Athletics Nation - Game #26: A's at TwinsAn SB Nation blog for Oakland Athletics fanshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47025/an-fave.png2017-05-02T20:01:49-07:00http://www.athleticsnation.com/rss/stream/152902092017-05-02T20:01:49-07:002017-05-02T20:01:49-07:00Game #26: A's Lose 9-1 in 2017 Home Run Derby
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<p>Bad pitching and worse hitting are a losing combo. </p> <p>When you don't score runs and your pitching staff throws batting practice, you're gonna have a bad time.</p>
<p><span>Sonny Gray's</span> outing by no means indicated that he is back in peak 2015 form, but it wasn't <i>awful</i>. Indeed, he gave up three homers (one of them astonishingly deep), but I'd give him a couple starts to settle back in. He missed most of Spring Training, so it's unsurprising that he made a few mistakes; hitters are essentially a month ahead. His fastball was hitting 92-94 with a 95 somewhere in there. He ended up going 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on five hits (3 HRs) and 2 walks.</p>
<p>Eh, 2015 Sonny may still grace us with his presence (even <a target="_blank" href="http://www.athleticsnation.com/2017/5/2/15526306/eyeball-scout-bullish-on-grays-return-sonny-gray-stephen-vogt-bruce-maxwell-ryon-healy">Nico thinks so</a>).</p>
<p>Here's <span>Miguel Sano's</span> <i>deep</i> home run, because impressive hits are just that:</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Miguel Sano continues to crush with a MONSTER BLAST to center <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Twins?src=hash">#Twins</a><br><br> <a href="https://t.co/qV3Ml8n780">pic.twitter.com/qV3Ml8n780</a></p>
— Around The Bases POD (@AroundBasesPOD) <a href="https://twitter.com/AroundBasesPOD/status/859606786612928512">May 3, 2017</a>
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<p>This one hurts a little extra because instead of re-signing our very own hit-machine <span>Trevor Plouffe</span>, the <a href="https://www.twinkietown.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Twins</a> got that.</p>
<p>More importantly, <span>Cesar Valdez</span> should probably not be on the roster. He relieved Sonny in the 7th, and gave up 3 <i>more</i> homers. Maybe Brian Dozier was just feeling it tonight (he was responsible for 1/3 of the dinger fest), but I'd like to see Valdez's roster spot taken by, I don't know, <span>Bruce Maxwell</span>?!</p>
<p>Of course, even if Sonny had been lights-out, it wouldn't have mattered. A's hitters did manage to get five hits (4 singles, 1 solo HR), but failed to advance a runner past 2nd base on a non-homer hit. A's hitters have mustered 5 runs on 19 hits in the past 27 innings, and have dropped 7 of their last 8 games.</p>
<h4><span>Yonder Alonso</span></h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alonso didn't hit his fifth homer until Aug. 2 last year.</p>
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) <a href="https://twitter.com/susanslusser/status/859601495041462272">May 3, 2017</a>
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<p>This is good. Despite his teammate's struggles, Alonzo is well on his way to a career year, power-wise. He only hit 7 total last year, so we can at least get excited about this. This has been everywhere, but if you've somehow missed it, I highly suggest reading Yonder's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=yonder+alonso+player%27s+tribune&oq=yonder+alonso+player%27s+tribune&aqs=chrome..69i57.8447j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">piece for the <i>Player's Tribune</i></a><i>.</i></p>
<h4>Ryon Healy</h4>
<p>Although he got off to a promising start, <span>Healy</span> has gone 4-for-21 in his last 5 games. This includes a number of frustrating strikeouts and popouts in key situations. Granted, <span>Dallas Keuchel</span> and <span>Ervin Santana</span> (now the owner of a 0.66 ERA) started two of those games. I'd give this some time as well.</p>
<h4>Frankie Montas</h4>
<p>Montas' outing still wasn't totally clean, but following some truly awful outings, he might just be turning things around. He hit 101mph and with a little more practice, might reach his potential.</p>
<h3>Things to Look Forward To:</h3>
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<li> <span>Kendall Graveman</span> is taking the mound tomorrow against a pitcher who isn't having a suspiciously <strike style="font-size: 12px;">good</strike><span> unbelievable year.</span> </li>
<li>Sonny Gray is back, and that's a good thing for sun-related puns. </li>
<li>Doing this all again tomorrow (but to pass the time I'd check out the Warriors, I hear they're pretty good).</li>
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https://www.athleticsnation.com/2017/5/2/15526176/game-26-as-lose-9-1-in-2017-home-run-derbyTorrey Hart