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Not only did Khris Davis hit his 4th home run of the season to give the A's the early lead, but by making two outs he managed to get his batting average down to .250, just three points shy of the magic .247.
Oh...and the A's beat a punchless Angels team (3 hits 1 walk) 2-1 to even their record at 3-3. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (which in English is "The The Angels Angels of Anaheim") drop to 1-3 to open the year. Trout and Calhoun have been the entire offense.
Kole Calhoun lead off the game with a double, Mike Trout was hit by a pitch, but Justin Bour grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, and Andrellton Simmons struck out. Nick Hundley and Marcus Semien had back-to-back 2 out singles in the 3rd, and Matt Chapman would follow with a walk to load the bases, but Stephen Piscotty flied out to right. Khris Davis lead off the 4th with a homer to put the A's up 1-0. Semien doubled with 2 outs in the 5th and would score on Chapman's single for a 2-0 lead, and the Angels would come right back in the top of the 6th as Calhoun had a 2 out homer. Bour doubled to lead off the 7th, but Simmons grounded out, Zack Cozart popped out, and Tommy La Stella struck out. Chapman singled to start the 8th, following a force out Davis was intentionally walked and Mark Canha walked to load the bases, but Chad Pinder struck out and Jurickson Profar grounded out. Trout walked with 1 out in the 9th, stole second, but got left there as Simmons ended the game with a pop out to left. Frankie Montas (1-0) allowed 1 run on 3 hits (1 homer) with 0 walks (1 hit batter) and 6 strikeouts in 6+ innings, Lou Trivino (2nd hold), Joakim Soria (1st hold) combined for 2 strikeouts in 2 hitless innings, and Blake Treinen (2nd save) allowed a walk in a scoreless 9th. Tyler Skaggs (0-1) allowed 2 runs on 5 hits (1 homer) with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts in 4 2/3.
A's stay at home as they welcome in the Red Sox for 4 games beginning on Monday night. Aaron Brooks (0-0, 0.00 in 3 appearances last year) starts for the A's against David Price (16-7, 3.58) with first pitch slated for 10:07. Angels stay on the road and head up the coast to Seattle for a quick 2 game series with the Mariners @ Safeco Field, or T-Mobile Park, or whatever they are calling that place now.
Xander Bogaerts had a 1 out double, but got thrown out at home on a rocket from Ramon Laureno on a Mitch Moreland single to left, and Khris Davis would homer to lead off the bottom half, I believe his MLB leading 5th home run. Laureano would homer to lead off the 3rd, and Marcus Semien would double 2 batters later, but a fly out and ground out stranded him at 2nd. A Mark Canha 1 out walk in the 4th, a Chad Pinder force out, and a Jurickson Profar single left runners on 1st & 2nd but Laureano struck out. Canha drew a 2 out walk in the 6th and came home on a Pinder 2 run homer. J.D. Martinez and Bogaerts had back to back 2 out singles in the 7th, but Moreland popped out to end that threat. Matt Chapman homered to lead off the 8th, 2 singles sandwiched around an error made it 6-0, and the 7th run scored on Pinder's single. Aaron Brooks (1-0) allowed 2 hits, 1 walk with 6 strikeouts in 6 scoreless innings of work, while David Price (0-1) struck out 9, but allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (with 3 of them leaving the yard) with 2 walks in 6 innings pitched.
Game 2 of the series is on Tuesday: Mike Fiers (1-1, 5.00) starts for the A's against Chris Sale (0-1, 21.00) who toes the rubber for the Bo Sox. First pitch slated for 10:07.
The A's got just three hits tonight, but one of them came in the third inning when Matt Chapman took Chris Sale deep for the only run of the game. Mike Fiers pitched six shutout innings for the win, Treinen closed it out for his third save.
The A's have shutout the defending champs two nights in a row. They play each other again Wednesday and Thursday.
Pretty soon baserunners will wise up and cease challenging Ramon Laureano's arm. This one was a game saver in the ninth. The A's led 1-0 with one out in the ninth and no one on. Xander Bogart smacked a long drive which would have been a home run if it had been a foot to the left, but instead it wapped off the wall right where it becomes high. He thought he could stretch it into a triple....but...
Ramon Laureano gunned down his third Red Sox runner in the series, nailing Mookie Betts trying to go from first to third in the ninth inning of a game that Boston was trailing 7-3. No one was out, and since the Sox needed four runs to stay in the game, there was absolutely no reason for Betts to have tried to go to third. Even MVPs can pull boners.
