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.

 

Big Inning Paces Tigers to Sweep of A’s

By Matthew Harrington

For the second time in the three-game series at Detroit, a big inning doomed the Oakland Athletics hopes of exacting revenge on the team that bounced them from both the 2012 and 2013 playoffs. Wednesday afternoon, the Detroit Tigers pounced on A’s pitching for a six-run sixth inning to seal up a 9-3 win and a series sweep in a matinee game at Comerica Park. Detroit (47-34)used a four-run bottom of the ninth Monday to walk off winners then shut the A’s out 3-0 Tuesday night.

A’s starter Jesse Chavez (6-5, 3.23 ERA) turned in his second-consecutive forgettable performance, taking the loss after surrendering four runs to the potent Detroit offense. In his last start on Friday against the Marlins, Chavez went only five innings in a six-hit, four-run no decision. His opponent Justin Verlander (7-7, 4.71), entrenched in a forgettable season, pitched well enough to be tabbed the winning pitcher after striking out four in his six inning, two-run performance to nail down the three-game sweep.

The A’s (51-33) did take some positives from Wednesday’s loss. Derek went 2-for-4 in his return from back stiffness that saw him sidelined since June 27. Yoenis Cespedes found himself penciled in as designated hitter after missing Tuesday’s game with tightness in his hamstring.

Coco Crisp and Brandon Moss accounted for the trio of A’s runs. Both hit solo home runs to right field off 2011 AL Cy Young winner Verlander in the first inning. Later, with the game well out of Oakland’s reach, Crisp scored on Moss’s seventh inning single off reliever Al Alburquerque. The Oakland first baseman’s performance Wednesday pushed him past an inactive Josh Donaldson (recipient of an off day from A’s Manager Bob Melvin) for the team lead in homers (19) and runs batted in (62).

Though the A’s struck early to stake Jesse Chavez to a 2-0 lead before he even took the mound, the Tigers struck often against the right-hander. Torii Hunter hit an RBI single off Chavez in the bottom of the first, then tied the game up on his run scoring base hit in the bottom of the third. Austin Jackson put Detroit ahead 3-2 in the home half of the fourth, plating Andrew Romine on a two-out single

The real damage came in six-run, three-pitcher sixth inning that saw the Motor City kitties score six runs. Chavez was lifted by Melvin in favor of Jim Johnson after walking the first two batters he faced. After retiring the first batter, Romine, on a sacrifice bunt, Johnson failed to record another out. Monday night’s hero Rajai Davis knocked a two-run single, Ian Kinsler singled in a run then 2013 American League Most Valuable Player Miguel Cabrera doubled in a pair to knock the 2012 All-Star from the game for Ryan Cook. In total, the beleaguered Johnson was responsible for four runs on four hits in his 1/3 of an inning.

Cook got the first batter he faced, J.D. Martinez, to ground out for the second out, but yielded a single to Torii Hunter that scored the inherited runner Cabrera. He then finished Nick Castellanos off with a pop-out, but by then the damage was done with Detroit sitting out front 9-2.

After facing the AL Central leaders Monday to Wednesday, the A’s head home to welcome the AL East’s top dogs. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and the Toronto Blue Jays flutter into town Thursday to open a four-game weekend series at O.Co Coliseum. Melvin has tabbed Sonny Gray to open the series in hopes of snapping the current three-game losing skid.

A’s Blanked By Tigers 3-0

DETROIT, MI – JULY 01: Nick Punto #1 of the Oakland Athletics wacthes the action from the dugout during the ninth inning of the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 1, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Athletics 6-4. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

By Kahlil Najar

DETROIT – The A’s can’t find a break against the Tigers. Yesterday it was the slam and today it was a pitcher making franchise history.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello became just the fourth pitcher in Tigers franchise history to throw a shutout without walking or striking out a batter, and the first since Dizzy Trout in 1944. He also had 17 groundball outs and 10 in the fly outs to become the first major-leaguer to accomplish that feat since Baltimore’s Jeff Ballard on Aug. 21, 1989.

