The dog days of August seem to have caught up with Sean Manaea, who struggled for a third straight start in the Oakland A’s 7-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
The loss rounded out a series loss to the last-place Rangers and squandered an opportunity for the A’s to create some separation in a tightly contested wild-card race or gain ground in the American League West division race 2.5 games back of the Houston Astros for first place.
Manaea gave up three home runs to the Rangers, the most he allowed in a single game since the 2019 AL wild-card game against the Tampa Bay Rays. DJ Peters had two of them, and both where dagger two-run shots amid a five-inning outing for Manaea in which he gave up seven runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
He’s not been as sharp, and unlike his previous starts, manager Bob Melvin didn’t pull him once things started to unravel in the first three innings. The A’s starter who gave up a total 15 runs over 10 starts in June and July has given up 15 runs in three starts, a 12.27 ERA, in August.
The A’s starter who’d put together a first half and a little extra of All-Star caliber starts is starting to feel the weight of August hit him. His fastball velocity still hits 95 mph, a good mark for the left-handed pitcher, but wavered more toward 90 mph as his start wore on.
Matt Chapman continued his hot road trip with a three-hit game that included his 17th home run of the season, a solo home run in the second inning off Rangers left-handed starter Kolby Allard. His third hit, a single, ignited a miniature rally that netted the A’s a third run. Mark Canha’s solo home run was the A’s second run.
Against the Rangers bullpen, Matt Olson sprinted from first base on Sean Murphy’s double down the right-field line to score another.
