After two losses to start the season, the Athletics played their last two games like they had something to prove. And if Monday’s 13-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays to begin a three-game series at Tropicana Field was any indication, Oakland doesn't particularly care for the outside noise about this being a lost season.
The A’s – now 2-2 on the young season – thumped a Rays team that won 100 games last season and was 3-0, coming off a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles.
Oakland’s bats took advantage of an ill-timed injury to Tampa Bay starter Luis Patino – who left the game after just 13 pitches with an oblique strain – by scoring eight runs off reliever Chris Mazza courtesy of home runs by Seth Brown, Chad Pinder and Elvis Andrus. Sheldon Neuse added a grand slam in the ninth inning off outfielder-turned-reliever Brett Phillips to give the A’s double-digit runs.
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Four games is a small sample size. But after trading away most of their core from the past few seasons, the A’s have to be feeling optimistic after avoiding an opening series sweep against the Phillies followed by starting a tough road series against the Rays with a bang.
“Obviously, we had a lot of new guys coming in here this first series, and a lot of guys making their debuts,” Brown said in an interview on A’s Postgame Live. “This is a hungry team. Any team that is going to overlook us is [making] a mistake. Obviously, we’re hungry and we got a lot of guys that are full of energy, so it’s going to be a fun year for us.”
Paul Blackburn, who got the win after striking out seven Rays in five scoreless innings, echoed Brown’s enthusiasm.
“I feel like we’ve got a lot of guys in here that are hungry,” Blackburn told reporters. “We’re a good ballclub and we take it one day at a time.”
The A’s will give opportunities to a lot of fresh faces this season, whether it’s journeymen like Billy McKinney or top prospects like Cristian Pache. And veterans like Andrus, Pinder and Tony Kemp will be relied upon to both mentor the less experienced players and produce on the field.
Related: Rays' Phillips hilariously tells Pache to hit weight room
Oakland Athletics
While there will be growing pains – especially for a young club still getting familiar with its own players and what to expect out of this season – manager Mark Kotsay said Monday’s win over the Rays was a sign of growth.
Kotsay said after preparing for Patino in the gameplan, the A’s lineup quickly shifted when he left early.
“Obviously when the starter goes down, they prepare for a guy and have a plan and obviously made that adjustment and were ready,” Kotsay said to reporters.
The first-year manager, who watched as the front office traded away star after star this offseason, is proud of the way the new-look A’s have fared so far in a season filled with uncertainty.
“We’re just trying to establish our identity. I think they’ve come together as a group in a very short time. We model ourselves as: go out, compete to win and prioritize winning,” Kotsay said. “These first four games, they’ve shown a fight about them that I’m real happy about.”