⏩ Indians 4, A’s 2: Oakland‘s offense stalls.
Bob Melvin often says the A’s try to get the lineup “right on a particular day.” Pieces move with performance and platoon edge. A few spots are spoken for, but Oakland’s recent offensive lull is not for lack of shuffling. The A’s have used a different lineup in 32 consecutive games.
Sunday’s reflected the state of their offense. Jed Lowrie manned the cleanup spot; struggling Ramón Laureano made his first start of the season hitting seventh; Tony Kemp, a lineup regular much of the first half, sat against a righthander; and Seth Brown made his first start in the ninth spot.
Subtle changes can only affect so much. The A’s were held to four hits in a 42 loss to Cleveland. It followed a 32 loss a day earlier and was the A’s eighth loss in 13 games in July. In seven, they have scored three or fewer runs.
The returns of Mitch Moreland and Mark Canha from the injured list over the weekend made their lineup more whole but did not provide an immediate spark. The A’s had one atbat with a man in scoring position Sunday. They drew one walk. Their final 13 hitters were retired in order.
“We feel like we’re healthier and have a deeper lineup, we just haven’t seen the results yet,” Melvin said afterward. “So I feel good about it every day we go out there. They get in good work in the cage and (hitting coach Darren Bush), he does a good job preparing them for how they’re going to be pitched to. We’re just in a little bit of a rut right now. But every day we go out there I feel like we’re going to break out of it.”
Zach Plesac, the Cleveland righthander in his second start back from a broken thumb, worked six innings and scattered four hits. Lowrie drove a single off the wall in right in the second and scored on a throwing error. Brown homered on a 22 changeup with two outs in the fifth. The A’s had one other extrabase hit.
“There’s nothing to pinpoint,” Brown said. “Everybody’s grinding it out and everybody’s getting out there and putting in the work. The results aren’t there right now, but that’s just baseball for you.”
Laureano entered hitting .192 in 25 games since returning June 16 from a hip injury. Several hours before first pitch, he was on the field working with Bush. The two worked for nearly a half hour, Laureano emphasizing planting his front foot and hitting balls to right field.
In the fifth, Laureano led off with a line drive into center field. It glanced off Bradley Zimmer’s glove as Laureano sped for second. Zimmer’s throw in was wide and Laureano broke for third, but after a hesitation. It cost him as José Ramirez retrieved the ball and beat Laureano to the bag.
“There’s nobody out, but when you’re not scoring any
runs you’re trying to make something happen,” Melvin said. “So, kind of out there in noman’s land and he kind of saw how far the third baseman was away and took a chance of getting there. It just didn’t work out.”
Cleveland right fielder Daniel Johnson robbed Sean Murphy of a possible extrabase hit in the second inning with a sliding catch. It began a memorable day for Johnson, who is
from Vallejo and went to Jesse Bethel High School. Johnson singled and scored in the fifth inning and hit his first majorleague home run in the seventh — driving a fullcount Chris Bassitt changeup an estimated 423 feet to break a 22 tie.
“If you told me I would have had that game and be playing here 15 years ago, I’d have told you you were crazy,” said Johnson, who added his favorite A’s player growing up was Will C.
WoodVacaville alum Jermaine Dye. “But I never thought I would be here, playing at the Coliseum, where I grew up, so it’s definitely a blessing to be here right now.”
Zimmer, who went to USF, hit Bassitt’s first pitch for a home run and had three RBIs. His twoout RBI single off Yusmeiro Petit in the ninth allowed Cleveland to capitalize on a high throw by Matt Chapman that ended the third baseman’s 52game errorless streak.
Bassitt worked seven innings, allowing three runs, yet was charged with his first loss since April 6.