Athletics, manager Mark Kotsay return home determined to put 102-loss season in rear-view mirror

OAKLAND — Opening Night beckons so optimism was rampant Sunday.

Even when the team is the Athletics, who finished 46 games out of first place. A 60-102 record was good for last place in the American League West and led to worst home attendance in Major League Baseball with an average of 9,973.

So what does A’s manager Mark Kotsay hope to see in 2023 at the most maligned home venue in professional sports?

“We’d love the opportunity to fill this place up,” Kotsay said Sunday before the Giants beat the A’s 9-5.  “There’s no better place to play in front of a full stadium than the Oakland Coliseum. I know that. I’ve experienced that.”

The Coliseum was far from full Sunday, and a good portion of the crowd of 11,325 was there to see the Giants and not the A’s.

Starting pitcher Ken Waldichuk, who will be in the starting rotation, struggled with his control and the A’s had just an infield single and Tony Kemp’s three-run double offensively until there were two outs in the ninth inning and a six-run deficit.

No matter. There hasn’t been a team in recorded history that’s thrown in the towel before the season begins, and a 10-16-3 Cactus League record and a current five-game losing streak in meaningless games was nothing to get worked up about.

Next up is Monday night’s rematch against the Giants at Oracle Park, the final tune-up before Thursday night’s opener at the Coliseum against Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels.

The Athletics don’t have that kind of name recognition, preferring to turn over accrued talent for younger, cheaper talent, much to the chagrin of the fan base.

Rookie starter Kyle Muller, acquired in the deal that sent Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves, draws the start in the opener against Ohtani. Center fielder Esteury Ruiz, who came from Milwaukee as a part of a three-team, nine-player trade, is one of the fastest players in baseball. Ruiz nearly caught and passed Nick Allen, who has decent speed, on Kemp’s bases-clearing double in the second inning.

Catcher Shea Langeliers has shown promise both as a hitter and behind the plate.

“There are players to be talked about that can establish themselves and have long careers as Oakland Athletics,” Kotsay said. “I think there’s some excitement.”

Enough excitement, Kotsay believes, for the A’s to get off to a solid start and then change their approach of shedding players around the All-Star break.

“There was a lot of change last year, a transition period that we got through,” Kotsay said. “It wasn’t a successful year by any measure outside of the fact that there were some young players that got their opportunities. Our expectation this year is we’re going to go compete and find ourselves in a position to hopefully add at the break and surprise people.”

As was the case last year even as the losses piled up and 64 players saw playing time, the clubhouse remains a positive place just as it was during predecessor Bob Melvin’s tenure.

“There’s a lot of new faces, some familiar, but the team likes each other and everybody gets along,” Allen said. “We’re all going in the same direction. That’s a positive sign right now. I think we had a good spring and are ready to take over.”

Muller, still on a high from being named the Opening Night starter, has big dreams.

“You hear all the talk, `oh, they’re going to lose 120 games’ ” Muller said. “But we’re a lot better than that and we all know that. We believe that. Hopefully we can give the fans in Oakland a nice product.”

Kotsay hasn’t spent any time telling his team what the baseball world thinks of them.

“I don’t think I need to talk about it because it’s been talked about so much,” Kotsay said. “I think these guys definitely will use that as motivation for them. Our expectations aren’t what everyone else’s are, nor should they be. This team I think has a lot to go out and prove.”

Allen isn’t overly concerned about the recent defeats.

“I think we’re focused on making our plays, having good at-bats,” Allen said. “I think we’re getting there, we’re going to put it all together and we’re just taking it one step at a time.”

NOTABLE

— The A’s had half of their six hits with two outs in the ninth inning, back-to-back home runs from Pablo Reyes and Carlos Perez and a single from Ryan Noda against John Brebbia.

— Jeurys Familia, an 11-year veteran right-handed reliever, agreed to terms with the A’s with left-hander Kirby Snead going on the 60-day injured list with a left shoulder strain. He pitched the seventh inning against the Giants, giving up an unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts and no walks. He threw 21 pitches, 15 of them strikes.

Familia, 33, was released by Arizona Friday as a non-roster invitee after going 1-0 with a 1.35 and a .167 opponents batting average in eight relief appearances. Last season with Philadelphia and Boston, Familia was 2-3 with a 6.09 earned run average. Familia is 34-28 with 125 saves in his career, which included 30 games with the A’s in 2018.

—  Waldichuk gave up four hits and five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, with the big blow a three-run home run by David Villar in the bottom of the second inning. Waldichuk struggled with his command, throwing 80 pitches with just 42 strikes and four walks.

“I think the biggest thing is the walks. The slider was there, the velo was there early on,” Waldichuk said. “I think it’s just getting the ball out in front. I release the ball too far back and that’s when it starts spraying around.”

Waldichuk has walked 12 batters in 13 1/3 innings in spring ball, contributing to an 0-4 record and 10.54 earned run average.

“The lack of command presented itself again,” Kotsay said. “Four walks in 3 1/3, that’s not going to lead to success. We know that.”

— Right-hander Paul Blackburn will throw off a mound Sunday after experiencing no issues with a right fingernail avulsion after a recent flat-ground session. Blackburn had been built up to 65 pitches before being shut down March 10 and will start the season on the injured list for an undetermined amount of time.

Blackburn will be joined there by right-hander Drew Rucinski, whose hamstring strain has been slow to heal.

— Right-hander Austin Pruitt will open the season in Triple-A Las Vegas. He threw a bullpen Saturday. He showed no ill effects from recent back tightness in a bullpen session Saturday.