Oakland A's: 5 Important Takeaways from Boston Red Sox Series
So close. So exciting. Even in defeat, the Oakland Aโs know how to entertain their fans. And more importantly, they know how to keep their opponents from feeling comfortable and confident.
Though Oakland lost 7-6 on Sunday in 10 innings against the Boston Red Sox, the Aโs managed to win three of four in the series.
And it was nearly a sweep, as Oakland clawed back from a 6-1 deficit to tie the game in the ninth, only to lose in the top of the 10th when Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz smacked a tie-breaking solo shot off Aโs reliever Fernando Abad.
The fever didnโt die down until after closer Sean Doolittle pinch hit with two outs in the 10thโhe grounded out to end the game.
Despite the loss, the Aโs still own the best record in the majors, 47-29, and a respectable five-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West.
Here are five key takeaways from the Oakland Aโs series against the Boston Red Sox.
Brad Mills Is Worth It
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After Aโs lefty Drew Pomeranz was sidelined with a broken right hand after his fisticuffs with a chair, the Athletics were in dire need of a starting pitcher.
The teamโs minor league starting-pitching depth is shallow, so Billy Beane did what he does best: He acquired some off-the-radar player for next to nothing.
Literally, the Aโs traded for left-hander Brad Mills from the Milwaukee Brewers in return for a buck.
Quite a stingy move even for the most parsimonious team in baseball.
Mills was quickly inserted into the starting rotation to fill the temporary vacancyโand he proved he was worth every penny.
He faced the Red Sox on Fridayย and tossed four innings, allowing three runs (two earned). Not a quality performance, per se, but indeed a tolerable outing considering he had not started a major league game since 2012 when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.
His command was offโfour walks, one hit batterโbut he kept the Aโs in the ballgame nonetheless. Given that the Aโs came back to win 4-3, thereโs no doubt the team is happy with his effort given the whirlwind of events Mills had gone through during the week.
For Oakland, it was another display of the teamโs desire to play for the win now.
The organization had several options to replace Pomeranz, including Dan Straily, who had formerly resided in the Aโs big-league rotation earlier this season. Straily has pitched decently since he was demoted to Triple-A Sacramento back in mid-May.
The right-hander is 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA in eight starts with the River Cats. To ensure continuous clubhouse chemistry, the Aโs easily could have turned to Straily and his familiarity with the rotation. But that would be the safe bet, and Oakland certainly never settles for safety first.
The Aโs rolled the dice that Mills would not pitch poorlyโat least not poorly enough so that the team could not win the ballgame. And thatโs exactly what he did, limiting a tough Red Sox offense that could intimidate any pitcher, let alone one who had not pitched in the big leagues since 2012.
Just for that clutch pinch-pitching performance, Mills was worth those one hundred cents.
So Much Clutch
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Speaking of clutch performances, the series was full of exciting last-gasp effortsโfrom both teams.
On Friday, the Red Sox battled back to a 3-3 tie heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. But, the Aโs squeaked ahead on a Coco Crisp RBI single and held on for the 4-3 win.
On Saturday, it was deja vu all over again, as Crisp delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning for a 2-1 Oakland victory. It was the fifth walk-off victory for the Aโs this season.
Oakland tried for the trifecta on Sunday, storming back from a five-run deficit, scoring three in the eighth inning and two in the ninth to tie the game at 6-6. The Aโs used solo home runs by Stephen Vogt and pinch-hitter John Jaso to pull even, setting the stage for another clutch-worthy opportunity.
However, Bostonโs king of clutch, David Ortiz, had other plans. The mighty slugger walloped a solo blast of his own in the top of the 10th to stave off another Oakland whimsical walk-off win.
Per ESPN Statsย & Info, it was Ortizโ 16th go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later since 2003โthe second-most such total in all of baseball in that time frame. Talk about clutch-orific. Is there any more evidence needed to prove Ortiz is simply one of the most dangerous, dominating hitters of this generation?
