Springs stumbles as A's look to turn page after tough series loss

WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Athletics were lined up to cap a seven-game homestand with a series win over the White Sox as Jeffrey Springs -- statistically one of the best pitchers in the Majors thus far -- took the mound for Sunday afternoon’s series finale.

Of course, it is impossible for any pitcher to dominate every time out, which Springs had mostly done through his first four starts, for the entirety of a season. On Sunday, Springs experienced his first “clunker” of 2026, digging the A’s an early hole they were unable to climb out of in a 7-4 loss to the White Sox at Sutter Health Park to finish 3-4 on the homestand.

Having allowed a total of just four runs in 24 2/3 innings over his first four starts, Springs matched that total by the second inning against Chicago. As opposed to the previous outings, where his location was on point, Springs was missing with pitches up in the zone, and the White Sox took advantage of that lack of execution by hanging seven runs on nine hits and one walk in five innings against him.

“I just didn’t feel like the ball was coming out very good from the get-go,” said Springs, whose season ERA jumped from 1.46 at the start of the game to 3.34. “It just kind of felt like everything was slow, body-wise. It is what it is. Those are going to happen. They just put good swings on balls in the zone that were probably catching too much of the plate. Unfortunately, it’s just one of those days where I sucked and cost us the game.”

There were positives in this one. Similar to Saturday’s comeback walk-off victory in extras, the A’s mounted a late rally in a game they trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the second by bringing Jacob Wilson to the plate in the bottom of the ninth as the potential tying run. Keeping the offense in the game was a strong performance by the A’s bullpen, which saw the trio of Mason Barnett, Luis Medina and Scott Barlow combine for four scoreless innings in relief of Springs.

Those types of moral victories, however, no longer carry as much significance for this A’s squad as it did in years past. This year’s version expects to compete for a playoff spot and potentially a division title.

It’s still early, and even with Sunday’s loss, the A’s are 11-11 and tied with the Rangers for first place in the American League West. But dropping a series at home to a rebuilding White Sox club that many expect to finish last in the AL Central is difficult to view as anything other than a disappointment for these playoff-aspiring A’s.

“Tough series,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “We talked about it. [The White Sox] are a young, aggressive, free-swinging team. Overall, tough loss today. I did like that we got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. ... Not a great series for us, but we’ll turn the page.”

Nothing is decided in April. This coming week, though, will tell us a lot about where the A’s stack up in the division. Up next is a three-game series against the reigning AL West champion Mariners that begins on Monday at T-Mobile Park. On Friday, the A’s will be at Globe Life Field for three games against the Rangers, whom they split a four-game series with in West Sacramento earlier this past week.

“Those are always big,” Springs said. “We’re going to treat it like any other series. But when you’re playing in division, those wins ‘mean more’ I guess. But we’re going to try to win a series no matter who we’re playing. Nothing really changes.”

It’s hard to get a true gauge on this A’s team to this point. Their run differential is an underwhelming -19 (tied for fourth worst in the AL), but they’re clearly a much more fundamentally sound team and have been able to execute in close games as they are 6-2 so far in one-run contests. They also still expect their projected high-powered offense, which so far ranks as a middling group in most offensive categories in MLB, to get it going soon.

One thing is clear, this squad believes in itself, and it’ll get a chance to test itself over the next seven days.

“The division is really tight and competitive this year,” said infielder Darell Hernaiz, who launched his first home run of the season on Sunday. “We’re right there. We believe in us. ... I like our chances.”