OAKLAND – Normally an outside day can interrupt the mojo of a club that is just as impressive as the A’s. But even an unexpected day of rest could not cool the hottest team in baseball.
After postponing Monday’s game, they returned to action, and the A’s continued their dominance by sweeping a double header against the Twins with a few exclusions. A gem that succeeded Sean Manaea in a 7-0 victory in match 1 was followed by a strong outing by Jesús Luzardo in a 1-0 victory in match 2, which is only the third time in history of Oakland. and the first time since September 9, 1974, when Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter combined to open the Royals with two exclusions. Of course, the games were nine innings as opposed to the double-header rule this season.
The victory in the second game extended the A-winning streak to ten games, which is now the longest series over the Majors this season. During that ten-game series, the starting peaks shone and took a 7-0 lead with a 2.09 ERA in 56 overs.
“I would say we get motivated to keep an eye on each other,” Luzardo said. “I see all these dudes doing well and we just said, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ If things are going well with them, you do not want to be a weak link. You have to go there and do your thing. We all feel the same way, and we have a lot of fun doing it. ”
Luzardo has not yet reached the bait level status the A’s had hoped for. The 23-year-old leftist is fighting through the contradictions that most young throwers of his caliber face early in their careers. But outings like the ones he attended Tuesday night keep Oakland confident that Luzardo would be in for a breakthrough this season.
Luzardo confronted the Twins with a minimum of four innings, allowing just two hits and one run with six hits over 5 1/3 innings. His electric arm was fully displayed, with his last pitch being a 96.7 mph fast ball that Ryan Jeffers swung through for strike three.
Many things were different on Tuesday with Luzardo, and not just with his pitching. With the shortest outing of his career in which he allowed five runs in 2 2/3 overs against the D-backs last week, Luzardo decided to adjust it. He disconnected his contacts and again wore his glasses on the hill, something he did before all his appearances before this season, dating back to his Little League days. He also changed his introductory song back to ‘WOW’ by Bryant Myers – the song he used in 2020 before cutting to a few different tunes earlier this season.
“I just felt like I was getting away from myself,” Luzardo said. “The look is just something of my thing. Now I am at myself again. ”
Luzardo’s fast ball can be a thing of beauty if it works for him. He had good control against it against the twins, and took full advantage of it by throwing it for 60 percent of his stands and generating nine scents, the most he had on any of his stands.
Seth Brown – who needs the only offense for the As with an RBI single against José Berrios in the fourth – saw Luzardo at his best as the two moved up together in the smaller leagues in the organizational system. From his point of view as the right-back on Tuesday night, the left-hander looked like the promising future star he had announced over the past few years.
“He has wonderful things. “If he does his thing out there, it’s just fun to watch,” Brown said. “When he touches his role and rhythm out there, it’s just fun to be a part of.”
The dazzling heater – which reached a maximum of 99.1 mph – to highlight an impressive four-tone mix is only part of the comparison that makes Luzardo so special. He has another trait that is not teachable: Resilience.
Luzardo’s setback from a difficult outing last week was not the first time he has shown this trait. Two of his four pointless heats last season also come after rough playoffs in which he allowed four runs and six runs.
“He’s really talented and he has a lot of confidence,” said Bob Melvin, manager of A. “He had to go through some difficult times. But he seems to come back and react when he has a tough game. ”
Luzardo even averted external adversity. During the fifth inning with one out and a runner on, Luzardo and his teammates were told to leave the field by referees after a light tower went out in the upper deck of the Coliseum, similar to the issue that arose on May 7, 2019 took place. , when the lights went out before Mike Fiers threw a no-hitter later that evening.
Luzardo kept his arm warm by throwing 12 pitches into the bull, overcoming a 25-minute delay and retiring three of his last four batsmen, two of whom were through a goal scorer.
“It was definitely weird. It has never happened to me, “said Luzardo. ‘I heard it happened in 2019, and Fiers threw a no-hitter, so that was the joke that went around. I’m just glad we entered the game. ”