'Baseball happens sometimes:' A's panic free

OAKLAND -- When the A’s and Astros met in last year’s American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium, an epic home run derby broke out between the two clubs as they combined to break the all-time LDS record with 24 homers in four games. Through their first three games against each other in 2021, the offensive production is still heavy, but lopsided in one direction.

Chad Pinder’s bases-loaded flyout to deep right-center to end the eighth inning in Saturday's 9-1 loss to the Astros was symbolic of how these first three games of the regular season have gone for the A’s.

For the third straight day, it was the Astros that took advantage of an opportunity to break the game open, while the A’s offense struggled to find that elusive hit, going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Dropping their third game in a row against Houston, the A’s are now 0-3 to begin a season for the first time since 1996.

“It’s been ugly,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We haven’t played well yet. Unfortunately, that’s the case. When you don’t score many runs, the game turns on one at-bat. And obviously the ninth inning hasn’t gone well for us.”

Though the A’s have been outscored 26-7, and outhomered 5-1, through three games of their opening series, the games have been close affairs until the late innings, when an Oakland bullpen that is expected to be a strength in 2021 has faltered. After Pinder’s flyout vanquished a golden opportunity when the A’s had the bases loaded with only one out while trailing by four runs, left-hander Reymin Guduan entered the game in the ninth and allowed the Astros to break it open with four runs.

A combination of a shaky bullpen and a lack of clutch hitting have sunk the A’s in the series. In three games, A’s hitters are 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position and have stranded a total of 21 runners on base. Meanwhile, relievers have surrendered 13 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings against Houston, including 10 runs in the ninth after allowing just nine all of last season.

On Saturday, the struggles with runners on showed up from the first inning, when the A’s only managed to score one run despite making Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. throw 32 pitches. McCullers soon settled in and held the A’s to one run on two hits in five innings.

“It looked like he was struggling to find it a little bit to start, and we got some guys on,” said A’s first baseman Matt Olson. “He found his way out of it. He’s got good stuff. After those first couple of innings, he was a lot better with his command. Even when the guy is a little wild, his stuff is so good that it still plays. We just didn’t capitalize on a couple of opportunities.”

The bullpen might not be as big of a concern given that the A’s have not really used any of their back-end relievers much in the series due to the scores late in games -- Oakland has not held a lead through the first 27 innings of the series.

The offense slumping early is a bit of a surprise given its success over the past month in Spring Training. The A’s led the Cactus League with 161 runs, which only added confidence to a group that was expecting to have a big year at the plate, with the two Matts -- Chapman and Olson -- at the forefront of that offensive attack.

Olson has carried over his impressive spring numbers early on. He collected two of Oakland’s three hits on Saturday and is hitting .400 (4-for-10) with a double through three games. But the rest of that group, including Chapman, who is hitless in eight at-bats, is struggling to sustain any attempts at a rally.

Still, the A’s are not ready to hit the panic button just yet.

Even in their best years, the A’s have been notorious for their slow starts in the regular season. They lost their first three matchups with the Astros in 2019 and still ended up with a berth in the AL Wild Card Game.

“We’ll be fine,” Olson said. “Just a couple bigger situations where we haven’t had the big hit. It’s fine. It’s Game 3. We’ve got 159 more. Baseball happens sometimes. I don’t think we’re hitting the panic button here. Just need a couple of knocks. Some balls to find some holes to get runs across.”

Staring down a potential sweep in four games at the hands of their heated rivals, the A’s offense will need to find that breakthrough it so desperately seeks.

“We didn’t want to start 0-3, by any means. Especially against a division rival,” Olson said. “They’ve come out swinging the bat well and throwing well. We definitely don’t want to be swept in a four-game series. Hopefully, we pick up a little momentum tomorrow.”