It seems almost unrealistic, however, the Swedes of Ninjas in Pyjamas managed exactly this when they dominated the Counter-Strike scene in what has been said to be the first CS:GO era.Īt the time of the Ninjas in Pyjamas era the team consisted of the following players: Matt Kawahara covers the A’s for The San Francisco Chronicle.You rarely see Counter-Strike teams winning an entire tournament or event without losing some maps in the process - now imagine winning ten consecutive LAN-events without losing a single map in the process. Three of their five hits came with two strikes, including Murphy’s single and Piscotty’s homer in the fourth. 114 average in two-strike counts entering the game ranked last in the majors. Martin then struck out Christian Bethancourt to strand three runners.Ī’s hitters went 1-for-13 with men in scoring position in the series, a turn from their early success with timely hits. Texas sent in left-hander Brett Martin to face Sean Murphy, who struck out. Albert Abreu walked the bases loaded with one out. They squandered a promising scoring chance in the fifth. Hitting trends: The A’s scored three runs in three games against a Rangers pitching staff that began the series with an ERA above 6.00. “They have a pinch-hitter on the bench in (right-handed Andy) Ibañez, so it was kind of matchup, pick your poison at that point,” Kotsay said. With left-hander Sam Moll up in the bullpen, Kotsay let Jiménez face left-handed Willie Calhoun. Dany Jiménez, who has handled closer duties with Lou Trivino on the COVID IL, allowed two-out singles to Nathaniel Lowe and Jonah Heim in the ninth. Kirby Snead pitched around Semien’s two-out double in the eighth. Zach Jackson got six outs without allowing a baserunner. Kotsay replaced Irvin after five innings. “I’m still learning how to pitch a little bit more at this level,” he said, “making pitches look like they’re going to be on the plate and missing off.” Irvin, not often a swing-and-miss pitcher, induced almost as many swing-throughs (12) as the Rangers had balls in play (13). “As much you want to be living in the zone, sometimes you don’t want to be in it too much.” “I was competing in the (strike) zone and out of the zone as well,” Irvin said. Just two of their 13 batted balls in play left bats at higher than 95 mph, which Statcast deems hard-hit. But he displayed good velocity and the Rangers, in turn, hit few of his pitches hard. Irvin’s outing wasn’t his most efficient. A’s starter Cole Irvin faced 18 more batters and did not allow another hit. Pitching lines: Marcus Semien led off the game with an infield single. “It’s great to see Stephen healthy and you can see the joy, I think, in the way he’s going about playing the game.”Īfter losing parts of the previous three seasons to injury, Piscotty said: “It’s good to just get in there and get to play and it just feels natural. “The last two days, I’ve been impressed with his at-bats,” manager Mark Kotsay said. A hustle double Saturday marked his first extra-base hit this season. He hit five home runs in 72 games, one in his final 90 at-bats. Piscotty seemed sapped of his power playing with a wrist injury last season. His next at-bat produced a 344-foot lineout at 102.3 mph off the bat. In Sunday’s fourth inning, Piscotty saw a 2-2 fastball from Spencer Howard and drove it 419 feet to left field. I’ll continue to make adjustments, but definitely like where I’m at now.” Piscotty said that hitting a few days ago in his batting cage at home: “I could tell this is something I like, this is something I want to stick with. “I felt if I was able to get a little lower, a little more in my legs, not have as much body movement and allow my hands to work better - that’s kind of how I’ve always been. The right fielder said during his absence he studied video and made an adjustment to his hitting setup. Piscotty returned Saturday from missing eight games on the COVID-19 injured list due to a positive coronavirus test.
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