Tag: texas rangers

The Rangers down the A’s behind Beltre’s Grand Slam.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Texas Rangers Adrian Beltre takes Oakland A’s starter Ross Detwiler deep for a grand slam in the fifth inning as A’s catcher Stephen Vogt looks on Monday night at the Ball Park in Arlington

Arlington, Texas -The Oakland A’s began a six-game road trip with a loss to the Texas Rangers Monday night in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers, behind a strong effort by lefty Martin Perez, beat the A’s 5-2. The A’s have now lost four of the last five and are fifteen games under .500 for the year  Ross Detwiler, another lefty, started for the A’s and he absorbed his first loss of the year. Detwiler, released by the Rangers last year, was hoping to repeat his performance when he beat the Baltimore Orioles last week. That, however, did not happen, and Detwiler pitched just 4 and 2/3rds innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits. The Rangers’ third baseman, Adrian Beltre, hit a grand slam to put the Rangers ahead 5-2 in the fifth.

The A’s scored one in the first and one in the second when A’s rookie third baseman, Ryon Healy, hit his sixth tater of the year. The Rangers scored one in the fourth and then Beltre’s big blast in the fifth that propelled the Rangers to victory. Beltre has 432 career dingers and ten grand salamis. Without a doubt, he is on his way to Cooperstown.

Game Notes- The Rangers won their 70th game of the year are lead the AL West bu at least 5.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.The Rangers added catcher Jonathan Lucroy from Milwaukee and Carlos Beltran from New York as they want to win home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The A’s, on the other hand, went with a youth movement. Jake Smolinski was in center, Brett Eibner was in right, Ryon Healy at third and Tyler Ladendorf played second. Ladendorf made a sensational leaping catch to rob Rougned Odor of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning. Liam Hendriks, John Axford, and Marc Rzepczynski allowed just three hits and no runs and kept the A’s in the game. The A’s, however, could not solve Perez, Matt Bush or Sam Dyson. Bush earned a hold and Dyson recorded his twenty-seventh save of the season.

Detwiler hit Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch in the fifth. Choo suffered a broken forearm and probably will not play again this season.Choo will be making his fourth trip to the DL this year after just playing in forty-five games. Nomar Mazara will replace him in left field.

The A’s announced that Jed Lowrie would have season-ending surgery to remove a bunion.

Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at GlobeLife Stadium. Andrew Triggs will start for Oakland, and Lucas Harrell will be on the mound for Texas.

 

 

 

The Rangers snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, win in a walk-off

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Texas Rangers Andre Beltre gets congratulations from coach Tony Beasley after connecting for a seventh inning home run off the Oakland A’s

The Oakland A’s missed a golden opportunity to win their fourth in a row and improve to 8-3 since the All-Star break. They led the Texas Rangers 6-5 with two-out in the bottom of the ninth. Ryan Madson had to retire just one more Ranger hitter to secure the win for Oakland. That hitter, Adrian Beltre, smoked Madson’s fastball into the stands in left-center with a man aboard to give the Rangers a 7-6 walk-off win.

The A’s jumped out a 2-0 lead in the first inning on the strength of Danny Valencia’s thirteen home run of the year. The Rangers scored in the bottom of the first when Ian Desmond hit one out. Desmond has nineteen so far this year.

The A’s scored three times in the third to take the lead 5-1. Valencia drove in his third run of the night with a double. The Rangers scored one in the fourth and two in the fifth to make it a 5-4 game. A’s manager Bob Melvin took Mengden out of the game with two out in the fifth. Both teams scored a run in the seventh but the A’s still led by one. Beltre hit his first dinger of the night in the seventh off John Axford.

The A’s still had a chance to win. Madson retired the first two hitters but a single and Beltre’s second homer of the night sent the A’s down to defeat.

Game notes- Daniel Mengden continues to struggle. He was very impressive in his first four starts but has not been able to replicate that success in his last five outings. Mengden went four 2/3rds innings and allowed four runs and seven hits. He gave up the solo homer to Ian Desmond in the first inning. The loss snapped the A’s three-game winning streak and their dropped to 7-4 since the All-Star break. They are ten games under .500 with a record of 45-55 and have just sixty-two games left in the season.

