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Gray Shines Despite Loss in A’s Opener

Published

11 years ago

April 1, 2014

Oakland, CA – It looked like the rain would never stop. The sun broke through around six o”clock. Opening Day was almost written off due to bad weather that had covered the entire Bay Area. The sold out crowd made their way to wet seats to witness one of the best starts in Oakland A’s history.

Sonny Gray wiggled his way out of enough jams to earn a place in the A’s history books but he wasn’t able to break the pattern of losing the home opener. Oakland was shutout 2-0 by the Cleveland Indians last night. The opening jitters took a toll but the A’s defense backed their ace to keep the Indians bats quiet through eight innings.

“A little out of kilter early,” said Oakland’s manager Bob Melvin. “But he was able to fight through it and still put up zero’s.”

By the fourth it became a pattern unbroken. Gray walked Carlos Santana to start the frame, followed by Michael Brantley’s doubled. With two outs and two on, Gray got out of the inning unscathed. He struck out Ryan Raburn and Asdrubal Cabrera reached first on a fielder’s choice. Santana was out at home and Brantley went to third. David Murphy grounded out to end the frame.

“I was able to settle down and get out of some big jams,” Gray said. “Which was the story of the night, really!” As a pitcher you always want to put yourself in tough situations and figure a way to get out of them.”

Despite Oakland’s bats being quiet tonight, Gray tossed six, walked three and struck out four. He joins Tim Hudson (2003) as the only pitchers in Oakland history to not allow a run in a Opening Day start. Gray set the bar high, until Jim Johnson lost his command on the mound.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Johnson. “You look at how guys battled, Sonny especially. That was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen. That guy wiggled better than anybody today.”

Top of the sixth, Cabrera hit a line drive to Gray that bounced off his leg. He threw to catcher John Jaso at home plate in time to tag Brantley out. A crew chief asked for the instant replay to make sure Jaso did not block the plate. The ruling was in favor of the A’s and Gray struck out Murphy to end the threat.

The bullpen took over in the seventh. In his pitching debut, Luke Gregerson retired the side and Sean Doolittle keep Cleveland scoreless in the eighth. It was Johnson’s debut that left the sell out crowd fuming. The Indians scored two runs in the ninth to seal their victory.

I would’ve booed me too,” explained Johnson. “I sucked today, I’ll admit it. That’s fine I deserved it. I expect that. The next time they’re probably going to be cheering.”

He issued a free pass to Cabrera, Murphy hit a single and Yan Gomes was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded, both Nyjer Morgan and Nick Swisher knocked in runs for the 2-0 lead. At that point the A’s had no luck with two of their key players striking out. Oakland had their chance in the eighth when they had two on with Donaldson at the plate.

“That ball was killed,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “So we caught a break there.”

Donaldson’s fly ball went 300 feet in the air and landed on top of the wall to fall into play. Had that ball gone behind, he would’ve cleared the bases for the lead. The bases were loaded with one out. Brandon Moss grounded out to third leaving three stranded.

“I thought it was off the suites,” said Donaldson. “I’m not frustrated with [Daric] Barton (who made it third in hesitation on the play). I was more frustrated it didn’t get out.

Tomorrow, Oakland will try and turn things around in game two of the series. Scott Kazmir will make his debut against his former team. He signed a two-year $22 million contract as a free agent with Oakland after going 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 29 starts with the Indians

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

14 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.