Game #97: A's Bullpen Start Gives Way to Series Loss

So it feels like the A's lose every game in which I run the game thread. Well, this afternoon, I ran the numbers and found that it's not exactly true. Today was my 29th game thread in the 2015 season, and my 20th loss. The funny thing about the 20 losses is that they were usually painful; as viewers were lulled to sleep with a nice solid A's start, and were rudely jerked back awake by a bullpen meltdown late in the game. If the A's could lose a horrible game, you can bet I'd be writing about it.

Today's "breakfast start" (seriously, A's marketing and announcers, only residents of Hawaii think 12:30PM home starts constitutes breakfast by any stretch; it's even late for brunch!) was not a painful loss. The A's traded Scott Kazmir an hour before the game and gave the start to the now-bullpen resident, Drew Pomeranz. Granted, I didn't expect him to face just eight batters, allowing a two-run home run in the process, but it was always going to be a bullpen game.

Down early with the 2-0 deficit, the A's did tie the game on a Semien double and a Burns single and a force out by Josh Reddick, but aside from one good inning, they were completely shut down by R.A. Dickey. Yes. I KNOW! Also, Josh Reddick made a nice catch. Gold star.

Dan Otero took the loss, allowing two earned runs in his three innings of work, and Leon added one of his own in his three innings. There were some home runs hit; Josh Donaldson got to show off a bit, and then Toronto left Oakland with the series win.

Keep your chins up, look forward to more trades, and a fresh start in 2016, really. Because this season isn't quite over, but the A's don't lend themselves to winning streaks, or really any sort of brand of consistent play, and haven't given us a real hope that they could put anything together in the remaining 65 games of the season.

The A's face the Giants for some Bay Area bragging rights tomorrow at 7:15PM, over in San Francisco. Let's win this one.