MLB: Flying start for Chicago
Adam Dunn: Hit a three-run homer in the first innings Adam Dunn’s three-run homer in the first innings proved key as the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 6-4.
Led by Dunn’s long ball, the White Sox jumped into a 5-0 after two innings to hand Boston starter Jon Lester his first loss of the year, getting all their runs with two outs.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a two-run homer in the third for Boston and Will Middlebrooks pulled them within two with a two-run double in the seventh, but it was not enough to stop their winning streak ending at five matches.
Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner each drove in a run in the 10th to give the New York Yankees a 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Hafner had hit one of the Yankees’ four solo homers in the ninth to take the game to extras, with the others coming from Robinson Cano, Lyle Overbay and, with his first in the majors, David Adams.
Chris Davis went yard for the Orioles.
Clayton Kershaw allowed just three hits as he pitched a complete game in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Scattered Kershaw struck out five and walked one in his second complete game of the season, while Andre Ethier homered and tripled.
Patrick Corbin fanned 10 in the first complete game of his career to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Corbin scattered three hits and walked one for his seventh win of the season, while Didi Gregorius drove in a pair on three hits.
Yan Gomes’ three-run homer in the 10th saw the Cleveland Indians to a 10-8 win over the Seattle Mariners – their third walk-off victory in a four-game sweep.
Ryan Raburn also connected for a three-run shot for the Indians, while Kyle Seager, pinch hitter Endy Chavez and, in the top of the 10th, Justin Smoak all went yard for the Mariners.
RA Dickey went a season-high eight innings, allowing three runs – two earned – for his second straight win as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-5, while Julio Teheran allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings and Dan Uggla smashed a three-run homer in the Atlanta Braves’ 5-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Matt Dominguez belted a three-run shot in the Houston Astros’ 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, Will Venable homered as the San Diego Padres’ beat the St Louis Cardinals 4-2 and the San Francisco Giants routed the Washington Nationals 8-0.
The Oakland Athletics were 9-2 winners over the Texas Rangers, the Cincinnati Reds edged out the New York Mets 4-3 and the Miami Marlins overcame the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1.
Catholic Priest Hosting Gay Sports Camp To Convert …
After figuring out that electroshock therapy1 and gay conversion therapy2 didn t really work, a Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, PA has come up with yet another suggestion on how to force grown men into changing their sexuality. You know, because they chose it in the first place.
The organization, run by Father Paul Check, is planning3 the 14th year of a weeklong Catholic sports camp, which will help men to shed their homosexual desires through playing contact sports with other barely-clothed, sweaty, and presumably sexy gay men.
Check believes the lack of contact sports at an early age can lead men to develop homosexual tendencies, and hopes to extract the shame gay men feel while playing sports with other men. Father Check may be on to something there aren t any gay men in major league sports4, and if there are, they never win medals5 or feel accepted6.
Something smells fishy, and we re not the only ones that think it. Ed Coffin, a member of Peace Advocacy Network7, plans to protest the annual hookup mecca:
It s very clear what this organization does is focus on turning people who are homosexual basically trying to change them into heterosexuals or at least get them to live a completely chaste lifestyle which requires them to not act on any of their homosexual inclinations, Coffin said.
It falls under the broader realm of conversion therapy. We do feel that this is very detrimental, that s it s psychologically damaging.
And before you knock it, just listen to the satisfaction it brings men who are no longer interested in other men. This testimony, given by Louis on the sports camp s website, proves there s absolutely nothing homoerotic about sweaty men hugging other sweaty men:
One time a teammate gave me a sweaty celebratory hug.
He was humbly secure in himself, just as he was, selflessly and joyfully showing affection to others.
I also liked when one man, whom I d felt intimidated by, gave me a pat on my belly, meaning way to go!
His touch made me feel accepted as one of the guys.
Where do we sign up?
References
- ^ electroshock therapy (www.queerty.com)
- ^ gay conversion therapy (www.queerty.com)
- ^ is planning (couragerc.net)
- ^ there aren t any gay men in major league sports (www.queerty.com)
- ^ they never win medals (www.queerty.com)
- ^ feel accepted (www.queerty.com)
- ^ Peace Advocacy Network (www.google.com)
Oscar Pistorius confirms he will not compete in athletics this year
Oscar Pistorius at court in Pretoria in February after the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Photograph: Getty Images Oscar Pistorius will not compete again this year as he awaits trial for murder despite receiving a number of meeting invitations, his agent has claimed.
