Irvin finds success with a little tip from Vogt

OAKLAND -- Cole Irvin found himself in a rut in late June. He had dropped four straight decisions, and he found a common thread in two particularly rough outings: He was getting hit in the first inning.

Veteran backstop Stephen Vogt noticed this, too, and he approached Irvin with an idea on how to lock in before games, as inspired by his former batterymate Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner, Vogt said, used to throw his final warmup pitches as hard as he could, which helped him get in the zone. Vogt suggested that Irvin give it a try -- and since then, the lefty has been nails.

Irvin was strong over seven-plus innings to lead the A's to a series-opening 5-4 win over the Rangers on Friday night at the Coliseum, continuing what has been a strong July. Irvin has now thrown four straight quality starts, holding his opponents to five earned runs across 27 innings (1.67 ERA) in those outings.

"It has nothing to do with me," said Vogt, whose pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning proved to be the difference-maker. "I'm fortunate to see a lot, and I love sharing anything I can to help."

Said Irvin: "That's what veteran guys do, take care of the younger players. They address things and hope they don't stick around too long, and that's what Vogter did."

Irvin's first-inning troubles were behind him on Friday, as he breezed through the Rangers' lineup to face the minimum through the first three frames. Irvin is not a strikeout guy -- his 70 punchouts this season are tied for 55th most among qualified starters -- but he retired four of his first seven batters via strikeout. He tallied four more over the rest of his outing to notch a season-high eight, seven of which came on his four-seamer.

"Pitch execution was there -- I wasn't afraid to throw the fastball and get outs on it," Irvin said, adding that his offspeed pitches were key in setting up his harder offerings. "The fastball was really good, and we were throwing it where we wanted to."

Other than the fourth inning, in which Irvin allowed his only earned run, the left-hander cruised through seven frames on just 78 pitches. But Irvin walked the Rangers' Leody Taveras to lead off the eighth, and manager Mark Kotsay opted to pull him for reliever Zach Jackson.

Irvin strode off the mound to a reprise of his warm-up song, Elvie Shane's "County Roads," as the A's faithful gave him a warm ovation. There may have been some boos mixed in, though, as Kotsay said he got an earful about his decision to remove Irvin from fans sitting around the home dugout.

"A leadoff walk, for me, is the sign maybe of a little bit of fatigue," Kotsay said. "I'm looking at every situation to give these guys in the bullpen entering the game the best chance for success as well. … It's more than just a gut decision that's involved in the timing of removing a starter or removing a reliever."

The Rangers made the game a little more interesting once the A's bullpen took over, pulling within one run in a two-out ninth-inning rally, but A.J. Puk was able to shut the door with his first career save, securing a win for Irvin and Oakland.

"[Irvin] was cruising the whole game, and it's fun to see him when he's out there and just rolling through hitters left and right," Puk said. "I'm just really happy to be able to get him that win."

Irvin's strong outing comes amid a stretch in which A's starters have struggled, going 2-6 with a 5.24 ERA over 11 games entering Friday. Though Irvin, Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn lead the rotation, the group has collectively gone 21-46 with a 4.40 ERA in 2022. Among American League rotations, the A's have the most losses, the third-fewest wins and the fourth-highest ERA.

Just as Irvin has found recent success in tweaking his routine, so can his rotation mates. After all, there is an entire second half left to play, and they have plenty of time to make the necessary adjustments.

"I'm still trying to find things that work for me and allow me to be the most consistent I can be at home and on the road," Irvin said. "It's still a learning process, still a learning curve, and what's great about this game is you can never stop learning."