Top-ranked Tampa Bay also caught…Last-place Oakland has ‘six straight upsets’
The Oakland Athletics, last in the Major League Baseball (MLB) in winning percentage, have been on an unexpected upswing.
Oakland, which has won less than 20 games out of 30 clubs, won 4-3 at home against the Tampa Bay Rays today (13 July), extending its winning streak to six games, dating back to last July against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Oakland took a four-run lead in the fifth inning on a three-RBI double by Shay Langelius and an RBI single by Ryan Noda, and held on for the win. James Caprielian pitched six innings of three-run ball, while Ken Waldichuck picked up the save with three scoreless innings.
This winning streak is all the more remarkable because it has come against the top teams in the league. Oakland won five straight games against the National League Central’s first-place Pittsburgh and second-place Milwaukee Brewers before sweeping Tampa Bay, the team with the best winning percentage in all of baseball.
The six-game winning streak improved Oakland’s season record to 18-50 (.265 winning percentage). While still last in MLB in winning percentage, the A’s have cut their deficit to one game over the second-to-last-place Kansas City Royals (18-48), raising hopes of a “breakout” season 토토사이트.
Oakland, which ranks last in the league in payroll at $59.63 million, has virtually run its team from the start of the season with a focus on rebuilding rather than performance, but has been criticised by fans for turning into a ‘multiplier machine’ while Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Orioles, who are 27-29 in payroll and not far off Oakland, have all performed well.
It was a noisy situation, with the team even publicly stating its intention to move its franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas. Just when everyone else was turning their backs, Oakland players are leading a “last place revolt.
Oakland is a storied franchise with the third-most championships (nine), behind only the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. It will be interesting to see if the recent turnaround is the start of a return to past glory.