a strike out of Nomar Mazaro, it was the deepest he’d gone in a game since August 9th, when he’d thrown seven innings of shutout ball in US Cellular Field. He finished tonight’s performance having thrown 95 pitches, striking out five Rangers, and allowing two hits and nothing else. He improved his record to 15-4, 3.91 ERA.

Taylor Guerrieri gave away the A’s final run with a wild pitch to Canha with Chapman on third. Canha eventually struck out.

Then Chris Bassitt set the Rangers down 1, 2, 3 in the ninth.

The loss went to Minor, who now is 13-10, 3.52 ERA.

The A’s hefty offensive was a relief after they had managed to score only three runs in their last two games, both of which they still managed to win. That the pitching, or at least Fiers and Bassitt didn’t let up in spite of a comfortable margin also was good news.

With Houston’s victory tonight, the A’s were mathematically eliminated from the AL West pennant race. Cleveland and Tampa Bay’s wins kept them tied with each other, two games behind Oakland in the struggle for first wild card honors.

Sean Manaea (2-0, 0.50 ERA) will go against Brock Burke (0-1, 5.19 ERA) in a battle of left-handers starting at 6:07 p.m. tomorrow evening and followed by a fireworks display celebrating the evolution of pop.

MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum: Braves advance to LDS, quiet celebration after Culberson hit in face; A’s sit all alone at the top of AL wild card; plus more

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photo from investing.com: Atlanta Braves hitter Charlie Culberson (8), who squared around to bunt, took a 91 per hour fast ball in the face throw by Washington Nationals pitcher Fernando Rodney on Saturday September 14th’s game at National’s Park in Washington DC.

On the MLB The Show podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 NL East-leading Braves clinch postseason berth

2 A’s club four homers in win over Rangers; now occupy top AL Wild Card spot; Surging Rays right behind Oakland in second Wild Card

3 Twins sweep doubleheader from Tribe; back to 5 1/2 game lead in AL Central

4 D-Backs extend GM Mike Hazen; head off possible return of Hazen to Red Sox; Meanwhile, Paul Goldschmidt swinging a hot bat for the Cardinals

5 MLB won’t fine Mets’ for Pete Alonso’s 9/11 tribute

Catch Daniel right here for complete MLB podcast coverage through the postseason and World Series at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s beat the Rangers 8-6 on Saturday night, but it might’ve been a costly win

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Tex a
Graphic: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics won their fifth consecutive game on Saturday night in Texas as they downed the Rangers 8-6. The victory keeps the A’s in sole possession of the AL Wild Card Slot #1 by 1/2 game over the Tampa Bay Rays. The other Wild Card contender — the Cleveland Indians — have dropped back 2.5-games in the standings.

The A’s will go for the sweep in Arlington on Sunday.

It may have been a costly win

Mike Fiers started the game for Oakland Saturday night. Fiers set the Rangers down in order in the bottom of the first inning, but things changed in the bottom of the second inning.

Nomar Mazara led off for Texas by flying out to center fielder Mark Canha. Danny Santana then singled to left-center field. Fiers committed a balk that moved Santana to second base.

Fiers then threw a wild pitch to Odor and Santana advanced to third base. Odor then hit a two-run home run to center field. Fiers then issued a walk to Delino DeShields.

Bob Melvin and the medical staff came out to check on Fiers and removed him from the game.

After the game, Fiers explained that he felt a shot of numbness and pain in pitching hand after throwing a “cutter” to Odor. He went on to explain that he was trying to avoid feeling that again, but he did not want to alter his pitching motion.

Fiers went on to say that he will undergo more medical examinations on Monday in the Bay Area.

The loss of Fiers for any time as the A’s are in this stretch run would be devastating

Oakland used six pitchers in the game

Paul Blackburn relieved Fiers working 2.0-innings and gave up two runs off four hits. Ryan Buchter worked 1.1-innings giving up no runs on two hits. Buchter earned the win.

