Athletics Week In Review: 8/20-8/26
Aug 27, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:33 am
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
by Andrew Pasquini – Sports 1140 KHTK
The Oakland Athletics had another successful week going 5-2 against the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins, along with a hot month of August going 16-6 with five games left in the month.
Game results:
Monday: Texas, W 9-0
Tuesday: Texas, W 6-2
Wednesday: Texas, L 4-2
Thursday: Minnesota, L 6-4
Friday: Minnesota, W 7-1
Saturday: Minnesota, W 6-2
Sunday: Minnesota, W 6-2
Hitter of the week: Matt Chapman
Chapman has had a great month of August and that continued through this week. He closed the week out on Sunday against the Twins by going 3-for-5 with two home runs and two runs batted in. For the week, Chapman finished with .323 batting average with three home runs, three doubles, and five RBIs. With his 11-for-34 at the plate this week, Chapman raised his batting average on the season from .276 to .282 and his OPS from .835 to .890, good for tenth in the American League.
Pitcher of the week: Mike Fiers
Fiers has been on fire since the Athletics acquired him on August 6. In four starts with Oakland, Fiers is 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA with a WHIP of 0.792 and the Athletics are 4-0 in games he’s started. He had two starts this past week, one Monday against the Rangers and the second on Saturday against the Twins. Fiers threw 12 2/3 innings striking out 15 and only walking three while yielding one run.
Win of the week: Monday against the Rangers
Monday night was a complete game from the Athletics, who scored three runs in the second inning to set the tone for the night. Ramon Laureano led the A’s with a two home run night and five RBIs along with home runs from Stephen Piscotty and Khris Davis. Mike Fiers allowed only allowed three base runners over seven innings and Ryan Buchter and Shawn Kelley closed it out allowing only two base runners. Oakland ended up winning 9-0.
Play of the week: Khris Davis’ home run Monday night
Anthony Slocumb’s got the magic touch.
After he signed Khris Davis’ jersey, the @Athletics slugger #Khrushed one. pic.twitter.com/uG4IyvM9RH
— MLB (@MLB) August 21, 2018
The Athletics now stand at 79-52, only a game and a half behind the Astros for the lead in the American League West. That can change by Wednesday night as the A’s have three in Houston followed by a four-game set against the Mariners, who they lead by five in the Wild Card, in Oakland.
