Justin Sterner: Everything you need to know

Sterner (0-2) blew the save and took the loss Wednesday against the Rangers, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and one walk in the ninth inning. He struck out one. Sterner was called upon for his first save chance of the year while the Athletics held a 6-5 advantage, but he was unable to protect the lead in the ninth inning. While the A's have a pretty wide open competition when it comes to save opportunities, Sterner isn't making much of a case for future chances. The right-hander owns a 4.66 ERA, 1.97 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB over 9.2 innings thus far.

Sterner allowed no hits and a walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning in Thursday's win against the Yankees. Entering in the eighth inning following seven stellar frames from Jeffrey Springs, Sterner had no trouble keeping the Yankees' bats quiet as he collected his third hold of the campaign. After allowing a run in his first outing, the right-hander has delivered 6.1 scoreless innings over his past five appearances. He has yet to be used in a save situation, but Sterner's strong early performances have earned him high-leverage work and, given the lack of an established closer for the A's, could lead to future opportunities in the ninth inning.

Sterner has given up four runs on four hits while striking out 12 and walking three across six innings during spring training, and Jason Burke of SI.com didn't list him as a closer candidate for the A's. Sterner was effective as a rookie last season with 16 holds to go along with a 3.18 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 70:21 K:BB across 65 innings, though he didn't pick up any saves, even after closer Mason Miller was traded away at the deadline. Burke listed Hogan Harris as the early favorite for saves with Scott Barlow and Mark Leiter also in the mix, though manager Mark Kostay isn't expected to utilize a true closer in the traditional sense. Sterner still figures to pick up some saves this season if he pitches similarly to 2025.