Faulty Replays and Seering Heat: A’s suffer setbacks in 5-3 series deciding loss to San Diego

OAKLAND–With the heat on like never before at the Coliseum, the A’s wilted on Sunday afternoon in the rubber game with the Padres.

Tied 2-2 in the third, a video replay of a bang-bang tag play on baserunner Rex Grossman figured to be reversed, allowing the A’s to regain the lead.

Despite replays from four angles–all revealing but not completely transparent–the league office review crew upheld umpire Nick Mahrley’s call of out.

In an empty stadium, the groans emanating from the A’s dugout spoke volumes. The replays seemed to support the A’s contention that Grossman’s foot crossed the plate before pitcher Garrett Richards’ sweeping tag was applied.

“When you think you have a run and you don’t have a run, that’s tough to swallow,” A’s starter Mike Fiers said.

The momentum shift was all the Padres–winners of five of their last seven games in the midst of their trade deadline talent upgrade–would need. Jake Cronenworth’s RBI double allowed San Diego to regain the lead in the fourth, and Fernando Tatis Jr.’s league-leading 15th home run finished the A’s in a 5-3 decision.

The loss capped a week of vulnerability for Oakland starting with four consecutive COVID-19 cancellations attributed to Daniel Mengden’s positive test, then an injury to Marcus Semien took the always available shortstop out of the lineup and on to the 10-day injured list.

On Sunday, the temperature shot up to 94 degrees at first pitch resulting in the hottest home game in Oakland A’s history. If all that wasn’t enough struggling Matt Chapman was removed in the fifth inning because of a hip injury.

Chapman struck out in both of his at-bats on Sunday, and eight times in his previous nine at-bats going back to Friday night. In making a flawless scoop, spin and throw to retire Jurickson Profar in the fourth, Chapman apparently aggravated a previous flare-up in his hip. Under the watchful eye of the A’s training staff, the third baseman was replaced by Chad Pinder before the start of the fifth.

The A’s have dropped four of their last five, but maintain a 3 1/2 game lead on the Astros on the eve of a five games in four days set against Houston that could settle the division for Oakland or prepare the stage for a photo finish in the season’s final 15 games.

Given the importance of the upcoming series the absences of Houston’s Jose Altuve along with Semien and Chapman will be significant.

“It’s not great timing,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We have a lot of teams with injuries right now. We’ve been pretty fortunate.”

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s rolling good enough to catch Houston in second half

Photo credit: bleacherreport.com

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Jerry, the A’s are opening the second half of the season with a record of 50-41. They for a good part of the first half were a team in last place in the A.L. West. What were some of the factors that lifted them out of the cellar to second place and just seven games out of first place?

#2 The A’s have been getting some great offensive help, but it’s looking up and down that lineup with some of the key bats and key support that they’ve got that have helped the along the way.

#3 Going into the second half, the A’s will continue to try and figure their nemesis, the Houston Astros. The Astros are chalked with talent up and down their lineup, the A’s face the Astros in a couple of weeks, and when that time comes, the Astros will be an important series.

#4 The A’s are in need to get some starting pitching they won’t get Jharel Cotton is reportedly developing well on his come back while Daniel Mengden, who made a comeback, threw an outstanding game on his return to the A’s.

#5 Second half of the season getting ready to get started the A’s are opening things up hosting the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. For the Sox, Ivan Nova (4-7, 5.58 ERA), and for Oakland, Mike Fiers (8-3, 3.87 ERA).

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s chipping away at Astros first place lead in AL West

Khris Davis and the A’s came into Seattle for their series with the Mariners on a roll. (AP)

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey F:

#1 Joey tells us about A’s catcher Chris Herrmann’s big day on 4th of July last Thursday a grand slam, four hits and a run scored it was the last time Herrmann was in the line up but he made the best of it.

#2 The A’s are going well right now winning four of their last seven games. They’ve won two out of three from the Los Angeles Angels, A’s won two out of three from the Minnesota Twins, and on their trip to Seattle the A’s took the first game 5-2 and lost the second game on Saturday 6-3.

#3 The A’s have been getting pitching even in the loss on Saturday they got some substance from their starter Tanner Anderson who went 4.2 innings, nine hits, one earned run with two walks and three strikeouts.

#4 You can never tell what can happen on any given day in baseball the Mariners are a last place team but they battled A’s on Saturday and scored run in the middle innings but the A’s on the other hand are chipping away at the Houston Astros seven game lead in the AL West.

#5 A’s and Mariners conclude their three game series on Sunday the A’s will start Daniel Mengden (3-1 ERA 4.67) the Mariners starter Matt Carasiti (0-0 ERA 1.80). This will be the last game ending the first half of the season before the All Star game in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Twins come into Oakland as 1 of the hottest teams in the AL

Photo credit: @Twins

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The A’s open a three-game series at the Oakland Coliseum against the Minnesota Twins. The A’s are coming off a 5-1 road trip for A’s manager Bob Melvin winning on the road is crucial.

#2 How impressive the race has become the A’s are in second place in the American League West and are second in the AL for the wild card?

