ATHLETICS NEWS

Stephen Piscotty - Draws start Tuesday Piscotty is starting in right field and batting eighth Tuesday against the Astros, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Impact Piscotty was activated from the injured list Sunday after missing just under three weeks with a sprained left wrist. The veteran outfielder figures to receive regular starts against left-handers at least until Mark Canha (hip) is ready to be activated. Piscotty served in the short side of a right-field platoon with Seth Brown prior to the injury, but with Brown continuing to hit below .200, he could also receive some looks against right-handers going forward.

JULY 6, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Tony Kemp - Out of lineup against lefty Kemp is not in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Astros and lefty Framber Valdez, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Impact Kemp's strong month of June helped him get more time against left-handed starters, but he'll take a seat against Valdez to start the series. Chad Pinder, Ramon Laureano and Stephen Piscotty will align the outfield from left to right Tuesday.

JULY 6, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Oakland's Olson joins All-Star Home Run Derby Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson is joining the All-Star Home Run Derby at Denver’s Coors Field on July 12

JULY 6, 2021 • SANDIEGOUNIONTRIBUNE.COM

Oakland's Olson joins All-Star Home Run Derby

Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson is joining the All-Star Home Run Derby at Denver’s Coors Field on July 12

JULY 6, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

All-Star Olson adds his name to Derby field The other Matt will try to become the third A's player to win the Home Run Derby. All-Star first baseman Matt Olson announced on Tuesday tha...

JULY 6, 2021 • MLB.COM

Athletics vs Astros Prediction and Pick for MLB Game Tonight From FanDuel Sportsbook Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros prediction and MLB pick straight up for tonight's game between OAK vs HOU.

JULY 6, 2021 • FANDUEL.COM

Valdez expected to start as Houston hosts Oakland

The Athletics will start Chris Bassitt on Tuesday while the Astros are expected to counter with Framber Valdez

JULY 6, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

2021 All-Snubbed Team: All the players who should be All-Stars but aren't

Now that the full All-Star rosters are out, Jordan Shusterman highlights the names that are noticeably missing from the list.

JULY 5, 2021

Jesus Luzardo - Struggles continue in Vegas Luzardo allowed seven earned runs on six hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch over two-thirds of an inning in a start for Triple-A Las Vegas against Sacramento on Friday.

Impact The final line says it all, and it's probably fair to say the organization may be developing at least some mild concerns about Luzardo at this point. The southpaw simply hasn't been the same, at least not for more than one or two outings at a time, since his late-May return from a fractured pinkie suffered while with the Athletics. Luzardo proved to be a poor fit as a reliever upon being activated, leading to a demotion to the Aviators. While Luzardo's first two outings in Las Vegas went well (one unearned run over 4.2 innings), he's subsequently given up 10 earned runs on 12 hits across the four innings covering his last two starts.

JULY 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Jake Diekman - Quiet in recent weeks Diekman has logged five appearances over the last 14 days, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.91 WHIP over the 3.2 innings he's logged in that span.

Impact The left-hander gave up a pair of home runs during that stretch as well, leading to the elevated numbers. Diekman's swing-and-miss stuff, while not quite on last season's career-best level, is still among the AL's best (14.4 percent swinging strike rate, 31.0 percent strikeout rate), but a career-high 1.6 HR/9 has been a primary culprit when he has endured some struggles.

JULY 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Skye Bolt - Quiet since majors return Bolt sports a .148/.185/.333 slash line with one double, two RBI, one steal and one run across the 27 plate appearances he's logged in 11 games since being recalled from Triple-A L...

Impact Bolt logged starts in six of the first eight games following his promotion with Stephen Piscotty (wrist) on the injured list. However, his playing time dried up over the weekend series against the Red Sox, and with Piscotty now activated, Bolt could soon be headed back to Las Vegas, where he was running roughshod with a .375 average and 1.113 OPS across 80 plate appearances.

JULY 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Yusmeiro Petit - Extends scoreless streak Petit, who fired a perfect eighth inning in a loss to the Red Sox on Sunday, now has four consecutive scoreless one-inning appearances.

