The Oakland Athletics ended their ten-game road trip on a high note. They defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-6 in the final game of the series. Now at 12-17, they currently are in third place in the AL West.
It was a rough start to the trip for Oakland, who was swept by the Cleveland Guardians to start. But, they split the series versus the New York Yankees. Then, they took two out of three from Baltimore to boost their morale.
On Sunday, the A’s got the scoring started thanks to Seth Brown’s home run to deep center. Then, down 2-1 in the third inning, JJ Bleday hit a double to right field and brought Lawrence Butler home to tie things up. After, it took one pitch for Brent Rooker to hit a single to center field and bring both Tyler Nevin and Bleday home.
Baltimore would get back into control, jumping to a 6-4 lead and holding onto that until the seventh inning. Tyler Nevin would hit a home run to cut the deficit to one. Though it took until the ninth inning, the A’s would grab the lead back.
Kyle McCann-onball đź’Ł pic.twitter.com/JzwM71PK2z
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) April 28, 2024
The young catcher had all the confidence in the world at the plate, and it paid off. Reliever Lucas Erceg recorded his first save of the season, striking out the side in the ninth to preserve the lead.
Takeaways
- Erceg continues to be one of the surprises on this Athletics team. He lowered his ERA to an outstanding 1.54, serving as a primary setup man for closer Mason Miller. In this scenario, he was trusted to get the save by manager Mark Kotsay and did so with ease.
- After an outstanding start to the season, Paul Blackburn has look vulnerable in his past two starts. He allowed four runs through six innings against the Yankees on April 23rd, and allowed six more against the Orioles through four innings on Sunday. Regardless, his ERA sits at a modest 3.34 (best out of all starters on the team)
- Kyle Muller continues to be outstanding coming out of the bullpen. After going 2 1/3 innings on Sunday, he lowered his ERA to a 2.29 as the “innings-eater”. I wanted him to be a part of the starting rotation from day one. But, he has been excellent this season regardless.
- Tyler Nevin continues to silent the doubters (including myself) with his performance on Sunday. He went 2-5 on Sunday, improving his average to .286 (best on team with 20+ games played).
- If I ended this article without Mason Miller, you would have had permission to call for my head and say I don’t watch A’s games. The fireballer has been outstanding. He appeared in three games during the road trip, picking up saves in each one of them. His ERA is now at a 1.46. Phenomenal.
- Oakland remains the worst-hitting team in the league (.203 team average). But, the team’s ERA is good for 19th (4.13). Their bullpen is at 2.73, tied for sixth-best in the league.
Up Next
The A’s will remain home for the next ten games. The Pirates, Marlins, and Rangers come to town as Oakland looks to defend their home field. Currently, they are 4-9 at the Coliseum.
Joe Boyle (1-4, 7.06 ERA) will get the first crack at the Pirates, who will send Bailey Falter (2-1, 3.33 ERA) to the mound.
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