DETROIT -- Hitting the road after a brutal 1-5 homestand last week, the Athletics received a potential jolt ahead of Tuesday’s 6-2 series-opening loss to the Tigers with the return of All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson, who was activated from the injured list and back in the starting lineup.
Wilson is the second player to return to the A’s from injury in the past week. Over the weekend, Zack Gelof made his way back from a right hand contusion. The good news on the injury front does not stop there. Those two offensive catalysts could also be joined by slugger Tyler Soderstrom, sidelined since June 28 with a left hip impingement, later this series.
“Obviously, we’ve gone through some injuries,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “For us, getting Wilson and Gelof back brings some continuity back to the lineup and the group. There’s a possibility we can get Tyler back very soon as well. … It’s good to have some of that group back together.”
The A’s are hopeful that getting healthier can help stabilize what has been a freefall as of late. They’re now an MLB-worst 6-15 since June 14, falling from second place to fourth in the American League West during that rough stretch. Even so, they remain very much alive in the playoff hunt, beginning Tuesday 5 1/2 games behind first-place Seattle in the division and four games out of the third AL Wild Card spot.
For this next week of games before the All-Star break, the A’s must do all they can to stay afloat. The focus is no different than it has been all season: Try to win each series, something they haven’t done since taking two of three from the Rockies June 12-14, starting with this three-game series against Detroit before another three-game set with the White Sox in Chicago over the weekend.
“We’d like to have a winning road trip,” Kotsay said. “I talked to the guys today that, even though we’ve struggled of late and lost some games, there’s a long season left and a lot of games to play. We’ve traditionally been a better second-half team. It’ll be nice to get some pieces back to help with that.”
The biggest area for improvement is pitching, particularly at home, where the A’s have compiled a 6.31 ERA at Sutter Health Park as opposed to the 3.71 road ERA they entered Tuesday with. They’ll look to continue that road success, then look to address those home woes after the All-Star break.
“We’ve got to improve on the mound, especially at home,” Kotsay said. “The home/road splits are significant. We have to figure out how to pitch in our home ballpark. It’s tough for an offense that can score runs to be down big, especially in the first couple of innings. It kills momentum. The starters are aware. … Right now, on this road trip, the focus is to win as many games as possible.”
The A’s will also have to play better defense than what they showed on Tuesday night. Trailing, 2-1, in the bottom of the sixth, reliever Jacob Lopez looked as if he would get out of the inning scoreless on a fly ball hit to shallow right-center by pinch-hitter Ben Malgeri that should have been an inning-ending flyout. Instead, a miscommunication between right fielder Lawrence Butler and second baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer led to the ball falling between the teammates, plating a run and opening the floodgates for a four-run rally by the Tigers, all with two outs.
“The ball has to be caught,” Kotsay said. “It’s a communication play. KG went after it, calling it. Lawrence is coming in from right, calling it. Obviously, it’s the outfielder’s priority to come make that play. KG bailed out of the way. Whether that distracted Lawrence to not make the play, it was a play that obviously should be made.”
That defensive miscue proved costly, as Shea Langeliers came up in the top of the seventh and lined an RBI single to center field for what very well could have been the game-tying run had that ball been caught the previous inning.
"The [sixth] inning should have been over,” Kotsay said. “We should have been a 2-2 game at that point.”