July was not a good month for the Oakland A’s. They saw their lead in the AL West disappear, and the Astros pulled away in the standings. Even though the A’s remain in control of a playoff berth, it was a truly disappointing July for the team.
However, the blame for that month does not lay with the pitching staff. A’s pitchers did their job; unfortunately, the offense was essentially dormant.
The A's went 11-13 in July. Their pitching staff had a 2.98 ERA in the month.
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) July 31, 2021
Oakland A’s desperately need to find some offense
That lack of offense throughout July adds more context to the A’s moves at the trade deadline. The expectation had been that they would look to improve the bullpen and potentially add another player capable of playing shortstop.
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While the A’s did grab a bullpen arm, they spent more time addressing the lineup and their depth than expected. They emerged as the surprise winners of the Starling Marte Sweepstakes, a player whose presence on the trading block was not certain days prior. They also grabbed Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison, improving their depth.
The A’s offense responded during the first game that trio was in the lineup together. They scored eight runs on Sunday, with each of those players contributing. Harrison had a base hit, Marte stole three bases while recording three hits and a walk, and Gomes homered. The boost that the A’s had hoped for was there for at least one game.
Maybe those moves will be what the A’s offense needed. It is possible that, with having more options on the bench, the lineup will be able to put up the runs needed to make those excellent pitching performances matter. After all, they could not get much worse at this point.
The Oakland A’s had a miserable July due to an inability to score runs. It may be just one game, but the early returns from the deadline are promising.