Still no relief for the Giants
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner, far left, hits two home runs and strikes out 11 in seven innings, but San Francisco still falls 6-5 in Arizona on Opening Day. New closer Mark Melancon, right, gives up two runs with two outs in the ninth inning as the Giants lose by the same score of their loss to Chicago in the final game of last year’s National League Division Series.
To have any shot this season — which begins Monday night at the Coliseum against the Angels — the A’s will have to roll out their pre-Bay Bridge Series offensive approach rather than the meek attack they showed against the Giants.
Oakland scored only four runs in the three losses to the Giants, but before that, the A’s were putting together big innings with regularity, a real difference from last season when Oakland finished at the bottom of the heap in on-base percentage. During the Cactus League portion of the schedule, the A’s had an on-base percentage of .360, and even after minimal offense against San Francisco, Oakland finished the spring at .351, sixth best in the majors.
“We’re not a three-run homer team. We’re going to have to get on base and keep the line moving, and we’ve been doing that since Day 1,” third baseman Trevor Plouffe said. “We’ve taken a lot of professional at-bats. I don’t think anyone here is an ‘I’ guy; that’s why we’ve strung together some of those innings: walk, walk, base hit, maybe a homer. Guys aren’t trying to do too much. Looking around, that’s the kind of offense we’ll have to have.”
The A’s scored 199 runs this spring, eighth best in the bigs — and all but one of the teams ahead of them played at least two more games than Oakland.
Can Oakland continue to manufacture runs once it counts? Manager Bob Melvin thinks so.
“It’s been talked about ad nauseam with these guys,” he said. “Sometimes it only takes a few guys to affect the other guys, and I think across the board we’ve seen some better approaches. … Hopefully, we’ll
see results that carry over into the regular season. I don’t know that we’ll lead the league in it, but I think we’ll be better. It’s definitely a focus.”
A big plus, should the A’s be able to carry it into the regular season, has been an ability to put up early runs. Last season, Oakland often struggled to get baserunners aboard in the first several innings, getting no-hit midway or late into games on numerous occasions. Five times in September alone, the team failed to record a hit through the first four innings.
This spring, the A’s two biggest innings were the first and second; they scored 59 runs, combined, in those innings.
“If you can jump on the board in the first two innings and put runs on the board, it puts a lot of pressure on the
“We want to come out of the gate ready to play from that first pitch, put the pressure on ’em.” Matt Joyce, A’s outfielder
other team. It kind of lets your starter settle in,” outfielder Matt Joyce said. “That’s going to be a key for us: We want to come out of the gate ready to play from that first pitch, put the pressure on ’em. Play hard, play for each other, play to win.”
Catcher Stephen Vogt emphasized being more selective this spring, especially with 3-2 counts, and he had a .321 onbase percentage.
“The sooner we get going, the better, making a starter throw high-pressure pitches early,” he said “Last year, we struggled to do that at times and it falls to the top and middle order to set the tone.
“I really like the way our lineup is. I like our approach. We’re working deep counts. We’re getting on base. We’ve been talking as a group about pitch selection, listening to guys like Joyce and Plouffe and Yonder Alonso. I think that’s contagious. Offensively, we really like our group.”
The A’s had so many long early innings, some of their starters wound up sitting too long; Jharel Cotton said it was good for him because he learned what he’ll have to do when that happens during the regular season. The first time, he cooled off too much, and the second time, he played catch during Oakland’s rally and performed much better.
“We’ve had a couple guys like, ‘Oh, it’s like a half an hour before I go pitch.’ Better than the alternative, though,” Joyce said.
Oakland scored the fewest runs in the American League last year, 653, and the team’s .304 on-base percentage was its lowest since 1979. Even finishing in the middle of the pack in those categories should ensure a much better record.
“The talent is here. We have the guys who can do it,” Joyce said. “We might not have huge names like Robinson Cano or Nelson Cruz, but we have guys that can drive the ball.
“It becomes about learning and figuring out how to win. It’s not about hitting home runs. It’s about helping the team win, battling 3-2 and taking a walk so the next guy can hit the ball in the gap. It’s putting in the work day in and day out and having the right attitude. And that belief we can win will go a long way for us.”