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A’s Rally Back To Beat The Yankees

Published

9 years ago

May 28, 2015

Oakland, CA – The good thing about a bad start to the season is there’s plenty of baseball left to play to turn things around. The A’s did just that as they rallied back to tie the game before taking the lead in the seventh. Bay Area native CC Sabatiha was the staring Yankees pitcher to kick off the four-game series. He tossed four shutout innings until surrendering two home runs.

“Obviously we’ve been looking for one big hit,” Oakland’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Certainly the way things were going with runners in scoring position, it was a struggle again for a little while, but Lawrie’s hit was huge, to get us back to even.”

The A’s remained patient before exploding on offense to beat New York 5-4. They chipped away at a 3-0 lead the Yankees established early. Billy Burns and Brett Lawrie went yard off Sabathia in the fifth and sixth frames. Oakland had an opportunity to get the offense going in the fourth but Sabathia struck out two batters back-to-back to end the inning after loading the bases.

“Just coming in everyday, knowing we have the ability to not only come back and then go ahead, that’s huge, and we played the game the right way,” said Lawrie. “Ben Zobrist with a great at-bat tonight, that was pretty much the whole game right there.”

The Yankees Brian McCann went 3-for-4 with a solo shot to right field in the second. Alex Rodriguez led off the fourth with a single, Mark Teixeria walked and McCann singled up the middle sending Rodriguez home. Zobrist threw home while Rodriguez alluded Josh Phegley trying to tag him out.

“That was not pretty,” Rodriguez said referring to his tag at home plate. “That looked like Shaquille O’Neal coming off a pick. I’m glad they got it right.”

The initial call was that Rodriguez was out as he tagged the back of home plate, New York challenged the play and the call was overturned, Rodriguez was safe. The Yankees extended their lead 2-0 but weren’t done yet. Rodriguez scored in Brett Gardner in the fifth and tied Barry Bonds for second place on the all time list with his 1,996th career RBI.

“He’s one of the greats and this is kind of special because he’s also a friend,” said Rodriguez when asked about tying Bonds on the all time hit list.

Kendall Graveman made his sixth start after being called back up from Triple-A Nashville last Saturday. He tossed 5 2/3 frames, allowed seven hits, three runs, two walks, four strikeouts and one home run. Graveman allowed his 4th home run this season. That ended 32 consecutive innings without an earned run from an A’s starting pitcher.

“He was in between what we’ve seen in his best but hung in there,” Melvin said of Graveman’s performance. “Particularly McCann got some good swings off him but he held in there just enough. Talking about three runs which isn’t too bad.”

Heading into the sixth Oakland was down 3-1. Lawrie’s two-run shot tied the game 3-3. Sabathia was sent to the mound in the sixth when he put two on with a single to Phegley to leadoff the inning, and a free pass to Mark Canha. David Carpenter replaced the southpaw loading the bases with a single to Marcus Semien and a walk to Zobrist extending the A’s lead 4-3. Butler’s sacrifice fly made it a 5-3 game before Stephen Vogt popped out to third to end the inning.

“It’s tough. They get the runs early and you want to be able to hold that lead and get the ball to the back of our bullpen,” said Sabathia. “I wasn’t able to do that.”

Oakland’s bullpen got vicious and shutdown New York’s offense. This might’ve been the best we’ve seen, the bullpen retired eight batters through both the seventh and eighth frames. Abad retired Didi Gregorius to end the sixth stranding two and Gardner to leadoff the seventh flying out to left field. While Evan Scribner retired the next five batters, striking out two to end the eighth.

The Yankees tried to rally in the ninth when Tyler Clippard walked Gregorius and gave up a single to Gardner putting two on with two outs. But he forced Chase Headley to fly out to center field to end the game. The A’s snapped a 12-game losing streak in one-run games at home that dated back to September 6, 2014. It was the longest such streak in Athletics history.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

Published

6 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

admin

By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”