Showdown against Astros gets off to rough start for A’s
Right-hander falls to 0-5 against team that drafted him
OAKLAND >> Daniel Mengden was a member of the Houston Astros organization for a only a short period of time, but their ownage over the right-hander continues to this day.
Entering the night 0-4 with a 6.23 ERA in six career starts against the club that originally drafted him in 2014, those numbers only got worse as Mengden’s struggles against the Astros continued in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss.
Mengden was roughed up for six runs on eight hits and four walks with one strikeout as he lasted just 4 2/3 innings.
“I wasn’t very good,” Mengden said. “It comes down to not executing and not getting strike one.”
A seven-pitch first inning by Mengden was followed by a nightmarish second that saw him surrender a solo home run to Carlos Correa and a three-run homer to Evan Gattis to give the Astros a three-run lead.
After a tremendous month of May that saw Mengden go 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA and allow only four home runs in six starts, Mengden has yielded six home runs in just two starts this month. His four walks were also a season-high.
“The command really is the difference between what we saw in May and what we’re seeing right now,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s missing in the middle of the plate when he’s
missing, and he’s not getting ahead in the fashion he was earlier.
“He’ll get back to it. He’s just going through a little bit of a rough patch.”
The A’s fell to 1-6 on the season against the Astros this season and have been outscored by Houston 50-18 in seven games. Their overall struggles against the A.L. West have been crucial as the A’s (34-33) are just 10-22 within the division and 24-11 against the rest of baseball.
“I think we’re all aware of it,” A’s third baseman Matt Chapman said of the struggles within the division. “We know how good our division is. There’s no easy night. The Mariners, Angels, Astros, and even the Rangers are good and young like us I feel. So every game is a battle and we’ve been in every game, just gotta find a way to get that late little push to get on top.”
Chapman tied an A’s single-game record for doubles with three in his first three at-bats against Lance McCullers Jr. His shot at a fourth double of the game was denied in the eighth inning as he was hit on his left hand by a fastball from Collin McHugh. Melvin and the training staff came out to check on Chapman, but he remained in the game.
Though he had his left hand wrapped postgame and went for x-rays after the game, Chapman said he expects to be in the lineup Wednesday night.
“It was a little swollen because it was a pretty good shot, but I can move my hand and I feel strong,” Chapman said. “I’m not worried about it.”
Chapman extended his hit streak to five games and has recorded a hit in 10 of his last 16 at-bats.
“I’ve definitely been working on a few things and I feel like I’ve been good about my pregame work and my routines,” Chapman said. “Just trying to stay diligent and I think that’s allowed me to be more consistent.”
Mark Canha singled home Jed Lowrie in the eighth to cut the deficit to three runs, but the A’s were unable to find that big hit, stranding the bases loaded twice. They went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left a total of nine runners on base.
• When Trevor Cahill was originally scratched from his scheduled start last Saturday against the Royals due to a right Achilles injury sustained while running in the outfield during warm ups, the feeling was that the right-hander would only miss a few days. But with Cahill’s next turn in the rotation set for Friday and the injury not progressing, Melvin said Cahill will most likely be placed on the disabled list.
The likely move will be to call up Chris Bassitt, who was impressive filling in for Cahill in what was his first big league outing since 2016. Bassitt allowed one run on three hits and one walk with six strikeouts over seven innings.