Photo Jon Lester abutting Oakland's agents July 31 and has a 2.54 E.R.A. through Friday, but the breach has averaged alone 3.6 runs per bold aback Aug. 1. Credit Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press
Jon Lester pulled on his cowboy boots in the visitors' adviser in Chicago on Tuesday afterwards a achievement over the White Sox. Lester pitches for the Oakland Athletics, but his boots still buck the "B Strong" logo from Boston, area he led the Red Sox to the World Alternation appellation aftermost October.
Lester has been with the A's aback July 31, aback they led the American Alliance West by two and a bisected amateur and captivated the best almanac in the above leagues, at 66-41. Aback again they accept collapsed far abaft the Los Angeles Angels in the division. August was Oakland's aboriginal abounding accident ages in added than two years, and again the A's absent seven of their aboriginal 10 in September.
"This is article that in my three years here, we haven't anytime absolutely had to face," catcher Derek Norris said. "Some guys are still aggravating to amount out how to accord with the adversity. I anticipate already we get through it, we'll be fine."
Abide account the capital story
Lester has done his allotment for Oakland with a 2.54 becoming run boilerplate in eight starts through Friday, including an eight-inning gem on Tuesday that bigger his almanac to 14-10. But the Athletics' breach has all but abolished aback Lester's accession in a barter for the All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.
Through the end of July, the A's averaged 5.0 runs per game. But from Aug. 1 through Thursday, aback they headed to Seattle for a weekend series, the A's were averaging aloof 3.6 runs per game. It puts Lester in an awkward spot.
"I aloof try to do my job," he said. "I can't ascendancy what bod ies say or think. I understand; like I said aback I came over here, that's a big allotment of this alignment and this team. But I alone angle every fifth day, and I can't ascendancy annihilation else."
The A's, who had already acquired addition All-Star starter, Jeff Samardzija, in July, insisted afterwards the Lester accord that they were artlessly aggravating to fortify their agenda to ensure that they would win the division, not attractive advanced to October. They would abide to account runs because of their able army system, they believed, and Jonny Gomes — a right-handed hitter with power, like Cespedes — came aback with Lester in the deal.
But the A's assume to absence the affluence Cespedes brought, as a adeptness hitter whose batting conv enance drew the awe of opponents and whose attendance may accept bargain the burden on the added Oakland hitters. At the aforementioned time, the A's accept additionally dealt with injuries to several hitters who had helped accomplish their calendar so abysmal and versatile.
"From the alpha of July, we were disturbing offensively," Norris said. "A lot of times aback a guy goes through a slump, a brace of added guys in the calendar absolutely backpack him. But affectionate of at the aforementioned time, we had three, four, maybe alike bristles guys who went through a appealing big slump. And aback those are your horses you await on every week, there goes your run production. Some guys accept been ashore in it a little bit best than others."
Josh Donald son, the All-Star third baseman, was hitting .103 in September afore acquainted a blemish in his beat while belief video afterwards Monday's loss. Donaldson formed on befitting his easily afterpiece to his anatomy in his swing, which would accumulate the butt through the bang area longer, and he went 5 for 6 in Lester's 11-2 achievement Tuesday.
Yet Donaldson and the blow of the aggregation fell bashful the abutting two games, scoring aloof already and accident both to end a alternation that served as a apple of their slump. In Oakland's three losses to Chicago, starters Sonny Gray, Samardzija and Scott Kazmir accustomed aloof three becoming runs in 22 innings. The abode and the breach conspired to lose the series.
The auspicious af fair for Oakland is that afterpiece Sean Doolittle, who was out with a artificial intercostal muscle, alternate from the disabled account Friday. And as continued as they hit aloof a little, the A's should still accept an arty circling in the playoffs, alike if they alpha with a wild-card game.
"Especially with our casting now, I'm not abashed of that game," Manager Bob Melvin said. "Certainly you don't appetite to be in it; you would rather win the division. But we've additionally done that the aftermost two years, too, and it hasn't formed out for us."
The aftermost two Octobers, the A's bypassed the wild-card annular by acceptable the A.L. West, alone to lose the analysis alternation to Detroit. Now, Melvin said, if the A's accomplish it that far, they will accept drive from acceptable the wild-card game.
If that sounds like a adeptness — well, it is all the A's accept left, and they adeptness as able-bodied accent the positive. Their aboriginal four months gave them the beanbag they accept bare to survive an abashing late-summer slide. So far.
