Spring Training Game #16: A’s win streak finally snaps

The Oakland A’s hadn’t lost a game since March 4, a week ago Saturday. In that span they won six straight Cactus League contests plus a friendly against Team Italy. The streak finally came to an end on Monday, though, as the bats went quiet and the Reds wrapped up a tidy 3-1 victory.

Fear not, though, as the A’s are still tops in the Cactus League standings, a title which earns you bragging rights deep into early April.

*** Click here to revisit today’s Game Thread! ***

Bats take a day off

The A’s scored 73 runs over their seven-game streak, an average of over 10 per game, so they were due for a snoozer. They managed three hits on Monday, including singles by Mark Canha and Franklin Barreto, and Chad Pinder added a walk. In the 9th inning they were one out away from being shut out entirely, but Chris Parmelee drilled a solo homer to crack the goose egg.

And that’s the story of the offense for today. Look at that, we’re half done with the recap already!

Gaining the upper Hahn?

Kendall Graveman had a meh day, but presumably he’s just tuning up for an Opening Day start at this point. He pitched into the 4th and was mostly fine until allowing a two-run dinger to a minor leaguer. (Ryan Dull came in for the last out of the frame.) Graveman’s final line: 3⅔ ip, 3 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 4 hits. As long as he’s not walking guys this spring, I’m happy.

And then the Jesse Hahn Show began. Let’s premise this with some general Cactus Leaguery — the only hitter Hahn faced whom I’ve ever heard of is Dilson Herrera, and he spent all of last year in Triple-A. This was that second wave of the day, and the Reds’ first wave isn’t exactly anything to write home about itself.

But with that said, Hahn was brilliant. He tossed four scoreless innings, striking out two and allowing just a pair of hits. It was his second straight scoreless outing, after he went three frames last time (also with no walks). In 2016, Hahn never allowed fewer than two runs and one walk in any spring game, so if you’re looking for a sign of change from last year then you can’t ask for a better first impression.

Shake this one off, be happy about Hahn, and look ahead to tomorrow. The A’s are back against the Rockies at 1:05 p.m.!