Right-hander Ross Stripling bounced back Monday from two rough spring training starts to give the Oakland A’s five strong innings and his ex-Giants teammate, J.D. Davis, kept swinging a hot bat in Arizona.
Stripling, 34, didn’t give up a lot of hard contact against the Arizona Diamondbacks while permitting three runs in what turned out to be Oakland second consecutive 3-3 tie.
The A’s projected fourth starter to begin the season, Stripling looked much better than his previous two starts when he got roughed up for 14 runs over 7 1/3 innings to push his ERA over 10. He had one walk and three strikeouts Monday during his longest spring start.
Davis, batting second as the designated hitter in his second A’s game, had two hits against Merrill Kelly, one of Arizona’s aces who struck out seven in his 3 1/3 innings. Davis, who is hitting .450 overall, has three hits in five at-bats since joining the A’s on Friday following his release by the Giants.
Oakland rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to tie the game, thanks to RBI hits from Esteury Ruiz and minor leaguers Drew Lugbauer and Logan Davidson.
Mitch Spence, the No. 1 pick in December’s Rule 5 draft, kept the game tied while turning in the most impressive of his five spring appearances. The former Yankee his spot as Oakland’s long reliever with two hitless, shutout innings featuring five consecutive strikeouts. Spence has a 3.60 ERA over his 15 innings of work, which includes a team-leading 19 strikeouts.
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With 10 days left before their March 28 season opener, the A’s biggest remaining position battle is at shortstop, where Nick Allen (back) played for the first time since March 1. Allen, who is facing strong competition from 22-year-old rookie Darell Hernaiz, batted leadoff and went 0-for-2 with a walk.