The A’s devour the Tigers 10-2 on Saturday night in Oakland

Graphic: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee @Charlieo1320

Oakland — The Oakland Athletics (83-59) did exactly what they had to do on Saturday night – beat up on a lesser opponent. The “Rooted in Oakland” crew demolished the lowly Detroit Tigers (42-99) by the score of 10-2. The Tigers have the worst record in all of Major League Baseball and have been eliminated from any possibility of playing in postseason in 2019.

The A’s realistically are destined to play in the AL Wild Card game. They want desperately to be the home team in that game. To be the home team, the A’s need wins and wins should come easier over teams that have losing records. It is truly a “survival of the fittest” environment from now until the end of the regular season.

The A’s have only four games remaining to play against a team with a winning record. They begin a four-game series in Houston on Monday night with the Astros who are tied with the Yankees for the best record in the majors at 93-50. Their other 16 games are with Detroit (1), Texas (6), Kansas City (3), LAA (2) and Seattle (4). The A’s must devour the weak in order to come out on top.

Chris Bassitt worked hard to earn a win

Bassitt struggled in the first two innings of the game on Saturday night. After giving up two hits in the top of first, Bassitt was bailed out by a 6-1-4 double play that is detailed later in this story.

In the top of the second, the A’s starter faced seven Detroit hitters. He gave up two runs off three hits and he hit a batter. The Tigers left two runners on base. Despite having some difficulties, Bassitt struck out three batters and appeared to be starting to find himself.

Bassitt would go on to pitch 6.0-innings giving up just the two runs (both earned) off eight hits. He walked none but did hit one Detroit batter. Bassitt struck out 11 Tigers in 6.0-innings on the mound. That is a career high for Bassitt and the most for an A’s pitcher in a game this season.

After the game, Bob Melvin said, “Bassitt often gets better as he goes along in a game. He also gave our bullpen a break by going six innings.”

Bassitt is now 10-5 on the season with a 3.64 ERA. This is the first time Oakland has had three 10-game winners since 2013 when they had five.

Wild Card Standings

The A’s now have sole possession of the second Wild Card slot in the American League. They are one game back of Tampa Bay (85-59) who is in the number one spot and would host the one-game playoff if the season ended today.

The Indians are 1.5-games behind the A’s for the second spot in the Wild Card race at 82-61. Boston is 7.0-games back and has an elimination number of 14. It would take a miracle and a massive collapse by the Rays, A’s or Indians for the Red Sox to become a part of the race.

Focus on the A’s

Olson gets congratulated Photo: @Athletics

• Matt Olson went 4-for-4 in the game. He hit his 29^th home run of the season in the fifth inning off Jordan Zimmerman on 1-2 pitch that sailed into the right-field seats. Olson also added three RBI to bring his total for the season to 73. He also extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
• Jurickson Profar matched his career high for home runs when he hit number 20 of the season in the second inning off Zimmerman. Profar is batting .340 over his last 15 games. He has also been very helpful to his team by being able to play both outfield and infield as needed.
• Matt Chapman hit his 32^nd home of the season in the eighth inning which ties Eric Chavez for the most in a season by an Athletics third baseman.
• Oakland now has six players with 20-plus home runs which is a franchise record.
• A’s pitchers combined for a total of 19 strike outs on Saturday night – a season high.

Spotlight on Detroit

• Jordan Zimmerman allowed six earned runs for the first time since July 19. He previously had allowed a total of seven earned runs in four career starts against the A’s. Zimmerman is now 1-10 on the season.
• Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-4 in the game which gave him a team-leading 38^th multiple-hit game for 2019. It was also the 804^th multiple-hit game of his career tying him with Ivan Rodriguez for 39^th-most in MLB history.
• Harold Castro had 4-for-4 game with the bat with two RBI for the Tigers. That tied his season high.
• The Tigers have not had a winning record versus the AL West since 2014. They are 53-112 against the division since 2015.

