Routed in Oakland: How will the A’s respond on the road after rare winless homestand?
The Athletics believed they had an identity after their first road trip. Now they’re faced with a reset.
On the road. Away from the Coliseum. That may or may not be a bad thing.
As the A’s embark on an eight-game road trip to Minnesota and Detroit, they’ll need to put a historic 0-6 homestand in the rear-view mirror after breakdowns in virtually every area.
When the A’s charter departed for Minnesota Wednesday, it was their first time leaving the Bay Area since April 17. After an encouraging 5-5 road trip to open the season against playoff contenders Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Toronto, the A’s touched down in California secure in the knowledge they wouldn’t leave home for 17 days (including two games in San Francisco against the Giants).
After going 4-3 on the first leg of the homestand against Baltimore and Texas despite some offensive deficiencies, the A’s split two games with the Giants in San Francisco and then returned home for three-game sets against Cleveland and Tampa Bay. They lost all six games — the first time since the team moved from Kansas City it failed to win even once in a homestand of six games or more.
The end result? A 5-10 record in a 15-game stretch where they’d hoped to establish themselves as something beyond a stripped-down team headed for between 90 to 100 losses.
Add it all up and the A’s are 10-15 and playing whack-a-mole with starting pitching, the bullpen, hitting and team defense. It did little to encourage a skeptical fan base soured by a payroll slash, trades of star players, ticket price increases and the threat of relocation if the waterfront stadium plan doesn’t materialize. The A’s averaged just 7,451 for the homestand and 3,380 for the Tampa Bay series.
“We have to continue to learn who we are as players,” veteran DH/infielder Jed Lowrie said. “We have a lot of guys getting everyday at-bats who haven’t had that opportunity before. You just continue to grind through it, especially on the hitting side. You’ve just got to find a way to put it together and turn the tide.”
Rookie manager Mark Kotsay hasn’t felt the need to flip a food spread or gather everyone together for a stern talking-to based on what he’s seen.
“If it was a lack of effort, lack of fight, then there’d be a message that needs to be sent,” Kotsay said. “These guys are battling. This is part of the grind through the season. You try to weather the storm. We get a day off and we’ll regroup and get back after it in Minnesota.”
Among the areas Kotsay, as well as executive vice president Billy Beane and general manager David Forst will be watching closely:
Lack of offense — The A’s have been held to one run or fewer in seven of their last 12 games. They’re averaging 2.4 runs per game in their last 11 after scoring at a clip of 4.7 per game in their first 14.
The hope is Ramon Laureano can provide at least a spark. He is scheduled to come off a PED suspension Sunday and will go immediately into the lineup, probably in right field. But the Athletics also have to be concerned about Cristian Pache, the centerfielder acquired as part of the Matt Olson deal.
Pache’s defense has been top tier — visual evidence suggests he’s one of the best at his position in the majors — but he was 1for-18 on the homestand and his batting average has fallen to .177. He was a .244 hitter (10-for-41) on the road trip to start the season. If Pache needs a tuneup in Las Vegas, Laureano goes back to center field instead of right.
Kotsay thinks if one player gets hot, others will follow suit.
“You get that one big hit and there’s a big sigh of relief, and the momentum is contagious,” Kotsay said. “You see one guy take a good at-bat and it just seems to fall in line with the rest of the group. It feels like it’s a grind for them and we’re going through it together.”
Kotsay expects the A’s to be more aggressive on the bases to force the issue offensively as the season progresses.
Starting pitching — Frankie Montas rebounded from a start against Cleveland where he couldn’t hold a 4-1 lead to seven shutout innings against Tampa Bay. Cole Irvin, who has been a solid No. 2 to Montas, had an MRI on his sore shoulder, and it’s not known if he can take his turn Friday in Minnesota. Paul Blackburn has yet to show he can go beyond five innings, although he’s been a decent end-of-rotation starter.
James Kaprielian comes off a disastrous first start where he lost sight of the strike zone, and Daulton Jefferies gave up 11 hits in five innings in his last outing.
Complicating matters is a doubleheader in Detroit on May 10 where the A’s will need to call up an arm from Triple-A Las Vegas.
The only dominant arm in the rotation belongs to Montas, who was rumored to be in the trade mix along with Chris Bassitt, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Sean Manaea prior to the season.
Montas is trying to lead by example.
“Things are not going our way, but that doesn’t mean the guys are not fighting,” Montas said. “Every guy that’s gone out there at the plate and on the mound is giving 100 percent and that’s the only thing you can ask for is to try and do your best out there.”
The bullpen — Surprisingly good early on, the bottom has fallen out late in the last two games. Lou Trivino was lost to the COVID-19 list and was hit hard in Tuesday night’s loss to the Rays. Kirby Snead gave up a game-tying two-run home run in the same game. Zach Jackson put three baserunners aboard with two walks and a hit batter that helped the Rays break open a scoreless game Wednesday.
Left-hander A.J. Puk has been very good with an 0.79 earned run average, but the A’s are still being cautious with him because of his injury history. Puk was dominant in two innings against the Rays Tuesday night, then was pulled after 24 pitches. Kotsay said he considered sending him out for a third inning, but didn’t so he could potentially be available Wednesday.