MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Byrnes

Going into the All-Star Break the Athletics were playing some of the worst baseball in the Majors, having lost 13-of-14 games and were on a nine-game losing streak. Changes were required and history has shown that the Athletics don’t make a lot of serious moves during the regular season.

Last season the A’s had a similar stretch of horrible baseball, losing 20-of 21 games, and the reasons for the difficulties have many similarities to this season. Bad starting pitching means overusing the bullpen to the point that, when mid-June hits, the pen is gassed.

The Athletics finally fired long-time pitching coach Scott Emerson over the break and how replacement Dan Hubbs handled the staff in this series was an instant upgrade. The results were similar because in the end GM David Forst failed to assemble a major league ready pitching staff.

Interim Pitching Coach Dan Hubbs is more old-school and having been the bullpen coach before being promoted, it appears that he understands that young pitchers need a shorter leash and fragile minds can snowball into a bad season for a pitcher.

That said, moving on from Emerson was necessary and many wanted owner John Fisher to start at the top and send Manager Mark Kotsay packing as well. While that didn’t transpire the A’s came out of the break and “ROLLED OVER” in massive fashion. It was surprising that Kotsay wasn’t fired via Jumbotron with the game in progress.

(Nationals: 23-4)
No, that isn’t a typo! The Athletics managed to give up 23 runs for the second time this season with the bullpen allowing a sickly 19 earned runs in just 5 1/3 innings of relief.

For the first time in his young career A’s starter Gage Jump had trouble getting ahead in the counts, going (0-2) just four times all game.

Jump (3-5, 3.78) struck out 5-of the first-7 batters he faced but went on to allow four earned runs before turning the game over to the bullpen and what a nightmare that was.

First out the gate was Jose Suarez, who gave up a two-run blast to David Chaparro in the fifth inning as Chaparro had an epic day going 4-for-5 with two home runs and eight RBIs.

Athletics reliever Justin Sterner allowed six earned runs and Carlos Cortes allowed five more runs in the worst game of the season for the Athletics. It was definitely a rough start to a career for rookie Yunior Tur, who had six earned in just two innings.

Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers each homered and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer went 2-for-4 to continue the hot start to his career.

(Athletics: 15-1)
The A’s broke a ten-game skid Saturday with a dominant 15-1 response to Friday night’s massacre. JT Ginn had a dominant start, striking out the first four batters he faced, and didn’t allow an earned run for the seventh time this season. Ginn (8-6, 3.46) went 6 1/3 innings with a no-hitter in his pocket before Keibert Ruiz singled to end his no-hit bid, and his outing.

Six Athletics had two or more RBIs, and three Athletics home runs turned Saturday into a rebound game for the team.

Jacob Wilson went 3-for-6 with a home run and Jeff McNeil went 3-for-5, while Soderstrom homered again and Cortes added his seventh bomb of the year.

(Nationals: 5-2)
In a much calmer game A’s starter Jacob Lopez went 4 1/3 innings of two-hit baseball with two runs allowed but the bats gave him little support in the 5-2 loss. Many felt he was pulled early but Mark Kotsay later said that Lopez was on a strict pitch-count.

Lopez (4-4, 6.64) was replaced by Elvis Alvarado, and he melted down immediately!

The Line: <4-pitch Walk, (GO), 2-run HR, HR, HBP, Stolen Base>= ballgame 5-2.

The Athletics had eleven hits in the game and opened four late innings getting runners aboard but none scored and the team went back to unproductive at-bats.

Alika Williams had a pair of doubles, Wilson had two more hits and now has a seven-game hitting streak (13-for-29-.448).

Next: @ Diamondbacks 7/20 640pm PST Chase Field, Phoenix AZ