Graveman is off the mark as injuries mount
MINNEAPOLIS — On a day the A’s already had lost one of their bullpen regulars, their most reliable starter faltered, magnifying the lousy turn this season has taken.
Kendall Graveman, his location uncharacteristically off, ran up his pitch count early and gave up a seasonhigh six runs in Oakland’s 7-4 loss at Target Field. The A’s have lost three games in a row and eight of their past nine.
Before Wednesday’s game, left-handed reliever Sean Doolittle was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. On Thursday, catcher Josh Phegley is likely to go on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion after taking a foul ball off the mask. That will be the team’s 12th use of the disabled list this season.
Rookie Bruce Maxwell will take Phegley’s roster spot
if he makes it in time from Round Rock, Texas, near Austin, where Triple-A Nashville played Wednesday.
Graveman threw 38 pitches in the first inning, walking three batters — a season high for him. A sure fielder who turned in a highlight-reel unassisted double play during his previous start, Graveman also made a two-base error on a pickoff throw in the first, the A’s sixth error in seven games.
“There were some 3-2 pitches I didn’t make that I’ve made in the past,” Graveman said. “You don’t want to get there, but when you do, you still have to challenge a guy and make him hit it, and I thought that’s where I fell tremendously tonight.”
In the third, Kennys Vargas clocked a three-run homer off Graveman. The A’s Opening Night starter hadn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his four previous starts.
“One of those days the ball was just running off the plate for him,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Every now and then you run into a day like that.”
Aside from some super work from starters such as Graveman (usually), Andrew Triggs and Jesse Hahn, a lot of power from Khris Davis and all-around good play from Yonder Alonso — who recorded his sixth homer Wednesday — the A’s have shown little that’s encouraging on a regular basis. They have holes in the lineup. Their defense ranges from mediocre to terrible.
Some struggles are in spots where the A’s have little depth. Right fielder Matt Joyce is off to a poor start, but he signed a twoyear deal, and the A’s don’t have a lot in the way of minor-league outfielders, although Mark Canha could be back up soon the way he is swinging the bat. He has four homers and 15 RBIs in 14 games with Triple-A Nashville.
With shortstop Marcus Semien out for two months after wrist surgery, the timing would seem ripe to bring up top prospect Franklin Barreto, who is batting .372 for Nashville. However, the A’s are likely to wait five weeks to make sure Barreto doesn’t get super-two status, triggering arbitration a year early.
Then there is the truly tricky spot: Catcher Stephen Vogt, beloved by his teammates and coaches and a fan favorite, is struggling offensively and defensively. Maxwell is batting .275 and is a strong defensive player who frames pitches well and handles the running game better than does Vogt. It will be interesting to see how playing time breaks down while Phegley is out.
If the A’s continue their downward trajectory as they head toward midseason, some of the team’s older players will be on the trading block, including second baseman Jed Lowrie and Alonso, a free agent to be. That would give Barreto, Maxwell and others a chance to step into everyday roles.
Oakland did put together a little rally late Wednesday, scoring a run on Joyce’s bases-loaded single in the ninth, but Brandon Kintzler got Rajai Davis to bounce into a force at the plate and Trevor Plouffe to bounce into a game-ending double play.
“If we could have finished off that inning, it would have done wonders for us,” Melvin said. “That would have been step one. But continue the fight and hopefully the momentum of that inning and the at-bats we took will carry over.”
At 11-16, the team has matched its worst record after 27 games in the past eight years; Oakland also went 11-16 to start the 2015 season.
Things can change quickly, of course. Just a week and a half ago, Oakland was in second place after a five-game winning streak.