OAKLAND
Tony Phillips Jersey , Calif. (AP) For a guy who has been a middle-of-the-order hitter most of his career, Jonathan Lucroy is quite
comfortable anchoring the bottom of the Athletics lineup.Oakland’s veteran
catcher proved that once again after convincing manager Bob Melvin to let him
play in a day game following a night game.Lucroy drove in four runs to match his
season high and the A’s completed a season sweep of Toronto, beating the Blue
Jays 8-3 on Wednesday.”This is a workhorse, a guy that expects to be back
there,” Melvin said of Lucroy. ”He had eight or nine RBIs in his last 10 games
and had four more today. Not only is he doing his job behind the plate, he’s
picking up the pace offensively and driving in some runs, too.”The A’s won all
seven games between the two teams this year for their first season sweep of the
Blue Jays.Oakland also moved into a tie with Seattle for the second wild card.
The Mariners lost to Houston 8-3.Franklin Barreto homered and had three RBIs for
the Athletics. Lucroy added three hits.”When you have a real deep lineup, sooner
or later someone in the lineup’s going to get you,” Lucroy said. ”Might not be
the first five guys, might not be the last four guys. It could be anyone in
between.”Russell Martin homered for Toronto.”All three days we didn’t get really
any shutdown pitching at all from our bullpen guys,” Blue Jays manager John
Gibbons said. ”We haven’t been scoring much either.”Sean Manaea (10-7) bounced
back from a shaky outing in Colorado
http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-walt-weiss-jersey , pitching effectively into the seventh inning and allowing one run while
frequently working through traffic. He gave up five hits, struck out five and
walked two.Toronto starter Marcus Stroman (4-8) allowed seven runs and 11 hits
in five innings.”They did a great job of putting the ball in play, early in the
count and late in the count,” Stroman said. ”Frustrating. My stuff felt
great.”Oakland backed Manaea with plenty of offense, most of it supplied from
the bottom half of the lineup. The final five A’s batters combined for 11 hits
and drove in seven runs.”We don’t have a lot of experience overall in our lineup
but we have guys that can swing it and guys that can hit up and down,” Lucroy
said. ”It’s really cool to be a part of. Whenever you have that kind of depth in
your lineup it’s devastating for starting pitchers that we’re facing.”Lucroy,
the No. 8 hitter, had a two-run single in the second, an RBI double in the
fourth and an RBI single in the sixth.Barreto followed Lucroy in the lineup and
had a two-run double in the sixth and homered in the eighth. Barreto started in
place of All-Star second baseman Jed Lowrie.Russell hit his ninth homer, a
two-run drive off Ryan Buchter, in the eighth.ROSTER MOVESThe A’s made a flurry
of moves after the game. CF Dustin Fowler was optioned to Triple-A Nashville. OF
Boog Powell was reinstated from the disabled list and sent to Nashville. RHP
Carlos Ramirez was designated for assignment.THIS AND THATMelvin’s 601st career
win as manager of the A’s moved him into sole possession of third place on the
franchise list. … Oakland 3B Matt Chapman has reached base in a career-high 18
consecutive games. … Martin’s home run was his 63rd with the Blue
Jays
Marcus Semien Jersey , tying him with J.P. Arencibia for second-most in team history by a catcher. … Randal Grichuk has 10 extra-base hits in his last
13 games.TRAINER’S ROOMBlue Jays: 2B Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was put on the disabled
list with a high ankle sprain and bruised knee. … RHP Danny Barnes was activated
after spending more than a month on the disabled list with left knee
tendinitis.Athletics: OF Chad Pinder, who injured his left elbow in a car
accident in Colorado, has been taking groundballs and could begin swinging a bat
Friday. … RHP Daniel Gossett underwent Tommy John surgery. … RHP Andrew Triggs
(right arm nerve irritation) played catch for the second time in three days but
has yet to throw off a mound.UP NEXTBlue Jays: No starter had been named for
Thursday’s game in Seattle.Athletics: LHP Brett Anderson (2-3, 5.55) faces the
Detroit Tigers at the Coliseum on Friday. Both of Anderson’s wins have come
since he came off the disabled list July 8.— Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesThe
Chicago Cubs are reportedly set to trade starting pitcher Drew Smyly, who missed
the entire 2017 and 2018 seasons because of an elbow injury, to the Texas
Rangers.MLB insider Jerry Crasnick first reported the expected deal Friday.
Details about the return package weren't immediately announced.The Seattle
Mariners acquired Smyly in a January 2017 trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. He left
to sign with the Cubs as a free agent in December. He never played a game in the
majors for either team.Smyly made a single appearance for the South Bend Cubs,
the organization's Single-A affiliate, on Aug. 30 as part of his rehab process.
He pitched a perfect inning with three strikeouts, but he wasshut downin early
September since he didn't have a chance to return before season's end."I felt
very good??ain-free, which is always my first concern," hetold reportersafter
the one-off outing. "It's been 18 months since I've actually played in a
game
http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-morgan-jersey , out there competing. It was an exciting time for me, regardless of the
level."Chicago's decision to move him came in coordination with picking up a $20
million contract option on fellow starter Cole Hamels:Ken Rosenthal
Ken_RosenthalSources confirm: #Cubs picking up Hamels??$20M option, trading LHP
Drew Smyly to #Rangers. TEX would have paid Hamels??$6M buyout if CHC declined
option. First reported: jcrasnick.Smyly struggled for the Rays in 2016 with a
4.88 ERA across 30 starts. He owns a more reasonable 3.74 career ERA, however,
including a 3.11 mark as a starter in 12 starts during the 2015 season.The
29-year-old University of Arkansas product, who has one year left on
hiscontract, will compete for a spot in the Rangers rotation during next year's
spring training.
