By Morris Phillips

One day after an impressive win—and a sign of progress—the A’s took a step back in a 2-1 loss to the Mariners.  Of course, what’s painful is the repetitive nature of the losses.

Once again, the A’s struck early, but then went silent.  And while the opponent didn’t have success early with the A’s effective starting pitching, they did have success later on.

And yes, narrow losses are a reoccuring theme: after Sunday’s loss, the A’s are a major-league worst 6-21 in one-run ballgames.  Afterwards, Bob Melvin was so obviously in a place he had been before, the manager practically answered the questions before they could be asked.

“A lot of times, you’ll be in a good position if you only give up two runs,” Melvin replied when asked how Chris Bassitt acquitted himself in his second, effective start this week in place of the under-the-weather Sonny Gray.  Somehow, Bassitt parlayed four singles, one damaging double, a walk and hit batsman over nearly six full innings into a loss.

“Our overall numbers are pretty good.  We go on streaks where we’re not so good,” Melvin offered when asked how come the A’s offense sputters so bad in big spots. The A’s have scored the fourth most runs in the American League to support a pitching staff that ranks first in ERA, yet the team’s been mired in last place for nearly two months.

Oh well, the A’s just aren’t very good.  Except for it’s not that simple: since May 23—a period in which every major league team has played at least 37 games—the A’s have the the fourth best record in baseball (24-17).

Okay, the A’s have potential.  But when will it be realized?  In a division where the Astros have been good, not great, just better than everyone else in the AL West, everything is still up for grabs.  The A’s still have time to strike, just not much time.  With a week to go before the All-Star break, Oakland needs to make up 10 ½ games.

Experience is an issue, and a logical explanation for the team’s inability to come up big in big spots.  Just take the Mariners’ game-winning rally.  Bassitt’s cruising, two-thirds of the way through the sixth inning when he hits Robinson Cano in the ankle on a 1-2 pitch.  After a lengthy break for Cano to gather himself and stay in the game, the A’s bullpen remains quiet.  But the next pitch is slammed by Nelson Cruz for a double, the only extra-base hit allowed all day by Oakland pitching.  Now the A’s bullpen is stirring, but not quick enough to assume the next batter–former Athletic Seth Smith–who battles the count full and delivers a two-run single.

Cano, Cruz and Smith would account for only two hits on Sunday, but they had the presence to squeeze those two hits into a seven-pitch sequence that would win the game.  Melvin could have had his bullpen going, but that’s a fully debatable call.  And Bassitt was despondent after the game, feeling remorse for not starting enough (only 13 of 23) hitters off with a strike.

Unlike the three batters that would beat him, Bassitt has limited major league experience.  After Sunday, he’s thrown just 46 innings at the big league level.  And his self-evaluation was flawed in that he bemoaned his lack of first pitch strikes, yet against the only hitters that truly mattered, Bassitt started Cano and Smith with strikes and had Cano 0-2 before he hit him, and Smith 2-2 before he allowed the game-winning base hit.

So what really hurt Bassitt?  Probably not gathering himself after hitting Cano.  Cruz, the veteran hitter knew to look for something in the zone after Bassitt’s mechanics failed against Cano, and sure enough , he got it.

Coming through in big moments has been a problem, especially against Seattle.  In the first 10 0f 19 total games between the Mariners and A’s, Oakland’s scored 43 runs and won three times.  Seattle’s scored 39 runs and won seven times.

Elevating their game, putting away hitters, coming up with the clutch hit—the more nuanced aspects of the game—are the things eluding the A’s, at least for now.

On Tuesday, the A’s resume play in Yankee Stadium to open a six-game road trip with Gray making his return to the rotation in a matchup with New York’s Nathan Eovaldi.