Athletics Strike Back: Takeaways From Dominant Win Over Nationals

Who would have thought a pitching performance that featured six innings of no-hit ball would have been enough for the Athletics to end the losing streak finally? J.T. Ginn pitched amazingly, and he did it with style. He was constantly challenging a team that had just scored 23 runs. Confidence is everything, and Ginn has got it.

Moving forward, we need to see more consistency from the Athletics' ace. When he is off his game, the Athletics are in a bad spot for the rest of whatever series they are playing. Most A's pitchers only last until the 5th or 6th inning if we are lucky. This means more bullpen utilization, and as we have seen, the A's cannot fall back on that. For that reason, we need to see Ginn reach the 7th inning more often.

The "Ticking Time Bomb" Has Exploded

Even though the offense has been terrible as of late, we knew that it would only be temporary. During the losing streak, we would see notable performances across the lineup, but even then, things would not click. Luckily, the Athletics would turn things up right away, as they would score five runs in the 1st inning, which was started by a first-pitch leadoff home run from Jacob Wilson.

While it is unclear exactly how long this offensive production will last, the performance is definitely promising, considering the A's were without Nick Kurtz or Zack Gelof, two players who have been incredible this season. If this offense remains steady, they could be unstoppable when Kurtz returns.

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer is the Athletics Best Player

Since getting called up, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer has been head and toes over every single player for the Athletics. In 53 at-bats, JKG is batting .415, with a .983 OPS, and seven doubles. It should also be mentioned that JKG is on a four-game XBH streak, which is absolutely insane.

While his production will level out, the start that he has been on has been historic, literally. In his first 50 at-bats, he has recorded 22 hits, which is the most in that span in Athletics history. Breaking Elmer Valo's 1940- 41 mark of 21 hits. Keep in mind as well that the Athletics have experienced both Jacob Wilson's and Nick Kurtz's rookie seasons. In which both players were top two in Rookie of the Year voting, just to put this accomplishment in perspective.