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For the third straight game, the Athletics have been impacted by a bug that is floating around the clubhouse. All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz is the latest to leave a game early, being lifted in the bottom of the second inning. The A's stated that Kurtz left the game due to an illness.
"It's definitely going around a little bit of the clubhouse right now," A's manager Mark Kotsay said after the game. "He tried to play. There in the second he was actually throwing up in the dugout. Credit to the kid for going out and trying to grind through it. Obviously a stomach flu illness right now."
J.T. Ginn was pulled from his start on Tuesday night in Detroit due to the same type of illness that was sapping his energy and causing his velocity to dip.
Jeff McNeil was originally in the A's lineup on Sunday, but was a late scratch due to illness. He looked to be pretty out of it that morning, so whatever is going around is certainly intense. On the bright side, McNeil was also able to replace Kurtz on Wednesday, so he is back to playing after a couple of days.
The A's ended up losing the second game of their series in Detroit 6-1, with starter Jeffrey Springs going just 4 ⅓ innings, giving up six hits and six earned runs, along with four walks and four strikeouts. He also gave up another two home runs, adding to his MLB-leading total of 26.
He last won a game on April 14 against the Texas Rangers. Since that start, he has gone 0-9 with a 7.64 ERA spanning 73 innings.
"A lot of the same mistakes," Springs said of his performance on Wednesday. "Gettin' tired of talkin' about it. I know teammates are getting tired of watching it. Just the same thing, costing us games. Not keeping the ball in the ballpark. Not making good pitches. Still don't have a good answer for you."
He went on to say that this is the worst that he's struggled and he's having a hard time finding any positives in any of his outings these days.
"Nobody's gonna save me. I gotta try to figure it out and get out of it."
With the loss on Wednesday, the A's have dropped 9 of their last 10. That was also their fifth loss in a row, setting a new season-high. They had lost four straight games on five occasions this season, which was the previous high.
The A's are also 15-27 (.357) since May 22, when they were atop the AL West. That is the worst record in MLB since that date. That's a 58-win pace over the course of a full season.
At 41-51, the team will have a losing record heading into the All-Star break for the fifth straight season. The last time the A's went into the break with a losing record in at least five straight seasons was 1959-68, when they had 10 straight. They will also have their best record at the break since 2021, when they were 52-40.
The A's -81 run differential is the worst in MLB as of this writing, though the Colorado Rockies (-79) are currently in action.
Despite all of these facts, the A's are still just 5.5 games back in the West and 5.0 games behind the third AL Wild Card spot. A hot week gets them back into both races.
Continue reading...
"It's definitely going around a little bit of the clubhouse right now," A's manager Mark Kotsay said after the game. "He tried to play. There in the second he was actually throwing up in the dugout. Credit to the kid for going out and trying to grind through it. Obviously a stomach flu illness right now."
J.T. Ginn was pulled from his start on Tuesday night in Detroit due to the same type of illness that was sapping his energy and causing his velocity to dip.
Jeff McNeil was originally in the A's lineup on Sunday, but was a late scratch due to illness. He looked to be pretty out of it that morning, so whatever is going around is certainly intense. On the bright side, McNeil was also able to replace Kurtz on Wednesday, so he is back to playing after a couple of days.
Jeffrey Springs' Rough Start
The A's ended up losing the second game of their series in Detroit 6-1, with starter Jeffrey Springs going just 4 ⅓ innings, giving up six hits and six earned runs, along with four walks and four strikeouts. He also gave up another two home runs, adding to his MLB-leading total of 26.
He last won a game on April 14 against the Texas Rangers. Since that start, he has gone 0-9 with a 7.64 ERA spanning 73 innings.
"A lot of the same mistakes," Springs said of his performance on Wednesday. "Gettin' tired of talkin' about it. I know teammates are getting tired of watching it. Just the same thing, costing us games. Not keeping the ball in the ballpark. Not making good pitches. Still don't have a good answer for you."
He went on to say that this is the worst that he's struggled and he's having a hard time finding any positives in any of his outings these days.
"Nobody's gonna save me. I gotta try to figure it out and get out of it."
Tough Stretch For A's
With the loss on Wednesday, the A's have dropped 9 of their last 10. That was also their fifth loss in a row, setting a new season-high. They had lost four straight games on five occasions this season, which was the previous high.
The A's are also 15-27 (.357) since May 22, when they were atop the AL West. That is the worst record in MLB since that date. That's a 58-win pace over the course of a full season.
At 41-51, the team will have a losing record heading into the All-Star break for the fifth straight season. The last time the A's went into the break with a losing record in at least five straight seasons was 1959-68, when they had 10 straight. They will also have their best record at the break since 2021, when they were 52-40.
The A's -81 run differential is the worst in MLB as of this writing, though the Colorado Rockies (-79) are currently in action.
Despite all of these facts, the A's are still just 5.5 games back in the West and 5.0 games behind the third AL Wild Card spot. A hot week gets them back into both races.
Continue reading...