Lou Trivino, Yusmeiro Petit, Jake Diekman, and Liam Hendriks also pitched for the A’s. Hendriks was credited with his 22nd save of the season.

The A’s used their power again on Saturday night

Matt Chapman hit his 33rd home run of the season — a three-run shot — in the third inning off Mike Minor. Chapman’s 33 home runs are a franchise record for third basemen.

Josh Phegley hit his 12th round-tripper off Minor the fourth inning. Mark Canha put his 24th HR over the wall in the fifth inning — again off Minor. Matt Olson hit his 34th home run of the year in the sixth inning — a solo shot — but this time it was off reliever Luke Farrell.

Minor took the loss

Mike Minor was a trade target for many contending clubs at the trade deadline, but the Rangers decided to hold on to their star pitcher. He was charged with the loss on Saturday night, and his record is now 13-9 for 2019. His ERA stands at 3.33.

Up next

The A’s will send LHP Sean Manaea to the mound for the third time this season on Sunday afternoon. Manaea is 1-0 with 0.75 ERA and is coming off a win over the Tigers on September 8th.

The Rangers will start RHP Jonathan Hernandez (1-0, 1.93 ERA). Hernandez will be “the opener” in what will be a “bullpen game” for the Rangers.

A’s fend off Rangers 14-9

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Ana Kieu

After winning the series against the Astros three games to one at Minute Maid Park, the A’s continued their dominance with a 14-9 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Park on Friday night.

A’s starter Chris Bassitt pitched just three innings allowing five hits, six runs (all earned) and three strikeouts. The A’s relievers in the bullpen weren’t much better. JB Wendelken pitched three innings with two strikeouts, AJ Puk pithced two innings with one strikeout and Blake Treinen pitched one inning with two hits, two runs (both earned) and one strikeout.

The A’s got on the board first. Matt Olson homered on a fly ball to right center field for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The A’s added two runs in the top of the second inning. A’s DH Khris Davis homered on a fly ball to center field and Sheldon Neuse singled on a line drive to Willie Calhoun and Sean Murphy scored on Neuse’s play. Neuse moved to second. It was 3-0 A’s after the top of the second.

The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. Ronald Guzman doubled on a line drive to Ramon Laureano and Danny Santana scored on Guzman’s play. Shin-Soo Choo homered on a fly ball to left center field for a two-run home run. Guzman and Jose Trevino scored on Choo’s play. It was 4-3 Rangers after the bottom of the second.

The A’s regained the lead 6-4 in the top of the third inning. Khris Davis homered on a fly ball to right center field for his second of the game and 22nd of the season.

The Rangers got ahead 7-6 in the bottom of the third inning. Danny Santana homered on a fly ball to right field for a two-run home run. Willie Calhoun and Nick Solak scored.

The A’s tied the ballgame 7-7 in the top of the fourth inning. Ramon Laureano hit a sacrifice fly to Danny Santana and Sean Murphy scored on Laureano’s sac fly.

Ramon Laureano powered through in the top of the sixth inning. Laureano homered on a fly ball to left field for a three-run home run that scored Sean Murphy and Marcus Semien. It was 10-7 A’s after the top of the sixth.

It was all A’s in the top of the ninth inning. Sheldon Neuse singled on a ground ball to Delino DeShields for a two-run single. Seth Brown and Sean Murphy scored on Neuse’s play. Marcus Semien homered on a fly ball to center field for his 29th home run of the season. Neuse scored on Semien’s play. It was 14-7 A’s after the top of the ninth.

The Rangers capped off the scoring in the bottom of the ninth inning. Elvis Andrus singled on a ground ball to Mark Canha. Rougned Odor and Deline DeShields scored on Andrus’ play. Ronald Guzman moved to second.

Despite the Rangers scoring the final run of the game, the A’s won 14-9 for their fourth straight win. Additionally, Sheldon Neuse had his first four-hit game.

The A’s and Rangers resume their series on Saturday at 5:05 p.m. PT.

