Estes frustrated by one pitch in otherwise commanding outing

OAKLAND -- Though he consistently executed his pitches and mostly dominated the Rays, Joey Estes came away from one of his better outings of the season frustrated by the one pitch that got away.

Retiring 23 of his first 26 batters faced, Estes was four outs away from becoming the first A’s pitcher to post two shutouts in a season since Sean Manaea in 2021. Jose Siri abruptly derailed that possibility with one swing -- crushing a fastball left in the middle of the zone for a 415-foot solo home run to left-center at an exit velocity of 109.5 mph.

That lone mistake pitch with two outs in the eighth inning made all the difference on a night when the A’s offense was shut down by Rays starter Shane Baz, who tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss at the Coliseum.

“I just wish I could get that pitch back,” Estes said. “I was trying to elevate. I just missed my spot.”

On a night when A’s manager Mark Kotsay hinted before the game that a few relievers -- All-Star closer Mason Miller included -- could be unavailable due to heavy workloads over the past week, Estes did accomplish the task of providing the taxed bullpen a breather.

Estes notched his sixth quality start of the season by holding Tampa Bay to one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 7 2/3 frames. Still, it was difficult for the 22-year-old right-hander to think of anything from that strong outing other than that one fastball to Siri.

“If I could just have that one pitch back, I think I go out there again for one more inning,” Estes said. “There’s just a lot of ‘what ifs’ there.”

There is no place like home for Estes, who, despite Tuesday’s loss, continues to perform his best at the Coliseum. As opposed to a 7.17 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) on the road, Estes now holds a 2.22 ERA (13 earned runs in 52 2/3 innings) in eight home starts.

Among pitchers with at least 50 innings logged at home, Estes’ 2.22 home ERA ranks second-lowest in the AL and sixth lowest in the Majors.

“This ballpark is kind of a pitcher’s park if you’re a fly-ball pitcher,” Kotsay said. “It plays big. I don’t know. There have been guys in the past, one of my teammates, Mark Redman, pitched really well here. Overall, for Joey, it’s one of those quirky things right now where he has more success here. I can’t really put my finger on why.”

When asked about the numbers, Estes did not put much stock into his home-road splits this season, instead pointing out the few “bad games” he had earlier in the season that happened to come away from Oakland. He has allowed three runs or fewer in his last road outings and believes he is currently pitching his best baseball, regardless of the venue.

“I had a few bad outings on the road early when I first got called back up,” Estes said. “One of the outings, I didn’t even have my sweeper. I was just a whole different pitcher than what I am now. Not trying to say there’s excuses on the road or anything. It’s just panned out to where I’ve had my bad games on the road.

“Nothing changes when I go on the road. I’ve just had a few [outings] that kind of inflated my ERA on the road. But road or home, I think I’ve been throwing the ball well. I’m just trying to get as many innings as I can and put my team in the best position to win.”

Estes generated 11 whiffs on his 94 pitches and kept Tampa Bay’s offense off balance for most of the night, aside from Siri’s one big swing. Perhaps on a night where the A’s were not facing a pitcher like Baz, who matched that dominance by holding the A’s to just three hits -- all singles, it would have been enough for a victory.

“One mistake for Joey, really,” Kotsay said. “Fastball, he was trying to go away from Siri, and it leaked back over. I thought Joey did a great job. He missed barrels. He gave us depth into the game. Our offense just, when you don’t score, you don’t win.”