Up next

LHP Sean Manaea (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will take the ball for the A’s and make his second start of the season to close out this three-game series with the Tigers. He had a no-decision in first start of the season last Sunday in New York against the Yankees. The Tigers will counter with LHP Daniel Norris (3-11, 4.76 ERA). He had a no-decision in his last start on Tuesday in Kansas City.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:07 PM at the Oakland Coliseum.

Shouldn’t the infield fly rule have been called?

In the top of the first inning with runners at first and second and one out, the Tigers Christin Stewart hit an infield fly into foul territory on the third-base side. The wind then pushed the ball back into the field of play. Matt Chapman attempted to catch the ball but was unable to do so. Marcus Semien picked the ball up and tossed it to Bassitt who was covering third. The pitcher stepped on the bag and Harold Castro – the runner at second was called out. Bassitt then alertly threw the ball to Profar who stepped on second base and Miguel Cabrera – the runner at first was called out on what scored as a 6-1-4 double play.

As a former amateur umpire, I was immediately looking for one of the four umpires to have his right arm up in the air to indicate that the infield fly rule was in effect. I was shocked when no call such call was being made. So was Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire who immediately came out to discuss the situation with the Homeplate umpire – Dan Bellino.

The umpires explained that the infield fly rule is to be called when the ball can be caught with “ordinary effort”. The “men in blue” said in their opinion Chapman would have needed to use extraordinary effort to have made the catch of Stewart’s fly ball, so the infield fly rule did not apply.

In this reporter’s opinion (and as a former umpire), the umpiring crew was caught off guard when an apparent foul ball came back into fair territory.

 

Giants crush A’s 10-5 in game three of the Bay Bridge Series 2

Graphic: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The A’s literally snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory on Saturday night as they watched a 4-2 lead going into the top of the eighth inning be wiped out when the San Francisco exploded for eight runs on seven hits off five Oakland pitchers. It was simply a stunning rally that the A’s did not see coming.

For the Giants, it felt like they had pent up emotion and energy that just had to be released. Madison Bumgarner did his best to keep his team in the game to give them the chance to win. When the A’s pitching staff gave the Giants the slightest of openings, the men from across the Bay took the opportunity and did the most with it.

The Giants took game one (game 3 of 4 total) of the Bay Bridge Series in Oakland 10-5 on Saturday night before 56,367 fans who were treated their money’s worth for coming out to the ballpark. The Giants scored 10 runs off 13 hits and left six men on base. For the A’s, they put five runs up on the board on 10 hits while leaving 10 men on base and committing one error. The game took three hours and 50 minutes to complete.

The Giants record for the season improved to 64-65 with the victory while the A’s fell to 74-54 on the year. San Francisco is now 5.0 games out the second Wild Card spot in the National League. The A’s are 0.5 games behind the Rays for the second Wild Card slot in the American League.

In this type of game where 14 pitchers were used, determining the winning and losing pitcher is almost “voodoo” science. Sam Coonrod (3-0) gets credit for the win while Yusmeiro Petit(3-3) was tagged with the loss.

Neither starter figured into the final decision

Chris Bassitt pitched 5.2 innings for the A’s on Saturday night. The right-hander ran into some trouble as he started through the Giants order for the third time. He gave up a home run to Brandon Crawford on 0-1 pitch with two out in the top of the fifth inning. In the top of the sixth inning, Evan Longoria drove in Alex Dickerson from second base to tie the game at 2-2. That would be all for Bassitt as he was replaced on the mound by Jake Diekman.

Bassitt gave up two runs (both earned) off four hits (1 HR). He struck out five Giants and walked none. Bassitt threw 92 pitches (64 strikes).

Madison Bumgarner worked 5.0 innings for San Francisco in the contest. He also gave up two runs. The first run came off a leadoff home run by Mark Canha in the home half of the second inning that easily cleared the left-field fence. The A’s touched “Mad Bum” for another run in the bottom of the third inning.

