The A’s, coming off a tough opening day loss, looked to rebound tonight in the early tilt at Hazel Park against the always dangerous Redbirds. Tyler Frankhouse (Frank, henceforth), got the start tonight and he took the Redbirds to task - going all 7 in a GC/SO effort, backed up by an error-free performance by the A’s fielders, Frank worked his way masterfully thru the heart Redbirds lineup three times and managed to get out of a few sticky jams all while keeping his heart rate below 70.
The pressure was on the A’s bats to deliver even just 1 run for Frank, and that came in the 5th inning off A’s rookie Brendan as he hit a beautiful sac fly to right to plate Najor, who had been advanced to third on some timely bat-on-ball hitting from the A’s. Other than that, the A’s bats were stifled, but remained relatively strikeout free - putting a lot of balls in play, but for routine outs.
Historically, the A’s in the early season don’t win those games, so getting that one is a great boost for the clubhouse. The A’s get back to work on Monday against the Yankees.
Player of the Game: Frank - a really special performance tonight
The A’s squared off against The Mets tonight in the nightcap at Royal Oak Memorial for Patrick Najor’s first start of the season. The A’s also welcomed back Andre Hutchins to the top of the order tonight, and he resumed his duties at second base too.
The A’s fell behind early after a tough play in the field resulted in a runner reaching and then a steal and a timely hit made the score 1-0 after one to The Mets favor. The A’s bats came alive, also supported by a few Mets errors and luck breaking the A’s way. The A’s plated 2 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd to “rally from behind” to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Notable offensive performers were Jack Luer, Max Mohring, Brendan DiBartolomeo, and Andrew Denk with a signature Denk Dink to make the bettors at home a little richer tonight.
Najor, aside from the first inning, had a relatively stress free outing until the 6th inning where the bases were quickly loaded with nobody out, then a textbook 4-6-3 double play and a unassisted grounder to first got Najor out of the jam only surrendering one run to make it 5-2. That’s where the score would stay as the A’s closed the game out to move to 2-1 on the season heading into the Memorial Day break.
A steamy afternoon gave way to a pleasant, albeit windy evening at Kyte Monroe where the A’s looked to bounce back against the Redbirds. The Skipper took the ball himself and aside from a testy first inning, managed to see his way through 5 scoreless.
On the offensive side, the A’s rode a 1-0 lead thanks to Jack Luer going yard (again) at Kyte. That was how it stayed until Najor stepped up and almost had his own, but drove in 2 on a bases clearing double to the fence.
Frank came in for a 6 out save effort and closed the (revolving) door on the Birds bats.
The A’s face the Giants all the way down at Flat Rock (rainout please) in the early game Monday
The A’s bats kept rolling into today’s steamy clash with the Mets at Kyte Monroe as The Skipper took the mound, allowing Najor to be ready for next week. As advertised, the A’s bats got going early and often, taking a 5-1 lead thru the first few innings courtesy of really – everyone – the top, middle, and bottom were all seeing the ball well today and making good contact.
The Skipper will be the first to say that he didn’t have his best stuff today, and in the heat, who can blame him? He managed to go 5+ while keeping some breathing room between the A’s and Mets scoreline before handing the ball over to Peter Stewart (who added his own cock-shot dinger to dead center for good measure) for the 1+ inning hold effort. The A’s defensively had just a few minor errors that did not amount to much in terms of stress level, and they made up for it with scoring some more insurance runs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings to take a commanding 12-6 lead that ultimately was the final line.
Giants and Yankees next week at the King’s Court.
Player of the Game:
Max Mohring - 2 doubles, he also paid off Luer to not hit a homer
The A’s finally got their crack at the Black Jaxx tonight in the early game at Capitol after a rain filled summer has postponed a number of games. The evening was a good as ever with some cloud cover rolling in and temps in the low 80s at game time. Najor, of course, got the nod for the start, and for the most part, navigated the Jaxx lineup with a handful of hits. The A’s jumped out to a slim 2-0 lead heading into the 5th when Max Mohring doubled to plate Pete and Connor drove in another run. The A’s did sloppily give up 2 runs in the 5th to allow the Jaxx to equalize.
