A’s pitcher Frankie Montas struggles in 7-5 loss to Toronto.
Demotion a possibility for the hard-throwing right-handed rookie
OAKLAND — The A’s still love the lightning bolts Frankie Montas can throw with his right arm.
What they don’t like is seeing the rookie righthander struggle. And after another bad day for Montas in a 7-5 loss to Toronto on Wednesday, the question is whether or not it’s time for Montas to work on his game at Triple-A.
The Blue Jays got a tworun homer from Josh Donaldson and a solo shot from Justin Smoak in the 10th inning off Montas. The righthander has allowed five homers and 10 runs total in his past four games, covering just 42⁄3 innings pitched.
“We have not had that conversation,” A’s general manager David Forst said. “But he has struggled lately.”
Montas opted not to talk after the game. It would have been a huge game for the A’s to win if for no other reason than Oakland could have completed a sweep of the Blue Jays. The A’s have now gone 24 consecutive series without a sweep, one reason they are seven games under .500 at 26-33.
“He’s got a good fastball; he’s proud of his heater,” manager Bob Melvin said of Montas. “But when you get it in the middle of the plate against big league hitters, they’re going to turn it around, as you saw.”
When the A’s picked up Montas from the Dodgers in the deal last August that sent Josh Reddick and Rich Hill to Los Angeles, they saw his long-term future as a starter. He’s started 86 times in the minor leagues in the White Sox and Dodger organizations. The A’s have had him relieve for the short-term, hoping he could put that 100-mph fastball to good use in the middle of the A’s bullpen.
It hasn’t happened. And the A’s may opt for him to head back to Triple-A. If so, the club could bring up Felix Doubront, who has made four injury rehab appearances out of the Nashville bullpen after coming back from Tommy John surgery. Or the club could wait until Sunday and have veteran lefty Sean Doolittle come off the DL and take Montas’ spot on the roster.
Donaldson had never faced Montas. But the former A’s third baseman had the home field advantage from his experience with the three postseason Oakland teams he played with.
“I do feel comfortable here, and I know what to expect,” Donaldson said. “Knowing what to expect is so much better than going up and not having any idea.”
It’s been something of a tough year for Donaldson, who spent the better part of a month on the disabled list. He’s healthy now, and more than a little productive as his line this week — a single, a double, a homer and five walks — might suggest.
“I’m getting closer,” he said. “I feel comfortable hitting here, and I feel comfortable hitting in pressure situations.”
Montas can’t say that. But maybe Rajai Davis and Trevor Plouffe can. Davis matched his career high with four hits, a single, two doubles and a triple. He thought about stretching the triple into a homer, but getting the stop sign from third base coach Chip Hale led him to think twice.
“I think I would have made it,” he said. “But when you see the sign, that’s when it’s time to shut it down.”
Plouffe was hitless in 25 at-bats coming into the game, but walked his first time up and homered to left the second time around.
“I’m getting more and more comfortable,” Plouffe said. “I took some pitches. That’s the key for me. When I’m laying off pitches, then getting the ball in the zone, it’s good. ”
Starter Jharel Cotton n said he threw “a couple of bad pitches” that resulted in homers for Smoak and Kevin Pillar in a four-run Jays’ second inning, then allowed just two base runners over his final four innings. “I threw my slider in key counts and kept them off balance,” Cotton said.
Shortstop Marcus n Semien (fractured right wrist) hasn’t played in a baseball game since the middle of April and doesn’t know when he’ll be back. What he does know is that the timetable will take care of itself. He says he’s closer than ever to returning. “I won’t know until I face some live BP,” Semien said Wednesday. Oakland is hoping to have Semien back at shortstop this month.
Khris Davis was the n designated hitter for the second day in a row after coming down with a calf injury. Melvin said it was a matter of being cautious, especially with the A’s playing four games in three days in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Tropicana Field’s artificial surface.
Yonder Alonso has n graduated to the point where he starts against leftand right-handed pitchers. The first baseman wasn’t in the lineup Wednesday, however, as Melvin used the final day of the homestand to give Alonso’s stillsore wrist a break.