Peet van Zyl told the Press Association that the 26-year-old South African is not mentally ready to return to the track.
The six-time Paralympic gold medallist was charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February and is awaiting trial in South Africa.
“There was never any pressure from me or his coach Ampie Louw to return to competition, it’s his decision and it’s his decision not to compete,” Van Zyl said.
The decision means that Pistorius will not take part in the IPC World Championships in Lyon in July.
Oscar Pistorius has ruled out returning to the track this year so he can concentrate on his court case
Oscar Pistorius will not return to the track for the rest of the year so he can focus on his looming court case.
Pistorius stands accused of premeditated murder after the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot dead on Valentine’s Day at his Pretoria home.
The ‘Blade Runner’, who was released on bail in February, will be back in court on June 4 and is likely to stand trial before the end of 2013.
In the dock: Oscar Pistorius will not return to the track this year In training: Pistorius was believed to be in training again in South Africa after being bailed But the Paralympian’s coach Ampie Louw revealed Pistorius has turned down invitations to take part in major international athletic events and will stay away from the track.
Louw said: ‘We have decided as a team we are not talking about any training or athletics.
‘We have postponed races for the whole year.’ Tragedy: Reeva Steenkamp died after being shot in the bathroom at Pistorius’ home Blade Runner: Pistorius’ coach claims the South African is not ready to head back into action Louw says Pistorius, 26, was not psychologically ready to take part in any events.
He added: ‘He is nowhere close to being in a position to train.
He just does fitness exercises in the morning with his family.’ It means six-time Pralympic gold medallist Pistorius will not compete in the IPC World Championships in Lyon in July.
Pistorius’ agent Peet van Zyl said: ‘There was never any pressure from me or his coach to return to competition, it’s his decision and it’s his decision not to compete.’ Anguish: Pistorius’ coach Ampie Louw (above right) claims the sprinter is not in a fit mental state to run Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons.
Miguel Cabrera hits three home runs but Tigers still lose to Rangers
David Murphy’s three-run shot was barely enough against Miguel Cabrera’s three home runs on Sunday.
Murphy put the Texas Rangers ahead of the Detroit Tigers for good with a drive just over the wall in right field in the sixth inning, helping the Rangers spoil the second three-homer game of Cabrera’s career with an 11-8 victory.
“Very nice to be on the winning side,” Murphy said.
“Big game, fun game, national TV.
We got to witness the best hitter in the game hit three homers.” Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the fifth off Derek Holland, then went deep again in the eighth against Tanner Scheppers.
Cabrera, the 2012 AL Triple Crown winner and MVP and this year’s leader in average and RBIs, went four for four with five RBIs and has 11 homers, one off the AL lead.
Still, the Tigers lost three of four games to the Rangers.
“I’ve never seen a guy that puts the bat head on the ball as regular as he does, and on all pitches,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
“He’s just a tremendous hitter.
I’m very happy that he’s headed to the airport.” Murphy’s homer gave the Rangers an 8-7 lead and answered a bases-loaded double from Prince Fielder that put Detroit up by two after the Rangers had walked Cabrera intentionally even though first base wasn’t open.
The go-ahead shot came against Jose Ortega (0-1), who hadn’t allowed a run in six relief appearances covering seven innings.
Robbie Ross (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the win, and Joe Nathan worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his 13th save.
He has saved all 36 career chances against Detroit.
Elsewhere, Justin Masterson struck out a season-high 11 in seven shutout innings and Michael Brantley homered and drove in four runs off Felix Hernandez as the Cleveland Indians produced a 6-0 win over the Seattle Mariners , and Matt Moore pitched seven innings of five-hit ball to stay unbeaten, while Luke Scott and Matt Joyce homered as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 for a three-game sweep.
In other American League games, the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 for its fifth straight win, the Los Angeles Angles beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 and Yeonis Cespedes hit a leadoff homer in the eighth inning as the Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 in Oakland to complete a three-game sweep.
In the National League, Freddy Galvis and Erik Kratz each homered off closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth innings, helping the Philadelphia Phillies secure a stunning 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds .
Chapman (3-2) blew his second straight save opportunity after converting his first eight chances this season.
Ricky Nolasco struck out 11 as the Miami Marlins stopped a season-high seven-game losing streak by holding off the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1.
The Diamondbacks scored once in the ninth.
