The Athletics fell further behind in the AL Wild Card standings Wednesday night to the team they lost to, 4-1.
Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager fell just a triple shy of the cycle and starter Chris Flexen, who the A’s have had success against in the past, struck out eight batters through seven innings.
It’s do-or-die time for the A’s now. Manager Bob Melvin wasn’t sugarcoating it.
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“We have to win tomorrow,” Melvin said. “After losing tonight, now we fall behind them. Tomorrow is a really important game for us. They all are, but tomorrow, we have to go out and win.”
This was the A’s third loss in a row, but mathematically, they’re not out of the race yet.
A’s third baseman Matt Chapman didn’t pinpoint a specific issue the team needs to work on in order to take care of business, but did name one big thing.
“You know, the only thing that’s missing is, you know, winning,” Chapman said. “I know everybody on our team is showing up and preparing and, giving everything we got. We got to go out there and win that game, and win that day, and unfortunately, you know, these last three games, we’ve just been, you know, outplayed.”
Oakland Athletics
Chapman said the team does need to find ways to string some hits together. It appears each day one half of the A’s team struggles, while the other dominates. That results in an unbalanced loss each time.
“Well I know I’ve said in the past couple outings, but, we need to focus on just winning games,” A’s starter Cole Irvin said.
On Thursday, the A’s are scheduled to start Chris Bassitt, a feat a long time coming. Well, not as long as the team might have anticipated.
Bassitt took a line drive to the face off the bat of Chicago White Sox’s Brian Goodwin on Aug. 17 and underwent facial surgery after suffering fractures in his cheek area. His presence alone made an impact the moment he returned to the clubhouse. Now we get to see him back on the mound.
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“We got Bass coming back,” Irvin said. “You know, I know the guys are energized to play behind him and work for him. You know I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow’s a new day, we just need to keep attacking it that way.”
Chapman said weirder things have happened throughout the game of baseball, such as the A’s winning 10 games in a row.
“Who knows what’s going to happen,” Chapman said. “That’s the mentality we have to take and one game at a time, but you know we got to -- we got to win these baseball games -- and if we do that, you know, we’ll see where we’re at.”