No hope in sight for Oakland’s feeble bats
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hold a team to four or fewer runs, and you have an above average chance of winning in the majors this season.
Unless you’re the Oakland Athletics.
A 3-1 loss to the Royals on Friday marked the 40th time this season that A’s pitching has allowed four or fewer runs in a game.
The A’s are 19-21 in those games. Entering Friday, the major-league winning percentage when holding a team under five runs was .707. No other team is under .500 in such games.
It reflects a feeble A’s offense unable to back good pitching when they get it. A day after the A’s wasted eight scoreless innings from Frankie Montas in a loss, they managed six hits against the Royals, just one — a ninth-inning double from Seth Brown — for extra bases.
Their scoring woes seem to be worsening. The A’s have mustered one or zero runs in seven of their past 10 games. Their 27 such games are most in the majors. The record in A’s franchise history is 51; this team is more than halfway there and not even at the halfway point of its season.
Royals starter Zack Greinke, 38, returning from an injured list stint for a flexor strain, limited the A’s to three hits across six innings. Greinke owned a 5.05 ERA in his first 10 starts. His fastball averaged 90.2 mph Friday. He retired his first nine before Tony Kemp singled to open the fourth and scored on a single from Brown. Sean Murphy followed with a single; Greinke retired his final seven hitters.
The eighth inning brought Oakland an opportunity: Elvis Andrus struck a leadoff single against Jose Cuas and Nick Allen drew a walk, setting the table for the top of the order. Kemp dropped a bunt and was thrown out at first. Jonah Bride took a fastball over the plate for a called third strike and Ramón Laureano grounded out to end the threat.
On Irvin: A lack of support is nothing new to Cole Irvin. In 10 of his 12 starts this season, the lefty has received two or fewer runs of support while in the game.
His 2-5 record, despite a 3.29 ERA, reflects it. Irvin was not his sharpest Friday, allowing three runs over 51⁄3 innings, but worked efficiently, finishing his first four innings on 38 pitches.
One Royals hitter in particular hounded him. Edward Olivares crushed a high fastball 430 feet to left field for a home run in the third inning. Olivares then sent a changeup out to left-center for a solo homer in the fifth.
Irvin allowed three straight hits to open the sixth, with Carlos Santana’s RBI single chasing him from the game. Domingo Acevedo notched two outs to strand a runner Irvin left on third base.
Lowrie's status: This month has seen a decline in playing time and production from Jed Lowrie, who was not in the A’s lineup Friday. Lowrie has started eight of 20 games for Oakland in June and entered Friday hitless in his past 20 at-bats. He pinch-hit in the ninth and grounded out to end the game.
Lowrie missed six games with left shoulder and wrist soreness after a runner collided with his glove arm June 9 in
Cleveland. He has started three games since, all at DH against right-handed pitchers. The arrivals of Nick Allen, Jonah Bride and Sheldon Neuse give the A’s other options at second base; they started Neuse at first base Friday and Stephen Vogt at DH.