Tough Start for the Athletics 
The game got off to an unfortunate start for our Oakland Athletics. Despite a solid pitching effort, the Orioles took an early lead in the top of the 1st inning. After Gunnar Henderson grounded out and Adley Rutschman flied out, Anthony Santander hit a homer to right field, putting the Orioles on the board. A series of singles and a throwing error by our pitcher led to a 3-run homer by Heston Kjerstad, bringing the score to 4-0 in favor of the Orioles. It was a tough pill to swallow right from the get-go.Struggles at the Plate 
Our bats seemed to be on vacation in the early innings. JJ Bleday, Miguel Andujar, and Brent Rooker all went down without much of a fight in the 1st inning. Tyler Soderstrom led off the 2nd inning with an infield single, but we couldn’t capitalize as Shea Langeliers, Zack Gelof, and Lawrence Butler all struck out. The same story continued into the 3rd inning as we faced difficulty in making solid contact with the ball.Some Late-Inning Hope 
Finally, in the 6th inning, we saw some life from our lineup! JJ Bleday walked and Rooker was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Tyler Soderstrom to double, driving in Bleday. Langeliers added another run with a sacrifice fly, scoring Rooker and bringing the score to 5-2. Zack Gelof struck out to end the rally, but it gave us a glimmer of hope.Another Chance in the 7th! 
Lawrence Butler started the 7th inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Brett Harris singled, moving Butler to third. Although Max Schuemann struck out, Bleday's grounder led to an error by the Orioles, allowing Butler to score and reducing the deficit to 5-3. Unfortunately, we couldn’t build further momentum as Andujar lined out to right.Final Blow 
The Orioles added another run in the top of the 9th inning, making it 6-3. When it was our turn, reliever Kimbrel shut us down for good. Lawrence Butler struck out, Kyle McCann struck out pinching for Harris, and after a single by Schuemann, Bleday flied out to center to end the game.Final Thoughts 
It wasn’t the best display by our A’s. The early errors and lack of offensive production in the early innings put us in a hole we couldn’t climb out of. However, there were some promising signs in later innings. Onward and upward, A’s fans! Let’s hope for a better showing in the next game. 
Scoreboard for Orioles @ Athletics (July 7th, 2024)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 |