The Athletics have been close enough to make this Rays series sting. Two straight one-run losses have left them staring at a possible sweep, and the margin has been thin enough that a few key bats simply haven’t done enough.
Lawrence Butler is the clearest example. After torching the Mariners by batting .417 with three home runs and six RBIs, he has barely shown up against Tampa Bay.
Through the first two games, Butler has only one hit. For a lineup looking for someone to break through and shift the tone, that kind of drop-off has mattered.
Zack Gelof’s slump has been harder to ignore because it has stretched far beyond this series. Over the last 30 days, he’s hitting just .173 with a .613 OPS, and that’s not a stretch the Athletics can keep carrying for much longer.
Against the Rays, he’s 0-for-7 and hasn’t even reached first base. That kind of void in the middle of the order has been a problem, especially in games decided by a single run.
Donovan Walton has quietly been one of the more interesting stories on the roster this season, batting .263 with an .809 OPS. He also gave the Athletics a jolt against the Mariners, hitting .307 with two RBIs and a walk-off home run in the series opener.
But that production hasn’t carried over here. In six at-bats against the Rays, Walton has yet to record a hit, and the Athletics have felt that lack of support as the series has slipped away.
In Other News...
A's Suddenly Have A Pitching Problem They Can't Ignore
The Athletics opened their final road series with a 5-3 loss to Cleveland, and the familiar issue that has been hanging around their staff showed up again. Mason Barnett got the start but could not settle in, as the Guardians chipped away early and turned the game with a steady enough offensive push to put the As in another uphill spot before the night really got moving.
Cleveland got the kind of lineup answers Oakland has had trouble matching lately, with Travis Bazzana and Jos Ramrez supplying the key swings while the bullpen finished the job. Once the Guardians handed the ball over to their relief corps, the As offense went quiet, and a game that felt winnable early ended as another reminder that the margins on the mound are getting harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Let Another Early Opportunity Slip Away In Frustrating Skid
The Athletics keep finding ways to make the early innings look promising, only to watch the momentum drain away once the game settles in. After getting swept by the Rays, they dropped a fourth straight when Zack Gelof gave them an immediate lift in the first inning and the offense added more hits later, but nothing else crossed the plate.
Mason Barnett gave Oakland three innings before the game turned in the fourth, and the bullpen did what it could to keep the score from getting away. Luis Medina and Elvis Alvarado helped finish things off without allowing a hit, but the bigger issue remains the same for a club in the middle of a frustrating skid: the A's are starting well enough to matter, then failing to build on it when the chance is there. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Need These Key Bats To Wake Up Before This Skid Deepens
A four-game losing streak, capped by a sweep at the hands of the Rays, has left the Athletics searching for a quick reset as they head into a series with the Guardians. For a club trying to finish the season on better footing, the timing is tricky, because the lineup has not offered much margin for error and the recent skid has exposed how much the A's still lean on a few key bats to set the tone.
Shea Langeliers and Lawrence Butler have both been fighting through offensive struggles, while Jacob Lopez has remained a bright spot on the mound even as the results around him have turned. The A's do not need a miracle to stop the slide, but they do need their middle-order pieces to start producing again soon, or a short slump could start to feel a lot longer. [Read more 🡒]