The A’s win for the 97th time, downing the Angels 5-2

Liam Hendriks was the “opener” on Saturday night Photo: @NBCS

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics know what they will be doing next Wednesday night. They will be in the Bronx, New York at Yankee Stadium fighting for their very “baseball lives” in the 2018 American League Wild Card Game. The problem for the A’s is they have to finish the regular season in Anaheim before heading to the East Coast.

The Athletics have two goals for those final games on Saturday and Sunday at the “Big A”:

1. Don’t get hurt and
2. DON’T GET HURT!

Oakland has been a team that has been besieged by injuries this season and they cannot afford to lose any member of this team before heading into the playoffs. Of course, these proud athletes want to win, but staying healthy is more important than winning at this point in the season.

Fortunately, the A’s were able to win and stay healthy on Saturday night. Oakland set the tone of the game in the first inning in a very familiar way. With two out and Matt Chapman on at first base, Khris Davis hit a pitch from Tyler Skaggs over the right field wall for his 48th home run of the season to give the A’s a 2-0 lead. The two RBIs upped Davis’ total to 123 for the season.

The A’s decided to go with the “bullpenning” pitching philosophy in game two of this final series of the regular season. As usual, Liam Hendriks opened the game on the mound working the first for Oakland. Trevor Cahill became the “featured pitcher” taking over in the bottom of the second inning.

Oakland added another run in the top of the third inning when Jed Lowrie hit a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Ramon Laureano to score from third. Laureano hit a double to lead off the inning.

The Angels took advantage of an A’s fielding error, added a stolen base and well-timed RBI single to score their first run of the game in bottom of the fifth inning.

Jim Johnson–yes, that Johnson who pitched for Oakland back in 2014–took over the pitching duties for the Angels. Jed Lowrie stepped in the batter’s box and hit his 23rd homer of the season off Mr. Johnson to up the A’s lead to 4-1.

Fernando Rodney took the ball for the A’s in the bottom of the seventh and he struggled. With the bases loaded and two out, Rodney walked in the Angels second run of the contest. He then had to face Mike Trout with bases loaded. Rodney was able to get Trout to fly out to right field and the A’s were still leading 4-2 after seven full innings.

In the top of the eighth inning, the A’s loaded up the bases with one out. Stephen Piscotty hit a fly ball to right field that was caught by Kole Calhoun. Ramon Laureano tagged up at third and scored the A’s fifth run of the game.

That would be it for scoring in the game and Oakland recorded their 97th win of 2018 with the 5-2 victory.

Graphic: @Angels

The “Bullpenning” A’s
Oakland used six pitchers in their win on Saturday night. Hendriks opened while Trevor Cahill filled the role of the featured pitcher going 4.0 innings giving up one run (earned) on one hit. He walked one and struck out one batter.

Shawn Kelley worked one inning walking one and striking out two. Fernando Rodney had very shaky outing as he wound up facing seven batters and giving up an earned run in the seventh inning.

Familia came in to set things up in the eighth inning and Blake Treinen closed it out in the ninth.

Cahill (7-4) was awarded the win while Treinen picked up his 38th save of the year.

Angels’ hurlers
LA starter Tyler Skaggs (8-10) took the loss after giving up the two-run home run to Davis in the first inning. The Angels used six pitchers who did not do a bad job. The gave up five runs off eight hits. They walked four A’s and struck out nine. It was the two home runs that really did the Angels in on Saturday night.

A’s at the plate

Two guys who love the game Photo: @Athletics

• Ramon Laureano continues to be amazing. He went 2-for-5 in this game scoring two runs. Yes, he scored each time he reached base.
• Jed Lowrie does it again with a home run, sacrifice fly, two RBI and a run scored.
• Khris Davis (yes, they must sign him to a long-term contract) had just another day at the office with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.
• Chad Pinder went 2-for-4 in the game.

LA Stars

• Only four Angels managed to get a hit in the game–Jose Fernandez, Andrelton Simmons, Taylor Ward and Kaleb Cowart.
• Five LA batters did reach base by way of a walk.
• Ouch! The Angels left nine men on base.

Up next
Game 162 of the 2018 season will get underway at 12:07 pm PT on Sunday. All MLB games on Sunday will begin in the noon hour in their respective time zones. Brett Anderson (4-5, 4.42) will start for the A’s while Matt Shoemaker (2-2, 4.82) will take the mound for the Halos.

A’s run out of gas, fail to clinch playoff spot in 5-1 loss to the Twins

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — The A’s put together a pair of impressive, come-from-behind wins on Friday and Saturday. Based on their quiet performance on Sunday, those loud wins may have drained the club still battling for home field advantage in the October 3 wild card playoff.

