Oakland A's bullpen is collapsing under heavy workload

SEATTLE -- The Oakland Athletics' continual search for starting pitching turned toward another possibility Wednesday, when rookie Zach Neal provided more questions than answers.

In his first major league start, Neal stepped in for injured Sonny Gray and didn't look like the long-term solution. The 27-year-old rookie got tagged for eight hits and seven runs in four innings.

Manager Bob Melvin said he considered taking Neal out during the six-run third inning, but the A's had used seven pitchers the previous night and couldn't afford to burn too many arms.

"You can't just take a guy out and keep using the bullpen," Melvin said. "Sometimes a guy's got to figure it out. ... It was nice (Neal) was able to give us four (innings)."

The bullpen didn't provide a whole lot of relief, as Seattle ended up posting a season-high run total in the 13-3 rout. It marked the fourth time this month that Oakland allowed 13 or more runs in a game.

Lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski allowed one run in two-thirds of an inning, and right-hander Andrew Triggs struggled through two innings, giving up six hits and five runs.

With Gray on the disabled list and a rotation that has only one established veteran, Rich Hill, the A's probably can't expect to get too many inning-eating starts anytime soon. Gray is one of five starting pitchers currently on the team's DL, and the bullpen is logging far too many innings to hold up. Oakland's relievers showed signs of fatigue over the final two games of the Seattle series, allowing 10 runs on 13 hits over 8 1/3 innings in back-to-back losses.

The one constant has been Hill, who threw eight shutout innings in the series opener and continues to do his part on a hobbled rotation.

"Every game (Hill) is on the mound, we have a great feeling it's a game we're going to win," Melvin said after the A's snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-0 win Monday. "He's showing guys that even when things aren't going well, he's fighting the fight."