Mike Dunn, the Marlins’ third pitcher of the inning, got pinch-hitter AJ Pollock to ground out on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded to end it.
The New York Mets earned their first series win at Wrigley Field since 2007 when Daniel Murphy hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning for a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs .
In other NL matches, the Atlanta Braves had a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers , the St Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2, the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-0 and the San Diego Padres beat the Washington Nationals 13-4.
In Interleague play, Jeff Locke allowed three hits over seven innings and Pedro Alvarez homered as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros 1-0 for their eighth win in 10 games.
Down On The Farm: Prospects Coming & Going
There have been an awful lot of comings and goings in the A’s system over the past week or so, as always seems to be the case about this time of year. Lefty Hideki Okajima was promoted from the River Cats’ staff to the A’s bullpen, while perennial prospect Michael Taylor was forced to make another return trip to Sacramento. And with Jeremy Barfield1 laying claim to a spot in the River Cats’ outfield, Conner Crumbliss2 was shipped back to Midland, where he’ll be joined in the outfield by Josh Whitaker3, who was recently promoted from Stockton.
Meanwhile, righty Josh Bowman4 was shipped back to Stockton, where it looks like he’ll be joined in the rotation by former 1st-round draft pick James Simmons, who already made his first start for the Ports this week. And those are just some of the A’s prospects who’ve been on the move recently! You can get daily updates on all the A’s top prospects on my Athletics Farm5 blog and lots more details on the last week of A’s minor league action right here on Athletics Nation…
SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS
(Triple-A Pacific Coast League)
Record This Week: 4-2
Record This Season: 24-19
Outfielders Michael Choice and Shane Peterson6 have really been anchoring the River Cats lineup for most of the year.
Choice leads the team in home runs and RBIs while Peterson leads the team in walks and OBP. Choice had been playing strictly in center field, but he’s recently begun getting some starts in right field as well. And one has to wonder if the A’s might be prepping him just in case right fielder Josh Reddick’s absence lingers for too long.
Jeremy Barfield filled out the outfield picture when he arrived from Midland a little over a week ago, and he’s been fitting right in, batting .310 with a pair of home runs in his first 9 games with Sacramento. Combined with his 8 home runs at Midland, Barfield now leads all A’s minor leaguers in home runs with a total of 10. Things got a little more crowded in the outfield when Michael Taylor returned to Sacramento this week and, with Barfield playing well, the A’s decided to ship Conner Crumbliss back down to Midland.
If first baseman Daric Barton7 ends up clearing waivers, the team might need to make room on the River Cats’ roster for him before long too. Meanwhile, in his first 10 games with Sacramento, shortstop Hiro Nakajima is hitting just .237. With Hideki Okajima’s recall by the A’s this week, RHP Dan Otero is the only real standout in the River Cats’ bullpen at this point, having allowed just 1 walk and 1 run over his first 15 appearances while notching 10 saves. Sonny Gray8 has been the clear standout amongst the starting staff, posting an ERA of 2.47 while allowing no home runs and striking out 38 in 43 2/3 innings of work.
But starters Bruce Billings9, Andrew Werner10 and Justin Thomas11 all stepped up with impressive performances for Sacramento this week.
Top Cats:
C Stephen Vogt12 (6 HR / 15 BB / 20 K / .338 AVG / .403 OBP / .579 SLG / .982 OPS)
OF Michael Choice (8 HR / 26 BB / 35 K / .288 AVG / .396 OBP / .484 SLG / .879 OPS)
OF Shane Peterson (3 HR / 33 BB / 34 K / .288 AVG / .426 OBP / .424 SLG / .850 OPS)
3B Scott Moore13 (4 HR / 18 BB / 31 K / .270 AVG / .367 OBP / .452 SLG / .819 OPS)
RHP Sonny Gray (43 2/3 IP / 39 H / 12 ER / 0 HR / 19 BB / 38 K / 2.47 ERA / 1.33 WHIP)
RHP Dan Otero (18 IP / 10 H / 1 ER / 0 HR / 1 BB / 14 K / 0.50 ERA / 0.61 WHIP / 10 SV)
MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS
(Double-A Texas League)
Record This Week: 3-4
Record This Season: 20-23
First baseman Anthony Aliotti14, who has been one of the most consistent hitters in the A’s sytem this year, had a career night on Saturday, collecting 3 home runs and 8 RBIs for the RockHounds. Aliotti now leads all A’s minor leaguers in hits, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. And if Daric Barton doesn’t clear waivers and end up back at Sacramento, it might finally be time for the A’s to give Aliotti a shot to show what he can do in Triple-A.
