WEST SACRAMENTO -- When things are going bad, sometimes it’s best to try and switch things up, and that’s what the Athletics did.
Entering the day on a dreadful 1-18 stretch over the last 19 games -- their worst record over a 19-game stretch since going 1-18 from Aug. 13-29, 1943 -- the A’s opted to utilize the opener strategy for the first time this season by starting reliever Grant Holman in Tuesday night’s game against the Twins at Sutter Health Park.
It didn't pan out, as the A's fell to Minnesota, 10-3.
But the decision was twofold. Holman, who earlier this season emerged as one of manager Mark Kotsay’s most trusted relievers in high-leverage situations, had allowed nine runs in his last five games.
Jacob Lopez, whose turn in the rotation was Tuesday, was roughed up for a career-high seven earned runs against the Blue Jays last week in Toronto. So, having Holman open in a low-leverage spot and Lopez avoid the top of the lineup to begin his outing was a chance for both to build some confidence.
"Our pitching in the situation that we’re in right now, we’re trying to make changes and give guys the best opportunities for success,” Kotsay said. “For Holman and [Justin] Sterner, these guys that have pitched in leverage over the last few weeks, we’re looking at this as a way to maybe give them a softer landing spot. Start a game and not come in for a high-leverage situation in the seventh inning and see how this helps them going forward.”
Early on, the results were promising. Holman tossed a perfect first inning on 10 pitches, then recorded the first out of the second inning before getting pulled after allowing the next two batters to reach base. Lopez followed Holman out of the bullpen with one out in the second and proceeded to strike out eight of his first 14 batters faced.
Then, the same game the A’s have seen play out so often over the past month happened again. Carrying a one-run lead into the sixth, Lopez lost the lead after allowing solo homers to Trevor Larnach and Willi Castro. Despite setting a career high with nine strikeouts, he departed with one out in the sixth and a one-run deficit.
From there, the bullpen’s late-inning woes continued, with Osvaldo Bido, Tyler Ferguson and Elvis Alvarado combining to allow five runs on six hits as the game unraveled yet again.
"I thought Grant did a nice job,” Kotsay said. “Getting a clean first inning was great. Lopez entering the game in that spot was a good spot, and he did a decent job. The home runs are something that, if you look at the statistics right now, we lead the league in homers. That’s something we really need to focus on.”
The A’s lead the Majors with 94 home runs allowed as a pitching staff. Kotsay also pointed out that the club leads the league in flyball outs. The bullpen has surrendered 34 of those homers, which ranks second most in MLB, behind only the Angels' 36.
How do the A’s fix that issue?
"Getting the baseball down in the bottom third of the zone to be more successful,” Kotsay said. “Those are two areas we have to definitely improve on.”
Of Lopez’s three homers surrendered, all three came on pitches that were left either up or in the middle of the zone.
"A few pitches that I gave them cookies for three home runs,” Lopez said. “I thought I pitched decent. But I kind of let my outing slip away at the end there.”
The A’s are likely to utilize an opener again on Wednesday, with Jeffrey Springs to follow out of the bullpen, and plan on doing so perhaps a few more times going forward in an effort to get their pitching back in order.
"That’s the ongoing conversation right now,” Kotsay said. “The bullpen has pitched a lot. But they’ve pitched a lot because they’re having trouble getting through innings. At some point, they’ve got to take care of each other. That’s really what the mindset needs to be. In terms of pitching, we’re going to continue to focus on it. We know it’s the area we need to address, and it’s a big topic right now.”