Elephant Rumblings: JP Sears shows resolve after tough first inning

Sears needed 37 pitches to escape the first inning Saturday

The Oakland Athletics dropped their third straight game Sunday falling to the Houston Astros 3-2. Despite the loss, one of their young starters showed progress after a rough start to his afternoon. JP Sears needed 37 pitches to escape the first inning and did well to limit the damage to a 2-0 lead. He then went back out and blanked the Astros for the next five innings while retiring 16 of the final 17 batters that he faced.

“Obviously, not happy with how the game started,” Sears said of a first inning that saw him labor with 37 pitches. “Settled in. Just felt like I located my fastball pretty well the last five innings. I kept guys off the slider a little bit. Fastball played up good for me today. Just tried to fill up the zone after that long first inning and keep the team in the game. I felt like I did that.”

It has been a tough start to the season for just about all of Oakland’s pitching staff, but Sears has shown signs of promise throughout the darkness. Sunday’s game was the sixth time he has allowed three earned runs or less among his nine starts. More often than not, he has given the A’s a chance and is showing that he could be a building block for the future.

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