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Oakland Athletics Recap 4/15: A’s Beaten 4-2

By Melson Varsovia

Apr 15, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Rich Hill (18) walks off the field after throwing against the Kansas City Royals in the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Rich Hill (18) walks off the field after throwing against the Kansas City Royals in the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oakland Athletics Recap 4/15/2016: A’s Lose 4-2 On Jackie Robinson Day

7. Final. 2. 96. 4

The Oakland Athletics lose yet another tough ballgame to the Kansas City Royals by a score of 4-2, increasing their losing streak to four. Rich Hill proves enigmatic, striking out six in 4 1/3 innings but giving up three runs and earning the loss. Stephen Vogt hit a solo home run in the second inning and Khris Davis scored his first RBI of the year, both against Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez. Still, Volquez gets the win as he and the Royals bullpen effectively decimated the A’s in tonight’s game.

The A’s defense did commit an error as Danny Valencia fielded a ball poorly, allowing Salvador Perez to get on base. But the A’s did field three double plays tonight. Unfortunately, that feat is also owed to the A’s pitching giving up twelve hits and five walks.

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Sean Doolittle undid the hard work from the rest of the A’s bullpen. Every pitcher the A’s used besides him and Hill put up zeroes. In the ninth inning, in a non-save situation Doolittle fed up a fat pitch to Eric Hosmer. Doolittle has flat movement on his fastball adding to his loss in velocity, which makes for easy pickings for hitters. He may be losing his closer’s job soon.

In fact, the A’s have used more bullpen pitching than the rest of the American League, and with starts like Rich Hill’s short-lived 4 1/3 innings, they may need to rely on additional arms to subsist. Case in point: Jesse Hahn, Sean Manaea, and Ryan Dull are all pitchers with starting experience, and Dillon Overton and J.B. Wendelken can be brought up from the A’s Triple-A affiliate Nashville Sounds to flesh out the bullpen as well.

At least the A’s offense showed sparks of life.

Stephen Vogt totaled three hits including the aforementioned home run. Marcus Semien is continuing his growth at the position, netting a hit and a walk in three at-bat. Khris Davis, in netting his first RBI, had a similar batting line, also getting one hit and one walk in three at-bats. The A’s only struck out four times tonight.

But the A’s happened to face up against the monstrous Kansas City pitching staff, which as of the start of the day has the second best ERA in the American League. The A’s, perhaps ironically, have the third best ERA. It is early in the year and anything is open to change, but the Royals do happen to have the best record in the league as well. They will prove a tough opponent for the next few days.

Next: Jackie Robinson Day: An A's Fan Perspective

Tomorrow, the A’s continue to play the Royals in their only appearance at Oakland Coliseum this year. The A’s look to ace Sonny Gray to right the ship as he faces the Royals’ Chris Young. First pitch is at 1:05 PM PST.