The score held up, so the A's took three out of four from the World Champs. Now they go on the road for three at Houston.
Tuesday: Red Sox 0 @ A's 1.
Only run scored on the evening was a Matt Chapman 1st inning home run, with Stephen Piscotty and Josh Phegley getting the only other A's hits. Ramon Laureano did have the play of the game as he gunned down Xander Bogaerts trying to stretch a double into a triple with 1 out in the 9th. Mike Fiers (2-1) allowed 5 hits, 0 walks and 3 strikeouts in 6 scoreless innings, Ryan Buchter (1st hold), Lou Trivino (3rd hold) had 4 strikeouts and 1 hit allowed in 2 innings, and Blake Treinen (3rd save) allowed a hit and a walk, but had 2 strikeouts as he preserved the win. Nobody for the Red Sox had multiple hits as Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez, Bogaerts, Mitch Moreland, and Christian Vazquez each had single base hits, with Moreland the only Red Sox on the evening that reached base twice as he walked in the 9th against Treinen. Chris Sale (0-2) allowed 1 run on 3 hits (1 home run) with 2 walks (1 hit batter) and 1 strike out in 6 innings. In other West action on the day the Mariners beat the Angels 2-1, and the Rangers beat the Astros 6-4. The Mariners remain in first by themselves where they've been alone since the 2 Japan games at 7-1, A's improve to 5-3 and 2 games back, Texas is 3-2, 2.5 back, Astros are 4 back at 2-5, and the Angels bring up the rear at 1-5, 5 games back.
Wednesday: Red Sox 6 @ A's 3.
Kendrys Morales and Marcus Semien each scored a run, Nick Hundley had an RBI, and Laureano had a 2 run homer which accounted for the final A's run scored and the final 2 RBI's. Marco Estrada allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits (1 home run) with 2 walks and 3 strike outs in 5 1/3, Buchter (2nd blown save) allowed a base hit to the only batter he faced, and Fernando Rodney (0-1) allowed 3 runs on 4 hits with a strike out in 2/3's of an inning. Betts had 2 runs scored and 2 RBI's, Benintendi added an RBI, Moreland had 2 RBI's, Blake Swihart had a solo home run and scored a 2nd run in the 9th, while Jackie Bradley Jr. scored a run for the Bo Sox as well. Nathan Eovaldi allowed 3 runs on 4 hits (1 home run) with 4 walks and 3 strike outs in 5 innings, Matt Barnes (1-0) allowed a single hit and had 2 strikeouts in 1 1/3, while Ryan Brasier (1st save) picked up his first major league save with a 1-2-3 9th. In other action in the division on Wednesday, the only other game in town was Rangers shutting out the Astros 4-0 as the Angels and Mariners were off. Seattle stays at 7-1 and they are 2 up on the Rangers who go to 4-2, A's fall to 5-4 and 2.5 games back, Astros fall to 4.5 back at 2-5, and the Angels stay at 5 back at 1-5
Thursday: Red Sox 3 @ A's 7.
Benintendi and Martinez each had 2 hits, with Benintendi having a run scored, and Martinez adding a run scored and RBI courtesy of a home run, Betts added a run scored, Bogaerts had an RBI, and Brock Holt had an RBI. Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2) allowed 6 runs on 8 hits (1 homer) with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts in 3 2/3. Robbie Grossman had a run scored and RBI, Semien had 2 runs scored, Khris Davis had an RBI, Laureano had a run scored and another outfield assist, Phegley had 2 runs scored, and the big contributor on the afternoon was Piscotty who finished 4-5 with 1 run scored but 5 RBI's, adding a home run on top of that. Brett Anderson (2-0) allowed 3 runs on 8 hits (1 home run) with 4 walks and 3 strike outs in 5 1/3, and Trivino (4th hold) struck out the only 2 batters he faced in relief of Anderson to end the 6th inning and pick up a hold. In other divisional action the Rangers spoiled the Angels home opener with an 11-4 win at the Big A, the Astros had the day off as scheduled, and the Mariners were postponed on the South side of Chicago for the White Sox's home opener, so these 2 games, much like Wednesday night were the only ones in town. Seattle, courtesy of their second straight day without a game, stays at 7-1, Rangers improve to 5-2 and get to within a game and a half, A's go to 6-4 and 2 back, while the Astros stay at 2-5 and 4.5 back while the Angels fall to 1-6 and 5.5 back.
