MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Byrnes

The Athletics continued the pattern of struggling in the month of May and doing so with tired arms of the bullpen. For the second consecutive series the A’s needed to pull out a win in the finale to avoid a series sweep.

(Phillies: 9-1)
Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez absolutely dominated the Athletics in the series opener allowing just three hits over his eight innings. He took nine pitches or less to retire the side in four separate innings. Bryce Harper homered twice and was the only earned run given up by A’s starter Luis Severino (2-3, 4.15).

Severino weaved in and out of foot traffic all outing and left down only 1-0 but the weak lineup card didn’t help with Shea Langeliers out on maternity leave.

Relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and recently promoted Tyler Ferguson allowed four earned runs each, showing that the bullpen is already burned out. Like in 2025, Athletics relievers have been heavily used to mitigate injury to multiple starters and May is likely to be a rough month again.

This was the eighth series opener that the team has lost in twelve series this season.

(Phillies: 6-3)
On Wednesday Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs mirrored Luis Severino’s outing in that he had to navigate foot traffic for most of his start. Like Severino, Springs kept the damage to a minimum, only for the bullpen to blow an otherwise decent outing.

The A’s started the scoring in the third when Lawrence Butler walked and Jacob Wilson’s RBI-single gave them a 1-0 lead. They extended the lead to 2-0 when Zack Gelof hit a 2-out double and Nick Kurtz followed with an RBI-single of his own in the top of the fifth inning.

Phillies Brandon Marsh tripled to start the fifth and later scored on a ground out to get the Phillies on the board, 2-1.

The teams traded home runs in the sixth inning when Tyler Soderstrom went yard for the A’s and Adolis Garcia did likewise for Philadelphia. Springs’ afternoon was over a batter later and he went 5 1/3 innings, not taking more than fifteen pitches to retire the side in any inning and scattered eight hits.

You could see it was time to pull him because in the last eight he faced the batter teed off the first or second pitch six of those times. Springs left with a 3-2 lead but it failed to hold up as reliever Jack Perkins had a mix of solid pitching and mind-blowing decisions.

After Justin Sterner finished the sixth for Springs A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in Jack Perkins, who pitched a solid seventh (2 k’s). It was surprising that he was brought in this early because Kotsay had been using him in the closer spot. Perkins (2-1, 3.68) loaded the bases in the eighth and gave up a two-run single to Edmundo Sosa.

Sosa had swung at eleven straight pitches and probably shouldn’t have seen a strike but the route was on from there. Hogan Harris replaced Perkins and gave up back-to-back singles to allow the final runs and give the Athletics a 6-3 loss.

(Athletics: 12-1)
In the finale, Langeliers and Rooker hit a pair of two run homers to go up 4-0 without the Phillies recording a single out and the rout was on.

Continuing the blowout Soderstrom opened the third with a walk and Carlos Cortes hit an RBI-single. Wilson followed with the A’s third two run bomb of the game and a 7-0 lead.

*PSA: STOP SITTING CORTES (.667 CAREER VS LEFTIES!)*

The teams traded runs in the fourth inning when the A’s hit back-to-back-to-back singles and the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber homered for their only run of the day.

Gelof tripled in Butler in the fifth and Kurtz drove him in with another RBI-single to go up 10-1. Later in the seventh, after a Butler double, Gelof hit the Athletics fourth two run shot of the day for the final 12-1 score.

JT Ginn (1-1, 3.62) pitched eight outstanding innings, striking out eight, in his best start to this season.

Next: Baltimore Orioles 5/7 4:05pst, Oriole Park at Camden Yard, Baltimore, MD