OAKLAND — For JP Sears, this was, by all measures, an afternoon to forget.
Sears allowed a career-high eight earned runs over 1 1/3 innings, the shortest start of his career, as the A’s were blown out by the Twins, 10-2, on Saturday at the Coliseum.
The left-hander lacked command and feel from the first batter, allowing two singles and hitting two batters in the first inning. Despite allowing four baserunners in the game’s opening frame, Sears only allowed one run to open his afternoon. The second inning, though, would not be so kind.
Sears’ second inning unfolded as such: double, hit by pitch, three-run home run, single, single, two-run double, fly out, single, RBI double. By the time Sears was pulled, the A’s trailed 7-1. That deficit expanded to 8-1 when long reliever Osvaldo Bido allowed an inherited baserunner to score.
Sears has had rough starts this season — he allowed seven earned runs on April 27 — but Saturday’s outing was especially atypical given that Sears is Oakland’s workhorse.
Despite recording just four outs, Sears still leads the A’s in innings (84) by a wide margin. The only other A’s starter who has even thrown 60 innings is Mitch Spence (63). Entering play, Sears pitched at least four innings in all but one start this season.
With Sears recording just four outs, Bido helped save Oakland’s bullpen by providing length out of the bullpen, tossing five innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts. Bido’s 106 pitches were a career-high, the first time he’s cracked the century mark in a major-league game.
While Sears had the worst start of his career, Minnesota’s Bailey Ober arguably had his best. Despite allowing a pair of solo home runs to JJ Bleday and Tyler Soderstrom, Ober turned in the first complete game of his career, needing only 89 pitches to do so.
Armando Alvarez, fresh off earning his first call-up, made his major-league debut, entering in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement. In his first career plate appearance, Alvarez grounded out on a check swing.