Oakland Athletics 2013 Season in Review

July 21, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics right fielder Josh Reddick (16) celebrates after scoring a run during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

JULY

Thanks to a rough stretch for the Rangers in mid-June, the A’s are still only half a game back from their division rival for first place in the AL West to start the month, although they had led by three games as recently as June 18. They go 8-4 and win all four series they play before the All-Star break (vs. Cubs, @ Kansas City, @ Pittsburgh, vs. Boston), but they surely would’ve liked to pull off the sweep in two of those scenarios. Oakland comes out of the break somewhat flat, going 6-7 to finish the month at 63-45. The A’s hitters post their worst monthly batting split of the season (.222/.294/.354) with a season-low 93 runs, but they remain four games ahead of the Rangers after their worst month of the season that includes a 3-12 stretch.

AUGUST

The mid-summer slide continues as Oakland starts off August 1-4, but Josh Reddick’s three home run, five RBI game in Toronto gets them back on track, and he hits for two more in a 5-4 loss the following day where they get their first glimpse of Sonny Gray as a starter, as he throws six innings with five strikeouts and three walks to start his career 0-1. The A’s take the next two before heading home and dropping two straight against Houston, the first coming after a lackluster start from Bartolo Colon in which the All-Star gave up five runs on seven hits in only four innings. That prompted a short stint on the disabled list for the 40-year-old right-hander, but the A’s got a silver lining when Gray earned the first win of his career to avoid a sweep in the series finale. The fashion in which he got it was just as important, as the 23-year-old went eight innings and struck out nine with one walk, allowing no runs and only four hits to display the promise that had surrounded him for so long in Triple-A. Oakland then took two of three from the Indians before losing three against Seattle and Baltimore. Meanwhile, Texas strung together a 14-3 run to take a three and a half game lead in the AL West. After salvaging a win in the three-game series against the Orioles, the A’s went in to Detroit needing badly needing a series victory against arguably the top pitching staff in the Majors. The Tigers had won six of eight heading into the four-game matchup, but they would lose three straight as the A’s offense awoke and outscored the big-swinging Tigers 34-20 in the four-game series. Detroit took the final game, however, thanks to a walkoff three-run homer by Torii Hunter after Colon made his return start from the DL and threw five innings, limiting Detroit to one run on seven hits before the bullpen surrendered the loss. The A’s weren’t fazed, however, and they proceeded to take two from the Rays to finish August with a 14-13 record before getting the sweep on September 1. Overall record by August 31: 77-58, two games behind Texas in AL West.

SEPTEMBER

Following the sweep of Tampa Bay, the A’s return home and take two of three from the Rangers, sending their AL West counterpart into a tailspin as they drop 12 of their next 16 games. Oakland pads their win total against Houston and Minnesota and then sweep the Rangers in Arlington to expand their division lead to six and a half games by September 15. That final series against Texas forms a clear path to the playoffs for the A’s, who go 8-5 down the stretch and fall one game short of grabbing home field advantage for the playoffs (A’s finish 96-66, Red Sox finish 97-65). Oakland leads the league in extra-base hits, overall hits, total bases and tied for first for most RBI’s in the final month of the regular season. They head into the playoffs with their best offensive month of the season behind them, and the pitching staff putting together their lowest monthly ERA and SO/9 IP. Record in September: 19-8.