The Twins got a majestic, first inning home run from Jake Cave, and Kyle Gibson shut down the A’s into the eighth inning and the Twins avoided a three-game sweep at the Coliseum. In the process, all the preparation for an A’s postgame celebration was rendered meaningless.

“Somebody mentioned the last couple years we’ve seen other teams celebrate while we were in town,” Gibson said. “So to be able to finish out the season without having to see any celebration is kind of nice.”

The Twins came to Oakland intent on impacting the AL playoff picture, but instead they got saddled with two, draining losses. But that process may have impacted Sunday’s result in which the A’s appeared flat even with everything to play for, and knowing the Yankees had lost minutes earlier.

“We didn’t play our best and we faced a guy who really pitched well,” Matt Chapman opined. “We just got out-played today.”

The A’s sliced the Twins early 2-0 lead in half with Matt Olson’s second inning home run. But that shot didn’t signal the A’s arrival, instead that was the moment of Gibson’s takeover. The Twins starter allowed just three singles after Olson’s blow leading to his departure with one out in the eighth inning. When trouble appeared to be brewing, Minnesota’s defense provided support. Former Giant Ehire Adrianza started an inning-ending double play with a snag of Chapman’s hard hit smash in the fifth.

“You can’t start talking about anything I did without talking about the defense,” Gibson said. “It was an incredible display.”

Trevor Cahill got roughed up, departing in the fourth with the Twins leading 4-1 and poised to score again. Melvin still felt Cahill acquitted himself decently following his previous, lackluster start. Cahill hadn’t pitched since September 9 when he experienced forearm strain. The loss was Cahill’s first this season at home after building a 5-0 record.

“All things considered, I think it was a step in the right direction for him,” Melvin said of Cahill.

The A’s remain 6 1/2 games ahead of the Rays giving additional importance to Tampa Bay’s home game Monday against the Yankees. If the Rays win, the A’s will move within a game of New York for the lead wild card spot. If the Rays lose, the A’s will clinch a tie for the second wild card spot.

The loss likely ended the A’s quest for a division crown with the Astros increasing their AL West lead to 4 1/2 games. The A’s finish the regular season with road games at Seattle and Anaheim beginning Tuesday.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s looking to use “bullpenning” to give pitchers some rest; Will use “bullpenning” for Saturday to rest Cahill

Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The A’s are getting done in all sorts of ways. They scored 10 runs in the third inning of Wednesday’s game and used some of their call ups the rest of the way to beat the Orioles.

#2 The A’s have been going to “bullpenning” and openers. Joey takes a look on how that has been working.

#3 The Orioles just couldn’t do anything with the A’s lineup in that third inning as the O’s starter Andrew Cashner was lit up for eight runs and eight hits in just two short innings.

#4 A’s starter Trevor Cahill is receiving treatment for his upper back and most likely will miss his turn to start on Saturday in Tampa Bay. Cahill’s situation is day-to-day and A’s manager Bob Melvin is considering “bullpenning” again starting Liam Hendricks, who started on Wednesday.

#5 The A’s have lost 10 pitchers since May for 13 different injuries, which did not include Cahill’s injuries.

#6 The A’s started Brett Anderson on Thursday night a game that was going to be a day game because of Hurricane Florence moving onto the East Coast, but the forecast for Thursday night subsided for rough weather and the A’s and Orioles concluded the series as scheduled.

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

Melvin puts his bullpen on speed dial in A’s 7-3 come-from-behind win over the Rangers

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — The first sign of something gone horribly wrong was actually the precursor to things going smoothly as usual at the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

A’s starter Trevor Cahill–undefeated (5-0) and extraordinarly comfortable pitching at the Coliseum–couldn’t find the strike zone, walking the first three batters he faced on just 14 pitches. After escaping a first inning disaster, Cahill was done before the end of three innings, trailing 3-0, having walked six of the 14 batters he faced, and doing so in an perversely economical 53 pitches.

“I don’t think the stuff was bad, just the command of it was not so good,” said manager Bob Melvin of Cahill’s rocky start.

But after Cahill departed, the Oakland bullpen kicked in as did the bats in a five-run, fifth inning that highlighted the A’s 7-3 win. Minus Cahill, the now familiar formula involving late offense and sting relief pitching rang true again. Are these A’s as hot as your grandmother’s A’s? Apparently so, they’ve won 53 of 74, the hottest the club has been in the last 20 years over a stretch that long.

When you’re this hot, and have this many buttons to push, a Cahill dud is quickly absorbed. And while Melvin acknowledges his club has way more answers than questions these days, it’s something that demands a discerning eye at all times.

“We were getting deeper contributions from the starters there for a while,” Melvin said. “Right now, maybe not so much, and we’re having to cover a lot of the game, but my feeling is that they’ll respond and they’ll start going deeper in games so we can cut down on the amount of relief we use.”

