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OAKLAND — The A’s needed more late-inning heroics Saturday and for a time in the eighth inning it looked as if it might happen.
With the memory of Matt Olson’s 10th-inning grand slam not yet 24 hours old, the A’s brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning Saturday. They did so twice, in fact, once in the person of Matt Chapman and then none other than Olson himself.
Chapman hit into a double play, Olson bounced back to the pitcher and the A’s lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Angels.
“We’re one good at-bat from putting real pressure there, and we’re in the middle of the order, too,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Unfortunately, just a little short.”
The A’s scored their only run in the seventh when Stephen Piscotty doubled off Angels starter Dylan Bundy. Robbie Grossman greeted Angels reliever Keynan Middleton with a run-scoring single to left.
The A’s got off to a good start against the next Angels reliever, too, opening the eighth with singles by Marcus Semien and Ramón Laureano, but that’s when Ty Buttrey put an abrupt end to Chapman and Olson.
Here are more observations.
Jesús Luzardo returns from coronavirus rust-free
Luzardo had only a week to prepare for the regular season after testing positive for the coronavirus, but his debut performance Saturday might have accelerated his return to the starting rotation.
The left-hander had thrown only a few innings in simulated games against his teammates, and he wasn’t perfect, as evidenced by Tommy La Stella’s soaring leadoff double in the seventh inning. But, the maturity he exhibited in his seven games last season were on display again in his 2020 debut..
Luzardo needed just seven pitches to get out of the La Stella jam. Michael Hermosillo lined out on the first pitch. Luzardo peppered Max Stassi with three consecutive sliders and then a pair of changeups, the last of which Stassi dribbled to short. Andrelton Simmons grounded out just as meekly.
That bit of drama followed a clean sixth in which Luzardo struck out two batters. His fastball touched 98.5 mph, his changeup hit 90 mph and his slider/slurveball hovered between 85 and 87 mph. He said his breaking ball wasn’t as sharp as it could have been — something he has said after starts in spring training and outings out of the bullpen last season, even if the eye test says otherwise.
He pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit with two strikeouts and a walk on 44 pitches. Melvin has said that Luzardo needed to go at least three before he would be considered for a return to the rotation.
Given this, consideration could be under way.
“We’ll have a decision to make at some point. I’m not ruling anything out,” Melvin said.
Sean Manaea looks strong, then unravels
Of concern following Sean Manaea’s exhibition start against the San Francisco Giants last weekend was his velocity. Melvin said a faulty radar gun was to blame for some of it, but an 85-86 mph fastball can be disconcerting.
Manaea’s first pitch of the game on Saturday was 90 mph. And Manaea stayed around there, on average, most of the day.
The left-hander was economic too; With no walks, he went into the fifth inning with fewer than 40 pitches.
“I started off hot, and then I just ran out of steam,” Manaea said.
The Angels, leading 1-0 on Justin Upton’s homer in the fourth, opened the fifth with a single by Taylor Ward. Manaea got the next two hitters — La Stella and Hermosillo — but Stassi singled and then the real trouble came. Andrelton Simmons and David Fletcher both doubled deep to make it 4-0 and end Manaea’s day.
Fletcher’s double looked catchable as left-fielder Robbie Grossman tracked it. But the outfielder played it safe, letting it bounce against the wall as two runs scored. Melvin said he thought the ball was going down no matter what.
Manaea’s final line: 4.2 innings, five hits, four earned runs, three strikeouts, no walks.
“He was great,” Melvin said. “He had 39 pitches going into the fifth and it happened pretty quick — he got a few balls in the middle of the plate to three hitters, which he hadn’t been doing. I was really encouraged by the way he threw compared to what we saw in the Bay Bridge series, it looked like he had better life on his fastball, all his pitches.”
Sunday
The A’s will face two-way star Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Right-handed starter Mike Fiers will make his season debut for Oakland.
