Happy Friday everyone! The weekend is right around the corner.
The Athletics have once again failed to win a game this week, suffering their first four-game sweep against the Kansas City Royals since 1994. The team’s bullpen, which loomed as its biggest concern entering the season, has indeed been a season-long problem. In two of its past three games, the A’s makeshift bullpen failed to protect multi-run leads in the eighth inning or later. The team’s defense did its pitching no favors, as a defensive
error played a major role in both of those game-altering rallies.
The 49-79 A’s enter this weekend’s series at the Houston Astros as the undisputed worst team in the league. Manager Mark Kotsay’s squad has gone 11-41 over its last 52 games, good for a .212 winning percentage. With a little more than 30 games remaining, the team needs two wins to surpass 2023’s miserable 50-112 season. While the A’s are likely to win more games this year, the team remains on pace for another embarrassing 100-loss campaign.
Before the Athletics fell apart in Kansas City, the team ended its homestand by playing spoiler, winning two of three against the Texas Rangers. Starting tonight, the Green and Gold will look to play that role again as they begin a three-game series against the Astros.
The American League West is so poor that the Astros lead the division despite hovering over .500. The A’s will have to contain AL MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez, who has single-handedly powered Houston’s ascent to the top of the division.
Right-hander J.T. Ginn and left-hander Jacob Lopez will start the A’s first two games in Houston, looking to get their team back in the win column. They will be opposed by Astros right-handers Hayden Wesneski and Hunter Brown. Neither team has announced its starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale.
With playoffs well out of reach and the entirety of the team’s core out for the rest of the season, the A’s just need to end the season on a respectable note. At least 60 wins should be the goal, and things should be set in place on and off the field for a turnaround like the Chicago White Sox experienced this year.
How many wins do you think the Athletics will have at the end of the season? What can the team do to build some momentum and positive vibes over the final weeks of this fifth-straight losing season?
A’s Coverage:
- A’s Swept By Royals, Drop Finale 6-2
- Amidst The Despair: The Position Player Talent Is There
- What Are The Next Steps For The A’s? ($)
- A’s Bullpen Collapses Again in 9-7 Defeat
- A’s Drop Road Trip Opener 9-5
- A’s Take Series Against Rangers, Win 5-2
- A’s place Soderstrom on 10-day IL with left hip impingement; Hernaiz recalled
- A’s expect Wilson (shoulder) to miss rest of season (source)
- Athletics’ Johnathan Rodriguez: Claimed by A’s
- Where Each A’s Player’s Contract Stands Entering Offseason
- Red-hot Bolte looking to build on lessons from rookie season
- A’s prospect Winkler thriving in ‘fresh start’ with Aviators
- Why The New GM Needs To “Clean House”
- 111 games, zero errors: Wilson sets MLB record at shortstop
- A Seemingly Rock Bottomless Glass
- MLB Trade Grades: A’s Have Quiet Trade Deadline
- Why Athletics Messed Up at Trade Deadline This Summer
- A’s Top Prospect Jamie Arnold Sets Career High in One of His Best Double-A Starts
- Fustercluck 2026: The Real Reasons For A Disappointing Season
- Signs Of Hope And Signs Of Hopeless
- Athletics prospect Ryan Lasko says feeling in his legs returning
- Cuban’s investment group purchases minority stake in Athletics
- Could last-minute buyer purchase rights to Bally’s project around A’s Las Vegas ballpark?
- Clark County approves plans to build parking garage for A’s ballpark
- Chan Ho Park joins A’s group; 1st Korean to buy stake in MLB club
MLB News and Interest:
- Mariners to call up baseball’s top-ranked pitching prospect (source)
- Updated 2026 MLB top 100 prospect rankings: Made, Arias, more
- Awful Announcing’s 2026 MLB local broadcaster rankings
- Why MLB teams — and players — want ballparks to keep getting louder
- Kansas City council approves $600M pledge for Royals stadium
- Jorge Polanco To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
- Ketel Marte back in Phoenix for knee testing after no-show
- Reds rookie in position for feat not seen in 76 years
- With Díaz sidelined, Dodgers see Scott as ‘our best and most consistent reliever’
- Phillies Sign Nestor Cortes
- Rangers’ deGrom to start Thursday with 2,000 K’s in reach
- Braves Temporarily Move To Six-Man Rotation
- Murphy downplays Brewers buzz: ‘Don’t think we’ve played great’
- Pirates’ Skenes sees room to grow amid recent pitching struggles
- Dad catches son’s 1st pro HR after predicting it was about to happen
- The 10 biggest breakouts on the new Top 100 Prospects list
- Pirates Acquire Christian Bethancourt
- Which 1B are best at receiving throws? New data has the answer
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Construction of the Athletics’ Las Vegas Ballpark continues to make progress:
Not the way the A’s wanted this season to go. Three of these injured players are signed long-term, with Nick Kurtz also emerging as an extension candidate.
Yikes
Should Mark Kotsay lead the A’s into Las Vegas or would the team be better served by replacing him?
