Any good vibes the Oakland A’s might have carried with them after they won two of three games from the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field last weekend didn’t make it over the San Gabriel Mountains.
The A’s were blasted by the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second straight night Wednesday, as starting pitcher Hogan Harris allowed eight earned runs, including three homers, in what became a 10-1 loss at Chavez Ravine.
Harris allowed homers to Miguel Rojas, Mookie Betts, and Amed Rosario as the Dodgers took an 8-1 lead after three innings. Betts’ homer was his 29th of the season and Freddie Freeman went 3 for 4.
Betts launched a 436-foot shot into the left-field pavilion off Harris (2-6) for his 70th RBI in the second, when the Dodgers scored four runs to lead 7-0. Betts doubled leading off the first and struck out before getting the rest of the night off in the top of the fourth.
Freeman hit his major league-leading 37th and 38th doubles and singled. He scored twice and drove in another run before being pulled in the seventh. He was 4 for 5 in a 7-3 win in the series opener on Tuesday.
For Harris, it was his shortest outing of the season as the A’s lost for the fifth time in seven games on this road trip that ends Thursday.
“Wherever you miss, you can’t miss middle,” Harris told reporters after the game. “Unfortunately, I was missing middle today to some of the best hitters in the game, especially those top three or four in that lineup. They’re not going to miss a mistake.”
Tony Gonsolin (6-4) allowed one run and five hits over five innings in his first career appearance against Oakland. The right-hander struck out three and walked two.
Miguel Rojas extended the lead to 8-1 in the third with his first homer since June 26, 2022, with Miami. Jason Heyward, who replaced Betts, homered on the first pitch from Kirby Snead in the sixth.
Shea Langeliers provided the A’s lone offensive highlight as his homer in the top of the third inning gave him 11 on the season. Still, it was the A’s third straight loss after they won their series with the Rockies with victories in Denver on July 28 and 29.
“To get behind any team, but especially this team, it’s tough to claw our way back,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “The first two guys at the top of the order (Betts and Freeman) are real. It’s difficult to get through this lineup and when you make mistakes, you’re going to pay for them.”
“That’s part of the growing up process for our young starters and the maturation process we continue to go through. Tonight, Hogan left a lot of balls in the middle of the plate.”
The A’s have lost six of eight and dropped a season-worst 49 games under .500.
It’s the first time they’ve been that far below since finishing the 1979 season 54 games under at 54-108. They are on pace to finish 45-117, which would tie the franchise record for losses set by the 1916 Philadelphia A’s.
Dodgers and A’s fans joined in on a “Sell the Team” chant and it was ELECTRIC pic.twitter.com/dV5klG83dR
— The Game Day MLB (@TheGameDayMLB) August 2, 2023
For the second straight night, there were chants of “sell the team” in the top of the fifth.
A’s supporters had urged Dodgers fans via social media to call out owner John Fisher, who wants to move the team to Las Vegas and end the club’s 55-year run in the Bay Area.
The Dodgers led 3-0 in the first. Freeman’s RBI single scored Betts. Freeman scored on Chris Taylor’s infield hit with the bases loaded. James Outman grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Smith.
The A’s got the leadoff hitter aboard in the first four innings, but only had a solo homer from Shea Langeliers in the third to show for it.
Harris lost his sixth in a row, giving up eight runs and nine hits over three innings. The left-hander struck out two and walked three.
Tony Kemp made a spectacular effort on a foul ball off Freeman’s bat in the sixth. He nearly went all the way over the lower wall in left field but was held up by fans in the front row. A dejected Kemp walked slowly back to his spot as the crowd applauded him. He was replaced in the seventh.
Kotsay said X-rays on Kemp were negative.
SCULLY ANNIVERSARY
Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully died a year ago Wednesday at age 94. The grounds crew raked the letters V-I-N in the dirt before grooming the infield ahead of the game.
Scully was on the mind of fans, some of whom wore jerseys with his name on the back and watched the re-airing of a TV segment about his career on the videoboards. Dodgers broadcasters Rick Monday and Charley Steiner recalled their years of memories with Scully during the game’s radio call.
UP NEXT
Athletics: LHP JP Sears (2-7, 4.09 ERA) makes his team-leading 21st start in the series finale. He’ll face the Dodgers for the first time in his career. He is 2-1 with a 2.94 ERA in six interleague starts.
Dodgers: LHP Julio Urías (7-6, 4.98) has been dealing with an issue on the index finger of his pitching hand that caused his start to be pushed back two days.