Bad beginnings are forgotten as Montas deals
You might recall these A’s matching the worst start to a season in franchise history. That was about 10 days ago. The hole they dug they have paved over just as quickly. With a 30 win over the Tigers at the Coliseum on Friday night, the A’s are back on even ground.
If a season mimics a rollercoaster, the A’s opening loop has been a doozie. They are just the third majorleague team to have a losing streak and a winning streak of at least six games in their first 14 games of a season, per Sportradar, joining the 1991 Seattle Mariners and the 1915 Chicago White Sox.
“I don’t think anybody’s surprised by what we’ve been able to do,” catcher Sean Murphy said. “The first week was tough and everybody knew it was. But it was going to turn around at some point
and we just turned it around really quick.”
The A’s past week has been nothing like their first. Hitting jolted awake on the road to start their streak. Pitching dictated the tone Friday. The Tigers did not put a man into scoring position in the game.
Frankie Montas delivered perhaps the strongest outing of the season by an A’s starter. The righthander worked six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven. Until the sixth, the Tigers’ lone hit was a Robbie Grossman dribbler that snuck under Montas’ glove. Detroit put one pitch into play in the first four innings with an exit velocity above 90 mph, a Wilson Ramos groundout.
Victor Reyes lined a single back up the middle to open the sixth. Montas retired his next three hitters, inducing an inningending grounder from Jonathan Schoop on his 100th and final pitch. Reyes was one of three baserunners allowed by Montas, who also walked one. Montas again attacked hitters with sinkers and fastballs; the Tigers saw 75 of those pitches, swung at 38 and put just 10 in play.
“I feel like I’m the kind of pitcher that when I hit my spots and I’m throwing strikes it’s tough for hitters to get good timing, especially on my twoseam when I’m putting it where I want it,” Montas said. “I feel like that’s one of the things I did well tonight, I was locating my twoseam really good.”
After his last outing in a win at Houston, Montas said the A’s “vibe (was) changing for sure.” Friday night, he was asked for an update: “We’re winning so we’re good, the vibe is definitely good. We finally started playing
how we know how to play, how we expected to play and it feels great.”
In their sixgame winning streak, A’s starters have totaled a 3.13 ERA. The rotation had a 7.91 ERA in its first eight games. Relief pitching has rebounded as well. Yusmeiro Petit allowed a oneout single in his ninth appearance of the season, most in the majors, then retired the next two hitters. Jake Diekman struck out the side in the eighth. Lou Trivino, presented with another save situation, allowed a leadoff single to Willi Castro in the ninth but erased him by inducing a double play.
“The pitching has been a complete turnaround to this point,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Our starters set the tone, they go out there, they give you your confidence, give you your mojo each and every day. Now they’re kind of following each other and pushing each other and trying to better it.”
Pitching propped up a quieter night from an A’s lineup held down until the fourth inning. Detroit righthander José Ureña walked Ramón Laureano and Matt Olson beat the shift with a slow groundball single to the left side of the infield. Mitch Moreland, who had hit a 105.3 mph lineout in his first atbat, scorched a 108.1 mph single to drive in Laureano.
Murphy followed with a double to score the second run against Ureña, who struck out eight in seven innings.
In the eighth, Matt Chapman drove a curveball from lefthander Derek Holland to straightaway center 409 feet for a home run. It was one more encouraging sign for the A’s; Chapman is among the A’s hitters who have struggled early, batting .189 after Friday’s win. Jed Lowrie is not one of those hitters. He recorded his sixth consecutive multihit game, the longest such streak of his career.