Stripling has a stinker, Muncy homers
Ross Stripling, having been guaranteed a spot in the A’s Opening Day rotation did everything he could to put question marks on the guarantee today in a 12-11 loss to the San Diego Padres. In his quest to finish 4 innings, he gave up a whopping 13 hits and 8 earned runs, driving his preseason ERA up to an ugly 11.32. Stripling does pitch with a contact-driven approach so he’s bound to allow one of these hit-fests every once in a while. His 5 strikeouts and 0 walks can serve as your silver lining if you’re in need of one, but it wasn’t an outing that inspired much confidence in a rotation being optimistically advertised as “much improved.”
Mitch Spence, who pitched the last 4 innings of the game and is competing for the last rotation spot behind Stripling, fared better but not by much. Another 4 runs got tacked on while he was on the mound, 3 of which were earned. He’s been solid the rest of the spring but he has tough competition in stuffmaster Joe Boyle. Regardless, he’ll likely end up at least in the major league bullpen rather than getting sent back to the Yankees.
Somehow, despite allowing the Padres to score 12, the A’s only lost the game by one. Oakland got help from all over the lineup — top, bottom, starters, reserves. Esteury Ruiz, Tyler Soderstrom, and Jacob Wilson each contributed 2 RBIs apiece.
Top shortstop prospect Max Muncy also hit his second home run of the spring in his only at bat of the game. He’ll look to show more of his pop in Friday’s Spring Breakout game against the Giants.
In the meantime, JP Sears will start the A’s game tomorrow against Shota Imanaga and the Chicago Cubs.