WEST SACRAMENTO – The Athletics returned from the All-Star break fully believing they are still capable of turning this season around. Before that could happen, they desperately just needed a win, something that had eluded them for over two weeks.
Mired in a brutal 10-game losing streak, it was going to take a big performance to snap out of it. Perhaps a big swing of the bat, or a dominant pitching performance. The A’s got both in Saturday night’s 15-1 blowout victory over the Nationals at Sutter Health Park.
One night after getting punched in the mouth by the Nationals in a 23-4 defeat that was easily the worst loss of the season, the A’s picked themselves back up and responded exactly the way manager Mark Kotsay hoped. The offense, sparked by Jacob Wilson’s booming 411-foot solo shot off Zack Littell to lead off the bottom of the first, racked up a season-high run total on 13 hits.
“Obviously, yesterday, we got our butts whooped,” Wilson said. “That hurt, and with the stretch we’ve been going through, it’s not a good feeling after the game sitting in the locker room. … That’s a win we definitely needed.”
J.T. Ginn was masterful as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before finishing with 6 1/3 scoreless frames. It was the second time Ginn has flirted with a no-no deep into a ballgame this season. This one was considerably less heartbreaking than the last one, which saw him lose a no-hit bid in the ninth against the Angels on May 18 before getting walked off for a loss.
In doing so, Ginn became the fourth A’s pitcher in the last 50 years with multiple no-hit bids of 6-plus innings in a season, joining:
2001 Mark Mulder
1992 Ron Darling (4)
1979 Mike Norris
On Saturday, Ginn held a comfortable 8-0 lead with one out in the seventh when Keibert Ruiz ended the bid by lining a single to center. That would be Ginn’s final batter faced, pulled by Kotsay and walking off the mound to a standing ovation from the crowd.
"Outside of that night at Angel Stadium, this was the best stuff he’s had in a while,” Kotsay said. “The sinker looked like it was really taking off arm-side. … A little different mix, but one that was effective tonight.”
Like Mulder some two decades ago, Ginn relies on his heavy sinker to keep the ball on the ground. Mulder had a strong secondary pitch in his curveball. For Ginn, it’s a much-improved changeup that has elevated him to another level this season.
Entering Saturday’s start, opponents were batting just .195 (15-for-77) against Ginn’s changeup. Against Washington, he generated 11 whiffs, six of which came on the changeup, which was utilized as the putaway pitch on four of his seven strikeouts on the night.
“The changeup is the weapon we thought he could develop to be effective here,” Kotsay said. “You’ve seen that this season. It’s a real weapon. It’s a swing-and-miss, as well as a soft-contact pitch.”
Developing that process has been a long process for Ginn; it's something he’s worked on for years. Now, it’s a clear weapon that is helping him consistently pitch deep into games, having completed at least six innings in nine of his last 14 starts.
"Going into the offseason, we knew we were going to have to develop some stuff to get the lefties out,” Ginn said. “The changeup is a pitch I’ve been working on forever. I found a grip that worked for me and the feel has been there all year. I’m just going to throw it more.”
Between Ginn’s gem and a much-needed offensive outburst, the A’s proved that every day is indeed a new day in baseball. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Saturday marked the third-largest increase in run differential from one game to the next all time:
+42: 1887 Phillies -28 to +14
+34: 2000 Yankees -13 to +21
+34: 1897 Chicago Colts (now Cubs) -5 to +29
+33: 2026 A’s -19 to +14
One win, no matter how large, does not get the A’s back on track. It does however, allow them to exhale and move forward without the cloud of a dreadful losing skid.
"I was having some conversations with Kotsay about just trying to have fun again,” Wilson said. “Celebrations, whatever it is, just try to have fun playing baseball. The guys did a great job doing that today. This is a game we could definitely build off.”