A’s home struggles continue in 1-0 loss to Mariners
OAKLAND (TNS) – The A’s continue to struggle scoring runs at Rickey Henderson Field, named for the man who scored more runs than anyone in baseball history.
After Wednesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners in front of a season-low 6,991 fans, the A’s have failed to plate more than two runs in seven consecutive home games.
And this is a team that averaged six runs per outing on a 10-game road trip through Sunday that featured series vs. the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
On the day the club placed slugger Khris Davis (sprained right groin) on the 10-day disabled list, the A’s completed their sixth straight game at the Coliseum without a home run. They hit 19 homers while going 7-3 on the East Coast road swing.
Their most recent homer at home? A two-run shot by Davis in the 12th inning to beat the Orioles 2-0 back on May 5.
Davis won’t be around to help for at least the rest of this homestand. Three days after he was injured on a check swing at Toronto, Davis said he wasn’t feel much pain but had no quarrel with the team’s cautious approach to his recovery.
“I could probably come back before 10 days but they just don’t want me limping out there. They want me at full strength,” Davis said. “I know at any moment it could flare up. I just want to make sure I’m healthy.”
The right-handed hitting slugger is batting just .235 but he’s hit a team-leading 13 home runs and his 38 RBIS are third in the American League. Davis’ 98 home runs the past three seasons are the most in the majors and his 250 RBIS are the third-most.
The A’s finished with just three hits and 10 strikeouts, including their final four batters of the night.
The team’s latest quiet night at the plate undermined a strong return to the majors by right-hander Daniel Gossett, who allowed just one run (unearned) through seven innings.
The Mariners scored their only run off him in the fourth when Guillermo Heredia doubled down the left-field line, went to third on a fly ball to right and scored when shortstop Marcus Semien mishandled a grounder by Kyle Seager.
Gossett was lifted after throwing a career-high 104 pitches (72 strikes) in seven innings, allowing just four hits while striking out five and walking one. He sliced his ERA nearly in half, to 5.65.