Outfielder Chad Oberacker’s been the second hottest hitter at Midland of late. He currently has 13 doubles and 5 triples, and even collected 2 of those triples in 1 game this week! In his return to Midland from Sacramento, outfielder Conner Crumbliss was back to his old self, reaching base 4 times in his first 9 plate appearances.
Since his arrival from Stockton, outfielder Josh Whitaker has had a slightly harder time of it though, hitting .176 in his first 5 games. An even more dubious distinction belongs to RockHounds’ shortstop Dusty Coleman15, who currently leads all A’s minor leaguers in errors with 14 in his first 43 games. The team’s greatest strength has been its starting rotation, which is being ably anchored by a trio of tough righties.
Murphy Smith leads all A’s minor league league starters with a 2.00 ERA, Zach Neal leads the RockHounds with 38 strikeouts, and Sean Murphy leads all A’s minor league starters with a 1.20 WHIP. Struggling starter Josh Bowman was sent down to Stockton this week, while the A’s signed 29-year-old right-hander Erik Arnesen, who spent 7 years in the Nationals‘ system and had most recently been pitching in the independent Atlantic League, and assigned him to Midland.
Top Hounds:
1B Anthony Aliotti (7 HR / 32 BB / 35 K / .373 AVG / .472 OBP / .590 SLG / 1.062 OPS)
OF Jake Goebbert (6 HR / 10 BB / 38 K / .275 AVG / .323 OBP / .443 SLG / .766 OPS)
OF Chad Oberacker (1 HR / 17 BB / 35 K / .261 AVG / .330 OBP / .418 SLG / .748 OPS)
RHP Murphy Smith (54 IP / 52 H / 12 ER / 2 HR / 15 BB / 33 K / 2.00 ERA / 1.24 WHIP)
RHP Zach Neal (53 2/3 IP / 53 H / 16 ER / 4 HR / 13 BB / 38 K / 2.68 ERA / 1.23 WHIP)
RHP Sean Murphy (29 IP / 24 H / 7 ER / 0 HR / 10 BB / 25 K / 2.17 ERA / 1.17 WHIP)
STOCKTON PORTS
(High-A California League)
Record This Week: 3-3
Record This Season: 21-22
Top prospect Addison Russell16 was the top story at Stockton this week, as he really started showing a little pop. The shortstop hit 2 home runs, 2 doubles and a triple this week to raise his slugging percentage to a respectable .429.
He also went 8 for 25 to lift his batting average back over 200. Meanwhile, outfielder Rashun Dixon17 homered in his first game after his arrival from Beloit. And first baseman Max Muncy continues to lead all Ports’ regulars in hits, runs, walks, home runs, total bases and on-base percentage.
RHP Drew Granier has been the one reliable member of Stockton’s starting rotation, maintaining a nifty 2.28 ERA in the hitter-friendly California League while leading all A’s minor leaguers in strikeouts with 63 in 51 1/3 innings. His fellow righty, Tanner Peters, came through with an impressive performance for the Ports this week, allowing just 1 run while walking none and striking out 10 in 8 innings to earn his 3rd win. Former 1st-round draft pick James Simmons was sent down from Sacramento this week and made his first start for Stockton on Saturday, allowing just 1 hit over 4 scoreless innings.
The Ports’ pitching staff should also be getting a bit of a boost with the return of righty Josh Bowman, who was demoted from Midland. In other pitching news for the Ports this week, Seth Frankoff was put on the disabled list and Max Perlman was given his release.
Top Ports:
1B Max Muncy (9 HR / 33 BB / 32 K / .264 AVG / .396 OBP / .472 SLG / .868 OPS)
C Ryan Delgado (4 HR / 6 BB / 18 K / .250 AVG / .321 OBP / .474 SLG / .795 OPS)
SS Addison Russell (5 HR / 22 BB / 42 K / .206 AVG / .322 OBP / .429 SLG / .751 OPS)
RHP Drew Granier (51 1/3 IP / 39 H / 13 ER / 2 HR / 27 BB / 63 K / 2.28 ERA / 1.29 WHIP)
LHP Jake Brown (32 1/3 IP / 33 H / 15 ER / 3 HR / 1 BB / 31 K / 4.18 ERA / 1.05 WHIP)
RHP Jose Macias (24 1/3 IP / 17 H / 7 ER / 1 HR / 4 BB / 20 K / 2.59 ERA / 0.86 WHIP / 2 SV)
BELOIT SNAPPERS
(Class-A Midwest League)
Record This Week: 5-3
Record This Season: 24-18
The Snappers have been busy lately. In order to make up for a number of April rainouts, the team has played 14 games over the past 12 days.
