Cotton, A’s both are showing progress
Another strong start as Oakland finishes sweep
OAKLAND >> A’s manager Bob Melvin is counting on Jharel Cotton to develop into one of the cornerstones of the rotation as the club enters a rebuilding phase.
It’s been an up and down year for Cotton, but his performance Sunday offered a glimpse into what the A’s are hoping the future holds for the 25-year-old rookie.
Cotton struck out nine batters to tie his career high and allowed just one earned run in six innings as the A’s finished off a threegame sweep of the Texas Rangers with an 8-3 victory in front of 16,335 fans at the Coliseum.
When Cotton’s changeup is at its best, it makes his all of his other pitches that much more devastating. Combining that with a fastball touching 95 miles per hour multiple times throughout the day, Melvin was impressed
with what he saw from his starter.
“All his stuff was kind of working. Those are the type of games we expect him to pitch,” Melvin said. “After a rough start to the year he’s starting to come around a bit and it’s good to see.”
Having struggled to find consistency with his command since coming off the disabled list in July, Cotton seemed to get back on track in his previous start, a 3-2 win over Houston. He had complete control against Texas, not allowing a walk in an outing for the first time all season.
It’s the same type of command that stood out to the A’s when he was first called up at the end of last season.
“There’s such a gap between his heater and his changeup. When he’s throwing his fastball for strikes at 94 or 95 miles an hour, now you gotta start your bat a little earlier,” Melvin said. “Then he throws his changeup and he makes you look bad. Today that gap was tough to deal with.”
There was a sequence in the third inning where Cotton made Carlos Gomez swing so hard that his helmet flew off three times in the same at-bat. Those types of moments are what remind Cotton of what he is capable of on the mound.
“Going game by game I found how to get better. Confidence is definitely rising,” Cotton said. “It’s a learning experience and I feel like I’m going in the right direction right now.”
Two of Oakland’s Matts, Chapman and Olson, came up with huge contributions at the plate and on the field.
Trailing 1-0 in the second, the duo combined to hit back-to-back home runs to put the A’s ahead 2-1. It was Olson’s ninth and Chapman’s 10th of the year, but Chapman’s defense proved to be even more important.
After Chris Hatcher allowed a run that cut the A’s lead to 4-3 and exited with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Blake Treinen entered to attempt a five-out save. Chapman then showed why the A’s believe a Gold Glove awaits him in the future.
Chapman leaped and caught a screaming liner crushed by Mike Napoli that appeared to be headed to left field for multiple runs. Using his quick instincts, Chapman raced and beat Elvis Andrus to the third-base bag to turn an unassisted double play.
With Treinen on the mound and throwing a hard sinker, Chapman had a feeling the ball could come his way at that moment, and he was ready.
“I was definitely anticipating the ball and I was running through different scenarios that could happen,” Chapman said. “It just so happened that I reacted to that line drive and caught it. I saw that Elvis Andrus kind of had a hard secondary lead since he was trying to score and I beat him back.”
Although the A’s added plenty of insurance in the bottom half and broke the game open with four runs thanks to some bad defense from Texas, Chapman’s defensive prowess preserved the lead and kept things from getting out of hand for the A’s.
While it was a highlightreel play, Chapman’s teammates have grown accustomed to watching him make those type of plays.
“I’m not shocked by anything he does anymore,” Olson said. “It was a great play but it’s like, ‘All right, it’s just Chapman over there.’”
The sweep of Texas was made even sweeter after Cotton said a member of the Rangers provided a bit of bulletin board material during the series.
“We had a guy on the opposing team saying that we’re not supposed to beat them,” Cotton said. “So it feels pretty good to show them that we can do that. It was a pretty fun weekend.”
• Treinen converted his sixth consecutive save opportunity with the five-out save.
• Paul Blackburn might be out longer than the A’s were hoping for.
After sustaining a contusion on his right hand after being struck by a comebacker last week against the Baltimore Orioles, Blackburn is still unable to play catch or even grip a baseball. The rookie is scheduled for a follow-up MRI in the coming days.
“It may take a little longer than we originally anticipated. I don’t think here in the next eight to 10 days we can count on him making a start,” Melvin said. “Hopefully soon there after he comes along quickly but at this point, it’s probably going to be longer than we originally thought.”
• Cotton’s wild pitch in the second inning was Oakland’s 72nd of the season, tying the franchise record set in 1979.
• Jed Lowrie exited the game in the sixth after sustaining a left shin contusion. Melvin said the substitution was made for precautionary reasons and the club will wait to see how he feels Monday.