OAKLAND -- James Kaprielian understood there were high expectations when he joined the A’s organization as a centerpiece of the 2017 Sonny Gray deal with the Yankees. That’s why his first Major League start earlier this month felt like a relief; he stated in his postgame interview that night that he wanted to prove to the A’s that they “won that trade” with New York.
Three starts in, Kaprielian -- Oakland’s No. 10 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- is certainly performing like the pitcher the A’s were hoping to get.
With the A’s on a rare three-game losing skid, Kaprielian emerged as a stopper by turning in the best start of his young career, firing seven scoreless innings in Wednesday’s 6-3 win over the Mariners at the Coliseum.
“We lost three in a row, so we needed a big start,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Getting deep into that game and pitching that well, that’s just going to bode well for him going forward.”
Melvin said he was reluctant to allow Kaprielian back out for the seventh inning, and understandably so. It had been a while since Kaprielian, who battled several injuries over the past few years, including Tommy John surgery in 2017, had gone this deep into a start at any level. His seven innings on Wednesday marked his first time reaching that many since April 16, 2016, then a member of the Tampa Yankees in the Florida State League.
Aside from a pristine run total in his final line, Kaprielian improved upon the solid efforts from his previous two outings by showing much better efficiency. Though he had to work hard to escape a bases-loaded jam in a 32-pitch fourth, the 27-year-old righty saved his best work for last by retiring his final 10 batters faced. He took advantage of a comfortable six-run lead by frequently challenging Mariners hitters with his fastball and required just 22 pitches to get through his final three innings, recording four first-pitch outs over that span.
One might think Kaprielian was working with his best stuff of the year given the quickness in which he sailed through the Mariners lineup, but he said it was actually quite the opposite. Whereas he flashed more of his electric side with nine strikeouts in his previous start against the Angels, Kaprielian pitched to contact often against Seattle, mostly out of necessity due to a lack of good feel for his secondary pitches. He relied heavily on the fastball, throwing it for 58 of his 94 pitches.
“Not my best stuff today, to be honest,” Kaprielian said. “Today was one of those mental games where I just had to compete. [Aramis Garcia] did a really good job of helping me make adjustments. Just move the ball and get ahead of the count. Knowing I didn’t have my best stuff, I wanted to go out and use my defense.”
Allowing just two hits with two walks and four strikeouts, Kaprielian earned his second career win, lowering his ERA to 1.53 over three starts this season. The A’s have won all three of his outings, with Kaprielian departing the game with a lead each time out.
With Jesús Luzardo nearing his return to the rotation as he begins a Minor League rehab assignment on Thursday, the A’s will have to make a decision on Kaprielian, who was called up earlier this month as a fill-in for the staff. So far, his case to remain part of this club for the long term only continues to grow.
“You keep pitching like that, you make your opportunities,” Melvin said. “It starts with having a first couple of good starts. At the big league level, you have to create your own opportunities. That’s what he’s done with these three starts.
“He keeps pitching like this, we’ll find a spot for him.”
A heavy reliance on homers had led to struggles to produce runs in other ways over the previous two days. On Wednesday, the offense backed Kaprielian with both the long ball and timely hitting. In addition to Matt Olson slugging his 13th homer of the year -- a towering solo shot off Robert Dugger in the third -- the A’s also came up clutch to break the game open with a three-run fourth that featured runs scored on a sacrifice fly by Olson and back-to-back RBI singles by Ramón Laureano and Seth Brown.
“Last couple of games, we had to look at what went wrong,” Olson said. “To come out and produce runs without just relying on the homer was good. That was a clean ballgame and a good win.”