Jurickson Profar walked to lead off the third for Oakland. Josh Phegley then singled to left field which moved Profar to second base. With one out, Matt Chapman hit a double to left that drove Profar in from second base to score the A’s second run of the game. The A’s took a temporary 2-0 at that point.

Bumgarner also gave up two runs (both earned) on two hits (1 HR). He struck five A’s and walked one. Bumgarner threw 97 pitches (64 strikes).

Did I just see a sacrifice?

Jurickson Profar was the leadoff hitter for the A’s in the bottom of the seventh, and he hit a double to right field. Catcher Josh Phegley then laid down a sacrifice bunt on the third-base side of the infield that moved Profar to third base (yes, everyone including the Giants was surprised). Marcus Semien followed up with an RBI single to left field. Matt Chapman singled to center sending Semien to third base. That would all for Giants reliever Jandel Gustave who would be replaced by Fernando Abad.

Matt Olson was the first Athletic to face Abad, and he hit a single to right that drove Semien home to score the fourth run of the game for Oakland. That would end the scoring for the A’s in the seventh inning and gave them a 4-2 lead, which proved to be not enough.

That’s a lot of fans! Graphic: @Athletics

Focus on the A’s

• Mark Canha hit his 20th home run of the year off Bumgarner in the second inning of the game. He also extended his hitting streak to eight games.
• The A’s now have five players with 20-plus home runs on the season: Canha (20), Chapman (29), Laureano (21), Olson (26), and Semien (22).
• Oakland has a record of 22-11 versus left-handed starters in 2019.

Spotlight on the Giants

• Brandon Crawford hit his 10th home run of the season in the win on Saturday night and his first home since July 15 at Colorado.
• Kevin Pillar has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games and is hitting .397 over that stretch.
• Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 in the game, was hit-by-pitch and posted two RBI. He is hitting .347 since June 30.

Up next

The Bay Bridge Series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 1:07 PM at the Coliseum. The Giants will send rookie RHP Logan Webb (1-0, 1.80 era) to the hill to make his second start of the season. He made his major league debut last Saturday in Arizona picked up the win. Expect quite a few fans in the stands rooting for Webb who grew up in Rocklin just east of Sacramento.

The A’s will counter with LHP Brett Anderson (10-9, 4.06 era). Anderson has been having a rough go of things as he is 1-4 with a 5.02 ERA in his last five starts. Run support has been a big issue for Anderson. The A’s have provided three runs or fewer in 14 of his last 17 starts. Anderson was the losing pitcher in the game with the Giants in San Francisco on August 13.

Player’s Weekend Uni’s

The black and white themed uniforms created an interesting effect on the field Saturday night. It was really a throwback feel. In fact, I felt like I was watching the movie “Eight Men Out” at times.

I really liked the all-black uniforms the Giants wore as the visiting team. They were as the guy says in the SUV commercial — “sharp!”. The all-white worn by the A’s were had a very clean look, but the lettering and numerals were washed out. If they had outlined the lettering and numbers in black, the home uniforms would have been “sharp”.

The A’s pitchers did wear black hats because it was determined that the hitters were having trouble picking the baseball up against the all-white caps.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: After 10 days on the road, A’s host Astros on Thursday night

Photo credit: athleticsnation.com

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Stephen Piscotty has been out with the flu and had an injury earlier this season. How important is it to have him back in right field and back in the lineup?

#2 A’s second baseman Jurickson Profar continues to struggle with the glove and the A’s have called up minor leaguer Corban Joseph. Joseph was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Joseph hit .371, an OPS of 1.006, 13 homers, 73 RBIs, 63 runs in 381 at-bats.

#3 The A’s started Chad Pinder at second on Tuesday night against the Giants’ Pinder, whose been clutch in late innings, and wasn’t able to help the A’s overcome a one-run deficit. He struck out four times and was 0-4 against the Giants at the plate.

