By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Dillon Overton works the plate in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Athletics fell to the visiting Chicago Cubs 7-2 Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Jon Lester fired seven innings of two-run ball for the win, striking out eight A’s while allowing six hits. For Oakland, Dillon Overton matched a season low by only lasting three innings while allowing seven runs in his brief outing. Dexter Fowler and Jorge Soler homered for the Cubs (67-41), while Brett Eibner hit his first dinger in an Athletics uniform.

The Cubs jumped on Overton early, with leadoff man Fowler taking the rookie deep in the first at-bat of the game, hitting a deep fly ball to the bleachers in left field. Five batters later Jorge Soler would exit the park with a two-out, three-run homer for a 4-0 Cubs lead before the A’s took their first cuts at Lester.

For Overton, Friday marked the second consecutive outing where he lasted less than four innings and allowed two homeruns or more. The soft-tossing south paw surrendered three long balls in his July 30^th start at Cleveland. Over 24 1/3 innings and two stints called up from Triple-A, Overton has allowed 13 home runs.

“He’s upset about the game,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “He expects himself to do better. He’s got higher expectations than what he’s shown here. You don’t want to see a guy give in and say ‘I’m not good enough to pitch here’. He’s disappointed in what he’s done so far. His numbers aren’t as good as he would like.”

Overton (1-3, 10.97 ERA) avoided the long ball in the second, stranding runners at the corners but struggled through the third inning. Overton allowed a leadoff double to former Athletic Ben Zobrist then plunked ex-Oakland farmhand before picking up a fielder’s choice with Soler at the plate. Heyward would plate one run with a single, then Javier Baez would knock in a pair with a double for a 7-0 lead. Overton would get the inning-ending punch-out of David Ross before departing the game.

“They forced him to throw the ball over the plate,” said Melvin. “They got some good swings with men on base. We’ve seen him pitch better than this.”

The A’s bullpen picked up the slack, with Andrew Triggs (two innings), Daniel Coulombe (three) and Marc Rzepczynski (one) kept the potent Cubs offense off the board. The trio allowed only two hits to limit the damage.

“It was important that they got us deep into the game,” said Melvin. “It was important they gave us the innings they did and they were successful in the way they did it.”

Unfortunately for the pen, the A’s offense wasn’t able to solve former A’s stretch-run acquisition Jon Lester. Lester (12-4, 2.93) held the A’s to only one hit over the first five innings before the A’s offense finally broke through in the sixth.

Eibner, acquired for Billy Burns on July 30th, made quite the impression on A’s fans in his appearance since being called up from Nashville earlier in the day. The right fielder mashed his third homer of the season off Lester for the A’s first run.

“You watch him in batting practice and he was hitting balls a long way,” said Melvin. “He gets a swing like that off Jon Lester and hits the ball a long way. Power is probably one of his best tools offensively. He’s not a bad runner and can play all three outfield position but definitely it’s the power.”

Marcus Semien collected a two-out run scoring single, plating Bruce Maxwell in the process. The A’s lineup, comprised of four rookies, would only have two more baserunners over the remainder of the game off Lester and relievers Carl Edwards Jr. and Joe Smith.

“You’re always looking for young players to respond at this time of year,” said Melvin on what he’s looking for from his team as the close out a season of non-contention. “That’s why we’re in the position we’re in. We want to give them the opportunity now.”

The youth movement for the A’s (48-61) will get a shot tomorrow against tough competition, with Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta taking the mound for the Cubs. While not a rookie, Sonny Gray will take the hill for the A’s hoping to right a season that’s been mostly forgettable for the young ace.