By Tim Byrnes
Athletics Notes:
Momentum is building for the Athletics as they concluded their homestand 4-2 with their second series win in a row.
In dramatic fashion, Luis Urias smacked the first pitch he saw for a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, and the A’s came from a run down to win Sunday 3-2. The Athletics are now 5-1 versus the White Sox this season and evened their season record to 14-14.
Athletics Batting:
The team is all over the stats sheet in the American League, batting .254 as a team, second behind the New York Yankees.
Brent Rooker led this series, going 4/10 with three doubles, while Urias went 3/9 with 2 home runs and three RBIs.
Nick Kurtz had a hit in each game and added a couple of RBIs to have a solid start in the bigs. He did strike out five times in the series, but it’s the tradeoff for Kurtz’s power numbers.
Shea Langeliers had his second straight rough series. While he did gun down a stolen base attempt, he was hitless in the series, going 0/8. Lawrence Butler also struggled at the plate, going 1/9 with five strikeouts.
Athletics Pitching:
Luis Severino had his second straight solid start with six innings, seven strikeouts, and three earned runs.
Osvaldo Bido rebounded from the eight runs given up in his last start by giving up a single solo home run in 5.1 innings.
Mason Miller was finally touched for a couple of runs earlier in the series but struck out the side on eleven pitches in the ninth inning Sunday.
Starting Pitcher JT Ginn was placed on the 15-day IL due to elbow inflammation, so LHP Jacob Lopez had a mere three days at AAA Las Vegas before being returned to West Sacramento.
Keep an eye on middle reliever Justin Sterner! He is a workhorse with 12 appearances and over 13 innings pitched. He has yet to allow any runs this season.
Las Vegas Stadium Update:
Recent approvals by the City Commissioners in Las Vegas have allowed the A’s to begin to excavate and start on foundation and utility work. The foundation alone is expected to cost over $45mln of the estimated $1.75bln it will take to build the beautiful stadium.
According to Mick Akers at The Las Vegas Review-Journal, crews have begun ‘grading’ the earth at the site. Leveling the ground should only take a few weeks. The stadium will have six interior levels, over 950,000 sq ft of space, and stand 32 stories high. While technically already leveling dirt, the official ‘shovel ceremony’ is expected in mid-June.
Upcoming Series:
The Athletics travel to Texas for a four-game series with the Rangers. Texas(15-13) are returning home after a rough trip to Northern California. The Athletics and San Francisco Giants took two of three games, and the series from them, and the Rangers are glad to be heading home where they are 10-3 on the year. The Athletics do have the best record in the American League, away from home, at (8-5).
The Athletics are playing well offensively and have the better team batting average, .254 to .223 than the Rangers. Texas and its 3.26 team era is solid production from its pitching staff while the A’s continue to struggle on the mound.
Gametime:
Monday 4/28
Globe Life Field
Athletics: JP Sears(3-2, 3.21) versus Rangers: Patrick Corbin(2-0, 3.77)
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Tim, you know your stuff!
I agree Ron. The A’s are traditionally slow starters, even in playoff seasons, so its exciting to see them doing early on. Its GM David Forst’s first taste of some success since he took over and if we get some arms we can be dangerous.
Well, all right; the A’s are playing .500 ball. I hope they can remain competitive this year with their young team. We might be talking playoffs if the A’s can maintain that road record while improving at home.