Mitch Spence is doing all he can to make the Athletics' roster ahead of the 2024 MLB season, tossing three shutout innings Saturday in his second spring training start.
The 25-year-old, whom the A's selected this offseason in the Rule 5 Draft, struck out two and allowed just one hit over three innings of work against the Seattle Mariners, earning the decision in Oakland's 12-8 win. The strong performance comes on the heels of Spence's A's debut on Feb. 26, when he struck out three and allowed one run in two innings.
“I’m at my best when I’m getting weak contact,” Spence said after his outing Saturday (h/t MLB.com's Martín Gallegos). “When I start getting ahead in counts, that’s when the strikeouts come. But my main goal out there is to attack the zone and try to get them to put the ball in play really weak.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Weak contact was key to Spence's success against Seattle, which had most of its regular starters in the lineup, per Gallegos. After hitting J.P. Crawford to start the bottom of the first, Spence got Julio Rodríguez to ground into a double play. And in his last inning of work, Spence forced three groundouts after another leadoff walk.
As Spence continues his bid for a roster spot ahead of Opening Day, whether that's as part of the starting rotation or in the bullpen, he feels like he's getting better each time he takes the mound.
“I felt like I did just a little bit better in this outing than the last one,” Spence said. “You just kind of make little adjustments in between outings and try to take it into the next game.”
