Relievers get a pep talk

SEATTLE — After the A’s bullpen blew three saves in a row for the first time since 2004, pitching coach Curt Young had a little chat with the team’s relievers Monday.

“I did kind of say they’ve all done it, they all know how to do it,” Young said of the pep talk he delivered along with a Mariners’ scouting report, telling the relievers, “Be relaxed and be confident in what you’re doing.”

Oakland relievers never have blown four saves in a row. There was no opportunity Monday, with the A’s never in the lead.

The A’s were ahead in the seventh, however, in all three games at Texas only to lose via bullpen misfires. “It was kind of a momentum thing,” Young said. “Texas had a lot of momentum, and they used it against us. Guys’ stuff was there. It wasn’t mistake after mistake. It happened quick . ... That’s the momentum.”

Ryan Madson might have said something to the younger relievers, but “Curt said all the things I would have said. You have to erase it — that’s just the game,” Madson said. “I don’t think we have guys who will let it carry over.”

Madson blew the save in the seventh Sunday, giving up a two-out double to Elvis Andrus that tied the game and an RBI single by Nomar Mazara that decided things.

Madson said he was too worried with Andrus at first base. “I was too concerned about being quick to home to make my pitch completely,” he said. “There are two ways I can fix that ... work on my slide step, and the other is to forget it, let him steal second, who cares? I only needed to get one out. So the thought process could have been different.

“My slide step wasn’t a good one. I don’t slide-step a lot, but I want to be able to do it well.”

Madson said he found an optimal slide step during flatground work Monday.

The bullpen, which has allowed 12 runs the past four games, is missing setup men John Axford and Sean Doolittle. Axford (shoulder) will pitch Tuesday with Triple-A Nashville and could rejoin the A’s on Thursday, while Doolittle (shoulder) is taking the first steps of his rehab; he did sock throws on Sunday and threw from 75 feet on Monday.