The Oakland Athletics looked to finish the homestand on a positive note on Sunday. After getting shut out on Saturday, the good guys looked to get some runs on the board against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Mitch Spence took the mound for the A’s. He looked to improve on his previous outing (6 IP, 9 HA, 4 ER, 3 K against the Mariners on June 4th). The Washington native had his way.
Oakland’s starter threw seven strong innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out three batters.
Mitch Spence retired the final 16 batters he faced:
— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) June 9, 2024
7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K pic.twitter.com/OMlU4eMELd
Offensively, the A’s struggled to get runs across the plate against Toronto’s starter Bowden Francis. To make things worse, this was actually a bullpen game for the Blue Jays. Francis went four strong innings, striking out three batters while allowing no runs.
But, Oakland finally pulled through in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brent Rooker smashed a 436 foot home run to center field to make it a 2-1 game.
Then, the Athletics took the lead in the seventh. Abraham Toro’s single to center scored both Tyler Soderstrom and Aledmys Diaz. 3-2, Oakland.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays tied things up in the eighth inning on a Davis Schneider sacrifice fly to score Daulton Varsho.
The game would go into extra innings (thank God for Mason Miller, who prevented any ninth-inning heroics from Toronto’s side). But, Oakland’s reliever Austin Adams imploded in the tenth inning. He threw a total of 30 pitches and struggled with his command. He walked a total of three batters and allowed three runs to cross the plate (thanks to a bases-loaded double by Isiah Kiner-Falefa).
In the bottom of the tenth, Oakland would score just one run on a groundout by JJ Bleday to score Max Schuemann. That would be all, and the A’s fall to 26-41 on the year.
Up Next
The A’s head to San Diego to kick off a seven-game road trip. The Padres await their presence. Joey Estes (2-1, 4.67 ERA) takes the mound against Dylan Cease (5-5, 3.51 ERA).
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