OAKLAND, Calif. – Adrián Martínez had what was easily his worst outing as an A’s starting pitcher Saturday at the Coliseum.
But Martínez might look back at the experience as being one of the more fortunate days of his career.
Martínez allowed 14 hits and seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings in what became a 10-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox, as the A’s losing streak reached five games.
But in a frightening moment, Martínez was knocked down by a sharply hit ball up the middle by White Sox outfielder Gavin Sheets in the second inning, and remained on the ground for a handful of harrowing moments.
Martínez was able to get up and leave the field under his own power and returned to pitch in the third inning, as the 106.6-mph comebacker hit him in the left shoulder area and resulted in a 4-3 putout.
Still, the scene evoked memories of former A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt’s scary accident last August in Chicago when he was hit in the face by Brian Goodwin’s rocket back toward the mound.
Bassitt needed surgery to repair the facial fractures and missed over a month but returned to make two starts for the A’s in late September.
Martinez allowed six more hits and three more earned runs Saturday before he was replaced by Kirby Snead with two outs in the fourth inning, marking his shortest outing in eight starts with Oakland this season.
Elvis Andrus continued to terrorize A’s pitchers, hitting a three-run homer in the second inning to give the White Sox a 4-0 lead. Former Cal standout Andrew Vaughn had four of his team’s 20 hits, including a two-RBI double, and pitcher Lance Lynn allowed three hits in six innings.
Saturday’s game marked the second time in three games that the A’s allowed at least 20 hits, as Chicago had 21 hits Thursday in a 14-2 win. Per MLB’s research team, the last time the A’s gave up 20 hits twice over a three-game span was Sept. 15-17, 1920.
Andrus homered and scored three runs Thursday, then hit a two-run double in the ninth inning Friday to help give his team a 5-3 win.
Seth Brown had two of the A’s three hits against Lynn, and now has hits in nine of his last 12 games.
Still, it all seemed irrelevant considering the unnerving comebacker that hit Martinez, especially since the A’s are already careening toward their first 100-loss season since 1979.
Saturday’s loss dropped the A’s record to 50-90, and now they have to go 13-9 to avoid the century mark in losses. The 1979 A’s team went 54-108.
The A’s and White Sox finish their four-game series Sunday when Dave Stewart’s No. 34 is retired by the organization. Oakland then starts a six-game road trip through Texas, with two games against the Rangers and four in Houston.
