Not a great day all around
The Athletics got walloped today on a hot day at the Coliseum, getting blown out
Tough start for Sears
It was always going to be a tall task for Sears to face the Twins less than a week after seeing them in Minnesota. Add in the hot day at the Coliseum and it felt like Sears would be facing an uphill battle from the get-go.
And that turned out to be right. The Twins tagged Sears for a run in the first inning, but he was lucky to get out of that with just one run allowed after loading the bases thanks to a couple hit batters. You could just tell the lefty just didn’t have it today.
And then the second inning happened. We won’t get too much into the details but at the end of the inning the Twins put up a 7-run frame, chasing Sears from the game with all runs charged to Sears.
-JP Sears: 1 1⁄3 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP, 1 HR, 50 pitches
Easily the worst start of his young career, Sears just did not have anything working today. The Twins were all over him from the jump and went to work on the second-year lefty. It’s so unlike Sears that the hope is there isn’t something wrong with him physically, though there’s no reporting about something to this point. The only remaining member of the Opening Day rotation, the club could ill afford to lose Sears to the IL for any amount of time.
A couple big hits for the A’s, not much else
The A’s actually had tied this game in the first inning at one apiece after center fielder JJ Bleday blasted his 11th home run of the season, an absolute blast into right field:
JJ Bleday launched this ball into orbit to tie the game pic.twitter.com/Coq1f50yej
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 22, 2024
Already tied for the AL lead in doubles, Bleday just continues to hit and play solid defense in center field. The JJ-for-AJ trade is looking like a win for the Athletics right now.
Bleday wasn’t the only one with a home run today. This solo shot came off the bat of Tyler Soderstrom:
TYLER SODERSTROM WITH HIS FIFTH TANK IN HIS LAST THIRTEEN GAMES! #Athletics pic.twitter.com/TlQ5LGImlI
— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) June 22, 2024
It hasn’t been the easiest transition to the big leagues for Oakland’s prized prospect. While he’s killed minor league pitching he’s struggled a lot during his first few cups of coffee in the big leagues. That might be in the past though as Soderstrom is looking much more comfortable facing major-league pitching. That blast was his fifth in 13 games and the A’s would be smart to give Soderstrom an everyday look moving forward. It’s time.
Those two home runs would account for half of the Athletics’ hits today as Twins starter Bailey Ober pitched a complete game against the good guys today. The club finished with ten strikeouts compared to just the four hits and zero walks. The club was helpless against Ober today.
Bullpen stops the damage
With Sears out of the game the club turned to the recently promoted Osvaldo Bido to take over. Bido has been a starter for the Aviators down in Vegas this year so with a short start from Sears he was an obvious choice to help soak up innings. His first outing with the club earlier this season didn’t go great but it was the exact opposite today as he pitched five innings of two-run ball, saving the bullpen from being overtaxed. Bido deserves a lot of credit for today’s performance but he might also be a causality of having options and pitching a lot today. We might see a roster move coming soon.
After Bido’s five innings came lefty TJ McFarland for a couple outs, and fellow lefty Sean Newcomb pitched the last two frames, throwing two scoreless innings with a pair of K’s. And that was that. No late-game comeback attempt, just a bad all-around loss for the good guys.
The A’s can still win the series tomorrow with a win in the series finale. The Green & Gold is scheduled to send lefty Hogan Harris to get that win, while the Twins will counter with righty veteran Jorge Lopez. Should be cooler tomorrow afternoon but let’s hope the bats heat up!
