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The Cubs stood strong against the A’s in Oakland and managed a sweep of the series in the early season. They’ve been playing better than many expected up to this point.
The A’s went into their first game against the Cubs with the worst run differential through 16 games since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles. It’s certainly worth mentioning to say that they’ve been bad.
They had a ridiculous 20 hits
In the first match, the Cubs would face off against big Kyle Muller. It wouldn’t prove to be too difficult of a task, however. The Cubs had a 6-1 lead by the sixth inning. By the end of the game they had a ridiculous 20 hits with a 10-1 score.
The second game would prove to be the closest of the series. Marcus Stroman had some pretty good stuff as he threw for six scoreless innings and got the quality start. The A’s kept it within striking distance but ultimately couldn’t score.
The third game was another meltdown for the A’s while the Cubs were cool as a cucumber. Justin Steele got into his usual beast mode, holding the A’s to just one run in six innings.
The A’s gave up 12 runs on 11 hits and looked simply awful. They are not only statistically bad, but visually as well.
The last time the Cubs swept anyone was during the closing stretch of last season. It was against teams who were basically wanting to lose. At least it’s a step up from that.
It may have helped that the A’s are the team with the worst record in baseball. They’re a game behind the Royals and two games behind the Nationals and Rockies. Their fans are probably in for a lot more sighing before it’s all said and done.
Decisions were simply chart-based
There were plenty of fans who were outspoken about the mismanagement of the Cubs last season, particularly before the all-star break. Both manager David Ross and owner Tom Ricketts had taken their shares of the heat dished out by fans and sportscasters alike.
Some people were actually starting to wonder if David Ross was even bright enough to make actual game-time decisions or if those decisions were simply chart-based and otherwise suggested by assistants.
Sufficed to say, Ross had been placed on the hotseat by some of the more serious fans. As a player’s coach, he’s obviously well-loved by his group of guys. But being well-loved by his own players doesn’t always make the fans happy, especially the die-hards.
This current four-game win streak should help to make all of that go away.
