The A’s offense draws a blank yet again while a big third-inning is all Houston needs
There’s offensive funks, then there’s whatever the heck is going on with the Oakland A’s right now.
After yesterdays two-hit shutout effort, the A’s topped that today with four hits and one run. For a team that lives and dies by the home run ball, they now haven’t hit one since the eighth inning of Sundays loss in Seattle; they’re ironically 0-4 during that period after suffering a series sweep today against the Houston Astros.
One can argue that the A’s got a brutal draw with Cristian Javier tonight after Framber Valdez yesterday, but I’d argue that with noting that the offense has been non-existent all series and inconsistent as of late. Javier was fabulous tonight en route to an 8-1 win as the A’s score four runs all series and move to 1-6 on their current road trip.
Five days ago Joey Estes was almost perfect in his first start of the 2024 season going five innings while allowing just two hits on a pitch limit. Today was a different story for the 22-year-old righty.
Estes impressively maneuvered his way around a pair of runners in both the first and second but the Astros broke through in the third sending nine runners to the plate. Estes loaded the bases on a single and a pair of walks, and with two outs, instead of escaping damage yet again Yainer Diaz smoked a three-run double into the left-center gap.
The next batter, Jake Meyers, brought Diaz home with a double himself on the first pitch he saw. Then Joey Loperfido put the icing on the cake next with a two-run bomb to right — his first career major league shot. In just three hitters, the Astros were suddenly up 6-0 — two more runs than the A’s scored all series.
Estes went 3.2 innings in the effort, with his last fourth inning pitch resulting in a Jeremy Pena sacrifice fly. Estes was knocked around for eight hits and eight earned runs total, but he didn’t help his case walking four. Estes also allowed the lead off runner to reach base in each of the four frames he worked.
Hogan Harris took over in relief and gave up that eighth run before throwing a pitch with a balk. There couldn’t be a better play to depict the last week for this ball club than that.
While the Astros couldn’t stop scoring the A’s could never start. Through the first five innings against Javier the A’s had just one hit and two baserunners while striking out eight times. Javier had thrown just 68 efficient pitches as his changeup and slider were on point.
Harris followed Estes footsteps by loading the bases with one out in the fifth, but he escaped the inning harmless thanks to a Kyle Tucker double play. If baseball had a time of possession statistic like football, the Astros could’ve had double the time on offense than the A’s tonight.
The A’s best chance on offense against Javier came when they finally got a runner on third, but a dazzling backhand and running throw from Alex Bregman kept the shutout intact. Javier worked six scoreless while allowing just two hits in a masterful performance.
Zack Gelof got the A’s on the board for the first time in 17 innings with an RBI single in the seventh off relief pitcher Shawn Dubin. Don’t call it a comeback!
Harris’ next two innings in relief saw him go the minimum as he goes 3.1 frames of shutout baseball. Tyler Ferguson went three up, three down in the eighth as well while striking out a batter.
But as it’s already been emphasized by now, the A’s offense had close to nothing tonight. Besides a Gelof RBI single and a few other base hits their next offensive highlight off the night was a first-inning near home run off the bat of Brent Rooker. Comcast even replayed it later in the broadcast.
The A’s while fly north through the stormy skies to Kansas City to open up a three-game series with the Royals starting tomorrow at 4:40 PM PDT. A starter has yet to be announced for the A’s, but they’ll go against southpaw Cole Ragans of the Royals.