“Our guys were swinging at strikes, but everything was moving,” said Oakland head coach Bob Melvin. “He’s got a good sinker and a good change-up, and now he’s mixing in a good breaking ball to keep you off balance. That’s just a very well-pitched game by him.”

Brandon Moss echoed Melvin’s sentiments, “I don’t think he was overpowering. He just went out and pitched a great ballgame. He threw a ton of strikes, ahead of almost everyone, mixing it up with offspeed pitches and kept the ball on the ground. He pitched his game, and it was a great game.”

Brad Mills who started for Oakland pitched a great game and went six innings and gave up six hits and struck out six. His only mistakes were in the bottom of the fourth and sixth when the Tigers were able to score three runs total and give them all they needed to secure the victory.

In the fourth after a Cabrera walk and a Martinez double, Torii Hunter was able to hit a grounder to short and drove in Cabrera to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead. In the sixth, Martinez hit his 10th homer of the year with Kinsier on base and made it a 3-0 game.

The A’s never sent more than four batters up to the plate in any inning and were only able to squeeze out three singles and a double the entire game.

Both teams head back at it tomorrow when the Tigers send up the most hated man in Oakland Justin Verlander against Oakland prodigal son Jesse Chavez, game time 10:08 am PST.

Tigers Stun Athletics in Grand Fashion

By Matthew Harrington

The Detroit Tigers may not always beat the Oakland Athletics, but the motor city kitties tend to find the most excruciating ways to do it. After bouncing Swingin’ A’s from the postseason in the last two campaigns, the American League Central leaders added another chapter of success against their West Coast foes Monday night at Comerica Park, converting a 4-1 deficit in the ninth inning into a walk-off grand slam for Rajai Davis and the Tigers (45-34).

With a decent lead in the ninth, Oakland A’s Manager Bob Melvin tabbed bullpen backend stalwart Sean Doolittle (1-3, 2.97) to sit the Tigers down for three final outs. Instead the A’s bench boss saw a surefire victory turned into a stunning defeat. Detroit came to the plate in attack mode against Doolittle, with Nick Castellanos and Alex Avila reaching base with no outs three pitches in to the left-hander’s night.

Doolittle found his footing, striking out Eugenio Suarez but failed to put Austin Jackson away on a full-count pitch. Instead Doolittle nibbled outside the strike zone to bring former Athletic Rajai Davis to the plate representing the winning run. Davis patiently took the first-pitch delivery from Doolittle for a ball, then crushed a belt-high breaking ball deep to left field about ten feet from foul pole for his sixth home run of the season. Davis made reliever Blaine Hardy (101, 2.89 ERA) the winner, handing the 27-year-old his first Major League win

Doolittle saw his scoreless inning streak snapped at 26 1/3 innings Saturday in Miami, blowing his second save of the season after allowing a Casey McGehee single to tie the game at 6-6. With a second blown save Monday night, he now has failed to shut the door in two-straight games after going the first 38 games of the season with only one missed opportunity. Since taking over the closer’s role for a struggling Jim Johnson, the first baseman-turned-reliever has collected 11 saves in 2014.

The A’s (51-31) looked securely en route to their fifth-straight win after taking a commanding 4-1 lead in the eighth inning. Oakland and Detroit entered the inning tied 1-1 after strong performances from A’s starter Scott Kazmir and his counterpart Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez opened the frame getting Yoenis Cespedes to bounce a grounder to short, but Suarez threw the ball away on the play. Brandon Moss made Detroit pay for the mistake by lacing an RBI double to left, chasing Sanchez from the game with no outs in the seventh. The 2013 ERA leader allowed the two earned runs on eight hits with only a pair of strikeouts (including the 1,000th of his career) but exited in line for the loss.

Joba Chamberlain fared far worse in relief of Sanchez, allowing the first two batters he faced to reach base, walking Josh Donaldson before yielding a single to Stephen Vogt to load the bases. A visit to the mound by Tigers Pitching coach Jeff Jones proved only a brief respite for Chamberlain, as Lowrie took the fifth pitch of the next at-bat to left for a two-run single to stake the A’s to a commanding 4-1 lead.

