The Athletics were given an extra 24 hours to ponder their walk-off existence Saturday.
Their scheduled game at Target Field against the Minnesota Twins was postponed by rain and the two teams will play a split doubleheader Sunday to conclude their four-game series.
A season that once sparked optimism with a 17-17 record hit its nadir Friday night in a 6-5 loss to the Twins in the bottom of the 10th inning, the third time in the last four games they lost in their final at-bat.
The A’s are 26-46 and have lost 10 of their last 12 games and 13 of their previous 16. The Twins are 38-32.
The games Sunday will be played 11:10 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. (PDT). The Athletics will have two pitchers how have been solid of late in Joey Estes (2-2) and JP Sears (4-5) opposing Bailey Ober (5-4) and Chris Paddack (5-3).
When the A’s reached .500 on May 4, they did so with a 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins at the Coliseum. The game included a 10-run third inning, a pair of home runs by Brent Rooker and two by since demoted third baseman Brent Harris.
The A’s were 7-for-14 with runners in scoring position that day, an area where they’ve fallen on hard times during their fade to 20 games under .500. That’s only two fewer hits than they’ve had with runners in scoring position over the last 12 games (9-for-79), a span where Oakland has left 76 runners on base.
Since reaching .500, which was a stated goal from manager Mark Kotsay during spring training for the 2024 season, the A’s are 9-29.
Trading places
Zack Gelof, one of the bright lights as a rookie second baseman in a 112-loss season in 2023, has struggled to get untracked while battling injury and inconsistency.
Gelof was called up following the All-Star break last season and hit .267 with 20 doubles and 14 home runs in 69 games after being a second-round draft pick in 2021. He was a second-round draft pick in 2021.
An oblique injury cost Gelof 19 games this season, but he wasn’t hitting well before the injury or after it either. Gelof is hitting .164 (11-for-67) in his last 19 games and was hitting .196 in 24 games before he got hurt.
Soderstrom, a first-round pick in 2020, is in the midst of a modest six-game hitting streak and has four home runs over his last nine games. A first-round pick in 2020, Soderstrom hit .160 last season with three homer uns and seven RBIs in 45 games and at one point was returned to Triple-A.
Miller’s struggles
Closer Mason Miller has two blown saves in his last three opportunities but still leads all major league rookies with 12 saves.
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Over Miller’s last nine appearances, he has given up nine runs (six earned) and 11 1/3 innings after giving up just two runs in his first 16 games.
What’s next
After concluding the series against the Twins, the A’s take Monday off before hosting the Kansas City Royals in a three-game series at the Coliseum and a return three-game set against the Twins.
Kansas City (40-31) was running neck and neck with the A’s a year ago at this time for the worst record in the majors at 19-52 but is currently in second place in the American League Central.
