Five Oakland Pitchers Shut Out the Mets Cold, and the Athletics Are Suddenly Surging

The Oakland Athletics just threw a complete game clinic at Citi Field, and the Mets got absolutely nothing out of it. Five different pitchers combined to blank New York 4-0 on Friday night, holding the opposition to just six hits and continuing what looks like a legit turnaround after that brutal 2-6 start to the season. Two straight shutouts. Four wins in the last five games. Yeah, you read that right.

The Pitching Performance Was Absurd

Here's the thing about a five-pitcher shutout: it tells you something about the depth of a staff when everything clicks. J.T. Ginn got the ball in his first start of the year and was absolutely lights out over four innings, surrendering just one hit (a bunt single by Jared Young) and a walk while punching out four batters. Mark Leiter Jr. followed with a one-hit fifth, and Jack Perkins (1-0) got the win after giving up three hits over 2 1/3 innings. Scott Barlow and Elvis Alvarado closed it out, combining to retire the final five outs without drama.

The Mets had exactly one moment where they looked dangerous. In the sixth, Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette both singled to open the inning, but Oakland got out of it when Lindor was thrown out trying to get back to third on Jared Young's grounder to first. Luis Robert Jr. then bounced into a double play to end the threat.

Oakland's Bats Finally Showed Up

The Athletics didn't need much offense when the pitching was this dominant, but they got enough. Shea Langeliers ripped an RBI single in the third to plate the first run after Carlos Cortes led off with a single and Lawrence Butler worked a walk. Then the floodgates opened just a bit in the ninth. Jacob Wilson singled and scored on Jeff McNeil's hit, and Denzel Clarke delivered a two-run single to push it to 4-0. McNeil, who spent 2018-25 with the Mets before getting out, went 2-for-2 against his old team.

Meanwhile, the Mets have gone from outscoring opponents 28-8 over a four-game winning streak to dropping their last three games by a combined 18-3 margin. That's a brutal swing.

Oakland is starting to look like a team figuring things out. Let's see if they can keep this going.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.