A's Bats Seal First Win of Spring

Saturday's spring opener was a back-and-forth affair between the A's and visiting Diamondbacks until the bottom of the fifth when A's fans saw a glimpse of the future.

JJ Bleday led off the inning with a walk--one of ten that the A's drew on Saturday--followed by the A's #1 prospect Tyler Soderstrom singling to left. Jace Peterson (1-for-1 with two walks, two rbi) doubled home Bleday. After Denzel Clarke (#13) was hit by a pitch, Zack Gelof (#3) singled, scoring Soderstrom and tying the game at four apiece.

In his first at-bat of the spring, Kevin Smith came off the bench and lined a two-run single to left. Last season Smith started the regular season 0-for-16, so grabbing an RBI single in his first action this season had to feel good for the 26-year-old third baseman. Lawrence Butler (#17) followed up Smith's single with a two-run double that pushed the score to 9-4 A's.

The A's didn't look back, taking this one by a final of 12-7.

That fifth inning was a glimpse of what could be in store for the A's in future seasons with so many of their prospects contributing to what ended up being a six-run inning.

Oakland has had a type for the kind of player they've been looking to add since about September of 2022, and that is someone that makes contact, and doesn't strike out more than roughly 20% of the time. On Saturday the team drew ten walks and struck out just five times, or 10.8% of the time. This won't continue at the same rate moving forward, but the approach that we saw from the A's could become a staple of the club in 2023.

Rule 5 draftee Ryan Noda had a rough start to the game, missing the scoop at first on a throw from Nick Allen that led to the shortstop getting charged with an error, but he made up for it with a loud double to center that bounced off the wall to begin the fourth. He'd come around to score on a groundout by Cristian Pache.

JP Sears got the start in this one and wasn't terribly crisp. He needed 41 pitches to get five outs, and left in the bottom of the second with a runner on second. Non-roster invitee Jake Fishman came on in relief of Sears and needed just one pitch to escape the jam. Fishman could be in the mix as a lefty out of the bullpen this season.

Sears final line: 1.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2 K. He allowed a home run to new Diamondback Gabriel Moreno, who was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Daulton Varsho this off-season.

Freddy Tarnok, acquired by the A's in the Sean Murphy deal, came on to begin the third inning, and after a walk and a single, he sat down the next six batters he faced, two via strikeout. Tarnok needed just five pitches to get through his second inning of work and touched 96.

Arizona produced crooked innings against a new look Kirby Snead, who recently chopped off all of his hair, and new addition Chad Smith, whom the A's acquired from the Colorado Rockies.

Snead allowed two earned on three hits and a walk, but ended up receiving the win. Smith allowed three runs on three hits and a walk, and also recorded a strikeout.

Tyler Soderstrom caught four innings, and after Ramón Laureano reported to camp in October, he singled in his first at-bat of the spring, finishing 1-for-3 before giving way to Kevin Cron.