Oakland A’s adjust to Dodger Stadium
A’s, Astros combined to hit six home runs in Game 1 of the ALDS
When the ball leaves the bat at Dodger Stadium, a hitter doesn’t need to peek at how the outfielders have reacted to know if the ball has a chance to reach the bleachers.
Oakland A’s shortstop Marcus Semien said data that appears instantly on the scoreboard gives players an immediate idea of whether or not they’ve hit a home run.
“The thing I like about this place is when you hit a ball you can see the exit velocity on the scoreboard,” Semien said Tuesday. “When it’s as hot as it is here during the day, you know when the ball is hit over 102 (miles per hour) and the angle is 25 to 30, it’s probably going to go out. (Matt) Olson hit his 109 with a 40 (degree launch angle) and you just think about would that have gone out at our place? But we’re here at Dodger Stadium. You know if you barrel up a ball in the air, it’s got a chance.”
The A’s and Houston Astros combined to hit six home runs in Game 1 of the ALDS during Monday’s matinee which featured temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s. Each team hit three home runs in a 10-5 Astros win, but the turning point in another series- opening loss for Oakland was a ball that didn’t leave the infield.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, Semien misplayed a Josh Reddick grounder that ultimately led to a four-run Astros rally.
“Any time you make an error, you want to get out of the inning and you hope the guy doesn’t score,” Semien said. “That wasn’t the case yesterday. You want to move onto the next play, the next day, but when it affects the game in that way, it sticks with you the rest of the night. But that’s not going to help me or our team today.”
The Astros didn’t make Semien or reliever J.B. Wendelken pay with a home run, but hits by Martín Maldonado, George Springer, José Altuve and Michael Brantley all combined to put Oakland in a hole it failed to dig its way out of.
Entering Game 2 of the series, the A’s are well aware of the need to play clean defense to have a chance to beat the Astros, but they also believe hitting more home runs is paramount.
“I watched the Yankees-Rays game and a lot of those runs were scored off home runs,” Semien said of the other ALDS series that began Monday. “I don’t know if the adrenaline guys have or whether the ball is flying. I even heard Billy Beane talk about it too. Home runs can break open a game. We’re not trying to do that, but when it happens, you definitely feel the momentum in the dugout.”
Statistics back up Semien’s conclusion. So far in the postseason, teams that hit more home runs than their opponent are 130. At a park such as Dodger Stadium that’s proven to be particularly hitter-friendly during the day, A’s hitters understand the need to elevate against Astros Game 2 starter Framber Valdez, a left-handed sinkerballer who likes to work low in the zone.
A’s pitchers have also seen the importance of keeping the ball down against an Astros lineup that punishes mistakes, but closer Liam Hendriks said he can’t let the weather and stadium conditions affect the way he approaches hitters.
“It’s not ideal for me seeing as how I’m kind of a flyball pitcher so that sucks,” Hendriks said. “It’s definitely something you take into account and let the defense do their work. But I’m not going to change the way I pitch based on how the park plays.”
Hendriks joked after the A’s came back from a Game 1 loss to defeat the Chicago White Sox in the wild card round that Oakland should just skip the first game of each postseason series. The A’s haven’t won a Game 1 since the 2006 ALDS, but they finally have experience coming back from an early-series deficit.
The A’s closer said players were obviously disappointed to lose to the rival Astros on Monday, but as Oakland learned last week, one game doesn’t define a series.
“It was one of those things, after the game yesterday, it was like, ‘Screw it, one game doesn’t define our season, let’s go back out there and win,’” Hendriks said.