Oakland A’s starter Adam Oller delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)
San Francisco (52-55). 7. 11. 0
Oakland (41-67) 3.10.0
Saturday, August 6, 2022
By Lewis Rubman
OAKLAND–This past Thursday night, I took in a game between the Modesto Nuts and the Stockton Ports (and incidentally misreported Stockton’s losing pitcher as Clark Cota when the loss went to Ports’ Ed Baram).
When I returned after midnight from the sweltering banks of the San Joaquin Delta to Oakland’s benign breezes, I began to muse about what it would be like if the big leagues followed the minor league model of a split season.
The A’s before this evening’s nationally televised contest with the San Francisco Giants had a horrendous record of 41-66. But if, like the California League, we wiped the slate clean at the season’s half-way point, Oakland would have a respectable mark of 15-11 in the second half and a decent shot at a playoff berth.
Not that I’m advocating for such a radical change; I’m no fan of the existing open door playoff system, and opening the door even wider would just make the situation worse. But it’s a pleasant thought….
Giant backers don’t have even that consolation. The team that won 107 games last season was 41-41, the definition of mediocrity, in the first half of 2022. At 51-55, they came to the Coliseum a 10-14 team for the season’s second half. It’s nothing for the Athletics´faithful to gloat about, but a bit of schadenfreude can be tonic in the world of fandom.
Game recap: In the end, the tardily rebounding Athletics were trounced by the faltering Giants to the tune of 7-3.
The green and gold sent Adam Oller, a 27 year old righthander, who himself was rather green; his season record of 1-4,7.88 also constituting his lifetime mark. He has commuted between Oakland and Las Vegas, returning here most recently on July 27 to defeat Houston for his first big league victory.
He was up against Carlos Rodón, who had somehow escaped the orange and black’s August 2 yard sale and faced the A’s with a mark of 9-6, 3.00 at game time.
The experienced 29 year old southpaw throws twice as many four seamers as sliders, and the two of them account for about 93% of his deliveries. The other 7% or so is made up of curves and changeups. There’s a more than 10 mph difference between his fastball and change of pace.
Before the game started, the Giants restored Brandon Crawford and Joc Pederson to active duty. Both were in the starting lineup for San Francisco. To make room for them on the roster, the orange and black DFA’d Dixon Machado and optioned David Villar to Sacramento.
The A’s rookie lasted five plus innings and surrendered four runs, all earned although one was posthumous. The Giants touched him for eight hits, one of which was a home run, and a walk. He threw 93 pitches, 31 of which were balls. He took the loss and now has a record of 1-5, 7.63.
The Giants’ veteran, on the other hand, allowed only one run in his 5-1/3 innings of work. It was earned and came on five hits. Rodón struck out three without issuing a free pass. He threw 98 pitches, 38 of them balls. He earned his tenth victory against six defeats, and his ERA dropped to 2.95.
Oller began unpropitiously. He got two quick strikes on each of his first two hitters, Pederson and Luis González, only to walk both of them. He settled down to retire Wilmer Flores and Brandon Belt. But then Mike Yastrzemski laid down a beautiful bunt between the mound and third to load the bases. Brandon Crawford followed by drawing a walk on, you guessed it, another full count, and when Joey Bart flew out to center to end the inning, San Francisco was leading 1-0.
Chad Pinder blasted a one out double just to the right on the Craftsman sign in the right center field, but they wasted that opportunity to even the score.
The Giants’ didn’t waste LaMonte Wade, Jr.’s lead off double against the State Farm sign above and a little to the left of where Pinder’s shot had bounced. After Tommy LaStella grounded out to second, Pederson notched his 44th RBI of the season with a single to left center, bringing Wade home with the run that brought SF’s advantage to 2-0.
The home team drew close in the third with Nick Allen opening the frame with a single to right and, after Jonah Bride flew out to center, taking second on Sean Pinder’s ground out to third. Sean Murphy then sent a sinking liner that fell to the grass in center for an RBI single that brought Oakland to within a run of the Giants.
Oller held the Giants in check through the fifth but gave up a lead off single to Bart in the sixth. The count went to 1-2 on Wade. Oller offered him a 93 mh four seamer and the Giants’ DH took it deep, 385 to right for his fourth dinger of the year, a two run blast that put the Giants up 4-1.
That was it for Oller. Kirby Snead relieved (if that’s the word) him, letting pinch hitting JD Davis take his first pitch, a 92 mph sinker, a full 437 feet into center. The back to back homers came on back to back pitches from two different pitchers. But the Giants weren’t done. Austin Slater hit for Pederson and walked and stole second, scoring on a two out single to right by Belt that left Oakland behind by five.
Submariner Tyler Rogers took over for Rodón with one down and no one on base in the home sixth. A two out double by Lowrie didn’t prevent Rogers from A’s off the board.
In spite of his ineffective job in the sixth frame. Snead still was on the mound when the Giants came to bat in the seventh. He looked good striking out Crawford. He didn’t look good yielding Bart’s second round tripper of the afternoon, a solo shot that travelled 406 feet into center field. It boosted the Giants’ catcher’s batting average to .213 and his HR total to 10. Bart certainly is on track to coming out of his long slump. He finished the day at .211.
The A’s trailed 7-1 when everyone had sung “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and Yuniór Marte was on the mound for SF. All he allowed was a base on balls to Nick Allen. Jarlín García held the Athletics to a swinging bunt single by Murphy in the eighth.
Austin Pruitt held the Giants scoreless on a walk in the eighth. Sam Selman did the same in the ninth.
Oakland showed some signs of life against García in their last turn at bat. Elvis Andrus hit a bouncer back to the mound that got past the Giant pitcher and that Flores couldn’t handle at second. Skye Bolt, who had pinch hit for Piscotty in the seventh, jolted a 94 mph four seamer 368 feet into left to close the gap to 7-3, where it stayed until the bitter end.
The A’s haven’t announced who will start for them in tomorrow’s 1:07 meeting with their cross bay rivals. The Giants will send Logan Webb (9-5, 3.20) to the mound.
