Ross Stripling craters as Athletics drop high-scoring affair to Padres

Ross Stripling got absolutely plastered this afternoon as the Oakland Athletics suffered a defeat at the hands of the Padres, losing 12-11. The A's did their best to make a game of it, scoring 11 runs on 13 hits, including a home run from shortstop prospect Max Muncy.

Ultimately, it wasn't enough as the Padres bats were out for blood. The Padres jumped on Stripling early, scoring 3 in the bottom of the first with 5 hits in the inning. San Diego kept the pressure on, scoring 2 in the second, 1 in the third, and another 2 in the fourth.

In total, Stripling gave up 8 runs on 13 hits. He notched 5 strikeouts, didn't walk any, and allowed just a single home run to Jurickson Profar in the third. The A's righty just didn't have it today. His breaking pitches didn't have enough bite and his fastball got killed by the Padres' hitters.

Rule 5 pick Mitch Spence threw four innings in relief. He gave up 4 runs on 3 hits, struck out 5 and walked 2. In terms of run prevention, it was by far his worst outing of the spring. He'd looked sharp up to this point but we'd be foolish to expect he'd get through the season unscathed.

On the bright side, the Athletics' bats did their thing as well. Starter Joe Musgrove kept the A's in check through 4.1 innings but they were able to beat up on relievers Luis Patino and Adrian Morejon.

Patino threw 1.1 innings and the A's were able to plate 4 runs off 3 hits and 2 walks. Morejon gave up 4 runs on 6 hits in just 0.2 innings, with one of the runs coming off Max Muncy's leadoff homer in the 7th.

Armando Alvarez stayed hot with another multi-hit afternoon. Jacob Wilson also had two hits on the day, while Stephen Piscotty went hitless in his two at-bats.

The A's will look to sharpen up the pitching side as they head over to Sloan Park to take on the Cubs in an afternoon matchup tomorrow. Athletics' lefty JP Sears is set to take on the recently acquired Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm PST.