A’s offense finally awakens, pummels Chris Sale

Andujar, Schuemann, and Rooker went a combined 10-for-14 on the way to scoring 11 runs.

Count me as someone who thought the Oakland Athletics would get handily swept by the Atlanta Braves this weekend. After all, the team had to go up against an intimidating trio of starters in Reynaldo Lopez, Chris Sale, and Charlie Morton.

Lopez already shut the A’s down with 6 innings of one-run ball. I expected more of the same from the revitalized Sale, who’s looked nearly as dominant as he’s ever been and carries a 2.12 ERA/2.44 FIP at the ripe age of 35. The A’s flipped that prediction on its head immediately.

Miguel Andujar, coming into the game hitting a pedestrian .375/.360/.583 in his 6 games back, kicked the offense off with his first of four hits today, declaring loudly with a 100 mph grounder his quest for .400. A 2-out single from Shea Langeliers put a pair of runners on for Daz Cameron, who’s now apparently a middle-of-the-order threat. Watching a few Sale sliders pass him by, the dazzling Cameron shot the 4th slider of the at-bat deep off the left field wall, scoring both runners and giving the A’s an early 2-0 lead.

The Braves fired back with a couple runs of their own off a Marcell Ozuna two-run shot off A’s starter Aaron Brooks that tied the game. But Oakland had no interest in letting up as Zack Gelof led off the next inning with a big double over Adam Duvall’s head in right field. A pair of singles from Aledmys Diaz and Max Schuemann got Gelof in to retake the lead and put Andujar back at the plate already with just one inning down, and he did not waste a bit of it.

Sale challenged him with a 94 mph four-seamer down the middle and Andujar sent it right back over the left field wall, putting the A’s up 6-2.

Still not satisfied, especially against an offense as well-rounded as Atlanta’s, Brent Rooker joined the derby and blasted off with his own two-run moonshot that busted things open for the A’s and essentially ended Sale’s night.

However, as relentless the A’s offense was today, the Braves battled back with equal ferocity. After Brooks got through 4 passable innings, he ran out of gas in the 5th, allowing Atlanta to set the table to put up a big 6-spot on Oakland to steal the game back. The biggest hit of the inning was a two-run homer from none other than former A’s All-Star Matt Olson.

That breakdown led to some frustration in the A’s dugout, with Mark Kotsay arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire and getting himself his first ejection since September of last season.

No worries though for the A’s big three of Brent Rooker, Miguel Andujar, and... Max Schuemann? The latter two sparked yet another rally with a single each that gave Rook runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out. The soon-to-be two-time All-Star nearly sent another one out to continue his torrid run to start the season, bouncing the ball off the opposite field wall and scoring both of his bash brothers to take back the lead.

Schuemann and Andujar then combined for another pair of hits in the top of the 8th to buy the A’s an insurance run and giving them an 11-9 lead they’d never relinquish. Each ended the night with 4 hits apiece and have unexpectedly made themselves indispensable to this A’s squad. We all had a feeling Andujar would have some more juice in his bat this year after his Spring Training showing, but I don’t think anyone saw Schuemann hitting as well as he has as the A’s emergency yet permanent shortstop.

After Brooks and T.J. McFarland struggled by allowing 9 runs in their first 5 innings, the rest of the bullpen figured out how to quiet the Braves. Five relievers combined for 4 innings of shutout ball, topped off by a surprising save opportunity for the just-recalled Dany Jimenez. The A’s former closer entered the game with a pretty 3.68 ERA in the majors this season but has struggle all year with his command, walking 13 batters in 14 innings and getting sent down to Triple-A.

With this being his first outing back in The Show, you’d think Kotsay and his staff would ease him into a 6th inning appearance or something, but with Mason Miller unavailable, they apparently were saving Jimenez for the 9th. Against all odds, he stepped up and got it done. Despite allowing a big leadoff double to Olson, the veteran put down the next 3 batters in order, including an Adam Duvall strikeout to end the game and secure his first save since Opening Day 2023, aka the one and only Kyle Muller game.

Tomorrow will now unexpectedly be a rubber match with the returning Luis Medina making his season debut against the battle-tested Charlie Morton.