OAKLAND, Calif. — It’s been a while since Oakland A’s starting pitcher Cole Irvin walked away a winner.
But Irvin was masterful Monday and with the help of an all-too-rare offensive outburst by his teammates, picked up his first victory in over two months.
Irvin allowed just four hits over eight innings and Ramón Laureano and Stephen Vogt both hit solo home runs as the A’s earned a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays before a fireworks-fueled crowd of 24,403, their largest attendance figure at the Coliseum this season.
Elvis Andrus’ two-RBI double came as part of a three-run first inning as the A’s spoiled Matt Chapman’s return to Oakland at the start of a six-game homestand. Zach Jackson pitched a scoreless ninth for the A’s.
With the A’s leading by one, Andrus drove an Alek Manoah sinker to left, scoring Seth Brown and Sean Murphy to give the A’s a 3-0 lead.
Andrus’ hit came after Laureano scored on a Vogt sacrifice fly and an error by Jays’ center fielder George Springer.
Laureano and Vogt’s home runs came in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, as the A’s (27-55) won for the second time in eight games and snapped a three-game home losing streak.
The A’s have now hit seven home runs in their last five games, a welcome power surge for a team that entered Monday with the second-fewest homers in the majors with 56.
The offense helped propel Irvin to his third victory of the season and his first since April 24. In his nine starts since, Irwin had gone 0-5 with a 3.69 ERA in 53.2 innings. Overall, Irwin entered Monday with a 2-6 record and 3.58 ERA.
Chapman, 29, played 648 regular-season games for the A’s from 2017 to 2021 and was recognized on the field before the game as a video montage of his highlights was shown on the video screens.
He was given a warm ovation before his first at-bat, as his former walk-up song, Travis Scott’s “Antidote,” played on the public address system.
In five seasons with the A’s, Chapman had 333 RBIs and an OPS of .808. He won two Platinum Gloves and three Golden Gloves and in his four full seasons in Oakland, the A’s made the playoffs three times, including in 2020, when they captured the AL West and won a playoff series over the Chicago White Sox.
“Made my debut here, won a lot of games here, met some of my best friends,” Chapman said. “A lot of good memories.”
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