That Oakland resourcefulness kicked over to the offense in the fifth, when the A’s did a little of this, and took a little of that in fashioning their five-run explosion. Matt Olson and Ramon Laureno provided the explosiveness with a double each, Nick Martini’s infield hit scored a run, and then a second when Roughned Odor threw the ball away. Three other batters walked, including Matt Joyce to load the bases with two outs, and the Rangers contributed as well with Odor’s error and Ariel Jurado’s wild pitch.

The one you probably don’t focus on is the Joyce at-bat. And that ended up probably being the biggest at-bat of the inning to load the bases with two outs.  If he makes an out, the inning’s over,” Melvin recounted. “A lot of guys contributed today, but Matt Joyce’s at-bat was huge.”

Like the A’s have done in recent weeks, the Rangers employed the featured reliever approach with Jurado as the guy scheduled to get the first and lengthiest relief stint. But this time, the strategy imploded as the A’s took off when Jurado entered.  The A’s weren’t expecting Cahill to pitch so poorly, but Melvin quickly turned to his bullpen with seven guys making appearances after the starter departed.

The A’s have used 23 different relievers this season, and with the addition of Ryan Dull to the active roster before Sunday’s game, Melvin has 15 at his disposal currently. Blake Treinen remains the unquestioned star of relief, his one-inning stint closed Sunday’s contest, and the closer lowered his ERA to a Major League best 0.87.

Both the Yankees and Astros lost on Sunday, bringing the A’s within 2 1/2 games of both teams in their quest to host one or more playoff games.

“I think getting a home game here is very important,” said Stephen Piscotty, who homered in the seventh to provide insurance. “Get a playoff game in the Coliseum with our rowdy fans. I think that gives us a definite advantage.”

A’s are “double trouble” for Astros as they win 7-1 and tie Houston for first place

Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — The Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 7-1 at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon and are now tied for first place in the American League West. Fans were in disbelief that the A’s (74-49) were in contention for the Wild Card in the AL, but now, the Green and Gold are fighting to win their division. Virtually none of those fans thought that was a possibility before the season began.

Strong starting pitching and power hitting was the key to the A’s win on Saturday.

Trevor Cahill (5-2) started the game for Oakland. He has been pitching the lights out in the Coliseum with an ERA under one at home. Cahill continued his mastery of opponents in his home stadium as pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing the Astros just one hit. The right-hander struck out seven batters and walked just one. Cahill threw 100 (62 strikes).

Bob Melvin talks about starter Trevor Cahill who won his 5th game of the year for #RootedinOakland on Sat afternoon. Cahill led #Athletics to a 7-1 victory & a tie for 1st place in the AL West with #Astros. #MLB. pic.twitter.com/Eff1DzEl0D

— Sports Radio Service (@SportsRadioSrvc) August 18, 2018

The A’s also went on another power surge on Saturday as they hit eight doubles which tied an Oakland single-game record, but you were not allowed to hit just one double – you had to hit two. All of the extra base hits were recorded by four A’s hitters. Khris Davis (24), Stephen Piscotty (33), Matt Olson (26) and Josh Phegley (6) hit all of the “two-baggers” for Oakland versus Houston. The A’s posted a total of 11 hits in the contest.

One of the fun things about a win is you get more time with Bob Melvin to hear him analyze the game & how his team is playing. #Athletics beat #Astros 7-1 on Sat to earn a piece of 1st place in AL West. #RootedinOakland #MLB pic.twitter.com/nYjYsplBTh

— Sports Radio Service (@SportsRadioSrvc) August 19, 2018

More A’s

• The A’s were trailing the Astros by 12 games back on June 18. Today they are tied for first place.
• Oakland’s 74-69 (.602) record is tied for third best in the majors. It is tied for fourth place in A’s history after 123 games.
• Khris Davis’ double in the first inning snapped a 0-13 hitless streak.
• Matt Olson’s two doubles extended his hitting streak to six games.
• Matt Chapman’s 14 game hitting streak and 30 game on-base streak came to an end on Saturday when he went 0-for-4 in the game.
• Add on Trevor Cahill: he retired 20 of the 22 batters he faced in the game. The A’s have won Cahill’s last seven starts.

Astros’ notes

• The A’s scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning which means the Astros opponents have now outscored them 56-55 in the first inning.
• Alex Bregman’s road on-base streak continues as he picked up a base-on-balls on Saturday. His streak currently stands at 38 games.
• The ‘Stros recorded just two hits in their loss on Saturday. It was just the third time this season they posted two or fewer hits in a game.
• Dallas Keuchel (9-10)–who was charged with the loss–saw his four-game road winning streak come to an end.

Up Next

The A’s and Astros wrap up the three game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT on Sunday.

