Oakland A’s lose third straight to match last season’s 102-loss total

The youthful A’s lost their third straight game on Saturday afternoon and tied last season’s mark with their 102nd loss, falling 5-2 to the San Diego Padres. And while this year’s team still seems likely to end up with the most losses in the franchise’s Oakland history (the current record is 108 losses in 1979), the youth movement continues to build some small hope that things could be different in 2024. Rookie sensation Zack Gelof hit his 12th homer of the season on Saturday, launching a solo shot in the sixth off of Padres starter Matt Waldron, who earned his first career win — and a noteworthy one within the sport, too.

Waldron, 26, primarily pitches a knuckleball and earned the win by only allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings. He became the first pitcher to use a knuckleball while earning a win in nearly five years (the last knuckleballer to get a win was Steven Wright on Sept. 20, 2018).

Waldron’s knuckler wasn’t untouchable, as the A’s batters picked up seven hits off of him. But the contact wasn’t hard, with only a Nick Allen double and Gelof’s homer going for extra bases. Allen’s double and Gelof’s homer were their only hits on the day, though rookie outfielder Lawrence Butler added two singles and Ryan Noda knocked in Oakland’s first run in the third with a sac fly.

In only his fourth start of September, Tyler Soderstrom went 1-for-3 as the designated hitter. Gelof also impressed in the field while playing second base, making a diving catch in the second inning to rob Brett Sullivan of a hit. A’s fireballing rookie Mason Miller took the loss after allowing two runs as the opener.

Miller walked three and gave up two hits, but struck out two in a 33-pitch first inning. Luis Medina came in after Miller and allowed three runs (though only one was earned) in 3 2/3 innings. Medina allowed two hits and walked four, but struck out seven on the day.

With the loss, the A’s dropped to 46-102 on the season. They would need to win at least eight of their final 14 games to avoid setting a franchise record for most losses in a season since moving to Oakland in 1968. The combined 204 defeats the past two years are also the most in consecutive seasons since they lost 208 in 1964-65, when the A’s were still in Kansas City.

That is also the last instance that the franchise has had back-to-back 100-loss campaigns. The Padres (71-78) and former A’s manager Bob Melvin picked up their third win in a row, and a sweep on Sunday would give San Diego its first four-game winning streak of the season — they’re the only team in baseball without one in 2023. “It would be the first time we did that, so hopefully that’s the case tomorrow,” Melvin said.

“We’re going to be down some guys obviously in the bullpen but it would be nice to get that monkey off our back. ” The youth movement will continue today, as A’s manager Mark Kotsay confirmed postgame that right-hander Joe Boyle will be called up and get the start as an opener in the series finale. Boyle, 24, was acquired by the A’s from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for left-handed reliever Sam Moll in July.

Since joining the A’s organization, Boyle has been sensational, striking out 46 in 33 1/3 innings with a 2. 16 ERA and a . 175 batting average against him across six starts between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas (he made three starts at each stop).

The A’s did not make Boyle’s call-up official on Saturday, but Boyle had a locker in the Oakland clubhouse after the game. The A’s will have to make a roster move to get Boyle onto both the active and 40-man rosters. .