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Oakland A’s Lose 5-1, get Swept by Rockies

The Game Haus StaffBy Updated:4 Mins Read

Once again, the A’s struggle; lose to Rockies.

The A’s bats were completely silent in the 5-1 loss to the Rockies, and fell to 3-3 as the Colorado Rockies  extended their winning streak to four games and swept the A’s. While it’s disappointing for the A’s, it can’t come as a surprise, as the A’s were outscored 13-4 in the series, outhit 22-13 and went 0-14 with RISP (runners in scoring position).

A's lose again
Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty goes up for a catch off a Tony Wolters hit but misses the grab. Courtesy of NBC Sports

The Pitching 

WP: German Marquez (1-0)

L: Frankie Montas (0-1)

Frankie Montas was the first Oakland A’s starter to get through the first five innings of work, which is a success. The loss was no fault of his own, as he had a good performance, only giving up five hits and two runs in the game, while also collecting three strikeouts. Jesus Luzardo, who followed Montas in his relief/rehab performance (who will soon join the rotation as stated by Bob Melvin) didn’t miss a step on the mound. Despite missing summer camp due to COVID, Luzardo came back very impressively, going 3 2/3 innings and getting five strikeouts. Even though on paper Luzardo gave up three runs, they were late in the game, only one was earned.

For the Rockies, German Marquez was a dominant force. He went six innings, gave up only four hits, one run and collected eight strikeouts. The relievers who followed him were lights out as well, and collected all the right outs when they needed to. 

The Offense

For Oakland, their usually potent offense was very quiet during this series. The A’s appeared to get off to a good start, as Matt Chapman hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the 1st inning, swatting an inside fastball over the seats. Unfortunately, that was all the run production they got that day. While Robbie Grossman tried to help the team by going 2-4 with a double, he couldn’t do it all by himself. During the series, it was especially concerning that all of the Athletics runs came off sacrifices, home runs, or errors. The A’s had many chances during the day, including a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the 8th inning with two outs, but the hitter, Robbie Grossman wasn’t able to replicate his magic and struck out on a controversial check-swing call to end the inning.

The Rockies didn’t have a particularly stellar day at the plate, and they also left several runners on base. However, the Rockies were able to cash in on offensive opportunities, being led by Tony Wolters, Garett Hampson and Charlie Blackmon, who went 2-5 on the day with an RBI. In a relatively low-scoring game, the team that takes advantage of opportunities the most wins, and in this game (and series) it was the Rockies.

Controversy 

There was a moment in the bottom of the 2nd inning where Nolan Arenado seemed to forget the number of outs, and with a bases-loaded ground ball to him, he threw to home plate, trying to get Matt Olson out at the plate. While Olson appeared to be safe on replay to fans, the umpires didn’t see it that way and ruled Olson out. After replay, New York ultimately agreed with it and it was a point of controversy. While it seemed apparent that after replay Olson appeared to be safe, the official review center in New York didn’t agree. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good 

  • Matt Chapman hit first HR of the season. 
  • According to Bob Melvin, Luzardo should be back in the rotation for Oakland soon, maybe as soon as August 3 in Seattle. 
  • Frankie Montas recorded the first five-inning start by an A’s pitcher this season; if the A’s starters can continue to go deep into games the A’s relievers can get some much-needed rest.
  • Khris Davis got the day off as he has been in a slump at the plate. Hopefully, the rest will do him some good.

The Bad

This is the second consecutive series where the A’s have been outhit by their opponents. During the series, the A’s also scored all of their runs off sacrifices, home runs and errors.

The Ugly

They went 0-14 with runners in scoring position. The pitchers cannot do it all and when opportunities are presented, the A’s need to take advantage of it.

Next games:

The A’s have a day off, then will take a trip to the Pacific Northwest, as they will play Seattle to start their 30 games in 31 days.

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