ST. PETERSBURG -- Jack Perkins stared intently toward Athletics catcher Jonah Heim while strong American League MVP candidate Junior Caminero was showered with “M-V-P” chants by fans inside Tropicana Field as he dug into the batter’s box to begin the bottom of the seventh inning.
Three pitches later, Perkins sent Caminero walking back to the Rays dugout after catching the star third baseman off balance on a changeup below the zone for a foul-tip strikeout.
Even in what has become a lost season for the A’s in terms of playoff contention, these are the types of moments that show why there is still plenty to play for over these final couple of weeks for players like Perkins, whose chances to land a significant role on the 2027 squad would greatly improve with a strong finish to the ‘26 campaign.
That’s why, even as Caminero eventually walked it off against Elvis Alvarado in the ninth for a 2-1 A’s loss, Tuesday night was all about Perkins, who turned in the finest start of his Major League career by limiting the Rays to just one unearned run on four hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. His 6 2/3 innings of work also gave him the longest start of his career.
Before Tuesday, Perkins had never seen the seventh inning in any of his first 18 big league starts. Against Tampa Bay, he breezed through six innings on 71 pitches and was mere inches away from completing the seventh. With two outs and a runner on, Perkins induced a ground ball from Chandler Simpson, but the speedy outfielder just legged out an infield single. That led manager Mark Kotsay to go to the bullpen for Luis Medina, who struck out Richie Palacios to preserve what was a 1-1 tie at the time.
“Jack was great tonight,” Kotsay said. “This is a big improvement from previous starts. Probably his best start in the big leagues. … He executed pitches on Simpson and just didn’t get the out. But overall, his ability to pound the zone, the confidence was built when Caminero hit one to center field [in the first] and it was caught. It’s like, ‘OK, I can make pitches in the zone, be aggressive and rely on my defense to make plays.’”
Following his start against the Blue Jays last week, Perkins revealed an adjustment he made on the mound, moving his setup from the right side of the rubber to the left side. It may seem small, but Perkins said the tweak helped him feel like he has more space for his pitches to work. Despite allowing four runs in five innings against Toronto that night, Perkins was clearly more comfortable by not allowing a walk in that start after racking up 14 walks over his previous three outings.
Tuesday saw a continuation of that better command for Perkins, this time with the results to boot. In addition to the eight punchouts, Perkins executed a strong five-pitch mix to generate weak contact with an average exit velocity of 89.1 mph on 15 batted ball events.
“It’s tough to just say, ‘Yeah, I’ve figured it out,’” Perkins said. “But I definitely think these last two outings have been indicative of that adjustment I’ve made. It frees me up to go after guys, let my pitches move over the plate and get ahead.”
The A’s believe there is a much more successful pitcher inside Perkins -- a former top prospect -- than his numbers this season suggest, as he still carries a 6.14 ERA over 35 games (15 starts). Whether that better version of himself down the line comes as a starter or reliever is still undetermined, but it’s up to him to make the most of these upcoming final two starts he has left to build some positive momentum heading into next season.
“When I sent Jack down [to Triple-A Las Vegas], we had that conversation,” Kotsay said. “I said, ‘Look, if you get back here and get this opportunity, you need to take advantage, because you haven’t taken advantage of that opportunity yet.’ Tonight was a big step in the right direction. He’s got two [starts] left to continue to show the aggressiveness and the ability to command in the zone like he did tonight.”
Confident in the adjustments he’s made, Perkins aims to do just that.
“It’s been a pretty frustrating year, but to start to see some of that hard work pay off and see some good results was huge,” Perkins said. “Tonight was a good representation of what I’m capable of doing out there.”