A pitching duel opened up the three-game series between the Athletics and Los Angeles Angels on Monday night at Oakland Coliseum.
Oakland starting pitcher Cole Irvin went eight innings while his opponent on the mound, José Suarez, went seven innings. Irvin allowed five hits but made one mistake in the 1-0 loss, surrendering a home run at the top of the first to Luis Rengifo.
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Despite the loss, A's manager Mark Kotsay spotlighted Irvin's qualities on the mound against the Angels and praised the A's starter for refusing to allow the first inning mistake to linger.
"Well, for Cole again, he goes out and dominates the game," Kotsay told reporters after the game. "One mistake in the first inning and goes seven scoreless after that. So he continues to be aggressive. He continues to use his fastball and just pitch with that bulldog mentality."
Both lineups struggled to put together much offense. However, the A's only managed two hits and didn't provide the 28-year-old with run support. Nonetheless, Kotsay stressed that Irvin did everything right in his eight innings of work.
"It's unfortunate again that we offensively couldn't support him and get enough runs for a win," Kotsay added. "But Cole did everything he could to give us a chance to win that game tonight."
Oakland Athletics
Irvin's start against Los Angeles was his latest quality appearance on the mound. Since July 4, the A's starter hasn't given up more than two earned runs and quietly has turned himself into a reliable starter for Oakland.
The Oakland pitcher can't pinpoint what is working for him in the last handful of starts, but Irvin did express that everything is synching for him while putting in the work leading up to his start.
"I'm working my tail off in between starts," Irvin told reporters. "Running more than I have in any season ... And I'm just doing things that maybe I shied away from early in my career -- not trying to step on guys' toes or anything like that.
"So feeling a little bit more confident in my routine, and that just comes with it ... Keeping the game simple, understanding what I know how to do, and trust in the fact that I'm going to make a pitch and challenge guys when I need to."
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The A's will look to bounce back and end their three-game losing streak on Tuesday when Kotsay hands the ball to James Kaprielian. Meanwhile, the Angels will go with their ace Shohei Ohtani.