How Athletics Can Avoid Four-Game Sweep vs. Royals

Granted, Gage Jump has not been the pitcher we saw before the All-Star break. Since then, Jump has pitched 29.1 innings, allowing 20 runs with a nasty 6.14 ERA. Even the likes of Jeffrey Springs have a better ERA (5.63) than Jump since the break. However, Jump has seemingly turned a corner in his last two starts.

Two starts ago vs. Boston, Jump struck out 11 batters while allowing just two runs in 6.0 innings pitched. After that, he pitched 5.1 innings while allowing three hits and three runs. If he can stay on this trajectory, there is no reason why the Athletics cannot avoid a sweep.

Better Bullpen Management

In the last two games, the only real decider between the two teams has been the bullpen. But considering that this same group would go 6.2 innings allowing one run, it is easy to see what has changed. After a solid series vs. the Rangers, it is obvious that Mark Kotsay has completely abandoned the script in favor of a strategy that has proven to be bankrupt all season.

This new strategy is heavily based on stats. Kotsay loves to create favorable situations, such as a right-handed batter against a right-handed pitcher. While in theory this should work, time and time again this group has simply been unable to take advantage of these situations. Compared to the Rangers series, where Kotsay would leave in pitchers who were pitching well, only to take them out when any resemblance of a crack would form. This worked amazingly.

Offense Cannot Go Dormant

In both Wednesday's and Tuesday's outings, the Athletics would lead for a majority of the game. However, once it got late, from the seventh to the ninth innings, the Athletics would struggle to deal any meaningful damage. This has caused the Athletics to lose a lot of momentum, which, in turn, has allowed Kansas City to get back in the game.

Even though the Athletics have been able to score a decent number of runs of late, which for any other team would be enough for wins, there has simply been a lack of urgency for the Athletics' offense to finish games strong. If there is any hope of avoiding a sweep, the Athletics need to figure out how to spread the scoring across the entire game, not just a few innings before the seventh inning.