WEST SACRAMENTO -- After the Athletics dropped their eighth consecutive game on Wednesday night, manager Mark Kotsay described this recent tough stretch as a “perfect storm” of things not lining up equally.
On Thursday, the A’s were struck by another inopportune lightning bolt.
The blueprint for the A’s to finally end this dreadful skid appeared to be laid out. The offense scored five runs in 4 2/3 innings against Angels starter Tyler Anderson, including Brent Rooker’s 11th homer of the year, a 440-foot two-run blast in the first. On the mound, Luis Severino, whose struggles while pitching at home have been well documented this season, delivered a strong six innings of two-run ball on seven hits and no walks with five strikeouts.
Holding a three-run lead through six, Kotsay mapped out the path to victory and prepared to pull out all the stops. He planned to hand the ball to reliever Grant Holman for the seventh, then utilize All-Star closer Mason Miller for the final two innings.
Holman took over in the seventh, but things quickly went awry. After allowing three of his first four batters to reach base, Holman left a 1-0 fastball to Taylor Ward over the heart of the plate that was blasted over the center-field wall for a game-changing grand slam, instantly shifting a three-run A’s lead to a one-run deficit in what ended up a 10-5 loss at Sutter Health Park.
The A’s losing streak is now up to nine games. Perhaps most shocking was that the decisive blow came against Holman, who entered Thursday carrying a 0.63 ERA and having not allowed a run in 11 of his first 12 relief appearances.
“We’re in it right now,” Kotsay said of the losing skid. “The outing we got by Severino was what we needed. This one hurts. … We turn the ball over to Holman, who’s been great all season, and just some missed locations. The ball that he was trying to go down and away to Ward, to get a ball on the ground, runs back [over the] middle and goes over the fence. Next thing you know, we’re down again.”
Beyond the nine straight losses, the A’s have lost 13 of their last 16 games dating back to May 5. Over that stretch, the A’s bullpen has posted a 9.19 ERA (63 earned runs in 61 2/3 innings), including an 8.00 ERA from the seventh inning on during those games.
It would be unfair to fully place blame on the relief corps. The offense has also failed to add on late in key spots, now 11-for-76 (.145) with runners in scoring position over the last nine games. But right now, it feels like any time the A’s are in a close game late, they are either unable to hold a lead or prevent a small deficit from getting out of hand, much like Thursday, which saw the Angels add on with three ninth-inning runs.
“We’ve brought some different guys up to try them in non-leverage roles and we haven’t been able to hold games,” Kotsay said. “That’s kind of the story over the last two weeks and maybe longer.
“Is there a quick fix? I would love to tell you there is. We’re going to keep working. That’s all we can do. Fix those issues by cleaning up our execution and allowing guys to go through this and get better.”
While the positive takeaways become harder and harder to find, Thursday’s came in Severino conquering his home woes. After compiling a 6.75 ERA through his first six home starts as opposed to a 0.72 ERA in four road outings, Severino credited his success against the Angels to throwing his most recent bullpen session in between starts on the Sutter Health Park mound, which he said helped him get more comfortable with his surroundings and throw more strikes.
As for the losing streak, Severino, a 10-year Major League veteran, knows there is no magic solution that can stop this.
“I feel like we’ve done what it takes to win games,” Severino said. “It’s just been like one crazy inning, and then after that, we can’t come back. … As far as what to do to get better, just give 100 percent. Go out and compete. There is nothing else we can do. Holman has been great all year, and then he gave up that [grand slam] today. It’s not like we put somebody out there who is getting hit every time. He was the right guy for the job.”