Doolittle gave up a two-run homer in the ninth inning Thursday against the Angels, but still recorded his fourth save.

EDGE Analysis

Ryan Madson pitched the eighth inning in this one while Doolittle was tasked with the ninth, but predicting the way this role will break out has proven awfully difficult -- after all, Doolittle pitched the seventh in his last appearance. Although Madson's blown three saves, he still hasn't given the A's much to complain about on the whole, so it doesn't seem likely that Doolittle is actually making inroads on the ninth-inning role. Of course, there's quite a lot of uncertainty here.