The Giants entered Sunday with the most home runs in the major leagues. They had the sixth-most runs scored, the sixth-best on-base percentage, sixth-best slugging percentage and fourth-highest OPS.
None of that mattered to Athletics left-hander Cole Irvin, who shut the Giants down for eight scoreless innings in the A's 6-2 win, helping Oakland avoid a sweep in San Francisco.
"This is probably the best game he's pitched, especially against a really hot lineup, at this point," A's manager Bob Melvin said to reporters after the win.
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Irvin allowed only three hits and struck out eight, which tied his season high and career high. Irvin had allowed at least one earned run in 12 straight starts. Sunday marked his first time not allowing a run in a start since April 17. He pitched eight innings for just the second time ever, and became only the second starter to pitch at least eight innings.
As the Giants still sit in first place of the NL West after their loss to the A's, only Irvin and Joe Ross have gone eight innings against them this season.
Of the 29 batters Irvin faced, he threw a first-pitch strike or forced contact on the first pitch 21 times. His manager believes that might have been the difference in the game, giving his squad a much-needed win.
"It's all about getting ahead," Melvin said. "You get ahead, now you force them to swing a little bit more. ... When you have some sink and you can keep the ball in the strike zone and move both sides, it's tough to get the barrel on it."
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Irvin has one of the best walk rates in baseball. He constantly pounds the zone. That always is a focus for him, and he wanted to make sure his strikes were smart strikes instead of over the heart of the plate. Execution early and often was a point of emphasis for he and catcher Aramis Garcia, a former Giant himself, but it was a mechanical correction that Irvin feels really made the difference.
"I gave myself a little bit of a breather this week," Irvin said. "In terms of mound work, I only threw like 10 pitches in my bullpen session, but did a lot of dry work. I was really working on getting further down the mound about a half-foot length of mine.
"It really showed up today because I was able to stay on top of the ball a lot more, the ball was coming out of my hand later and command isn't necessarily something I worry about because that's what comes first when I pitch. That's always been first for me. Just feeling that I could command the ball and the ball was coming out later than it normally does, it really just kind of gave me a sense of confidence."
That was evident while watching Irvin spin it by the Giants. He had command of the game, and the strike zone, throwing 71 of his 100 pitches for strikes and only walking two batters. Irvin also finished the day with a game-high 11 swing and misses.
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Following a heartbreaking 6-5 10-inning loss to the Giants on Saturday night, the A's needed a reason to leave San Francisco with a smile. Irvin gave them every reason to do so, both before and after the game.
"I'm pretty happy as long as the boys are happy," Irvin said. "I brought them donuts today, so I think that helped. It was good, it was a good day."