OAKLAND -- Ahead of opening a three-game series against a reeling White Sox club amid unwanted history as it carried a 20-game losing streak, A¡¯s manager Mark Kotsay stressed the importance of not letting up when an opponent is going through such an undesirable stretch.
¡°There¡¯s some momentum to baseball in all facets,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°Especially when a team isn¡¯t playing great, you give them some momentum, and you may be on the wrong side of things after they get that boost.¡±
At some point, the White Sox would win a baseball game again. Of course, the A¡¯s did not want to be the team on the other end. They managed to avoid giving away too much momentum in the first game on Monday by re-taking an early lead and never looking back.
Tuesday was a different story.
Ross Stripling surrendered a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning to Andrew Benintendi, and the White Sox added on late as the A¡¯s fell, 5-1, at the Coliseum. Oakland¡¯s loss snapped Chicago's 21-game losing streak, which tied the 1988 Orioles for the American League record.
The White Sox had not won a game since the first of a doubleheader against the Twins on July 10. The A¡¯s, meanwhile, entered with a record of 13-8 with an offense that led the Majors with 33 home runs since returning from the All-Star break.
On Tuesday night, however, that offense was stifled for most of the night against Chicago starter Jonathan Cannon, whose only blemish through six innings of one-run ball was a solo home run allowed to Zack Gelof in the fourth.
¡°They pitched well tonight,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°We only scored one run, so they deserved to win the game. They played a good, clean game tonight and we didn¡¯t generate any offense. For that club over there, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re excited about ending their losing streak and getting a win."
As a veteran of nine big league seasons and the most experienced player on the A¡¯s roster, Stripling knows better than anyone the hunger of a team desperate to snap a losing skid. Looking back on his outing of four runs allowed on five hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings, Stripling felt he only made a few mistakes.
Unfortunately for him, each mistake was costly -- an 0-2 curveball up in the zone to Luis Robert Jr. that resulted in a single and set up Benintendi¡¯s homer on a 1-1 fastball up in the zone, then a hanging 1-2 sinker that Andrew Vaughn smacked into center for an RBI single and knocked Stripling out of the game with two outs in the sixth.
¡°Some of the greats that I¡¯ve played with, I would say [Clayton] Kershaw comes to mind, are elite at putting a foot on the throat when a team is down and out like that,¡± Stripling said. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of mental skill and talent that some of the greats really have. You try and get there mentally and understand they¡¯re a team that we feel like we should beat. They¡¯ve lost 20-something in a row¡ which is one of those stats that just doesn¡¯t feel possible.
¡°On the flip side, you understand that they are certainly aware of the history that is chasing them down and how badly they want to avoid it, so you know that makes them a dangerous team. They¡¯re playing with an edge, trying to avoid that at all costs. ¡ It¡¯s just one of those things you¡¯re aware of and know they¡¯re going to do anything they can to avoid losing another baseball game.¡±
For the A¡¯s, a positive from an otherwise lackluster night came in Gelof¡¯s two hits. He snapped a 0-for-12 hitless streak. Before the game, Kotsay was asked about Gelof¡¯s struggles -- he entered the day batting .092 (6-for-65) over his last 19 games -- and Kotsay mentioned a mechanical adjustment the A¡¯s second baseman has been trying to make at the plate. Those changes remain an ongoing process, and a 2-for-4 performance, given his recent slump, certainly feels like a step forward.
"The slider he went down and got that he hit the home run on was a two-strike pitch,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°That¡¯s an encouraging sign. He mixed in another hit there. Those are the results we¡¯re looking for to help him build that confidence in what he¡¯s doing.¡±