A’s defeat Royals to win back-to-back games for first time since May
OAKLAND —The A’s have, at long last, once again won back-to-back ballgames.
With a 5-1 victory over the Royals on a chilly Tuesday night at the Coliseum, Oakland has responded to its nine-game losing streak by winning two games in a row, the first time the club has done so since rattling off six straight wins from April 28 to May 4.
“It’s a weight off your shoulders, obviously, after getting beat — whatever that was — seven, eight games in a row,” said designated hitter Brent Rooker, who had two hits, two RBIs and a walk. “Winning two against a really good team, a team competing for the division and had been playing really well lately. I think it shows the resilience, the determination of this group, the willingness to face adversity head on and push through it.”
While the A’s (28-48) didn’t have an explosive offensive night, they constantly had traffic on the bases thanks to seven walks and eight hits.
Kansas City’s (41-34) Cole Ragans ended up with a quality start (two earned runs over six innings), but Oakland drew four free passes against the southpaw, the most he’s surrendered in a game this season. That’s no small feat given that Ragans tossed seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts when he last faced the A’s a month ago. Going back to last year, Ragans threw six shutout innings with 11 strikeouts to no walks against Oakland on Aug. 23, 2023.
“Ragans has kind of had our number,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay. “Good gameplan from the offense today. Good at-bats. We scored enough off Cole to get him out of the game, but he’s a competitor. … You can tell why he’s where he’s at.”
Added Rooker: “I think overall, the approach was patient, they were professional at-bats. We did a good job of sticking to a plan. He’s really, really good. He goes out there and and an off night for him is giving up two runs. But when you fight and get two runs off a guy like that, you give yourself a chance to win.”
The A’s complimented their patience with a bit of pop.
Miguel Andujar continued his resurgent year by making an impact with both his bat and arm. Along with three singles, an RBI and a run scored, one of which drove in a run, Andujar threw out Salvador Perez at second base as he tried to stretch a single into a double. When asked whether he took more pride in the three hits or the outfield assist, Andujar smile and said he was happy that the team won.
Andujar, who now owns a .330 batting average, had the most hits on Wednesday, but Zack Gelof had the farthest. Gelof hit his second home run in as many days, clearing the center-field wall in the eighth inning with a 434-foot solo shot, just short of the longest home run of his career (436 feet). This is the second time in Gelof’s career that he’s homered in consecutive games, the last time being on July 28 and July 29, 2023.
That offense was more than enough to get Luis Medina his first win of the season. The 25-year-old right-hander ended his night one out short of recording his first quality start of the year, allowing one earned run across 5 2/3 innings. The solid outing marked a rebound for Medina, who allowed 10 earned runs in his last two starts.
“I thought Medina did a nice job,” Kotsay said. “The graduation for Medina is going to be landing breaking balls and throwing breaking balls that start in the zone and disappear out of the zone. Right now, the breaking ball can be inconsistent. Once it’s consistent, I think he really elevates his strikeouts and pitches deep into games.”
Following Medina’s departure, Oakland’s relievers held down the one-run lead that they inherited. T.J. McFarland recorded the final out of the sixth inning, then Dany Jiménez, Austin Adams and Mason Miller followed suit by tossing a scoreless inning apiece to secure the win.
If the A’s can defeat the Royals tomorrow, it would be their first sweep since taking three games from the Pirates in Oakland.