The A’s At The Midway Point Of The 2021 Season
Jun 30, 2021, 12:08 PM | Updated: 12:08 pm
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
The Oakland A’s have played exactly half of their 2021 season.
They reach this point at (47-34) and they trail the Houston Astros by a game and a half. The A’s and Astros to this point have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the division with the Mariners in third place, seven games back of the top spot.
Looking back on this journey you just can’t ignore the brutal beginning for the green and gold.
The A’s lost their first 6 games and had a record of (1-7) after 8 games and weren’t even that competitive in those games. It did turn and turned quickly. That is when the A’s ripped off 13 consecutive wins. They had a couple of walk off wins and they were finding the magic that this teams has seemed to have over the last couple of years.
Once the season started to settle in a couple of common threads started to develop. The A’s have been getting quality starts from their pitching but at times the bullpen has let them down. The defense has been as solid as ever and just enough of the bats have found times to rotate who is hot. Early on it was Jed Lowrie who was swinging the hot lumber, then it was Canha, Kemp and Champan have taken their turns while Olson has been playing at a high level all season.
Along the ride Bob Melvin set the club record for most wins by an Oakland A’s manager.
They have continued to ride the bat of Matt Olson and Chris Bassitt has had a terrific first half. One area to watch as the season goes along is how the A’s play against the best competition. They lost series in the first half to the Dodgers, the Yankees, the Giants and to the Astros a couple of times. Before the break the get Boston this weekend and Houston next week.
The A’s spent most of the first half in the top spot but the Astros have caught them. It will be interesting the see if the A’s make a move to better the team. Look for some bullpen help and maybe one more consistent bat to help propel them into the second half.
