How A's Can End Losing Streak vs. Padres

In the last four games, the Athletics' starting pitching has given up a combined 10 runs in the first two innings of play, which accounts for a staggering 66% of the runs the A's have given up during that stretch. If this keeps up, the A's will not be able to find a steady lead anytime soon. Something needs to give.

The starter for the A's in Game 3 will be Luis Medina, who will be making his first start of the season. As a reliever this year, Medina has posted a 2.41 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 18.2 innings. Medina has only given up 13 hits to 18 strikeouts throughout his appearances. This could be the start of something great for the Athletics.

Middle of the Lineup Needs To Wake Up

Nick Kurtz and Carlos Cortes have been doing the most to set up the rest of the lineup with easy RBI opportunities at the one and two spots of the lineup. Not only is Kurtz hitting .391 in the last seven days, but he has gotten on base in the last 46 games. Cortes has also been excellent, hitting .368 from the leadoff spot with a strong .959 OPS.

However, when you look at the 3-5 spots in the Athletics lineup over the last seven days, there is a serious bottleneck that needs to be fixed quickly. At the three spot, Shea Langeliers is hitting just .130 with a .527 OPS. Considering he is the Athletics' best hitter overall this season, this is troubling.

At the fourth spot is Brent Rooker, who is not much better. In the same time frame, he is hitting just .179 with a .544 OPS. Then, after him at five is Tyler Soderstrom, who is hitting .167 with a .453 OPS. Langeliers, Rooker, and Soderstrom are ranked bottom-three in the A's lineup this past week, which has created a huge void in the Athletics lineup.

With the A's still hoping to keep their status as the best in the West, they need to smooth out some of the kinks that have unraveled them in the past few days. With Medina taking his first start of the season, this is a great chance for the Athletics to reset and steal the final game of the series.