The Athletics have one reason to be encouraged despite six losses in their first seven games to begin the 2024 MLB season.
After surrendering five runs (four earned) in Oakland's 6-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, veteran right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling (L, 7 IP, 8 H, ER, 0 BB, 3 K) responded in a big way in the A's 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum.
Stripling was pleased with his bounce-back performance, even if it didn't result in an A's win.
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"Definitely a good step forward," Stripling said. "Very encouraging for sure. I would say efficient, got a couple double plays in there. That's a lineup that's seen me a ton going back to my time with the Blue Jays. We were able to keep the ball on the ground and limit damage and keep us in the ballgame. Personally feel good about it. Wish we could have gotten Kenley [Jansen] there at the end to make it interesting, but just didn't quite go our way."
Stripling, not exactly known for his strikeout stuff, did a good job of pitching the Red Sox to contact and overpowering hitters with his sinker, which Kotsay believes was the biggest difference from his first outing.
"Strip was great, pounded the zone, over 70 percent strikes today," Kotsay shared. "I think the biggest difference this outing from his first was he actually crowded some guys with his sinker which is a good sign. He's a guy that's got to keep hitters off balance. He did a great job today, a lot of contact, outs, we played good defense behind him, so it was a great outing for him."
Oakland Athletics
The A's acquired Stripling in an offseason trade with the San Francisco Giants. Both he and veteran starter Alex Wood were eager to reprise more traditional roles in Oakland's rotation and will be relied upon as veteran leaders of a young pitching staff.
And after two starts, things appear to be trending in the right direction for Stripling.