One out separated the Oakland A’s from the offseason. One run separated them from tying the game.
Khris Davis then stepped into the batter’s box as a pinch hitter, still without a home run since his return to the A’s in August. On Blake Taylor’s 3-1 slider, Davis launched a solo home run 409 feet into the left field stands to tie the Astros at 6-6. Even with the A’s postseason hopes shot and this particular Game 162 meaning nothing to either team, Davis’ blast was something to cheer about.
“It felt great just to contribute and help keep the season that much more alive,” Davis said. “But yeah, I was happy and all my teammates were happy and that’s what it’s about, making them happy. There’s not a better feeling.”
The bit of happiness faded a bit in the bottom of the inning when the Astros put together a rally culminating with pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel’s walk-off single to secure the 7-6 win over Oakland on Sunday afternoon.
The loss was inconsequential. With all eyes on the American League wild card and National League West crown races holding all the drama, the A’s sailed off into the offseason with a disappointing 86-76 record and third-place finish in the American League West. While MLB’s best will bear down for October baseball, the A’s will miss the postseason for the first time in three years and sail off into an early offseason.
“He hit a home run we’ve seen him do so many times here after a tough battle and road back here to the big leagues,” manager Bob Melvin said. “To be able to finish it off like that warmed everyone’s heart here. We didn’t finish off the game like we wanted to, but to have the fight in the ninth inning to come back and finish it off like that, it was a good feeling. Unfortunately we came up short in the end.”
At least they showed some fight in the season finale. Davis’s ninth-inning home run came after Seth Brown’s two-run home run of Zack Greinke sliced into Houston’s three-run lead. It was Brown’s 20th home run of the season. He hit his 19th earlier in the game off starter Jose Urquidy, giving the A’s an early 1-0 lead.
In a league that thrives on optimizing match-ups, particularly left-handed versus right-handed, Brown proved that he is deserving of more consistent big league playing time.
“This is just the start for Brownie,” Melvin said. “He had to prove himself at the big league level, up and down not a ton of consistent start. Next thing he shows up this year and has 20 home runs. I think this is really going to push him into being a bonafide big leaguer with a lot of power.”
Cole Irvin rounded out his first complete season as a main starter with a six-inning outing. Irvin allowed three home runs, the first a solo blast to Chas McCormick that erased the A’s early one-run lead. The second to Jake Meyers, to erase the lead Tony Kemp earned with his opposite field home run early. The third was from Kyle Tucker with Jose Altuve aboard to give the Astros a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning.
Irvin dubbed himself a seat-warmer at season’s start until an injured Mike Fiers returned to the rotation. But Fiers dealt with injuries throughout the season, and Irvin solidified his starter’s role with consistency that tapered off toward the later months. He finishes with a 4.24 ERA in 32 starts, the most the 27-year-old has pitched in his career.
“The team gave me an opportunity and I tried to run with it as long as possible,” Irvin said. “So for me it’s more of a gratitude I have for the club, giving me this opportunity to be able to make every start and prove that I can be an everyday piece in a rotation, and prove that to myself.”
A handful of seasons ended on a high for the A’s. Kemp rounded out his best career season with an opposite field home run and a sacrifice fly to score another of the A’s three runs to show for it on the final day. In the series against his former team, Kemp went 7-for-11 with four RBIs.
Kemp entered the final game batting .345 with 14 walks and two hit by pitches over his last 41 games. A stretch that also included 88 consecutive at-bats without a strikeout that ended last Saturday.
Matt Chapman, Josh Harrison and Starling Marte were among the regular starters who took the final day off to rest their banged-up bodies. Matt Olson insisted on playing, perhaps to try for his 40th home run of the year — he finished the season with 39 home runs.
Mark Canha played and was hit by a pitch for the 27th time this season. That ties him with Seattle’s Ty France for most in the majors. Of course, Canha may have played his final game for his hometown team. The San Jose native who’s been with Oakland since the organization selected him in the 2015 Rule 5 draft, will be a free agent in the offseason.
Despite the disappointing season, this team displayed enough fight, at times, to show that this core group can still battle.
“To fight like that and come back at the end, we came up just short, like we did this season, unfortunately,” Melvin said. “But I think next year, it just gives us a little bit more edge to get back to the postseason again.”
