Prosperity just isn’t a good thing for the A’s pitching staff right now.
An early four-run lead went for naught as Oakland fell 8-7 to the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a four-game series at Target Field.
Once again the bullpen was victimized in a crucial situation, as Torii Hunter drilled a three-run homer off A’s reliever RJ Alvarez in the sixth inning to snap a 5-5 tie. But the starting pitching also let the A's down as right-hander Jesse Hahn gave away all of a 4-0 lead in the second, after Stephen Vogt’s grand slam in the first got the A’s off to a great start.
Two days earlier, the A’s couldn’t hold a 7-3 lead in a loss at Texas. In short, a familiar theme played out Monday as Oakland’s pitching short-circuited. The A’s lost for the eighth time in 11 games, though, true to their nature, they didn’t go quietly.
Vogt, who had a five-RBI night, doubled off the right field wall with two outs in the ninth to score Josh Reddick and bring the A’s within a run. But with the tying run on second, Craig Gentry went down swinging against Glen Perkins to end it.
Starting pitching report
The cardinal sin for a starter who’s pitching with a big lead is to issue walks. Hahn didn’t do that in the bottom of the second, but unfortunately for the A’s, he didn’t miss enough bats either. The Twins didn’t crush every ball against Hahn in a four-run rally that tied the game, but they kept traffic moving on the bases. Kennys Vargas and Eduardo Escobar singled, Jordan Schafer poked an opposite-field double. Danny Santana reached on an infield single. Then Hahn hung a curve that Brian Dozier hit deep to left field. Mark Canha nearly made a catch on the dead run but the ball glanced off his glove and Dozier’s two-run double tied the game.
Hahn settled in after that but he couldn’t get through six, and the A’s struggling bullpen was pressed into early duty once again. Vargas led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and Escobar doubled. Manager Bob Melvin pulled Hahn and brought in Alvarez.
Hahn gave up 10 hits over five-plus innings. He wound up charged with six runs, struck out five and didn’t walk anyone. It marks the fifth time in nine games that the A’s starter failed to pitch more than five innings, and that’s a trend that needs to change.
Bullpen report
The bullpen is taking on a tremendous workload of late, but it doesn’t forgive another game-changing hit. Alvarez was on the verge of working out of a no-out jam in the sixth, but with two outs, Hunter hit a laser into the left field seats to give Minnesota an 8-5 lead. It was Hunter’s 28th career homer against Oakland.
At the plate
Vogt continued a marvelous start to his season, going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs. He’s hitting .372 and ranks among the league leaders with 25 RBI.
In the field
Twins center fielder Jordan Schafer came up with a huge play in the top of the eighth. With a run in and a runner on second with two outs, Schafer made a tumbling catch of Burns’ fly to the right-center gap. Originally it was ruled no catch, but the call was accurately overturned on a replay review for the third out.
Up next
Jesse Chavez (0-2, 2.55) takes the hill in Tuesday’s 5:10 p.m. game, with right-hander Trevor May (2-1, 4.43) going for the Twins.
