The Athletics aren’t surprised about their rising levels of success as they look for a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles when they close out a road trip Sunday afternoon.
“The expectation level was there,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “For us as a club, we’ve gotten better each year. Big emphasis on defense. Our emphasis on the mound is throwing strikes and not giving up free bases, which I think we did a good job with (Saturday). Those areas of improvement have allowed us to have some consistency in the way we play.”
Saturday’s 6-2 victory gave the Athletics a three-game winning streak for only the second time this season, maintaining their 2 1/2-game lead atop the American League West.
“The group has matured,” Kotsay said. “Obviously, you’d like to accelerate the progress.”
The Orioles have hit a rough patch with a three-game losing streak and defeats in eight of their last 10 games. Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said the number of strikeouts for the team’s batters (11) was concerning Saturday.
The Athletics like how Zack Gelof has adjusted to playing at third base. He had been groomed as an outfielder, but he made a couple of notable plays in the infield Saturday.
“The athleticism showed,” Kotsay said. ” … He’s settling in right now and he looks really comfortable over there.”
Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz carries a 33-game on-base streak into Sunday’s game. That’s the longest active streak in the majors, and it paid off Saturday as he scored half of the team’s six runs.
Right-hander Luis Severino (2-3, 4.15 ERA) gets the call on the mound for the Athletics and he’ll be aiming for his fourth consecutive solid start. He won two straight outings before being tagged with the loss Tuesday in Philadelphia while giving up one run in five innings. Each of his last three starts have involved yielding one run, with the other two outings lasting at least into the seventh inning.
Severino is 7-4 with a 5.38 ERA in 15 matchups (13 starts) against Baltimore. Of his 75 career victories, he owns more against the Orioles than any other team.
The Athletics have received good coverage from relievers the past few games.
“We’re going to go through games where the bullpen doesn’t have success,” Kotsay said. “That’s just part of the season. It’s never going to go perfect. For us, our bullpen, I think, has been a strength.”
The Orioles turn to right-hander Chris Bassitt (2-2, 5.91 ERA), who had his second-shortest outing of the season (four innings) Tuesday at Miami, where he gave up four runs in a no-decision. Baltimore has won the last five games Bassitt has started.
Bassitt holds a 3-1 record with a 4.20 ERA in eight career outings (seven starts) versus the Athletics.
The Orioles had infielder Blaze Alexander available off the bench after he sat out Friday with a calf injury.
“I just felt something a little different in my calf,” he said of the ailment, which resulted in only a one-day absence.
The Orioles had infielder Jose Barrero on hand Saturday from Triple-A Norfolk in case Alexander needed to be put on the injured list, but that wasn’t the case.
–Field Level Media
