Missed chances are costly yet again
HOUSTON — The baseball arced off Sean Murphy’s bat into left field, not deep. Michael Brantley caught it with his momentum gathered. Ramón Laureano galloped off third base. Brantley fired a onehop throw to the plate. Houston catcher Martin Maldonado had only to field it chesthigh and drop his glove onto Laureano. Maldonado still held the ball out for proof of what was evident.
The play preserved a sixthinning tie and continued a troubling trend for the A’s. Their lineup is squandering scoring chances. On Wednesday, they had eight batters reach base in a span of three innings, and two scored. They could not capitalize in holding Houston to four hits. A 43 loss dropped the A’s to 51⁄2 games behind Houston, matching their largest deficit all season.
“We just don’t have a lot of margin for error right now,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re not situationally hitting real well at this point. … We’re not getting the big innings right, right now, and we’re ending up losing some games because of it.”
The A’s have lost 12 of 17. They trailed 31 entering the sixth. Houston starter Luis Garcia had allowed two hits, one a solo homer by Matt Olson. Cristian Javier wavered in relief. Elvis Andrus hit Javier’s second pitch 406 feet into the leftfield seats. After 79 games without a homer, Andrus has two in the past week.
Javier’s first four hitters reached. Olson scored on a basesloaded wild pitch that left men on second and third with no outs. Murphy’s illfated flyball followed. Melvin said he considered asking for a review of whether Maldonado had blocked Laureano at the plate.
“Our replay said no, that the throw came to one side and it took him toward where he ended up, which was right in the middle of the plate,” Melvin said. “And I went back and looked at it
later and that was the case.”
Said Laureano: “I was going to be out from the beginning . ... It’s just a little tough stretch and that’s it and we’ve got to keep working hard and keep competing.”
Laureano was the fourth A’s player thrown out at home in five games. Thirdbase coach Mark Kotsay tested shortstop Carlos Correa’s arm Tuesday, with Correa nailing Chad Pinder on a relay. The A’s had two runners thrown out at home in extra innings against Boston.
“Offensively, we haven’t been great recently, and we’re trying to score some runs,” Melvin said. “This is a difficult park sometimes to get a gauge on because left field is so short. But we’re trying to push some runs across, and on the other side of it, defenses are making some good throws on us right now.”
Nor could the A’s capitalize on two errors by Jose Altuve in the seventh inning that gave them runners on first and third with one out. Blake Taylor induced a flyout by Andrus and a popout from Olson. It allowed Houston to break through in its half against Sean Manaea.
Manaea retired his first six hitters before Pinder, starting at third base with Matt Chapman sick, made an error to open the third. Myles Straw singled. With one out, Manaea fell behind to Altuve, who crushed a 31 fastball 413 feet for a threerun homer.
“In that situation, definitely fastball wasn’t the right pitch,” Manaea said. “Even if it was the wrong pitch, it could have been a lot better location, so it’s just on me being able to focus in that situation.”
After Brantley singled, Manaea retired his next 12 batters. He fired fastballs and induced weak contact. Baseball’s top offense averaged just 86.5 mph on 16 balls in play. Manaea’s run ended in the seventh. With one out, Kyle Tucker drove a firstpitch fastball 414 feet for the goahead home run.
“I know this team might be going through a little rough patch right now,” Manaea said, “but at the end of the day, we’re just going to keep grinding it out and I know things will turn around.”
In a painful ending, Pinder grounded out to end the game and grabbed for the back of his right leg as he crossed first base.
Melvin said afterward Pinder has a right hamstring injury: “I can’t imagine he’s going to be ready to play for a bit.”