CHATHAM — John Schiffner figured it was a perfect time for a pep talk.

With the A’s two games under .500, sitting next-to-last in the East Division, and coming off a lousy loss to Harwich in which they squandered a ninth-inning lead, the Chatham Field Manager gathered his team in the bullpen prior to Friday’s game against Brewster.

“It was not an air-out session, it was a reality session,” said Schiffner. “If you add up the records of every kid’s college team that’s on our team, it’s around 200 games over .500, so I told the kids, you come from good, quality programs, you know how to win.” 

The A’s took that message to heart, playing home run derby against a guy who hadn’t given up a home run all season.

Evan Ocheltree, Grant Green and Victor Sanchez hit solo shots in the second, third and fourth innings, respectively, off Brewster ace Tim Clubb, who came into the contest with a 4-0 record and Cape League-low 0.35 ERA, powering the A’s to a 7-2 victory over the wildcard-leading Whitecaps.

“On the bus ride over we were talking about how Clubb is probably one of the best pitchers in this league, but we came ready to play,” Chatham catcher Gregg Glime said. “Coach Schiff and [hitting] coach [Pat] McGee both told us good teams come back after tough losses, and that’s what we did today. We played well and got a big win.”

The A’s have had plenty of big wins this year; problem is, they’ve followed them with losses. 

That was the case once again on Saturday, as all the good feeling from Friday’s win deflated in the form of an 8-2 home loss to Wareham, which came with the Cape League’s worst record. 

Another win-one, lose-one scenario played out the next two nights, with Chatham defeating Falmouth 7-2 Sunday, followed by Monday’s 2-1 loss to East Division leader Orleans, dropping the A’s to 12-14 and fourth place in the standings. 

“We’ve become a better team, but I also think we can be a better one,” said Schiffner. “We need to go on a good three, four, five-game winning streak, because I think that will convince these guys how good they are. I told them, I really think they’re one of the better teams in the league when they put it all together, but they have to put it all together.”

There’s certainly enough talent on the team to do so.

Shortstop Grant Green (.410) and outfielder Cory Olson (.419), hitting first and second in the order, have been an unstoppable one-two punch, and have helped make up for a few players who aren’t hitting above the Mendoza line, much less their weight. 

“Cory came in a week late and has just energized us. He doesn’t have the most fluid swing, but he puts the meat of the bat on the ball and makes solid contact,” said Schiffner. “Grant has been hot and hasn’t cooled off. If he makes one out, he wants to talk to Pat and find out why he made that out. He wants to get better. That’s a tremendous attitude to have.”

New arrivals Kyle Seager (.364) and Yan Gomes (.261) have made an immediate impact, and Evan Olcheltree (.236) has been hot as of late, hitting two home runs over a three-day period last week. 

“I’m very pleased with the way our hitting has come around,” Schiffner said. “We’ve increased our batting average about 30-40 points over the last 11 games, and our strikeouts have dropped off considerably. We lost a lot of games early in the season because we were striking out 14-15 times each game. Now, we’re only striking out seven to eight times, which is normal in the Cape League. That’s a credit to kids adjusting to the wood bats and making contact.”

Chatham’s pitching staff has been a mixed bag, ranking next to last in terms of overall ERA (4.28), but first overall in total strikeouts (234).

Sammy Solis (3-1, 1.13 ERA) has been the centerpiece of the squad, and the only member with a winning record, save for spare arms Matt Zoltak (2-0) and Bobby Hernandez (1-0), who was released then re-signed with the team last week. Kevin Couture has been an effective set-up man and closer Brad Boxberger (2.45) has been a formidable force, saving eight games.

In trying to get the A’s to play up to their potential, Schiffner broke things down during the team meeting he called.

“I told them, if you continue to improve, you’ll make yourself a better player, enhance your draft prospects and help us win,” Schiffner said. “There’s a few games I wish we could have back. I’m just hoping that at the end of the season we’re not regretting those losses.”

Speaking for the players, Glime doesn’t see that happening. 

“We lost a lot at the beginning of the season and it was depressing, but things are evening out, and I’m real confident we can go on a second-half run,” the second-year A’s player said. “We have such good players and there’s not one of us that’s dying to go home. Talking to some guys on other teams, they’re ready to leave, they’re missing home, but we’re nowhere near ready to go home.”