The Rangers’ Prince Fielder appears to be done for the season as he will be undergoing neck surgery shortly.

Game two of the three-game series will be played Tuesday night at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Game time will be at 5:05 pm. Sonny Gray will be on the hill for Oakland. Gray had a rough outing last week against Houston and will be trying to be the Sonny of old. Nick Martinez, called up from Triple-A, will pitch for Texas.

 

The Rangers’ Colby Lewis baffles the A’s as he tosses a two-hitter.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Texas Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara tries chasing down a double hit by the A’s Max Muncy to break up a no hitter by Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday

OAKLAND–The Texas Rangers defeated the A’s Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum by a score of 5-1. The Rangers’ starter Colby Lewis had won the last four consecutive games he started against the A’s before the start of play Thursday. Lewis dominated the A’s as he was perfect for seven and two-thirds innings. He walked Yonder Alonso in the eighth but was still working on a no -hitter in the ninth. A’s right Fielder Max Muncy broke up the no-no with a double off the right field wall. Nomar Mazara made a valiant effort to catch the ball but he hit the wall, and the ball dropped safely to the ground. Coco Crisp ruined the shutout when he doubled to drive in Muncy with the A’s lone run.

The Rangers scored two in the seventh. Mengden had retired fifteen in a row before Ranger center fielder Ian Desmond hit an opposite field home run. The Rangers scored another run and Mengden was done for the day. He left the game trailing 2-0. He went six and two-thirds innings and allowed just two runs and four hits. The Rangers sent eight men to the plate in the seventh and in the eighth, they sent eight more men to the plate and scored three times to take a 5-0 lead.

Game Notes – The A’s have lost three straight games and ten of the last twelve. Their record drops to 27-39 and are twelve games under .500 and will continue to reside in last place in the AL West.

Daniel Mengden made his first career start at home and, although he pitched well, his record is 0-2. Skipper Bob Melvin said he should be 2-0. “It was unfortunate that he pitched that well and did not get a win. ”

Melvin commented that he was pleased with Aaron Dull’s performance as he came into the game and struck out two to end the Ranger threat. He has not allowed any of the twenty-eight inherited runners to score this season.

Melvin then commented this about Colby Lewis, ” Lewis always pitches well against us.” He is “tough to handle and that he is a serious thorn in our side.”

The Los Angeles Angels will play the A’s three times over the weekend. Kendall Graveman will pitch for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Matt Shoemaker. Game time is at 6:30 PM and there will be a fireworks show after the game.

Time of game was two hours and thirty-five minutes, and 14,236 watched the terrific pitching duel between Lewis and Mengden.

The following is a Media Release from the A’s.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

Media Release

Oakland Athletics Baseball Company  7000 Coliseum Way  Oakland, CA 94621 510-638-4900  http://www.athletics.com  A’s PR on Twitter @AsMediaAlerts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2016, A’s Agree to Terms with Four from First-Year Player Draft

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A’s agreed to terms with four players from the 2016 First-Year Player Draft today, including their third round selection, catcher Sean Murphy from Wright State. The A’s also agreed to terms with third baseman JaVon Shelby (5th, Kentucky), center fielder Tyler Ramirez (7th, North Carolina) and right-handed pitcher Nolan Blackwood (14th, Memphis).

Murphy hit .287 with six home runs, 34 RBI and 38 runs scored in 39 games with Wright State this year to earn Second Team All-Horizon League honors. He also walked 25 times for a .408 on-base percentage. Wright earned first-team All-League honors in 2015 and was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2014.

Shelby hit .212 with 12 home runs and 35 RBI in 54 games for Kentucky and finished third in the SEC in home runs. He was a First-Team All-SEC selection in 2015 and was named to 2014 All-SEC Freshman team in 2014. Shelby is the son of John Shelby, who played 1036 games in 11 seasons in the majors with Baltimore (1981-87), the Dodgers (1987-90) and Detroit (1990-91).

