ROOKIE LUZARDO GETS FIRST SHOT
How the lefty fares against right-handed dominant White Sox is major key
The No. 2-seeded Oakland A’s will take on the seventhseeded Chicago White Sox in an AL wild- card series starting at noon today at the Oakland Coliseum.
The A’s will be looking for their first postseason series victory since they toppled the Minnesota Twins in the 2006 ALDS. What will be the keys to their success?
Here are five things to watch:
1. CAN LEFT- HANDED ROOKIE LUZARDO STYMIE A WHITE SOX TEAM THAT DOMINATES LEFTIES? >> We know one thing to be true: the White Sox raked against left-handed pitching this year.
We know something else to be just as true, Jesús Luzardo has the confidence, demeanor and repertoire that the A’s need to set the tone in a postseason series.
Let’s start with the Sox. They had excellent numbers, .276/.351/.522 with an .873 OPS, against left-handed starters
compared to a .256/. 318/.432 line and .749 OPS against right-handed starters. Against all left-handed pitchers, the White Sox lead the league with a 143 wRC+ — which means they are creating runs 43% above league average.
This amounted to a 14- 0 record against left-handed starters in 2020. Chicago boasts
a bunch of powerful righthanded hitters, including AL MVP candidate José Abreu, shortstop Tim Anderson — who was just a few points shy of the batting title this year — catcher James McCann and rookie phenom Luis Robert.
This stat should also take into account that the White Sox faced only teams from AL and NL Central divisions that are loaded with the game’s best right-handed pitchers. They faced nine left-handed starters this year, including Minnesota’s Rich Hill — who is perhaps having the best year among the nine with a 3.13 ERA — and Detroit’s Matthew Boyd, who boasts a
league worst 6.71 ERA.
“I feel like every lefty has different stuff,” Luzardo said. “We’ll see how my stuff plays against them.”
Yes, the A’s were aware of the White Sox record against left-handed pitchers. It wasn’t going to stop them from putting forth their best talent.
“One of the reasons that we pitched Jesús on ( his turn in the rotation) the other day in LA in relief is because we targeted him for Game 1,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He can be pretty good against lefties and righties, as we saw last year as well.”
Luzardo has faced righthanded hitters 225 times in his young career, and those batters amassed a .240/. 311/.417 line with nine home runs against him. He’s faced lefthanded batters just 69 times, and they have managed a .219 average with one home run.
Anderson, the White Sox leadoff hitter — perhaps with a little humor attached — told Chicago reporters when informed they’d be facing a lefthander: “Guess they haven’t done their homework.”
The A’s learned of their opponent Sunday afternoon. They haven’t seen the White Sox since last summer.
“I’ve done my homework,” Luzardo said. “As much as I can, especially now going forward into tomorrow. They’re a good team. Playoff team.”
Chicago’s average against right-handers isn’t bad.
Luzardo’s arsenal, when at its peak, could work well against powerful right-handers. His new slurve that registers at 87 mph on average can be a potent put-away pitch if he can get swings and misses to right-handers’ back foot —
that’s a pitch he didn’t have until his last start against the San Francisco Giants.
We know postseason adrenaline hits different, and Luzardo has already had a taste of it. He was nearly perfect in his three-inning scoreless outing against the Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s wild card game. Though he’s traversed through some learning curves this year, the 22-yearold thrives off a challenge.
“I think he’s one of those guys that relishes these type of games,” Melvin said. “He wouldn’t be afraid of the first game.”
2. BASSITT WILL START IN PERFECT SPOT VS. KUECHEL >> Two of the American League’s best, and perhaps most unheralded, starters will face off in Game 2 of this best- of-three series.
For the A’s, this might be the best place to slot in Chris Bassitt. What should a team want in a Game 2 starter? If the season is on the line or with a chance to close things out, the team will want the staff’s most consistent starter on the mound.
And Bassitt has been just that. The right-hander who was slated outside of the rotation to start the season became the A’s best starter. He compiled a 2.29 ERA in 11 starts, including a 0.34 ERA in the month of September.
Having an anchor in Bassitt on the mound could turn Wednesday’s game into a real pitchers’ duel with lefty Dallas Keuchel on for the White Sox. Keuchel has a 1.99 ERA in 11 starts, the second-best ERA in the American League behind Shane Bieber’s 1.63.
Wednesday’s game will get fans’ hearts racing, for sure.
3. OLSON A TWO-WAY STAR? >> Without Matt Chapman at third, the A’s infield defense has slowed up a bit. They’ve turned just 27 double plays, which ranks as second fewest
in the big leagues behind the Texas Rangers.
Getting two outs on one play?
That’s huge in the postseason, and the A’s simply haven’t been quick enough on turns.
That the A’s defense hasn’t been spectacular is concerning. That’s been a unique edge for them in recent years. For now, Matt Olson is the only infield defender likely to make a game-changing play on the infield — he has the IQ, arm, and know-how to make heads-up plays that can eliminate scoring threats on the most difficult sequences.
While he’s been spectacular at first, as usual, Olson’s not had a great 60 games at the plate. He finished the regular season with a .195 average and solid 14 home runs. Power doesn’t die. Against right-hander Lucas Giolito, Olson could have a breakthrough. He hit the game-winning two-run homer against Giolito when the A’s visited Chicago last year. There’s a bit of familiarity, at least.
“He’s got a very quick delivery and a very slow changeup,” Marcus Semien said of Giolito. “He has a fastball that gets on you and a plus changeup. He’s a bona fide ace that should be a challenge for us.”
3 1/2. CANHA’S MOMENTUM >> Look for Mark Canha to have a good series at the plate. While most of the A’s lineup fell silent in the final two series, Canha quietly put together a .421 average with a 1.292 OPS in seven games.
Whether he can carry that hot stretch — admittedly in a small sample size — into the postseason will be important for the middle of the A’s batting order.
4. FIERS, MANAEA, MONTAS, MINOR ALL AVAILABLE AS STARTERS>> Melvin said he expects to carry all six of the A’s starting pitchers on the wild- card roster. The starter for a possible Game 3 is still to be decided. But, this means nobody in the rotation will be ruled out from starting the rubber match. Frankie Montas might be the least likely since he threw 113 pitches Sunday and would be starting on relatively short rest. But, if there’s truth to the White Sox batting splits, Montas could be an ideal option after a breakthrough final start.
This also could set up for some potential piggybacking. It’s something the A’s experimented with in the wild card game last year when they plucked Sean Manaea for Luzardo. There’s a competitive advantage to a frequent rotation of arms when facing the same lineup throughout a series— across the board, starters tend to falter when a lineup sees them a third time through
The A’s could be proactive there and have one of their many starters at the ready to eat up a few innings.
5.CAN THE A’S STRONG BULLPEN CLOSE THE DOOR? >> Save the best for last. Bullpens have become increasingly more essential in postseasons. It’s in the numbers. Five years ago starters were responsible for 40% of high-leverage at-bats. Last season, that number fell to 28.5 percent.
In an age when coaching staffs are conscientious not to let opposing lineups see a starter more than twice through, clubs in the postseason see the advantage of spreading the responsibilities across a more diverse collection of arms.
T he A’s bullpen is certainly capable of carrying the load.
The staff has a perfect blend of crafty ( Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria) and dominant ( Liam Hendriks, Jake Diekman) that’s resulted in a league-best 2.72 ERA.