The A’s can’t seem to get many wins this spring but luckily these games don’t count just yet. Still would be nice to see another win sometime soon as the Athletics dropped another game on Friday afternoon, losing to the Royals 7-6 and dropping their meaningless record to 1-5.
The A’s jumped out to an early lead this afternoon. A pair of walks put two runners on for Max Muncy. Looking to put some distance between himself and Darell Hernaiz for the starting third base job, Muncy took a fastball down
the middle and drove it into center field for a double and bringing in both runs, giving the A’s the first lead.
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs got his first action today, taking the ball to start against KC today. While the stats don’t matter today still wasn’t a great first outing for the 33-year-old considering his early-game struggles last year. Springs had an easy first inning but got hit hard in the second, allowing four runs to score capped by a Bobby Witt Jr. three-run home run that wiped away the A’s early lead. That would chase him from this game after getting up to 39 pitches, which is probably around where the coaching staff wanted him as they slowly ramp the veteran lefty up for the long season ahead.
The A’s got one of those runs back in the next frame thanks to a Carlos Cortes double and a pair of productive groundouts to bring him in. Then the A’s got the big hit they were looking for in the fourth. Shortstop Jacob Wilson came to the plate with a runner on first and blasted a 429-foot home run to left field, his first long ball of spring and one that tied this game up a 5 apiece. The A’s would then take the lead the very next inning, courtesy of Muncy’s first home run of the spring.
The Royals would battle back late however. Lefty Brady Basso began the seventh and didn’t have his best stuff today. A double and a pair of walks loaded the bases and while he was just one strike away from getting out of the jam, a two-run double bit him and gave KC back the lead.
The A’s put together a scoring threat in the eighth thanks to a couple hits from some prospects (including Leo De Vries!), but couldn’t manage to knot this game up, falling 7-6 to finish the afternoon off.
Not great but the offense has really picked it up after a slow start to spring. We do this all again tomorrow, with the San Francisco Giants coming to Hohokam Stadium for another afternoon matchup with our A’s. Right-hander Luis Morales is set to get the ball for his second appearance this spring. He allowed a run on a couple hits in a couple innings of work earlier this week but will be getting his first starting nod. The Giants will go with veteran righty Tyler Mahle for his first appearance of camp. Hopefully the A’s can get another one of those currently-meaningless wins.
Notes:
- Muncy finished the day 2-for-3 with three RBI’s. It’s a super small sample but he’s 4-for-10 so far with one walk and one strikeout.
- Hernaiz isn’t making the coaching staff’s job easy though. He went 0-for-1 today but also drew a pair of walks. He’s 5-for-11 this spring. Does a big showing in the upcoming WBC do him any favors with the coaching staff?
- Jamie Arnold sighting! The A’s most recent first-round pick made it into his first game action for the A’s. He pitched a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and a walk while also collecting two punchouts. A nice little spring debut for the left-hander.
- Center fielder Denzel Clarke has had a rough go of it at the plate to start camp, but he finally collected his first hit this spring today. He doesn’t need to do much offensively to have value for the A’s this coming season but he also can’t be a complete black hole in the lineup.
- Top prospect Leo De Vries went 2-for-2 today, a positive showing for the young shortstop who is nearly in the big leagues. He won’t be breaking camp with the club but a strong showing in front of the coaches during camp doesn’t hurt.
- Righty reliever Elvis Alvarado had a second scoreless appearance this afternoon, while fellow relief pitcher Michael Kelly gave up a run in his inning of work. These two could be closer options for Mark Kotsay this coming year.
