Think back to May 7.
The A’s were shellacked by the Houston Astros, 16-2. Astros outfielder George Springer completed a six-hit night, tying the franchise record for the most hits in a game. The Coliseum was cold and bleak. Even on a night the A’s played the defending World Series champions, the sound of the ball meeting Springer’s bat was much louder than the 7,360 in attendance.
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The A’s got swept by Houston in that series, dropping their record to 18-19. A day later, they traveled to New York for an East Coast road trip which many considered their most daunting task and perhaps a season-ender.
Yes, even in May.
But something happened on that trip. Something clicked, which was the best thing for the A’s. They were a thread-of-a-Matt-Olson jersey away from stealing a series from the Yankees. Then the A’s dominated in Boston, which caught the attention of Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Then they faced the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that swept the A’s at the Rogers Centre last year.
But the A’s returned the favor. They took all four.
It’s August now. And the A’s amazing run has continued. They swept the Blue Jays yet again with Tuesday’s 8-2 win at the Coliseum. And now, after trailing the Seattle Mariners in the race for the AL’s second wild-card spot by 11 games on June 16 … they’re tied.
“This is a good team,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy said after the game. “And we had to figure out that we were a good team. Guys needed to see it. Guys needed to feel it and believe it. They have. And the success we’ve had recently is reflective of that.”
Said Olson: “It’s just been a different feeling. The winning has been contagious and confidence is a big thing. We’re going out there expecting to at least compete in every game. We’re expecting to go win every game. Not that we didn’t before, but the past couple of years it hasn’t been that true winning atmosphere and this year is obviously a little different.”
Shortstop Marcus Semien added that not many people would have picked them to go 7-3 when they went East. But he noted the team started to find its identity — find its edge — when the late-inning Lou Trivino-Blake Treinen combination was born.
Even though Trivino walked Aaron Judge to bring in a run during the first game of their series against the Yankees, despite Trivino’s nerves on full-tilt pitching at a stadium he said was so loud that the crowd’s voices vibrated throughout his body, that’s where the dominance you see now started to take form.
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“We have a three-headed monster in the bullpen,” Lucroy said, including newly acquired Jeurys Familia. “Nobody wants to face those guys. Nobody wants to hit against them. They shorten the game up by three innings because we have those guys out there.”
Nevertheless, what the A’s must keep in mind is that nothing in baseball is linear. If they need evidence of that, they should look no further than the Blue Jays, a team they’ve now beaten seven straight times.
Just two seasons ago, the Blue Jays were playing the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series. Now, they’ve gutted most of that roster and have entered the rebuilding phase. The visitors’ clubhouse Tuesday at the Coliseum was full of daps and hugs from Blue Jays players as some departed for their new teams at the non-waiver trade deadline.
Toronto’s Marcus Stroman appeared as if he was one of the better starters in the game in recent years, but has battled injuries and got shelled by the A’s Thursday for seven earned runs in five innings. His ERA is now 5.63.
“It’s a very dynamic game,” veteran Jed Lowrie said. “Like, even though there are a lot of games played and there’s huge sample sizes, things happen in a hurry. It’s kind of the beauty of the game because it’s slow, it’s methodical, it’s a thinking-man’s game, but things can happen in a hurry.”
Of course, the A’s believe they have the talent for years to come, but that’s just on paper. One can’t base their future on prospects that haven’t arrived yet.
After Wednesday’s win, for example, Dustin Fowler was at his locker, stacking his plethora of bats into his A’s bat bag after being optioned to Triple-A Nashville. The A’s have called Fowler their center fielder of the future but have seemingly gone cold on him — at least for now. They’ve adopted a win-now mode and have elected to go instead with Nick Martini, a 28-year-old who spent nearly eight years in the minor leagues.
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You just never know.
But there’s one thing the A’s have known for quite some time now — they can ride their bullpen but will need another arm for everything to really come together. They know they can hit with anyone and have as dangerous a lineup as there is in baseball, even though the names might not ring a bell outside of the Bay Area. They know they have a chance at a playoff push.
“Until you go through it, there’s always that question in the back of your mind, ‘yeah we’re good, but are we good enough?'” Lowrie said. “I think some of those questions are starting to be answered.”
Extra Innings
The A’s reinstated outfielder Boog Powell from the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Nashville. Right-hander Carlos Ramirez was designated for assignment. And Daniel Gossett had a successful Tommy John procedure Tuesday, the team announced.
— Reported from Oakland
(Top photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)