#4 A’s pitcher Sean Manaea is a work in progress, going 5 2/3 innings against in rehab at Triple-A Las Vegas in the game. He gave up a run and had 10 strikeouts and A’s manager Bob Melvin is anxious to get him back.

#5 The A’s host the Houston Astros on Thursday night. It’s the A’s first time back home after a 10-day road trip. The Astros, who lead the AL West will start Aaron Sanchez (5-14, 5.60 ERA) and for the A’s Mike Fiers (11-3, 3.30 ERA).

Join Jerry for the A’s podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stingy Athletics: A’s shut down Cardinals in series finale, 4-2

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — It just so happened that the 163rd start of Tanner Roark’s seven-year, major league career intersected with the 117th big league game appearance of Dustin Garneau’s in a way that neither could have anticipated a week ago.

But they were–pitcher and catcher–making it up as they went, the best way that they knew how–in Oakland of all places.

Except that it wasn’t always apparent they were good at making it up, or going about it the best way. Not against a focused St. Louis lineup, stealing bases, and intent on avoiding a sweep.

Roark needed 95 pitches to get through four innings, 35 of those to end the third scoreless when Marcell Ozuna struck out with the bases loaded.

“Just how we drew it up,” said Roark, tongue in cheek.

The Garneau/Roark act, a trade deadline concoction, if there ever was one, surely had the Coliseum crowd fidgeting. But it was a veteran production, and it was effective. Roark departed after five frames, allowing four hits, in possession of a newly cemented 2-1 lead.

“He didn’t want any part of coming out of that game after four,” said manager Bob Melvin of Roark, who threw 109 pitches and got the win. “He felt great. If I’d have run him out there for the sixth, he’d have been all for it. He was throwing to corners still. Every pitch mattered to him.”

Filled with guts and gile (Melvin called Roark “a bulldog”), the outing was taking advantage of the trade deadline, at its best–a contending club getting an injection of energy at the season’s critical point. For five innings the A’s were in the hands of a pair of capable veterans enthusiastic about winning after spending the beginning of their seasons without winning, or in Garneau’s case, without a regular role.

That the two knew little of each other mattered little. They made it work.

“It’s a dance, pretty much,” said Garneau, picked up off waivers from the Angels as a stopgap until the A’s catching corps regains its health. “The more you can get on tempo, you just kind of let him lead.”

Offensively, the A’s were pesky, getting veteran starter Adam Wainwright off his game to the tune of three drawn walks and two hit batsmen. Those two–Stephen Piscotty and Mark Canha–came around to score the A’s first runs in the fourth, on Garneau’s two-out double.

That was one of only two hard hit balls Wainwright allowed. The other–Jurickson Profar’s home run in the sixth–made it 3-1 A’s and abruptly ended Wainwright’s afternoon.

“That was the key to the game right there,” Wainwright said of Profar’s homer and the two pitches that hit Piscotty and Canha. “I have to execute better pitches there.”

The A’s swept the season series with St. Louis 4-0 with the win, and the Cardinals were knocked out of first place in the NL Central as a result. The A’s kept pace with the Rays who swept Miami, and within striking distance of the Indians, who swept the Angels.

Only the Red Sox were made to suffer in the AL Wild Card chase this weekend. Boston was swept at Yankee Stadium, leaving them 6 1/2 games behind Cleveland, and their postseason aspirations on life support.

The A’s start their week in Chicago with the Cubs on Monday, then after an off day Thursday, take on the White Sox over the weekend. The A’s have won six of seven, but they’ll be pushed on the road trip with top starters Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and Lucas Giolito scheduled to face them.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O for Jerry Feitelberg: 6 home runs for A’s, but is the ball really juiced?; Bailey makes debut

Photo credit sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Mark Canha, right, is congratulated by third base coach Matt Williams (4) after hitting a home run off Seattle Mariners’ Tommy Milone in the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 17, 2019, in Oakland, Calif

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O for Jerry Feitelberg:

#1 Is the ball juiced? There were six home runs hit during the A’s-Mariners game in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon.

