Los Angeles Angels third baseman Michael Stefanic (38) waits for the throw as Oakland Athletics Esteury Ruiz (1) steals third base during the third inning at the Big A in Anaheim on Sun Oct 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the Oakland A’s (50-112) took on Los Angeles (73-89) at Angel Stadium. They were hoping to avoid losing the series and at the very least finish off the 2023 season with a win.

In the game two win over the Angels, the A’s reached the 50 win mark and had a chance to win this series. The A’s didn’t pass the third game of the series taste test and dropped their last game of the regular season with a 7-3 four run loss.

This game did not go well for the Athletics. Through six innings, the Angels scored in every inning with the exception of the second inning. They hit three home runs two of them off the bat of Brandon Drury and after six innings held a 7-0 lead.

Drury had a homer in the first inning and the second in the fifth inning, a two-run home run. In the third inning Randal Grichuk hit a solo homer and this game was all Angels. Going into the eighth inning Los Angeles held onto the lead allowing two Oakland runs.

The A’s finally scored in the seventh inning. Nick Allen singled Lawrence Butler home preventing an Angel shut-out.

In the eighth inning Oakland celebrated a special moment when Brent Rooker, at his final at bat in 2023, hit his 30th home run. This was for sure a little lemonade in this lemon of a season. Los Angeles held on. While this was certainly a disappointing season for the Angels, it was an unbelievably painful year for the Oakland A’s.

The A’s had eight hits in this game but only scored two runners. Los Angeles had ten hits cashing in bringing seven runners home. It was another disappointing appearance on the mound for JP Sears to finish this year off.

He allowed four hits and three runs and lasted only four innings. Kyle Muller relieved for one inning allowing three hits and three runs. It was another rough afternoon for the Oakland bullpen.

Rather than dwell on the season record one can turn to the last couple of months for the A’s. There has been growth among these players and the way they have evolved has been encouraging. It has been a season of steps forward and steps back.

Next season these guys will be a year older and they will have had an entire MLB season under their belts. This has been the worst Oakland season ever and you have to take your hats off to these young guys who persevered through incredible negative publicity, through the anticipated move issues that wove their way throughout the season, and just getting to know each other.

If this team remains intact, they will be miles better next season. The caveat always remains with this organization. Due to the horrible mismanagement of the Oakland front office this team is always behind the eight ball from the get go season after season.

They no sooner start to play great ball when the players who are succeeding are traded away leaving the coaches to pick up the pieces and start over. Selling this team to someone who cares is the only thing that makes any sense at all. What a shame to single handedly destroy a major league baseball team.

Barbara Mason is an Oakland A’s beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com