What would have been cool, however, is if the Aโs were able to get one baserunner on in the bottom of the 10th, as Crisp was in the on-deck circle with the team trailing by one. Pretty sure that the Aโs center fielder is more clutch than Big Papi.
Oh, well.
Sean Doolittle Does a Lot
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If only Doolittle could have gotten on base somehow, Coco Crisp could have had an opportunity to come up with an opportunity to bat in the 10th inning on Sunday. Yes, Doolittle was hittingโnot pitchingโ to save the game.
The Aโs asked Doolittle, the former minor league first baseman, to pinch hit with the game on the line, as the team was out of position players. The lefty grounded out to second base to end the gameโan impressive feat in itself, but not the magical moment everyone in attendance was expecting.
Given the Athleticsโ penchant for the extraordinary, fans surely anticipated Doolittle driving a gapper to extend the inning.ย Or hitting a home run.
Hey, the Aโs are that kind of teamโanything can happen.
Surely, it was a memorable first major league at-bat for the A's closer, who picked up a save on Friday and pitched a scoreless inning on Saturday.
Silver lining: He saved his arm from pitching an inning for the third day in a row. And, at least he didnโt pull a hamstring or something else when he legged out the grounder.
Derek Norris Knocked Out
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The reason Sean Doolittle pinch hit was because starting catcher Derek Norris was knocked out of the game after being struck in the head on a backswing.
For the umpteenth time this season, Norris had to leave the game after a batterโs follow-throughโthis time it was the swing of former Athletic Jonny Gomes. The A's were thus out of position players to extend the game, so Doolittle had to pitch inโor bat in.
While a lot of the attention was on Doolittleโs hitting, the important focus should be on the health and status of Norris, the right-handed masher of the three-headed catching platoon with left-handed hitters Stephen Vogt and John Jaso.
Norris has been banged up the past couple of weeks from backswings, as he was also taken out of a game against the Baltimore Orioles earlier this month. The Aโs are already familiar with the seriousness of this type of situation, as Jaso was knocked out of the last two months of last season after multiple concussions.
The Aโs will surely take all the precautions necessary to ensure that Norris is completely healthy before returning him to the lineup. However, given the repetitiveness of this issue, they should proceed even slower than normal.
Hopefully, Norris will be able to return back to normal. Or, maybe he will have to alter what normal is, because normal has been Norris getting bonked in the head.
Thatโs not a good normal.
The A's Need Some Rest
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Normal for the Aโs this season has been winning. Normal has been each player stepping in and morphing responsibilities like an amoeba. However, normal has also been poor health the green and gold.
Aside from season-ending injuries to A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parkerโnot to mention the season-opening injury to Eric OโFlaherty, who had Tommy John surgery in May 2013โthe Athletics have had high-profile disabled-list injuries to Ryan Cook (twice), Craig Gentry and Josh Reddick, as well.
This has caused the Aโs to rely heavily on their roster flexibility and dexterity. It has allowed many players to play in a significant number of games, while appearing in potentially fewer innings.
However, the latent result of this multitasking is that more players are receiving harmโs-way playing time: The Aโs now have more players who are on the mend or nursing nagging injuries. In addition to Derek Norris being clanked on the noggin, Coco Crisp is not at 100 percent and Kyle Blanks came out of Sundayโs game with a left calf strain.
Thatโs not even taking into consideration the workload that young pitchers Sonny Gray and Jesse Chavez are taking on in their first seasons as full-time starters.
Manager Bob Melvin is certainly noticing that itโs time for a much-needed rest: He's skipping Grayโs turn in the rotation against the New York Mets, as the Athletics have two off days this week.
The two days of rest will be useful for nursing the nicks and strains that the Aโs have up and down the lineup.
Look for these coming days off to do worlds of good for the physical health of the players and for those who are currently in hitting slumpsโlike Jed Lowrie and Eric Sogard.
Though it will be nice for the players to receive some rest, Aโs fans will be sad to watch only five games this week. Itโll be worth it in the long run.
Follow Nathaniel Jue on Twitterย @nathanieljue
