Casilla struggles in brief debut

MESA, Ariz. — Santiago Casilla was on the mound again at last for the A’s on Sunday, and even before the game, manager Bob Melvin said the results wouldn’t matter.

Just as well, because Casilla had a tough two-thirds of an inning in Oakland’s 9-8 win over the Cubs in his first appearance of the spring. He threw a wild pitch and allowed two hits, a walk and two runs — on a booming triple off the batter’s eye by Kyle Schwarber.

“It was my first outing. It’s just practice for me right now,” said the former Giants closer, now in his second stint with Oakland, with Juan Dorado interpreting.

“I was a little bit out of control. I thought my balance was a little bit off,” he added later. “It was my first outing, so pitches weren’t where I wanted them to be, but it’s not a long process for me. It’s just the first one.”

Melvin has no concerns about Casilla, whose arrival in camp was delayed nearly three weeks by visa issues.

“He’s a little behind. We got him in a game a little more quickly than we normally would,” Melvin said. “We just want to make sure he got 25 pitches. We’re not worried about him.”

Sean Doolittle, the lone remaining reliever who hasn’t appeared in a game, will pitch against Cleveland on Tuesday.

Two other potential bullpen members were at work Sunday: Starter Raul Alcantara, who gave up two runs in 22⁄3 innings, is in line for the long-man spot and Ross Detwiler is emerging as a strong possibility as Oakland’s second left-handed reliever. Daniel Coulombe, the other candidate, has allowed 10 hits, a walk and five runs, four earned, in his 41⁄3 innings.

Detwiler replaced Alcantara with two on and two outs in the third and got left-handed-hitting Jason Heyward to fly out to deep center. Detwiler gave up three runs the following inning, the first runs he has allowed in five spring outings. Opponents are 4-for-22 against him.

Detwiler has an out in his contract if he doesn’t have a firm roster spot by March 26, and even though he made seven starts with Oakland last season, he’d be OK with a bullpen job.

“I’ve kind of been assuming that, actually, since I’ve been a one-inning guy so far,” Detwiler said. “And I’ve always had good numbers against lefthanders — so I could see it. If it’s something I need to do to be able to stay on the team, I’d be willing to do that, sure.”

For Detwiler, a big plus when it comes to pitching in relief is the company.

“I’ve been with a lot of teams and I’ve never seen a bullpen like this,” he said. “It’s fun. Aside from everyone being really good at baseball, everyone is a comedian and feeds off everyone else. It just flows daily.”