Spence (4-4) took the loss Tuesday, allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk across 5.1 innings against the Angels. He struck out six.
Spence surrendered his most runs in an outing this season Tuesday, with five of those runs coming in the fourth inning. The rookie right-hander allowed the first four batters he faced in the fourth to reach safely before Mickey Moniak cleared the bases with a grand slam. While Spence has been a bit inconsistent as a starter, he owns a 4.40 ERA in starts along with a 34:9 K:BB over 43.0 innings. He's projected for a rematch against the Angels early next week.
Spence allowed two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over six innings in a no-decision against Kansas City on Thursday.
Spence was victimized by Kansas City catcher Freddy Fermin, who who belted a pair of solo homers against him. However, Spence fared well against the remainder of the Royals lineup and finished with his second quality start of the campaign despite the two long balls he surrendered. Spence's seven strikeouts Thursday were a career-best mark and well above his season norm -- he entered the contest with either three of four punchouts in each of his previous six outings.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Tagged with four runs
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Spence yielded four runs on nine hits and a walk over 5.2 innings in a no-decision Friday. He struck out three during the loss to the Twins.
Spence worked around some light threats for most of his start and gave up just one run through five frames. He was two outs away from a second straight quality start before Max Kepler ripped a three-run shot, and Spence was removed from the game shortly thereafter. Since moving into the rotation, Spence has posted a 3.69 ERA through six career MLB starts. His next outing is projected to be at home against Kansas City.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Turns in quality start
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Spence yielded two runs on five hits over seven innings in a no-decision Sunday. He struck out three during the loss to the Blue Jays.
Spence allowed a two-run single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the second inning but otherwise kept Toronto's offense quiet. After tossing a season-high six innings in his last outing, Spence set a new personal best Sunday while delivering his first MLB quality start. He posted a 4.26 ERA through 25.1 innings out of the bullpen before joining Oakland's rotation; through five starts, Spence has registered a 3.12 ERA with an 18:6 K:BB through 26 innings. His next start is lined up to be in Minnesota.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Navigates through six innings
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Spence (4-3) took the loss Tuesday against the Mariners, allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out three over six innings.
Spence was able to toss two shutout frames before the Mariners doubled four times in the third, leading to three runs. Spence would allow an additional run in the fourth but was able to go six up and six down over the next two innings to end his outing. Spence was able to reach six innings for the first time this year, though he battled around plenty of hard contact and only punched out three batters against a Mariners team that has the highest strikeout rate in baseball against righties. The 26-year-old owns a 3.86 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 37:13 K:BB in 44.1 innings and lines up for another start over the weekend against the Blue Jays.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Sharp in fourth win
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Spence (4-2) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing only one hit and one walk over 5.1 scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory over the Rays. He struck out four.
A Rule 5 pick out of the Yankees' system this offseason, Spence has been impressive since moving into the rotation for the A's, delivering a 2.08 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 12:5 K:BB through 13 innings over three starts. The 26-year-old right-hander got stretched out to 98 pitches (61 strikes) Tuesday, and even once Oakland's staff gets healthier, Spence figures to remain in the rotation as long as he's producing strong results. He's set for a tough test in his next outing, a road start in Atlanta this weekend.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Getting another turn in rotation
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Spence will start Tuesday's game against the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Spence will make a third consecutive start for the A's after opening the season as a long reliever. Spence has lasted 4.2 innings and 3.0 innings across his first two starts, yielding three runs and striking out eight over that stretch. He's thrown 77 and 70 pitches during those two outings, respectively, and shouldn't be a viable fantasy option in most formats.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Lasts three frames in no-decision
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Spence did not factor into the decision in a loss to the Rockies on Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks over three innings while striking out four.
Spence got knocked around early, surrendering a leadoff single to Charlie Blackmon to open the contest, followed by a two-run shot off the bat of Elias Diaz three batters later. Those would be the only two runs allowed by the right-hander on the night, though he continued to struggle with his command, needing 27 pitches to get through the third inning alone. Spence has been unable to get through five innings in either of his first two starts and also matched his season high with three walks Wednesday.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Awarded second start
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Spence is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Rockies in Oakland.
He'll be making his second straight turn through Oakland's injury-depleted rotation. After working mostly as a long reliever for the first seven weeks of the season, Spence was already fairly stretched out for his first MLB start last Friday in Kansas City. He tossed 4.2 innings (77 pitches) and took a loss to the Royals while striking out four and giving up one earned run on five hits and one walk. The Athletics should give Spence a longer leash Wednesday if he pitches as efficiently against the Rockies as he did in his 4.2 innings in Kansas City.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Yields one run in no-decision
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Spence did not factor into the decision Friday against Kansas City, allowing one run on four hits and no walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out four.