A’s beat the Astros 3-2 and win the series 3-1

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9-12 a
Graphic: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee @Charlieo1320

First, the Oakland Athletics defeated Justin Verlander (18-6) for the first time since 2013 on Thursday night. Secondly, they won the four-game series from the Astros 3-1 by winning the final game 3-2. The A’s record improved to 87-60 for the season.

The Athletics have now won three consecutive games and are now in sole possession of AL Wild Card Slot #1 by ½-game over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays lost on Thursday night to the Texas Rangers 6-4.

The A’s got to Verlander early

If you are going to beat Justin Verlander, you have to get to him early in the game. Oakland scored their first run of the game in the top of the first inning when rookie Seth Brown doubled to left field to drive Marcus Semien home to score the first run of the game.

In the top of the third inning, Marcus Semien led off with a single to left. With one out, Matt Olson hit a towering fly ball for a two-run home run into the upper deck in right field off a Verlander fastball. It was Olsen’s 32nd home run of the season.

That would be all the scoring for the A’s in the contest, but it would prove to be all they would need.

The A’s starter won the game

Homer Bailey made the start for Oakland and recorded the win (13-8). He worked 5.1-innings allowing just one run (earned) off three hits. Bailey struck out four Astros and walked three.

The A’s used five pitchers in the game.

Liam Hendriks picked up his 21st save of the season closing out the game for the A’s.

Final Totals

For the A’s: 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 error, 5 Left on Base

Up next

The A’s have to play outside in the heat and humidity of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex versus the Rangers. It should be about 92-degrees with 58-percent humidity at game time on Friday night.

The A’s will send RHP Chris Bassitt (10-5, 3.63 ERA) to the hill to face the Rangers LHP Brock Burke (0-1, 3.52 ERA). Bassitt won his last start versus the Tigers at the Coliseum last Saturday night.

MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington: Angels order full investigation as to who supplied Skaggs with painkillers; Muncy out at least 10 days with wrist fracture; plus more

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Photo credit: tmz.com

On the MLB The Show podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs who passed away at age 27 the autopsy showed that Skaggs took “alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication with terminal aspiration of gastric contents” according to a statement released by the Angels. Skaggs choked on his own vomit when the Angels were in Arlington in preparation to play the Texas Rangers, but on the day Skaggs passed away, the game was canceled due to his death.

#2 The Angels released a statement saying that the team will not rest until it gets a full investigation as to who supplied Skaggs with the painkillers and alcohol. The Skaggs family along with the Angels said that the team has hired Texas attorney Rusty Hardin to help with the investigation.

#3 The Los Angeles Dodgers have placed Max Muncy on the 10-day IL due to a wrist fracture. Muncy hopes not to miss more than 10 days and has 33 home runs and 87 RBIs this season. Muncy took a pitch on the wrist as he prepared to swing the pitch was expected to break away but jammed him.

#4 San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey hit in the five-hole for the first time this season on Thursday night. Giants manager Bruce Bochy made the move stating that Posey hitting .246 with six home runs and 35 RBIs was a “change of scenery move.” Posey went 1-4 on Thursday night against San Diego and hit fifth again on Friday night.

#5 Hurricane Dorian was upgraded to a category four and is headed for Miami. The Miami Marlins reportedly will leave three panels of the roof of their park open to avoid giving lift to the roof. The hatches are baton down, but the question remains what condition the park will be in after the storm and what impact will Dorian have on the community in order for the Marlins to continue play. The Fish are scheduled to host the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Matt Harrington does the MLB The Show podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Big Papi is happy to see his family in the DR again; Rays need Sogard’s bat to get into the wild card race; plus more

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Photo credit: @Complex

On Headline Sports with Barbara Mason:

#1 Former Boston Red Sox David Ortiz is back home in the Dominican Republic after suffering a near assassination attempt. He said he’s glad to see his family again and is looking forward to eating his favorite foods again.

#2 Former Oakland A’s infielder Eric Sogard was with the Toronto Blue Jays this season and now joins the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays were looking to boost their lineup. Sogard is hitting .300 this season.

