A’s Get Pounded By Baltimore

The A’s have been pretty good this year in the pitching department, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the team’s box-score against the Orioles on Saturday. Oakland’s right-hander Tyson Ross allowed 9 runs and a career-high 11 hits on Saturday in Oakland’s 10-1 loss. The A’s starting pitching had been rock-solid this year, but Ross was pretty hittable and the team’s defense didn’t shine very bright either.

Kurt Suzuki made a throwing error in a five-run second-inning by the Orioles and Yoenis Cespedes made a mistake in the outfield as well. Overall, it was a strong contrast to the team’s win over Baltimore on Friday and was one more example of how painfully inconsistent this club has been over the years.

The A’s had come into Saturday’s contest with a three game winning streak, but that streak was put to a sudden halt due to a mixture of sloppy defense and subpar pitching. Oakland’s offense didn’t fare much better, though, with Jonny Gomes providing the team’s lone run. Gomes went deep for the fourth time this season and has been a pleasant source of power this year.

Gomes hasn’t recorded many hits this season, but has posted a .265 ISO. It’s been a rather lackluster month of offense for most of Oakland’s hitters not named Yoenis Cespedes, but Gomes has certainly had a nice month in the power department.

The A’s have a shot at a winning record this month, but the team’s offense and defense will need to strike some sort of balance. Inconsistency has been a major theme in Oakland for the past few years, but hopefully Bob Melvin and Co. can turn things around tomorrow in Baltimore.

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