The Astros will send RHP Justin Verlander (11-8, 2.52) to the mound in an attempt to salvage one win in the series. The A’s will go with their ace LHP Sean Manaea (11-8, 3.44). Manaea won his last start on Monday in Oakland over the Mariners 7-6. He is 1-1 in three starts versus the Astros this season.

On Your Heels: A’s nip Angels 8-7, creep closer to Astros at the top of the AL West

By Morris Phillips

Like today’s starting pitcher, Blake Treinen is a singular force of momentum as a closer.

Treinen stepped on the mound for the bottom of the ninth on Sunday knowing this: only one of the 13 pitchers that preceded him escaped without allowing at least one walk or a hit in a game that resembled batting practice as much as a major league affair can. With the A’s clinging to an 8-7 lead–narrowed from 8-3 by the Angels over the previous four innings–Treinen was entrusted with the task of getting the final three outs.

Challenging task and circumstances? Sure, how else could you explain Treinen needing 11 pitches–not nine–to finish the afternoon with three, consecutive strikeouts?

Well, for the bullpen-rich A’s, Trienen is the closer of closers. Consider the 30-year old fireballer the crescendo of crescendos. Following trade acquisitions Jeurys Familia and Fernando Rodney–both closers for their former teams–not to mention premiere setup man, Lou Trivino, Treinen was one more power arm than the Angels could withstand on Sunday.

While the offenses piled up the runs on Sunday, the bullpens dictated the outcome. The Angels’ bullpen, beset by injuries, had a rag tag, patched together look while the A’s relievers, as a unit, resembled an out-making machine. Afterwards, Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia admitted his guys weren’t exactly a seamless organization.

“We’re looking at whoever is available to give us innings,” said Scioscia, who went without a starter on Sunday, as bullpen guy Taylor Cole took the ball to start, and was followed by six more relievers. “We tried to line them up as best we can, but it’s just not as efficient as it is if you have at least the functionality of having starters that are getting to a certain point of the game.”

Trevor Cahill, looking for his fourth win in as many starts, achieved just once previously in his decade-long, big league career, didn’t exactly deliver the A’s to their bullpen. Not the dominant force on the road as he’s been at the Coliseum, Cahill blew an early 3-0 A’s lead in two, swift acts. Then after he steadied in the third and fourth innings, Cahill fell into trouble in the fifth, and was lifted despite the A’s leading 7-4 at that point.

Jed Lowrie’s two-run homer in the fourth off ex-Athletic Jim Johnson appeared to give the A’s a comfortable lead, but then Cahill gave a run back in the bottom of the frame. Yusmeiro Petit was touched for a run in the sixth, and Familia allowed two runs in the eighth, setting the stage for the narrowed finish.

Treinen picked up his 30th save in 34 chances, lowered his ERA to 0.92, and boosted his strikeouts per nine innings to 12.

Lowrie’s double and homer were the 1,000th and 1,001st hits of his career.

With the A’s winning while the Mariners finished off a four-game sweep off the Astros, the A’s climbed within 2 1/2 games of the AL West division lead. That’s as close as the A’s have been to first place since April 3, and seamlessly sets up their next six games–three against the Mariners, then three against the Astros–all at the Coliseum.

Sean Manaea faces Marco Gonzalez in the series opener with both lefties looking to improve on their double-digit win totals.

Big series to start the week. Be there!
$15 🎟: https://t.co/GQKUMM7bzQ #RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/4zdTQZQsAQ

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 13, 2018

A’s In Overdrive: 6-0 shutout gives Oakland a clean sweep of the Tigers

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–The 201st start of Trevor Cahill’s Major League career was quite simply his biggest to date, and from the beginning on Sunday, the 10-year veteran appeared intent on making it one of his best.

Cahill threw six innings of shutout ball, while striking out 10 batters, and the A’s cruised to a 6-0 win, sweeping their season series with the Tigers, seven straight. Cahill, who was signed to a second tour of duty with the A’s in the off-season, won his third consecutive start for the first time since 2012, when he was with Arizona. Cahill, along with Brett Anderson and Edwin Jackson, were supposed to serve as experienced stop gaps, but on the A’s month plus hot streak, the trio has provided much more.

“I feel confident when every one of our starters goes out there, I feel like we’re going to win,” Cahill said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

Cahill made his big league debut in 2009 and pitched for three mediocre A’s teams before he was dealt to Arizona prior to the 2012 season. In the desert, Cahill’s promise as a starter began to fade, and he finished the 2014 season working out of the bullpen. After brief stints with the Dodgers and Braves, Cahill signed with the Cubs and pitched out of the bullpen in their 2015 postseason run that ended in the NLCS versus the Mets. In 2016, Cahill made 49 appearances out of the bullpen, but was inactive in the postseason as the Cubs captured their elusive World Series title.

