Doolittle was credited with his fourth hold of the season in Friday's 3-1 win over the Mariners, firing a scoreless eighth inning and recording a strikeout.

EDGE Analysis

The southpaw teamed up with co-closer Santiago Casilla to get the final six outs of Friday's victory, with Doolittle getting the eighth-inning call on this occasion. The 30-year-old has three holds over the last four games on the strength of 2.2 clean innings, which have lowered his ERA to an even 3.00 and his WHIP to an impressive 0.83. Manager Bob Melvin has designated Doolittle as his ninth-inning option when the situation calls for a left-handed reliever, but Casilla has received the bulk of opportunities thus far.

Doolittle was credited with his second hold of the season in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Rangers, notching two strikeouts over 1.1 innings.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran southpaw rebounded from a rough outing against the Astros on Saturday, an appearance in which he surrendered two earned runs on two hits, including a home run. The 30-year-old got through the potent quartet of Rougned Odor, Jonathan Lucroy, Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Gallo on an efficient 14 pitches, 11 of which he threw for strikes. Factoring out the aforementioned stumble against Houston, Doolittle has posted scoreless appearances in four of his five trips to the mound this season.

Doolittle will get the save opportunities when a left-handed reliever is called for going forward, MLB Network Radio reports. "It's not that complicated, it's gonna be Doolittle or (Santiago) Casilla depending on the matchups," manager Bob Melvin said.

EDGE Analysis

He picked up the save Monday against the Royals, and struck out left-handed hitters Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Brandon Moss in the process, showcasing how deadly he can be in the right matchup. This is a pretty frustrating setup for those who own Doolittle, as it will be very difficult to capitalize on all of his saves without also going full weeks without a save opportunity at times.

Doolittle struck out the side while working around a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning to earn his first save of the season Monday against the Royals.

EDGE Analysis

Entering with a two-run lead, Doolittle allowed a single with a man on and two outs to create a bit of pressure for himself. He responded by striking out Brandon Moss to end the game, however, and came away with the save. The Athletics have chosen to use a closer-by-committee approach to start the season which saw Santiago Cassilla convert the team's first save opportunity, while Ryans Madson and Dull still lurk as possible candidates to close out games as well. This was a positive performance for Doolittle, but he likely has not done enough to separate himself from the pack at this point.

Doolittle struck out the side in the ninth inning of Thursday's 5-1 victory over the Angels, allowing one hit.

EDGE Analysis

The lefty was especially sharp, firing 16 of 20 pitches for strikes and getting five swinging strikes during his brief time on the mound. Doolittle disposed of C.J. Cron and Ben Revere -- the latter on three pitches -- to open the inning, before yielding a single to Andrelton Simmons, who advanced to second on an uncontested steal. However, Doolittle finished off Danny Espinosa on back-to-back swings-and-misses to close out his second strong outing in as many appearances to open the season. The 30-year-old has four strikeouts and one hold over 1.2 innings as a key left-handed component of the A's relief corps.

Doolittle was credited with his first hold of the season in Monday's 4-2 Opening Day win over the Angels with a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. He also recorded a strikeout.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran southpaw began the process of shaking off a rough spring -- one that saw him generate a 7.11 ERA over 6.1 innings -- with a strong showing out of the gate in the eighth inning of Monday's win. Doolittle caught Yunel Escobar looking before popping up Kole Calhoun and giving way to Ryan Madson to close out the frame. As one of only two lefty options for manager Bob Melvin in the Oakland bullpen, Doolittle should see his fair share of late-inning work in 2017, including some potential save opportunities in what could be a closer-by-committee approach.

Doolittle (0-1) struck out the side but also gave up two earned runs on three hits over one inning in Saturday's 11-6 split-squad Cactus League loss to the Reds.

EDGE Analysis

The two runs Doolittle gave up in the seventh, which included an RBI triple by Stuart Turner and back-to-back doubles, snapped a 6-6 tie. The 30-year-old reliever started his spring with a pair of scoreless outings but has derailed in his last two trips to the mound, surrendering four earned runs on five hits over two innings. Doolittle posted double-digit holds last season for the first time since the 2013 campaign despite battling shoulder problems, and he's being counted on for a prominent bullpen role once again in the coming season.

Doolittle, who earned a hold in Tuesday's 4-3 Cactus League loss to the Rockies by tossing a perfect inning, was happy with the way he felt on the mound, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports. "It felt really good to finally get in a game and finally be out there with the guys," Doolittle said. "Take the training wheels completely off. I don't anticipate any restrictions form here on out."

EDGE Analysis

The southpaw induced three fly-ball outs during his time on the mound and was especially pleased with his fastball command. He plans to incorporate more changeups and sliders in his next outing, which isn't yet set. "That's something we'll continue to work on as I get more outings under my belt; when to throw it, getting more comfortable with it," he said. "Today was more about getting out there, getting my feet underneath me, repeating my delivery."

Doolittle is expected to make his first Cactus League appearance Tuesday, Joe Stiglich of CSN California reports.

EDGE Analysis

The left-hander has been brought up slowly this spring due to the plethora of injuries he's experienced over the past two seasons, but it seems as if the Athletics are ready to remove the training wheels soon. If all goes well in Doolittle's return to game action, he should resume his prominent place in Oakland's bullpen and could even push Ryan Madson for save opportunities at some point during the regular season.

Doolittle threw 25 pitches to hitters Saturday and is likely to play in a game as the next step in his throwing program, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Everything seems to be going according to plan for Doolittle, who says he's been happy with how the throwing sessions have gone. Oakland still has plenty of Cactus League games remaining for the 30-year-old to use as preparation, so expect him to get plenty of opportunities upon his return to action.