A’s drop series opener to Braves 4-2

Tough time against the Atlanta pitching staff

The Athletics lost yet again on Friday night, losing the series-opener against the Atlanta Braves by a final of 4-2.

Sears hit early but settles in; Basso debut

The club was down right from the get-go tonight as the Braves got to starter JP Sears for a run in the first inning. Facing one of the best lineups in the league (even without superstar Ronald Acuña Jr.), Sears then proceeded to give up two more in the second inning on a 2-run double that made it 3-0 Braves.

You would be forgiven if at this point you thought Sears wasn’t long for the game. You’d be wrong though as the young lefty not only stayed in the game, he went another five frames while allowing just one more run. His final line from tonight’s start doesn’t look great on paper but considering the start to this game Sears did well to buckle down and not allow this game to get out of hand, while also getting some length so as to not tax the bullpen. A solid if unspectacular start from Sears, something that A’s fans are pretty much expecting from Sears every time out.

Other than Sears the only other pitcher that made an appearance tonight was rookie Brady Basso, who made his MLB debut tonight! And facing his first ever batter, he snapped off a wicked curveball to record his first career strikeout:

Very nice. We’d all love to see lots more of that going forward.

Bats quiet

The offense meanwhile was more or less helpless against Atlanta starter Reynaldo Lopez. The former starter-turned-reliever-turned-starter-again was signed over the offseason by Atlanta with the hope of getting a useful mid-rotation arm at best. Instead Lopez has been absolutely stellar for his new club, entering tonight with a 1.75 ERA in nine starts.

He continued his dominance tonight as he held down the Oakland offense for six innings, allowing just four hits and two walks. The club did actually get to Lopez for a run, courtesy of second baseman Zack Gelof:

That sac fly from the young second baseman got the Athletics on the board. It’s been a tough season for Gelof, from unrealistic expectations to underperforming to an injury. Seeing how Gelof can respond to these early struggles will be something to keep an eye over the next couple of months. Gelof finished the day 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored and is now hitting .179 on the season.

Outside of the Gelof RBI sac fly the bats didn’t do much of anything until the ninth inning. Facing Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias, Gelof led off the ninth with a ground-rule double and came around to score two batters later on an Aledmys Diaz RBI groundout (his first RBI of the year). That was it as Abraham Toro grounded out next to finish this game off.

Another day, another loss for the rebuilding A’s. The club now sits at 23-36 entering the month of June, good for fourth place in the AL West ahead of the Los Angeles Angels. Not what anyone was hoping for but also not as bad as some thought this team could be. At least we aren’t spending money to be bad, like the Angels.

The club gets right back at it tomorrow afternoon in the second game of the series. Veteran Aaron Brooks will take the ball for his fourth start this season, and he’ll be opposed by longtime stud lefty Chris Sale, who is having a huge bounce back season here in 2024. They’ll have their hands full yet again.