Fiers sharp in debut, A’s beat Dodgers
OAKLAND (TNS) – The A’s weren’t expecting Mike Fiers to be perfect, though he flirted with it for several innings. They just wanted him to be reliable, and that’s what he was in his debut.
Making his first start since he was acquired in a trade from the Detroit Tigers earlier in the week, Fiers pitched nearly identical to the reports on the type of pitcher the A’s were getting as he departed with the lead in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in front of 32,062 fans at the Coliseum.
Fiers was in line to get the victory, but a rare run allowed by Lou Trivino on a two-out single by Chris Taylor in the seventh allowed the Dodgers to tie it up.
Jed Lowrie picked the perfect time to break out of an 0 for 14 slump when he singled to right in the eighth inning off JT Chargois to give the A’s runners on first and third with one out, setting up a chopper to third by Khris Davis that allowed Marcus Semien to score and break the 2-2 tie after Yasmani Grandal was unable to handle a throw to the plate from Justin Turner.
Fiers was perfect through four innings, allowing just one run on four hits and no
Bay Area News Group/tns New Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers delivers at pitch during Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Oakland. Fiers tossed 51/3 strong innings in the A’s 3-2 win.
walks with a season-high eight strikeouts. With this dominant bullpen, which entered the night with the fourth-lowest ERA (3.29) in the majors, the A’s will take that every time out from their newest starter.
The A’s were aggressive early against Clayton Kershaw and built his pitch count up. They were rewarded for it in the fourth with a pair of two-out RBI singles by Stephen Piscotty and Ramon Laureano to put them ahead by two.
Though they did not light up Kershaw by any means, his one strikeout over six innings was just the third time in his career he’s
struck out one batter or fewer in a start and the first time since July 15, 2010.
Blake Treinen turned in a scoreless ninth inning for his 29th save of the year.
Mired in a 17 for 96 slump entering the night, Lowrie went into Wednesday’s game with his batting average now having plummeted to .265 after batting over .300 for most of the first half. The A’s All-star revealed after Tuesday’s loss to the Dodgers that his leg strength has still not fully recovered since a collision with Stephen Piscotty in a game at San Francisco last month, which could be a leading to his down offensive numbers as of late.
Though Lowrie may not be at full strength at the moment, Melvin said the second baseman is still their best option and will continue to play as he looks to get back on track.
“We’ve given him some day games off and I communicate with him all the time,” Melvin said. “He wants to play and wants to be out there, especially in the position that we’re in. Whether or not he’s a hundred percent with his legs, probably not. But he holds down the three-hole.
“Everybody’s gonna have some periods during the season where they struggle some. He’ll get it going back again.”
Lowrie snapped an 0 for 14 slump with a single in the eighth, but the overall tough stretch hasn’t stopped the younger hitters from going to to the 11-year veteran for advice during batting practice.
“He’s the guy in the cage that everybody kind of migrates around based on where he is in his career,” Melvin said. “He understands launch angles and exit velos, knows how pitchers are gonna pitch him. He’s been a great resource for some of the younger guys.”