The 6th & 7th innings passed with no quarter given to either team. Najor relinquished the mound to Nick Spillane who closed out the 7th with the game still tied. The A’s were unable to plate the winning run in the bottom of the 7th, so international rules prevailed and extras started with a runner on 2nd. The Jaxx managed to plate their go-ahead run, but the A’s answered in big fashion as Mike “Crazy 3s” Almany roped a RBI double out of nowhere to tie the game and force the 9th inning. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Peter Stewart, in the words of Dan Dickerson, “The 1-0, swing! And it’s a LONG FLY BALL…DEEEEEEP TO LEFT CENTER FIELD…WATCH IT FLYYYYYYY…GONE!!!!! HOW ‘BOUT IT!!!! STEWART ROUNDS THIRD, HE’S INTO THE MOB SCENE AT HOME!!! THE A’S WALK IT OFF IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH!!!! OHH MANNNN!!”
The A’s regain composure and face the Redbirds next Monday at Clawson.
The Blue Collar A’s (14 deep tonight) punched the time card and got their hands dirty and jerseys sweaty tonight in Clawson as they looked to take the season series vs. the Birds in the “under the lights” showdown. A relentless heat and humidity wave did not abate tonight as Frank took the mound already up 3 runs in the first thanks to some quick hitting from the top of the A’s order and Najor for a 2 stick double. The A’s continued to plod along, only allowing a few baserunners here and there, with some fly ball shagging by E, Mike, and Con, until the Redbirds managed to plate one run in the 3rd and then they launched a frozen rope to the short porch in center that just cleared the fence over Emerson’s head to tie the game at 3. Frank then helped his own cause by plating the go ahead run and aside from a couple more testy situations with RISP, Frank and the A’s rock solid fielding led by Najor, Denk, and Andre, managed to slam the door shut in the face of a 7th inning rally.
The A’s are back at Clawson for the season series vs the Giants on Wednesday
POTG: 2 way split, title says it all, Frank CG RBI, Najor 2 RBI, stolen base, vibey
The Vinny Bombs show rolled into town tonight, as a muggy day gave way to a mostly pleasant evening at Clawson with a slight breeze. Najor took the ball and went all 7 in a shutout effort aided in a big way by his defense, more on that later.
The A’s struck first in the top of the first as a GIDP plated on run and a wild pitch plated the second. In the second, Vinny [Bombs] smacked a 2 RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0. On the defensive side, Najor had great command, but the Giants did manage to make fly ball contact but it was merely “can of corn” day at the supermarket for the outfield platoon.
E added a solo bomb in the 6th, and Vinny kept the good times rolling with another stick to bring his total line up to 3 on the day.
The A’s carried a 6-0 lead into the 7th as the first two Giants batters managed to reach on some hard liners. Then, the unbelievable happened… a sharp grounder to Frank at third, he picked it clean, shuffled 2 steps to his right, touched the base as he wound up a missile to Andre covering the bag at second, who in turn received the ball, stepped off, and fired an absolute strike to Train at first for the 5-4-3 GAME ENDING TRIPLE PLAY.
Hot and humid. Not a whole lot to say regarding the general play of the A’s tonight. The bats were mostly silent tonight save for Andre and E. Defense was solid. Skip will be the first to say that he probably didn’t have his best stuff tonight. Redbirds behind Wick get the dub.
The sprint of games to finish the regular season has begun.
A beautiful evening for baseball, but a not so beautiful defensive performance from the usually reliable A’s gloves. The Skipper got hit early and the A’s found themselves chasing 6 runs. The Jaxx starter walked home 2 runs and then Pistol launched a 3-run bomb that made Nagasaki jealous to make it a 1 run contest. The defensive struggles continued and the Jaxx tacked on 3 more runs. That’s where the game would end. A’s are still seeking to lock up 2nd place. Jaxx, same place same time next Tuesday.
