A is ‘having fun’ after comeback victory secures third consecutive series

A is ‘having fun’ after comeback victory secures third consecutive series originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

Just when it seemed like the Washington Nationals having put the game away, Abraham Toro and the Athletics came to life in the sixth inning, scoring six runs to take the lead for good in a 7-6 victory at the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

The A’s offense looked listless through five innings as the Nationals built a 4-0 lead with Washington starter Trevor Williams in control. Oakland got a run in the fifth thanks to an RBI single by Shea Langeliers, but that was just the beginning.

With an offensive eruption aided by a few errors and wild pitching by the Nationals, the A’s destroyed Washington’s bullpen in the sixth inning and took the lead on Toro’s RBI single.

From there it was relatively smooth sailing, with closer Mason Miller hitting from the side to score the game-winner in the ninth.

The win gave Oakland its third consecutive series win for the first time since the 2021 MLB season, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by JJ Bleday, who is impressed with how the young team has come into its own to start the season.

“It’s been fun the last few weeks,” Bleday told NBC Sports California’s Brodie Brazil and Dave Stewart on “A’s Postgame Live.” “We started slowly [this season]but Kotsay trusted us and we had good feelings in spring training, and it was just a matter of time before we could feel comfortable and get those wins.”

A’s coach Mark Kotsay was pleased with the team’s resiliency and their focus on getting runners on base and scoring runs.

“In the sixth, those are the hits we look for,” Kotsay said. “To see them bounce back from the drop, I feel like this was a good game for us as a team to really build on. They hit professionally, didn’t try to do too much, took walks when they needed to.

When asked how he feels about the team winning its third consecutive series for the first time in three years, Kotsay pointed to the team’s recent road trip giving them the momentum to continue racking up wins.

“It is a good sign. We played really well away from home, we came home and I feel like we continued to play well,” Kotsay explained. “These guys started to come together. I think the road series was good for us and for us to continue playing well at home [is great].”

One of the biggest keys to success lately has been team discipline, making opposing pitchers work deep into counts and capitalizing on walks and wild pitches. The strategy was evident in that six-run sixth inning, as Oakland scored twice on a wild pitch and a walk by Washington.

Riding a wave of positive momentum, the A’s will host the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game series at the Coliseum starting Monday.