The Oakland A's are so accustomed to being the underdogs that even when they're the favorites, as they were coming into the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros, they refuse to accept it.
Good thing, too. After taking a 10-5 beating Monday in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, the A's are now underdogs in the best-of-five series.
Oakland blew two leads _ 3-0 after three innings and 5-3 after five. A bullpen that was the best in Major League Baseball this season gave up seven runs. Four of them followed a terrible fielding error by shortstop Marcus Semien in the top of the sixth.
An Oakland offense that hit three early home runs went silent in the late innings. Altogether it cost the A's a chance to win Game 1 of a playoff series for the first time since the 2006 ALDS when Barry Zito outdueled Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana at the Metrodome.
"I think people probably expected the White Sox to win the last series," A's outfielder Mark Canha said Monday before the game. "Whether we are underrated or not underrated amongst whoever's opinion it may be, I feel like we wear that badge as a motivator.
"I think the Oakland A's will always be underrated and under-appreciated."
The A's have been underdogs longer than every current player has been on the roster, but the Astros are new to their role as the villains of the league. When Houston upset Minnesota to advance to the American League Division Series, shortstop Carlos Correa expected his teammates would remain the object of scorn.
"I know a lot of people are mad," Correa shouted into a television microphone last week. "I know a lot of people don't want to see us here."
The A's might be the only group that was eager to see the Astros in the ALDS this week.
The A's felt justifiably cheated by their AL West rivals, whose illegal sign-stealing operations were publicly exposed last offseason by Oakland starter and former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers in a scandal that rocked baseball.
So when Oakland recovered from a Game 1 loss to advance past the Chicago White Sox in a best-of-three wild-card round to meet the Astros in the ALDS, Bob Melvin's club was thrilled it would have an opportunity to exact revenge against a Houston team it despises.
The lack of a true home-field advantage for each contender still vying for a World Series title is a disappointment, but it's possible no team is hurt more than the A's. Oakland's fans have routinely packed the Coliseum for home playoff games and the club likely would have benefitted from the hostile atmosphere created by crowds eager to remind the Astros of their reputation as cheaters.
The Astros didn't have to experience the chorus of boos that would have greeted them at every stadium this year, so leaning into an us-against-the-world mentality never actually required Houston to face the world.
"The role of villain was given to us, it's not something that we took on, although most of us probably merit it," first-year Astros manager Dusty Baker said before the game Monday.
The A's appeared uneasy with their newfound status as favorites even after defeating the Astros in seven of their 10 regular-season meetings. Oakland won 36 games in a truncated 60-game schedule, secured the second seed in the AL playoff bracket and had the best bullpen in baseball this year.
But the Astros pounded out 16 hits on Monday in a game that looked as if Houston still knew what pitches were coming.
Oakland won't need any additional motivation after a discouraging loss, but the A's may want to keep the "underrated" badge on hand. The Astros have now won all three of their playoff games, and the A's must take three of the next four if they want to reset the hierarchy of power in the AL West.
After finishing in second place and losing wild card games in 2018 and 2019, Melvin and the A's felt the Astros' cheating scandal coupled with the chaos created by one-and-done playoff scenarios only highlighted the value of winning the division and playing full postseason series.
The A's ran away with the AL West and the fair shot they were seeking is finally here. But they missed a chance to put the Astros in an early hole. Oakland had its best starter, Chris Bassitt, on the mound, hit three homers and had its bullpen in control of the game with a lead, yet still lost control.
The Astros will remain the villain, but a Game 1 loss means the A's are no longer the favorites. As Oakland showed in the late innings on Monday, playing from ahead didn't seem to suit this team anyway.
