For a few days there, it looked like the Athletics had found a group of main relief options that could be counted on to hold a lead, collecting series wins over the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers in two of the past three series. These last three games have brought the bullpen back to a question mark.
The A's led 3-1 entering the ninth inning on Tuesday night, and recent de-facto closer Hogan Harris was charged with three runs (two earned) as Kansas City walked off the green and gold.
On Wednesday, the A's led 5-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, with righty Hayden Juenger (3 ER) and lefty Drew Rom (4 ER) combining to give up seven runs and push a three-run lead to a four-run deficit. Max Muncy would add a two-run homer in the ninth to bring the final to 9-7.
"I thought our offense did a great job tonight," A's manager Mark Kotsay said after Wednesday's loss. "It's unfortunate we've got some bullpen issues right now. Guys are getting an opportunity and not taking advantage of it. Those guys are down there. They're in the big-league 'pen. They need to go get the job done."
Objectively, it was the underperformance of Rom on both nights that made this possible. On Tuesday night he was inserted into the game in the seventh after Brady Basso and Jack Perkins held the Royals down for the first six innings.
He gave up an immediate double to Jac Caglianone and then a double to Vinnie Pasquantino with one out that put the Royals on the board.
After hard contact with two of the three batters, Kotsay went to go get his reliever, inserting Luis Medina, who worked his way out of the jam in the seventh without further damage.
In the eighth he battled some command issues, walking the first batter, then getting a quick double play. Medina walked the next two batters he faced as well, which led to Harris coming in, needing to get four outs to collect the save. He worked out of the eighth inning, but Kansas City got him in the ninth.
With those extra pitches from Medina (24) and Harris (30) on Tuesday, they were unavailable with an even bigger lead on Wednesday.
This has been a common theme for the A's this season, where a reliever will come in and get out of a jam, then be asked to also take on their usual inning of work, and these are the types of innings that tend to follow.
Sometimes it stems from the starting pitcher not going deep into the game and a limited number of available arms. Other times, it's a reliever not doing the task in front of them and needing to be bailed out. With so few reliable options on any given day, it gives the appearance that there is no right answer for how to deploy the A's relievers.
Jeffrey Springs, who made his first start back from the IL, pitched 5 ⅔ innings, giving up five hits, two earned runs, three walks, and striking out one. It's the deepest he's gone into a game since he went 6 ⅓ innings on May 22 in San Diego.
"I've been in the bullpen for several years," Springs said when asked about his frustration level watching his lead evaporate. "I know how hard it is to come in and try to lock games down. Those guys are working their butts off. I trust 'em...Everybody's workin' hard. We're pulling in the right direction. We're coming up short here and there, but it's not from a lack of trying."
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