A's Finding Success in Maximizing Opportunities

The A's offense is expected to be the club's biggest advantage this season, but through the first 18 games, pitching and defense have been carrying the team early. The A's aren't going to complain, either, as they hold a 10-8 record and sit atop the AL West with an offensive group that just feels like it's looming, waiting to pounce.

Even with the winning record, the team still has a negative run differential, sitting at -7 following Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers. With yet another close win, the A's are now 5-2 in one-run games, but have been coming up in key spots, particularly with runners in scoring position, to come out ahead more often than not.

Key hits, limited opportunities

The A's offense as a whole has been good enough. They rank 22nd in runs scored with 72, just behind the Texas Rangers, and right in front of the Colorado Rockies. One big offensive game gets them into the middle of the pack with the St. Louis Cardinals (80 runs scored), so there isn't much reason for concern.

In fact, the A's early numbers with runners in scoring position should be cause for celebration. The A's aren't getting many chances, but they're doing more with them than almost anyone in baseball. This has been the driving force for them scoring just enough runs game after game in the early part of the season.

Here are three key numbers:

Batting average with RISP: .269 (12th)

OPS with RISP: .885 (4th)

RBI with RISP: 58 (15th)

The A's offense has been taking a step up when given the opportunity, and it's been winning them games. That OPS ranking is absolutely huge, because it means that damage is being done when the A's have runners in scoring position.

While the A's rank 15th in RBI with runners in scoring position, we also need to take one more number into account: at-bats.

The A's rank 29th in the number of at-bats they've had with runners in scoring position with 130 total. Only the Chicago White Sox, who have played one fewer game, have less (121). Going into Wednesday's game, it was the A's that were ranked last with 120.

So they rank at or near the bottom in opportunities, but middle-of-the-pack in RBI? That's some serious production, and it circles back to the OPS number ranking fourth in MLB. When they're getting these opportunities, they're getting extra-base hits. That's how you score runs, and how you win games—even when the offense isn't exactly thriving.

Players making the most impact in these spots