Concerns seen as run starts
Exceptional pitching gives Oakland optimism for title hopes, but offense shows cracks
OAKLAND, Calif. — The pandemic postseason is upon us, and the A’s open up their best-of-three wild-card series against theWhite Sox on Tuesday at the Coliseum trying to get past the first round for the first time since 2006.
Oakland’s strengths and weaknesses are more than apparent, even after just 60 games. The pitching is superb and should give the A’s a fighting chance against anyone. The once-excellent defense has shown some cracks, to be expected after Platinum Glove third baseman Matt Chapman had year-ending hip surgery.
And then there’s the lineup. There’s no sugar-coating it: Oakland’s offense is a major concern and could be the biggest obstacle when it comes to the team’s attempt to change its postseason fortunes. The A’s have won just one of their past 13 playoff series.
Some of Oakland’s hittingwoes might have to do with Chapman’s absence, but Jake Lamb, signed as a free agent this month, has contributed a number of key hits. A brutal month of September, which concluded with 26 games in 24 days after a five-day shutdown because of a positive coronavirus test, didn’t help Oakland at the plate; Robbie Grossman noted that it’s been a grind, mentally and physically. The team pickedupthe pace in Sunday’s 6-2 season-finale victory over Seattle, and a light workout Monday might go some way toward helping getting the team back on track, butsomemajor figures never got going all season.
Designated hitter Khris Davis started slow after a rough 2019 and is now in a platoon. First baseman Matt Olson showed his usual power but finished the season with a .195 average and 77 strikeouts. Shortstop Marcus Semien, who finished third in MVP race last year, missed time with a rib cage injury, and he never got on a roll, either.
The rest of the lineup has been up and down, with some of the 2020 stalwarts — Grossman, Mark Canha, and to some extent RamónLaureano— showing promising signs the past week after September funks. New additions Lamb and second baseman Tommy La Stella have contributed regularly since arriving. Every little bit will be needed, because as good as Oakland’s pitching is, the team still needs to score — something that tripped up the A’s each of the past two postseasons. They scored two runs in a wild-card loss to the Yankees two years ago and just one last season in falling to the Rays at the Coliseum.
Pitching and defense are normally considered the best combination for a deep postseason run, and theA’s have one of the best rotations in the league, with Game 2 starter Chris Bassitt turning in impressive work ( Jesús Luzardo gets the ball in Game 1), and the best bullpen in baseball, headed by shutdown closer Liam Hendriks.
“We’ve got some great pitchers starting from our starters all the way down to our bullpen guys,” catcher Jonah Heim said. “I’m confident with whoever goes on the bump out there, and I’d take our pitchers over everybody, honestly.”
Each of the A’s past three playoff trips — in 2014, 2018 and 2019 — ended in one-game wild-card losses, so the best-of-three series might be of help, Hendriks said.
“I think going in there knowing that it’s not a do-or-die in the first game, I think that can take a little pressure off a lot of guys,” Hendriks said. “Going out there knowing that each pitch is pivotal and everything like that in a one-game playoff, it changes the dynamic a little bit. So having that space there a little bit, it’s able to kind of relax some guys. And when we’re relaxed, we’re doing well. If we start putting too much pressure on ourselves, that’s when things go a little awry.
“It’s just going out there and making sure that we need to take care of business on the first day. We do that, we’ll be fine. I don’t think there’s too many teams that can stack up against us if we’re playing our baseball.”