Ramirez hit .333 with eight home runs and 47 RBI in 54 games with North Carolina. He led the Tar Heels in home runs, walked (50), slugging percentage (.540) and on-base percentage (.482) and was a second-team All-ACC selection.

Blackwood was 3-4 with seven saves and a 3.76 ERA in 27 relief appearances for Memphis. He set Memphis career records for saves (24) and games pitched (83), while compiling a 2.32 ERA.

The A’s have now signed or agreed to terms with 28 of their 41 selections from the draft, including 12 of the first 15.

 

Oakland A’s Wednesday game wrap: The Rangers Rally to subdue the A’s again.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

SB Nation/Getty photo: Texas Rangers Robinson Chirinos is congraulated after going deep in the seventh off A’s pitcher John Axford on Wednesday night at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND–The Texas Rangers, in first place in the AL West, overcame a five-run deficit Wednesday night to defeat the A’s 7-5. The A’s Sonny Gray was the Sonny Gray of old for the first five innings of the game.He had excellent velocity on his fastball, and his location was outstanding as he kept the Rangers scoreless and allowed them just five hits. The A’s, in the meantime, scored three in the third and two in the fourth to give Sonny some run support. However, in the fateful sixth, The Rangers pounced on Sonny as they scored five times to tie the game. The Rangers scored solo runs in the seventh and eighth, and their bullpen was successful in closing out the game. The game summary follows below.

The A’s scored three times in the third inning. Marcus Semien led off with a single. Jake Smolinski, playing right field, hit his third home run of the season to get the A’s going.  With one out, Billy Burns doubled and advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt by Ranger pitcher Derek Holland. With the infield drawn in, Danny Valencia singled past a diving Elvis Andrus to drive in the third run of the frame.

The A’s added two more runs in the fourth inning. Ranger starter Derek Holland walked Josh Phegley and Jake Smolinski to put men on at first and second. Holland retired two batters; he had thrown ninety-two pitches. Jeff Banister decided that it was time for a change and brought in Nick Martinez to pitch. Martinez, just up from Triple-A, was greeted by a double off the bat of Billy Burns. Phegley scored, and when the ball was misplayed by Ian Desmond in center field, Smolinski was able to score from first. Holland went just three and two-thirds innings and allowed five runs, four earned, and just four hits. A’s lead 5-0 after four.

The Rangers rallied to score five runs in the top of the sixth. Sonny Gray had been very effective for the first five innings of the game. He had allowed no runs and the Rangers managed just three hits. The sixth was a different story as the Rangers offense erupted to score five times and Gray was touched for five hits. Robinson Chirinos hit a solo homer. Back-to back-doubles produced another run. Prince Fielder drove in the third run with a sac fly. Jurickson Profar singled, and he trotted home when Rougned Odor blasted an opposite-field homer to tie the game.Gray finished the inning, but he was done for the night as John Axford was brought in to start the seventh. Gray will not receive a decision and his line for the night was six innings pitched, and he allowed five runs on eight hits including two home runs and two doubles.

In the top of the seventh, with one out and John Axford on the mound, the noted Oakland A’s slayer, Robinson Chirinos put the Rangers in the lead with his second solo homer of the game.Chirinos has hit three dingers in the series and has a total of four for the season.Bob Melvin brought in Sean Doolittle to pitch to the left-handed hitter, Nomar Mazara and Doolittle did his job striking him out to end the inning, but the A’s now trail Texas 6-5. The Rangers’ Rougned Odor hit a solo homer in the eighth off Sean Doolittle to give the Rangers a two-run cushion as the game heads into the A’s half of the eighth. The Rangers bullpen shut down the A’s in the eighth and ninth to secure the win for Texas.

Game Notes- The A’s have scored twenty-five runs so far in the series but have just one win and two losses to show for their effort. The A’s are 27-38 for the season and are in last place in the division and own the second-worst record in the  American League. The Rangers are 41-25 and have won four of five, 10 of 13 and 16 of their last 21 games.

