Why Athletics’ young starters are under microscope amid ‘important’ stretch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Athletics might be far out of the playoff push entering the final third of the MLB season, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for.

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The team’s exciting lineup — one of the youngest in baseball — has continued to impress throughout most of the year, but the Athletics’ inexperienced crop of starting pitchers has had encouraging performances since the All-Star break as well.

Though starter J.T. Ginn picked up the loss Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles, manager Mark Kotsay continued to be optimistic about his staff. He emphasized the importance of this stretch, particularly for his trio of emerging starters: Ginn, Jacob Lopez and Jack Perkins.

“Obviously, Lopez is ahead of them with the amount of starts he’s had and a little more innings this year,” Kotsay told reporters postgame. “As far as Ginn and Perkins, these are important weeks for them, and obviously, tonight wasn’t terrible. I mean, three runs in five innings. Our offense just couldn’t help him out.

“But for Perk tomorrow, it’s another young guy that’s going out there. He’ll be limited on the pitch count — probably into the 80s — but for him to go out and have a good start is important.”

Ginn struggled in the first inning, allowing back-to-back homers to Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle after nearly completing a 1-2-3 frame. But that would be all the Orioles could muster against Ginn and the A’s bullpen.

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“Outside of that, I mean, he had nine strikeouts,” Kotsay said of the 26-year-old Ginn. “I thought he got back focused into the zone and really pounded it and did a good job from the second to the fifth.”

As a whole, this rotation has improved significantly in the second half of the season. Prior to the All-Star break, A’s starters managed just a 5.00 ERA; that mark was down to 3.65 entering Friday’s contest, according to Stathead.

Ginn had arguably the two best starts of his young career in late July, while Lopez hasn’t given up a run in his last two outings. Perkins, meanwhile, will make his second career start Saturday as the rookie looks to find his footing in the rotation.

If this up-and-coming group of starters can continue to perform at a similar level to their hitting counterparts, the Athletics could be a dangerous team sooner rather than later.