The A’s needed a breather from their bullpen, and Jeffrey Springs gave them exactly that on Saturday night.
After using seven different relievers to cover 11 1/3 innings in the first two games of the four-game set in Seattle, Oakland finally got the kind of start it had been chasing. Springs worked seven scoreless innings in the A’s 6-2 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park, giving the staff the length it badly needed while snapping back into the form that has often played well in this ballpark.
It didn’t look like this sort of outing was sitting there waiting for him. Springs came into the game with a 6.37 ERA, third highest in the Majors among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched, and his 9.05 ERA over his previous 13 starts dating back to the beginning of June was the worst in baseball over that stretch among pitchers with at least 50 innings. He also hadn’t won since April 14, a run of 13 straight losses that ranks sixth longest in A’s franchise history.
But Seattle has been a different story for him. Entering Saturday, Springs had a 2.45 ERA in eight career games, including three starts, at T-Mobile Park. He leaned into that comfort and kept the Mariners quiet on 81 pitches, allowing only two hits, both singles by Cal Raleigh, along with two walks.
Oakland’s offense backed him up early and kept piling on. The A’s scored four times in the first four innings against George Kirby, with Max Muncy supplying a solo homer for his second straight day. Lawrence Butler added the exclamation point in the eighth with a two-run blast to left.
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