A's build confidence behind Sears' winning pitching

OAKLAND -- During a red-hot July that saw the A’s post the best record in the American League at 15-9, their high-powered offense garnered most of the attention, perhaps overshadowing JP Sears's successful month on the pitching side.

He went 4-1 through five July starts with a 3.07 ERA. The four wins were tied for the most in the Majors for the month and marked the first four-win month by an A’s pitcher since Cole Irvin in July 2022.

Making his first start of August, Sears carried over his recent success by tossing seven innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts in Monday night’s 5-1 victory over the White Sox, handing Chicago its 21st consecutive loss at the Coliseum.

“He was out there tonight with the mindset that he was going to get deep into a game and have success,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “That’s the mindset you want. To have that is building his confidence. When he takes the mound now, his expectation level is raised for himself.”

Sears Day is starting to feel like Win Day for the A’s. Monday’s win was Oakland’s sixth in his last seven starts. Over the six victories, the 28-year-old left-hander has posted a 1.73 ERA (seven earned runs in 36 1/3 innings) with 38 strikeouts and six walks.

“JP has been amazing for us this year,” said A’s outfielder Lawrence Butler, who clubbed his 13th home run of the season, a 409-foot pinch-hit solo shot in the sixth. “He’s almost a guaranteed quality start and win every time. We’re feeling it in the clubhouse. On his start day, we’re feeling confident we’re going to get a win.”

Sears’ strike-throwing ability was evident against Chicago, with 61 of his 89 pitches going for strikes. He got it done by filling up the zone with mostly fastballs, throwing 45 four-seamers and generating 10 of his 13 whiffs on the night with the heater.

“What he does really well is he pounds the ball on the inside part of the plate,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said of Sears. “He mixes in his changeups to keep guys off balance. He disrupts rhythm and timing. … He got a couple of guys out in front on that changeup. Once you start thinking about that, he pitches inside really well.”

Sears paced around the mound, visibly frustrated after surrendering a game-tying RBI single to Andrew Benintendi in the fourth. It was his third hit allowed. It was also his last. He finished his second consecutive seven-inning start by retiring his final 10 batters faced.

The defense behind Sears was as impressive as he was on the mound, with the highlight of the night coming in the sixth inning. Breaking to his right on a high popup hit by Lenyn Sosa, A’s shortstop Max Schuemann -- recently named the A’s Heart and Hustle Award winner -- chased the ball heading for the A’s bullpen in left-field foul ground and made a tremendous catch while stumbling over the mound in foul territory for the first out of the inning. Schuemann also contributed with the bat by lining a two-run single to left in the fourth.

“That’s a heck of a play,” Kotsay said. “He’s giving himself up there, which you tip your cap to. … He’s the Heart and Hustle guy on the team, and it shows why he won the award.”

The departure of veteran right-hander Paul Blackburn in a deal with the Mets at last week’s Trade Deadline left a sizable hole in the A’s rotation. Blackburn spent eight seasons with Oakland, emerging as an All-Star pitcher and a valuable resource inside the clubhouse for younger pitchers on the staff.

While Sears is only three seasons into his Major League career, his rapid impact makes him a quality candidate to replace Blackburn in the leadership position.

Sears leads by example by displaying impressive durability. He was the only A’s starter to make all 32 of his scheduled starts last season, and that workhorse trait is showing through again as he leads the club with 23 starts in 2024.

“Paul was here for a really long time and definitely the leader of our staff,” Sears said. “We’re going to look to have another leader of our staff here in the next couple of weeks and months going into next year. I’ll take whatever role it is and try to be a leader, ready to go every five days and just compete every time I go out there.”