#3 The Oakland A’s continue to battle in the AL Wild Card race they got a walkoff walk on Sunday when A’s hitter Khris Davis walked to force a runner in from third base with the base loaded for a 7-6 win over the visiting Texas Rangers.

#4 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will start throwing against the scrimmage defense with pads on and head coach Kyle Shanahan will get an idea how everything should look as far as blocking is concerned.

#5 Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Antonio Brown are all set to throw and catch and make it happen in camp as they prepare for their first preseason game on Saturday Aug 10th at the Oakland Coliseum against the Los Angeles Rams.

Barbara does the Headline podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s end their losing streak beating the Rangers 5-4 in a wild game Saturday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

727 final out

All photos by Charlie O Mallonee Sports Radio Service

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Oakland — The Athletics had lost three straight games going into their contest on Saturday night with the Texas Rangers. More importantly, the A’s were no longer in possession of a Wild Card Playoff slot.

Yes, there is slightly over two months of baseball remaining to play, but with the tight race for the Wild Card spots, no team can afford to fall very far behind. Two of the teams that have a realistic chance to grab a Wild Card slot are in the Western Division – the Angels and the Rangers.

Major start for Homer Bailey

The A’s made the trade with Kansas City for the veteran Bailey hoping that he would be able to shore up their starting pitching woes. While it true that the team added Bailey for very little cost, that did not mean the Athletics had low expectations for what he could bring to the mound.

Bailey was spectacular in his first game for Oakland as he picked up a 10-2 win over the Mariners. His second start was extremely disappointing. On July 22, he made the start against the Astros in Houston. Bailey lasted only two innings while giving up nine earned runs. At that point, the front office was not sure who they had added to their team.

On Saturday night, Bailey was in control on the hill. He worked 6.2-innings allowing three runs (all earned) while striking out seven and walking just one. The three runs he allowed came with two in the seventh inning. As manager Bob Melvin said, Bailey just could not get that one pitch over to get Danny Santana out. Santana hit a two-out two-run double to keep the inning alive.

In his postgame analysis, Melvin said that Bailey on Saturday night was is exactly who they wanted him to be when they traded for him. Bailey threw a total of 105 pitches (71 strikes). He faced 28 Texas batters. Bailey induced six hitters to groundout and four to flyout.

Bailey is now 2-1 as a member of the A’s. His overall record is 9-7 with an ERA of 5.33.

National Enquirer Story of the game

727 fight
This picture proves no one was injured when the benches cleared Photo: Charlie O Mallonee

This story actually began back on June 8 in Texas when Rangers starting pitcher Adrian Sampson had a problem with Mark Canha when the A’s outfielder flipped his bat after hitting a home run. Words were exchanged and people were removed from Christmas card lists.

Flash forward to Saturday night, Canha came to the plate to face Sampson for the second time in the game, and you guessed it. The pitcher hit Canha with a pitch. Canha just trotted to first base like the man he is and was ready to play on.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Oakland center fielder Ramon Laureano hit his 21st homer of the season off Sampson. It was a “screamer” that landed halfway up the steps behind the left-field wall. Laureano did take a little time to admire his work and then began his home run trot. Sampson came off the mound and began yelling at Laureano to start running and stop looking. Words were exchanged. Again, names were crossed off the Christmas card list. The benches all stood up but nothing happened.

By the way, the Laureano home run was the fourth round-tripper Sampson had issued in the game.

Now for the rest of the story. In the bottom of the eighth inning, relief pitcher Rafael Montero was on the hill for Texas when Ramon Laureano came to bat for the Athletics with Canha on at first. Montero hit Laureano with a pitch and the benches along with the bullpens cleared.

There was lots of yelling and screaming. Some players were discussing their favorite IPA brands. It was stupid like most baseball bench-clearing situations. The umpires took charge and ejected Montero along with his manager Chris Woodward just as baseball mandates.

This time nothing bad happened, but it is only a matter of time before a situation gets out of hand. Commissioner Rob Manfred has to “suck it up” and take charge before one of these stupid situations becomes tragic.

