Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
The Oakland A’s have played eight games so far in the 2021 season, and they’ve scored a total of 19 runs. Their 2.38 per-game average is the worst in the majors. Once they put up five, and once four, but otherwise every game has fallen between one and three runs. That’s not going to be enough.
However, eight games doesn’t tell you much in baseball. It’s certainly enough to get your attention, especially at the beginning of the year, and we’d even be talking about it if it came in the middle of the summer after three good months. But its a small enough sample that it’s worth looking under the hood before deciding how much to panic, and that’s doubly true when it’s a group of hitters who are supposed to be good and have track records to prove it.
Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images
The Oakland A’s are off to the worst start imaginable in 2021, and the losses have extended beyond just the standings.
After already losing players to wrist injuries in each of their first two games, the A’s had another player exit the game hurt on Sunday. This time it was
Chad Pinder, who was starting in right field.
The very first batter of the game hit a deep fly to right, and Pinder ranged back to make a leaping catch at the wall. However, he came down hard and slipped on the landing, then stayed on the ground for a moment before getting up gingerly.
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A s spring training observations: Buddy Reed, Nick Allen bring the defense
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MESA, Ariz. Outfield prospect
Buddy Reed hasn’t seen much game action in the A’s system. Oakland acquired him from the Padres in December 2019 as the player to be named for
Jurickson Profar. He got into a few games last spring training before it shut down.
On Sunday, as the A’s starting right fielder in their Cactus League opener, Reed made a quick impression, throwing out the Dodgers’
Matt Beaty at the plate on a sharply hit ball toward the line. Reed also made a throw to third that equally impressed manager
A s faith grows in reliever J.B. Wendelken
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As a returning A’s reliever,
J.B. Wendelken is a fan of the team’s recent flurry of bullpen moves: trading for
Adam Kolarek, signing
Trevor Rosenthal.
“I mean, high-fives all around to the guys that did the signing,” Wendelken said on a video call Sunday. “All the additions we have are absolutely gasoline to help us out, for sure. … Bullpen’s back in action.”
Wendelken was an understated factor in the A’s posting the majors’ lowest bullpen ERA (2.72) in 2020. The right-hander had a 1.80 ERA in 25 innings (second most after