Jeffrey Springs Takes Ball for Athletics' finale vs. Rockies
Jeffrey Springs gets the ball for the rockies finale in Las Vegas after his start was moved from yesterday, and the Athletics are trying to finish a sweep while playing in triple-digit heat. Springs has not won in two months, so this outing arrives with a small margin for error and a short night for the bullpen if the temperature pushes pitchers harder than usual.
Springs Gets the Finale
The Athletics handed Springs the start for Game #71 after originally lining him up for the previous day’s contest. He entered this start 3-6 with a 4.68 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 75 innings in his 15th start of the season, and he had already taken the loss in the first game of the Las Vegas series against the Milwaukee Brewers after allowing five runs on eight hits over five innings.
That workload sits in the middle of a series that has already turned on comeback baseball. The Athletics won the first two games against the Colorado Rockies after blowing leads, then shuffled the mound plan again for the finale when Joey Estes was optioned back to Triple-A and Brady Basso was recalled this morning.
Las Vegas Heat
The weather adds the complication. The game was expected to be played in triple-digit heat in Las Vegas, a setting that makes the Athletics’ pitching plan the central issue of the day. Springs is the 33-year-old left-hander they chose to trust after Estes started the previous game but did not get through five innings.
Mark Kotsay also had to manage the lineup around the series finale. Lawrence Butler led off, Nick Kurtz was the designated hitter, Jeff McNeil started at first base, and Carlos Cortes made his first start of the series in right field while batting fourth. Shea Langeliers was out of the lineup after catching the previous two days, and Jacob Wilson did not start after returning from the injured list with a shoulder injury.
Sugano for Colorado
Tomoyuki Sugano opposed Springs for the Rockies, bringing a 6-4 record, a 4.08 ERA and 39 strikeouts over his first 13 starts. He had won his previous two starts and most recently allowed three runs on six hits over five innings against the Chicago Cubs, so Colorado answered with a starter who has been getting results even as the Athletics try to chase a fifth straight win.
Zack Gelof was among the Athletics bats expected to create RBI chances, and Alika Williams stayed at shortstop after collecting three hits and a walk in the previous game. That is the setup for the finale: one starter trying to break a two-month drought, another trying to keep his recent run going, and a lineup built to survive the heat long enough to finish the sweep.
