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All it took to find success was to get Cole Irvin back in green and yellow.
Irvin threw the best game of his young Major League career Tuesday night as he went eight innings, giving up just one run and striking out nine for the Oakland A’s in the 4-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It was his sixth start for Oakland and Irvin lowered his earned run average to 3.08.
But his journey to the Bay Area wasn’t an easy one.
The tall left-handed started for the Oregon Ducks was drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft, and it took Irvin less than three seasons to make it all the way up to the big league club in 2019.
But Irvin could never find a foothold on the Phillies’ pitching staff as he was bounced around, going up and down from Triple-A and going from starter to reliever and back again.
Understandably, his numbers suffered.
In 16 games in 2019, Irvin wound up with an earned run average of 5.83 and a 2-1 record. The next year didn’t get any better with the pandemic and just the whole uncertainty that was the 2020 season. Irvin appeared in just three games with an ERA of over 17.00
It may have been a blessing in disguise, however.
Irvin was traded to Oakland on January 30 of this year and he has flourished since. He was able to win a spot in the rotation with a great Spring Training where Irvin threw 18 innings and gave up just two runs. His success in Arizona translated into the regular season.
After dominating the Blue Jays, Irvin is now 3-3 on the season in six starts. He already has more starts and wins for the A’s than he did in two seasons for the Phillies. Oakland is currently in first place of the American Least West with a 19-12 record.
If Irvin can keep on having outings like his most recent one, the A’s will be in the pennant race all summer long.