Athletics fall to Cubs for historic sixth straight series loss
OAKLAND — The 2023 Oakland Athletics stand alone.
A 4-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs Tuesday night at the Coliseum before a crowd of 5,196 ensured their sixth consecutive series loss to open the season. No other A’s team, be it Philadelphia or Kansas City, ever began a season by losing the first six series.
The A’s are 3-15, matching only the 1951 Kansas City A’s for futility through 18 games. They’ve lost six straight, 12 of the last 13, 15 of the last 17 and are 0-5 on the homestand.
Rookie right hander Mason Miller can not only put a stop to all that Wednesday afternoon on getaway day, but could also be the first A’s starting pitcher to be credited with a win this season.
That’s right. Eighteen games in, no Athletics starter has won a game.
Miller was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas and will make his debut largely on the strength of his last outing in the minors in which he topped 100 miles per hour 23 times and gave up no hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts in five innings.
Marcus Stroman and three relievers held the A’s to just two hits, with Mark Leiter Jr. (1-0) getting the win with a scoreless seventh preceding Chicago’s only rally.
Athletics leadoff hitters have reached base only three times in 18 innings against the Cubs in the first two games of the series.
The A’s had no complaints with starter Ken Waldichuk against the Cubs, as he gave up no runs in five innings but needed 102 pitches to do it. Waldichuck got out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the first that set the stage for the rest of his night.
“It was a big relief,” Waldichuk said. “Things probably could have snowballed out of control there and once I got out of there I knew I was going to have a chance to go later in that game.”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay credited Waldichuk’s increased use and conviction with his change-up, which the left-hander used often and on any count to keep hitters off balance.
“I don’t know the percentage of change-ups tonight but I’m going to assume it was a lot more than his previous outings,” Kotsay said.
Relievers Sam Moll and James Kaprielian each put up a zero until the Cubs broke through against Trevor May (2-3) in the eighth.
May faced four hitters and got just one out. Coming in with eight walks in 5 2/3 innings, May walked Selya Suzuki on four pitches then gave up a double into the left field corner by Patrick Wisdom.
Cody Bellinger was next, giving Kotsay the opportunity to walk the left-handed hitter and load the bases as well as remove May from the game after facing his third hitter. Instead, the A’s pitched to Bellinger, and he singled to right to drive in Suzuki for a 1-0 lead.
Yan Gomes was next, and with the infield in, his slow chopper to short was enough to bring home Wisdom to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. That was it for May, who gave way to left-hander Richard Lovelady.
“I think Trev, they all go through these tough patches, Kotsay said. “He’s a veteran, he’s a competitor. You believe in those guys, you put them back out there.”
Lovelady got Eric Hosmer on a comebacker but Nick Madrigal singled up the middle to drive in Chicago’s third run in the eighth inning.
It gets worse. Nico Hoerner, an Oakland product by way of Stanford, hit a liner to right that Conner Capel misplayed, bringing home the fourth run of the inning on an error.
NOTABLE
— Kotsay confirmed infielder Jordan Diaz was on his way from Las Vegas to Oakland and expected to be in uniform Wednesday. Diaz is the A’s No. 4 prospect according to MLB.com behind catcher/infielder Tyler Soderstrom, infielder Zach Gelof and Miller.
— Outfielder Brent Rooker departed with a tight hamstring after running the bases in the first inning, with Tyler Wade taking his place in left field. Rooker first felt pain making a play in left field in the top of the first inning.
“Rather than push him, took the precautionary side and took him out of the game,” Kotsay said.
— Kaprielian, Kotsay said, showed “competitiveness and presence” in his inning of relief but no decision has been made as to whether that will be his role going forward.