Athletics Emerge From Compressed Stretch in Great Shape After 3-1 Win
Situations facing the Oakland A’s on the morning of Sept 4:
--They hadn’t played in five days after a positive COVID-19 test foe Daniel Mengden.
--They had a two-game lead in the American League West over the Houston Astros.
--They’d just learned that prized left-handed rookie pitcher A.J. Puk had hurt his shoulder and wouldn’t be back anytime soon.
--And they were starting a stretch of 16 games in 13 days and at one point were down to play three doubleheaders over the space of seven days.
All that came to an end Wednesday in a 3-1 win over the Rockies in Colorado. The A’s haven’t looked like world beaters, but they haven’t looked bad.
They wound up going 9-7 in the 16 games. They increased their lead in the West to six games, pending the outcome of the Astros game against the Rangers Wednesday night. And they reduced their magic number for clinching the West to five games (four should the Astros lose).
And they have a day off Thursday. It may not be the most welcome off day in the history of A’s baseball, but it’s both needed and wanted.
During the course of those 16 games, the A’s lost third baseman Matt Chapman (right hip surgery) and Puk (shoulder surgery) for the season. They lost utility man Chad Pinder (right hamstring), probably until the postseason. And they lost right fielder Stephen Piscotty (right knee) for a bit, too, although he should be back shortly.
And that doesn’t even count Monday’s doubleheader played in the smoke and the ash of Seattle, two games that in a normal season might have been postponed.
To finish this stretch with a winning record and to have improved their division status the way they have is a serious accomplishment. Manager Bob Melvin said the performances of starter Mike Fiers and relievers Jake Diekman and Liam Hendricks Wednesday made for as significant victory.
“This was a big win for us, probably as big as any we’ve had this year,” Melvin said. “To go through it (over) .500, it’s just a big swing with the games that are left.”
After Thursday’s day off, the A’s are at the Coliseum for three games, on the road in Los Angeles for a matchup with the Dodgers for three, then back home for a final weekend four-game set, including one more doubleheader a week from Saturday against the Mariners.
Hendriks, who hadn’t pitch since Thursday, got the final five outs for his MLB-leading 13th save. He’s pitched in 21 games this year and the A’s are 21-0 in those games. He was still reeling from his team playing four games in three cities in three time zones over the space of about 60 hours from Sunday through Tuesday.
“I prefer the word arduous over difficult,” Hendriks said. “But, yeah, it’s been an interesting series. It’s the most travel I’ve done in the course of three days for sure. And It’s also my first time pitching in Colorado, and for someone who suffers with altitude sickness, that’s not quite ideal.”
Fiers put seven Rockies batters on base from the third through the fifth innings. But he limited the damage in part thanks to a brilliant defensive play from Matt Olson following a leadoff double by Tony Wolters om the fifth. Olson, a first baseman who bats lefty but throws right-handed, fielded a one-hop grounder and instead of taking the out at first, fired a strike to third base where Jake Lamb, playing his first game on defense since joining the A’s, made the catch and put a tag on a suitably surprised Wolters.
Melvin called it the play of the game. A run that inning would have put the Rockies ahead. Instead, they wouldn’t score again.
“That’s why he’s a Gold Glover,” Fiers said of Olson. “We’re so fortunate to have him at first base. He plays every day and no matter what, he’s always ready to go. It was a big play to keep them off the board. I can’t thank him enough.”
Olson was in the midst of an 0-for-18 streak at the plate, so it was clear he wasn’t taking his offensive woes onto the field. And maybe that made a difference at the plate. He doubled in the top of the sixth inning, setting up one run and ultimately scoring another as the A’s broke the tie.
“If they score there, it’s a complete different ballgame,” Melvin said. “We’ve seen him do that before, but rarely do you see a first baseman do that so easily. That play dictated the outcome.”
And it dictated the A’s would enjoy the flight home Wednesday night after the most compressed part of their 2020 schedule.
And they have the potential, if all goes right, to clinch the West at home this weekend. Not bad for a team that finished second to the Astros both of the last two seasons despite winning 97 games each year.
“I’d just like to clinch,” Hendriks said. “I don’t care if it’s at home, on the road, wherever it is. Unfortunately, there are no fans, and it’s a bit of a downer. But I’m not going to count my chickens before they roost.
“We’ve got to take care of business.”
It hasn’t been smooth, but the A’s have been doing that.
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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