A’s drop series finale in Colorado, lose 12-5

Still won the series!

The A’s dropped the series finale in Colorado on Sunday afternoon, losing in the yellow jerseys and getting crushed by the Rockies 12-5, seeing a chance at a series sweep slip away. Not a great way to end the road trip but at least they won the series.

The Rockies starter today was Chase Dollander, a highly-touted right-hander making his MLB debut. Facing Lawrence Butler to lead off the game and his career, Dollander only needed one pitch to get Butler out, though he did need a nice play out in left to get it done. The next batter reached via single and eventually first baseman Tyler Soderstrom came up. He took the second pitch he saw from Dollander and crushed it over the right field wall for a 2-run home run:

Those were the first runs that Dollander gave up in his career but they won’t be the last. Soderstrom’s fourth home run of the season gave A’s starter Joey Estes a lead before he even stepped on the mound. The club wanted a big outing from the 23-year old today, and he really needed one for himself after a rough outing to start the season last time out.

There would be no shut down inning for the righty. The first batter he faced immediately hit a leadoff home run to halve the lead, then a single, stolen base, and another single tied this game right back up. So much for that early lead, though on the bright side he did collect his first strikeout of the season. Colorado then added on in the second inning and third innings, tacking on three more runs in the second and one in the third to make it a 6-2 game. Estes’ day was finished after three frames, following up his first start with another dud.

• Joey Estes: 3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 61 pitches

Not the start that he was hoping for. Given an early lead Estes gave it right back and then some, putting the team in a hole from the outset of the game. It was a bit of a surprise to see Estes open the season with the big league club and now the question of how long his leash is is getting bigger. He needs to step it up next time out, currently scheduled to be against the New York Mets. Right-hander Mitch Spence, who Estes beat out for that fifth and final rotation slot, relieved Estes and tossed five innings of one-run ball, keeping the score close, saving the bullpen, and giving the bats at least a chance to get back into this one.

The A’s now needed to start the comeback journey. Dollander settled in a bit with the lead but a rally in the fourth saw the A’s collect three straight hits to chip into the deficit, though Jacob Wilson killed the rally momentum hesitating on the basepaths and getting thrown out at third. They continued to cut into the deficit the next frame when Lawrence Butler finally hit his first home run of the season:

The right fielder had high expectations coming into the season after a torrid season-half last season and a terrific spring this year. He’s gotten off to a lukewarm start but finally has that first homer monkey off his back. Hopefully this is the moment where he turns it on.

That solo blast made it a three-run game, and in Colorado that lead is extra small. The A’s were finally into the Colorado bullpen after five innings from Dollander in his debut. The Rockies bullpen stifled the A’s bats however as the team couldn’t manage a baserunner until all the way to the ninth inning, when the game was all but decided.

That lack of offense ultimately wouldn’t matter. The Rockies blew this game open in the bottom of the eighth and added on five more runs, two off of Spence who was pitching into his sixth inning of work. TJ McFarland allowed three runs himself in relief, effectively putting this game completely out of reach of a comeback. The team put up a small fight at the end, scoring a run off a Butler RBI single but it was just too much of a lead to overcome as Brent Rooker flied out to right to end the game.

Well that’s a bummer. The team had an excellent chance to get their first sweep of the season, but a series win will have to do and they now stand at 4-6. The toughest part today was seeing Estes continue to struggle to begin the season and questions are going to start bubbling up if he doesn’t bounce back soon. This team is also strikeout prone, punching out 13 times today, including Jacob Wilson’s first two this season. He is still looking for his first walk this year as well.

On the bright side Wilson extended his hit streak to 11 games (including last year), which is the current MLB lead. Soderstrom continued his power stroke with his fourth blast, and Butler got in on that action with his first. Spence was terrific out of the bullpen and put the “long” in long-man with five innings that saved the bullpen from getting taxed. If the club does make a change in the rotation with Estes, Spence is a good bet to take advantage of that opportunity. We’ll be monitoring that situation.

The club departs Colorado winning the series and heads back to Sacramento to begin a six-game home stand against a pair of NL foes. First up will be the Padres, who the A’s will take on tomorrow evening. The Green & Gold will send out Luis Severino for his third start of the season while San Diego will counter with right-hander Michael King. Should be another good series!