"We'll comedy the best baseball we can till the end and see area we're at," Lester said. "The better affair is to acquisition a way in, because already you're in, annihilation can happen."
Making It to the Show
John Holdzkom had an accustomed ballplayer's résumé through 2010. Drafted in the fourth annular by the Mets in 2006, he pitched abominably for three seasons. He absent a year with reconstructive bend surgery, pitched ailing aloft his acknowledgment and was released.
In the abatement of 2011, Holdzkom was 24 years old and demography classes at Yavapai Academy in Prescott, Ariz. He anticipation he was accomplished with baseball but accomplished he absent it. His arm was healthy, he threw adamantine and he was still young.
"You consistently feel like you're one day from it all advancing together," Holdzkom said by buzz on Friday from Pittsburgh, area he has landed, improbably, in a above alliance banderole race.
"It's not like basketball, area if you can't jump aerial abundant or run fast enough, you aloof can't do it. In baseball you accumulate cerebration something's activity to click. It's a amaranthine hunt to aloof amount it out."
Holdzkom, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, larboard academy to abide block that answer. He pitched six amateur in Class A for the Cincinnati Reds in 2012. Around that time, he alleged into a podcast hosted by the actor Chelsea Peretti and said accidentally that he had absolute his signing benefit — $210,000 — on a Ford truck, sushi and too abounding backward nights.
He adeptness accept been exagg erating, Holdzkom said, but there was additionally achievement in that call.
"I was aloof a accessory alliance nobody," he told Peretti, but he added, "I do accept some opportunities advancing up."
By that, he meant a adventitious to comedy winter brawl in Australia, which led to a division with absolute teams in Amarillo, Tex., and Sioux City, Iowa. Appear by Sioux City this spring, Holdzkom begin assignment with addition aggregation in San Angelo, Tex., for $600 a month.
From there it was aback to Amarillo, area he assuredly begin control, which had consistently been his w eakness. His success, Holdzkom said, had little to do with a hardly new fastball anchor or his palmball, a concern that acts article like a splitter and changeup. He throws about all fastballs, anyway, and through simple repetition, he now knows how to command them.
"I knew already I started throwing strikes, I would accessible up some eyes, because I consistently had raw adeptness to bandy a baseball," Holdzkom said. "But I had no abstraction it would go bip, bop, boom, aloof like that."
The Pittsburgh Pirates admired what they saw and active Holdzkom for their Class AA team. Afterwards six scoreless innings there, he pitched able-bodied in 18 amateur at Class AAA. On Aug. 31 he was added to the 40-man agenda to be acceptable for the postseason.
Five canicule later, Holdzkom fabricated his above alliance debut, throwing fastballs that accept averaged added than 95 afar an hour. He started his career with bristles scoreless outings, acceptance one hit and one airing with nine strikeouts. Life in the majors, he said, is aggregate he imagined.
"If you're arena in the Show and accusatory about anything, you're apparently accomplishing it wrong," Holdzkom said. "I'm admiring every day."
Friday Night Lights
Major Alliance Baseball fabricated a attenuate but co gent agenda acclimation aftermost anniversary aback it appear the dates for the World Series, which begins Oct. 21. Barring postponements, Amateur 1 and 2 (and 6 and 7, if necessary), will booty abode on a Tuesday and a Wednesday, with Amateur 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) to be captivated on a Friday, a Saturday and a Sunday.
Effectively, baseball is trading Thursday and Monday time slots for those on Friday and Tuesday — which is cogent because the N.F.L. plays on Thursdays and Mondays, but not on Fridays and Tuesdays. As afflicted as it is, the N.F.L. charcoal a ratings behemoth, and in the new format, baseball's arch accident will not attempt with it.
There are added affidavit for the change, including abbreviating by one the cardinal of off-days amid the c hampionship alternation and the World Series. And the new architecture is absolutely an old architecture — the World Alternation was planned like this from 1977 through 1984.
Since then, baseball had abhorred scheduling World Alternation amateur on Friday nights, which are about poor for ratings. Aback 1985, alone two amateur accept been captivated on Fridays, and both were makeups for rainouts — Bold 5 in 2006 and Bold 7 in 2011. Both amateur were captivated at the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis and angry out to be championship clinchers for the Cardinals.