Oakland A’s eager to return home after dismal trip

A flight back to the Bay Area on Sunday night had to sound pretty good to an Oakland A’s team that had spent the previous week and a half away from home.

A day off today will probably feel even better.

The A’s struck out 12 times and managed only one run through eight innings in an 8-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, extending Oakland’s season-long skid to eight games. The loss also marked the fourth time Oakland has been swept this season.

Brady Singer stuck out nine, and Vinnie Pasquantino hit a three-run triple for the Royals, who completed a three-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium and handed the A’s their 13th loss in the last 15 games.

On a 10-game road trip, the Athletics went a dismal 1-9.

“You hit stretches like this,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters after the game. “You hit some adversity with some injuries, but you just have to keep focusing on grinding out and focusing on that day. Obviously, tomorrow is a good day to take a breather and reset.”

After a badly needed day off today, the A’s start a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at the Coliseum on Tuesday.

“We’ve pitched better than we have over (this) series. Sometimes we get in these ruts where you start hitting and don’t pitch, and vice versa,” Kotsay said. “So I think the off-day couldn’t come at a better time for us right now.”

A’s starting pitcher, JP Sears, lasted 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

“It was a little letdown because of the stretch we are going through,” Sears said. “I wanted to be the guy to pick the team up, but today just wasn’t the day for that.

“It’s a long season. We obviously have not been playing good baseball the past 10 days or so, so we are going to enjoy the off-day tomorrow. And we’ve been playing pretty well at home as of recently, so it will be good to get back home and regroup.”

Brent Rooker hit his 11th home run of the season with a three-run shot over the left-field bullpen. He leads the team in the category.

Tyler Soderstrom put the A’s on the board with a two-out double in the fourth. Since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday, Soderstrom has a hit in six of nine games. Max Schuemann had a two-hit game.

Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, Oakland had a chance to take the lead with bases loaded with two outs, but Singer ended the inning on a Rooker groundout. Oakland left 10 men on base on 11 hits.

In the last 15 games, the A’s have struck out 151 times and have a team ERA of well over six.

“I think when things start to not go your way, the way baseball works is that it just snowballs and you try to do too much, and it ends up having the opposite effect of what you want it to,” Rooker told reporters. “Then it just snowballs and snowballs until eventually you come out of it.

“It’s a game of streaks, and right now, we are in a not-so-fun streak. But with the group we have in here, we know we are going to come out of it, start playing better, and get back to winning baseball games.”

Singer (4-2) tossed six innings on one-run ball, giving up six hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. It was the fifth time this season that Singer has stuck out six or more and was one shy of his season high. He has gone at least five innings in every start this season.

Bobby Witt Jr. went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs. Maikel Garcia had a two-RBI game and extended a six-game hitting streak. Salvador Perez had a two-hit game with an RBI.