In ‘unprecedented’ situation, Kotsay tries to stay patient as losses pile up

MIAMI — A’s manager Mark Kotsay’s first full year in Major League Baseball came in 1998 with the Marlins. He was part of a team that featured budding young stars like Cliff Floyd, Edgar Renteria, Álex González, Liván Hernández, and Luis Castillo. That team — managed by Jim Leyland — went 54-108.

Kotsay tries to lean on that experience as he guides an Oakland team that is on track to finish 2023 with a much worse record. After their 7-5 loss to Miami on Sunday, the A’s are now 12-49 having won just five times in 25 road games. “We are in a situation that’s kind of unprecedented,” Kotsay said before Sunday’s game.

“(That) rookie year for me and a lot of my teammates, we can name a ton on that roster who went on to have pretty successful careers. “So I think you have to draw on that a little bit as a leader and kind of help these guys with their vision, even though we’re going through a tough time and they’re being challenged. There are ways to paint a good picture that we’re going to get through this and that it’s really good on the other side.

” Sunday, Luis Arraez hit a tiebreaking infield single in the eighth inning as Miami (32-28) completed a three-game sweep. Joey Wendle doubled against A’s reliever Austin Pruitt to lead off the inning, then advanced on Jacob Stallings’ single. Stallings took second on right-fielder Ramon Laureano’s throw to the plate as Wendle remained at third.

Sam Moll relieved Pruitt (1-3) and struck out pinch hitter Jorge Soler before Arraez’s hard smash over a drawn-in infield bounced off second baseman Aledmys Diaz’s glove and drove in Wendle to give Miami a 6-5 lead. Nick Fortes ran for Stallings and scored from third on catcher Shea Langeliers’ passed ball. The A’s lost their 14th straight on the road.

Today, JP Sears (0-3, 4. 37) gets the start for the A’s in the opener of a three-game series at Pittsburgh. The Pirates will go with go Johan Oviedo (3-4, 4.

50). “That’s the story of our year right now and everyone in that room is feeling it,” Kotsay said postgame. “There’s a lot of emotion now in that room.

It’s continuing to be a grind. ” Yuli Gurriel had three hits — falling a home run shy of a cycle — and Garrett Cooper went deep for the Marlins. Tanner Scott (4-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, and Dylan Floro closed with a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara overcame a difficult third inning in which he allowed five runs. He finished allowing six hits while striking out seven in seven innings. Miami rallied from a 5-1 deficit and tied it on Cooper’s three-run shot in the fifth.

Cooper drove a hanging slider from Oakland starter Paul Blackburn that bounced off the left-field foul pole for his sixth homer. Blackburn was lifted after the fifth. The right-hander allowed five runs, seven hits, walked two, and struck out three in his second outing since starting the season on the injured list.

Alcantara retired the first six on 13 pitches before the A’s took their first lead of the series. Nick Allen and Esteury Ruiz hit RBI singles and Ramon Laureano added a two-run double. Standing at second, Laureano broke for third on an attempted steal when Alcantara stepped off the mound and threw errantly past third baseman Jean Segura which allowed Laureano to score.

The error prompted jeers from the crowd of 12,507. The A’s strung four straight singles and had five of their six hits off Alcantara in the third. After he allowed Laureano’s one-out single in the sixth, Laureano was erased on a double-play grounder.

The A’s released first baseman Jesús Aguilar, who had been designated for assignment on May 29. … Kotsay said right-hander Freddy Tarnok will throw a bullpen session today at the team’s training facility in Arizona. Tarnok, the A’s No.

5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has been out since spring training with a right shoulder strain. Tarnok most recently threw a live batting practice session on Saturday. … Dany Jimenez (strained right shoulder) has started a throwing program at 60 feet.

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