The A’s 50th loss of the season Friday shared a common characteristic with many of the 49 that came before it – a breakdown from the bullpen that turned a close game into a not-so-close one.
But to hang a 5-1 loss to Cleveland solely on an off-night from reliever Drew Pomeranz wouldn’t be accurate. The A’s have lost three in a row now, and in each game, we’ve seen a pattern develop offensively.
Oakland has jumped on the scoreboard early, only to be shut down after that. On Wednesday against the Yankees, the A’s scored twice in the second, then went silent until they scored twice in the ninth of an eventual 5-4 loss.