After the game , A’s manager Bob Melvin said that he was “pretty shocked” when things went south in the sixth. Melvin added that he “saw (Gray) pitch shutouts with the stuff he had tonight.” He said Sonny had “great stuff, great movement in the first five innings.” He said that Gray was “incrementally better since coming off the DL and it was a little bit startling that he lost it. Melvin said that he had to give Texas credit as they took good swings against our best guys. The Rangers tagged Gray, Axford, and Doolittle for four home runs in the contest.

The A’s finish the four-game series with the Rangers Thursday afternoon at 12:35 pm. Rookie pitcher Daniel Mengden will make his second start of the season, and he will be opposed by the veteran righty Colby Lewis.

Time of game was three hours and eight minutes, and 10,115 faithful watched the A’s go down to defeat.

 

The Rangers even the series at one, send the A’s down to defeat.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Texas Rangers turned the tables on the A’s Tuesday evening at the Oakland Coliseum. They beat the A’s  10-6 to even the series at one game apiece. A’s starter Eric Surkamp continued to struggle in his latest effort after being recalled from Nashville. Surkamp was starting his seventh game of the year for Oakland, and he failed again. So far, Surkamp has not yet pitched a full six innings.  On Tuesday, he lasted just two and a third innings and allowed seven runs on seven hits. The A’s bullpen pitched well and, at one point, they retired twelve Texas hitters in a row before Elvis Andrus homered for the Rangers in the eighth. Ranger lefty Martin Perez won his sixth of the season while Surkamp’s record dropped to 0-4. The A’s are hoping that Surkamp can be more effective as “there are only so many guys” that can be used due to the injuries in the starting rotation. The scoring summary follows below.

The Rangers put one on the board in the very first inning. A’s starter Eric Surkamp walked Ranger left fielder Shin-soo Choo to start the game. Ian Desmond followed with a single to put men on at first and second with no out. Nomar Mazara hit into a fielder’s choice advancing Choo to third and he scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Rua. The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the first. Billy Burns led off with a single. Jed Lowrie singled sending Burns to third. Khris Davis doubled to right driving in Burns. Lowrie, attempting to score from first, was thrown out at home.

The Rangers scored three more runs in the second. With one out, Surkamp walked Rougned Odor. Elvis Andrus singled to put two men on. The Rangers’ catcher Robinson Chirinos, hitting just .190, put a Surkamp pitch on the walkway in left field. Rangers lead 4-1. The Rangers scored three more runs in the third as they now own a 7-1 lead. Ryan Rua, playing first base, led off the inning with a solo dinger. Surkamp gave up singles to Prince Fielder and Rougned Odor. A’s manager Bob Melvin decided to End Surkamp’s misery and brought in Marc Rzepczynski to pitch. Elvis Andrus singled to drive in Fielder and Odor scored when Danny Valencia failed to catch Khris Davis’ throw from left field.

The A’s scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth. Jed Lowrie started the rally with a single. Danny Valencia followed with a single. Khris Davis drove in his second run of the night with another single. Valencia advanced to third on the play and scored on a sac fly. Josh Phegley then doubled to drive in Davis all the way from first. Marcus Semien ground out to end the inning. The A’s trail 7-4 after six.

Texas added a run in the eighth on an Elvis Andrus solo home run and two more on four hits in the ninth to make it a 10-4 game heading into the bottom of the ninth. The A’s rallied to score two in the bottom of the ninth, but they just couldn’t pull it out.

Game Notes-Billy Burns had two hits in the contest as did Khris Davis. Davis knocked in two more to give him forty-four RBIs for the year.

The Texas Rangers have won thirteen of their last eighteen and own the best record in the AL at 40-25. Ryan Rua was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and is hitting .370 with five homers and twelve ribbies in his last eighteen games.

Sean Manaea was placed on the fifteen-day DL after an injury to his forearm. The MRI showed no structural damage but there may be underlying problems.

The A’s celebrated Gay Pride Tuesday night and had  moment of silence for the victims of the shootings in Orlando over the weekend.