Focus on the Athletics

  • All of the Oakland runs came via the home in this game. All were solo shots except Matt Chapman’s fifth inning 2-run home run off Sampson. Sampson gave up all four home runs.
  • Ramon Laureano went 2-for-3 in the game with a home run (21), a double (26) and a hit-by-pitch. He is batting .348 versus Texas.
  • Marcus Semien had a 2-for-4 night at the plate that included his 16th home run and he scored two runs. Semien is batting .400 against the Rangers this season.
  • Homer Bailey (9-7) was the winner. Liam Hendriks picked up his ninth save of the year.
  • The A’s scored five runs on six hits and left just four runners on base.

Rangers Watch

  • Adrian Sampson – who took the loss – allowed a season-high-tying four home runs in 6.0-innings pitched. He did the same thing versus the Red Sox on June 13. Sampson is 3-11 with a 5.77 ERA as a starting pitcher. He is 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA as a reliever.
  • Nomar Mazara went 3-for-4 with the bat on Saturday night. He is 7-for-15 in his last four games. Yes, he is starting on Sunday.
  • Elvis Andrus snapped an 0-for-11 streak at the plate by having a 2-for-4 game against the A’s on Saturday night.

Up next

The fourth and final game of this series is set to begin 1:07 PM on Sunday. The Rangers will send RHP Pedro Payano (1-0, 1.50) to the mound. It will be Payano’s third appearance in his Major League career. This makes Payano a bit of a wild card because the Oakland hitters will have to look at some pitches to figure how to hit off him. The scouting reports and videotape will be in limited supply.

The Athletics will counter with veteran RHP Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.57) who is hoping to take young Mr. Payano to school. Fiers is 7-0 with a 2.26 ERA in his last 14 starts.

 

Rangers beat the A’s again, 5-2

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Photo credit sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Ramon Laureano, left, reacts after being hit by a pitch thrown by Texas Rangers’ Rafael Montero in the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 27, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

By: Lewis Rubman

Texas: 5 | 7 | 2
Oakland: 2 | 5 | 2

OAKLAND — Last Monday, the Houston Astros clobbered the A’s, 11-1. The next day, Mike Fiers and the bullpen combined to revenge that loss by holding the powerhouse team from the Lone Star state to three runs on eight hits over 11 innings while Oakland managed to score four times, also on eight hits, on a double by Ramón Laurano.

This evening, the A’s took the field behind Daniel Mengden, hoping to replicate that recovery and bounce back from last night’s similar 11-3 drubbing at the hands of the other Texas team, the Rangers from Arlington. The A’s righty went into the game at 5-1, but with an ugly ERA of 4.65. He has a six-pitch repertoire, and his most frequently thrown pitch is the four seam fastball, which he uses about a third of the time. His counterpart on the Rangers, the also right handed Lance Lynn, took the more impressive record of 12-6, 3.93 ERA, to the mound. His favorite pitch also is the four seamer, which he throws a little less than half the time, at an average velocity of between 94 and 94.5 miles per hour. The A’s bullpen looked shabby last night, with only Brian Schlitter failing to disappoint. Tonight, it looked better, but still not good.

In spite of last night’s dismal showing, at first pitch Oakland still was in a virtual tie with Tampa Bay for second place in the craps shoot that is the wild card race, leading the Rays by a minute fraction of a percentage point. Both clubs were three games behind Cleveland for the first wild card slot. As far as the Western Division lead is concerned, they’ll cross that bridge if and when they come to it.

The A’s opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when they loaded the bases on back to back errors by shortstop Danny Sanatana on grounders by Semien and Chapman followed by a three and two walk to Olson. After Llynn used his four seamer to strike out Mark Canha swinging, Laureano drove in Semien from third on a sacrifice fly to left. Lynn closed out the inning by striking out the struggling Khris Davis.

