A's break out on offense in loss to Guardians

OAKLAND -- Coming off a breakout season in which he launched a career-best 25 homers, Seth Brown entered 2023 with even higher expectations. After a relatively quiet opening series, the outfielder produced his first homer of the season in dramatic fashion.

With the A’s down to their final out and trailing by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, Brown stepped to the plate with a runner on against Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase. After watching a hard cutter run inside for a ball, he turned on a 97.6 mph cutter over the middle of the plate for a game-tying two-run blast. The home run was the first surrendered this year by Clase, who gave up just three long balls in 72 2/3 innings over the entire ‘22 season.

“At that point, I’m just trying to get the next guy up,” Brown said. “He’s obviously one of the top arms. He’s throwing a cutter at 100 mph. Against him, it’s all reactionary. There’s no time to think about anything. I try to keep it as simple as I can against guys like that.”

Ultimately, Brown’s heroics went for naught. The Guardians immediately answered back with two runs in the top of the 10th, and while Esteury Ruiz cut Cleveland’s lead to one run with an RBI double in the bottom half, the A’s fell short in a 12-11 loss at the Coliseum.

With plenty to unpack from a wild affair that featured a combined 23 runs on 30 hits, here are some takeaways:

Defensive miscues
A’s manager Mark Kotsay has stressed the necessity of playing clean baseball in order to find success in 2023. That’s why a pair of costly mistakes on defense made Monday’s loss especially disappointing.

Tony Kemp mishandled a would-be double-play ball hit by Will Brennan in the sixth. The error paved the way for a two-run inning for the Guardians, which cut Oakland’s lead from 8-5 to 8-7. Later, in the eighth, Conner Capel whiffed on a liner hit to right by José Ramírez. The ball bounced past him all the way to the outfield wall, allowing Steven Kwan to score the go-ahead run from first base.

“We talked about it all Spring Training, that this ballclub needs to play good defense, and we weren’t able to do that tonight,” Kotsay said. “When we score 11 runs in a game with 14 hits, we’re usually on the winning end of that. We didn’t play good enough fundamentally. … We need to make plays that, at this level, we should execute.”

Laureano flexing his power
Ramón Laureano homered for the second time in three days, sending a two-run shot to left in the fifth. Looking to bounce back from a down year in ‘22 that was filled with injuries as he returned from a suspension, the early power surge is an encouraging sign for the 28-year-old outfielder.

“Ramón’s a heck of a player,” Kemp said. “He’s got easy pop. I’m excited to see what else Ramón has. He’s going to have a tremendous year, I think.”

Laureano’s homer was part of an overall positive night for the A’s offense. After scoring just three runs over a three-game series against the Angels to open the season, Monday’s 14-hit outburst featured homers by Laureano, Brown and Jace Peterson.

“It’s just good to get that vibe on the offensive side of the baseball,” Brown said. “The offense did a phenomenal job tonight, and it’s just about putting it all together. It’s a process.”

Noda’s first knock
Getting his first Major League start on Monday night at first base, Ryan Noda wasted no time getting his first big league hit out of the way with a single off Zach Plesac in the second. He came around to score on a double from Esteury Ruiz, then laced a double into right-center one inning later.

Noda, a Rule 5 Draft pick by the A’s this winter, is looking to stick in the big leagues and is expected to get regular playing time at first base this season.

“It was relief and joy,” Noda said of his first hit. “A lot of hard work was put in, and it was definitely exciting. Not many words can describe it.”