It happened again Saturday.
They scored in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th innings, each time by building a rally and then successfully cashing in on it.
But the A’s own starter suddenly fell apart and couldn’t make it out of the 5th, and their lineup went quiet for five frames instead of building on their lead to put the game away, and then their bullpen served up three homers in the final three innings.
The lineup did a decent job getting on base and then hustling on the paths, and they notched a couple hits with runners in scoring position.
And the truly deflating part is seeing it in a statement series against the team with MLB’s best record, where the A’s could have been showcasing their ability to beat the kind of top opponents they hope to see in October.
Oakland is still in or around Wild Card position, and within reach of the AL West division, and one loss today didn’t end any hopes or dreams. But at some point they’re gonna need to stop leaving so many opportunities on the table, and start turning more of their good days into actual victories.
The A’s very first batter of the game hit a routine grounder but the Giants flubbed it for a three-base error.
Two outs later Oakland got another gift, as Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch, and once again the A’s fully capitalized.
Unfortunately, San Francisco got two of those runs back quickly.
They weren’t able to drive anybody in, but in the meantime Guasman uncorked a wild pitch to score the lead runner.
Marte been the centerpiece of the opening rally, and he’s the “first A’s player to steal 15 bases in a 21 game span since Rickey Henderson in 1992” according to MLB Stats.
Manaea had made a couple mistakes in the first four innings, but was looking better than his last few disaster starts.
It worked out, as Yusmeiro Petit got the out to strand all the runners, but the damage had been done just by getting Oakland’s bullpen into the game so early.
Their new hitting acquisitions had already been starring in this series, but their new pitching acquisition didn’t follow suit, as Chafin allowed back-to-back solo homers to cut the lead to 5-4.
Their first two batters singled off Jake Diekman, but then their sac bunt attempt was popped up for an out, and later one of the runners was picked off base.
This is why it was such a big deal that the starter Manaea couldn’t make it through the 5th inning, because of the chain reaction that led to needing Trivino in the 9th.
With one out he issued a walk to put the tying run on base, and the Giants called on a lefty pinch-hitter in LaMonte Wade Jr.