2 Key Takeaways From Athletics’ Shutout Loss to Padres

J.T Ginn really struggled to start the game. In 2.1 innings, he would walk six batters and would hit Fernando Tatis Jr. with the bases loaded for San Diego's first run of the night. In the bottom of the third, Ginn would walk Nick Castellanos, which ended the night for him.

The A's would then call on Jose Suarez for relief, where he would give up a double to Jackson Merrill that would set up a sacrifice groundout to make the score 2-0. But right before the game got completely out of hand, Suarez would end the inning and pitch two more no-hit innings. Suarez would end the night giving up just one hit to four strikeouts. Not bad.

After Suarez, the A's would send Joel Kuhnel to the mound, where he would have a similar stat line to Suarez, only allowing one hit in the bottom of the 7th, with two strikeouts. In the bottom of the 8th, the Athletics would then send out Scott Barlow, who was flawless in the single inning he pitched. Something special is brewing in the Athletics bullpen.

The A's Offense Is Sputtering

Both teams really struggled to do anything substantial throughout the night. The Padres were 0-5 with runners in scoring position, while the A's were 0-7. But for the A's, a team ranked seventh in the majors in batting with RISP, this is a very concerning theme considering they were also 1-8 with RISP on Friday.

The biggest missed opportunity easily came in the top of the fourth, where Brent Rooker, Henry Bolte, and Tyler Soderstrom would get walked to load the bases with just one out. Jeff McNeil stepped into the batter’s box and grounded into a 3-6-3 double play to end the inning. Absolutely crushing.

Even though McNeil's groundout was devastating, he was not the only one who struggled with RISP in the shutout loss. Both Rooker and Soderstrom would go 0-2 with RISP. The bad news for the A's is that Rooker is hitting fourth and Soderstrom at the five spot. With how well Nick Kurtz and Carlos Cortes are playing at the one- and two-spots, the Athletics are leaving lots of runs on the bases.

Over the last seven days, Rooker is hitting just .179 with a .258 OBP. It doesn’t look much better for Soderstrom, who is hitting .167 with a .286 OBP. This rough patch for both players, along with Shea Langeliers, who also has struggled as of late, has created a black hole in the 3–5 spots in the lineup. If this keeps up, runs are going to be few and far between.