Luis Media Oakland A’s starter delivers to the Kansas City Royals in the top of the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jun 19, 2024 (AP News photo)
Kansas City (41-34). 000 010 000. 1. 8. 1
Athletics (28-48). 002 000 21x. 5. 8. 0
Time: 2:35
Attendance: 4,557
Wednesday, June 19
Oakland, CA
By Lewis Rubman
OAKLAND–The temperature cooled off for this Wednesday evening’s game between the Kansas City Royals and the barn storming Athletics, but the green and gold didn’t. They defeated KC for the second time in a row, this time by four runs, 5-1.
Luis Medina, the Athletics’ starting pitcher, came to the organization at the 2022 trading deadline, when he, along with Cooper Bowman, JP Sears, and Ken Waldichuk in exchange for Frankie Montás and Lou Trivino.
He made it to the majors last year, when he went 3-10, 5.42. He’s had his troubles this season. He was on the injured list until June 2 and had gone 0-2, 5.87 before his 6:42 game opening pitch. His first start after rejoining the team had been his best; he hurled 5-2/3 frames of two hit ball, allowing one run, which was unearned, in a no-decision against the Braves in Atlanta.
Wednesday night’s win was first career appearance against the Royals and left him with a season record of 1-2, 4.71. He lasted 5-2/3 innings, leaving after throwing 88 pitches, 54 for strikes, with a 2-1 lead and a runner on first. He’d allowed six hits and two walks, and the run he was charged with was earned. He struck out three Royals.
Medina was followed by TJ McFarland, who closed out the sixth, Dany Jímenez took care of the Royals, allowing a single before an around the horn double play closed the books on KC for the inning. Austin Adams yielded a double, and that was it for them in the eighth. Mason Miller earned his eighth save and second in two days. Tonight he gave up a walk while striking out two and inducing an infield popup.
The starting pitcher for Kansas City, southpaw Cole Ragans, has had a checkered career. He’s undergone two Tommy John surgeries and lost the 2020 season to the COVID pandemic. He came to the Royals a little less than a year ago in the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Texas Rangers. Ragans went a combined 7-5, 3.47 last year and was the AL Pitcher of the Month in August.
This season, he was 4-4, 3.14 when he toed the rubber in the bottom of the first. When he left the field for the clubhouse showers after six innings, the 26 year old had yielded a pair of runs, both of them earned, on four hits, four walks, and two wild pitches. His total pitch count was 102, 65 of which met the scoring definition of a strike, i.e. they were called strikes by the umpire, the batter swung on them and missed, or there was contact with the bat. With the loss, his record dimmed to 4-5, 3.13.
John Schrieber, Dan Altavilla, and Chris Stratten also pitched for the visitors.
The Athletics took advantage of Ragans’ wildness in the bottom of the third to go ahead, 2-0. Max Scheumann led off with a four pitch walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. JJ Bleday filled the void at first by drawing another walk.
Then Miguel Andújar delayed his swing to send an opposite field single to right that drove in Schuemann and sent Bleday to third. Brent Rooker’s single to left brought in Bleday with the second tally. Andújar further burnished his credentials by throwing Salvador Pérez at second when the KC catcher tried to stretch his lead off single to left. It was an excellent night for Andújar, who went three for five, boosting his batting average to .330.
Wildness cost Medina as well. He walked Nelson Velásquez to begin the visitors’ fifth. A wild pitch to Kyle Isbel, the next batter, gave Velásquez second base as a gift, and he scored on Bobby Witt, Jr.’s down the line double to left. Witt got halfway to the plate on another wild pitch, but Medina got Vinny Pasquantino to fly out to center, allowing the A’s to escape the episode still leading, but now by a thread, 2-1.
The green and gold tacked on. another two runs with Schreiber on the mound in the seventh. He walked Schuemann with one down. Bleday forced him at second but beat the throw to first. Kansas City claimed that Schuemann had committed a baseline violation, but the review crew in New York disagreed. Back to back singles by Andújar and Nevuins brought them home.
It looked as though Zack Gelof hadn’t completely broken out of his slump when he faced Altavilla in the bottom of the eighth. The A’s second sacker had whiffed twice and grounded out in three at bats, he took a 2-1 offering 434 feet deep to center for his second home run in two days and seventh for the season, making it a 5-2 lead for the A’s and ending Altavilla’s night.
Who’d have thought it? The A’s will go for the sweep Thursday, at 12:37 sending Mitch Spence (4-3, 3.95) against Seth Lugo (10-2, 2.40).
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