A’s Offense Significantly Better Away from Oakland
Jun 4, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:29 am
(John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS via Getty Images)
(John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS via Getty Images)
by Matt George – Sports 1140 KHTK Reporter
The Oakland Athletics are 60 games into their 2018 regular season. At 31-29 on the season, despite being 4th in the AL West, A’s fans are fired up with the unexpected success of their ball club, especially on the road.
In seasons past, the Athletics managed a lot of success inside the Coliseum, only to falter outside of Oakland. This season, with an even 30/30 split of home and road games so far, the A’s are going against the grain in 2018.
Just looking at Oakland’s home (15-15) and road (16-14) records, a one win difference between them, nobody would expect for the team’s offensive numbers to differ so drastically. However, the Athletic’s recent stretch of home woes, only scoring 22 runs in their 10 game home-stand, followed by a 25 run 3-game series in Kansas City, is a perfect representation.
Inside the Coliseum, Oakland’s lineup is batting .222 with 104 total runs, 99 RBIs, and 22 home runs. That’s an average of 3.46 runs, 3.3 RBIs and .73 homers per home game. Outside the Coliseum, the A’s numbers are significantly better, batting .257 with 165 runs, 161 RBIs and 53 homers. That’s 5.5 runs, 5.36 RBIs and 1.76 homers per road game.
Matt Olson hits a 3-run jack to extend the A's lead to 5-1 in the 8th inning ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/m817nz68nl
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 3, 2018
The A’s hitters appear to be more aggressive at the plate when on the road, as indicated by their strikeout numbers; 264 strike outs at home and 273 away. Their on-base percentage (.294/.328) and slugging percentage (.352/.469) are also drastically improved.
While the Athletics are pleased with their performance on the road thus far this season, they know that being successful on your home turf is crucial for positioning in the AL West and the AL Wild Card standings. The AL-West leading Seattle Mariners (20-12) and defending World Series Champion Houston Astros (18-13) are among the MLB leaders for best home records this season.
The A’s face the Texas Rangers for a brief two game series in Arlington Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home for another 10 game set against the Royals, Astros, and Los Angeles Angels.