Lowrie knocked in the A’s first run of the game on an RBI single of Sanchez in the top of the sixth, but 2012 Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera responded in the home half of the inning by ripping a solo home run off Kazmir to left field, the 14th long ball of the season for the back-to-back American League Most Valuable Player.

Kazmir would then walk J.D. Martinez before exiting the game two pitches in to the next batter. Kazmir appeared to suffer tightness in his lead leg after bouncing the first pitch to Nick Castellanos well in front of the plate. After a brief visit from Melvin and trainer, the southpaw stayed in the game for one last pitch. After seeing his pitcher grimace on the pitch, Melvin instantly jumped up to pull his ace from the game.

After the game, Melvin stated that Kazmir was fine and the quick trigger was precautionary. Kazmir also departed his last start against the New York Mets on Tuesday earlier than expected, surrendering seven earned runs over three innings of a 10-1 shelling in Flushing Meadows. Aside from the one blip, Kazmir has been rock solid as the anchor of the A’s rotation, potentially in line to make this season’s All-Star team after going 9-3 with a 2.66 ERA in his first 16 starts for the green and gold.

The A’s won’t have an easy road bouncing back, as they’ll face the Tigers’ surpise of 2014 Rick Porcello (10-4, 3.41) in the second game of the three-game series. Oakland sends lefty Brad Mills to the mound in his first start since getting his first win since 2012, outdueling Zack Wheeler and the Mets last Wednesday.

Kazmir, Athletics Walk Off to Complete Game Win

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — The narrative surrounding the Oakland Athletics over the past three season states that the green and gold achieve with a line-up devoid of super stars but rife with supporting cast members. Josh Donaldson tossed that notion out the window with one swing of the bat Wednesday night, crushing a three-run walk-off home run off closer Joe Nathan to give the A’s (32-21) a 3-1 decision over the American League Central leading Detroit Tigers at O.Co Coliseum.

“For the fans that was a fun game to watch,” said A’s starter Scott Kazmir. “Throughout the game it seemed like (Detroit Tigers Starter) Anibal Sanchez and I were battling it out. We ended up getting a couple base runners in the ninth and you just kind of had that feeling when Josh came up. He swung at the first pitch and didn’t miss it. That was awesome.”

Kazmir pitched a complete game but watched the bottom of the ninth on the hook for a loss after allowing a solo blast to Torii Hunter with two outs in the fourth for the only Detroit run. Donaldson picked his starter up, launching his 13th four-bagger to extend his streak of reaching base to 43 games when penciled on the line-up card at third base.

The pitchers’ duel expected Tuesday night in the much ballyhooed showdown between ace Sonny Gray and 2013 AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer never materialized, instead morphing into a battle of the bullpens in a 6-5 home team loss. The true display of pitching prowess came Wednesday night, with Kazmir (6-2, 2.36 ERA) and Detroit’s Sanchez allowing a combined eight hits.

“You always want to give your starting pitcher support,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “Sanchez was unbelievable tonight. He pitched backwards. Fastballs in breaking ball counts, a lot of change-ups in counts where you’d expect fastballs. It took us a while to score some runs at the end but we kept grinding.”

Sanchez dazzled the Oakland hitters, scattering three hits over 8 1/3 innings, striking out nine while only walking one. He appeared en route to his ninth career complete game, but a one out double in the ninth by Coco Crisp knocked him out of the game after 111 pitches. First-year Detroit manager Brad Ausmus tabbed Nathan to close out the contest and nail down his 13th save of the season.

“I don’t think anybody thought we were going to come up short,” said Melvin. “Once Coco got on I think we had a really good feeling we were going to win the game. That’s what this team has been great at here in the last couple years. Until that last out is recorded, we always feel optimistic that we have a win.”

John Jaso continued the rally, flipping a 2-2 Nathan delivery over the third baseman Nick Castellanos’ outstretched glove for a single, setting up base runners on first-and-third with one away for Donaldson, the fourth place finisher in the 2013 AL MVP voting.

“In that situation, they’re looking for a double play,” said Donaldson. “I was just trying to hit something in the air and get one run.”

