The Athletics’ season opener didn’t end in their favor on Friday, but there was plenty of fight.
Oakland was on the road to take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park for the first game of the 2022 season, marking just the fourth time the team has ever played an interleague series there.
Despite falling to the Phillies 9-5, manager Mark Kotsay was inspired by the A’s performance during his first game as the team’s new manager, which almost saw Oakland pull off a seventh-inning comeback.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“I think our guys, the first few innings, got into the game and then they fought back,” Kotsay told reporters after the game. “So for me, to show that fight to get back into the game and have a chance to win or at least go ahead there in the seventh, that shows some good signs.”
Frankie Montas got the Opening Day nod and lasted five innings, allowing five runs on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts. It was his second Opening Day start after he came away with a no decision against the Los Angeles Angels in 2020.
Kotsay saw some good signs from Montas, too.
“Frankie battled,” Kotsay said. “What I’m left with in my mind is the last six outs, last two innings. He got us through two more, went back out there and fought … That shows a lot about just his character and his will to go back out and finish the day off with some success.”
Montas gave up one home run -- a deflating, first-inning shot to right center by Kyle Schwarber that put Oakland in an early hole. By the seventh inning, the A’s trailed 6-1.
Still, Oakland began to chip away.
Chad Pinder, who started in left field on Friday, got the A’s on the board with a home run in the fourth inning.
Then, down 6-1 in the seventh inning with Phillies ace Aaron Nola still on the mound, Oakland closed the gap after Seth Brown blasted a three-run home run to right center to knock Nola out of the game. The A’s made it a one-run contest after Stephen Vogt scored on an error.
“Pinder, that homer, and that error, I kinda went, ‘All right here we go,’ ” Kotsay said of the seventh-inning rally. “The guys’ at-bats, for the most part they grinded their at-bats out.”
The A’s grind came up short, however, as a late-inning bullpen collapse by Oakland put their comeback just out of reach. Jacob Lemoine gave up a run in the sixth inning, then Domingo Acevedo walked Bryce Harper and gave up an RBI double to Nick Castellanos in the seventh inning to go down 7-5.
Athletics
Find the latest Athletics news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
The Phillies extended their lead to 9-5 in the eighth inning after Kirby Snead gave up back-to-back doubles, followed by an RBI single to Schwarber.
Kotsay believes that the bullpen will settle down in time.
“[The bullpen] is down there trying to earn roles … Lemoine came in, I think he was just a little excited and didn’t really command the baseball as well as he needed to, but it’s his first outing,” Kotsay said. “And the guys that followed him … I think they’re all just going to take time to get their feet on the ground.”
RELATED: Oakland, Las Vegas mayors trade shots over A's future stadium
The A’s had new faces in the Opening Day lineup on Friday after trading away several star players this past offseason. Billy McKinney started at DH and went 0 for 3, while Kevin Smith started at third base and was 0 for 4.
Cristian Pache, the A’s new, promising prospect, was the only newcomer to get a hit after starting in center field and recording a single in the eventful seventh inning.
Oakland will have another chance to get ahead against the Phillies during the second game of the series on Saturday, and will hopefully build upon the silver linings Kotsay saw Friday.