The Oakland Athletics fought back from an early deficit but saw their bullpen once again falter in a 7-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. JP Sears pitched himself in and out of trouble in the first inning. After a flyout from Tommy Edman to start the game, Sears walked Paul Goldschmidt, who then stole second. Sears struck out Nolan Arenado for the second out but issued back-to-back walks to Willson Contreras and Tyler O’Neil, loading the bases. Sears escaped the jam when Lars Nootbar lined out to Tyler Soderstrom at first base.

However, a missed opportunity came back to haunt Sears in the second. After striking out Luken Baker, Sears allowed a single to Jordan Walker. After striking out Taylor Motter and picking off Walker at first base, the call was overturned as Zack Gelof failed to tag Walker. Edman made the A’s pay with a bloop single to right, scoring Walker and giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Miles Mikolas was dominant early, allowing only one hit to the A’s over the first two innings. He walked Shea Langeliers in the third, but Lawrence Butler flew out, and Nick Allen grounded into a force play. Esteury Ruiz reached on catcher interference, putting runners at first and second, but Gelof flew out to right to end the threat.

Sears allowed a leadoff single to Contreras in the third, but Lawrence Butler made a sliding grab in center field and turned a double play to end the inning. After a scoreless fourth inning with two strikeouts, the A’s took the lead in the fifth. Mikolas retired Langeliers and Butler, but after Nick Allen was hit by a pitch, Ruiz blasted his second homer of the season to give Oakland a 2-1 lead.

The lead didn’t last long. Sears returned for the fifth inning and gave up a leadoff single to Edman and a two-run homer to Goldschmidt, putting the Cardinals back on top 3-2. Sears retired Arenado and Andrew Knizner, but walked O’Neil, who stole second before Sears struck out Nootbar to end the inning.Ryan Helsley Jersey

Oakland threatened in the sixth with Seth Brown and Brent Rooker reaching base, but a double play and a groundout ended the threat. Sears left the game after allowing 6 hits, 4 walks, and 3 runs in 5 innings, striking out 6.

Lucas Erceg pitched a scoreless sixth before the A’s rallied in the seventh. Mikolas struck out Langeliers, but allowed back-to-back singles to Butler and Allen, ending his night. Giovanny Gallegos came in and got Ruiz to line out before Gelof doubled down the left-field line to tie the game. Brown followed with a single, scoring Allen and Gelof, giving the A’s a 5-3 lead.

The bullpen woes resurfaced in the seventh. Angel Felipe walked Goldschmidt to start the inning and struck out Arenado, but then issued two more walks to Knizner and O’Neil, loading the bases. Manager Mark Kotsay brought in Francisco Perez, who walked Nootbar to force in a run, making it 5-4. Perez struck out Baker but then ran a full count on Walker, who hit a deep fly ball that Brown couldn’t catch. Three runs scored on the play, putting the Cardinals back ahead 7-5.

Zach Neal pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing a walk and a single but nothing further. In the ninth, the A’s got a runner in scoring position when Allen reached on a throwing error by JoJo Romero, but Romero struck out Ruiz and Gelof before getting Brown to ground out to end the game.

The loss is the A’s fourth straight, dropping their record to 33-86 on the season.