A's anemic offense spelt doom
OAKLAND >> A's left-hander Cole Irvin did enough to earn a victory Saturday, as he and Kansas City Royals righty Brad Keller took turns mowing down hitters on a picturesque day at the Coliseum.
Irwin, though, wound up as the hard-luck loser, in part due to an aggressive — and questionable — decision by one of his outfielders.
With one out in the seventh, Royals outfielder Michael A. Taylor lined to left field. Seth Brown broke in and dove to try and make a spectacular catch, but instead came up empty, allowing the ball to roll to the wall and Taylor to get to third base.
Ryan O'Hearn doubled to right in the ensuing at-bat, scoring Taylor for the game's winning run in what became a 2-0 A's loss on Saturday before an announced crowd of 10,936.
“I appreciate him diving for that because that's how bad we want to win right now,” Irvin said of Brown. “That's where we're all at, so there's a lot of appreciation I have for him showing that he wanted that ball.”
Brown's head hit the turf on the play, causing some momentary dizziness but nothing, he said, that would prompt a turn in concussion protocol.
“I just put myself in the best position I could to make the play, and it just didn't work out,” Brown said. “I want to catch every ball out that's hit out there at me.”
Irwin (2-4) was taken out of the game after the play, replaced by Domingo Acevedo. Irwin allowed three hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings in one of his stronger outings but remains winless since he came off the injured list late last month.
Irvin came into Saturday with an 0-2 record and a 3.72 ERA in five starts since his return from the 15-day IL on May 22. Prior to deal