Springs points to lack of execution for prolonged struggles

WEST SACRAMENTO – Jeffrey Springs began the 2026 campaign as one of baseball’s hottest pitchers, going 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his first four starts. Since then, it has been a downward spiral for the Athletics left-hander.

Taking the mound at Sutter Health Park on Tuesday night, Springs was unable to stop an A’s losing skid from extending to four games in a 9-3 loss to the Dodgers, allowing six runs on eight hits and four walks across 5 1/3 innings.

Now 3-8 on the year, Springs has racked up eight consecutive losing decisions, the longest streak by an A’s pitcher within a season since Tyson Ross, who lost eight straight decisions in 2012.

Over his last 14 starts, Springs is 0-8 and has allowed 56 earned runs in 68 2/3 innings (7.34 ERA). His 24 home runs allowed on the season are the most in the Majors, and all have come during that 14-game stretch, including two on Tuesday. Tommy Edman slugged a three-run homer off him in the third inning, while Miguel Rojas led off the sixth with a solo shot.

“Still kind of processing it,” Spring said of his outing. “Too many walks, for starters. That’s too good of a team to give up free passes. I feel like the homer to Edman, slider kind of on the outer half [in an 0-0 count], he put a good swing on it. I tip my cap. But the walk before is what’s frustrating. The walks in the first [and third] inning scored.”

When trying to dissect or diagnose what has plagued Springs for the better part of two months now, nothing about his numbers suggests anything is physically wrong. In fact, he appeared to have more life on his pitches Tuesday, with the average velocity of his fastball, slider, changeup and sweeper actually ticking up from their season averages.

Springs also said he’s felt good about the way his overall “stuff” has been playing. But, unlike his previous start last week in San Francisco, where he felt like he took a step toward climbing out of his funk by limiting the Giants to three runs in 5 1/3 innings and keeping the ball down, Springs elevated some mistake pitches against the Dodgers that proved costly, including the two sliders hit out of the ballpark by Edman and Rojas.

“[The Dodgers] are a good hitting team for a reason,” Springs said. “It just comes down to, I need to execute better. I feel like the stuff is fine. Just have to do a better job of executing, especially against a team like that.”

At a time in which the A’s are down four key offensive contributors in Zack Gelof, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom due to injury, they desperately need improved performance from not just Springs, but also their entire starting rotation.

That hasn’t been the case in these first two games against the Dodgers, and really any time they’ve played at home. The splits are quite jarring. A’s pitchers hold a combined 6.31 ERA at home, the highest home ERA in the Majors, as opposed to a 3.73 ERA on the road, the fifth-lowest road ERA in MLB.

If there is one positive to take from what has been a mostly frustrating campaign to this point for Springs, it's that he’s proving to be durable in a rotation that has also taken its hits on the injury front. After Tuesday, Springs’ 18 starts this season are tied for the most in the Major Leagues. The health is there, something that he struggled with earlier in his career. Now, it’s about recapturing that early-season form.

“You want to take the ball every fifth day,” Springs said. “Right now, it’s a little tough to see that [value], because you want to put together quality outings and give us a chance to win. I just don’t feel like I’m doing that. But, I take a lot of pride in putting in the work in the offseason to take the ball every five days. I’m going to continue to do that and try to figure it out.”