The Athletics took on the Kansas City Royals in the penultimate game of their four-game series. For the second straight night, the A’s offense did its job, with the team holding a multi-run lead entering the final two innings, only for its arguably worst-ever bullpen to implode. While last night’s collapse felt like a small earthquake, tonight’s was more like a volcanic eruption of awfulness.
A’s Strike First
The A’s wasted no time putting last night’s heartbreaking defeat behind them, jumping on Royals starter Seth
Lugo in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Henry Bolte singled and scored from first on Jeff McNeil’s RBI double. McNeil then scored on Zack Gelof’s RBI single, giving the Athletics a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
Springs Avoiding Danger Early
Making his first start since coming off the injured list, A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs prevented an immediate response by tossing a scoreless first inning. He ran into trouble in the second inning, issuing two consecutive walks before escaping the jam by retiring the next two hitters.
Springs’ command problems continued in the bottom of the third, as he issued his third walk of the game before hitting a batter with a pitch. The A’s southpaw escaped again, getting Maikel Garcia to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Fourth Inning Momentum Swing?
In the top of the fourth inning, A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler’s baserunning woes returned. After hitting a leadoff single, Lugo immediately picked him off first base.
The Royals cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth. Designated hitter Salvador Perez’s RBI double brought home first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who had led off the inning with a single. Springs kept the visitors in the lead by retiring the next three batters, stranding the tying run at third base.
Top of A’s Order Delivers Again
Seeking to extend their lead, the Athletics got back-to-back one-out singles from Donovan Walton and Max Muncy in the fifth inning. Bolte made it three straight singles against Lugo, with his base hit scoring Walton to put the A’s ahead 3-1. McNeil followed with a fourth consecutive single, scoring Muncy to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. Gelof’s RBI force out brought Bolte home for the A’s third run of the inning.
Springs Tires
The Royals scored a second run off Springs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Pasquantino hit his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right field. Springs’ outing ended after he allowed Carter Jensen’s two-out single. He allowed two runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, walking three while striking out one. Springs did a good job of pitching to contact, inducing six groundouts and three flyouts.
Bullpen Time
Right-handed reliever Scott Blewett replaced Springs and got the final out of the sixth inning, striking out Kyle Isbel with the tying run at the plate. In the seventh inning, the Royals turned to their bullpen, with right-hander Alex Lange replacing Lugo. A’s reliever Elvis Alvarado, who allowed the game-winning hit yesterday, rebounded by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.
A’s Bullpen Blows It Again
Alvarado did not return for the eighth inning despite throwing just 10 pitches in the seventh. Facing new A’s reliever Hayden Juenger, Garcia led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, advancing to third on Butler’s fielding error. Pasquantino’s third hit of the game, an RBI single, cut the A’s lead to two runs.
Juenger failed to retire any of the three batters he faced, exiting in favor of left-hander Drew Rom with two Royals on base and no outs. Isbel did not waste the opportunity, lining an RBI single with the bases loaded to make it a 5-4 game. The next batter, Isaac Collins, tied the game with a sacrifice fly that came close to being a go-ahead grand slam.
The Royals were not done against Rom. Kansas City took the lead on John Rave’s bases-clearing double. Rom finally recorded the third out, but not before the Royals had batted around and scored seven runs against the Athletics’ league-worst bullpen. What was A’s manager Mark Kotsay thinking putting these two scrap-heap guys in this high-leverage situation? For the second straight night and the third time in the past few weeks, the team’s bullpen allowed a big inning, turning a multi-run lead into a sizable deficit.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Muncy hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot off Royals reliever Steven Cruz, to make it a 9-7 game. That was as close as the Athletics got in another defeat emblematic of what this season has become.
Where Do the A’s Go From Here
Given the number of heartbreaking and embarrassing defeats the Athletics have endured this season, there need to be consequences. Whether that means a managerial change or an overhaul of the majority of the bullpen before next season, something must be done to set the A’s up for success moving forward. At this point, it might be best for a lockout to wipe out next season, giving the Green and Gold a clean slate as the franchise begins its Las Vegas tenure.
In the meantime, the A’s have to play out the remaining 35 games on their schedule. With a competent bullpen, the Athletics could have won today and yesterday, setting themselves up for a chance at the series win tomorrow. Instead, the A’s must win tomorrow afternoon to avoid suffering a dreaded four-game sweep in this series between two last-place clubs. A’s rookie left-hander Gage Jump will look to play stopper again, while the Royals will counter with right-hander Randy Dobnak.
