ST. PETERSBURG -- Even as they rode a strong start to September, the Athletics knew the difficult challenge in front of them entering this week’s three-game series against a powerhouse Rays squad that dominated them over a sweep in West Sacramento last month.
The location was different, but the result was the same as the A’s were once again swept by Tampa Bay in a series capped by Thursday’s 10-1 loss at Tropicana Field. Now, they’ll head to Cleveland for their final road series of the season against a Guardians team in a neck-and-neck race with the White Sox for first place in the AL Central.
Before that, here are three takeaways from Thursday’s series finale:
1. Springs’ symbolic outing
Jeffrey Springs’ first time pitching back at Tropicana Field since getting traded from the Rays to the A’s in December 2024 largely resembled how his frustrating season has played out.
After a sharp first three scoreless innings in which he allowed just one hit, the left-hander began what ended up a six-run fourth for the Rays by going double-walk-walk against Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero and Liam Hicks to load the bases. He would go on to retire just one batter before departing with one out following an RBI bunt single by Taylor Walls to make it 6-0 Tampa Bay.
“I didn’t go right at Caminero,” Springs said. “First base was open, so that [walk] is fine. The Hicks one was the dagger. … I can’t walk Hicks there. I feel like I made decent pitches other than that. I feel like the stuff was there. … To not even get out of the fourth, it’s embarrassing.”
Springs’ 2026 campaign started off strong. He posted a 1.46 ERA through his first four starts, seemingly backing up the high expectation he and the A’s had for this season. Since then, however, Springs has statistically been one of the worst pitchers in baseball, now holding a 6.18 ERA that ranks as the worst mark in MLB among pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched.
“It’s like I take one step forward and like five backwards,” said Springs, who had allowed just two runs in 12 innings over his previous two starts. “I just have to be better.”
Springs was not helped in that fourth by what was perfectly described by A’s broadcaster Dallas Braden as “just a complete and utter defensive meltdown” in several facets.
With the bases loaded and one out, Richie Palacios drove a ball to right that went past Lawrence Butler and rolled to the wall. From there, Butler fired a strong throw to cutoff man Donovan Walton, who then made a good throw home that catcher Jonah Heim was unable to corral. Heim proceeded to slowly go after the ball in front of home, while Springs had his back turned to the play, allowing a third run to score and Palacios to take third.
“There was a combination of, in my opinion, lack of effort in getting after it on that play,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “Some heads were down. That’s a good team. They’re going to exploit you. … Any time you play like that, you’re going to get your [butt] kicked.”
2. Butler’s resurgence
Lawrence Butler continued what has been a second-half renaissance with a 2-for-4 day highlighted by a mammoth solo homer clobbered 109.3 mph off the bat that bounced high off the catwalk in right field, traveling a StatCast-projected 437 feet.
Following limited playing time this spring as he recovered from offseason knee surgery, Butler struggled mightily over the first half, entering the All-Star break batting .196 with five homers. Since the break, he’s a completely different hitter, batting .273 (54-for-198) with 12 homers, eight doubles and 37 RBIs in his last 57 games.
“I didn’t really have time to do much in Spring Training,” Butler said. “It just means a lot to finally feel like me again and help this team in the second half.”
Now at 17 homers on the year, Butler has a shot at reaching 20 for a third straight season. And yes, it is on his mind with nine games left.
“That would be lit,” Butler said with a smile. “I’d love to get to 20 homers.”
3. Where’s the offense?
Coming off scoring 25 runs over a six-game homestand last week, the A’s were held to just five runs in three games against the Rays.
“This Tampa team is known for pitching,” Kotsay said. “We only had limited amounts of opportunity.”