#2 A’s hit six home runs Wednesday from Jurickson Profar 12th and 13th, Mark Canha 14th and 15th, Chad Pinder 8th, and Ramon Laureano 19th. In this lineup, you just never know who is going to get a base knock, but on Wednesday, it was everybody.

#3 A’s starter Homer Bailey debuted for Oakland pitching six innings, two earned runs and six strikeouts. He might be what the doctor ordered for the A’s rotation.

#4 The Mariners have had a rough trip so far in Anaheim. They got no hit on Tyler Skaggs night. the odds were not with them that night, then in Oakland, the Mariners getting swept in a two-game series by a hot A’s club. Most likely will be sellers at the trade deadline.

#5 A’s head to Minnesota for a four-game series starting on Thursday night at Target Field. For the A’s, Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.61 ERA), and for the Twins, Kyle Gibson (8-4, 4.03 ERA).

Catch the A’s podcast with Charlie O for Jerry Feitelberg Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s shutout Angels 4-0 on Saturday night in Anaheim

Brett Anderson gave up just two hits on Saturday night Photo: @Athltetics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics won their second consecutive game over the Angels on Saturday night 4-0. The A’s combined strong pitching and key hitting to stop “the Halos” in their tracks.

The win upped the Athletics record to 45-39 for the season and made them 4-1 on this six-game road trip. They are 7.0 games behind first-place Houston and 1.5 games back of second-place Texas. Oakland is now 1.5 games out of the Wild Card race.

Pitching was key for the A’s

Brett Anderson had an outstanding start for the Athletics on Saturday night. He was able to work 7.2-innings of shutout baseball. Anderson allowed just two hits, two walks and struck out three Los Angeles batters. He threw 100 pitches (63 strikes). Anderson’s record improved to 8-5 for the year.

Liam Hendricks came in to close out the game for Oakland. Hendricks worked 1.1-innings giving up one hit and striking out two. It was not a save situation for Hendricks.

A’s used their power to score

Chapman hit home run #20 on Saturday night Photo: @Athletics

Oakland put three runs up on the board in the fifth inning. Marcus Semien doubled to left field to send Jurickson Profar home to score. For Semien, it was his 19th double and 42nd RBI of the season.

Also in the fifth inning, Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run (20) with Semien on base. That gave the A’s a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the seventh inning, Josh Phegley hit a single to right field that allowed Profar to score again. That put the A’s up 4-0.

The four-game series concludes on Sunday

Oakland will send Chris Bassitt (4-3, 3.86) to the hill to face off against Andrew Heaney (1-1, 4.99). The first pitch is scheduled for 1:07 PM.

A’s come alive in an 11-2 rout of the Mariners on Saturday night

Mark Canha was ready for the cold temperatures Photo @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — After losing the opening contest of this 10-game homestand, the Athletics (36-35) were intent on getting back into the win column on Saturday night against the last-place Seattle Mariners (30-44). The A’s jumped on the Mariners early scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and they never looked back en route to an 11-2 win over Seattle.

The A’s had their good luck piece in Frankie Montas on the mound for them in the game. On June 4, Montas put an end to a five-game losing streak when he beat the Angels in Anaheim 4-2. Montas picked his club up again on June 9 when he helped to put them back into the win column after a demoralizing doubleheader loss in Texas.

Montas picked his club up again as he pitched 6.0-innings allowing just two runs (earned) off six hits. Montas struck out nine Mariners and walked just one. He threw 93 pitches (60 strikes). Montas upped his record to 9-2 for the season which has to put him into consideration for the All-Star team.

If Montas continues to pick his club up as he has done in his last three starts, his new nickname will have to be “the fixer”.

