A's, bullpen look to stymie Pirates again

The Oakland Athletics hope to ride an impressive bullpen to achieve something they haven't done since last June -- a four-game winning streak-- when they close a three-game home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon.

One night after Dany Jimenez and Michael Kelly combined for four shutout innings out of the bullpen in a 5-1 Oakland win, fellow relievers Mitch Spence, Lucas Erceg and Mason Miller retired the last 15 batters they faced -- eight via strikeouts -- to allow the A's to take a 5-2 win.

Oakland has won five of its past six games, with the bullpen playing a key role in each of the victories. Over the stretch, Spence has two wins, Miller three saves and Erceg one, but teammates Jimenez, Kelly, T.J. McFarland and Austin Adams have been equally effective.

Over those five wins, that sixsome hasn't allowed a run, limiting the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Pirates to seven hits in 21 2/3 innings.

Erceg and Miller have been the most dominant of the six. They capped Tuesday's win by striking out a combined six batters, each fanning the side once.

Miller has captured the attention of every opponent with his ability to pump fastballs at over 100 mph, but catcher Kyle McCann said Erceg has been just as important to the club's late-inning success.

"I don't think Erceg gets as much credit as he should because of how good Mason Miller is," McCann said. "I'd say they're neck-and-neck, and to have them as the Nos. 8 and 9 (innings) punch is something. If they keep doing what they've been doing, we're going to be in good shape because pitching wins ballgames."

Hoping to benefit from the club's bullpen magic in the series finale will be right-hander Ross Stripling (0-5, 4.98 ERA), who remains winless since the closing weekend of the 2022 campaign. He went 0-5 for the San Francisco Giants last season.

Stripling has gone 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA in eight career appearances, including four starts, against the Pirates, who have lost three games in a row and six of their past seven.

Stripling is scheduled to be matched against Pirates right-hander Quinn Priester (0-1, 3.48 ERA), who has pitched well in both of his career starts in California, including earning his first major league win last July in San Diego in just his second big-league appearance.

Priester pitched well enough to make it 2-0 on the West Coast last Thursday in San Francisco, but he got no offensive support and left a scoreless tie against the Giants after allowing just three hits over six innings in a 3-0 loss. The 23-year-old has never faced the A's.

Priester made 10 appearances last season but still is considered a rookie this year. He's treating this season like it's his first, trying to improve from start to start.

He did that in San Francisco, after having allowed four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his season debut against the Boston Red Sox on April 19. He hopes to take it to another level in Oakland.

"Keep building it," he said of his game plan. "Just continue to build on (the San Francisco game), and put one foot in front of the other. Not do too much and we'll be all right."

--Field Level Media