Tag: texas rangers

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

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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.

It Just Keeps Getting Worse for the A’s

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Just when you think things can’t get any worse for the A’s, they do. The downward spiral continues as they waste a tremendous pitching performance from Jeff Samardzija and lose to the Texas Rangers 6-1.

Samardizija and Rangers’ starter Derek Holland hooked up in a old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. Both pitchers were in total control until the A’s took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. The A’s could have broken the game wide open in the bottom of the eighth when they had the bases loaded with no out but they failed to score. In the top of the ninth, the Rangers sent twelve men to the plate and scored six times with the key blow off the bat of J.P.Arencibia. This loss has to be one of the toughest to take all year. If the slide continues, the A’s may miss the playoffs entirely. I hope the players do not lose their confidence but the have to be thinking “what’s going to go wrong today?’

The A’s scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Former Ranger Geovany Soto doubled with one out. Second baseman Nick Punto reached on an infield single and Soto advanced to third on the play. Coco Crisp struck out but right fielder Sam Fuld, the only left handed hitter in the lineup, singled to right to drive in Soto. After five complete, the A’s are ahead 1-0.

Jeff Samardzija kept Texas scoreless through eight innings of work. He was brilliant allowing just four hits and struck out ten. The A’s had a chance to break the game open in the bottom of the eighth as they loaded the bases with no out but no one could come through with a clutch hit and they failed to score.

The A’s brought in their closer, Sean Doolittle, to finish off the Rangers but everything that could go, went wrong. Doolittle retired the first batter but then the roof caved in. Elvis Andrus singled and then scored on a double by Rougned Odor. The A’s walked Adrian Beltre but that move failed a J.P.Arenciabia, hitting about .169, slammed a three run homer to give them a 4-1 lead. The Rangers didn’t stop there as they scored two more times sending twelve men to the plate in the ninth inning.

The A’s went down meekly in the bottom of the ninth and took the loss.

Game notes- With the loss the A’s are now tied with the Kansas City Royals for the first Wild Card slot

In addition, the loss gave the AL West division crown to the Los Angeles Angels. The A’s and Royals

are two games ahead of the Mariners for the Wild Card slots.

The A’s have lost five of the last seven games and are 5-14 since August 28th and are 17-38 in their last 55 games. A’s manager Bob Melvin said the A’s have to regroup and hope to get it going again on Thursday.

Jeff Samardzija has thrown 16 consecutive scoreless innings, which is a career high. He also struck out 10 batters for the eighth time in his career and three times this year with the A’s.

The A’s finish the series with Texas Thursday afternoon at 12:30pm. Sonny Gray will try to right the ship for the A’s as he goes for his 14th win of the year and his opponent will be Nick Martinez.

A’s lose to the lowly Rangers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s played a game Tuesday night that was extremely ugly and not typical of a team trying to make the playoffs. The A’s were terrible on defense as they committed two costly errors and their pitchers threw 3 wild pitches in the game. They looked like they were sleepwalking through the game and it resulted in a 6-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. The Rangers have the worst record in baseball but they looked like world beaters defeating the A’s. Scott Kazmir started for the A’s and he was not sharp at all and took his ninth loss of the year. The Rangers’ starter, Nick Tepesch, came into the game with a 4-10 record, picked up his fifth win of the year. The Rangers, with nothing to lose, played well and took advantage of the A’s miscues and ran the bases relentlessly.

Texas drew first blood in the top of the fourth inning. Ryan Rua led off the inning with a single.

With one out, the Rangers’ Designated Hitter, Jake Smolinski, sent the ball over the left center field fence to give the Rangers the lead. For Smolinski, it was his first home run of the year. The Rangers

added another run after Rougned Odor beat out an infield single then scored when Daniel Robertson

hit a high chopper that went over Brandon Moss’ glove for a single. Reddick throw out Robertson at second trying to stretch the hit into a double but that allowed Odor to score from third base on the play.