This spring, when Cahill reached terms to return to Oakland, he was joining his third team in less than two seasons, the embodiment of an aging–yet just 30-years old–pitcher, no longer a starter, or an effective reliever. Fast forward a couple of months, and Cahill appears to be another in a long list, like Dennis Eckersley, Frank Thomas, Josh Willingham and others who revived their careers at the Coliseum playing for the A’s.

Cahill took the mound on Sunday, in his first, late season start for a team in playoff contention in his career, and occupying a pivotal role for a club that appears to be set everywhere except in the starting rotation. While speculation persists that the A’s will add a starter or two through a waiver wire deal, Cahill has made his case, pitching better and better culminating with his appearance on Sunday.

In the first inning, Cahill allowed a leadoff single to Mike Gerber, then allowed the baserunner to advance when he threw wildly to second on a fielder’s choice play. But with the bases loaded and two outs, Cahill recovered, striking out Jim Aducci to end the inning.

From there, Cahill cruised, retiring James McCann to end the fourth inning, the only other time he faced a batter with a runner in scoring position. Afterwards, Cahill acknowledged that his job is much easier being on a club with two, obvious strengths in its bullpen and quick-strike offense.

“We know the bullpen is a strength,” Cahill said. “We know the guys can score, so it helps us out. Gives us confidence to go out there, trust our stuff. We have an offense that can pick us up if we do make a mistake. If we do get in a jam, our bullpen is really good, obviously.”

The A’s got all the offense they needed on solo shots from Khris Davis and Matt Chapman. Both sluggers also homered in Saturday’s game. But rookie callup Ramon Laureano racked up three hits and a RBI, proving that the A’s can put together offense without needing someone’s to hit the ball out of the park.

Oakland moved within four games of Houston in the AL West, and 2 1/2 games of the Yankees in the race for home field advantage in the AL Wild Card game as both teams lost one run ballgames on the road.

How hot are the A’s? Sizzling, as captured by their 43-game run in which they’ve now won 33 times. Besides sweeping Detroit and Toronto, home and away, the A’s won their sixth straight, the third time they’ve had a win streak of that length this season. And among the six, hottest clubs in MLB over the last 43 games, the A’s are the hottest, so hot, they’ve won eight more times than the Rockies and Indians, the fifth and sixth teams on that list.

On Tuesday, the A’s see the NL West-leading Dodgers in a two-game set that starts with Sean Manaea looking for his 11th win.

A’s walk it off in 11 innings beating the Giants 4-3 on Saturday night

Jonathan Lucroy rounds the bases in triumph Photo @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

OAKLAND — Game five of the 2018 Bay Bridge Series – the second of three to be played in Oakland – was played before the largest crowd to witness a Major League Baseball this season. The A’s (56-43) decided to take the tarps off the seats in the upper deck known as “Mount Davis” for the first time since 2006. The result was 56,310 Bay Area baseball fans were treated to a “wild and woolly” affair.

The top the ninth arrived at the Oakland Coliseum, and as usual, it was Treinen time. The A’s held a slim 3-2 lead over the Giants, but the A’s have been the masters of winning one-run games (15-8) in 2018. Treinen retired the first two batters — Posey and Sandoval on groundouts. The third hitter of the inning – Alen Hanson – struck out, but the strike three pitch was wild, got by the catcher and Hanson wound up safe at first (this is now the first paragraph of a Stephen King novel).

Hunter Pence then hit a pitch into right field that rolled into foul territory and into the Giants bullpen for a double, and Alen Hanson scored on the play. As right fielder Stephen Piscotty charged the ball, a member of the Giants bullpen picked up a chair and made contact with the outfielder. The Athletics contended that it should have been a “dead ball” at that point which would have kept the run from scoring. There is no rule that umpires could invoke, so the A’s challenged the play on a boundary call. A video review of the play upheld the call on the field. When the top of the ninth inning was over, the game was tied at 3-3.

The A’s were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth, so it was on to extra innings.

There was no scoring in the 10^th inning and the Giants (51-49) failed to produce any runs in the top of the 11^th frame.

The A’s are late inning battlers

Chapman at the plate Photo Charlie O. Mallonee

Teams are learning that they cannot let the A’s hang around late in games and continue to have chances to score – because they will. That is exactly what happened on Saturday night.

In the bottom of the 11^th inning, the Giants put LHP Will Smith on the mound. Piscotty grounded out to lead off the inning for Oakland. Dustin Fowler was then robbed of a hit when he lifted a “flare” to shallow right-center and shortstop Brandon Crawford made an outstanding sliding catch beyond the bag at second.

With two out, Matt Chapman picked up his third hit of the game with a single up the middle. Chad Pinder followed up with a single to left-center that moved Chapman up to second. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy – who did not enter the game until the 10^th inning – singled to right-center field and Chapman never had any thoughts of doing anything but crossing home plate to score the winning run which he did.

