WASHINGTON — Athletics rookie pitcher Jacob Lopez tries to stick to a decidedly uncomplicated plan when his turn in the rotation comes up.
“I tell myself ‘Don’t be an idiot, just try to throw strikes early,’” Lopez said.
The blueprint was almost flawless Thursday as Lopez set career highs in strikeouts (10) and innings (7 2/3) against the Washington Nationals in a 6-0 victory.
Lopez (5-6) has not allowed a run in his last three outings, reducing his ERA from 4.60 to 3.59 in that span. The left-hander allowed only three hits and didn’t permit a runner past second base.
“That’s the best Jacob has been all year, and the reason I say that is because he didn’t have any walks and he pounded the strike zone,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He’s deceptive. He’s got life on the heat, and he used his changeup to lefties today, which I thought was a great mix.”
It was evident early that Lopez was comfortable. He breezed through the first inning in eight pitches and needed only 11 more in the second. And after allowing two hits in the third, he set down 15 of the last 16 batters he faced and the final 11 in a row.
He piled up the strikeouts late, collecting six against his last nine batters.
“For righties, the ball is coming kind of in at a weird angle for you,” catcher Willie MacIver said. “Lefties, his slider is coming from behind the lefties. Lefties don’t see a ton of that, so when we saw their lineup had six lefties in it, we’re like ‘All right, we can have a good day today.’ We wouldn’t have had a good day if he didn’t execute, but he did.”
The A’s haven’t thrown a complete game all season. Kotsay said he saw his former player and current Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt allow Gavin Williams to throw 126 pitches Wednesday while coming within two outs of a no-hitter against the New York Mets and figured Lopez could go just as deep when he got through seven innings with 90 pitches.
That plan was foiled when Washington’s Nathaniel Lowe had 11 foul balls during a 17-pitch plate appearance before Lopez got a called third strike on a sinker. Lopez then struck out Daylen Lile and departed after throwing 114 pitches.
“I was back there and was like ‘When is this guy just going to put it in play already, dude,’” MacIver said. “I think it’s a testament to Lopez’s mentality out there. I’ve been part of it, and a lot of guys will be (at) like 10 pitches and throw one out of the zone. Lopez keeps coming after him, keeps coming after him, no matter how many foul balls, no matter what pitch. It was impressive.”
Lopez hadn’t pitched more than five innings since June 25, but did throw a combined 9 1/3 scoreless innings in his last two outings. This was an even more efficient showing for the rookie acquired from Tampa Bay in December.
“I think I’ve had a lot of different outings,” Lopez said. “Early on I was throwing a lot of balls, so I had to learn how to get out of those jams. The past couple outings, I’ve gone back into the groove of throwing strikes. A lot of different ways of pitching. You just have to stay focused and grind out at bats.”