Spence fared well in his first major-league start after tossing his first 25.1 MLB innings out of the bullpen. The rookie right-hander generated nine whiffs over 77 pitches, the second time in four May appearances he's worked more than 70 pitches. Should Spence draw another turn in the Oakland rotation, he would be slated to face the Rockies at home.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Drawing start Friday
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Spence will start Friday in Kansas City, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
It will be the first major-league start for Spence, who has posted a 4.26 ERA and 22:7 K:BB over 25.1 innings covering 11 relief appearances. The Rule 5 pick will be pitching on three days' rest after allowing two runs over two-thirds of an inning Monday in Houston, so he likely won't be able to pitch deep into Friday's contest. Spence has gone three-plus frames in six of his relief appearances, including a season-long 4.2-inning outing May 5 versus the Marlins. He could wind up piggybacking with Kyle Muller, who is also available to work multiple innings.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Works in long relief Sunday
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Spence struck out five over 4.2 innings of relief in Sunday's 12-3 loss to the Marlins, giving up four earned runs on six hits and one walk.
Spence entered the game in the second inning after starter Joe Boyle was blasted for four runs in the opening frame before being pulled from the contest. Oakland placed Boyle on the 15-day injured list Monday with a back issue, so his absence will create an opening in the rotation. Given that he tossed a season-high 72 pitches in long relief Sunday, Spence should be reasonably stretched out for starting duty, though it's unclear if he'll rate as the Athletics' top option to take Boyle's next turn in the rotation, which comes up next weekend in Seattle.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Dominant for third win Tuesday
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Spence (3-1) got the win against the Pirates on Tuesday, firing three scoreless, one-hit innings during which he recorded two strikeouts.
Spence got the fifth-inning call after starter Alex Wood labored to the tune of 93 pitches over four frames. As has become increasingly customary, Spence delivered an impressive multi-inning effort, his third three-inning scoreless outing over his last four appearances. Spence now has victories in back-to-back appearances as well and sports a 2.84 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB across his eight trips to the mound.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Gets first win despite struggles
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Spence (1-1) got the win over the Nationals on Sunday despite allowing two earned runs on four hits over 1.2 innings. He struck out one.
Spence took over for embattled starter Alex Wood with one out in the fifth inning and induced an inning-ending double play. However, the right-hander worked himself into trouble in the sixth, eventually surrendered RBI singles to Joey Meneses and Lane Thomas as the Nationals built a seemingly commanding 6-1 lead. Nevertheless, Spence was bailed out when the typically light-hitting Athletics put together an improbable six-run rally in the home half of the frame and held on for the one-run victory. Spence has been scored on in each of his first four big-league appearances, but the fact two of those outings have been three innings in length and one of the runs was unearned has helped lead to a serviceable 4.15 ERA across 8.2 frames.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Takes loss Tuesday
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Spence (0-1) was charged with the loss in extra innings against the Red Sox on Tuesday, allowing one unearned run on one hit over one inning.
Spence got the call in the 11th inning after closer Mason Miller had already thrown 29 pitches over the prior pair of frames. Spence's loss was primarily of the tough-luck variety, as the one run he surrendered came on a Tyler O'Neill double play groundout that scored inning-opening runner Reese McGuire. Spence was effective in his first appearance of the season on Friday against the Guardians, and Tuesday's nearly clean outing shouldn't blemish the perception he could be a reliable multi-inning relief option for manager Mark Kotsay.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Likely opening in bullpen
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Spence is projected to open the season as part of the Athletics' bullpen, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
The Rule 5 pick put together a solid body of work this spring, going 1-0 with a 3.06 ERA over six appearances (three starts) while producing a 21:6 K:BB. Spence finished off Cactus League play with 4.2 scoreless frames over his last pair of appearances, and he could often fill a long-relief role after logging 74 starts in the Yankees' minor-league system over the last three seasons.
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Athletics' Mitch Spence: Drawing Cactus League start Monday
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Spence, a Rule 5 pick this winter, will start Monday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks in place of Ross Stripling (finger), MLB.com reports.
The right-hander, who logged 39 starts over the last two minor-league seasons with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees organization, will be evaluated in game action sooner than expected thanks to the cut on Stripling's right index finger. Spence posted an 11-10 mark with a 4.26 ERA and 1.31 WHIP across the 215.1 innings covering the aforementioned sample, but his best chance of sticking on the Athletics' roster is likely as a reliever.