The A’s won the game 4-3 to even the series in Oakland at 1-1 and to take a 3-2 lead in the six-game series after five games.

The walk off single was Lucroy’s second of the season. The Athletics are now 7-4 in extra inning games for the season and improved to 14-6 in games decided in the last at bat.

On the Hill

At meeting at the mound on Saturday night Photo Charlie O. Mallonee

The Giants started their one-time superstar – LHP Madison Bumgarner – who has struggled since coming back from a broken finger on his pitching hand. “MadBum” looked strong in the opening four innings, but the A’s hitters got patient and things went south for Bumgarner in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Bumgarner loaded the bases and walked two runs in to give the A’s the lead 2-1 which ended his night. Sam Dyson came in to relieve Bumgarner and induced Mark Canha to hit into a double play but Chad Pinder scored the A’s third run on the play.

Bumgarner worked 4.0-plus innings giving up three runs (earned). He walked six and struck out five.

Will Smith (0-1) took the loss.

Trevor Cahill started the game for Oakland. It was his second start since coming off the disabled list. He worked 5.2-innings and gave up one run (earned) on a home run to Brandon Belt. Cahill struck out five and walked three.

Blake Treinen was charged with his fourth blown save of the season as he gave up the tying run when Hunter Pence hit the RBI-double into the bullpen along the right field line.

Yusmeiro Petit picks up his fifth win of the year as he was the pitcher of record after working a perfect top of the 11^th inning for the A’s.

At the Plate

Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 with two runs scored to lead the A’s with the bat. He is now hitting at a .253 clip.

Stephen Piscotty hit his 26^th double of the year off Bumgarner.

Phegley (10), Semien (34) and Lucroy (28) all recorded RBI for the A’s.

Oakland went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

Hunter Pence likes being a DH. He went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI as the Giants DH Saturday night.

The Giants also went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left 8 men on base.

Let the buying begin

Jeurys Familia Photo MLB.com

The question has been answered. The A’s are going to be buyers as the non-wavier trade deadline approaches. Oakland has acquired RHP relief pitcher Jeurys Familia from the New York Mets for two minor leaguers and $1-million in international slot money. Familia appeared in 40 games for NYM posting a 2.88 ERA with a 1.230 WHIP. He has struck out 43 in 40.2-innings and walked just 14. Familia has given up just one home run. He will be a free agent at the end of the 2018 season.

Get those suitcases packed

The A’s will head out on the road after the game on Sunday for a seven-game, two-city road trip. They will play four games in hot, humid Arlington, Texas versus the Rangers. All four games are night contests. There is no thought of day baseball this time of year in the Metroplex. After the four games in Texas, Oakland heads to Denver to play three games at Coors Field with the Colorado Rockies. The power hitting Athletics may find batting at a mile-high just to their liking.

Lonnnnng homestand coming

The A’s will return home from their road trip on Monday, July 30 to begin a stretch where 17 of their next 20 games will be played in Oakland. The only break in the homestand is three games in Anaheim with the Angels. Oakland will host the Blue Jays, Tigers, Dodgers, Mariners, Astros and Rangers in those 17 home games.

A belated parade for the 1989 World Champions

The 1989 World Champion Oakland Athletics were honored with long overdue parade to celebrate their 1989 World Series sweep of the San Francisco Giants. The team did not receive the parade because they did not want to show disrespect to those who lost loved ones in the tragic earthquake that disrupted the series. The celebration before the game was very nice. The one sad thing was there are several players that have passed on who could be there to be a part of the pregame honor.

Up next

The sixth and final game of the 2018 Bay Bridge Series will be played on Sunday at the Coliseum at 1:05 PM. The Giants will send RHP Johnny Cueto to the mound for his third start since coming off the disabled list on July 5^th. He is 3-1 on the year with a 2.36 ERA. Cueto is 2-0 in Interleague games this season.

The A’s will counter with LHP Sean Manaea who 4-0 with a 3.14 ERA in eight starts since the beginning of June. His overall record this season is 9-6 with a 3.42 ERA. Manaea has an 11-game winning streak when pitching in day games that dates back to May 20, 2017. He is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three career starts versus the Giants.

Royals take game two from the Athletics 5-4 on Saturday

Royals Jorge Soler hits game winning home run Photo @Royals

by Charlie O. Mallonee

After a team destroys their opponents 16-0 the night before, there can be a tendency for a club to come out in the next game and be incapable of putting any runs up on the board. After the Kansas City Royals scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on Saturday afternoon to take a 2-0 lead, it looked like game two of this three-game series might be one of those games.

