The Athletics have stumbled to an absolutely brutal 3-17 record over their last twenty games, and after watching their team lose 13 of their last 14 outings, including a nine-game skid, the A's front office fired longtime pitching coach Scott Emerson on Monday. Just about three weeks ago, on June 19, this team was .500 and only half a game out of first place in the AL West after a comeback, 10-inning win against the Angels. Now, heading into the All-Star break, they are staring down a 41-55 record, sitting fourth in the AL West and a whopping eight games back of the division-leading Texas Rangers. This is a nosedive of epic proportions.
From Contention to Collapse: The Midseason Meltdown
What happened in those three weeks is a gut punch. Going from a fringe division contender to a team that's 3-17 in its last twenty games is almost unfathomable. Losing 13 of 14, and then tacking on a current nine-game losing streak? That's not just a slump, that's a full-blown crisis. The stats back up the panic: the A's rank second to last in the majors with a horrifying 5.21 ERA this season, with only the Colorado Rockies' 5.44 ERA being worse. Of their last 17 losses, a staggering 11 have seen opponents score six runs or more. That's a pitching staff getting absolutely hammered, game after game. You can't win when you're giving up that many runs consistently, it's just not possible.A Legacy of Struggles, A Call For Change
While the A's current temporary home at Sutter Health Park, a hitter-friendly Triple-A stadium, might share some blame for the sky-high ERA, it's not the whole story. Scott Emerson's pitching staffs have been struggling for a while now. They ranked 27th in ERA (4.70) in 2025, 25th (4.37) in 2024, 29th (5.48) in 2023, and 24th (4.52) in 2022. It's a tough pill to swallow, especially since Emerson, who became the pitching coach midseason in 2017, did oversee staffs that were in the top half of MLB in ERA during his first four full seasons, even helping the A's reach the postseason in 2018, 2019, and 2020. But the recent trend has been a clear downhill slide. Now, bullpen coach Dan Hubbs, who, like Emerson, climbed the ranks after joining the organization in the early 2000s, steps in as interim pitching coach for the rest of 2026. The A's have been dealing with injuries lately, which has messed with their offense, but the hope is Hubbs can spark something on the pitching side. This is a desperate move for a team in desperate need of a turnaround. With the All-Star break behind them, the A's need Dan Hubbs to light a fire under this pitching staff. What happens next could define the rest of their season, and fans are definitely looking for something, anything, to cheer for.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.