Kaprielian takes 'step in the right direction'

CLEVELAND -- Since his return from the injured list on May 1, James Kaprielian has battled frustration through his ups and downs in search of regaining the form he displayed over a solid rookie campaign last season. By no means was he flawless on Thursday, but his performance was a positive step towards getting back to who he is.

Rebounding from a rough stretch of outings over the last few weeks, Kaprielian worked efficiently through five innings in the A’s 8-4 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field on Thursday night. The right-hander limited Cleveland to two runs on five hits while striking out three, and did not issue a walk for just the second time in his eight starts this season.

Typically his own worst critic after each outing, Kaprielian found reason to be encouraged by Thursday’s performance. Save for a pair of back-to-back solo home runs from José Ramírez and Josh Naylor in the fourth, he mostly executed his game plan of attacking a Guardians offense that has struck out less than any other group in the Majors by far.

“Step in the right direction,” Kaprielian said of his outing. “I feel like I did a good job of owning the inner-third. Ramírez got me on a fastball, and Naylor got that elevated change. Home runs are going to happen. Overall, I was able to execute some good pitches. Unfortunately, we got the loss. Trying to be positive here, it’s something to build off of.”

The second time through the order has been a trying obstacle for Kaprielian. Entering the night, opponents were hitting .319 (22-for-69) with five home runs against him the second time through, as opposed to just .158 (9-for-57) the first time through. So when Ramírez and Naylor faced him a second time and took him deep twice in the span of three pitches, it would have been easy for Kaprielian to allow things to snowball on the mound. Instead, he continued to lean heavily on his four-seam fastball -- which accounted for 68 percent of his pitch selection, as he threw it an overwhelming 51 times -- and bounced back to retire five of the final six batters he faced following Naylor’s homer.

“I thought he threw the ball well,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Kaprielian. “The pitch to Ramírez was up and in. Might have leaked back over a little bit. Overall, he handled the lineup and went through it, and gave us a chance to win through five.”

Departing in a 2-2 game after completing five innings at an economical 75 pitches, Kaprielian said he wanted the ball for at least one more inning. Kotsay, though, took a long-term approach to the situation. It was a chance for Kaprielian to leave on a high note, while handing the ball off to a trusted left-handed reliever in A.J. Puk with a string of left-handers due up in Cleveland’s order.

“I think he will get that chance [to go deeper],” Kotsay said. “With that left-handed part of the lineup tonight having success against him earlier in the game, we talk about giving our guys the best chance to come in and have success. For Kap, it’s executing his pitches early in the game and getting outs in early counts. Building off of this start.”

Inheriting a two-run lead after Seth Brown’s pinch-hit two-run double in the sixth, Oakland’s bullpen was unable to make it stick. Four A’s relievers combined to allow six runs over the next three innings, with the roughest outing coming in the eighth from Lou Trivino, who took over a 4-4 tie and was tagged for four runs while managing to record only one out.

A bullpen that was a strength earlier in the year has taken its lumps over what is now a nine-game losing streak for the A’s, marking the first time they’ve had two winless streaks of at least nine games in one season since 1978. During the losing skid, Oakland’s relief corps has logged an MLB-worst 8.38 ERA.

“We’ve utilized our bullpen for the first part of this season successfully, with matching up and giving guys the best chance for success,” Kotsay said. “It seems to be that eighth inning that we’re running into some issues right now.”