Game three of the series will be played Wednesday night at 7:05 pm. Sonny Gray will pitch for Oakland, and the Rangers will send their third lefty starter, Derek Holland, to the hill.

Time of game was three hours and eight minutes, and 13,101 hardy souls watched the Rangers snap the A’s modest two-game winning streak.

Oakland A’s Monday game wrap:The A’s rout the Rangers to take Game One

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s Josh Phegley (19) is congratulated by Billy Butler (16) after hitting a three run homer off Texas Rangers pitcher Tom Wilhelmsen in the fourth inning Monday at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND–The A’s battered Texas Ranger pitching Monday night as they won a laugher by a score of 14-5. The A’s had seventeen hits and scored four in the third, five in the fourth and four more in the fifth to put the game in the win column. Rangers starter Cesar Ramos lasted just 3.2 inning sand gave up eight runs on eight hits. Reliever Tom Wilhelmsen fared worse. Wilhelmsen lasted just one inning, and the A’s were able to hit him as if he was a batting practice pitcher. He gave up six runs and nine hits in his one inning of work.

The A’s drew first blood in the bottom of the first. Coco Crisp led off with a single. Marcus Semien and Danny Valencia followed with singles to load the bases. Khris Davis reached first on a fielder’s choice; Crisp scored on the play. A’s lead 1-0.

The A’s scored four runs in the third to take a 5-0 lead. Only two of the runs were earned. Coco led off with a walk. After Semien struck out, Valencia hit a rocket that Rangers’ could not handle. Andrus was charged with an error. Khris Davis slammed his fifteenth dinger of the year to put the A’s up by four. Davis now has forty RBIs for the year. The A’s weren’t finished as they loaded the bases with two out. The fourth run scored on a sac fly by Yonder Alonso. The inning ended on a base running blunder by Jake Smolinski. Smolinski attempted to tag up and advance to second on the play, but the alert Ranger defense caught him in between first and second and they tagged him out.

The Rangers got on the board in the fourth. With two out, Rangers’ left fielder Ryan Rua hit a wicked shot down the third base line. Valencia made the stop, but his throw sailed over Alonso’s head. Rua wound up on second. Manaea hit Prince Fielder with a pitch to put two men on base. Andrus singled to drive in Rua with the run. Manaea struck out Mitch Moreland to end the inning.

The A’s batted around in the bottom of the fourth. They scored five runs on five hits to take a commanding 10-1. lead. The big blow was an “Earl Weaver” special, a three-run tater off the bat of A’s catcher Josh Phegley. It was the first homer of the year for Josh. All the runs came after two were out in the frame.

The Rangers added a run in their half of the fifth. With one out, Shin-soo Choo hit his first home run of the year to close the gap to 10-2. A’s manager Bob Melvin had to take Manaea out of the game due to a possible injury. Daniel Coulombe was given extra time to warm up, and he retired the next two hitters he faced.The A’s batted around again in the fifth. They scored four more runs and had six hits to own a 14-2 lead.

The Rangers’ Ryan Rua hit a two-run homer in the sixth, but the Rangers still trail by ten 14-4. Mitch Moreland homered in the ninth for Texas. Too little, too late. A’s win a laugher 14-5.

Game Notes- The A’s won their second game in a row and have now defeated Texas in all four games played. The A’s starter Sean Manaea left the game in the fifth inning with a left pronator muscle strain. There in no information at this time if he will have to go on the DL. Reliever Daniel Coulombe received credit for his first Major League victory.

The A’s face the Rangers Tuesday in game two of the four-game series. Lefty Eric Surkamp will pitch for Oakland and will be opposed by the Rangers’ lefty Martin Perez(5-4, 3.22)

Time of game was three hours and six minutes, and there were 13,453 people on hand to watch the A’s pound the Rangers.

 

 

The losing streak is over, A’s beat Reds 6-1

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MLB: Oakland Athletics at Cincinnati Reds
Marcus Semien hits a two-run home run Photo Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics went into the game on Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds needing a win in the worst way. Losers of seven consecutive games, the A’s were in danger of going 0-8 on an eight game road trip. The psychological damage to the team by going winless on the road trip could have devastating effects for the rest of the season.

