It's been a long couple of days in Arlington for the A's.
The team arrived in Arlington on 6 a.m. Friday, according to The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser. The series opener with the Texas Rangers ended at 10:14 p.m. CT (8:14 p.m. PT), and began Saturday's doubleheader at 1:08 p.m. local time.
The A's lost that game and their starting catcher, and then had to do it all again just a few hours later. Oakland couldn't solve Texas rookie starter Adrian Sampson, dropping the second game 7-3. Desptie the team's fatigue, manager Bob Melvin refused to blame the team's circumstances.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE ”He just kept us off balance,” Melvin said (via MLB.com). “I don’t know if we’re dragging a little bit. It’d be nice to get some sleep at some point. But that’s no excuse. Our at-bats probably weren’t as good as you’ve seen here recently, but you have to give [Sampson] some credit, too.”
The A's fell below .500 once again with the defeat, dropping to 32-33 on the season. After following up a 10-game winning streak with a five-game losing skid, Oakland is 3-3 in its last six games. A loss followed the first win of that span, and two consecutive losses have now followed two straight wins from earlier in the week.
Oakland briefly clawed back into Saturday afternoon's 10-5 loss, trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the fourth inning. Texas scored five runs over the fourth and fifth, and the A's offense managed just one the rest of the way. They could only score once more in the second loss, which Melvin said was especially frustrating.
[RELATED: How Angels prevented A's from drafting Trout a decade ago]
Athletics
Find the latest Athletics news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
“It’s tough," Melvin said. "To sit around like that after a game we didn’t play too well in the afternoon, and then just didn’t swing the bats in the evening, it doesn’t sit too well. We have to pick it up on Sunday.”
The A's can salvage a series split Sunday, and have the right pitcher taking the ball. Frankie Montas will make his 13th start of the season, and he has won three of his last four starts.