A's offense goes from bad to worse
No one expected the A's to have a lights-out offense this season. In the AL West, in particular, Oakland's lineup pales in comparison to the Angels' and the Rangers'.
Lately, though, the A's offense has been downright horrid. The A's have scored one run in the last two games. They have advanced two men past first base in a 20-inning span, and one of those was on defensive indifference.
As the A's head into a three-game series against the Yankees that starts Friday, they are in an outright slump, with four hits in their last 64 at-bats, an .063 average.
Over their last 11 games, they have hit .172, and they've lost seven games in the process.
Oakland, a low-payroll club, enjoys less depth than other teams, and the A's were missing three regulars for a time -- outfielders Coco Crisp and Yoenis Cespedes and third baseman Brandon Inge, the A's top hitter when he went on the disabled list because of a groin strain in mid-May.
Crisp is back, but he is 1-for-13 since coming off the disabled list on Monday.
Cespedes, the team's cleanup hitter who has a left hand injury, has not yet taken batting practice, although he is hitting off a tee. Inge should be back on Monday or soon thereafter.
The A's are last in the league in runs, with 153; last in average, at .210 and last in on-base percentage, at .287. Their OPS of .619 is last by far; Seattle is second to last, at .660.
