The A's pitching staff ranks fifth in ERA on the road and 29th at home. The offense ranks third at home and 19th on the road. Somewhere in between is a postseason contender.
No week has better captured the A's Jekyll and Hyde nature than this past one. The pitching staff that has struggled to win games at home in Sacramento has quietly built a 17-14 record on the road — and it's those same arms keeping this team afloat.
Meanwhile, the expected strength of the team — the offense — has gone into hiding when the team leaves Sutter Health Park. The A's were bandied as a top-10 offense coming into the season. They rank third in wRC+ with a 117 at home, and 19th with a 91 (100 is league average) on the road.
The offense was supposed to carry this club in 2026, but it's the pitching staff when playing in regular conditions that has been the difference.
As a unit, the A's pitching staff ranks 29th in baseball in home ERA with a 5.52, just barely ahead of the Colorado Rockies (5.60). On the road, that same group ranks fifth in team ERA with a 3.39.
The lack of cohesion between the pitching and offense was fully apparent this week. On Monday, J.T. Ginn had a no-hitter through eight innings, but ended up having that broken up by the first batter he faced in the ninth inning, and then walked off by the second batter he faced. The A's bats only mustered one run of support — in the top of the ninth no less.
A's pitchers gave up two hits and lost to start the week, and Saturday told the same story. It was Ginn yet again on the mound, but this time he issued six walks in his 2 1/3 innings of work, leading to two runs allowed while not allowing a single hit. A's relievers gave up just two hits the rest of the game, but the A's offense couldn't get anything going, so the green and gold lost 2-0.
That is two games where A's pitching allowed a total of four hits and were outscored 4-1. Just a smidgeon of offense would have turned a 4-3 road trip into a 6-1 trip, and built up more of a cushion in the AL West before a brutal stretch against the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.
Home and Road Warriors
The A's only have four players with at least 10 plate appearances that have a wRC+ that is league average or better on the road. They have ten such players at home. Funnily enough, Zack Gelof is not one of those players at home (in 17 games), but he is on the road (18 games).
Carlos Cortes has been the surprising player of the group, but he began breaking out for the A's on their New York road trip back in April when Brent Rooker was on the IL. It was that breakout that has now propelled him to regular starting time in right field over a struggling Lawrence Butler.
Cortes holds a 185 wRC+ away from home, which is tops on the team, and a 140 at home, which ranks him fourth.
Shea Langeliers (144 on the road) and Nick Kurtz (150 on the road) round out the group.
How worried the A's should be that it's those two — whom they haven't signed to extensions — is a discussion for another day.
Tyler Soderstrom's struggles have been both at home and away (90 at home, 69 away) which could actually be an encouraging sign that when he finds his groove, it'll be a traveling show.
Searching for Middle Ground
For a team this divided against itself, the middle ground isn't a philosophy — it's a survival strategy. That means finding arms that can pitch at home. The only arm on the roster that has thrown at least an inning and still holds a 0.00 ERA is of course, Carlos Cortes in his one inning of mop-up duty. He can do it all.
On the road, Scott Barlow hasn't allowed a run this season in 16 innings of work. At the same time, he holds an 8.00 ERA at home.
Mark Leiter Jr. has been great at home, leading the team in ERA with a 2.79 and coming in second in FIP with a 3.50. Jack Perkins ranks above him in FIP at home (3.21), but also holds a 6.23 ERA in Sacramento. Joel Kuhnel (3.00 ERA) and Aaron Civale (3.48 ERA) are the only other pitchers with ERAs below four at home, which doesn't leave a ton of go-to options.
Luckily for the A's, Civale will be getting the ball for Monday's series opener against the Mariners at home, and will be in line again for the Yankees series over the weekend to round out the homestand.
The middle ground may be less of a destination, and more of a balancing act. One benefit of the A's fluid bullpen construction is the freedom to deploy relievers situationally rather than by role.
That would mean Leiter in leverage spots at home, and Barlow in those same spots on the road. If Kotsay hit the right buttons while the offense finds even a modest uptick in production on the road, this team has the pieces to remain a danger in the AL West. The pieces are there. Sometimes they're just Hyde-ing.
What Do You Think Happens Next?
The A's lead the AL West, but they're still a couple of pieces from being true contenders. What gets them there? Join AthleticsRoundtable — it's free — and let us know what moves you're making. Never miss an article by following Jason us @ByJasonB!