Friday: A's 2 @ Astros 3.
Morales and Mark Canha scored the A's 2 runs, while Laureano finished 4-4 with the only 2 A's RBI's on the night. Frankie Montas (1-1) allowed 2 runs on 7 hits (1 home run) with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts in 5 innings. George Springer, and Tony Kemp scored 2 of the Astros 3 runs, with Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman with 2 of the 3 RBI's, with the final run scored and RBI coming via a Carlos Correa solo home run. Altuve and Bregam each added 2 hits for the Astros. Collin McHugh (1-1) allowed 1 run on 3 hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts in 6 innings, Hector Rondon (1st hold), and Ryan Pressly (2nd hold) had 1 strikeout and 2 hits allowed in 2 innings, while Roberto Osuna (2nd save) allowed 1 run on 2 hits with 2 strikeouts in 1 inning. Mariners lost to the White Sox 8-10, and the Angels beat the Rangers 3-1 in other divisional action. Seattle stays in first at 7-2, Texas falls to 5-3 and remains 1.5 back, Oakland drops to 6-5 and remains 2 back, Astros improve to 3-5 and get to 3.5 back while the Angels pick up win number 2 on the year, improve to 2-6 and go to 4.4 back of the Mariners.
Saturday: A's 0 @ Astros 6.
Springer (1 run scored, 2 RBI's, 1 home run), Bregman (1 run scored), Michael Brantley (2 RBI's, 2 runs scored, 1 home run) each had 2 hits, Yuli Gurriel finished 3-4 with an RBI, Robinson Chirinos had a run scored and RBI courtesy of a home run, and Jake Marisnick scored a run. Wade Miley (1-1) allowed 2 walks, 4 hits with 4 strikeouts in 5 2/3 scoreless. For the A's: Davis, Chad Pinder, Morales and Canha recorded 1 base hit each, and Piscotty reached base 3 times with 2 hits and a walk. Aaron Brooks (1-1) allowed 5 runs on 9 hits (2 home runs) with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts in 5 innings. Angels beat the Rangers 5-1, and the Mariners knocked off the White Sox 9-2. Mariners stay in first at 8-2, Texas falls to 2.5 back at 5-4, A's fall to an even 6-6 and goes to 3 back, Astros are 4-5 and 3.5 back while the Angels stay 4.5 back at 3-6.
Sunday: A's 8 @ Astros 9.
Altuve (1 RBI, 2 runs scored), and Bregman (1 RBI, 1 run scored) each recorded 3 hits for the 'Stros, Aledmys Diaz had 4 RBI's, 2 runs scored with a 3 run first inning home run in a 2-4 day at the plate, and Brantley also finished 2-4 with an RBI and run scored, Correa had a RBI and run scored, Kemp had a run scored an RBI via an 8th inning home run in a 2-4 day as well, and Springer scored the final Astros run on the day. Brad Peacock allowed 5 runs on 7 hits (1 homer) with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts in 5 innings, Josh James (1st blown save) allowed 2 runs on 2 hits (1 homer) with a strikeout in 2 innings, and Osuna (1-0) picked up the win with a 1-2-3 top of the 9th with a strikeout. Grossman finished 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's including a home run, while Pinder (1 run scored, 3 RBI's and 1 home run), Laureano (2 runs scored), and Phegley (2 runs scored and 2 RBI's, 1 home run) each recorded 2 hits, and Piscotty scored the final run for the A's. Fiers allowed 6 runs on 7 hits (1 home run) with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts in only 1 2/3, Joakim Soria (2nd hold), and Trivino (5th hold) allowed 2 runs on 4 hits (1 home run) with 1 strikeout in 2 1/3, and Treinen (0-1, 1st blown save) allowed 1 run on 2 hits with a strike out but an unsightly 4 walks in 1 1/3, which included walking in the winning run with 2 outs in the 9th. Seattle beat the White Sox 12-5 and the Angels beat the Rangers 7-2. Seattle stays in first at 9-2 and they are 3.5 up on the Rangers and Mariners who are tied at 5-5 for 2nd, A's fall to 6-7 and drop to 4th place 4 back, while the Angels remain in last 4-6, 4.5 games behind the leaders. Astros stay at home and welcome in the Yankees for a 3 game series which begins on Monday. The Yankees came from Baltimore....which is exactly where the A's will be traveling as a 4 game series in the Charm city kicks off in about 20 minutes, 7:05. Andrew Cashner (1-1, 5.40) starts for the A's against Estrada (0-0, 2.76). In other West action on the docket for Monday, the Mariners are in KC to play the Royals, and the Angels have an interleague series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Rangers have the night off and will resume play Tuesday night in Phoenix for a quick 2 game interleague series against the Diamondbacks.
