OAKLAND, Calif. _ Andrew Triggs continued what has been a dominant run by A's pitching with a career-best performance.
Triggs bounced back from a poor start his last time out by allowing just one run on two hits with no walks and nine strikeouts over seven strong innings of work in Sunday's 2-1 victory to cap off a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in front of 17,112 fans at the Coliseum. The seven innings and nine strikeouts both matched career-highs for Triggs as he allowed no walks for the first time this season.
"I've been frustrated with the walks," Triggs said of his walk totals in past starts this season. "I didn't feel like I was walking as many guys as I was. I went back and looked at how many of those walks have scored, so you really want to take your chances by filling up the zone and let your defense work."
The command was perhaps even more impressive than the high number of strikeouts racked up by Triggs. After allowing four runners to reach base on walks or hit by pitches his previous start in Seattle, Triggs got ahead in the count much more often Sunday, leading to more success as he finished the day with 96 pitches and improved to 3-1 with his ERA now at 4.41 on the season.
"He went deeper in a game than we've seen him go for the most part," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Kept them off balance on both sides of the plate with a good sink and slider. Excellent performance."
The nine strikeouts by Triggs made it 40 by A's pitchers in the series, an Oakland record for most strikeouts over a three-game series.
For a team that entered the season expected finish among the top 10 offenses in runs scored, the A's (18-16) managed to sweep the Orioles despite scoring just four runs in the final two games of the series.
The pitching going well is a great sign for Melvin. He's confident the hitting is going to pick up, as sluggers Khris Davis, Matt Chapman, and Matt Olson don't figure to stay batting under .260 for too much longer. But if the pitching can continue to perform like it has over the past five games, posting a 2.11 ERA with 54 strikeouts over that stretch, this A's team might be able to do more than just hang around in the tough American League West.
"The pitching is gonna be the key," Melvin said. "You're gonna go through periods over the course of the season where offensively you're down a little bit, but the pitching has to hold it up and your timing has to be right. We didn't swing the bats all that well but our pitching was there during that time."
Triggs' only real mistake came in the second inning when a 2-1 fastball to Pedro Alvarez was crushed over the wall in right field to give the Orioles (8-26) an early 1-0 lead.
The A's scored both of their runs in the fourth on a ground out by Davis and a double to left by Olson that bounced off the glove of Craig Gentry as he attempted a diving catch.
Over their last 19 games, the A's are now 13-6, which is good for the fourth-best record in the majors over that time behind the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and St. Louis Cardinals.