The second inning featured two spectacular defensive plays, one in each half of the frame. In the top of the inning, Chapman made a leaping grab of Willie Cahfoun’s hard line drive to what would have been short if the A’s hadn’t been deploying the shift. Not to be outdone, Delino DeShields performed a high jump over the center field fence to rob Chris Herrmann of what would have been a two run homer in the the bottom of the frame. In retrospect, it might well have been the decisive play of the game.

The series of outstanding plays continued in the top of the third when Matt Olson chased down DeShield’s foul fly to the right of the visiting bullpen. Turnabout, I guess, is fair play.

Oakland doubled its lead in the bottom of the third on a single to center by Semien, followed, after Lynn K’ed Chapman, by a four pitch walk to Olson and Canha’s single to left. Lynn recovered, getting Laureano and Davis to strike out swinging.

Texas went ahead with two out in the top of the fourth when Nomar Mazara smashed a hard liner past a diving Jurickson Profar and into right center field for a double that scored Shin-Soo Choo, who had led off the inning with a walk, on a close play at the plate. Calhoun followed suit with a double to left that brought in Mazara, who, in turn, scored the tie breaking tally on Asdrúbal Cabrera’s single to right. Forsythe’s fly to left stopped the bleeding, but the Rangers held a 3-2 lead.

Megden’s day’s work was over when he threw his 93rd pitch, a ball to Calhoun on a three and two count that put runners on first and second with one down in the top of the sixth. Blake Treinen, still trying to regain a semblance of the form that had made him the best closer in baseball last season, replaced him. He promptly surrendered a clean single to right by Cabrera, driving in Mazara from second with the fourth Texas run, which was charged to Megden. After a walk to Forsythe, Treinen found success with his power sinker, striking out DeShields and forcing Mathis to pop out to Profar to end the inning.

Ryan Buchter, who replaced Treinen to pitch the seventh, escaped unscathed in spite of his allowdng a single to Odor and Santana’s reaching base on an error by Semien. One reason for Buchter having achieved this was his picking the speedy Odor off first. Buchter stayed in the game long enough to give up a lead off homer to Mazara in the eighth, a shot into the right center field bleachers. Cabrera followed that with a hard line drive down the left field line that a diving backhand stop by Chapman held to a single. After a called third strike on Forsythe for the first out, Buchter gave way to the veteran Joaquim Soria. He got back to back strike outs of DeShields and Jeff Mathis and returned to the dugout.

Jesse Chavez, the ex-Athletic, came in for Lynn at the beginning of the A’s seventh and was effective in his one inning of relief, striking out two and not allowing a base runner. His eighth inning replacement, José LeClerc, who, after a terrible start to the season, has been on a hot streak over his last two dozen appearances, set the top of the Oakland line up down in order.

Lou Trivino held the line for the A’s in the top of the ninth. After a rare error at first by Olson, Rougned Odor blasted a fly to deep ccenter field, just short of the 400 foot sign. Laureano caught it and threw out Choo, trying to advance to second.

Canha greeeted Chris Martin, trying to close out the win, with a double to left center to lead off the home ninth. A walk to Laureano brought Khris Davis to the plate as the potential tying run. But mighty KD struck out. So did Robbie Grossman. Now Chris Herrmann represented the potential tying run or its possible last out. He grounded out to third to end the game.

When the tumult and the shouting had subsided, the A’s were tied with Boston, a half a game behind Tampa Bay for the last wild card spot and four behind Cleveland in the race to be the home team in the play in.

Lance Lynn got the well deserved win, allowing only one earned run. Martin earned his fourth save. Daniel Megden took the loss, as, once again, the A’s starter coughed up an early lead, and the bullpen couldn’t keep the game within reach. Poor control was Megden’s undoing. Of his 93 pitches, only 49, that is, 57%, were strikes. Lynn, in contrast, threw 111 pitches, 73 of which were strikes.

Tomorrow’s contest is scheduled to begin at 6:07 pm and will feature two right-handers, Adrian Sampson (6-7, 5.19 ERA) on the mound for Texas against the A’s Homer Bailey (8-7, 5.42 ERA overall; 1-1,12.38 ERA) for Oakland.