The situation became grimmer in the bottom of the second inning when the Royals added to their lead. With two out in the inning, Ryan Goins laid down a bunt in front of the plate. Catcher Bruce Maxwell fielder the ball cleanly and make a quick throw to first for a “bang-bang” out. Well, wait just a minute. The Royals decided to challenge the call. Video replay in New York overturned the call on the field and Goins was called safe at first.

Now with two out and a runner at first, shortstop Alcides Escobar stepped into the batter’s box to face A’s starter Trevor Cahill. Escobar hit the first pitch to him off the fence in right field for an RBI-triple as Goins was able to come home and score easily from first base.

That brought leadoff man Jon Jay back to bat. Jay led the game off with a single and eventually scored the first run of the game. Jay – the Royals DH – hit the 1-1 pitch through the hole on the left side of the infield for a double. Escobar was able to trot home to score the fourth run of the game for Kansas City. When the second inning was over, the Royals led the Athletics 4-0.

Marcus Semien is making making his presence know to the Royals Photo @Athletics

The Athletics bounced back in the top of the third when Marcus Semien hit a one-out double to left-center field. After Matt Joyce struck out, Jed Lowrie singled to right field driving Semien home for the A’s first run of the contest cutting the Royals lead to 4-1.

The A’s went right back to work in the fourth inning. With one out and Fowler at first, Piscottty doubled to left field. Fowler blew through third base coach Matt Williams stop sign and was thrown out at home. Maxwell singled to left-center field drivng Piscotty home for the A’s second run of the game.

Bruce Maxwell led off the top of the seventh inning by hitting a 3-1 Jason Hammel pitch over the center field wall for his first home run of the season. The Athletics had cut the Kansas City lead to 4-3.

In the top of the eighth inning, the A’s received some bad news when Matt Joyce had to exit the game due to an injured back. Matt Olson led off the inning by hitting a single to left-center field. Olson advanced to second when Chapman grounded out. Chad Pinder entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Fowler. Pinder singled up the middle sending Olson home to tie the game at 4-4.

With one out in the home-half of the eighth inning, Jorge Soler hit his ninth home run of the season over left field wall to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. It would prove to be the game winning hit.

On the Hill

Oakland (30-29)

Pagan faced only one batter on Saturday Photo @Athletics

• Trevor Cahill was charged with a season-high four runs (all earned) on a season-high seven hits in a season-low 4.2 innings. Not a combination of stats that a starting pitcher would like to post. Cahill is winless in his last 13 road starts with a 6.46 ERA. His last road win was on August 20, 2016 in Colorado. He did strike out six Royals and walked two.
• Emilio Pagan pitched 0.1 of an inning.
• Danny Coulombe pitched 1.0 inning of relief allowing no hits while striking out two and walking one.
• Yusmeiro Petit closed out the game for Oakland pitching 2.0 innings giving up one run (earned) on one hit – the home run to Soler. Petit was charged with the loss and is now 2-2 on the season.

Kansas City (21-37)

• Jason Hammel – the Royals starter – remains winless in his last six starts. He exited the game with a 4-3 lead but Oakland tied the game and Hammel no longer could figure into the decision. Hammel gave up three runs (all earned) on seven hits (one HR) in 6.0 innings of work. He struck out three and walked two.
• Kevin McCarthy – worked the seventh inning giving up no hits and walking one.
• Tim Hill – had a very intersting game. He was charged with a blown save (BS, 1) he gave up the tying run in the top the eighth inning. However, Hill was the pitcher of record when Soler hit the game winning home run, so he received the win to up his record to 1-1 for the year.
• Kelvin Herrera – entered the came in the top of the ninth to go for the save. Herrera – who has an 0.79 ERA – worked a perfect inning striking out one and earning 13th save of the season in 14 opportunities.

In the Batter’s Box

Athletics (4th-place AL West 6.5 GB)

• Bruce Maxwell – the A’s catcher was really the man with the bat today in Kansas City. Maxwell went 2-for-3 in the game scoring a run and posting two RBI. One of Maxwell’s hits was his first home run of the season.
• Jed Lowrie – appears to be benefiting from having Khris Davis back in the lineup for protection. Lowrie went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
• Chad Pinder – recorded his 13th RBI of the season.
• The A’s went 3-for-6 with Runners In Scoring Position
• Oakland had nine hits (four strike outs) and left six runners on base

Royals (5th-place AL Central 9.5 GB)

• Jon Jay – the Royals leadoff/DH went 2-for-4 on Saturday. His leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning was his 14th of the season. He is now hitting .305 for the year. Jay also collected his 16th RBI of season in the game.
• Jorge Soler – hit his ninth home run of the season and it was the fifth time one of his home runs has given the Royals the lead. It was also his fourth home run in eight games.
• The Royals went 2-for-7 with Runners In Scoring Position
• Kansas City collected eight hits and struck out 10 times. They left nine men on base.

