Streaks by Triggs, A’s end in lopsided loss

Sunday’s 11-1 pounding by the Seattle Mariners, which halted the A’s win streak at five and wiped out Andrew Triggs’ ERA of 0.00, didn’t ruin the sense of accomplishment to date and the positive outlook going forward.

The A’s finished a 5-4 homestand that began with three losses, featured a five-game win streak and ended with a stinker.

Next they hit the road against the Angels, Astros and Twins, starting Tuesday in Anaheim.

Making matters promising, the pitchers projected to be 1 and 2 in the rotation are close to returning from the disabled list, Kendall Graveman during the Angels series and Sonny Gray during the Twins series.

For a team that finished in the cellar the past two seasons, perhaps any winning homestand could be classified as such.

Taylor Motter hit a grand slam off Triggs in the third inning, and Nelson Cruz hit a three-run homer off Raul Alcantara in the seventh.

Triggs entered 3-0 without yielding an earned run in 172/3 innings, the longest such run by an Oakland starter to open a season.

The streak ended in the first inning when Robinson Cano hit a grounder through a drawn-in infield to score Jarrod Dyson.

Two innings later Triggs gave up two hits and issued consecutive walks to force home a run, and Motter followed with his grand slam.

The A’s played without cleanup hitter Khris Davis, who got his first rest of the season, and leadoff hitter Rajai Davis, who missed his third straight game with a hamstring issue.