Barnett (1-2) took the loss against the Reds on Thursday, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out seven.
Barnett was inefficient Thursday, landing just 47 of his 82 pitches for strikes, and he served up three home runs in hitter-friendly Cincinnati. The right-hander did fan a season-high seven, but he'll likely need to do a better job of keeping the ball in the yard if he wants to remain in the Athletics' rotation. Barnett appears close to being able to handle a traditional starter's workload after initially working in bulk relief upon his promotion in late July, but his 5.56 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 36:17 K:BB over 34 innings may not leave him with much streaming appeal against the Rays his next time out.