Slugging Cubs return favor, pound A’s to capture series.
CHICAGO — After the A’s 101 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday, AllStar third baseman Matt Chapman said he needs to get back on track to help his team.
Chapman went 0for3 at Wrigley Field to put his hitless streak at 16 atbats and over his past 13 games, he’s 2for47 with 19 strikeouts.
“I take full responsibility for the way I’m playing right now,” he said. “It doesn’t feel good to be in the hunt like this and not feel like you’re helping the team win. So there’s no excuse, I’m not playing to my capabilities. I’m aware of it.”
Manager Bob Melvin said Chapman still has some lingering soreness from knee and ankle injuries, but Chapman refused to point to those for his funk, saying, “If there was something really wrong, I’d say something. I feel good enough to play. At this point in the season, you can ask anyone in here,
they feel a little banged up. It’s just part of it . ... I just need to pick it up, and I’m going to.”
Melvin said he might consider a day off for Chapman if warranted, but said Chapman wants to play.
Chapman said that he believes he’s having some better atbats and his pitch selection has been better, but he’s fouling off his pitch a lot when he gets it. He noted that the A’s have faced some excellent pitching lately, including José Quintana on Wednesday; Quintana allowed two hits in seven innings.
“There’s a lot of season left,” Chapman said. “I’m trying not to get too down about it, have a good offday and get away from baseball a little bit, come back and get this thing going.”
The A’s entered the series at Wrigley on a tear, winning six of seven, but they dropped two of three to the NL Centralleading Cubs; the A’s will start a threegame series here against the White Sox on Friday, remaining in the same hotel all week. They remain a half game behind Tampa Bay in the race for the AL’s second wildcard spot.
The Cubs jumped on starter Homer Bailey for five runs in the fourth, four of them on Ian Happ’s firstpitch grand slam, and they added four more off Bailey and reliever Lou Trivino the next inning.
Bailey, acquired from Kansas City on July 14, has been erratic. In three of his starts, he has allowed no more than three runs; in the other two, he’s given up a total of 16 runs. Happ’s homer was his second of the season — and second of the series. He also hit a key shot off reliever Blake Treinen on Monday.
Like Treinen, Trivino has struggled much of the year after a terrific 2018, and putting him into a game with the team trailing by four was a morethanreasonable spot. He couldn’t hold it there, giving up an RBI single by Javier Baez after entering the game in the fifth and then a threerun homer by Kyle Schwarber.
Trivino had been somewhat better lately — opponents had a .234 average off him in his previous 13 outings — but his ERA now stands at 5.14. In A’s wins, Trivino has a 1.59 ERA. In losses, his ERA is 10.01.
“I thought he made a good pitch to Baez, who bloops a ball out, then doesn’t make a good pitch to Schwarber,” Melvin said. “We’re trying to get him and Blake back to where they were, and we’re not there yet. I think in Lou’s case, maybe he needs a little more faith in his fastball.”
Treinen allowed a homer by Victor Caratini in the eighth.