Up next

On Sunday, it will be the “rubber game” of the three-game series. The Athletics will send RHP Daniel Gossett (0-3, 6.05 ERA). He is 0-2 since rejoining the A’s from Triple-A on May 23rd. The Royals are going to start RHP Jakob Junis (5-4, 3.61 ERA).

A’s beat O’s 2-0 in 12 innings on Khris Davis two-run walk-off home run

Khris Davis hits the game-winning walk-off HR in the 12th inning Photo: @Athletics

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Oakland – Both teams deserved to win this game. That line is overused by sports reporters around the world, but on Saturday night at the Coliseum, it was the truth. The Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics put on game-winning performances in their 12-inning affair but in baseball, there are no ties. The A’s won the game 2-0.

The Athletics left the field with their 17th victory of the season after designated hitter Khris Davis hit a Pedro Araujo 3-1 pitch halfway up into the seats in left field with Jed Lowrie on at first with no outs in the bottom of the 12th inning. Unbelievably, the A’s never had a runner in scoring position during the entire contest. It is not often a team is going to escape with a win and never had advanced a runner to second base, but there was nothing usual about this game.

Old Fashion Pitchers Dual

Trevor Cahill recorded 12 strikeouts in a no-decision Saturday Photo: @Athletics

Trevor Cahill started the game for Oakland. Cahill set the tone for the game in the top of the first inning when he struck out the first three Orioles he faced. He struck five of the first six hitters to come bat against him. Cahill looked unbeatable on the mound.

Cahill would go on to work 6.0-innings and record 12 strikeouts while walking just one Baltimore batter. That tied Cahill for the second most strikeouts in six or fewer innings in Oakland history.

Cahill did not give up a run and allowed just four hits. He threw 98 pitches (58 strikes). Manager Bob Melvin indicated the plan was for Cahill to work seven innings but he did not want the righty to exceed 100 pitches.

Kevin Gausman threw nine innings of two-hit baseball Photo: @Orioles

The other phenomenal story was Baltimore starting pitcher Kevin Gausman who entered the game with a record of 2-2. Gausman pitched a career-high nine innings and threw 113 pitches (66 strikes). He began the game throwing 89 mph and his last pitch of the contest registered at 98 mph on the radar gun.

Gausman threw nine shutout innings allowing just two hits while striking out six Oakland batters and walking two. It was a pitching performance that would normally have resulted in a victory.

The real irony for both of these starting pitchers who performed so well was they both recorded a no-decision for the game.

Relievers were key in this game

Oakland

• Yusmeiro Petit came on in relief of Cahill in the top of seventh. Petit really struggled on Friday night but Melvin said had no hesitancy about sending Petit back to the hill. Petit threw 2.0-innings giving up no runs and allowing just one hit. He struck out four and walked three.
• Santiago Casilla worked innings nine and 10. He pitched two shutout innings allowing just one hit and one hit batter.
• Danny Coulombe pitched 1.1-innings striking out four Orioles and allowing one hit.
• Chris Hatcher replaced Coulombe in the top of the 12th with one out. He walked the first man he faced – Trey Mancini. Craig Gentry was brought in as a pinch-runner for Mancini. With Adam Jones at bat, Gentry attempted to steal second base but was thrown out on a strong throw from catcher Bruce Maxwell to second baseman Jed Lowrie. It was the second caught stealing executed by Maxwell in the game. Hatcher induced Jones to ground out third to first for the final out of the game. Hatcher (3-0) picked up the win as he was the pitcher of record when Davis hit the game-winning home run.

Baltimore

• Mychal Givens worked two great innings of relief of the O’s. He struck out five of the six Oakland hitters he faced and allowed no baserunners. It was simply a perfect relief effort.
• Pedro Araujo worked the fateful 12th inning giving up the game-winning two-run home run to Davis. He is hung with the loss and is now 1-3 for the season.

Counting them up for Cahill Photo: @Athletics

Vital Stats

Oakland (17-16) 2 runs, 4 hits, no errors

Baltimore (8-25) 0 runs, 7 hits, no errors

Time of the game: 3:32

Attendance: 24612

Up Next

The Orioles will send RHP Alex Cobb (0-3, 9.68) to the hill to faceoff against the Athletics RHP Andrew Triggs (2-1, 5.20). This will be Cobb’s fifth start of the season. His last start versus the Angels was his longest outing of the year when he pitched 6.0-innings. Cobb has allowed 10 hits in three of his starts and allows just over five runs per appearance.

Triggs will make his seventh start of the season for Oakland. He made the start last Tuesday on the road in Seattle. Triggs pitched 4.2-innings in that game giving up four runs (all earned) off six hits. He struck out four hitters and walked three while throwing 89 pitches (49 strikes). The A’s went on to lose that game 6-3.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM.