A’s drop both sides of Saturday Split Squad DH

Not a good day for either side

The A’s dropped both of their games in Saturday’s split squad double header, losing to both the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers.

Brewers handle A’s 8-0

The A’s squad against the Brewers featured mostly young guys and prospects not likely to be on the Opening Day roster (outside of prized shortstop Jacob Wilson). On the hill for the squad for the A’s was righty Mitch Spence, who had had a solid spring up to this point.

After a quiet first inning that saw him induce a double play, Spence completely imploded in the second inning. Milwaukee put up an 8-spot against the presumptive #4 starter for the Athletics, shooting his spring ERA up from 1.13 to 6.17 in just one inning. Clearly results weren’t the goal of the day as Spence pitched into the third inning and built up his pitch count, though he didn’t finish the third inning and still got hit hard. He should still occupy a spot in the rotation despite the horrid start today but man, this was not a good look in this one with the regular season fast approaching.

The bats meanwhile were ice cold today. Facing Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, the A’s managed two hits in the first inning but couldn’t do anything with that. Over the rest of the game they managed just four more hits, with Miguel Andujar collecting two hits, including a double. They also struck out seven times against Brewers pitching in what was a forgettable day at the park for the Athletics.

Athletics lose close one to Rangers 4-3

Meanwhile back at Hohokam Stadium the Athletics were having a bit of an easier time facing off against their division rivals. On the hill for the A’s was right-hander Luis Severino, making just his third appearance of the spring. Entering the day the Athletics’ high-priced free agent addition had pitched just five innings this spring while allowing three runs. Not the results you’d want to see but whatever gets him ready for the regular season, right?

Severino got off to a good start in this one. He fired two scoreless frames with a couple strikeouts before Texas tagged him for a pair of runs in the third. The righty pitched a perfect fourth before a leadoff single in the fifth ended his day, finishing the day almost doubling the amount of innings he’s pitched this spring. He likely only has one more start to go before Opening Day arrives so hopefully he’s ramped up enough for the long grueling season.

After Severino came right-hander JT Ginn in relief. Already on the outside looking in for a roster spot, Ginn allowed his inherited runner to score as well as one more, doubling the Texas lead and making it 4-0. Ginn would end up pitching four innings today, indicating the team still intends to use him in a starting role, just down in Triple-A to begin the season.

The offense meanwhile struggled. With a lineup full of expected everyday players, the bats struggled early on against the Rangers’ pitching staff. Texas had five pitchers pitch in the first five innings, keeping the Athletics off balance. The A’s managed just two hits over that time, a Tyler Soderstrom single and a Luis Urias double in the fourth and fifth, respectively.

Finally, in the sixth inning the bats woke up. Three straight hits opened the inning and eventually the A’s scored three runs courtesy of RBI’s from Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, and JJ Bleday, the expected heart of the A’s lineup.

They did have a scary moment during the rally however. While on third base, #3 prospect Colby Thomas was hit in the right knee on a line drive off the bat of Rooker. He immediately fell to the ground and ultimately was helped off the field with a trainer. We don’t yet know the severity of the injury but it didn’t look good and he may be down for a bit. He wasn’t expected to be a factor immediately in ‘25 but a possible option later in the season. First base prospect Nick Kurtz also took a ball to the hand later in the game so not a great day on the injury front. Luckily we got good news after the game that both players escaped a major injury:

The A’s managed to get a runner on in each of the last three innings, giving themselves at least a chance. Alas they couldn’t advance any of them past first base and the A’s dropped the game 4-3, finishing off a tough loss that the A’s felt they should have won.

Yuck. Two losses in one day? That’s not a fun Saturday. The A’s spring record falls to 12-11 and the team has just a handful of games left of spring training. Eight games, to be exact. Tomorrow we get a chance to wash this day off and get another win. Our opponent? The San Francisco Giants. The matchup? Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs versus Giants righty Hayden Birdsong. Tomorrow afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium. 1;05 sharp, folks. See you then!