The Habit Hunter is back — and so is Hobbs, breaking down a rollercoaster road trip where the A’s somehow turned a frustrating series loss in San Diego into something that still feels oddly encouraging. The Padres exposed some familiar problems: brutal Game 1 struggles, bullpen meltdowns, wasted opportunities at the plate, and lineup decisions that continue to leave fans scratching their heads. Hobbs dives deep into the trends becoming habits, including Jeffrey Springs’ rough May, JT Ginn’s wildly uneven outings, and why the A’s continue to look like a team allergic to winning series openers. Plus, the growing frustration surrounding Carlos Cortez’s usage takes center stage after another series where the numbers screamed one thing while the lineup card said another.

But this wasn’t all doom and gloom. Jacob Lopez stepped into the spotlight and stabilized a shaky pitching situation in the series finale, helping the A’s salvage the trip while Carlos Cortez continued to produce every single time he was actually allowed to stay in the lineup. Add in more Kurtz chaos (because apparently getting on base is his favorite hobby), flashes from Denzel Clarke and Gelof, and another winning road trip, and suddenly the A’s sit two games up in the AL West with momentum heading home. Hobbs breaks down the good, the bad, and the “what on earth is Kotsay thinking?” moments in a jam-packed return episode of Habit Hunter.