A's feel ill effects of Seattle smoke in loss vs. Rockies

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The A's lost 3-1 to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night with the smoky taste of Monday's victory still fresh in their mouths.

Literally.

After playing both games of Monday's doubleheader against the Mariners amid terrible air quality in Seattle resulting from the numerous wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, several of Oakland's players were still feeling the effects of those unhealthy conditions Tuesday despite being in Denver.

"We had some guys that can feel some phlegm in their throats," A's second baseman Tony Kemp told reporters following Tuesday's loss. "Those conditions were not the best. There were some guys feeling stuff in their bodies today."

AQI levels in Seattle remained above 200 throughout Monday, and it measured 242 in the half-hour before the second game's conclusion. Levels above 200 are considered very unhealthy, leaving many to wonder if the doubleheader would be played at all. And yet, A's manager Bob Melvin said the team wasn't consulted about potentially postponing one or both of the games.

The Giants were scheduled to open up a three-game series with the Mariners in Seattle on Tuesday, but with the air quality relatively unchanged from Monday, the two teams and MLB made the joint decision to postpone Monday's game and move the series to San Francisco, where air quality is supposed to be pretty close to normal over the coming days.

Prior to facing the Rockies, Melvin was asked about the decision to postpone Tuesday's Giants-Mariners game.

"I don’t know what the numbers are there today but it seems to make sense to me," Melvin told reporters. "I mean if it’s similar to what it was yesterday that’s the proper thing to do."

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Indeed, it was quite similar, which makes MLB's decision not to postpone the A's doubleheader against the Mariners all the more dumbfounding.

Based on how several A's players felt a day later, it clearly was the wrong decision.

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