NEW YORK -- For Athletics right-hander Mitch Spence, it was a dream come true to pitch in Yankee Stadium on Friday night. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Yankees in 2019 and was hoping to one day pitch for the big club.
But after five years in the organization, Spence was taken by the A’s in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft. After two years away from the Yankees, Spence found himself in the house that George Steinbrenner built. He acknowledged it was the most nervous he ever felt before the game started, but gave New York a battle in a 3-0 loss, allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings.
"It was surreal [pitching in Yankee Stadium],” he said. “I’m very grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to get into pro ball, help me develop and move on to the big leagues. They do a good job developing pitchers, especially. Throughout my time, they helped me hone in my pitches and helped me learn who I was. They gave me an idea of what I had to do to have long-term success.”
Spence gave an example of what he can do on the mound. He is known for getting a lot of weak contact.
Spence breezed through the first inning, but allowed the first hit of the game an inning later by way of a solo homer from Jazz Chisholm Jr. In the following frame, after walking Aaron Judge intentionally, Spence allowed an RBI single to the next hitter, Cody Bellinger, to put the A's in a 2-0 hole.
In the fourth, Paul Goldschmidt reached base on catcher’s interference by Willie MacIver and it ended up hurting the A’s as Goldschmidt scored on a single by DJ Lemahieu that reloaded the bases with one out. But Spence was able to get out of the jam by striking out Trent Grisham and Judge to end the threat.
"Spence pitched a great game,” MacIver said. “I thought he battled out there. He made a lot of good pitches. I would have liked to help him out a little more on the offensive side. Obviously, I’m upset that I allowed [Goldschmidt] to get on and throw [Spence] out of his groove a little bit with the catcher’s interference call.”
Spence needed to be perfect*,* because the Athletics’ offense has been a thud in recent days. They haven’t scored a run in their last 24 innings dating back to Wednesday in Detroit. In Friday’s game, the A’s had Yankees right-hander Will Warren on the ropes in the first and fifth innings.
In the opening frame, the Athletics forced Warren to throw 36 pitches, but left the bases loaded without scoring a run. Four innings later, MacIver led off with a double followed by a walk to Max Schuemann. Both runners, however, were left stranded. The A’s ended up going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
“If we put a run or two in that first inning, it changes the game,” manager Mark Kotsay said.
Despite putting up zeroes of late, the A’s are still tied with St. Louis for fifth in the Major Leagues with 712 base hits. Kotsay sounded like a man who is not concerned about the offense.
"We’ve been scoring all year. The offense generally produces runs,” he said. “At this point, when you get into these kinds of funks and the innings add up and you are not getting the runs across, guys start pressing a little bit. I’m still encouraged about the at-bats. We just got to get a big hit and take a breath.”