Elephant Rumblings: A’s end road trip on high note

MLB news roundup

Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!

The A’s won their game and series at Camden Yards against the Orioles yesterday on the strength of clutch hitting late in the game and knockout relief work, the same formula that won the first game of the series on Friday. But yesterday, the save opportunity was given to Lucas Erceg even though fireballing sensation and closer apparent Mason Miller had rested on Saturday.

Erceg rose to the occasion with a brilliant 1-2-3 inning and two strikeouts to earn his first career save. I imagine few protested the choice to use Lucas in that high leverage situation: as impressive as Miller has been, Erceg is rightly gaining more recognition for achieving greater mastery of his own formidable stuff.

Could the Miller-Erceg bullpen tandem prove as effective as Blake Treinen and Lou Trivino were in 2018? If so—or perhaps along with a bit of offense—we might yet enjoy a team considerably better than last year’s. We should savor the moment, regardless: watching this pair dominate hitters is a real treat right now.

Savor the season, too, as this appears to be the A’s last in Oakland. Closer to that front, Nico went in depth on how the Schools over Stadiums drive against taxpayer funding of a new Vegas ballpark may be heading off a cliff. As always, I recommend catching up on The Blogfather’s latest.

The A’s are back home against the Pirates tonight with Joe Boyle on the mound. Let’s see if the long, bespectacled rookie righty can keep ‘em closer to the zone this time up.

Have a terrific week, AN.

A’s Coverage:

• McCann homers in 9th to take series from Orioles
• Fools Over Stadiums?
• A’s fans visit Sacramento Triple-A game to protest move out of Oakland: ‘We got to keep fighting’

MLB News & Interest:

• MLB to modify uniforms after player complaints, per memo
• Need hitting help? Enter Iron Mike, the Giants’ brand new old-tech solution for extra BP ($)
• Mike Trout Q&A: Angels superstar breaks down his up-and-down offensive start ($)
• AL East Notes: Kimbrel, Irvin, Kahnle, Whitlock
• Cubs Place Jordan Wicks On 15-Day IL, Select Richard Lovelady
• NL West Notes: Glasnow, Cobb, Sewald
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Roster moves.

Yes, Ma’am.

Masonry demonstration.

Big slam for Susac.