Death By Bullpen: Pirates Rip A's Hearts Out

The A's looked like they were on their way to a comfortable win after jumping all over Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller in the first inning. Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson and Zack Gelof helped spark a four-run opening frame as the A's raced out to a 4-0 lead. Joey Perkins was outstanding through the first five innings, and for a while, it felt like Sacramento was finally going to celebrate a much-needed victory. Then the game slowly began to unravel. Bryan Reynolds launched two home runs, Pittsburgh chipped away inning by inning, and a lead that once felt safe disappeared before the seventh-inning stretch. On tonight's edition of Last Call: A's Postgame, Booney breaks down another devastating late-game collapse as the bullpen once again failed to hold a lead. We'll discuss the bright spots, including Gelof's huge night at the plate, Perkins' strong start, and another encouraging performance from the young core. But we'll also tackle the bigger question hanging over this team: why do these losses keep happening? From missed opportunities with runners on base to the latest bullpen meltdown capped by Nick Lowe's ninth-inning blast, this was another game that felt ripped straight out of the A's nightmare playbook.