No letup, tied for worst Oakland start at 05
Matt Chapman’s defensive reputation precedes him. He owns two Platinum Glove awards. His uncanny range and rocket arm can make difficult plays look routine.
The chopper Mookie Betts hit Chapman’s way in the second inning Monday night required no acrobatics from the A’s third baseman. But as Chapman tried to make a backhand play on the move, the ball bounced off his glove. Betts was given a single, loading the bases with two out. The game spiraled downward from there.
Corey Seager followed with a basesclearing double, giving the Dodgers a fourrun lead and sending the A’s on their way to a 103 loss. The A’s are 05 for the first time since 1987. They have not started a season with six straight losses in the Oakland era. They face Clayton Kershaw, a threetime Cy Young winner, on Tuesday night.
None of their losses has been close. The A’s are just the third majorleague team since 1901 to allow eight or more runs in their first five games of a season — joining a 1974 Padres team that lost 102 games and the 1995 White Sox, who went 6876 in a shortened season. The A’s have yet to hold a lead.
They trailed 70 after three innings Monday. Starting pitcher Frankie Montas did not escape the third — the righthander faced 19 batters and recorded eight outs. Will Smith’s linedrive home run off the leftfield foul pole made it a 50 game. After Zach McKinstry lined an RBI single, Montas let in another run on a wild pitch. His night ended with a walk to Betts.
Montas’ 90 pitches were the most by an A’s pitcher in an outing of less than three innings since at least 1988, per statistician David Feldman. It capped a disastrous first turn through Oakland’s rotation. The starters have totaled 22 innings in 2021 and allowed 24 runs. The collapse, though, has been teamwide. The A’s have been outscored 4512 in five games.
Dodgers starter Dustin May held the A’s to two singles in six innings Monday and struck out eight. A Mark Canha single and walk to Matt Olson put two A’s on with one out in the first. Mitch Moreland struck out and Chapman grounded out as early struggles with men in scoring position continued.
Lefthander A.J. Puk, called up Monday, was a rare bright spot. Puk replaced Montas and worked 31⁄3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Puk struck out four and his fastball touched 96 mph. Outfielder Ka’ai Tom offered another with his first majorleague hit, an RBI single in the eighth inning. Canha’s home run off David Price in the eighth was the A’s first run.
Puk aside, the rest of Oakland’s relief corps owns a 9.16 ERA. Reymin Guduan exited the ninth inning Monday with an apparent finger issue, leaving JB Wendelken to record the final out. Defense also has faltered. Shortstop Elvis Andrus bobbled a routine grounder trying to flip to Chapman covering second base in a shift. With nobody at third, Dodgers catcher Will Smith ran an extra 90 feet.
No reprieve was expected after the Astros swept the A’s to open the season. Oakland’s first 10 games are a gantlet. After playing the defending World Series champion Dodgers, the A’s will travel to Houston for three more games against their division rival.
“I don’t think there’s any panic,” Canha said Monday afternoon. “That (first) series had the feel of just kind of we’re trying to feel out who we are, and we have a different roster and very different team than we had last year. I think nobody’s too down on themselves over what happened. It was bad undoubtedly, it was not a good thing that happened and we know that. But we also know we have a whole lot of baseball left.”