The Athletics punched back Sunday and briefly erased a four-run hole, but their bullpen could not hold the line in a 12-6 loss to the Guardians at Goodyear Ballpark.
Oakland fell to 11-13 in spring training after Cleveland answered a 6-6 tie with a four-run sixth and back-to-back homers in the seventh.
Fast trouble, fast answer
The Guardians came out swinging.
Cleveland scored four times in the first, getting a two-run double from Chase DeLauter and a three-run homer from David Fry after the A’s grabbed an early lead on Colby Thomas’ solo shot. The Guardians added two more in the second on Jose Ramirez’s two-run double and built a 6-2 edge.
The A’s did not go away, though. Cade Marlowe homered in the second, then Oakland chipped away in the fifth when Max Muncy lined a two-run single to center. An inning later, Leo De Vries tied the game at 6-6 with a two-run homer to right.
For a moment, it looked like the A’s had seized the momentum.
Sixth inning flips it for good
Instead, Cleveland took it right back.
Steven Kwan opened the bottom of the sixth with a triple, Gabriel Arias followed with an RBI single and the Guardians kept rolling. DeLauter brought home another run on a groundout, then Rhys Hoskins crushed a two-run homer to left that turned a tie game into a 10-6 Cleveland lead.
The Guardians were not done. CJ Kayfus and Stuart Fairchild went back to back in the seventh to stretch the margin to six and put the game out of reach.
Zane Taylor was charged with six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings and took the loss.
Plenty of hits, not enough stops
Oakland finished with 15 hits, the same total as Cleveland, but could not turn enough traffic into damage.
Thomas went 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs. Austin Wynns added two hits. Michael Stefanic went 3-for-3, while De Vries finished 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Marlowe also homered, and Muncy drove in two.
Still, the A’s went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base. Cleveland, meanwhile, went 6-for-12 in those spots and made nearly every big swing count.
Bullpen cracks after tie game
Jack Perkins and Matt Krook helped settle things after the rocky start, combining for 3 1/3 scoreless innings as the A’s clawed back.
However, once Oakland tied it, the bullpen unravelled. Taylor gave up the game-changing rally in the sixth, then stayed on for the seventh and allowed the Kayfus and Fairchild home runs that buried the comeback.
That turned what could have been a clean spring rally into a frustrating finish.
Up next
The A’s did not get blown out from the first pitch. They got back in it, made it a game and then let it slip. That is the part that will sting.
Oakland showed enough at the plate to believe the offense is still rolling. On this day, though, the Guardians answered every opening and made the A’s pay late.
Up next
With only 11 days until the regular season starts, the A’s host the Angels today, March 16, at 1:05 p.m.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