A's 4 @ Orioles 12.
Trey Mancini (2 RBI's, 2 runs scored, 1 home run) and Richie Martin (3 runs scored) lead the Orioles with 3 hits while Jonathan Villar (2 runs scored, 4 RBI's, 1 home run), Renato Nunez, Jesus Sucre (2 runs scored), and Cedric Mullins (3 RBI's, 2 runs scored) chipped in 2 hits as well. Joey Rickard scored the final O's run, and Hanser Alberto had the final 2 Oriole RBI's on the night. Somebody who did not make the highlights is Chris Davis who set the major league record for most consecutive at bat's without recording a hit, as the "other" Chris Davis last recorded a base hit last year in September, and his current slash line is .000/.125/.000/.125. Andrew Cashner (2-1) allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits (2 home runs) with a walk and a strikeout in 5 1/3, Jimmy Yacabonis (1st hold), and Mychel Givens (3rd hold) combined for 2 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts in 2 2/3's scoreless innings. Matt Chapman lead the A's with 3 hits, Marcus Semien had 2 hits and a run scored, Mark Canha had an RBI and 2 runs scored on a home run, and Josh Phegley had a run scored and 2 RBI's also on a home run. Marco Estrada (0-1) allowed 6 runs on 9 hits (2 home runs) with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts in 4 innings. The Angels beat the Brewers 5-2, Mariners beat the Royals 13-5, and the Astros beat the Yankees 4-3. Seattle stays in first at 10-2, Astros are 6-5 and 3.5 back, Texas stays at 4-4 and drops to 4 back, Anaheim goes to 5-6 and 4.5 back while the A's drop to last 6-8 and 5 back. Texas opens up a 2 game series in Arizona on Tuesday night.
Game 2 of the series was on Tuesday. John Means (1-0, 1.59) started for the Orioles against Brett Anderson 92-0, 2.38) with that game going a lot better assuming you are an A's fan!
A's 13 @ Baltimore 2.
Dwight Smith Jr. was the only Oriole with multiple hits with 2 and he scored a run, Alberto scored the second run, while Pedro Severino drove in both Orioles runs. Means (1-1) allowed 5 runs (but only 1 was earned) on 4 hits (1 home run) with a walk and a strikeout in 3 innings. On the A's side Jurickson Profar finished 4-5 with 5 RBI's and 3 runs scored and his first home run as an Oakland Athletic, and Chad Pinder went 3-4 with 3 runs scored as well. Semien had a run scored and 4 RBI's with a home run, Stephen Piscotty, Khris Davis, and Canha all had a run scored, Phegley had a run scored and RBI, and Ramon Laureano had 2 RBI's and 2 runs scored. Anderson (3-0) allowed 2 runs on 7 hits with a walk and 4 strikeouts in 6 2/3's. The Mariners beat the Royals 6-3, Astros beat the Yankees 6-3, Rangers were walked off in Phoenix 4-5, and the Angels dumped the Brewers 11-8. Seattle remains in first at 11-2, Houston is 7-5 and 3.5 back, Angels jump up to 4.5 back with their 5th straight win to get to an even 6-6, while Oakland 7-8 and the Rangers 5-6 are in a dead heat tie for 4th place at 5 back.
The series continues on Wednesday. Frankie Montas (1-1, 2.45) starts for the A's against Dan Straily (0-0, 33.75) for the Orioles with first pitch scheduled for 7:05.
The A's just won their sixth in a row, and 12th out of their last 14. They have moved within 4 games of the AL West lead, and currently sport a better run differential than do the Astros (+96 to +86) They have moved a half game ahead of Cleveland and now have sole possession of the second wild card slot.
An interesting thing about this team is that they are winning despite the fact that three of last year's key contributors, aren't contributing much in 2019. Jed Lowrie had a career year at second in 2018, but departed as a free agent. Kris Davis led all of MLB in home runs with 48, but this season has been struggling and missing time with injuries. And Blake Treinen who had an off the charts 2018 in relief, posting a 0.76 ERA, has lost his job as the A's closer after ballooning his ERA to 4.66.
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