(Click here, if you are unable to view this photo gallery on your mobile device.)
OAKLAND — This whole “bullpenning” strategy might not be such a bad idea after all.
After a disastrous first attempt, the A’s second crack at starting a reliever was much more successful. They still ended up falling to the Yankees 5-1 Tuesday night, though lack of offense was more the issue in this one as the A’s recorded just two hits on the night.
The two hits were the fewest the A’s have been held to since the Tampa Bay Rays held them to one on May 30. With 22 games remaining, the A’s remain 5 1/2 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the second American League wild card spot.
Learning from their mistakes in their first try at starting a reliever over the weekend, the A’s (83-57) made some tweaks to their new method Tuesday night. Liam Hendriks, who had run into trouble pitching into the second inning of his start over the weekend, turned in a clean first inning before turning it over to Daniel Mengden.
Mengden, who struggled as the “starting pitcher” who entered the game in that first attempt, was much better this time around as he turned in 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The difference this time around was that Mengden knew exactly when he was going to enter the game. He had warmed up in both the first and second inning his last time out before entering in the third. Against the Yankees, his warm up was a bit more routine as he got up in the bullpen during the first inning before taking over for Hendriks in the second.
“There was a more concrete plan, a little easier to go with to go with,” Mengden said. “But it didn’t really matter when I come in there, as long as I’m executing pitches.”
It’s unclear whether or not the A’s will utilize the “bullpenning” strategy again this season. Melvin said the club will “play it by ear” going forward, but Mengden is up for whatever.
“I’m just gonna do whatever I can to help the team win,” Mengden said. “If that’s my role right now, that’s gonna be the role I go with. I like starting, but as long as I’m on the field, that’s all that matters.”
Mengden left the game with a 1-0 lead that was built by a solo home run by Stephen Piscotty of JA Happ in the second, his seventh home run in the past 16 games and 22nd of the year to tie his career-high set in 2016 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.
That 1-0 lead was setting up to be enough to get the job done. The A’s had bullpenned their way to a no-hitter through five innings and carried the lead into the seventh, but two of their more reliable bullpen arms faltered.
Jeurys Familia’s command issues in the seventh led to him walking in a run. He bounced back by striking out the next two batters before Fernando Rodney came on to record the final out of the inning to keep the game tied 1-1.
But the eighth inning was even more problematic.
Rodney surrendered his first home run as a member of the A’s in his 13th appearance, a solo homer to Luke Voit, to put the Yankees ahead 2-1. New York added another run in the inning on a single by Aaron Hicks and went on to add another pair in the ninth, which was a distance much to steep for an A’s offense that failed to record a hit after the seventh.
With both Familia and Rodney having been lights out so far after arriving via trade over the past month and a half, A’s manager Bob Melvin wasn’t too concerned with the rare slip ups.
“We just didn’t do enough offensively tonight,” Melvin said. “No matter what we give up, if it’s two runs, when you get two hits it’s gonna be a tough time winning.”
Aside from the home run allowed to Piscotty, Happ stymied the A’s over six innings, allowing just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. The Yankees (87-52) bullpen held the A’s hitless over the final three innings of the game.
As good as the A’s bullpen has been, the Yankees bullpen has been a smidge better. Yankees relievers entered the night with a combined 3.17 ERA.
“He pitched pretty well,” Melvin said of Happ. “When a starter gives you an outing like that and they can go to their bullpen, they have a really good bullpen. When they go to their plus guys, it’s gonna be tough sledding.”