They’ve been playing well though, and the Snappers’ pitching staff has been leading the way. Seven members of the staff currently boast ERA’s under 3.20 while three have ERAs under 2.00. Former top prospect Michael Ynoa18 has a miniscule ERA of just 1.44 after 25 innings, while Dakota Bacus is the team’s strikeout king with 36 in 36 innings, and Raul Alcantara leads all A’s minor leaguers in wins with 5.
Meanwhile, some of the A’s top young hitting prospects continue to provide the big bats for Beloit. First baseman Matt Olson leads the team in walks, doubles and RBIs, while third baseman Renato Nunez leads in home runs and total bases, and shortstop Daniel Robertson leads all Snappers’ regulars in batting average. But a somewhat overlooked hitter has been coming on strong lately.
Outfielder John Wooten, who was drafted by the A’s in the 37th-round last year, currently leads the team in both hits and runs and is tied with Nunez for the team lead in total bases.
Top Snappers:
3B Renato Nunez (9 HR / 10 BB / 42 K / .266 AVG / .325 OBP / .518 SLG / .842 OPS)
OF John Wooten (7 HR / 13 BB / 33 K / .287 AVG / .344 OBP / .480 SLG / .824 OPS)
1B Matt Olson (5 HR / 21 BB / 48 K / .260 AVG / .351 OBP / .460 SLG / .811 OPS)
RHP Michael Ynoa (25 IP / 20 H / 4 ER / 1 HR / 7 BB / 25 K / 1.44 ERA / 1.08 WHIP)
RHP Derek De Young (33 2/3 IP / 31 H / 9 ER / 1 HR / 16 BB / 28 K / 2.41 ERA / 1.40 WHIP)
RHP Dakota Bacus (36 IP / 38 H / 12 ER / 1 HR / 9 BB / 36 K / 3.00 ERA / 1.31 WHIP)
You can check out my blog – Athletics Farm19 – for daily updates on the A’s minor league teams and all the top prospects down on the farm.
References
- ^ Jeremy Barfield (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Conner Crumbliss (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Josh Whitaker (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Josh Bowman (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Athletics Farm (athleticsfarm.com)
- ^ Shane Peterson (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Daric Barton (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Sonny Gray (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Bruce Billings (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Andrew Werner (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Justin Thomas (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Stephen Vogt (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Scott Moore (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Anthony Aliotti (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Dusty Coleman (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Addison Russell (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Rashun Dixon (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Michael Ynoa (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Athletics Farm (athleticsfarm.com)
MLB: Masterson sinks Mariners
Justin Masterson: Struck out a season-high 11 Justin Masterson allowed just three hits over seven shutout innings and struck out a season-high 11 as the Cleveland Indians overcame the Seattle Mariners 6-0.
Michael Brantley had four RBI and clubbed a three-run homer in the second inning as the American League Central-leading Indians extended their winning streak to four games.
The Boston Red Sox secured their fifth straight win – and condemned the Minnesota Twins to a fifth consecutive loss – by posting a 5-1 victory at Target Field in a game which featured a three-hour rain delay.
John Lackey gave up one run on one hit over six innings while Dustin Pedroia and Will Middlebrooks had homers to help the Red Sox seal a three-game sweep.
The Tampa Bay Rays were 3-1 winners against Baltimore, Matt Moore limiting the Orioles to one run and striking out three over seven innings.
The AL West-leading Texas Rangers toppled the Detroit Tigers 11-8, the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-2, the Oakland Athletics edged the Kansas City Royals 4-3.
The East-leading New York Yankees’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays was postponed due to rain.
In the National League, back-to-back homers from Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis off closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning handed the Philadelphia Phillies a 3-2 walk-off win against the Cincinnati Reds.
Miami edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Ricky Nolasco struck out 11 over eight innings and Marcell Ozuna delivered the decisive two-run double for the Marlins.
