Newest arrivals make big impact in win
ANAHEIM — August arrived with an infusion of novelty for the A’s. Their lineup Sunday featured three players who wore different uniforms a week ago. Their starting pitcher worked just his second majorleague game. July ended a streak of 10 winning months for Oakland. Change was perhaps welcome.
The group the A’s assembled for a stretch run operated as envisioned Sunday. Starling Marte, added to spur their offense, reached base four times and scored twice. Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes joined a lineup that amassed 13 hits. Gomes drove in three runs and, behind the plate, helped Daulton Jefferies navigate his first majorleague win.
Jefferies, called up from TripleA to pitch for the A’s for the first time this season, weathered a shaky first two innings to complete five. Four A’s relievers, including trade acquisition Andrew Chafin, worked a scoreless inning each to finish an 83 win over the Angels. The A’s won three of four in Anaheim to claim a series for the third time in their last 12.
“All of them had big impacts today,” manager Bob Melvin said of the recent arrivals. “All bring some energy and kind of some different facets to us as well.”
Jefferies, the former firstround pick from Cal, allowed a tworun home run to Max Stassi in the first inning and a runscoring double to Jack Mayfield in the second before settling in. He retired seven of his last eight batters, coaxing a doubleplay grounder from Shohei Ohtani to finish the fifth.
The newlook lineup faced Reid Detmers, a 22yearold lefthander making his majorleague debut. Gomes and Harrison, at second base, both made their A’s debuts after being acquired via trade Friday from the Nationals. Marte manned center field and the second lineup spot, as he did all series. Matt Chapman dropped to the eighth spot the first time since his rookie season in 2017.
Elvis Andrus, hitting ninth, sparked a fiverun third inning. He served a leadoff single into right field, and Marte shot a oneout grounder to right to beat a shift. Matt Olson, who had struck out in his first atbat, jumped a firstpitch fastball and sent it 407 feet to center field. It tied the game and was Olson’s 28th home run — 16 against lefties, including his past seven.
The A’s awoke Sunday ranked 19th in the majors in OPS (.719) against lefties. Gomes and Harrison were acquired partly to improve that. Gomes entered Sunday with a 1.032 OPS in 63 plate appearances against lefties. A walk to Ramón Laureano brought up Gomes, who drove a fastball 421 feet to left field for a 53 lead.
“It was great, the ability to have a little more confidence going back out there,” Jefferies said. “I just wanted to put up zeroes and put our team back in the dugout, because we were swinging it well.”
Gomes added a twoout RBI single off righthander Austin Warren in the fifth. Marte had three hits and stole three bases. His third left first base open with Olson up and two outs in the sixth. The Angels walked Olson intentionally to load the
bases for Jed Lowrie. Oakland carried a .197 team average with the bases loaded into Sunday. Lowrie delivered a tworun single.
“You obviously want to come in and make a good impression first day, so that definitely helps,” Gomes said. “But it was just good to get a game under our belt, a win under our belt. This is an exciting team to be on. But it was really just a matter of getting that first game and today was a good day all around.”
Harrison started two double plays hit into by Ohtani, both turned by Chapman covering second base in a shift. Melvin deemed Harrison “a terrific defender ... side to side really quick, probably covers a little more of the hole than we’ve seen, too. We target him as a guy who plays a little bit everywhere, but he does a really nice job at second base.”