Kotsay doesn’t believe Blanco controversy impacted A’s loss

Kotsay doesn’t believe Blanco controversy impacted A’s loss originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

What turned into a thrilling baseball contest between the Houston Astros and Athletics was overshadowed by an ejection Tuesday at Minute Maid Park.

Astros starter Ronel Blanco was sent off of Houston’s eventual 2-1 victory in the top of the fourth inning after umpires discovered a foreign substance on his glove.

The ejection could lead to an immediate 10-game suspension, as MLB has done a rule change in 2021 to substantially punish pitchers found with substances on their gloves. This was the seventh time since the rule was created in 2021 that a pitcher was removed from a game due to a substance on his glove.

Manager Mark Kotsay didn’t think Blanco’s ejection had that big of an impact, as his team struggled to get hits and produce runs against Houston’s solid bullpen.

“I don’t think it impacted us,” Kotsay said. “They got three innings out of him and then went to the bullpen, and then obviously used all their leverage guys tonight. For us to arrive [Ryan] Press and run… Obviously our offense the last two nights hasn’t done much, these guys pitched us really well and we have two games left.

Adding resin or other sticky substances can alter the ball’s grip, something that is not allowed in the league. Blanco was examined by the umpires, who then took his glove for further examination and removed the 30-year-old from the game. Blanco has been one of the Astros’ best pitchers this season, throwing a no-hitter in his first start earlier this season.

After the game, Blanco told reporters that he had resin on his arm and that it must have somehow transferred to his glove, adding that he didn’t know it was against the rules (h/t Chandler Rome of the Athletic).

The A’s struggled against Blanco and the Houston bullpen, going scoreless until Brent Rooker’s RBI single in the eighth.

Oakland starter JP Sears and the rest of the pitching staff held the Astros to just one run via an Alex Bregman home run before the game went into extra innings.

Despite having two runners on base in the top of the tenth inning, the A’s were unable to score, allowing the Astros to retire. Houston did just that in the bottom of the inning, winning the game thanks to a Victor Caratini RBI single.

While Oakland’s pitching kept them in the game, their lack of hitting in recent games left the team in a slump, losing eight of their last 10 games.

The A’s have two more games against the Astros to fix the situation, and given the quality of Oakland’s pitching, the team will have an opportunity to get back on track.