Setting Goals for Athletics To Meet During Rays Series

The Athletics would love to take a series against the best team in the American League.

Entering this series, it is clear that the Athletics are simply outmatched on nearly every level. Not only do the Athletics have a rough group of starters on the mound, but the Rays have proven to be easily the best team in the American League. But if they hope to take this series, much less a game, they need to meet some of these goals.

3 Runs Allowed Max for Bullpen

Harlie — Jun 20, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Geoff Hartlieb (31) gestures during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Athletics bullpen, for the most part, has been trending in the right direction. If you take away the Athletics' implosion during Game 2 of the Mariners series, the bullpen would have allowed only three runs, two of which came from Scott Blewett and one from Hogan Harris. While not perfect, that's good enough to assume they can do it against the Rays.

The biggest reason the Athletics' bullpen struggled so much in the series was the hole they dug for themselves in the series opener, when the team elected to use five of their best relievers. That meant the only fresh arms left were Yunior Tur, Joey Estes, Seth Johnson, and Geoff Hartlieb. If you couldn't tell, this is not the best group of pitchers available. To reach this goal, the Athletics cannot find themselves in this predicament.

5+ Runs Per Game Minimum

Sep 9, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte (33) jogs towards first base after hitting a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Athletics' offense needs to be ready to provide enough run support to make up for the lack of solid starting pitching throughout the series. With Jack Perkins, Jeffrey Springs, and Brady Basso as the series starters, we can expect these games to have fireworks early. A scenario where the Athletics' offense has to show up.

With Shea Langeliers back in the lineup, this should mean more runs throughout the series; in just four at-bats against the Mariners, he recorded four RBIs. That, combined with Lawrence Butler getting hot and Henry Bolte and Jeff McNeil still proving to be hard outs, means anything less than a five-run average throughout the series would be disappointing.

Starting Pitchers Need To Reach 5.0 Innings

Spriing — Sep 11, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs (59) follows through with his pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As mentioned earlier, the Athletics do not have the best slate of starting pitchers on paper. Springs has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball; Perkins has simply been inadequate; and, well, Basso does earn a pass, as he is technically not an actual starting pitcher. That said, there is no middle ground for what to expect. It will either be terrible or great.

But for this series to be great, the Athletics’ rotation needs to figure out how to stay on the mound as long as possible. As mentioned earlier, the Athletics would back themselves into a corner early in the Mariners series because of how many pitchers they would need to use. While 5.0 innings is rather tame, it gives the Athletics' bullpen something to work with.

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