Source: Oakland Tribune

The A's have treated their fans to a pleasant surprise with their ability to bop the ball over the fence on occasion.

That alone won't guarantee they are a better offensive team this season.

Case in point was Saturday night's 4-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.

The A's mustered just five hits and put only three runners into scoring position against Hector Noesi (1-1), who went eight innings before Brandon League closed it out with a hitless ninth for Seattle.

The A's, 4-5 on the young season, still have a chance to win this three-game series Sunday afternoon. But so far, there just aren't enough players up and down the A's lineup stringing hits together.

"We're just pressing a little bit, and that's contagious," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "We need to score some runs early."

A's starter Tommy Milone (1-1) didn't pitch poorly. He gave up four runs over six innings, but with no offensive support, his margin for error was zero.

Through his first two starts with the A's, Milone has received a total of one run of support.

"You try to keep the team in the ballgame, and it feels like you can't give up any runs," Milone said. "It's hard. As a pitcher you wanna go out and throw up zeroes. It didn't happen today."

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