OAKLAND, Calif. _ The Oakland A's had five days off and it showed. The San Diego Padres walloped them, shut them out and their stars showed out with offensive flair, the A's losing 7-0 Friday night in Oakland.
Jesus Luzardo looked unfazed by the long layoff. He'd been scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Houston Astros, but appeared game ready still by his start against the Padres five days later.
His first pitch sinker registered at 97 mph, and he looked to be coasting from there. He held the mighty Padres lineup _ stacked with two of the game's best hitters Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado up top _ to one hit through four scoreless innings. His changeup incurred two strikeouts and his slider a third against left-hander Eric Hosmer.
Trouble struck once the Padres got a third look at Luzardo, though. Wil Myers wasn't going to sit idly by, so he bunted a single to lead off the fifth. Luzardo dug the hole a bit deeper when he hit rookie Luis Campusano with a pitch. With two outs, Trent Grisham doubled, Tatis doubled and Hosmer singled to give the Padres a 4-0 lead.
The Padres greeted left-handed pitcher Mike Minor to Oakland with back-to-back home runs from none other than Tatis and Machado _ a virtual nail in the coffin.
The A's defense didn't look fazed by the layoff, either, until a wild sequence in the fifth inning that saw reliever J.B. Wendelken miss the bag on a basic 1-3 putout and new shortstop Vimael Machin overthrow a possible double play.
The A's offense looked out of whack and entirely fazed by the layoff. Matt Olson was perhaps the most productive batter, only because he was able to draw three walks on few pitches. It even appeared they'd lather some offensive momentum when Robbie Grossman doubled into the right-field corner _ providing just enough time for Olson to gallop from first to home. A safe call was promptly reversed upon San Diego's challenge, though. Apparently, Olson's foot hovered over the plate a little too long in time for the tag.
They'd get nothing else going. Off right handed starter Zach Davies _ who averaged 88 mph on his sinker _ the A's collected just four hits and struck out five times.
