Irvin's home brilliance delivers A's first sweep

OAKLAND -- Of the many frustrations for the A’s over what was statistically one of their worst first halves in franchise history, deficiencies at home were magnified as a glaring struggle. That’s what makes their hot start to the second half such an encouraging sight.

Ensuring a happy flight to Chicago, the A’s took six of eight games on their first homestand back from the All-Star break, capped by their first sweep of the season with Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over the Astros at the Coliseum. In addition to the three-game sweep snapping Oakland’s streak of 33 consecutive series without a sweep dating back to Sept. 24-26, 2021, it marked the first time the American League West-leading Astros have been swept this season.

“It’s definitely a great feeling,” said manager Mark Kotsay. “We’ve played really good baseball this homestand. We look at that first half and we had trouble winning baseball games at home. This feels really good to start the second half.”

Strong pitching has been the theme of this successful stretch. Cole Irvin continued that trend by limiting Houston’s powerful offense to just two runs on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts across seven innings, following up his stellar outing from earlier in the homestand in which he struck out a season-high eight batters while allowing two runs (one earned) in seven innings against the Rangers.

“Cole did a great job,” Kotsay said. “That’s a bulldog mentality right there. To go out and throw another seven innings against this club, he gave us everything we needed today. We needed length and a great performance, and there he was to step up and give it to us.”

There continues to be no place like home for Irvin, whose 1.73 ERA in 10 starts at the Coliseum remains the lowest home mark of any AL starting pitcher.

It took Irvin a while to adapt to the spacious confines of the Coliseum as he went through his first season with the A’s last year. Now having learned how to take advantage of what has historically been considered a pitcher-friendly ballpark, Irvin could find himself in the running for AL Pitcher of the Month honors. Over five starts in July, four of which came in Oakland, Irvin went 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA (seven earned runs in 34 innings) and issued only three walks over that span.

“I trust the field,” Irvin said of pitching at the Coliseum. “I trust the environment we’re in. That’s part of becoming a big leaguer -- understanding your environments. Where the ball flies or travels, where you need more ground balls -- that definitely plays a part in it.

“I can kind of get away with some pitches and spin a few more curveballs in there than I normally would on the road, just because the fly balls stay in the ballpark a little bit more here.”

Now 13-10 in July, another key to the A’s being on the verge of their first winning month of the season has been a surging offense. After hitting just 54 home runs through the first 78 games of 2022, Oakland has now amassed 29 homers over 23 games in July. On Wednesday, Stephen Vogt and Stephen Piscotty supplied the power with back-to-back shots off Cristian Javier in the second inning.

“First half, we definitely struggled offensively,” Piscotty said. “We felt like we were better than we were showing. I think it was everyone sticking to their process and not panicking. We’ve all played long enough to know that sometimes you go through those stretches and it’s going to turn. A lot of guys have done that, and it’s starting to really come through.”

It was a big day for Stephens all around. Prior to the game, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry -- whose Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation hosted over 1,000 kids from around the Oakland community at Wednesday’s game -- took part in batting practice with Kotsay and visited with A’s players and coaches in the clubhouse.

• Steph Curry visits with A's, rakes in BP

Vogt, a longtime Warriors fan, was among the many players who took the opportunity to take a picture and talk shop with the NBA’s all-time leading three-point scorer.

“That was really cool,” Vogt said. “The work that [Stephen] and his wife do, not only here in the Bay Area, but worldwide, what an inspiration he is and a role model. He’s someone that I have my kids look up to. Having him come in here and hang out with us, you can’t help but smile when you get to be around greatness. … Hopefully, my home run is as memorable for him as when he hit a few three-pointers for me.”