A’s drop close one, fall 3-1 to Blue Jays

But Mitch Spence with another strong outing

The Athletics dropped the series opener against the Blue Jays, falling in a close 3-1 matchup that saw a bit of everything you’d see in a ballgame.

Rookie righty Mitch Spence got the ball this evening but clearly came out of the gate on his back foot. It took Toronto just five pitches to take the lead after George Springer launched a leadoff blast. Saw that plenty when he was with Houston, forgot how much it annoys.

On the other side Blue Jays starting pitcher José Berríos got the nod for the home team. Oakland got that run back when rookie infielder Darell Hernaiz connected on a Berrios sinker that didn’t sink and blasting his first career home run, a solo shot to tie this game up:

Hopefully many more to come soon. Hernaiz was a high-regarded young player before the season started and he broke camp with the team. An injury knocked him out and cost him a few months of developmental time with the A’s but it’s encouraging to see him launch that first home run.

Back to Spence, that first inning home run didn’t deter him. While Toronto was able to collect hits and threaten a couple times in the middle frames, Spence bent but didn’t break. In fact, he had some hep from his defense as JJ Bleday nailed a runner at third base in the first. Does Spence continue to settle in if that play isn’t made? We’ll never know but you know Spence was pumped.

As much as the defense helped in that case, his teammates in the field behind him failed later in the game, specifically the sixth inning. With the score still tied at 1-1 and Spence seemingly rolling, shortstop Max Shuemann committed a throwing error that set up Toronto baserunners on the corners. A force out helped mitigate the threat but not before a run came in to score. While unearned on his final line, another hit ended his day as lefty T.J. McFarland came on in relief and got Oakland out of the frame without any more damage.

It was time for the Oakland bats to respond but facing Toronto’s ace they fell short. Their best chance at getting that run back came in the sixth when the Athletics put the first two hitters on to start the inning. A fly out, strikeout and pop out ended that opportunity, with Blue Jays first baseman making a fantastic play to end the inning:

The A’s would get another chance the next frame with two two-out singles but again came up short. An extra insurance run came for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the eighth when Austin Adams allowed a solo shot to make it a 3-1 deficit. Oakland went down quietly in the ninth, securing the team’s 69th loss of the season.

Not the outcome A’s fans were hoping for but there were some positive moments for the club today. Spence continues to grow before our very eyes and looks like he’s solidifying his spot in next year’s rotation. Young infielder Darell Hernáiz got that first big league home run out of the way as he had a couple knocks today. Now we need to put it all together and secure a win tomorrow in the middle game.

That one is scheduled to be a day game so the roof will probably be open tomorrow. For the A’s it’ll be another rookie in Osvaldo Bido, who is all set to make just his fifth start for the Green & Gold this season. Last time out he fired off six innings of 2-run ball against a dangerous Dodgers lineup. The Athletics would gladly take more of the same in tomorrow’a contest. Toronto will counter with their own rookie in right-hander Yariel Rodríguez, who has impressed over his first 11 career starts.