17-0: A’s rout for the ages
Moreland hits 2 homers as hot Oakland finishes sweep in Cleveland.
CLEVELAND — The A’s appear on another upswell. August has brought no evidence of the dog days. Oakland’s fortified offense looks formidable and its pitching staff continues to check opponents. A win Thursday was the A’s seventh in a row. None this season has been so thorough.
Even a lineup that has sought timely hits couldn’t ignore the gifts offered by Cleveland pitching. A’s hitters drew 10 walks, four in a fifth inning that fueled the rout, and totaled 14 hits. Chris Bassitt worked six scoreless innings. No more was needed with the luxury of a huge lead.
The A’s 17-0 victory was their 11th in 13 games. It also marked the largest margin of victory in a shutout win in franchise history. The A’s are a season-high 19 games above .500 and 11⁄2 games behind first-place Houston in the AL West. It is their smallest division deficit since July 1.
“We’ve done the same thing, I think, the last three or four years,” Bassitt said. “Once August hits, this group seems to hit another gear and turn it on. When a lot of teams get tired, a lot of guys get tired.
We seem to just find extra energy and go on this run, and kind of try to carry it through the entire year.
“I think it’s just the mind-set we’ve had as a team for the last couple of years; that we just don’t let each other get tired kind of thing. We ride each other pretty dang hard; give crap to each other to make sure everyone’s still motivated and stuff like that. So the old dog days of August aren’t really a thing here.”
That the stretch has dovetailed with trade-deadline additions to the lineup and bullpen cannot be coincidence.