Rangers are ahead 3-0 in the middle of the fourth inning. The A’s got back into the game when the scored twice to trail 3-2. Adam Dunn doubled with one out to get things going. Walks to Brandon Moss and Jed Lowrie loaded the bases. Josh Reddick hit a ball to deep center that allowed Dunn to score.

Derek Norris singled to drive in Moss and when the Ranger shortstop threw the ball past the first baseman Lowrie and Norris advanced to third and second but Eric Sogard ground out to end the inning.

The Rangers scored two unearned runs in fifth inning. With one out, Adrian Beltre doubled down the

left field line. Ryan Rua hit a sharp ground ball to A’s shortstop Jed Lowrie. Lowrie’s throw sailed way over the head of first baseman Brandon Moss . The play was ruled a single and an error. Beltre scored and Rua went to second on the play. Ranger catcher Robinson Chirinos singled to drive in Rua. A’s manager Bob Melvin took Kazmir out of the game and replaced him with Ryan Cook. Rua advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on a single by Odor. Texas leads a 6-2 as the A’s bat in the bottom of the fifth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Brandon Moss hit a solo home run to deep right field that was absolutely crushed. A’s trail 6-3 after six complete. There was no more scoring in the game and the A’s fall to the Rangers 6-3.

Game notes: The A’s are 7-14 for their last 21 games and 10-21 in their last 31. The A’s were fortunate as the Kansas City Royals also lost so they maintain their one game lead over the Royal for the first Wild Card spot. Seattle beat the Angels and they are just one game behind the Royals for the second Wild Card. There were a few highlights for the A’s tonight. Josh Donaldson was 2 for 4 with a double

and Brandon Moss hit his 25th home run of the year. The last A’s player to have two consecutive 25 homers in a year was Jack Cust. Josh Reddick was 1 for 3 with a triple.

The Rangers won their fourth game in a row and it was the first time they did it since April 15 to April 19th this year.

A’s manager Bob Melvin was not a happy camper with the play of his team Tuesday night. He thought they would be ready as they had won two games in a row at Seattle. Melvin said that while he was disappointed with the way the A’s played, he would come to the park Wednesday and be optimistic about the team’s chances of getting back on the winning track.

In other news, Jed Lowrie has been named the A’s nominee for the 2014 Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Beginning Wednesday, Fans can vote on ChevyBaseball.com for the National recipient and register for a chance to win a trip to the 2014 World Series.

Game two of the three game series will be Wednesday night at 7:05pm. Jeff Samardzija will pitch for Oakland while Derek Holland will go for the Rangers.

Attendance was 19,835

The A’s Sprint to the Finish Preview

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The season, A’s fans, has just thirteen games left to play.The A’s who have not been playing well since the big trade on July 31st have no chance of winning the AL West division. The division will be won by the Los Angeles Angels who have the best record in baseball(93-56). The A’s however can make the playoffs as either the first wildcard or the second wildcard. The A’s won the last two games played in Seattle and with Kansas City losing to Boston Sunday, have given themselves a little breathing room over the Royals who trail the A’s by 1.5 games for the top wildcard slot. The Royals have a game lead over Seattle for the second wildcard spot and Seattle is now 2.5 games behind the A’s and one game behind the Royals. The team with the top wildcard spot will host the one game playoff to decide which team advances to the AL Division Series.

The A’s, as mentioned above ,have thirteen games left to play. Nine of the games will be at home and the last four will be on the road at Texas. The A’s start the nine game home stand against the aforementioned Rangers. The Rangers have had a season of turmoil. Their pitching staff has been decimated by injury and they also lost Prince Fielder, who was their big off-season acquisition, to injury and he was lost for the year. Their manager, Ron Washington, has resigned for personal reasons.