The A’s and Jaxx met again in the early game at Hazel Park tonight on another beautiful evening for baseball. The A’s got a run across early and held on to the lead throughout even as the score began to balloon. The A’s and Jaxx traded multi hit and run innings as Najor did his best thru 5 innings, but the Jaxx kept pace making up the gap that the A’s would open in the top half of the inning. The A’s kept the ball in front of them in the field for the most part, and at the plate every member of the 14 man roster reached base safely, with multiple A’s earning multi hit and multi RBI efforts. With the A’s scoring 16 total runs it’s too laborious to detail every inning, but the bottom, which had been slumping, did do their part in tow and the top of the order got back on track, putting good wood on the ball. Of note, the A’s got beaned 7 times tonight, looks like the league insurance premium is gonna go up again next season.
The A’s face the Brewers in a doubleheader Thursday at Kyte
Another decent evening for baseball, mostly overcast with a slight breeze was the setting at Kyte Monroe for some long awaited rainout makeups heading into the playoffs for the Brewers and A’s.
Game 1, Frank took the mound for a solid start as the A’s bats kept finding balls and finding gaps and they took a commanding lead and then handed it to Pistol Pete to close the door. In typical fashion as well, Frank was feeling some kinda way and started swiping bags like an egomaniac. A’s win 7-1
POTG 1 - Frank
Game 2, Skip takes the mound for 2 innings. The Brewers turn their bats on. The A’s looked a little flat. Train took the mound for an inning that did not live up to expectation. Max Mohring injured on a freak play tracking a foul pop at the third base fence and come to find out dislocated his left thumb with some possible soft tissue involvement. DiBart did mop up duty. Some solid hits but not enough as umpires mercifully executed us. Brewers win 11-3.
POTG 2 - 3s and Train who couldn’t diagnose and treat a dislocated thumb
Potentially one more junk time game Saturday with the Yankees, or else Monday the A’s will play the Birds at King’s Court (Crapitol) in the first round of the playoffs.
The 2024 season came to an end for the A’s tonight as they dropped a tough luck game to the 7 seed Redbirds. The A’s put together a strong 2024 campaign - winning 15 games in the regular season to lock up 2nd place in behind the Yankees. The roster was the deepest it has ever been for the A’s in the split divisions era. A pitching staff helmed by the three headed dragon of Najor, Frank, and the Skipper himself, always had the A’s looking dangerous on the bump. A few spot relief efforts from MSBL rookie, Peter “Pistol Pete” Stewart rounded out the staff. It should also be noted that Pete clobbered 3 home runs including a walk-off dinger in extras against the Jaxx. Speaking of home runs, Jack Luer, back from a shortened 2023 season, knocked 3 of his own this year in a DH mostly effort. Who would catch for most every game but ol’ reliable Max Mohring who had another standout year behind the dish and at the plate, making a true candidacy for an MVP bid. Also tossing their hat into the imaginary MVP conversation would be the A’s batting champion, Emerson Misch who notched an OPS over 1.000 while locking down CF the whole year. Accompanying E in the outfield was MSBL draft pick Vince “Vinny Bombs”, Mike “Crazy Threes” Almany, Connor Wahl, Max Manoogian, Esq., and Ben Jerris. Now, what about the A’s infield? Led up the middle by stalwarts Andre Hutchins and Andrew Denk, the duo flashed smooth leather and showed up game in and game out to provide the much needed stability in the middle infield. Mixing in at third was the aforementioned Najor and Frank. Finally, the rotating door of first basemen has to be addressed. With no less than 3 tacos showing up to every game, Train, Pat Spillane, Brendan DiBartolomeo, and Zach Marsee all showed sportsmanship and camaraderie in splitting time equally locking down 1st base.
Fellas, it pains me greatly to be touching the keyboard for the final time in 2024. The season went by so quickly. It was truly an honor to take the field alongside each and every one of you in 2024. I sincerely hope to see each and every one of you back when hope springs eternal in 2025.
Bloomfield A's Schedule