Oakland comeback unfulfilled this time

Guiding a young team that long ago realized it will not reach the postseason in 2017, A’s manager Bob Melvin must strike a fine balance between trying to win every game while understanding that some losses are better than others.

Take, for example, Oakland’s 7-6 loss to the Royals at the Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon.

The A’s trailed for most of the game and were behind 6-4 in the eighth before rookie third baseman Matt Chapman unloaded a two-run homer off Brandon Maurer to tie it.

“It just seemed like one of those games that just was blah,” Melvin said. “We’re down, and all of the sudden, Chapman hits a two-run homer and now we’re right back in the game.”

Soon, the A’s were down again, this time for good. Blake Treinen took the mound for the ninth inning. Alcides Escobar greeted Treinen with a double to left. Escobar had three of Kansas City’s 14 hits.

Alex Gordon followed with a single to right and Escobar motored home with the goahead run.

On Tuesday night, the A’s responded to Kansas City’s five-run eighth with a six-spot in the bottom of the inning to pull out a 10-8 victory.

On Wednesday, Ryon Healy beat out an infield single with two outs in the ninth. Pinchrunner Boog Powell moved to second on a wild pitch before Kelvin Herrera struck out Chad Pinder for his 26th save.

“It is a results-based industry and you want to win,” Melvin said, “but the fact that you keep battling in what was early on not a really good game for us does have a little value.”

Said shortstop Marcus Semien: “There are a lot of losses we’ve had where we’ve done some good things.”

Semien has done some good things at the plate recently. He had two of the A’s 12 hits Wednesday, including a two-run homer. He’s 35-for-108 (.324) over his past 26 games.

Of course, not everything’s peachy for an Oakland team that fell a season-low 15 games under .500 (53-68) for the fifth time:

Kansas City scored a run in the first inning, making it five straight games — and seven of eight — in which the A’s allowed a run in the opening inning.

The A’s had gone five games without an error, but Chapman ended that streak with a wild throw on Escobar’s bunt single in the fourth.

Khris Davis struck out four times in five at-bats. He has 158 K’s this season.

So, as the A’s prepare for a six-game trip that begins Friday night in Houston, Melvin will have his players focused on winning — and on playing the game the right way.

“You want guys to know we play 27 outs here, no matter what the score is,” he said before Wednesday’s game. “Even if you lose, you want (the opponent) to remember that you never give up.”