Not only did the A’s have to battle a losing streak, they had to battle the weather. The Midwestern summer has come early and it was 89-degrees with 55-percent humidity at game time. That made it feel like the temperature was 96-degrees. The Athletics are not used to playing in those conditions.

The A’s found their power and used the long ball with men on base to take an early lead that they never relinquished but only added to as the game progressed. Oakland had to pitch by committee due to the weather and because they were playing an Inter-league game in a National League park where the pitchers had to bat. They played the game like a team that knew they had to win the game.

In the batter’s box

Marcus Semien started off the scoring for the A’s in the top of the second inning when he hit a 3-1 pitch from John Lamb over the left field wall with Billy Butler on base to give Oakland a 2-0 lead. It was Semien’s 12th home run of the season. He finished the day going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored.

The A’s scored two more runs in the second inning when Jake Smolinski hit his second home run of the year off Lamb with Josh Phegley on base. Smolinski’s home run gave the A’s a 4-0 lead at the time.

Danny Valencia joined the home run derby when he hit a solo shot into the left field seats in the top of the eighth inning off reliever A.J. Morris to give the A’s a 5-1 lead.

The A’s manufactured a run in the top of the ninth when Khris Davis hit a line drive single to center that allowed Coco Crisp to score the sixth run from second base.

Khris Davis had a 2-for-5 game with the insurance RBI.

Billy Butler continued to be productive at the plate going 3-for-3 with a run scored. The A’s have been waiting all season for Butler to catch fire.

Jed Lowrie stayed hot with the bat going 3-for-5 in the game. Lowrie’s average now stands at .303.

The A’s scored six runs on 15 hits with eight runners left on base.

The Reds only run came in the bottom of the second inning when outfielder Steve Selsky scored off catcher Ramon Cabrera’s double to left field. Kendall Graveman was on the mound for the A’s.

The Reds scored one run on seven hits and left six men on base despite the A’s having to use five different pitchers in the game.

On the Mound

Kendall Graveman started the game for Oakland on Sunday. Graveman entered the game with a 2-6 record and had really been struggling in last several starts. Graveman pitched well but succumbed to the weather very quickly. Graveman pitched to one batter in the fifth inning but had to come out of the game. He worked 4.0 innings giving up one run (earned) on seven hits while striking out five and walking two batters. Because Graveman did not work five innings it was up to the official scorer to assign the win and Graveman was given a no decision for his 4-plus innings of work.

Fernando Rodriguez came on in the top of the fifth for Graveman and pitched two perfect innings of baseball in relief. For his efforts, Rodriguez was credited with his second win of the season.

John Axford, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson each worked a perfect inning of relief for Oakland on Sunday. Axford and Doolittle were impressive as they were throwing pitches in the high 90’s. For Madson, it was his first work on the mound since his appearance in Houston seven days ago.

John Lamb (1-4, 5.14) took the loss for the Reds even though he only pitched four innings. Cincinnati used four pitchers in their losing effort.

Defense

The key on defense for the Oakland Athletics was the fact they did not commit an error in the game. Not only did they play errorless baseball, the A’s turned three double plays that all killed potential scoring opportunities for the Reds.

The Reds did not commit an error in the game.

Up next

The A’s will have no time to rest and celebrate their victory. Oakland heads back into action on Monday night as they open a four-game home series with the Western Division leading Texas Rangers. The Rangers are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have won two games in a row.

LHP Sean Manaea (2-4, 6.20) will take the mound for Oakland. The Rangers have yet to officially name their starter although speculation centers on LHP Cesar Ramos who is a long reliever and spot starter.