Donaldson wasted little time against Nathan(2-1, 4.58), crushing the first-pitch offering from the four-time All-star deep to left field to hand the righty his fourth blown save of the year. The A’s third basemen stood at home plate watching as his blast sailed dangerously close to the foul pole.

“I was just trying to watch it to see if it stayed fair,” said Donaldson. “If it went foul, I didn’t want to waste my energy running.”

The ball indeed landed fair for Donaldson’s second career walk-off home run, the first also coming against Detroit last April. While the homer, Donaldson’s 13th of the campaign, marked a huge highlight in the young slugger’s career he remained humbled about its significance.

“It’s just one of those things,” said Donaldson sheepishly. “I just go out there and play to win.”

The homer, which no doubt will play repeatedly on sports highlight shows until the next news cycle tomorrow, boosts Donaldson’s candidacy for a 2014 All-Star game starting spot. He currently sits in first place amongst third basemen in the fan vote, and could be the A’s first position player to appear in a Mid-Summer Classic in 11 seasons.

Donaldson entered play Wednesday second in the AL in runs scored (42), tied for second in go-ahead RBIs (38) and fifth in home runs (12). He’s also ranks in the top ten in slugging percentage, walks, RBIs and extra base hits. Those numbers are reminiscent of former A’s basher Jason Giambi, green and gold member elected by the fans to the All-star squad back in 2000.

No stranger to the All-star game, Torii Hunter made his presence felt earlier in the game. The right fielder crushed Kazmir’s only mistake, a full count pitch to deep right center field for his second home run in as many nights. The 38-year-old Hunter now owns eight long balls on the season along with 29 runs batted in for the Motor City Kitties. Kazmir finished the night with eight strikeouts and no walks for his first complete game since 2006.

“We’ve seen him pitch pretty similar to this a few times,” said Melvin. “He’s been consistent for us. It probably rates up there with some of his games. But when you’re pitching against a guy that’s throwing the ball that well, you’re not scoring very many runs. You have to be perfect. He was close to that.

Melvin would like to receive another near perfect performance when he sends Jesse Chavez to the mound to stymy the AL’s best offensive team in the matinee finale of the four-game set Thursday afternoon. Detroit (29-20) sends Rick Porcello, owner of seven wins in 2014, to the hill seeking a series split after losing the first and third games in Oakland.

“Rally Killers” Lift A’s to 10-0 Rout of Tigers

By Matthew Harrington

OAKLAND, Calif. — A note inscribed next to the Oakland Athletics line-up card posted this afternoon stated “Home runs can be rally killers”. After a 10-0 routing of the Detroit Tigers the A’s may have reason to rethink that mantra.

“Homers can be rally killers,” said A’s catcher Derek Norris. “But when you’re hitting four or five of them a game they can probably make a different statement. That’s more for the solo home runs. Anytime you can scratch off two, three grand slam home runs, those are hardly rally killers. That’s how you bury a team.”

The A’s (31-20) did just that, outmuscling the visiting Tigers (28-19) in a Memorial Day matinee at the O.Co coliseum capped by Derek Norris’ first career grand slam. Five different Athletics homered, including four solo shots off Tigers starter Drew Smyly (2-3, 3.86 ERA) to snap a four-game losing skid. A’s starter Tommy Milone (3-3, 3.50) turned in a brilliant performance, going 6 2/3 innings without surrendering a run against a potent Tiger offense that tops the junior circuit with a .278 team batting average.

“Zero runs, that’s always a good day,” said Milone. “I’ve got to give it to my defense and obviously the offense. They backed me up today.”

Milone threw an economical 105 pitches, needing more than 20 pitches in an inning only once to retire the side, yielding a scant four hits to the visitors. The lefty collected six K’s, one shy of a season-high, while only issuing two walks. Andrew Romine and reigning AL MVP Miguel Cabrera represented the lone Tigers hitters to reach second base Monday afternoon, each doubling off Milone. The A’s starter now has three wins in four starts after dropping three-straight decisions over his first five appearances.

