Cole Irvin came off the injured list to deliver a strong start in the same ballpark where he once served as an Angels groundskeeper. Cristian Pache put on another dazzling display of defense in center field. Plus, there was good news on the health of both Frankie Montas and Ramon Laureano.
That, though, was the extent of the positivity Sunday for the A’s, who were shut down by Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval in a 4-1 loss.
Oakland (17-26) wound up dropping two of three during their weekend series in Anaheim and has now lost eight of its last nine series.
The A’s begin a three-game set Monday night in Seattle, which sits a half game ahead of Oakland in the battle to stay out of the American League West cellar.
On Sunday, Mike Trout added to the A’s troubles with three hits and two RBIs, including a seventh-inning home run off Justin Grimm, the only one of Oakland’s nine relievers who hadn’t pitched in the previous two days.
Irvin, who hasn’t pitched for the A’s since April 30 because of shoulder tendinitis, pitched six much-needed, effective innings – allowing just two earned runs – to keep the A’s close before they fell for the sixth time in eight games. As usual, Irvin did a commendable job at Angel Stadium, where he spent time as a junior groundskeeper while attending nearby Servite High.
The 28-year-old Irvin was also in familiar territory when he encountered trouble in the first inning, thanks to Shohei Ohtani, who smoked Irvin’s second pitch of the game – a hanging slider – 443 feet for a leadoff home run. Irvin, who fell to 2-2 but lowered his earned run average to 2.94, has sputtered out of the gate this season — his first-inning ERA is 5.40. The left-hander has been markedly better in innings 2-through-5, where his ERA is a microscopic 0.90.
“To get through six, that’s a pretty decent day,” said Irvin, who noted the A’s bullpen has been overworked the last two days, throwing a combined 10 2/3 innings. “They’ve got a good lineup. Just glad to be back, pitching with the team. I felt good overall and I just gotta keep rolling here.”
Cristian Pache doing Cristian Pache things pic.twitter.com/kaQcaIdBVb
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) May 22, 2022
He got a huge assist from Pache, who leaped over the fence to rob the Angels’ Kurt Suzuki of a would-be home run in the sixth inning with a back-handed grab. Pache, who also chased down a drive in left-center that appeared headed for extra bases later in the game, fooled his manager on his rob job against Suzuki. Instead of showing the umpires that he did grab the ball, Pache just nonchalantly jogged to the Oakland dugout.
“I wasn’t sure if he had the ball and no one was checking so at that point I figured, they called it an out, so if he comes in here with an empty glove, it’s still an out,” Kotsay said. “Pretty spectacular play. Nothing shocks me with what he does out there defensively.”
Pache’s issues this season have come at the plate, where he’s batting just .154. However, his bloop single in the eighth inning snapped a 1-for-23 skid and allowed Kevin Smith to score the A’s only run.
“He’s a fun player to watch defensively,” Irvin said of the 23-year-old Pache. “His bat’s gonna get going here pretty soon and that’s gonna be even more fun to watch.”
The A’s received good news on Montas and Laureano, who both were forced to leave Saturday night’s game with hand injuries. Kotsay said X-rays on both were negative and both are considered day-to-day.
Montas, who had to leave Saturday night’s game after he was struck on his right hand by Luis Rengifo’s second-inning liner, told the San Francisco Chronicle he expects to be able to make his next start, Thursday night at the Coliseum against Texas.
Laureano didn’t play Sunday but was available off the bench after his X-rays came back clean. Laureano was hit in the right hand by a 93 mph sinker from the Angels’ Michael Lorenzen on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the A’s are probably happy not having to deal with Sandoval for a while. He has beaten Oakland in back-to-back outings, throwing 13 2/3 innings of eight-hit, two-run ball. Sandoval (3-1) struck out seven Sunday and allowed just four hits in his 7 1/3 innings.
Sandoval lowered his ERA to 1.79 during his longest start of the season. He still hasn’t given up a home run in 2022.
“That’s starting to be a typical performance for him,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “For my money, when he has fastball command, he should normally be pitching in the seventh, eighth, ninth inning. The way his stuff is, they don’t get good swings at it. Don’t get good looks at it.”
Just 12 days after Angels rookie Reid Detmers threw a no-hitter at the Big A, Sandoval took a perfect game into the fourth, a no-hitter into the fifth and a two-hitter into the eighth.
The first of Smith’s two hits, a single to center in the fifth, broke up Sandoval’s no-hit bid.
Notes
A’s rookie left-hander Zach Logue (2-2, 2.04 ERA) will make his fourth career start tonight against Seattle. … Infielder Nick Allen was sent back to Triple-A Las Vegas before the game to make room for Irvin on the 26-man roster.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