 

The A’s win again, Sweep the Rangers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s slugger Khris Davis (right) hits another one out for the second game in a row, this time against the Texas Rangers pitcher Martin Perez in the sixth Davis is greeted by A’s third base coach Ron Washington (left)

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s beat the Texas Rangers Wednesday by a score of 8-1 and swept the three-game series. Lefty Rich Hill went six innings and just one run on three hits as he won his sixth game of the year. A’s starting pitchers have gone at least six innings in the last three games, and that has allowed A’s manager Bob Melvin to give his overworked bullpen a bit of a rest. Fernando Rodriguez pitched the seventh and eighth and gave up just one hit. Andrew Triggs set the Rangers down in order in the ninth to secure the victory.

The A’s started fast as they scored three times in the first inning.Lefty Martin Perez was on the hill for the Rangers. He retired Coco Crisp for the first out. Billy Burns singled. Josh Reddick walked to put men on at first and second. Burns and Reddick executed a double steal and scored on a single by Danny Valencia. Perez walked Khris Davis to move Valencia into scoring position. Marcus Semien singled to drive in Valencia with the third run of the inning.

The Rangers score a run in the top of the sixth, but Khris Davis homered in the bottom of the frame to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. It was Davis’ fourth home run in the last two games and twelfth of the year. The A’s put the game away in the eighth when they scored four times Reddick, Valencia, Davis, and Semien all were instrumental in the rally. A’s win 8-1

Game Notes- The A’s have now won four in a row and five of the last six.  Also, it was their third straight home win. The A’s now await the only visit of the year by the New York Yankees. The A’s swept the Yanks in New York in April. The Yanks are currently in last place in the AL East.They lost the first two games of the three-game series with the D-Backs, and the A’s will be looking to add to the woes of the Bronx Bombers.

The last time the A’s had two players hit three home runs in a week occurred in 1932. They players that performed that feat are in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Who were they? None other than Jimmy Foxx and Al Simmons.

Kendall Graveman will handle the pitching for Oakland and Ivan Nova will go for New York.

Time of game was two hours and thirty-two minutes, and 14,423 were on hand to watch.

Game time will be 7:05 PM PT Thursday night at the Coliseum.

 

 

Khris Davis hits a walkoff Grand Slam to send the Rangers down to defeat.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Oakland A’s Khris Davis goes yard for a walk off grand slam as shown in this follow through swing to defeat the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday night

OAKLAND–The A’s and Texas Rangers played a very entertaining game Tuesday night at the Coliseum.The A’s won in a walk off 8-5. The A’s starter Jesse Hahn gave the A’s a quality start as he went six and 2/3rds innings allowing three runs and ten hits. He had trouble in the fourth as he gave up solo homers to the first two batters he faced. The Rangers scored another run in the inning. He left the game with the game tied at three. The Rangers starter Cole Hamels also went six and 2/3rds innings but he was on the hook for the loss if the A’s could hold the Rangers. They couldn’t as the Rangers rallied for two in the top of the ninth with two out . The A’s refused to quit and they won when Kris Davis hit his third home run of the game with the bases loaded to send the fans home happy and the A’s also put a big smile on manager Bob Melvin’s face with the come-from-behind win.

The A’s jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The A’s third baseman Danny Valencia, a very hot hitter who hit five home runs last week after a stint on the DL, blasted his sixth dinger of the year into the bleachers above the 367-foot mark. The next hitter-left fielder Khris Davis, hit the first pitch he saw from Cole Hamels and sent it into the bleachers above the 367-foot mark. A’s in the lead 2-0.

The Rangers, just as the A’s did in the bottom of the second, started the top of the fourth with back-to-back solo home runs. Right fielder Nomar Mazara , leading off, hit a 2-0 pitch over the fence in right-centerfield. Future Hall-of-Fame player, Adrian Beltre tied the game  with his seventh home run of the year. Texas scored another run with singles by Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, and catcher Bobby Wilson. Texas leads 3-2 in the middle of the fourth.

Khris Davis launched his second bomb of the night in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at three apiece.  The ball went over just to the left of the 398-foot marker in left center field. For Davis, it was his second two-homer game of the year and eighth of his career. The A’s broke the tie in the seventh. Catcher Matt McBride struck out but reached first on a passed ball. Coco tried to bunt him over to second but the sacrifice failed. Reddick singled to put men on at first and second with two out. The A’s hottest hitter, Danny Valencia, did it again as he singled to drive in Crisp with the fourth run of the game.