#3 The Twins are at the Coliseum and for three and are the leading team in the AL Central 50-30 and eight games in front of Cleveland.

#4 The Twins are potent. Nine of the hitters that they have in the lineup have hit 10 home runs this season so to say the Twins are having a good season is an understatement.

#5 It’s the Twins and A’s on Tuesday night at the Coliseum. Starting for the Twins Jake Odorizzi (10-3, 2.73 ERA), and for the A’s, Daniel Mengden (2-1, 4.03 ERA).

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s Thursday off day report: Preview of A’s-Mariners series starting Friday

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s return home after a successful 6-2 road trip. The A’s were beating the Tigers in one game that was suspended due to bad weather. That game will be completed when the Tigers play the A’s in September. The two losses on the trip happened when the A’s played the Mariners in Seattle.

The Mariners and A’s have met four times this season, and the M’s have won them all. The A’s lost the first two in Japan to open the season and the last two in Seattle on May 13th and 14th. The games in Seattle were close. The Mariners won on May 13th 6-5 even though the A’s hit five home runs in that game. They beat the A’s again on May 14th, 4-3. Since that time the A’s won three in Detroit and three in Cleveland.

The A’s have also moved up in the standings in the AL Central. Oakland ‘s record is 25-25, and they are in third place just 1/2 game behind the surprising Texas Rangers. Seattle, on the other hand, played well to start the season but have fallen on hard times. They currently reside in last place in the AL West with a record of 23-29. They have lost 3 in a row and are 3-7 in their previous 10 games.

The Mariners have placed several key players on the 10-day IL. They include second baseman Dee Gordon, first baseman Ryon Healy, pitcher King Felix Hernandez, and third baseman Kyle Seager.

The Mariners still have a potent lineup. First baseman Daniel Vogelbach, DH Edwin Encarnacion, outfielders Jay Bruce, Domingo Santana, and Mitch Haniger all have power, and all of them have hurt the A’s with their bats. Infielder Tim Beckham has also punished the A’s with his power.

The pitching matchups for the series will be the following. On Friday, Oakland will send Daniel Mengden (1-1 3.65 ERA) out to pitch. Mengden is 0-2 with an ERA of 5.89 in four career starts against the Mariners. The Mariners will counter with lefty Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc, in his last outing against the Minnesota Twins, went 2 and 1/3rd innings and gave up seven hits and seven runs. LeBlanc missed five weeks due to a strained oblique. In two starts against the A’s last year, LeBlanc held the A’s scoreless for eleven innings.

Saturdays’ game will feature Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.05 ERA) going for his fourth win of the year. Fiers has an ERA of 2.53 over his last five starts, and that includes the no-hitter that he had against the Cincinnati Reds. Fiers is 2-2 with an ERA of 6.36 in 10 starts against Seattle. Rookie Yusei Kikuchi (3-1, ERA 3.43) will go for the M’s. Kikuchi is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.03 in his last four starts.

On Sunday, The A’s will have lefty Brett Anderson on the mound. Anderson (5-3, ERA 4.14)is returning to action after he left the game last Monday in Cleveland with a cervical strain. Anderson is 8-5 and has an ERA of 2.38 in 20 games against the M’s. Mike Leake goes for Seattle. Leake is 3-5 for the year and has an ERA of 4.73. Leake is 2-2 against Oakland in nine career starts.

The A’s are playing better as the offense has come alive and the pitching has been better. The A’s have seen improvement from Chris Bassitt, Mike Fiers, and Frankie Montas. Anderson has pitched well, and Mengden is still a work in progress.

Following the three-game series with Seattle, the A’s will face the LA Angels and then host the first-place Houston Astros.

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s getting great starting pitching and timely hitting during their 3-game win streak

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 Nothing cures the Oakland A’s like a road trip to Detroit. The A’s have won three of the four games after struggling to open the road trip in Seattle early in the week.

#2 The 4-1 win on Saturday over the Tigers marks their 15th consecutive win over Detroit.

#3 A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden got the win for Oakland, pitching seven innings, one earned run, three hits and five strikeouts, 95 pitches and 62 for strikes.

#4 A’s catcher Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer to help the cause. Hundley has been a plus behind the plate and with the bat

#5 To conclude Sunday’s contest in Detroit the A’s will start former Tiger Mike Fiers (3-3, 5.12 ERA) vs. Detroit’s Gregory Soto (0-2, 13.50 ERA).

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s make it three wins in a row over the Tigers with a 4-1 victory on Saturday

Graphic/Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics would be very happy to play the Detroit Tigers every day for the rest of the season. On Saturday afternoon in Detroit, the A’s defeated the Tigers for the 15th consecutive time. That winning streak dates back to May 6, 2017, which means Oakland has not lost a game to Detroit in over two years. That is nothing short of incredible.

The Mustached One wants to stay in Oakland

The pitcher with the handlebar mustache — Daniel Mengden — made his second start of the season for the A’s on Saturday. He made it a quality start by working seven complete innings. Mengden allowed one run (earned) off three hits. He struck out five Detroit hitters while walking just two batters.

Mengden threw 95 pitches (62 strikes) en route to his first win of the 2019 season. This outstanding performance may have earned Mengden a regular spot in the A’s starting rotation.

