The reeling Oakland Athletics set something off in manager Bob Melvin on Sunday. After the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim completed a four-game sweep over the A's with an 8-1 win, the winner of the last two AL Manager of the Year awards called his team "pathetic" and said the "last three games here are the worst I’ve seen this team play in I can't remember how long."
"The reason I'm that upset is because that's not who we are," Melvin said. "That is not who we've been for three years. And for the last, I don't know how long it's been, it's mounted. It's been frustrating. But that last three games for us is just not who we are. At all. And it's embarrassing. They all should be embarrassed."
Not only did the A's lose all four games in Anaheim, California, they only scored a total of one run over the last 27 innings. The scoring drought over the last three games seemed to be a tipping point for Melvin, who was ejected on Sunday and has seen his team free-fall over the last three weeks of August.
The A's have only won six of their last 20 games and now sit five games behind the Halos in first place of the AL West. On Aug. 10, Oakland was in first place in the division and ahead of the Angels by four games. Meanwhile, the red-hot Angels have won six straight and 15 of their last 20.
While the A's still sit atop the Wild Card standings, it might not take long for that to change if they continue to struggle.