Home runs from Kyle Blanks and Will Venable and 6 2/3 solid innings from Andrew Cashner spurred the San Diego Padres to a 13-4 win over the Washington Nationals, while Daniel Murphy’s go-ahead homer in the eighth lifted the New York Mets to a 4-3 success against the Chicago Cubs, and an RBI double from Jon Jay in a four-run fourth inning helped the St Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2.
The NL East-leading Atlanta Braves saw off the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 and the Colorado Rockies overcame the San Francisco Giants 5-0, while the Pittsburgh Pirates squeezed past the Houston Astros 1-0 in their Interleague clash.
Royals look completely mediocre in 4-3 loss to Athletics
A fitting way to wrap up a horrible weekend in Oakland.
Don’t look now, but the Kansas City Royals1 appear to be capable of playing completely mediocre baseball.
The team lost 4-3 to the Oakland Athletics2 on Sunday, their third straight one-run loss at the O.co Coliseum. The Royals have now been swept in two of their last three series, and have gone 3-9 in their last 12 games.
The Royals offense didn’t look completely inept today, as they managed to score three runs. Alex Gordon3 led the offense with four hit performance, driving in a run in the third and scoring a run in the fifth. Eric Hosmer4, Chris Getz5 and Billy Butler6 all had mutli-hit games.
The offense continued to show some improvements with plate discipline, drawing four walks to compliment the teams 11 hits. The team stranded 12 runners today, unable to pick up timely hits or hit for enough power to drive in multiple runners when they did hit with runners on.
Luis Mendoza7 had a perfectly acceptable performance for a fifth starter, allowing two runs on eight hits over six innings.
Mendoza struck out four, walked none, and left the game with the lead despite some more questionable run support. I’ll take that kind of start from Mendoza every time.
The Athletics picked up an unearned run in the seventh. Derek Norris hit a single to centerfield, but reached third base when David Lough8 misplayed the ball. Coco Crisp9 drove with a sacrifice fly to even the score.
Yoenis Cespedes10 smacked a leadoff homer off Kelvin Herrera11 at the start of the eighth inning to give the Athletics their fourth and final run of the game.
Herrera has now surrendered 8 home runs over 19 1/3 innings.
The Royals threatened to score with two outs in the ninth, as Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer hit back-to-back singles off Ryan Cook12. Mike Moustakas13 ended the game with a groundout to second, lowering his triple slash line to .178/.252/.311.
The loss pushed the Royals to 20-20 on the season, and are closer in the standings to the last place Chicago White Sox14 than the first place Cleveland Indians15.
There is still plenty of time to turn things around, but some things need to change.
References
- ^ Kansas City Royals (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Oakland Athletics (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Alex Gordon (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Eric Hosmer (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Chris Getz (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Billy Butler (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Luis Mendoza (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ David Lough (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Coco Crisp (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Yoenis Cespedes (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Kelvin Herrera (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Ryan Cook (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Mike Moustakas (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Chicago White Sox (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Cleveland Indians (www.sbnation.com)
Cooked Moose Gives A's A Sweep Of One-Run Games!
It came down to Mike “Moose Tacos” Moustakas against Ryan Cook with runners at 2B and 3B with 2 out in the 9th, and of course the count had to go full. Moustakas bounced to 2B and the A’s were back over .500. As Shakespeare would say…To sweep, perchance to dweam!
It didn’t come easy today for the A’s or for A.J.
Griffin1, as the Royals2 put up picket fences in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th. In the 3rd, Griffin walked Chris Getz3 (on a strike, but we won’t bother to be bitter because the A’s won) and Getz came around to score (on an Alex Gordon4 hit, one of 4 he had today). In the 4th, Griffin walked Hosmer leading off, and Hosmer came around to score (on a single by Getz, who had two hits and a walk today despite generally being terrible with a bat in his hand).
In the 5th, after the A’s closed the gap to 2-1 on singles by Cespedes and Moss and a Donaldson sac fly, Gordon and Butler singled, and then Eric Hosmer5 doubled home a run to make it 3-1.
2 B and 3B, one out, and that’s when Griffin channeled his inner-Milone, popping up Moustakas, and getting Jeff Francouer on a bouncer to 3B.
Oakland got to within a run, 3-2, in the 5th when Eric Sogard6 doubled and Jed Lowrie7, whose searing line drives kept finding gloves, blooped a two out single to RF. Then after Hideki Okajima8 made a successful A’s debut with a scoreless top of the 7th, the A’s tied it in the bottom half with some help not from on high, but rather from on Lough.
