They’re the reigning champions for a reason. The Athletics dropped their first game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, losing 9-4 in Sacramento against the team with the best record in the sport. The team is now on a three-game losing streak and will wrap June with a losing record. A tough one to swallow and the A’s are now 40-45 and now three games back and in fourth place in the AL West.
The A’s had rookie lefty Gage Jump on the mound this evening, hoping he could continue his strong start to his career and tame the mighty Dodgers lineup.
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After a scoreless top of the second the Dodgers got to work against Jump. Using four singles they put up the game’s first two runs of the night.
The A’s answered back and then some in the bottom half of the frame against LA starter Eric Lauer. First it was left fielder Colby Thomas getting things started with a solo home run, his third long ball of the season:
Expect to see much more of Thomas in the lineup while regular Tyler Soderstrom is out.
They weren’t done there either. Singles from Max Muncy (ours) and Alika Williams brought up tonight’s second baseman, rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer. Ranked highly in the Athletics’ farm system, Kuroda-Grauer was making his big league debut and came up in a big spot for the A’s. And how did he respond to his first career at bat as a major leaguer? With a base knock the other way to plate Muncy and tie this game up at 2:
Definitely the first of many to come from the young infielder.
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Next up was another rookie in center fielder Henry Bolte. While he didn’t get a base knock to keep the line going, his wheels did allow him to avoid a double play, allowing the Athletics’ third run of the frame to come home and score:
We love productive outs, and now the A’s had a lead. A slim on, but one nonetheless.
At least, for a few frames. While Jump came back with a scoreless top of the third, the Dodgers’ vaunted lineup could not be held down tonight. A pair of home runs, a solo blast and a two-run shot, gave LA the lead back, one they would not relinquish the rest of the evening. Jump ended up pitching into the fifth but couldn’t complete five full frames, departing at 91 pitches and down 5-3.
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Gage Jump: 4 2/3 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 91 pitches
Not a great outing from the young left-hander tonight as his ERA rises to 2.93. The Dodgers are a feared lineup for this exact reason, and plenty of other more experienced arms have gotten beat up by them. Jump can learn from tonight though. He’ll try to bounce back next time out, which lines up to be against the Miami Marlins this coming weekend.
Lefty Matt Krook followed Jump out of the bullpen tonight and got Ohtani’d. The Dodgers’ super mega star swatted a 3-run home run to bust this game wide open for the Dodgers. At this point it was just about getting to the end of the game. Justin Stener provided an inning of work and then Kade Morris was tasked with cleanup duty, pitching three innings and allowing just one insurance run for the Dodgers in the eighth.
The bats meanwhile couldn’t manage much of any sort of fight after that second inning. The A’s ended tonight with 11 hits, with three of those coming off the bat of Kuroda-Grauer. Other than a final run in the bottom of the ninth the A’s went quietly, securing the team’s 45th loss.
Not a great night but Kuroda-Grauer had a memorable night and will likely be back in the lineup tomorrow. He’s the first rookie to get multiple hits in their big league debut since Mark Canha way back in 2015. Jump got knocked around by the Dodgers but that’s what they do. Thomas’ homer was nice but the lineup is clearly missing Soderstrom, Wilson, Gelof, and Rooker. The A’s need to get healthy and quickly or else fall lower and lower in the standings.
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The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. For the Athletics, they’ll have left-hander Jeffrey Springs on the mound looking for a strong start to help snap this losing streak. The veteran has had a tough go of things here in June with a 9.97 ERA this month. He did bounce back in his most recent outing though when he pitched into the sixth and only allowed three runs to the Giants in an A’s win. Overall on the year he’s sporting a 5.52 ERA in 17 starts.
The Dodgers will counter Springs with their own left-hander in 25-year-old Justin Wrobleski. The young arm has been fantastic for the Dodgers in his first extended stint in the starting rotation this season. The third-year pitcher has a 2.71 ERA this season and has put together back-to-back strong starts. The A’s will have their hands full yet again.
