WEST SACRAMENTO -- It¡¯s hard to pinpoint exactly what¡¯s behind Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs¡¯ first-inning struggles in 2025.
To A¡¯s manager Mark Kotsay, it ¡°could be a mindset thing,¡± or perhaps a lack of command. Springs, meanwhile, wondered if he might be ¡°giving some stuff away to hitters.¡±
Whatever it is, if the A¡¯s hope to win the left-hander¡¯s starts, it simply can¡¯t continue.
That seemed to be the consensus reached after yet another poor first inning put Springs and the A¡¯s behind the eight-ball for good in Saturday¡¯s 10-3 loss to the White Sox at Sutter Health Park. The lefty allowed four extra-base hits and four runs before his offense ever came to the plate, and the A¡¯s never recovered.
¡°You can¡¯t give up four in the first inning,¡± Springs said. ¡°It just puts the team behind and kills all momentum. We¡¯ve been playing really good baseball, and when you give up four in the first ¡ it can¡¯t happen.¡±
Unfortunately for Springs and the A¡¯s, it keeps happening. Springs also gave up a four-run first on Sunday in Milwaukee, when he was dehydrated and cramping due to food poisoning, and allowed a Divisional Era-record six stolen bases in the opening frame alone. He gave up three runs in the first inning in each of the two starts before that and owns a 16.50 ERA in the first inning this season.
On Saturday, Springs allowed a solo home run to Luis Robert Jr. with one out in the first, then gave up three consecutive two-out doubles. Two singles and an error led to a pair of unearned runs against Springs in the second inning.
¡°I thought from Jeffrey¡¯s standpoint, they took some really good swings early in the game,¡± Kotsay said of the White Sox. ¡°They seemed to be on everything, whether it was a fastball or a changeup. They had a good approach.¡±
Unlike his 2 1/3-inning, six-run outing against the Brewers, Springs at least made up for his early struggles. Just as he did April 8 against the Padres, he settled in after a tough first to complete six innings and bail out the A¡¯s bullpen a bit.
¡°There¡¯s going to be some good ones and bad ones,¡± Springs said. ¡°The last one was one of the really bad ones. This one wasn¡¯t much better, but I was able to go six after giving up a bunch in the first.¡±
Acquired from the Rays this offseason, Springs has certainly been better the deeper he has gone into games. The final run he allowed, on a sixth-inning Jacob Amaya sacrifice fly, was the first run Springs has allowed in the fourth inning or later all season.
Springs¡¯ ERA by inning, 2025
1st: 16.50
2nd: 9.00
3rd: 1.69
4th: 0.00
5th: 0.00
6th: 3.00
His early-game struggles appear to be new. Prior to 2025, Springs¡¯ highest ERA in any of the first six innings was 4.31 in the fourth, with a 3.13 combined ERA in first and second innings.
How could the A¡¯s mitigate the impact of Springs¡¯ poor performance early in games? One potential strategy was on display Friday and Saturday in West Sacramento -- from the visiting side. The White Sox deployed left-hander Tyler Gilbert as an opener in both contests, letting him face the A¡¯s top lefty batters in the first inning before giving way to a ¡°bulk¡± pitcher behind him.
Right-hander Jonathan Cannon filled that bulk role for Chicago on Saturday, completing 7 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and three runs allowed. The A¡¯s could do something similar with Springs to keep him from facing opponents¡¯ best right-handed hitters in the first inning, and they appear open to it.
¡°We can talk about it, definitely,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°From our standpoint, we¡¯ve used openers in the past, so it definitely could be a discussion.¡±
If Springs is able to straighten things out, it might not have to come to that. The lefty flashed his talent in his first A¡¯s start, striking out nine Mariners across six scoreless innings on April 28.
Things haven¡¯t gone well since then -- Springs has allowed three or more runs in his five other starts, and his ERA sits at 6.04 -- but as the final four innings of Saturday showed, he¡¯s clearly capable of pitching efficiently and getting outs.
He¡¯ll just have to start earlier.
¡°I feel like I¡¯m right there,¡± Springs said. ¡°I¡¯ve just got to do a better job of making better pitches from pitch one.¡±