WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Athletics can’t hide from who they’ve been as a team over the past month, having gone through one of the more dreadful stretches in franchise history. But they do believe there is enough time left in the season to prove they are better than that showing.
It starts with winning a series, which they finally achieved on Sunday with a 5-1 victory over the Orioles at Sutter Health Park. It was their first series win since May 2-4 and first home series win since April 25-27.
"This was a big win today,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “To finish this homestand on a winning note after losing the first three, that’s a good sign. The club is playing better and they’re going in the right direction.”
The season outlook has changed quite drastically for the A’s since that previous series win in Miami. Back then, they were 19-16 and looking like a fun young team on the rise that could perhaps emerge as a sneaky playoff contender.
In between that time, the A’s lost nine consecutive series, going on a 1-20 skid that matched the worst record over a 21-game stretch in franchise history and led to their free-fall to last place in the American League West.
With 95 games remaining, there is sufficient time for the A’s to change the narrative they fell into over the past month. Doing so requires getting back to the team they looked like over the first 35 games of the season, one that can score runs with the best of them, play sound defense and utilize a reliable bullpen to close games.
Those ingredients have been sprinkled throughout the past few days for the A’s, who have now won three of their last four games. That includes Sunday, which featured an early offensive outburst with four runs through the first two innings, a pair of outstanding diving plays on defense by second baseman Luis Urías and a bullpen that took over for starter Jacob Lopez and finished it off with five scoreless innings of relief.
"Once we start clicking as a whole, offense, defense and pitching staff, I think we’re one of the better teams in the league,” said A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson. “I think we can go out there and hang with anybody when everybody is on. We saw that the past few days.”
Wilson is certainly hanging with the game’s elite talent. He continued his tear at the plate, notching another two hits, including an RBI single in the second inning.
The reigning AL Rookie of the Month continues to boat race his fellow rookie class, leading all qualified Major League rookies in hits (93), batting average (.372), on-base percentage (.408), slugging (.528), OPS (.936), runs (36), doubles (15) and extra-base hits (23), while his eight home runs are tied for the lead with Miami's Agustín Ramírez.
Beyond the eye-popping numbers and insane bat-to-ball skills -- he entered Sunday with an average of 16.50 plate appearances per strikeout that was second behind the Padres' Luis Arraez (49.60) -- what has impressed Kotsay the most about the 23-year-old is his durability.
After multiple stints on the injured list last season, the club had some concerns over whether Wilson’s body could hold up over a full Major League season. Save for a few bumps and bruises, Wilson has held up well so far by playing 63 of the A’s first 67 games.
“Pretty remarkable,” Kotsay said of Wilson. “He shows up now ready to play. Last year, it was a grind for him to play every day. Now you’re seeing him manage the workload. He’s starting to understand the routine and how to take care of himself postgame with the recovery stuff. He’s going out and just playing the game. It looks fun for him right now.”
How could it not be fun? Wilson now has 17 hits in his last 30 at-bats, steadily keeping pace with reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge.
At the time of notching his 93rd hit, Wilson had briefly surpassed Judge for most hits in the Majors. Shortly after, though, Judge, who has led MLB in hits every day since April 19, tied Wilson with a booming homer against the Red Sox on Sunday night and still had a chance to retake the lead.
"Being able to compete with [Judge] is something special,” Wilson said. “He’s obviously a spectacular player. … Just to be in the same conversation is pretty special. I’m super grateful to be up there with him. Hopefully, we can keep battling it out for a while.”