Manaea’s best start highlights Oakland’s victory
OAKLAND >> A dry heat, laced with some wildfire smoke, permeated the Oakland Coliseum air Saturday afternoon. The San Diego Padres had already demonstrated their power flair in their shutout Friday — that the elements could boost their opponents even more was the last thing the groggy A’s needed Saturday.
But the Oakland A’s didn’t fall back asleep. Instead, they bounced up and into a rousing 8-4 win, their first victory since Aug. 26.
Here are some takeaways: SEAN MANAEA’S VELOCITY>> Sean Manaea had the best start of his season, allowing just one earned run over five innings with five strikeouts. He used just 64 pitches, and 47 threw for strikes.
“This was his best outing of the year for sure,” manager Bob Melvin said.
It was the kind of efficient, bordering on nostalgic start Manaea hadn’t quite found this year despite sniffing
close to it. Sure, he’s now gone five innings in four straight starts. He’s given up no more than one earned run in his last three starts.
Something was different about this start, though: Arm speed.
Much has been made of Manaea’s alarmingly low fastball velocity since he’s returned from shoulder surgery last season. He’s had trouble keeping his head above the 90 mph mark, though that’s where it’s averaged through a tumultuous start to 2020 — often dipping into the high-80s as starts piled up.
The fastest pitch he threw all season whistled into the batter’s box at 94 mph, plunking Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos’s arm in Manaea’s last start. The A’s left-handed starter was coasting through the season without ever touching the ground; with inconsistent velocity, he struggled to find consistency with his breaking ball.
Saturday, Manaea’s arm speed was the best it’s been. He was throwing 94-95 mph fastballs in the first inning. He couldn’t hold that velocity peak, but it averaged 92 mph throughout. Those two extra miles per hour make all the difference.
Good arm speed also made his secondary offerings play up. He was getting swings and misses on his fastball, changeup and slider. Of his five strikeouts, three came on his slider and two off his fastball. None fell down in the zone, but the increased velocity worked in his favor.
He finished with one walk and four hits, allowing only a run on Eric Hosmer’s ground ball with the bases loaded and one out.
Manaea’s improved arm speed could have most to do with regained arm strength; eight starts in, most of the A’s rotation is feeling where they would in a typical season. Expectations are just higher with a heightened postseason race.
While his arm strength went up, Manaea lessened the pressure on himself.
“I learned a lot about myself,” Manaea said. “And I’m taking those lessons and not trying to be too hard on myself. This season has been like that, and it’s been great to see all this hard work pay off.
“I’m going to struggle, that mindset that I take when I am is to not necessarily be hard on myself. I want to be to a certain extent, but not crazy hard on myself. Sometimes you’re reaching and you have to step back and do less. That’s not the case all the time, but I think I was just searching too hard.”
Bats wake up
The A’s answered a shutout Friday
with a barrage of runs Saturday.
“I’d say we felt a lot better than yesterday,” catcher Jonah Heim said after the game.
Ramón Laureano’s two-run home run is the highlight on paper, but Matt Olson’s day was the statistical standout.
Olson hit his first career triple against the Padres’ young phenom Chris Paddack, scoring the A’s first two runs.
“Dusty Baker used to tell us, ‘What do you want to do, lead the league in doubles or get two triples?’ ” Melvin said after the game.
The A’s left-handed slugger entered the game with just nine singles and 10 home runs. He left with two more singles — including an opposite field single down the third base line — to his name, raising his average to .186.
Tommy La Stella and Heim added another two runs in the second inning with their first RBIS as Athletics.
Heim utilized his switch-hitter ability, too, collecting his second RBI, but from the right side of the plate against Padres left-hander Matt Strahm in the sixth inning.
The Padres switched in righthander Luis Pitiño to face Laureano, who answered with his fifth home run of the season to extend the A’s lead to 7-1.
By the game’s end, seven of the A’s eight runs came with two outs. The home run-hitting team instead sprayed the field with a barrage of extra-base hits and perfectly placed singles. The team entered Saturday’s game having gone 4 for 21 with runners in scoring position in their previous four games and emerged with a 5-for-11 average with RISP.
“Good at-bats right away,” Melvin said. “From the get go. It gets contagious and we knew today was an important day for us. You don’t want to put too much one one game, but it was important we play a good game today and the at-bats were good across the board.”
Chapman’s bad day
Matt Chapman hasn’t quite made it to greener pastures yet.
The A’s third baseman struck out five times. Only five other Athletics have gone 0 for 5 with five strikeouts in the franchise’s history: Reggie Jackson in 1968, Rick Monday in 1970, Jose Canseco in 1997, John Jaha in 2000 and Dustin Fowler in 2018.
Diekman untouchable
When is the right time to mention a scoreless streak without disturbing the baseball gods? Might as well do it now. A’s left-handed reliever Jake Diekman pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts Saturday.
He remains the only reliever among qualified players to have no earned runs on his resumé for 2020.