Loss has A's still seeking offensive breakout

SEATTLE -- The A’s nearly salvaged what was a frustrating day on offense with runners in scoring position. Instead, a promising late-inning comeback attempt resulted in a heartbreaking finish.

Trailing by two runs after the seventh, the A’s stormed back to tie the game on Sean Murphy's RBI double in the eighth and took the lead on Aramis Garcia's go-ahead RBI single in the 10th. But Lou Trivino was unable to hold onto a one-run lead, surrendering two runs in the bottom half for a 6-5 walk-off loss to the Mariners in 10 innings Monday at T-Mobile Park.

Trivino’s undoing in the 10th wasn't entirely his own doing. Though he gave up a game-tying single to Ty France, J.P. Crawford smashed a low liner to right one batter later that maneuvered its way past the glove of two-time Gold Glove Award winner Matt Olson near the first-base bag. The play was ruled an error on Olson, allowing France to move to third on a ball that had the potential to be an inning-ending double play. With the inning extended, Tom Murphy later took advantage with a game-winning sacrifice fly.

“It came off with a little weird spin,” Olson said of the ball hit by Crawford. “I don’t know if it hit the lip [of the glove] or stayed down because of it. That was a tough one.”

The loss was yet another for the A’s in which they went homerless. They’re now 5-13 in games without a home run and 3-16 when out-homered in a contest this season, having not hit one since Wednesday at the Coliseum against Seattle.

Monday’s loss, however, saw the A’s generate plenty of opportunities to score without the long ball. The problem was that they didn’t cash in, finishing the day 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Entering Monday with the third most home runs in baseball, it’s clear that the A’s are at their best when that aspect of their game is working. That’s why after they went a fifth straight game without leaving the yard, Olson said it might take a long ball from someone to get things going again on offense.

“Good teams have to find a way to do both,” Olson said. “We were able to put up some runs today without hitting homers. But sometimes you get rolling when one person [homers].”

It was easy to forget that James Kaprielian -- Oakland’s No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- was a rookie with the poise he displayed during an impressive stretch to begin his season. His start on Monday, however, was a reminder that he’s still only a handful of starts into his big league career.

Kaprielian dug the A’s an early hole, surrendering four runs and lasting just 3 2/3 innings. Coming off the best game of his young career against these same Mariners just last week as he tossed seven scoreless innings, the 27-year-old righty ended up turning in his shortest outing of the season this time around.

While the back-breaking blow to Kaprielian came in the form of a three-run shot by Donovan Walton that came with two strikes and two outs in what turned out to be a four-run fourth for Seattle, more frustrating for the right-hander was his lack of command. He tied a season-high with three walks and also hit two batters. The buildup to Walton’s first big league homer included a walk and hit by pitch earlier in the inning.

“That’s what bums me out the most about this start,” Kaprielian said. “Giving guys a free 90 feet. I made a couple of mistakes, but it’s the walks and hit by pitches. I’m better than that. I know I am. That blows innings out of proportion and makes a one-run inning a four-run inning.”

There was a hope that center fielder Ramón Laureano (right groin tightness) would return at some point in this series and provide a much-needed spark with his all-around exciting style of play. But the chances of that happening took a major blow on Monday, as A’s manager Bob Melvin revealed that Laureano did not feel good after taking batting practice during pregame warmups in Seattle and is likely going to require a stint on the injured list.

So in order to break out of this rough stretch -- the A’s have now dropped three in a row and six of their last nine -- they’ll need that breakthrough to come from another source.

“We just can’t get overly frustrated,” Melvin said. “We have to come out and win a game tomorrow.”