Athletics starting pitcher Adrián Martínez can use Oakland's 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday at Angel Stadium as a learning experience as to how he should approach superstar big leaguers.
Martínez went 4 2/3 against the Angels, but the 25-year-old surrendered a solo home run to Mike Trout in the fourth inning. In his first MLB season, the A's pitcher is navigating how to pitch to superstars such as Trout and two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.
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In his first outing against two of the best players in baseball, A's manager Mark Kotsay feels as though Martínez gave the team a chance a win.
"I mean, those two guys are elite," Kotsay told reporters after the loss. "They're the best in the business, and that's why they're in the middle of the lineup.
"And I think overall like I said, I think Adrián managed this lineup really well and gave us a chance to win. We kept the game within two and just couldn't get anything going offensively."
Additionally, if Martínez is going to stick around with Oakland, he will need to get used to facing players like Trout and Ohtani, considering they A's are in the AL West and will see them quite often.
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This outing served as an example of how he should approach each of the two stars, and despite giving up a home run to Trout, Kotsay praised Martínez for how he handled himself during those at-bats.
"[Ohtani and Trout] make adjustments, take their bats, and you talked about elite players they make adjustments, pitch to pitch and definitely at-bat to at-bat," Kotsay added.
"Adrián came back against Trout and got in that third at-bat, which shows that maturity, shows that progress in terms of Ohtani with that matchup left on left. I really like that matchup and wanted to keep the game at two."
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The A's will attempt to salvage one game in the series against the Angels and avoid being swept out in Anaheim on Wednesday as Oakland hands the ball to Cole Irvin (9-12, 4.05 ERA).
However, the A's will be in for a tough fight to get a game as they'll face off against Ohtani (14-8, 2.47 ERA), who will try to get his 15th win of the season and make his case for AL MVP.