Washington won two AL Pennants and had made the Rangers into a very good time during his tenure as manager.The A’s cannot take the Rangers lightly and the Rangers would love to knock the A’s out of the playoffs. A’s manager Bob Melvin has adjusted his pitching rotation so that Sonny Gray will pitch game three of this series and Gray will pitch again against Texas in the last game of the regular season. What this means is that Jon Lester will be pitching in the one game playoff for the A’s. Jon has a reputation as a big game pitcher and has two World Series rings to show for it. Also, Lester was named AL player of the week as he went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.29.

The pitching match ups for the Texas series will be Scott Kazmir (14-8,3.32) going against Nick Tepesch(4-10,4.47) on Tuesday. Wednesday’s pitchers will be Jeff Samardzija (4-5,3.41) against Derek Holland(1-0, 0.86). Holland was a regular starter for Texas but he missed almost all of the season due to injury but be can be one tough customer and the A’s know it. They know beating Holland will not be easy. The Thursday game will feature Sonny Gray (13-8,3.18) against Nick Martinez)3-11,4.93.)

The A’s then play three inter-league games with the NL East last place Philadelphia Phillies. The Philies are 69-80 for the year but they would love nothing better than to come here and beat the A’s and knock them out of the playoffs. The A’s then finish the home stand against the Angels who, by the time the three games series will be played, should have the clinched the division crown. The A’s the travel to Texas to play a four game series and finish the season.

The A’s have been on a roller coaster ride this season. They had the best record in baseball the first four months of the season but they stopped hitting in late July and have not played well the last six weeks. They have played a lot of one run games during that span and lost most of them as they could not buy a key hit or get anything going to turn the slide around. They took two out of three from Seattle over the weekend and they did not get beat by Felix Hernandez. Hernandez pitched well but the A’s won the game after his departure. Hopefully, they will not have to face him in the one game playoff. What the A’s need is for the team to step up their game. Do the little things that win games. Small ball if necessary,for sure. Good defense is a must. The A’s have been making costly errors during the downturn and that has to stop. Good pitching is a must. The starters must get their “A” game going and the bullpen has to do its job when called upon and lastly clutch hitting. If they can put all those ingredients together, they can go far in the playoffs. If not, it will be a long winter wondering about what might have been. It’s time for the fans to come out to the park and back the team with all the support and noise that they can provide and let’s hear them chant “let’s go Oakland.”

Pinch Hitting Norris Propels A’s Victory Over Rangers 10-6

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Oakland Athletics' Josh Donaldson, left, congratulates Derek Norris, right, after Norris hit a three-run home run off off Texas Rangers' Shawn Tolleson in the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 17, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Oakland Athletics’ Josh Donaldson, left, congratulates Derek Norris, right, after Norris hit a three-run home run off off Texas Rangers’ Shawn Tolleson in the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 17, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Kahlil Najar

OAKLAND – If the baseball world didn’t know that the A’s have a deep bench at the catcher position, they do now.

Derek Norris, Stephen Vogt and John Jaso went a combined 7 for 8 with 7 RBI and 7 hits to help propel the A’s (43-2) to a 10-6 victory over the Texas Rangers (35-36).

“It’s pretty amazing. It’s quiet a luxury. We have three guys that can start in a number of places,” said Melvin on the three catchers.

Norris, who came in for Jaso in the bottom of the sixth got his night started right when he launched a three run home run to left field off of Rangers pitcher Shawn Tolleson. Then in the eighth with Donaldson and Crisp aboard he hit a double that scored two more runs. Norris ended the night with two hits and five RBI off the bench.

Melvin praised Norris by saying, “He’s done it before coming off the bench. He has a knack. He’s ready for the situation. He knows how to pinch hit. You don’t play for a majority of the game and you end up with 5 RBI means you’re taking advantage of your opportunities.”

Texas pitch Yu Darvish (7-3) suffered his third loss of the year and is now 1-8 against the A’s lifetime.

“His stuff is so good and on top of that he has seven different pitches. We’ve been really fortunate, we’ve made him work and a few guys square him up and have some good numbers off of him. But he’s about as good as you get,” said Melvin.

