OAKLAND, Calif. — Forgive the Oakland Athletics if they seem to be searching the nooks and crannies of the Coliseum leading up to a three-game series against the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals, which begins Friday night.
The A’s are hoping to find their offense before the Royals arrive, or they could be planning to borrow some of the Golden State Warriors’ magic from the adjoining Oracle Arena.
Right now, the A’s can’t seem to find any hits, much less runs. They are hitting a collective .215 and are 1-6 on their home field. It could be worse. Oakland’s pitching, which ranked second in the AL as of Wednesday, has given it a chance to win a handful of close affairs.
“It’s mostly got to do with the way we’re swinging the bats right now,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Yeah, it’s disappointing. We come home with some momentum and get swept like this against a team that was really struggling with the bat.”
It’s not from lack of trying. The A’s continue to work on their hitting without many positive results.
“We’re just not making hard contact right now, let alone getting some hits,” Melvin said.
Added A’s infielder Chris Coughlan: “To struggle up and down, with the lineup we have, as long as we believe in ourselves and our ability, we’ll be on the right side. The only time it starts getting ugly is when you start losing confidence. So we can’t do that as a group.”