Impact The rubber-armed reliever has actually been in a nice groove since late May, leaving a brief, rare rocky stretch behind him by producing one save, seven holds, a 2.65 ERA and an 0.88 WHIP over the 17 innings covering his last 13 appearances. Petit's workload is as brisk as ever in his age-36 season, as with 41 appearances through the first three months-plus, he's on pace to exceed the career-high 80 he logged in 2019.

JULY 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Oakland A's: 3 potential trade targets for playoff push The Oakland A's find themselves in a somewhat difficult spot. They clearly have the talent and the potential to be able to reach the postsea...

JULY 5, 2021 • WHITECLEATBEAT.COM

MLB Weekly Roundup: Jackie Bradley Jr. busts out new tricks on amazing play

Jackie Bradley Jr.'s defensive deception and Joey Votto's dabbing highlighted the best of MLB this week, Ben Verlander writes.

JULY 5, 2021

Oakland A's deserved more than one All Star As the All Star rosters were set to be named on Sunday, there was a great deal of speculation as to which members of the Oakland A's would m...

JULY 5, 2021 • WHITECLEATBEAT.COM

Ramón Laureano - Swipes ninth bag Laureano went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Red Sox.

Impact There was very little offense in Sunday's game and the Athletics recorded just four singles. Laureano managed to draw a walk in the seventh inning and then stole second base with two outs. Unfortunately, it was not their night offensively and he was stranded to end the inning. His nine steals leads the Athletics this season. However, the outfielder has really struggled lately, batting just .093 in his last 11 games.

JULY 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

James Kaprielian - Fans 10 despite loss Kaprielian (4-3) allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk while striking out 10 across seven innings, taking the loss to the Red Sox on Sunday.

Impact Kaprielian was stellar Sunday, striking out a season-high 10 batters and tied his deepest start of 2021. However, he was stuck with the loss after allowing a single run to cross and receiving no run support. The 27-year-old has a 2.84 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP with 62 strikeouts in 57 innings. He had four quality starts in his last five outings.

JULY 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Career-high 10 K's for Kaprielian, but A's fall OAKLAND -- There wasn’t much more James Kaprielian could do on the mound Sunday afternoon to position the A’s for a victory. Striking out a...

JULY 4, 2021 • MLB.COM

Nick Pivetta strikes out 10, pitches Red Sox past A's 1-0

Nick Pivetta struck out 10 over seven innings to win for the first time in seven starts, Boston went ahead on a double-play groundout by Rafael Devers in the sixth, and the Red Sox...

JULY 4, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Olson to rep A's in first All-Star appearance OAKLAND -- Since roughly the middle of May, as Matt Olson continued to sustain his excellent offensive numbers, his teammates and manager Bo...

JULY 4, 2021 • MLB.COM

Matt Olson is the A's lone All-Star: 'Unfortunately, not a lot of people tune in to the West Coast games' Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea could have been candidates to join Matt Olson in Denver for the All-Star Game.

JULY 4, 2021 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Matt Olson selected as lone Oakland A's All-Star, but others could follow “It’s a special moment. You know I’m a win-first guy and let everything else fall into place. I do truly believe that.”

JULY 4, 2021 • MERCURYNEWS.COM

Jordan Weems' Cinderella story at end with Oakland A's Jordan Weems had been one of the great stories for the Oakland A's last season. A former third round pick by the Red Sox as a catcher in 201...

JULY 4, 2021 • WHITECLEATBEAT.COM

Sean Murphy - Heads to bench Sunday Murphy is out of the lineup Sunday versus the Red Sox, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Impact Murphy was behind the plate for the first two games of the series and will take a seat for the finale. Aramis Garcia will start at catcher and bat ninth in his place Sunday.

JULY 4, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

J.B. Wendelken - Gets first win Wendelken (1-0) secured his first win in an extra-innings victory over the Red Sox on Saturday, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits over one inning.

Impact Wendelken's final line certainly wasn't pretty, as he allowed run-scoring singles to Marwin Gonzalez and Enrique Hernandez in the top of the 12th that gave the Red Sox a temporary 6-4 lead. However, the veteran reliever was awarded the victory when the Athletics mounted a successful rally in the home half of the frame, giving him his first win since 2020.

JULY 4, 2021 • ROTOWIRE