Jack

Perkins

Perkins was ineffective, but rather fascinating is that his velocity was actually up tonight in his first start of the year. He’d averaged 96.2 mph with his fastball and 85.9 mph with his sweeper as a reliever. Tonight, even though he was being expected to throw two or three times as many pitches as usual, he came in at 96.8 mph with the heater and 87.4 mph with the sweeper. He struck out six and produced 13 whiffs, so that’s not bad. He’ll probably stay in the rotation and face the Brewers next Wednesday. For fantasy purposes, though, in a very tough situation in Sacramento, he was only intriguing as a possibility for saves out of the pen.

It’s unlikely to be a lengthy outing since Perkins has sparingly worked beyond two innings as a reliever this season. The 26-year-old showed some promise as a rookie last year and holds a respectable 4.73 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 70/25 K/BB ratio across 66 2/3 innings in the majors since 2025. He’s in line for a challenging road matchup at hitter-friendly Daikin Park as he transitions into the rotation. A wait-and-see approach seems preferable for fantasy purposes, but he’s an intriguing arm to monitor in deeper leagues.

The A’s wanted Perkins to finish off a five-run game, but he allowed a single and two walks before leaving with two outs. Scott Barlow replaced him and walked three in a row, with all three runs being charged with Perkins. That took his ERA from 5.04 to 5.96. We thought Perkins might be a candidate to replace Luis Severino in the rotation next time through after striking out seven and throwing 63 pitches last time out, but his usage tonight suggests that he’ll remain in the pen. That’s good news for Mason Barnett’s chances of getting a callup.

Severino left his start Friday after allowing four unearned runs in an inning against the Yankees. Reliever Michael Kelly is replacing him on the roster for now, but the A’s could turn to Mason Barnett in his rotation spot next week. Jack Perkins might also be an option after being extended to 63 pitches in his last relief appearance.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay couldn’t report what was wrong with Civale, saying after the game: “Let’s just call it either... I can’t even comment on it right now.” The IL stint would obviously open up a spot for Jack Perkins if the A’s want to put him into the rotation after he threw 4 2/3 innings in relief on Monday.

It was really surprising to see the A’s go so long with Perkins, who doubled his previous season high of 2 1/3 innings pitched. The 26-year-old was briefly the team’s closer last month, picking up three saves before blowing two chances and losing the role. Now it looks like he might get another chance to start. He initially joined the Athletics’ rotation last August and won three of his four starts before succumbing to a shoulder strain. Perkins was a starter in 47 of his 58 career minor league appearances.

After finishing off a four-run lead last night, Perkins gave up two singles and a double today to blow his second save chance in two tries this month. This might take him out of the mix for a spell, increasing the chances that Joel Kuhnel and Scott Barlow could wind up with saves. Barlow pitched a scoreless eighth today for his eighth hold.

It’s obviously not a save, but it would have been one if the A’s hadn’t expanded their lead from three runs to four in the bottom of the eighth. The ninth is wide open again in Sacramento after Perkins blew his most recent opportunity on May 6, but he’s clearly still very much in the mix after having gone 3-for-3 last month.

Perkins was summoned with a 4-2 lead to protect in the ninth. He walked Adley Rutschman to open the inning then punched out Pete Alonso and Dylan Beavers. Rutschman then advanced to second on defensive indifference before scoring on a two-out RBI single by Samuel Basallo. That’s when Hogan Harris was brought on to get out of it. After blowing a save earlier in the week, this can’t help Perkins’ job security.

Perkins actually came in for the seventh with a 3-2 lead tonight. He got through that without incident, but he retired just one of the five batters he faced in the eighth, with a Jeff McNeil error on a possible double-play ball damaging the cause. He was pulled with the A’s down 4-3, and the Phillies got two more runs after he left. It’s possible Perkins would have been left in to try for the three-inning save if the eighth had gone better; he’s pitched 2 1/3 innings twice this season, and he was working on five days of rest. He’s still probably the favorite for saves on the A’s for the moment.