“I think he was just trying to do too much,” said battery mate Norris. “He was trying to create stuff that wasn’t there. Finally I said to just sit back and throw the baseball just like you know how. His focus has been higher, his determination has been higher. He’s been attacking hitters and not shying away from contact.”

Brandon Moss opened the long ball barrage, leading off the second inning with a deep blast to right center that Austin Jackson nearly scaled the wall to steal. Moss’ extra-base hit marks his 18^th of the month, tying an A’s record with Jason Giambi (2001) for most in May. Two batters later, designated hitter Blanks took Smyly yard on a 2-1 offering to make it 2-0 Oakland.

“There are very few guys on this ball club that are trying to hit home runs,” said Norris. “You look at some of the guys like Moss and (Josh) Donaldson, they’ve literally shaped their swings to try to become fly ball hitters and have home run swings. It’s definitely an art that not everyone can grasp.”

For Blanks, it was the first home run hit as a member of the Athletics after coming over in a May 15th trade with the San Diego Padres. Blanks’ last Major League round-tripper came 49 games ago on June 16, 2013. He also spent some time in the minors with the Padres since then.

“It makes him feel like a part of the team that much quicker when you get into a game like that,” said manager Bob Melvin. “You’re scoring runs with homers. It really gets you feeling like ‘Hey, I’m a part of this team’.”

Josh Donaldson and Yoenis Cespedes added back-to-back solo blasts off Smyly in the bottom of the third for a 4-0 edge. The twin displays of power marked the second time this season consecutive batters have homered, with Cespedes and Moss achieving the feat May 9th. The A’s made it a six-pack in the fourth after Coco Crisp hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and Josh Donaldson hit a run-scoring two-out single off Smyly. In total, the Tigers starter went five innings while allowing six runs, all earned, to accompany two walks and a trio of strikeouts.

Norris brought the scoring into double digits, launching his first career grand slam to deep center field off reliever Phil Coke in the Oakland half of the 8^th. Blanks opened the inning by drawing a walk, moved to second when Craig Gentry was awarded first base on catcher’s interference. Crisp reached base on an error to load the bases for the Oakland backstop.

“I hit the ball hard a couple times earlier and came away with nothing,” said the A’s catcher after going 0-4 heading into his 8^th inning at-bat. “I was just trying to get the RBI. I was trying to get something out over the plate. Fortunately it just came back over the middle and I put a good swing on it.”

Dan Otero and Sean Doolittle pitched 2 and 1/3 innings of perfect relief to finish off the drubbing of Detroit, the team that bounced Oakland from the playoffs in 2012 and 2013. The reeling Tigers now have lost seven of their last eight, but send 2013 Cy Young winner Max Scherzer to the mound to play stopper Tuesday night. The A’s will counter with ace Sonny Gray.

“Sonny’s always pumped,” said Norris when asked if there was any extra motivation for the young A’s starter facing a familiar playoff foe. “He’s 100 percent determined every fifth day. He’s on it, he’s focused. He’s ready.”

Just marvelous, Justin Verlander

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

OAKLAND–There is a reason the Detroit Tigers gave Justin Verlander a 7-year extension(with an option for the 2020 season) for $180 million this past March.That is twice the total payroll of the Oakland A’s.  On game five of the American League Divisional Series, Verlander gave a pitching exhibition.

The Oakland A’s bats had no chance. Verlander was a master, mixing his over 96 mph four seam fastball, with a slider in the mid 80’s, an unhittable curve ball, (his best pitch last night), and an ocassional change,just to remind A’s hitter that on this night he was the devil, that produced 10 strike outs and zero runs for eight innings. Justin Verlander, has won just about everything a pitcher can win, except a World Series ring.

 He was the Rookie of the Year in 2006, he has two no-hitters, he has won a Cy Young and an MVP Award. Rafael Belliard, an old friend, and first base coach for the Detroit Tigers told me prior to game five at the Oakland Coliseum: “We are confident with Verlander, he is one of the best, and we have been focused on one thing, and one thing only- since Spring Training, going back to the World Series and winning this time”.