Lou Trivino relieved Mengden in the eighth inning and held the lead for the starter. Trivino allowed no runs and gave up just one hit.

Blake Treinen came on in the ninth inning to close it out for Oakland. He did not allow the Tigers to score and gave up just one hit. He also struck out one batter. Treinen earned his seventh save of the season.

Graphic/Photo: @Athletics

The A’s scored first and never looked back

The Athletics put the first runs up on the board in the top of the third inning when Nick Hundley hit a home run to right field with Profar on base to give his team a 2-0 lead. Ultimately, that would be all the runs Oakland would need to win the game, but they were not done scoring for the day.

In the top the fifth inning, Jurickson Profar hit his fifth double of the year to left field that drove Robbie Grossman home to score the A’s third run of the contest.

Chad Pinder put the icing on the cake in the top of the seventh inning when he hit his fifth home run of the year to left center field to give the A’s a 4-1 lead.

The Tigers scored their only run in the fourth inning when Ronny Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch thrown by Mengden.

Boyd took the loss for the Tigers

Graphic/Photo: @Tigers

Matthew Boyd made the start for Detroit and he was hung with the loss. Boyd worked 6.1-innings giving up four runs (all earned) on seven hits. He struck out eight Oakland hitters, but he also allowed two home runs.

Boyd’s record now stands at 4-4 for the season.

Season Series Finale on Sunday

The A’s and Tigers will wrap up their 2019 season series on Sunday in Detroit. Former Tigers pitcher Mike Fiers (3-3) will take the ball for the A’s while LHP Gregory Soto (0-2) gets the call to the mound for the Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 AM Pacific Daylight Savings Time.

Home Heroics Take A Day: A’s fail to rally, lose series finale to the Indians

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — No longer stuck in last place after winning four of five, the A’s could have leapfrogged the Mariners, Rangers and Angels in the AL West on Sunday by sweeping the Indians at the Coliseum.

Instead, they couldn’t muster a third day of last at-bat heroics, losing the series finale to Cleveland, 5-3. Now the A’s face a far, different reality: hitting the road for a nine-game trip–where they’ve been dreadful–while staring at a season-worst 7 1/2 game deficit behind the first place Astros.

Call it the Mother’s Day swing, and we’re not talking about Dallas Braden parading his grandmother across the diamond. At some point, the A’s figure to play better baseball, but they don’t want to get to far behind in the division. Back-to-back playoff appearances would be great, but the A’s want no part of the crap shoot as a wild card again.

“You’re not playing great, you’ve got to find ways to win the games,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We did, obviously some dramatic and late. The offense still isn’t what we expect it to be. It will come around.”

Offensively, the A’s weren’t much better than they were on the 1-8 road trip that ended a week ago. They foraged 43 hits and a barely bearable 17 runs on the six-game home stand, but they won. Winning four of six was a nice bounce back, but not quite what 5-1 would have meant.

“Would have liked to sweep them today, but [if] we keep winning series, we’ll be in a good spot,” said Matt Olson, who advanced his offensive game by homering for the first time this season.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s get that walkoff feeling as the comeback team in series with Cleveland

photo from mercurynews.com: Oakland Athletics reliever Liam Hendriks (16) throws in the ninth inning of their MLB game against the Boston Red Sox at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The Oakland A’s came away on Saturday with their second straight walkoff win over Cleveland in a narrow 2-1 win. In baseball, the critics once said signs of a good club is one that can come back from behind.

#2 The A’s have improved their home record to 14-9 at the Coliseum and have taken the first two games of this current series with Cleveland.

#3 The Oakland A’s Liam Hendricks, who started the ballgame as an opener, succeeded in striking out a batter, surrendering one hit and pitching one inning the opener concept in this one worked out.

#4 The A’s reliever Aaron Brooks came in the second inning and pitched four innings giving up four hits and striking out four and his game plan worked out in setting the Cleveland order down.

#5 The A’s and Cleveland conclude this three-game series at the Coliseum. Jefry Rodriguez (0-2, 2.41 ERA) he’ll counter against newly recalled Daniel Mengden (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who was just recalled from the A’s triple A affiliate Las Vegas.

Joey does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: After a complete rotation change last season, A’s try to keep pitching staff healthy

Photo credit: nbcsports.com

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Jerry talks about the progress of A’s pitchers Jharel Cotton and A.J. Puk. After both pitchers had surgery, how ready are they to come back this season?

#2 A’s pitcher Jesus Luzardo has been impressive in spring training on Thursday. He struck out three batters and didn’t give up a hit in two innings. Do you see him winning a starting spot and what role will manager Bob Melvin use him in?

#3 A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden got rattled in facing his first three hitters and got behind 2-0, but recovered — not giving up a run for two more innings. Jerry talks about Mengden’s spring.

#4 A’s pitches Blake Treinnen and Lou Trivino both threw two perfect innings striking out two batters. With their experience and what they got in the tank, what kind of spring training have they had?

#5 With the A’s starting rotation turned over from last season, will they struggle to keep guys healthy this season? Their pitching looks very sharp this spring.

Jerry does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com