Vogt, who went 3 for 3 off of Darvish said, “I saw him pretty well today, fortunately saw three pitches to hit and hit all three of them. He’s such a good pitcher and we’ve been fortunate enough to have success against him. I don’t have anything to explain that.”

On his night, Norris said “I’ve worked pretty hard on making my swing more consistent, just more level of a bat path, but ultimately trying to stay in the zone as long as I can with the bat. The longer you’re in the zone, the more chances you have of barreling the ball. So that’s my main goal, and I’ve worked hard on it. It’s paying off.”

Tommy Milone (5-3) who started the game for the A’s had a decent night as he went 5 2/3 innings with three strike outs and three runs. Milone’s nemesis has been the first inning this year and today was no different as he gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead off of a single from Adrian Beltre.

However in the bottom of the second the A’s had three runs cross the plate with two runs coming because of a single by Alberto Callaspo and single from Vogt. In the fourth, the A’s added to their lead when after two stolen bases by Eric Sogard, Coco Crisp was able to hit a sac fly to bring Sogard home and make it a 4-1 Oakland lead.

In the top of the fifth, the Rangers Rougned Odor hit his third homer of the year and brought the score to 4-2. The A’s responded in the bottom of the inning with another RBI from Vogt to make bring the lead back to three and a 5-2 score.

The Rangers added a run in the top of the sixth and bring the lead back to two but then in the bottom of the sixth is when Norris came in. Norris knocked his pinch hit homer  and made it a 8-3 game.

The Rangers tried to make it interesting as they added three runs in the top of the 7th but in the bottom of the 8th, Norris came up to the plate and hit his eleventh double of the year to make it a 10-6 final.

“D-No is such a good baseball player,” said Vogt. “He’s having an All-Star caliber year, and I hope that gets recognized. What he’s done off the bench, just what I’ve been fortunate enough to witness, it’s incredible the way he comes in, he doesn’t get big, he doesn’t try to do too much and comes through all the time.”

The A’s and Rangers close out the series tomorrow when Sonny Gray (6-3) goes against Nick Tepsch (2-2), game time 12:35 pm PST.

Huge Third Inning Lifts A’s to Sweep of Rangers

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland Athletics (18-10) rode a huge seven-run third inning to exact revenge on the hosting Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park, sweeping their American League West foes one week after suffering the same fate at the hands of the enemy from the Lone Star State. With the series win, including a 12-1 game three blowout over the 2010 and 2011 World Series Runner-ups, the A’s now sit three games ahead of the Rangers (15-13) for first in the division, with the green and gold owning the best record in the AL.

Jesse Chaves (2-0, 1.89 ERA) pitched seven innings of one-hit baseball, surrendering no runs on eight strikeouts and a lone walk. Oakland tagged Rangers starter Robbie Ross Jr. (1-2, 3.86) for 10 runs, six earned, over 3 1/3 innings. The Athletics also knocked Rangers relievers Alexi Ogando and Shawn Tolleson for a run apiece.

Josh Donaldson, Yoenis Cespedes and Eric Sogard had RBI base hits in a seven-run third inning. Alberto Callaspo and Nick Punto also knocked in runs on outs in the frame. Derek Norris hit a run-scoring single in the fourth, as did Sogard to make it a 10-0 A’s lead. Callaspo plated Donaldson on a fifth-inning single off Ogando and Crisp launched a solo home run, his third of the season, to right center with two outs in the sixth to complete the A’s 12-run day.

Josh Wilson connected on an RBI double off reliever Luke Gregerson in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Rangers their lone score in the series finale. Jim Johnson gave up one hit in the ninth to finish off the A’s sweep of their divisional rival.

The A’s continue their road trip in first place, traveling to Boston to face the reigning World Series Champion Red Sox for a three-game set. The A’s will send Dan Straily to the mound to open the series after an off-day Thursday. The Red Sox rotation is yet to be set with a double-header against the Tampa Bay Rays on the books after a rainout Wednesday night.