INTERLEAGUE
Breathing easier after a big victory
Finally, a happy flight. There’s a good chance the A’s will descend out of blue skies — finally — upon return to the Bay Area. It will be a welcome sight after the arduous road trip they’ve endured that had them in Seattle’s unhealthy air and into Denver’s thin air, inand-out of three different time zones to play four games in under 72 hours.
They can breathe again. And a scrappy 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon should provide a bit of satisfaction after all that trouble.
Next up, a well-earned day off for the A’s, who have played 16 games in 13 days. They finished the stretch 9-7.
“This was a big win for us, probably as big as any we’ve had this year,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s just a big swing with the games left in the season.”
Where does this win put the A’s with 10 games remaining in the regular season? Their magic number to clinch the American League West for the first time since 2013 is five. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is four. The A’s could clinch a postseason berth during the Bay Bridge series in Oakland this weekend.
“I’d just like to clinch. I don’t care if it’s on the road or at home,” A’s closer Liam Hendriks said. “Unfortunately there won’t be fans there, so that’s a bit of a downer for the city of Oakland. But, it is what it is. I’m not going to count my chickens before they roost.
“We have to take care of business ourselves.”
Mike Fiers got down to business, finding ways to generate soft contact consistently on a fastball that averaged 87 mph. He was generating a fair amount of swings and misses and allowed one run on a Raimel Tapia single in the third inning.
Rockies hitters broke 100 mph exit velocities off Fiers just three times, twice for hits. Other than that, with thin air that can carry any ball over the fences, Fiers kept the Rockies within the park. As the Rockies’ hitters slapped some singles and found their way onto the base paths, Fiers bobbed and weaved through the traffic and managed to strike out four of them, two on his fastball and two on his changeup.
“To keep those guys in the ballpark, the few of the hits he gave up were scratch hits,” Melvin said. “Whether it was a bloop or two-strike shoot against the shift. He had to work hard, you always do here. If you get one ball up, especially against these guys, it can be a home run.”
For as taxing it may be to pitch at Coors Field, Fiers got a little help from a Gold Glove play by Matt Olson at first base, who — with a runner on second — inched into the infield after Tapia’s
bunt attempt. He scooped up Tapia’s ground ball to follow and rifled it within a half-second to Jake Lamb to get Tony Wolters running for third base, potentially saving a key run.
An offense clearly fatigued rubbed together a few runs against Rockies starter German Marquez. Tony Kemp practically manufactured a run on his own in the second inning. He drew a leadoff walk, and on an errant pickoff throw hustled to second, then to third on a wild pitch. On a ground ball, he miraculously evaded the first baseman’s tag at home after a rundown on a throw that was well ahead of Kemp.
“I was watching it, and it was almost like the first baseman expected him to run into the tag and was surprised when he didn’t,” Hendriks said. “His glove didn’t move, but let’s be honest it was an unnatural move that 99 percent of people, even in the big leagues, won’t be able to make. It stuck us on the board early.”
The A’s would generate separation in the sixth inning. A smile spread across Olson’s face when he snapped an 0-for-18, 10-strikeout stretch with a one-out double following Tommy La Stella’s single. Mark Canha scored La Stella from third on a groundout, then Lamb singled to right field to score Olson and the A’s third run.
Lamb has had five hits, two doubles and one home run in three games with the A’s since they signed him Monday.
If Lamb — who struggled into a .116 average with the Diamondbacks this year — continues to rake, opposing bullpens may start to get annoyed with the team celebration.
“We’ve been going ‘Baaaah’ every time he does something,” Hendriks said. Opposing teams may be a bit more annoyed by the plug-and-play production Lamb is already showing with a change of scenery. With Matt Chapman out, a couple hits per game and decent defense will certainly play.
Hendriks, who hadn’t pitched throughout the entire road trip ordeal, completed a five-out save to seal the win for the A’s.