With a postseason berth within their sights, the Oakland Athletics

OAKLAND Giancarlo Stanton Jersey , Calif. (AP) — With a postseason berth within their sights, the Oakland Athletics are leaving nothing to chance.Marcus Semien had three hits and a career-high five RBIs, Stephen Piscotty homered and drove in four runs and the Oakland Athletics hammered the Los Angeles Angels 21-3 on Thursday.The Athletics reduced their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to five. Since June 15, Oakland is a major league-best 58-25.Going into Thursday, Oakland trailed Houston by four games in the AL West, led Tampa Bay by 5 1/2 games for the second wild-card spot, and was 2 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the first wild card.Catcher Francisco Arcia pitched the last two innings for the Angels, who were outscored 31-2 in the last two games of the series. He also homered in the ninth, becoming the first player in Major League history to catch, pitch and hit a home run in the same game, according to the Angels.“Honestly, when I saw the score up there on the board http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-derek-jeter-jersey , it looked like a football score,” Piscotty said. “It doesn’t happen all that often, but it’s a crazy game when you have position guys throwing.”The A’s tied an Oakland record for runs scored first set on June 18, 2000, against Kansas City.Piscotty was 2 for 3 with a three-run homer. He’s 4 for 6 with two home runs and nine RBIs in his last two games and has seven home runs and 22 RBI this month.Matt Chapman was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. He leads the majors with 24 doubles since the All-Star break and has 41 on the year.Edwin Jackson (6-3) struck out seven, walked three and gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings of three-hit ball.“When you’re getting runs like that, it’s always fun,” Jackson said. “The main thing you want to do is continue to pitch and see how many shutout innings you can have to get them back in the dugout to continue to hit.”Mike Trout hit his 36th home run for the Angels. They have lost five of their last seven.Matt Shoemaker (2-2) gave up five runs in 2 2/3 innings in his third start since returning from a forearm strain.“He’s trying to get back his game at the major league level because he missed most of the season,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “There’s going to be some rough spots here or there. He’s at times pitching very well and at times he’s missing his spots, getting behind and making mistakes. But his stuff is there, no doubt.”Oakland’s Nick Martini hit his first career home run, a two-run shot off Arcia.The A’s evened their season series with the Angels at 8-8. Oakland will look for its winning season against the Angels since 2013 when it concludes its regular season with a three-game series in Los Angeles later this month.Oakland was 12 for 17 with runners in scoring position.UNBEATEN RUNThe A’s are unbeaten in 14 straight home series (12-0-2) Alex Rodriguez Jersey , the longest such streak in franchise history since the 1931 Philadelphia A’s went 17-0-2 through their first 19 home series.TRAINER’S ROOMRookie 2B/utilityman David Fletcher (strained left hamstring) was held out of the starting lineup for a third straight game.Athletics: Early reports on LHP Sean Manaea’s surgery Wednesday were good, manager Bob Melvin said. Manaea had arthroscopic surgery that included posterior labral repair performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neil ElAttrache. “In the beginning, hearing about where this thing could go, we anticipated him being out for the entire (2019) season,” Melvin said. “We’ll leave a ray of hope to potentially he could come back next year.” … RHP Trevor Cahill (upper back strain) reported no significant discomfort after throwing a 35-pitch bullpen Wednesday. Cahill could start Sunday against Minnesota.UP NEXTAngels: LHP Andrew Heaney (9-9, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Friday’s series opener in Houston against RHP Gerrit Cole (14-5, 2.88 ERA).Athletics: RHP Liam Hendricks (0-1, 5.30 ERA) will be the “opener” in Friday’s series opener against visiting Minnesota. The A’s haven’t announced who will follow him. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Willie McCovey, the sweet-swinging Hall of Famer nicknamed “Stretch” for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms, died Wednesday. He was 80.The San Francisco Giants announced McCovey’s death, saying the fearsome hitter passed “peacefully” on Wednesday afternoon “after losing his battle with ongoing health issues.”A first baseman and left fielder, McCovey was a .270 career hitter with 521 home runs and 1 Mariano Rivera Jersey ,555 RBIs in 22 major league seasons, 19 of them with the Giants. He also played for the Athletics and Padres.McCovey made his major league debut at 21 on July 30, 1959, and played alongside the other Willie — Hall of Famer Willie Mays — into the 1972 season before Mays was traded to the New York Mets.McCovey batted .354 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs on the way to winning the 1959 NL Rookie of the Year award. The six-time All-Star also won the 1969 NL MVP and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986 after his first time on the ballot.“You knew right away he wasn’t an ordinary ballplayer,” Hall of Famer Hank Aaron said, courtesy of the Hall of Fame. “He was so strong, and he had the gift of knowing the strike zone. There’s no telling how many home runs he would have hit if those knees weren’t bothering him all the time and if he played in a park other than Candlestick.”McCovey had been getting around in a wheelchair in recent years because he could no longer rely on his once-dependable legs, yet was still regularly seen at the ballpark in his private suite. McCovey had attended games at AT&T Park as recently as the season finale.“I love him so much. It’s a very sad day for me. We were very close,” Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda said in a telephone interview. “Willie McCovey was not only a great ballplayer but a great teammate. He didn’t have any fear. He never complained.“I remember one time in 1960 they sent him down to the minor leagues after being Rookie of the Year the year before. He didn’t complain. He was very polite, he was very quiet. He was a great man, a great friend. I’m going to miss him so much. He didn’t say a bad word about anybody.”While the Giants captured their third World Series title of the decade in 2014, McCovey returned to watch them play while still recovering from an infection that hospitalized him that September for about a month.He attended one game at AT&T Park during both the NL Championship Series and World Series. He even waited for the team at the end of the parade route inside San Francisco’s Civic Center.“It was touch and go for a while http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-babe-ruth-jersey ,” McCovey said at the time. “They pulled me through, and I’ve come a long way.”McCovey had been thrilled the Giants accomplished something he didn’t during a decorated career in the major leagues.Even four-plus decades later, it still stung for the left-handed slugging “Big Mac” that he never won a World Series after coming so close. The Giants lost the 1962 World Series to the New York Yankees.He often thought about that World Series, and it remained difficult to accept. The Giants lost 1-0 in Game 7 when McCovey lined out to second baseman Bobby Richardson with runners on second and third for the final out.“I still think about it all the time. I still think, ‘If I could have hit it a little more,'” he said on Oct. 31, 2014.In 2012, he said: “I think about the line drive, yes. Can’t get away from it.”McCovey narrowly beat out Mets pitcher Tom Seaver for the 1969 MVP award. McCovey led the NL in home runs (45) and RBIs (126) for the second straight year, batting .320 while also posting NL bests with a .453 on-base percentage and .656 slugging percentage. He was walked 121 times, then drew a career-high 137 free passes the next season.He had been third in the ’68 voting for NL MVP, but after 1969 would never again finish higher than ninth.McCovey and Ted Williams before him were among the first players to really face infield shifts as opponents tried to affect his rhythm at the plate.On Wednesday night Lou Gehrig Jersey , former teammate Felipe Alou recalled inviting McCovey to play winter ball with him in 1958 for Escogido in Alou’s native Dominican Republic.McCovey got homesick, so a still-single Alou moved out of his parents’ home and into an apartment with his dear friend and teammate. They were roommates in the minors and majors, too. McCovey called Alou “Rojas,” his father’s last name. Alou called him “Willie Lee,” McCovey’s middle name.“We had a great relationship. Incredible friend and player and individual,” Alou said. “I have so many good memories.”McCovey was born on Jan. 10, 1938, in Mobile, Alabama. He had spent the last 18 years in a senior advisory role for the Giants.“