The Detroit Tigers were the favorites during last year’s World Series, but the Giants surprised everybody and swept them. After Miguel Cabrera hit his first home run of this postseason in the fourth inning, you knew the game was over. I made a remark on the broadcast that the way Verlander was pitching those 2 runs he had of support, seemed like 8 runs. Verlander did not allowed a runner until he walked Josh Reddick with one out in the sixth.

 He had a no-hitter with two outs in the seventh, until Yoenis Céspedes got a clean line shot for a base hit into center field. The best player this year for the A’s was Josh Donaldson, their third baseman, but the best athlete and best ballplayer is Yoenis Céspedes, and by-the-way he was their best hitter again in the postseason, establishing records for Oakland A’S in postseason.

But back to Justin. In two games, during this five game Divisional Series, Justin Verlander did not allowed a run and struck out 21 Athletics. Going back to the 2012 postseason, Verlander has pitched 30 consecutive scoreless innings against Oakland.

A crowd of 46,959 was rocking all night (not a sellout) traditionally games that start at 5PM at the Oakland Coliseum do not sell out, it is not a “comfortable”hour, and then to increase the traffic stress, there was a “Pink”concert next door at the Oracle Arena, which got starter around 7PM.

It was a good season for the Oakland A’s, they won their division for the second time in a row, but last night the best team won. Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera playing with one leg, is better than 40% of the regular players on the field that are 100%.

Congratulations Tigers, good luck the rest of the way. The Red Sox should not be easy, they never are, specially at Fenway.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s and does News and Commentary weekly for Sportstalk Radio

                                                      

Vogt, Gray lead the A’s past the Tigers in Game 2

Justin Verlander was filthy and Sonny Gray surprised everyone with his poise and confidence, but ultimately Stephen Vogt and his inside-out, single through a drawn-in infield stole the show on Saturday night.

Vogt’s single with the bases loaded scored Yoenis Cespedes with the game’s only run in the A’s 1-0 win that evened the ALDS series with Game 3 scheduled for Detroit on Monday.

You come up bases loaded, nobody out, and that’s what you dream of,” Vogt said.  “Look for something over the plate, stay in the middle of the field, just fortunate to come through.”

Prior to his game-winning moment, Vogt looked like a lot of other frustrated hitters on Saturday.  Verlander and Gray not only dominated the proceedings to that point, they embarrassed hitters along the way, combining to strike out 20, marking the first time in Major League post-season history that both starting pitchers struck out at least nine batters and didn’t allow a run.

Verlander and Gray both scattered four singles over the length of their outings, with the Detroit starter going seven while striking out 11.  Gray went eight innings and struck out nine.

Verlander’s big outing wasn’t a surprise, but when he produced one of the best starts of his career, the fact that Gray was able to match him nearly pitch-for-pitch was.   While Verlander backed off the heat just a little and had A’s hitters guessing what pitch was coming next, Gray stuck to his fastball-curveball combo to perfection, blowing up the strike zone and using his devastating curve as his out pitch.

Remember, Verlander’s a 30-year old veteran with six All-Star appearances while Gray’s made just 10 starts at the Major League level.

“You know, Sonny did one heck of a job,” Verlander said.  “He was able to use his angst and energy for a positive and a lot of young guys it works against them.  That’s why veterans usually seem to do better in post-season pressure.  He handled himself like a veteran and it was impressive.”

Both starters allowed a pair of baserunners to reach in the fifth inning, but they turned up the pressure at that point instead of letting the pressure cook them.  With two on and one out, Gray struck out Austin Jackson and Vogt threw out Jose Iglesias attempting to steal second base.  Verlander allowed the first two runners to reach and then retired Josh Reddick and struck out Vogt and Eric Sogard.

In the A’s ninth, Cespedes and Seth Smith singled off Al Alburquerque and Reddick was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Detroit manager Jim Leyland opted for Rick Porcello—normally a starter—at that point and he allowed Vogt’s game-winning hit on a 1-1 pitch.

The A’s avoided falling behind 2-0 in the series and will need to win just one of the two games in Detroit to force a series-deciding Game 5 back in Oakland on Thursday.