The Rangersscored twice in the top of the ninth to regain the lead. A’s closer Ryan Madson retired the first two batters. Ranger second baseman, the infamous Rougned Odor singled. Ian Desmond homered to put Texas in the lead 5-4. It was the first blown save of the year for Madson. Madson had been 11 for 11 in save opportunities but that streak is now over.

The A’s rallied in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 8-5. Stephen Vogt, pinch-hiting for Matt McBride, reached on an infield single. Coco Crisp doubled down the righ field line to put men on at second and third with no out. Rangers’ closer Shawn Tolleson retired Billy Burns for the first out. The Rangers walked Josh Reddick to load the bases. Tolleson got Danny Valencia to fly out to short right field. Vogt could not tag and score to tie the game. The next hitter was Khris Davis. Davis had a feast or famine night. He had two home runs and two strikeouts. Tonight was Khris’s night. David took Tolleson deep for a walk off Grand Slam. Davis had the first three-homer game of his career. The team jumped onto the field to give him a huge welcome when he crossed the plate.

GameNotes- The A’s improved to 18-22 and have won four of their last five games. The Rangers drop to 22-18 for the season. It was 76 degrees at the start of the game and the ball was flying. The A’s had four homers. Three were hit Davis and one by Valencia. The Rangers hit three out of the park. Very rare to have that many home runs hit at the Coliseum at night.

Ryan Madson, who blew the save, was the winning pitcher. Shawn Tolleson took the loss for Texas.

Update on Mark Canha. The A’s outfielder-first baseman saw a doctor in Vail, Colorado and he will have season-ending surgery to correct a hip injury. The recovery time is six months.

Lefty Rich Hill (5-3, 2.68) will pitch for Oakland and lefty Martin Perez(1-3, 3.23) will go for Texas. Time of ame was two hours and thirty-five minutes and 12,718 fans saw a terrific ball game. Game time will be Wednesday afternoon at 12:35.

 

The Rangers turn the tables, Rout the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Texas Rangers turned the tables on the Oakland A’s Thursday afternoon at the O.Co Coliseum. One night after being routed by the A’s, the Rangers pounded A’s pitching for ten runs, elevens hits, four of which were home runs and beat Oakland by a score od 10-1 to split the four-game series at two apiece.

The Rangers scored three times in the first taking advantage of two Oakland errors. One was committed by Kendall Graveman, making his first start of the year and his A’s debut, and one by catcher Stephen Vogt who dropped a throw while attempting to tag a runner at the plate.
Graveman settled down and got through the second, but Texas got to him for two more runs. The big blow in the third was a Mitch Moreland home run with a man aboard to put Texas ahead 5-0. Graveman’s day came to an end in the fourth when Shin-Soo Choo blasted a ball into right field that went over the yellow line for a home run. There were two men on at the time of the blast and Texas blew the game wide open leading 8-0 in the fourth Evan Scribner was brought in to pitch for the A’s

Texas scored two more times on solo home runs. Adrian Beltre hit one in the seventh and Ranger second baseman Rougned Odor put one over the fence in the eighth. The A’s scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the eighth when Eric Sogard singled and he scored on a double by Marcus Semien. Final score 10-1 in favor of Texas.

Game notes. The A’s started the season 2-2 for the third consecutive year. Kendall Graveman took the loss. The Rangers’ Nick Martinez pitched well allowing just four hits and no runs in seven innings of work. The line score for Texas was 10 runs, 11 hits, and no errors while the line for Oakland was one 1 run, 6 hits and 3 errors. Evan Scribner went 3 and 2/3rds innings of work and allowed one run and three hits.

The A’s continue the homestand as the Seattle Mariners will be here for three games. Lefty Drew Pomeranz will go for Oakland and he will be opposed by righty Tijuan Walker.
Game time is 7:05 Friday night at the O.Co Coliseum

Thursday’s game time was a speedy 2 hours and 32 minutes and 16,045 watched the A’s get drubbed.