'Trying to do too much,' Howard upended in Oakland

OAKLAND -- Spencer Howard started his outing against the A’s on Friday night by issuing a walk to Vimael Machín. And though he ultimately got out of the first inning unscathed, it was a sign of what was to come as the Rangers fell to the A's, 5-4, in the series opener at Oakland Coliseum.

In the second, Howard issued two more walks, one of which would come back to bite when Machín drove in the first run of the game on a ground-rule double. Howard, however, again managed to bounce back with a strikeout of Ramón Laureano to end the inning and spark a run in which he retired nine straight.

That stretch came to an abrupt end in the fifth, when Howard recorded two quick outs before the wheels came off via home runs from Laureano and Seth Brown. Howard lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and recording three strikeouts.

“It didn't start off great, when you look at some of the walks early on, but I feel like he righted the ship,” said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. “In the third and fourth innings, he looked great, the stuff looked good and crisp. Even in the fifth inning, he started off [by getting] the first two hitters, but the homer against Laureano shell-shocked him a little bit and [he] just couldn't get that last out.

“I don't know if he thought he was just gonna get through that fifth no problem, but the second homer was obviously the dagger.”

Woodward said he felt like Howard was shying away and nibbling early in the game, which led to the free passes. He felt that in Howard's most successful innings, the righty had a little more life on his pitches.

Despite facing the minimum through the third and fourth frames, Howard said he never found his stride and that he also struggled acclimating to the mound.

“It felt pretty typical, just trying to do too much,” Howard said. “And then once I got a little bit more in sync, my body was already taxed. I think that's just about it. I never really caught that rhythm. I didn't really feel all too comfortable out there, but it is what it is. I was just rushing. The mound here is really steep, so I don't think I adjusted as fast as I should have.”

It’s the first real speedbump for Howard since he made it back to the big league club on July 5.

He made the Opening Day roster out of camp, but was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in late April after some rough outings. After a productive stint with Round Rock -- 3.69 ERA with 60 strikeouts over 46 1/3 innings (10 starts) -- he returned to early success, entering Friday with a 2.70 ERA over his last two starts.

Though Howard couldn't continue that positive momentum against the A's, Woodward is still confident in his development going forward.

“When Spencer's comfortable, he just carries himself a certain way,” Woodward said. “And you can see the life on the pitches, the execution. It's basically like, ‘Here's my stuff, hit it.’ Tonight, he was shying away a little bit, walking some guys. You could just tell it didn't look like he felt comfortable standing on the mound.”