LAS VEGAS — Milwaukee Brewers rookie Brandon Sproat will have the challenge of keeping the ball in the park against the long-ball launching Athletics on Wednesday at the hitter-friendly home of the A’s Triple-A affiliate.
Sproat (1-4, 6.17 ERA), who has given up 11 homers in 54 innings this season, will be opposed by fellow right-hander Jack Perkins (2-3, 6.19) in the final game of a three-game series.
The A’s pounded out five homers in a 7-5 victory Tuesday night to even the series and snap the Brewers four-game winning streak. Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz each went deep for the third time in two games for the A’s, who have 12 homers in the series, matching a franchise record for most homers in a two-game span.
Jonah Heim and Zack Gelof each homered for the second time in the series Tuesday and Henry Bolte added his first career homer. The A’s are 15-6 when they hit more homers than their opponent.
The Brewers won a 15-14 slugfest in 12 innings in the series opener on Monday night. The A’s have learned the ball can jump in Las Vegas, where they are scheduled to move permanently when their new climate-controlled stadium opens in 2028.
T.J. Ginn allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings to get the win. A’s starters are 4-12 over the past 23 games.
Gelof extended his hitting streak to 14 games, hitting .345 (19-for-55) over that span.
Perkins will be making his second consecutive start after 17 appearances out of the bullpen.
After going 2-0 with 2.70 ERA in eight relief appearances in April, he was 0-2 with 7.98 ERA in nine relief outings in May, allowing 15 runs, 13 earned, in 14 2/3 innings.
He took the loss in his start Friday, allowing five runs on five hits in four innings in a 75-pitch outing in a 5-1 defeat at Houston. He gave up a three-run homer to Isaac Paredes in the first inning.
“One mistake really, I feel like actually hurt, but outside of that, I feel like I threw a lot of competitive pitches,” Perkins said afterward. “My whole goal today getting back into a starter’s mindset was to compete at a high level. I feel like I did that.”
Sproat is 1-3 with a 5.97 ERA over his past seven starts, allowing 21 earned runs on 33 hits in 31 2/3 innings. He struck out 34 over that span, but also walked 16.
Sproat did not get a decision in his most recent start, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings when the Brewers rallied for 9-7 win at Colorado in 10 innings last Friday.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy has expressed frustration at times with Sproat’s inconsistency.
After a 9-2 loss to Houston in late May, Sproat’s third consecutive start of not getting out of the fifth inning, Murphy said, “We’re not going to tolerate too many duds like this, that’s for sure. If he’s not going to step up — we’re trying to win. We’re not rebuilding.”
“His stuff is really, really good,” Murphy continued. “He’s shown so many flashes of being really good, and that’s why it’s worth sticking with him. Because when he gets really good, that gives us yet another solid starter.”
The A’s series with the Brewers will be followed by another three games in Las Vegas against the Colorado Rockies.
— Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media
