Cook experiencing rare rough stretch

ARLINGTON -- The A's are witnessing rare struggles from the normally reliable Ryan Cook, who has surrendered three earned runs in his past two outings, after yielding just as many in his previous 29 games.

Cook, who walked in a run and gave up a pair of two-run singles in Friday's narrow, 9-8 victory over Texas, has noticeably lacked location in recent days.

"He's getting some fastballs off the plate and away, some sliders up, getting behind and is a little bit more predictable," said manager Bob Melvin. "But he's a guy who's been important to our team, [and] will continue to be important to our team. We have to support him and know that ... everyone goes through periods where they're not their best during the course of the season."

Asked if he might try to give Cook a clean inning his next time out, Melvin noted it might not be possible.

"I don't know if there's one of those in this park," said Melvin. "Maybe you give him a day off, use someone else. He is available [on Saturday], so we'll see how we do. ... We'll figure it out. He's also gotten through some tough stretches before."