Montas Line Graphic: @Athletics

An Important Western Division Win

Oakland entered the game with a 16-19 record versus teams in the Western Division of the American League. In fact, only one team in their division has a winning record inside the Western Division. Houston is 21-6 while the other four teams have losing records. The A’s can help themselves by beating the teams they play the most over the course of the season.

By the way, the A’s are the best versus the America League Central where they have won eight games and lost only once.

Focus on the A’s

Semien had a big night with the bat Photo @Athletics

• Marcus Semien went 3-for-4 in the game. He hit his 10th home of the season on a 2-1 count off Wade LeBlanc. Semien now has a 12-game hitting streak.
• Jurickson Profar also went 3-for-4 and posted four RBI. He leads the team with 39 runs batted in. Profar is batting .333 for the month of June.
• Matt Chapman had a 2-for-4 game with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Mark Canha hit his fifth double of the season and scored three runs.

Seattle Notes

• The M’s committed four errors in the game. It was the third time this season Seattle has made four miscues in a game.
• “The Opener” — Gerson Bautista (0-1) took the loss as he gave up three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
• Domingo Santana went 2-for-4 in the game. He is batting .354 (17-for-48) with nine walks, one double, three home runs, seven RBI, and four walks over last 11 games.
• Mallex Smith went hitless and snapped a career-high 13-game hitting streak.
• Factoid: There has been at least one home run hit in all 74 games that the Mariners have played this season. That is the longest streak in a single season in MLB history.

Mariners skipper watched the game on TV

Seattle manager Scott Servais was sent to the showers in the fourth inning after arguing a called third strike with home plate umpire Carlos Torres. Kyle Seager was called out and began arguing with Torres. Servais came out to protect his player. Torres showed a great deal of patience with the Mariners manager, but finally, he had enough. It was the second ejection of the season for Servais.

Mariners, Yankees make a trade

The M’s made the official announcement that American League home run leader Edwin Encarnacion has been sent to the New York Yankees along with a large amount of cash to help cover the slugger’s contract option or buyout. The Yankees are sending minor league pitcher – Juan Then – to Seattle. Ironically, the Yankees acquired from the M’s in 2017.

On Deck for the A’s

The M’s and A’s will wrap up this three-game series on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 1:07 PM on Father’s Day. The A’s will send RHP Tanner Anderson (0-1, 3.18) to the mound to face off against the M’s RHP Mike Leake (5-6, 4.26). The A’s will then be done with Seattle until July 5 when they will begin a three-game series in the Northwest.

Charlie O on Twitter: @Charlieo1320

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: A’s get the long ball from Chapman and Canha

photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics’ Matt Chapman, right, is congratulated by Robbie Grossman (8) after hitting a two-run home run off Seattle Mariners pitcher Mike Leake in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 26, 2019, in Oakland, Calif.

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 How annoying in the A’s win streak was that game that was canceled on the count of no rain in Detroit two Sundays ago that very well could have been win number 4 and the A’s could have 11 straight on Monday?

#2 During the Mariners series in Oakland, there was little doubt that the struggle they had with them in Seattle to start the road trip last week was on their minds.

#3 The A’s got off to a shaky start after opening up their season in Tokyo. To go from a regular season line up with a 15-hour time difference and then revert to the preseason. Was that all part of their rough start?

#4 Charlie O, you said this was going to be a good A’s team at sometime this season with all the talent they have here with Canha, Semien, Chapman, Olson, Profar, Laureano, and Phegley, that they were eventually were go to break out the bats.

#5 Mariners manager Scott Servais got tossed for arguing a challenge call in the bottom of the seventh inning that saw Canha slide into second that he felt was an out. Later, the A’s got two runs on M’s shortstop Roenis Elias’ error and Profar later hit a groundout RBI. A’s manager Bob Melvin said he would have argued the umpiring crew waited to long to make a decision on the play.

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