Chicago Cubs’ Patrick Wisdom, left, runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run against Oakland Athletics pitcher Adrian Martinez, foreground, during the eighth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Apr 17, 2023 (AP News photo)

Chicago (NL). 011 400 040. – 10 20 0

Oakland. 100 000 000. – 1 8. 0

Time: 2:49 Attendance: 4,714

Monday, April 17, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Since their return from Baltimore, the Athletics have broken a slump. The New York Mets, with their $364,000,000 payroll, were an underperforming 7-6 when they arrived at the banks of the Nimitz last Friday. They were 10-6 when they departed after Sunday night’s game. On Monday night the A’s lost in a 10-1 contest to the Chicago Cubs at the Oakland Coliseum.

I’m not being entirely facetious when I say that the A’s have broken a slump. Even though the A’s were swept by New York and lost tonight to the North Siiders, by a 10-1 score.

There have been definite signs of improvement on this home stand. Rookies Brent Rooker (.333) and Esteury Ruíz (.308) have been hitting well, and two members of the rotation, Shintaro Fujinorami and today’s starter, Kyle Muller, have shown what it is about them that the Athletics like.

Two of the three games in the series were close, tight even, and it took a two out, ninth inning circus catch by New York’s Brandon Nemmo to rob Oakland of the win in Sunday’s finale.

But baseball is not, as MLB would have you believe, a succession of highlight reel moments. For those who love the game, it is a tightly woven dramatic, sometimes comic, ever evolving pattern that includes moments of great excitement, beauty, and boneheadness.

As Oakland native Gertrude Stein said, “if not,not.” Fans with a rooting–or betting–interest in the events on the field will have a less dispassionate attitude towards the game. There are, of course, many shades along this spectrum of appreciation.

In tonighht’s ontest, Muller (0-0 5.52 at game time) was mismatched against right hander Hayden Wesnesky (0–0, 7.50). The final scoree was 10-1 in favor the boys from Wrigley Field.

Wesnesky coughed up a run to the A’s in the bottom of the first on back to back singles by Ruíz and Ryan Noda, followed by an RBI ground out by Aledmis Díaz.

Patrick Wisdom promptly knotted the score with his seventh home run of the young season, a 428 foot blast into the left with two down in the second. The Cubs picked up another tally in the third on a walk to Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson’s single, and Seiya Suzuki’s run producing safety.

The hits kept coming as the wheels fell off in Chicago’s half of the fourth. Cody Bellinger: one out double to right cebnter, bouncing off the 388 foot marker. Yan Gomez: RBI single to right. Nick Madrigal: double to right, Gomes to third. Hoerner: single to left, driving in Gomes; Madrigal runs through stop sign, overslides home and is called out, 7-2. Happ: single to center, driving in Hoermer and Swanson. Chicago up, 6-1.

Singles by Mancini, Belllinger, and anGomes ended Muller’s misbegotten outing. Miraculoously, Jeurys Familia sllammed the door on rhe Cubbies.

Muller had gone four innings but threw 98 pitches, 60 for srikes, but that’s because when a batter makes contact, it’s considered a strike. All six runs he allowed were earned, and the bases were loaded with no outs when he left. He surrendered 13 hits and struck out three and walked two. His ERA now is 7.23.

Adrián Martínez replaced the heroic Familia for the sixth. He kept the visitors off the board until the eighjth, whjen Hoerner singled, went easily to third Swanson’s single to right, near the foul line, and scored on Happ’s sac fly to left that knocked Rooker on his patootie.

It got worse. Suzuki singled and Wisdom hit a 93.9 mph slider 412 feet deep into center field forr his seventh dinger of the year and a 10-1 Chicago lead. Chad Smith took over at this point and restored a semblance of order.

By now, Wesnwaki had thrown eough pitches, 90, 66 of them strikes. He held Oakland to just that one run in the first, and it was earned. It came on five hits and no walks, striking out seven,. and bringing his ERA down to 4.15.

Brandon Hughes surrendered a couple of hits but kept the score at 10-1 in the eighth. Julian Merryweather took over to wrap it up in the ninth for the Cubs. He had no trouble.

The winning pitcher was Wesneski; the loser, Mulleer.

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 18th, we’ll see Marcus Stroman (2-1, 1.00) face Ken Wldichuk (0-2, 10.20). Game time is scheduled to be at 6:40.