Oakland A’s Esteury Ruiz slides home safely after scoring on a Ramon Laureano single against the Seattle Mariners Tue May 23, 2023 in first inning action at T Mobile Field in Seattle (AP file photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s finished an up-and-down week, ending the seven-game homestand with two wins and five losses. The A’s had won seven games in a row before they lost two to the Tampa Bay Rays and three to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The A’s seven-game win streak saw them win two against the Pittsburgh Pirates and a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates and Brewers are in a dogfight for first place in the NL Central. The A’s won the first two games of the four-game set with the Rays.

It was no easy task as the Rays own the best record in baseball. The team had almost 28,000 people in the seats on Tuesday, June 13th. Organizers of a reverse boycott hoped to show A’s owner John Fisher and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred the fans would support the team in Oakland.

Fisher, as usual, said nothing. Manfred dismissed the effort as meaningless as he said their effort was no better than the average attendance at a game in Major League baseball. Manford also said the city of Oakland needed to do more.

Oakland needed a program in place to build the stadium. Manfred is tone-deaf. Oakland had raised over 400 million dollars in grants for infrastructure needs. The City Council was two days away from a vote. The A’s ownership had turned the fans off by trading away their best players and leaving the fans with a team with the worst record in all of baseball.

Winning brings people into the seats. Then, to make matters worse, the Nevada legislature voted to approve $380 million to give to the A’s to help build a stadium in Las Vegas. The Nevada governor signed the bill.

The only hope the A’s fans have is that the owners of the other 29 teams will reject the move. Manfred has said baseball will waive the $300 million relocation fee. The owners share those fees. Many of them say they want Las Vegas to get an expansion team. The fees for an expansion team are around two billion. That’s a lot more money to share.

None of the drama on the relocation situation should affect what’s happening on the field. The A’s still have to go out and play the game. A’s manager Mark Kotsay has to be pleased with his team’s performance in the last 12 games.

They went 7-5. During the winning streak, the A’s starters and relievers pitched well. The A’s offense came to life, and the team showed improvement. They split four games with the Rays. They lost three games to the Phillies. Two of the losses were by one run. The Phillies are the hottest team in baseball. They have won fourteen of the last 16. The Phillies were in the World Series last year.

The A’s start a six-game road trip in Cleveland Tuesday night. The A’s will play three against the Guardians and then finish the road trip with three against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Guardians are in second place in the AL Central with a record of 33-38.

They are two and 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins. Manager Terry Francona is in his 11th year as the skipper of the Guardians.

The A’s will send Luis Medina (1-6, 7.55) to the hill Tuesday night. Cleveland will counter with Aaron Civale(2-2, 2.67). Righty Paul Blackburn (0-0, 3.49) goes for the A’s on Wednesday. The Guardians have not announced a starter. Lefty JP Sears(1-4, 4.24) will be on the mound on Thursday. Logan Allen (3-2, 3.95) goes for Cleveland.

The key players for the Guardians are first baseman Josh Naylor, third baseman Jose Ramirez, and outfielders Stephen Kwan and Will Brennan. Their catcher is Josh Naylor’s younger brother Bo Naylor. Closer Emmanuel Clase leads the Guardians bullpen. Clase is 1-4 but has recorded 20 saves this year.

Their setup guy is Trevor Stephan. The Guardians do not have a left-handed pitcher in the bullpen. The A’s will see relievers Sam Hentges, Enyel De Los Santos, Elijah Morgan, Nick Sandlin, Xzavion Curry, and two recently recalled from Triple-A, Daniel Norris and Tim Herrin. The A’s will not see the Guardians’ ace Shane Bieber in the series.

The A’s want to get some wins on this road trip. They will need better pitching and timely hitting. They know they can win on the road. They are looking for players such as Esteury Ruiz, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, Seth Brown, JJ Blesday, Ramon Laureano, Roberto Perez, and Shea Langeliers to get back on the hit parade. Blackburn has pitched well since coming off the IL.

Also of note A’s leadoff hitter Ruiz leads the majors in stolen bases with 36 for the season and could get some good coverage on the base paths that could help Oakland get a leg up for this upcoming road trip.

Medina has improved, and Kotsay wants him to give the A’s a quality start on Tuesday night. JP Sears, acquired in the trade that sent Frankie Montas to the New York Yankees, has to find a way to stop serving up gopher balls. Sears has allowed 17 dingers in his starts this year.

The A’s still are the worst team in baseball. Kotsay continues to have a positive outlook. He has seen some improvement in the last two weeks. The A’s would love nothing better than winning each series against the Guardians and The Blue Jays.