Who To Blame for Athletics' Skid Against Royals

If there was one thing to take from the Rangers series, it was that the Athletics were able to get the most out of their bullpen. But after Mason Barnett pitched 2.2 innings, chaos ensued , forcing Mark Kotsay to make pitching changes much earlier than he would have liked.

The formula vs. the Rangers was simple: allow a base runner, and you are coming out. Unfortunately, this could not be applied to Game 1 if the starter can only get you through 2.2 innings before needing to come out. This was easily the biggest reason we saw a bullpen collapse on Monday and Tuesday.

In Tuesday's loss, the Athletics also used Brady Basso for 2.1 innings as the opener. 2.1 innings would have been nice to have later in the outing. If the A's had held on to Basso, he likely would have pitched instead of Drew Rom, who allowed two hits and a run in 0.1 innings pitched.

If Basso was able to replicate what he did as an opener, this may have allowed Hogan Harris to pitch only in the bottom of the ninth. This inning was clearly the turning point of the game and could have been approached much better. However, without Basso opening the game, the Athletics may not have been in a position to lose the game in the bottom of the ninth.

This brings us to the final point. When there is a sense of unease with your last two pitchers in the rotation, this situation will, more often than not, occur. And because of these same implications, it may take an extra series for the bullpen to find a rhythm. Keep in mind, too, that the Athletics bullpen has already pitched 11 innings in the first two games, compared with 6.2 innings across the Rangers series' first two outings.

With so many innings already pitched, the Athletics now need Gage Jump to survive deep into the game on Wednesday, which is not a given considering how up and down Jump has been since the break. A series sweep could easily happen, something the Athletics need to figure out how to avoid.