Miguel Cabrera went 1 for 4 with a strikeout and Detroit leadoff man Jackson struck out in all four of his plate appearances.  The Tigers’ Don Jackson joined Cespedes and Seth Smith as the only hitters in the game to produce two hits.

On Monday, Jarrod Parker will face the Tigers’ Anibal Sanchez at 1:07 EST in Detroit.

Tigers beat A’s, 3-2, in ALDS Game 1

By George Devine, Sr.

Last year, when Detroit played in a postseason game, it was their fourth straight loss to a Bay Area team, in this case San Francisco in the 2012 World Series. This year, the Tigers came to Oakland determined to show their stuff, and now they are 1-0 in the ALDS.

Before a national TV audience, and a sellout crowd of 48,401 in a balmy O.co Coliseum, the defending American League champions took charge in the first inning. Austin Jackson led off with a double to right and advanced to third as Torii Hunter walked. Miguel Cabrera hit a grounder to center field and brought Jackson home, but then Prince Fielder hit into a 6-4-3 double play which scored Hunter. Victor Martinez hit one of Bartolo Colon’s pitches just above shortstop Jed Lowrie, grazing the tip of his glove, and reached second, then came home when Alex Avila singled to right.

The only other scoring of the evening was a two-run homer to left by Yoenis Cespedes with Brandon Moss on base. Cespedes had tripled to left in the second off Max Scherzer and is one of only two Oakland Athletics to hit both a triple and a homer in a postseason game, the other being Rickey Henderson in Game 4 of the 1989 World Series at San Francisco. Coco Crisp obviously was someone Detroit did not want to pitch to; he walked three times and sruck out once.

Colon is the loser (6 ip, 10 h, 3 er, 4 k) and Scherzer the winner (7 ip, 3 h, 2 er, 2 w, 11 k, 1 hr). Joaquin Benoit picked up the save,

The two teams meet again at 6:07 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, with Sonny Gray facing fellow RHP Justin Verlander.

The Roar of the Crowd

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland Fans

Much has been written about the Oakland fans this year. While attendance has not been as robust as

the owners would like(they only have themselves to blame) the attendance was 1.8 million, the highest in many years. The hardcore fans were here for every game and their support of the A’s has been

unbelievable. Many of the nights were cold but the fans showed up and were loud letting the players know that they were behind them all the way. These folks know how to make noise especially when closer Grant Balfour comes into the game. The fans in the right field bleachers go crazy with the “rage.”

Well, the stage is set for the first game of the American League Division series with the Detroit Tigers.

The fans let the Tigers’ players know what they thought of them booing especially loud when they announced Justin Verlander’s name as well as Miguel Cabrera and Al Albuquerque , of all people.

This will be the third time the A’s will be playing the Tigers in the playoff s since 2006 and they are

hoping that the Green and Gold win the first game. The A’s wisely removed the tarps from the third deck and there are 48,401 fans in the park cheering for the A’s. It just got very loud as the team went on the field to start the game.

The Tigers scored three in the first inning that quieted the crowd a bit but it got very loud every time

there was a two strike count on a Tiger hitter. The Coliseum is really rocking with two out. The fans

have the “Let’s Go Oakland.” chant shaking the seats like a 4.0 quake. The place is really rocking as Yoenis Cespedes tripled to left field. The noise is so loud you can’t hear the person sitting next to you.

However, the Tigers’ Max Scherzer has been dominant much to the displeasure of the crowd.

The biggest roar of the night came when Josh Reddick threw out Victor Martinez at home in the top of the sixth preventing the Tigers from scoring another run. The fans need the A’s to get something going

as the crowd roars again as Colon gets out of the jam.

The noise level in the seventh inning was awesome as it reached decibels that these ears have never heard before at the Coliseum until Yoenis Cespedes hit a home run.

Well, the flags are flying and the crowd is into it as we start the bottom of the ninth. The adrenaline is really flowing. The fans are on their feet urging and hoping and praying that the A’s rally. The A’s failed

as they went down in order and the A’s take it on the chin. One thing is for sure, the fans will be back for Game two and they will continue to be loud and let the players know that they are behind them as they have been all season.