The Oakland A’s finally won a game!
They needed seven tries, which they took within two outside of the worst start in all of franchise history, but the 2021s finally got out of their funk and started competing. The result was a 10-over, comeback, walk-off, 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday afternoon.
*** Game Thread # 1 | Game Thread # 2 ***
The A’s opened the day with a 0-6 record, after losing each of their first six games of the season thoroughly. It bound them with the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the longest uselessness to open a campaign, and in 120 seasons of club history, no A team has ever started 0-7. To avoid the dubious distinction, they will have to overcome the reigning NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer and the defending world champion Dodgers.
The first step was to keep the opponent off the board long enough to have any chance at all, as each of the first six games included the A starter cutting an early hole. Jesús Luzardo eventually got the Dodgers on their feet and allowed just one run in the first five overs. The left-back had to struggle, including walking the base in the 1st walk, but at one point he retired 11 straight and he finished with six goal kicks.
Oakland left a gamble to start Luzardo with the 6th over, and it did not work because he put two of the first three batsmen on base and won by a second run on his record.
Illuminator Adam Kolarek enters the jam and gets the first foundation he needs, but then the defensive shift defends the south leg again. Left fitting Zack McKinstry with a bundle to the open area against the third base, and while Matt Chapman made a nice play to mark out a runner and end the innings, there was plenty of time for the inherited run to cross the plate.
The game was still close to six overs, and there was no breakdown waiting. Sergio Romo allowed another run in the 7th, but Jake Diekman, Lou Trivino, en Yusmeiro Petit it closed the rest of the way for three pointless frames.
Three runs allowed in ten overs? Against the Dodgers, even a version without crashing Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger? It’s a winning streak, and on this day it was indeed just barely enough.
Formazzjoni tat-tim
The A’s entered the day with 13 runs in six games, the worst average per game in the American league. But they also had the 14th best starting speed in MLB, equal to the Yankees, so there was at least encouragement that they hit the ball hard.
It’s not that they succeeded more in this game as they did not even set their season high. But they got what they needed, and did it when they needed it, and the afternoon was full of positive signs.
It took until the 4th inning to get on the board, and it was a pure Ramon Run, in the spirit of Rickey Henderson. Ramon Laureano was hit by a pitch and then stolen second. With a heavy defensive shift on a left tackle and no one holding him in second place, he virtually steps to third base, without making a throw. The broadcast crew could not explain the value of the extra 90 feet sooner than it came true in real life, as Bauer’s very next pitch was buried in the dirt and jumped off the catcher and let Laureano score.
If the ball does not pass, try something else! Ramon went from the container of the batter to the plate without making contact and also did not feed through the action of the batter on the plate. He just surrounded the bases for free, and between him and McKinstry, each team gave textbook examples of how to take advantage of defensive shifts.
Two stands later, Oakland almost got a run again. Seth Brown, who made his debut in the season, launched a near-homer right that barely went dirty. For the second day in a row, the A’s missed a tower finger from a Cy caliber pitcher with a few feet on the wrong side of the error post, after Stephen Piscotty did it against it Clayton Kershaw last night.
Instead, they waited until the 7th for their next vote, and this time they did not miss their long ball effort. Matt Chapman so far not been synced on the plate, and the 2-for-21 line he had in this bat was actually generous, but he eventually got one from Bauer.
This is 108.9 km / h exit speed. Does anyone still want to bet that Chappy will be reinstating at some point?
Despite the positives and highs, the A’s are still behind when the 9th innings rolls around. It was only 3-2, but the size of the margin would not matter if they could not close it immediately. They had to score again, now.
And they pull it off! Chapman hit it hard again, this time for a lead single. Brown walked, his second time at his base despite being missed. Tony Kemp moved them over with a pocket wire. And Elvis Andrus, 1-for-24 to open this year, made enough contact to bring the runner home from third base, with a pocket fly liner in the middle.
That game!
The match took place until the 10th, with both clubs a free runner on second base through the new rule for extra innings. Petit chased his into the top half of the frame and relieved Dodgers Jimmy Nelson is called to keep Mark Canha from the intersection of the plate.
The first batter ran, and the second batter (Laureano) flew deep enough to move Canha to third place. Mitch Moreland, who nursed a 2-for-20 season line, jerked a 103.3 mph line in the middle. Walk off!
The tip of the cap at Laureano’s productive outing, which drew the outfield into a shallower position. Would Moreland’s lining have gone the same with a runner on second? Maybe it would be, or maybe a deeper outside player would have caught it. Either way, with the runner in third place, it would not have mattered if it had not had caught because a pocket fly would still have worked (hence the fielder played shallow in the first place).
Defense
Good start crawling. Good lighting. Enough offense, and clutch if necessary. How about the defense?
Yep, that would work. In addition to reaching his base twice, and almost homer, Brown also made the play with his glove. In a singles match that went to extras and ended in a start, the run was of course critical.
Welcome back to MLB, Seth!
(Chapman also made all of his plays on the third base, including the highlight mentioned earlier.)
Let’s do it
The hitting, hitting and defending were all good, and basically everyone in the series who struggled came through big. Chapman was good on both sides of the ball, Andrus leveled the game and Moreland beat the winner. And after missing a few games, Laureano made an impact as usual in several ways. And a little new blood came in and shook things further, in the form of Brown.
Part of the problem with the first six losses was how completely it was dominated, making it hard to imagine in your mind what a victory would even look like. But every problem melted away in the April sun today, and they played more like the talented competitor they had to be. It’s probably only one game, but the slump was only six games.
“We all got tired of getting our ass kicked,” says Luzardo.
The first six losses count in the standings, but it certainly feels as if the 2021 season is finally starting for the A’s today and that we are finally watching the group we envisioned a week ago. Not only because of the victory, but also because of the performance in general.
Three teams in MLB history have reached the play-offs after a 0-6 start, and Oakland will now try to become fourth. It sounds like a very A-thing to do, and I’m almost disappointed that we are not on the list yet, so let’s do it.