The Athletics are cruising along on a historic 12-game winning streak after Friday’s 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles and continuing to take their “riding the wave” mantra to heart.
A’s starter Chris Bassitt was rumored to be the creator of the saying. He confirmed that was the case along with another fellow starting pitcher.
“Yeah I think it was between me and [Jesús] Luzardo -- after game five or game six,” Bassitt told NBC Sports California on Friday. “It was more so of us talking basically about riding this out, which I mean, we were getting our butts kicked at the start of the year. Not trying to do too much, trying to be ourselves, and just ‘ride this wave out.’ Nobody thinks this is good, but we have confidence in the group that we have, we know how good we are.”
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The A’s started the season 0-6, but have followed it up with a 12-game win streak, the first time that has ever occurred in MLB history. All the team had to do was keep it simple ... even during the downtimes.
“Don’t try to do too much,” Bassitt said. “The biggest thing was just showing up to the ballpark. The starters don’t want to be that group who shows up, and it’s like, you’re bringing negative energy or you’re just slacking on certain things because you’re losing or as a group we’re not playing good.
“Once we kind of got going, it kind of caught on to everyone else.”
The beginning was tough, but having the veteran presence of Mitch Moreland, Jed Lowrie and Elvis Andrus certainly helped the A's remain even-keeled.
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“I think everyone kind of said the same thing to start the year, but it was more so just embarrassing,” Bassitt said “People weren’t freaking out or losing hope, it was just embarrassing.”
“I had a talk with Luzardo and I said, ‘Listen, this ain’t going to last, I promise you that.’ Focus on you as a person, being positive, learning from the mistakes that we’re making, and carry that on throughout the year.”
Bassitt said the A’s just trusted their abilities. They had every ingredient to take their game to the next level and win all of those games.
Bassitt admitted the starting pitching aspect is what has set the tone for the A’s success, but there was one particular position player who has made an impression on him.
“Jed,” he said. “From possibly not making the team to I know how bad the last two years have been for him to what he is now, it’s like -- and I’ve seen Jed like this a couple times now, but I mean whenever Jed Lowrie’s healthy, good Lord, he can absolutely hit.”
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He’s not wrong.
Lowrie is boasting a .323/.400/.516 line with two home runs with 14 RBI and 20 hits.
The A’s continue to improve on every aspect of their game. While riding the wave in the process.