Leading off, Derek Norris ripped a single to CF and as David Lough9 came in and then laid back to play it on a hop, he let the ball play him and watched in horror as the ball missed his glove and scooted on by all the way to the CF wall. We call this “doing a Hamilton”.
Lough had to retrieve it, and Norris wound up at 3B, where pinch hitter Adam Rosales10 couldn’t get him home with a short fly ball to RF, but Coco Crisp11 could with a fly ball to left-center.
3-3 going to the 8th, where Jerry Blevins12 tossed a scoreless inning. Neither Sean Doolittle nor Grant Balfour13 was available today, so Blevins had the 8th and Cook the 9th. Yoenis Cespedes14 made sure it would be a save situation for Cook in the 9th. He made sure by greeting Kelvim Herrera with a booming HR to left-center field, clearing the wall by at least 3 Angel Hernandez’s (a measurement of how far beyond an actual HR a HR needs to go not to be forsaken).
It also cleared by at least 2 Altuves.
That gave the A’s a 4-3 lead for Cook, and the A’s back-up closer got the first 2 outs before Billy Butler15 singled, Hosmer singled pinch runner Elliot Johnson to 3B, Hosmer stole 2B representing the go-ahead run, and that’s when the Cooked Moose was served. Moustakas was 0-for-the-series and something like 1 for 25 on the Royals’ road trip. He’s no Chris Getz.
The A’s outscored Kansas City all of 8-5 in the series, and had to come from behind each game.
On to Texas!
References
- ^ A.J.
Griffin
(www.sbnation.com) - ^ Royals (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Chris Getz (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Alex Gordon (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Eric Hosmer (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Eric Sogard (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Jed Lowrie (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Hideki Okajima (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ David Lough (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Adam Rosales (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Coco Crisp (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Jerry Blevins (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Grant Balfour (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Yoenis Cespedes (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Billy Butler (www.sbnation.com)
Game 40 Preview – Royals vs.Athletics
The Kansas City Royals1 hope to avoid being swept by the Oakland Athletics2 today, as a loss would push the team to .500 at the 40 game mark of the season.
Luis Mendoza3, who is probably not your definition of a slumpbutser, takes the mound for the Royals this afternoon. Mendoza’s 6.00 ERA after five starts this season isn’t nearly as beautiful as the right-hander’s hair, but his peripherals suggest that Mendoza is the same pitcher as last season.
Mendoza is striking out a few more hitters, but also waking a few more, making his K/BB ratio essentially the same as his 2012 K/BB. He’ still forcing groundouts at an above average rate.
Mendoza posted a 4.36 xFIP last season, and has a 4.07 xFIP this season. He’s still pitching at an acceptable level for a team’s fifth starter.
The 29-year-old has struggled/been the victim of bad luck with runners on base, as his LOB% is 51%; Mendoza is stranding 21% less runners this season than last season, which leads to the higher number of runs allowed. Expect Mendoza’s LOB% to start increasing back towards league average, which should cause his ERA to decrease.
Griffin4 has a fairly spectacularly 3.22 ERA through his first 134 innings pitched in the major leagues, but there is reason to suspect that Sunday’s starting pitcher for the Athletics is a back of the rotation starter.
The right-hander throws a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. He is not a power pitcher, as the average velocity on his fastball is 89 mph. Griffin does get good movement on his offspeed pitches and changes speeds quite well, especially on his curveball.
The average velocity on his curveball is 68 mph, making it his best strikeout pitch.
Griffin’s strikeout and walk numbers are essentially average; he strikes out 2% less hitters than a league average pitcher, but also issues 2% less walks. Griffin, like Tommy Milone5, is a flyball pitcher who has done a good job keeping his HR/FB rate in check.
The 25-year-old owns a career xFIP of 4.11, perfectly acceptable for a back of the rotation starter. Griffin has managed to post an ERA almost a full run lower than his xFIP by stranding 79.4% of runners in his career, and allowing a BABIP of .262.
Even if Griffin is pitching a bit over his head, he’s still a useful arm for the A’s.
Given the the Royals offensive performance of late, he seems like a good candidate continue his success.
References
- ^ Kansas City Royals (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Oakland Athletics (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ Luis Mendoza (www.sbnation.com)
- ^ A.J.
Griffin
(www.sbnation.com) - ^ Tommy Milone (www.sbnation.com)
Recent Comments