A's chase old foe early, but can't hold late lead to support Springs gem

SAN FRANCISCO – To close out Rivalry Weekend, it was fitting that the Athletics squared off against Justin Verlander.

Yes, he now pitches for the Giants, who remain Northern California counterparts for the A’s in their temporary move to West Sacramento. Verlander, however, represents a more personal rivalry.

It began in the 2006 American League Championship Series. Verlander, then a young ace for the Tigers, bounced an A’s squad featuring current manager Mark Kotsay as its starting center fielder out of the playoffs.

Nearly two decades later, Verlander is still going as he puts the finishing touches to a likely Hall of Fame career. That legendary resume includes a history as a longtime thorn in the side of the A’s; entering Sunday, Verlander was 17-8 with a 2.60 ERA in 30 career starts against them, not counting his 1.24 ERA in five postseason starts against them. The A’s managed to chase him from Sunday’s game after four innings and held a one-run lead in the fourth, but the bullpen blew another late lead in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park.

Following an encouraging start to a six-game road trip that began with a blowout victory over the Dodgers, the A’s have lost five in a row and will return to West Sacramento to begin a seven-game homestand on Monday against the Angels. Before that, here are three takeaways from Sunday’s series finale:

Springs blossoming
Overshadowed by Sunday’s late-inning collapse was another superb outing from starter Jeffrey Springs, who quickly shook off a leadoff homer by Heliot Ramos in the first and retired the next 20 batters he faced before getting pulled with two outs in the seventh.

According to Elias, Springs’ 20 batters retired were the most consecutive batters retired by an A’s pitcher following a leadoff hit to begin an outing in the Expansion Era (since 1961):

• 20 Jeffrey Springs, May 18, 2025
• 19 Chad Gaudin, May 23, 2007
• 18 Tim Hudson, July 11, 2003
• 20 Ken Holtzman, June 9, 1973
• 20 Catfish Hunter, Sept. 17, 1972

Springs is building a case for AL Pitcher of the Month honors. Through four starts in May, he’s allowed just four earned runs in 24 2/3 innings (1.46 ERA), a stark contrast from the 6.04 ERA he posted through his first six starts of the season.

“A few starts ago, [he was] looking into how to make changes and how to go forward,” Kotsay said. “Since then, he’s really stepped up and performed to his capabilities. Today was just another display of what you can do with the fastball and changeup when you mix speeds and keep hitters off balance.”

Springs attacked throughout the afternoon, which led to early outs and a pitch count of 84 at the time of his departure. He attributed the recent success to cleaning up his delivery and overall mechanics, which has led to a better rhythm on the mound.

“Small things,” Spring said of his tweaks. “Getting my arm away from the head. Not staying stagnant. I’m trying to move more efficiently and have everything on time. When you’re on time, you can release the ball out front and it tends to be better than what I was doing the first couple of starts.”

Missing offense
The A’s entered Friday’s series opener batting .258 as a team with 58 home runs. Those two numbers ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Majors. Over these three games, however, they went homerless and struggled throughout in key situations, combining to go 3-for-24 with runners in scoring position and leaving 21 runners on base.

“Our offense is still learning how to do this,” Kotsay said. "It’s a young group. The most experienced guy in the lineup is [Brent Rooker]. Offensively, we got off to a great start [this season] and we’ve hit a bump in the road right now.”

Bullpen woes
An A’s bullpen that began the year as a strength has been roughed as of late. Over the last 11 games, relievers have given up 49 total runs in 40 1 1/3 innings.

Some of those games have been blowouts, but three of those losses occurred while carrying a lead into the late innings. For the A’s to get back on track, the bullpen will need a return to its early-season form, which prior to this 11-game stretch was tied with the Guardians and Padres for fewest losses (2) by a reliever in the Majors entering May 6.