San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
AL wild-card game:
Signs point to A’s using “bullpenning” strategy against Yankees.
ANAHEIM — With Liam Hendriks taking the mound to open Saturday’s game against the Angels, it’s becoming ever more likely that the team will use that strategy in Wednesday’s wild-card game — and so far, all signs are pointing toward a full bullpen game.
Hendriks, then, is almost assuredly the wild-card starter, making him among the most unlikely postseason starters ever: a reliever who was designated for assignment June 25. After working a scoreless first inning in Oakland’s 5-2 win over the Angels on Saturday, Hendriks is unscored upon in his past eight outings as the “opener,” and opponents are batting .188 with a .278 on-base percentage against him in that role.
“I think there’s definitely going to be a lot more scrutiny on it,” Hendriks said of using an opener in the postseason. “If doesn’t work, that will be the reason, and if it does work, that will be the reason as well. Everything is going to be amplified.”
At the very end of the regular season, Oakland is, in essence, trying out starters to see who might handle coming into a game in the second inning, with Mike Fiers failing to impress Friday and Trevor Cahill getting the chance Saturday at Anaheim.
Cahill fared well, working the second through fifth and allowing one hit, one walk and an unearned run with two strikeouts.
“It’s something we’ve been tinkering with some and trying to take a look and seeing what the best fit is going forward,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.
Melvin said Daniel Mengden, the one starter who has learned to deal well with coming in second behind an opener, doesn’t appear to be an option in the wild-card game against the Yankees, at least not in that “bridge guy” role. “At this point, probably not,” Melvin said.
With Fiers allowing five runs Friday and Cahill’s frightful numbers on the road — 6.41 away from home after Saturday’s appearance — the A’s aren’t likely to use either to follow an opener Wednesday. Edwin Jackson remains an option, but he hasn’t pitched as the second guy in.
That suggests that the team might just go all relievers, and there is certainly the means to construct the one-day roster in order to maximize Oakland’s superb bullpen. The team is likely to have 11 pitchers on the wild-card roster, and if it’s all relievers, the choice of whom to leave off might come down to a second lefty, Dean Kiekhefer, versus Mengden, Ryan Dull or Emilio Pagan. Rookie J.B. Wendelken, with the superb work he’s turned in this month, appears to have a strong chance at a roster spot.
That leaves Oakland with five bench players: Chad Pinder, Josh Phegley, Mark Canha, Matt Joyce and, for pinchrunning, either Franklin Barreto or Dustin Fowler. Mengden needed one game as the second man in before he got the hang of it — after allowing three earned runs his first time out, he gave up just one over his next three bridge outings over the course of 132⁄3 innings. Fiers got one shot, Cahill is getting one try. Wouldn’t a few more times be helpful for gauging how starters handle the different role?
“That’s why we’re trying to give everybody a little bit of experience with it,” Melvin said. “After doing this, it will weigh into our decision come Wednesday.”
The A’s won’t use an opener Sunday. Melvin said that lefthander Brett Anderson will start at Angel Stadium.
Khris Davis and Jed Lowrie led the charge Saturday and both are trying to reach significant milestones; Davis went the opposite way in the first for his 48th homer, tying Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx for fourth all-time in franchise history. Lowrie had a solo homer and a sacrifice fly to get to 99 RBIs.
“It’s certainly a big round number,” Lowrie said of 100 RBIs. “That would be pretty awesome.”
Lowrie’s 82 RBIs as a second baseman are the most in A’s history since Jerry Lumpe had 82 for the 1962 Kansas City A’s.
Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser