This one stings. The Athletics had the lead for the majority of the game in Philadelphia this evening but a late-inning rally by the Phillies sunk the A’s as they dropped their second straight contest and their third in the last four games. Now back at .500 the team has got to get a win tomorrow in the series finale if they want to avoid the sweep. Still in first place though!
On the bump for the A’s this evening was left-hander Jeffrey Springs. The veteran came into the season on an absolute hot
streak but got hit around the last couple times out. He also had to depart his most recent outing with a hip issue so the fact that he was even available for the start tonight was a positive.
For the first few innings tonight Springs was on his game and looked like the arm from earlier this season. He spread out a couple hits allowed over the first four frames but otherwise kept the Philly offense from getting any sort of rhythm or rally going.
Meanwhile the offense for the Athletics was facing Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler. The right-hander had only just returned from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery but looked like the Wheeler we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing over the years. And for the first couple innings tonight the A’s looked like they would be the latest team to experience the return of Wheeler.
The bats broke through against the right-hander in the third inning. Lawrence Butler, manning center field tonight, drew a leadoff walk to start the frame then advanced to second on a productive out. With two outs though the A’s would need a big two-out base hit. And that’s just what they got from shortstop Jacob Wilson, who brought Butler home with an RBI single the other way to right field:
Wilson would finish the day 1-for-5 but that hit was a big one to get the scoring started. That run also probably doesn’t score without some nice sliding from Butler coming into home plate:
The A’s added on another run against Wheeler a couple innings later with another two-out rally. After the first two batters of the fifth went down right-handed hitter Zack Gelof, who was playing third base tonight for the first time in the major leagues, laced a two-out double to put a runner in scoring position and flip the lineup. That meant Nick Kurtz, who was playing in his home town with his dad in attendance, got a chance to pad the lead and he did that with his own RBI base knock to bring home Gelof:
That base hit also extended Kurtz’s on-base streak, tying former Athletic Matt Chapman’s 30-game mark from 2018. Still a long ways to go to reach Mark McGuire’s franchise-record 62 straight games reaching base, but he’s almost half way!
Kurtz would also steal a bag later in this one, his fourth of the season which is tied for the team lead with Butler.
The Phillies finally broke through against Springs in the bottom half of that frame. A leadoff triple all but ensured that and a groundout prevented Springs from getting his shutdown inning. Still, the A’s were in the lead and it was only the first run allowed from the lefty all evening.
It didn’t take long for the A’s to get that run back though. Leading off the top of the sixth was left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, and he got ahold of the second pitch from Wheeler and delivered a solo home run to left field to push the lead back to two:
That was Sodey’s fifth long ball of the season and that’s his second in the past three games. After a slow-ish start to the year, could the lefty slugger be getting hot?
Now with a two-run lead again Springs went back out there for the start of the sixth at just 64 pitches. After getting Bryce Harper to ground out to start the inning he got tagged on the first pitch to outfielder Adolis Garcia, who delivered a solo blast to halve the A’s lead to 3-2. Another single on the very next pitch and Mark Kotsay had seen enough. At just 75 pitches Springs’ evening was over as he made way for right-handed reliever Justin Sterner.
- Jeffrey Springs: 5 1/3 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 75 pitches
A quality bounce back outing from Springs, but it only lowered his season ERA a few points to 3.85 in eight starts. He departed with the lead and probably deserved a W on his score card tonight. His next start lines up to be next week in the series-opener at home against the Cardinals.
Sterner got the final two outs of the frame without any added drama and we were off to the seventh. Only nine outs to go. Next up was Jack Perkins, who had a perfect frame with a pair of strikeouts. Looking to roll the dice Kotsay decided to send him out for a second inning of work, a decision that almost immediately backfired.
A leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth is just asking for trouble but Perkins did just that against slugger Kyle Schwarber. An error by Jeff McNeil at second base didn’t help matters but another single loaded the bases with no outs for the Phillies. Danger territory for any pitcher and they made Perk pay tonight. Philly second baseman Edmundo Sosa had the biggest hit of the night for the home team, driving a single to center field that brought home two runners and gave the Phillies their first lead of the game.
It was only a one-run deficit though so the bullpen needed to keep it from getting out of hand. After a lineout it was lefty Hogan Harris’ turn to pitch and he didn’t have much better success, allowing a pair of singles and an RBI ground out to push the score to the eventual 6-3 final.
The A’s didn’t go quietly in the ninth, loading the bases and bringing up Wilson with the tying-run on first base. Unfortunately he went after the first pitch of the at bat and weakly grounded out to the pitcher on a pitch up and in, ending the game and securing the Athletics’ second straight loss in Philadelphia.
This one is tough to swallow. The A’s wasted a quality performance from Springs tonight. The offense had some moments but it’s hard to win games when you are getting out-hit seven to 12. The bullpen struggles cost them tonight and one has to wonder if the lack of set roles is affecting the young arms that make up the relief unit. Structure is good for the youth.
We have one final chance to steal a win in Philly this year. It’ll be right-hander J.T. Ginn on the mound for the visiting squad as he prepares for his sixth start. He had his first real adversity in his previous outing when he allowed five runs to score against the Guardians in a loss. The 26-year-old will be looking for a bounceback performance against a Philly squad that has scored 15 runs in the two games of this series. Ginn will be opposed by Philly’s own young pitcher in Andrew Painter, who will bring a 5.28 ERA into the series finale. The A’s are still in first place, but they’re back at the .500 mark so a win in the finale would do wonders for the team’s morale before heading to Baltimore this weekend.
