In the midst of the longest losing streak of their young season, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay believes the hits will soon begin to fall in Oakland’s favor.
The A’s dropped their fourth straight on Monday as they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 at Oakland Coliseum, collecting just two hits on the night. It’s the first true test of the year for Kotsay, who is in his first season at the A’s helm.
After the loss, he told reporters he believes the lineup is feeling the pressure at the plate.
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“Offensively, we’re in a bit of a funk,” Kotsay said. “I think overall as a group, a lot of guys are probably pressing … You look at the quality of the at-bats, and you still feel like they’re still competing, you know. It’s just … we’re not getting the results right now.”
The last time the A’s faced the Rays, it was the high point of their season-opening road trip and they took three of four games from the defending AL East champions. On Monday, the circumstances were a bit different as Oakland looked to bounce back after being swept at home by the Cleveland Guardians.
Instead, the team’s fourth loss in a row pushed them further down in the AL West standings, where they currently sit in fourth place at 10-13.
Rays starter Drew Rasmussen gave up just one run on one hit to the A’s through five innings, which came when Seth Brown scored on a two-out single by Chad Pinder in the bottom of the second.
Daulton Jefferies wasn’t quite as sharp as Rasmussen on the mound for the A’s, surrendering six earned runs on 11 hits through five innings while striking out four. Oakland also committed two errors on Monday after coming into the game with 19 on the season -- the fourth-most in the league.
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Oakland Athletics
There’s plenty that has gone right for the A’s this season, and the lineup has shown it’s capable of producing both at the plate and on the field. The bullpen was nearly perfect through four innings on Monday, save for one of those errors.
If Oakland can put their silver linings together into one, complete package, Kotsay believes the team can turn things around with the right attitude.
“You keep competing as part of the season,” Kotsay said. “... It's a grind and you assess the game tonight, let it go, come back tomorrow with that mindset to come out and compete to win.”