Game Thread #58: A’s at Royals

The one where the A’s are on a road trip

Okay, so would anyone like to trade the A’s for some nice home games at a lovely stadium in Oakland? The A’s are not allowed to come home; they should stay on the road and think about what they’ve done.

It’s June 1st and the Oakland Athletics are over .500. That enough should be cause for celebration. In yet another “rebuilding year”, the A’s and their practically nonexistent starting pitching have carried us all the way to Game 58 one game over .500. And let’s be honest, the regrets we have from this week stem completely from the offense, not the pitching. Everyone who pitched this week, with the notable exception of Sean Manaea, was awesome. Apparently, it’s opposite day, where Manaea can’t pitch and the A’s can’t hit, but everyone else is Cy Young.

Frankie Montas is no exception. Dazzling in his first start of the year, allowing just a run in his six innings, Montas will try to repeat the performance tonight against the decidedly not good Kansas City Royals. The A’s slumping batters, who showed some sign of life yesterday, will face Ian Kennedy.

Even with an overall winning record, the A’s are still fourth place in the West; good because they are able to play their Wild Card competition head to head all season long to gain ground; bad because they play Seattle, Houston, and the Angels...all season long. What made this week so frustrating is that the A’s have to feast on bad teams in order to get the wins they need, and this weekend is no exception.

After breaking our 4-game Friday night win streak last week, we’re starting anew. Montas on the mound, all three Matts in the lineup after a Matt Trick yesterday, here we go!

LET’S GO OAK-LAND!