Tough way to start the weekend
The A’s dropped their series opener against the Texas Rangers on Friday night, losing the first of three by a 5-2 final on a hot summer evening in West Sacramento.
On the bump for the home squad was lefty Jeffrey Springs. The veteran is the last one standing from the season-opening rotation and he’s been as durable as anyone on the roster has been this year. Making his 28th appearance of the season Springs had a quiet first before a hiccup in the second. Texas plated two in the inning against Springs, loading the bases and then getting a sacrifice fly followed by an RBI single. It could have been worse had a Ranger not got greedy and tried squeezing out an extra base but getting thrown out, but any outs help.
It wouldn’t be long before the A’s got both of those runs back though. Facing rookie starter Jack Leiter tonight, the offense broke through in the bottom of the third for a pair of runs themselves. A couple of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Shea Langeliers with one out. While the starting backstop wasn’t able to cash in, the batter right behind him Brent Rooker made sure the A’s came away with some runs:
That was Rook’s 33rd double of the season and it came at the perfect time. There was one major negative thing that resulted from the play: first baseman Nick Kurtz was soon removed from the game, due to what the A’s later deemed right oblique soreness. No word yet on the severity of the injury but that type of injury can cost players weeks or months, so let’s have all of our fingers crossed Kurtz is fine. At the very least don’t expect him in the lineup tomorrow.
It was tied but not for long. Texas jumped back out in front in the fifth thanks to a solo homer off the bat of former A’s prospect Jonah Heim. Springs would finish the frame and get a couple outs in the sixth before finally ending his day after 94 pitches.
- Jeffrey Springs: 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 94 pitches
Righty Michael Kelly relieved Springs and got out of that jam in the sixth, but the Rangers would break through for their insurance in the next inning thanks to a two-run home run to push the Texas lead to three. The A’s wouldn’t mount any sort of late-inning comeback tonight, instead going down without a fight and securing their 73rd loss of the season.
Not a great loss. Springs made a couple of mistakes but otherwise pitched well, but the offense was mostly silent against a rookie starting pitcher that they’ve already seen before this season. Brent Rooker is an All-Star and showed up tonight but no one else did. And now Nick Kurtz is hurt for who knows how long. Not a great night all around.
The series continues tomorrow evening for the middle game of the series. The A’s will have a big day on the pitching side of things as right-hander Mason Barnett makes his major league debut in his first career start. The key return piece in last year’s Lucas Erceg trade, Barnett has spent all year in Triple-A with the Aviators, his first taste of the final minor league stop. It’s been a rough season down there for the 24-year-old as he has a 6.13 ERA in 25 games (23 starts plus two ‘bulk’ outings). He wasn’t particularly pitching all that well immediately prior to his promotion either: over his final four starts for the Aviators he allowed 18 (!) runs in just 19 frames. Granted, the PCL that he’s been pitching in isn’t conducive to pitcher success but even that is extreme. Ranked as the team’s #10 prospect, Barnett offers a four-pitch mix and has starting upside but he’ll need to have a good outing tomorrow if he wants to earn an extended look down the stretch.
Texas will counter Barnett with deadline acquisition Merrill Kelly, who will be making his sixth start for his new club. The 36-year-old veteran has been as advertised for the Rangers, tossing 29 innings and allowing just 10 runs, good for a 3.10 ERA that is even a step up from his performance earlier this season with the Diamondbacks. Texas paid a pretty penny to bring in Kelly (two top-10 org. prospects) and while he’s pulled his weight his teammates have faltered. He’ll need to keep it up if the Rangers are going to crash the postseason party.
Category: General Sports
