‘Key series’: N.Y. boasts 11 wins in row; Oakland loss streak at 4
The Yankees arrive in Oakland red-hot, winners of 11 in a row, for four games starting Thursday that A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus deemed “a really key series for us.”
In one sense, it is evident why. The Yankees sit atop the AL wild-card standings, three games ahead of the Red Sox and 4½ games up on the A’s. A strong series could propel the A’s back into the forefront of the wild-card race, a poor one could cost them significant ground with five weeks of the season left to play.
But the matchup also underscores a trend the A’s — who Monday night fell out of the AL playoff picture for the first time since April — likely will need to reverse in order to reach the postseason, not to mention advance in it.
The A’s own a 24-38 record against teams above .500. Of their 35 remaining games, 23 are against teams that were above .500 entering Wednesday. They face the AL’s secondtoughest schedule in terms of opponents’ winning percentage down the stretch.
Three of their next four opponents are the Yankees, a Toronto team fighting to stay in the playoff chase and the AL Central-leading White Sox. After nine games against sub.500 teams, the A’s finish the season with 13 games against the Mariners and Astros, against whom they are a combined 8-17 this year.
A losing record against winning teams by no means precludes a team from making the postseason. Since 2000, though, just two teams have done that with a lower winning percentage against above-.500 teams than the A’s current .387 mark: the 2006 Dodgers (.333) and the 2010 Reds (.377).
Oakland’s recent stretch against contenders yielded frustrating results. In consecutive series against the White Sox, Giants and Mariners, the A’s went 2-7. Seattle pulled to a game back of the A’s by finishing a two-game sweep Tuesday, as the A’s finished a stretch of playing on 15 consecutive days by losing eight of 10.
“The off-day will be good,” starting pitcher Cole Irvin said after Tuesday’s 5-1 loss. “Guys are going to be eager to play. We’ve got a hot ballclub coming in, feel like we’ve been facing a lot of hot ballclubs in this little stretch here. So it’s a good test for us.
“We’re going to need to fight in the postseason, so why not fight now? We’re eager to get into this series against the Yankees for sure, so we’re going to do our best to turn the page and get after it after the off-day.”
The A’s and Yankees have changed since they met in New York in late June. The Yankees are 28-9 since the All-Star break and 21-5 since dealing for left-handed power hitters Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo the day before the trade deadline. The A’s are 14-11 since acquiring Starling Marte, their marquee trade addition, but are playing without outfielder Ramón Laureano, suspended for a violation of MLB’s policy on PEDs, and injured starter Chris Bassitt.
Issues that arose for the A’s during that series at Yankee Stadium, though, might sound familiar. The A’s lost two of three games, one in which their bullpen could not hold a seventh-inning lead and another as their offense managed one run.
On Monday night, after the A’s lost a third straight game in which they led after seven innings, manager Bob Melvin did not rule out shaking up the late-inning bullpen structure. Asked if Lou Trivino, who lost ninth-inning leads in two of the losses, will remain the full-time closer, Melvin said the A’s would “get through the off-day, and then we’ll see where we’re at.”
Trivino had converted 14 straight save chances and not allowed an earned run in his previous 10 appearances before Saturday. He had allowed just one home run in his past 44 games before doing so in backto-back outings. This year has brought his first extended stint in the closer role. If the A’s decide reinforcement is needed, setup men Jake Diekman, Sergio Romo and Andrew Chafin could be options.
Offense is the more recurring culprit. Since June 18, the day of their opener against the Yankees in New York, the A’s are 27-30 despite compiling the second-lowest ERA among AL teams through Tuesday. They have scored the fifth-fewest runs with the fourth-lowest OPS in the AL in that stretch.
The formula has not favored them; they are 12-40 this season when their offense manages three or fewer runs.
Their recent skid has followed a team-wide slump. After averaging seven runs in their first 11 games this month, the A’s totaled 26 runs in their last 10. They are hitting .212 as a team in that span and .151 with runners in scoring position.
“I’ve been in this situation a few times in my career, a lot of people panic and try to find a way to solve the problem — but there’s actually not a problem,” Andrus said. “I think it’s a long season. You’re going to go through these stretches, and unfortunately, we’re going through one right now. But at the same time, we’ve still got 30-plus games. We are there for the division and for the wild card, also.
“Moving forward, I think it’s about taking inning by inning, trying to win every single inning, don’t take anything for granted. Sometimes this team knows that we are a better organization and team in the second half. So moving forward, it’s about staying relaxed, but compete — we have to go out there and compete and forget about what is happening.”