The Oakland A’s Zack Gelof runs the bases against the Cleveland Guardians at the Oakland Coliseum in the third of the current four game series on Sat Mar 30, 2024 (Oakland A’s X photo)

Saturday, March 30th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

Oakland, CA – The Oakland A’s host the Cleveland Guardians in the third game of this opening series of the season. Oakland have started 0-2 to start the seasons and have started 0-2 for the third time in the last four years. After last night’s win, Guardians first year manager Stephen Vogt became the 5th skipper in Cleveland franchise history to begin his first season at the helm with a 2-0 record. On the mound for Oakland is JP Sears and for Cleveland it’s Tanner Bibee. 

The A’s who are looking for their first win for 2024 lost their third game of this four game series to the Guardians on Saturday 12-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Kyle McCann at catcher is making his MLB debut for the A’s and putting down the signs. Sears had a scare when Jose Ramirez hit a ball that looked like it was going to be a homer, but JJ Bleday snatched it at the centerfield wall. 

Guardians were the first on the board in the second inning after Sears walked Tyler Freeman. Freeman’s walk set the tone, because it was followed up by an RBI triple from Andres Gimenez, 1-0 Cleveland. The triple was capitalized on when Gabriel Arias hit an infield single that scored Gimenez, 2-0 Cleveland, and the Guardians had a two run lead early. 

The A’s were able to tie it up in the second. With the bases loaded, a fielder’s choice scored JD Davis, who got on base with a single, 2-1 Guardians still up. McCann, who in his debut Major League at bat was walked, scored thanks to a Ryan Noda single, but Nick Allen was thrown out at third and the inning was over with the score tied at 2-2. 

In the third, the A’s took the lead after a single and two walks loaded the bases and McCann was at the plate. His second MLB at bat was another walk that scored Zack Gelof, 3-2 Oakland. 

Cleveland wasn’t going to let Oakland hold a lead for long. After Gimenez was hit by a pitch, an Arias single ran in a run to tie up the game. Arias then scored off an Austin Hedges sac fly, now 4-3 Guardians. It would be 5-3 for Cleveland when Steven Kwan hit an RBI single scoring Brayan Rocchio. 

Cleveland extended their lead by 2 runs. One scored on an error where Arias was safe at first, but then Arias would score from a Hedges double, 7-3 Guardians in the 5th inning. The rally would continue as 2 more runs would come in for Cleveland, 9-3 and the A’s needed some type of comeback. With only 5,425 fans in the Colliseum, it wasn’t like there was much energy in the park. 

Steven Kwan got his first homerun this season with a 2 out bomb in the 7th inning, 10-3 Guarduans and some fans started heading to the parking lot. 2 more runs for the Guardians in the 9th and after the A’s were shut down in the ninth, the ballgame was over. 12-3 Guardians.

Next game for the A’s is Easter Sunday, March 31st in the final game of this Cleveland series. On the mound for Oakland is Paul Blackburn and for the Guardians Carlos Carrasco. A’s 0-3 to start the season.