A's beat Giants 2-1 on the day they DFA Ramon Laureano
The Oakland Athletics returned home from Los Angeles and came out of the Coliseum victorious in the opener of the Bay Bridge Series against their Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Giants, beating them 2-1 on Saturday.
Sadly, the day marked the final morning in the Bay for long-time A and fan-favorite Ramon Laureano.
Mark Kotsay talks about the tough decision to DFA Ramón Laureano, and hopes he'll get the chance to join a competing team pic.twitter.com/Ju9RZotDcd
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) August 5, 2023
Keeping strictly on-field coverage, the A's enjoyed a nice day by Jordan Diaz. The 22-year-old kid hit a solo homer to put the A's ahead in the fifth inning, which is now the best frame of baseball you can pay attention to if you ever turn into an Oakland baseball game.
It's sounding like a broken record at this point because everybody has at least heard about the so-called "Reverse Boycott" and "Summer of Sell!" but just in case, here is what we're talking about, explained to you by Ken Korach of NBC:
KEN KORACH: Now, of course, you can hear the familiar “Sell the team” chant here at the Coliseum. Top of the fifth inning. We really appreciate the passion of A’s fans.
— Karl Buscheck (@KarlBuscheck) August 6, 2023
I mean, A’s fans have loved this ball club — in some cases — for decades. We appreciate that… pic.twitter.com/W2Rkto8XL1
Back to the game action, there wasn't a lot following Diaz's homer for a while. Until the eighth inning, that is, when the Giants tied the affair at one run apiece only to hand Oakland the chance of a lifetime on a silver platter.
With the bases loaded and the score tied, Seth Brown stepped up to the plate and blasted one pitch past the Giants' infield for a base hit and the winning run to cross home plate.
What can Brown do for you 😤 pic.twitter.com/1QqLlbXQ2i
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 6, 2023
The atmosphere was great if only for the Sell stuff, but of course the A's decided to ruin the party by releasing long-time fan-favorite Ramon Laureano before the game started, designating him for assignment.
The 29-year-old outfielder leaves the organization with a slash line reading .213/.280/.364 this season through 64 games played. He bagged 6 homers, hit 21 RBI, and got 8 stolen bases.
Yes, Oakland is rebuilding. Also yes, this transaction simply sucks because Laureano embodies the (good) A's and it's very hurting to watch him leave Oakland like this. At least Oakland retained Tony Kemp, even if there is no way he will return to the ballclub next winter once he becomes a free agent.
Second game of the series taking place on a sunny Sunday at Oakland inside the Cavernous Coli. If the A's can get another W they'd have splitted the series against their fierce rivals 2-2. If they don't, nobody would be surprised to watch the team return to the L column. Such is life for the 31-80 A's these days.
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