The squad finishes at 69-93 on the year
That’s a wrap everyone. Our Athletics finished off their season in Seattle this afternoon, putting up a fight but ultimately falling to the Seattle Mariners 6-4 in the final game of the season that marks an end to baseball season for A’s fans. Next time we’ll see our guys in uniform will be Spring Training. Let the winter slumber begin.
Spence strong early, falters later
The Athletics sent rookie Rule 5 right-hander Mitch Spence to the mound for the season finale to wrap up the 2024 season. He was sharp early on in this one, allowing just one baserunner (HBP) through the first three frames, including striking out the side in the second.
The fourth inning didn’t go as smoothly for the rookie right-hander. A pair of hits put a couple Mariners in scoring position but with two outs it would take a base knock to bring them in. Almost escaped unharmed but a hanging slider hurt him as former All-Star Justin Turner brought both Seattle baserunners around on a ground-rule double to give Seattle the early lead.
Spence managed to finish the fourth inning but things kept spiraling in the fifth for the rookie. Four hits in the first five batters, capped by a 2-run homer from Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh’s 34th long ball, sent Spence packing from this one, unable to finish five full frames.
-Mitch Spence: 4 2⁄3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 75 pitches
Not the ending to the season we wanted to see from the rookie but it is what it is. The A’s righty finishes the season with a 4.58 ERA over 24 starts. While those numbers don’t jump off the page if you watched the games you saw the potential in this righty. A reliable arm that you can expect to pitch every fifth day isn’t something that you just stumble across on a random day. The A’s nailed their pick with Spence, who should be penciled into the starting five going into next season.
Offense stifled, pushes across late runs
Facing ace right-hander Logan Gilbert, the A’s had little to no answers against the fourth-year starter. Over the game’s first six frames the Green & Gold managed just a single hit against Gilbert, a sixth-inning single from Nick Allen that just happened to end Gilbert’s afternoon. Couldn’t have left soon enough considering the club had zero answers for him.
Finally into the Seattle bullpen but with just nine outs left to play with, the Athletics managed to break through and get on the board in the seventh thanks to a 2-run double off the bat of right-hander Tyler Nevin:
Tyler Nevin puts the A's on the board pic.twitter.com/o0iQ3Efwz2
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) September 29, 2024
Those two runs guaranteed the club wouldn’t be shut out in their final game but it would probably be too little too late. The Green & Gold pushed across two more runs in the top of the ninth to make the final respectable but our guys fell in the season finale, finally ending the season and putting a bow on the OAKLAND Athletics.
The club finishes the season in fourth place in the AL West with a 69-93 record. This wasn’t how the final season in Oakland should have ended. The fact that Major League Baseball is ending in Oakland is a travesty. No sugar coating it. This team has been important to so many people in the Bay Area and the fact that it’s ending is terrible. No game tomorrow, Spring, Summer, Fall. Goodnight Oakland Athletics. We love you.
