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Cotton gets 1st MLB win, Alonso has 3 hits for A’s
- Updated: September 8, 2016
OAKLAND — Four different A’s batters recorded run-scoring base knocks and Jharel Cotton worked 6 1/ 3 shutdown innings as Oakland earned a series win over the Angels with a 4-1 victory at the Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon.
Making his Major League debut, the moment never seemed too grand for Cotton while he seamlessly dispatched Los Angeles batters for the majority of his outing. The 24-year old didn’t surrender a hit until the fourth inning and didn’t allow an extra-base hit until C.J. Cron blasted a solo home run off him in the 7th. But one blemish aside, Cotton appeared like a viable option for the A’s in the final weeks of the season.
“He made it look easy early on,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of Cotton. “You expect maybe a walk, couple of baserunners, have to pitch out of a jam early on before you get settled. That never happened. The most impressive thing was that he went right after them, used all his pitches and really didn’t have any trouble spots early in the game.”
Trouble spots were almost nonexistent during Cotton’s outing and he earned his first Major League win thanks to the result. He also earned a warm reception from both his teammates and the Oakland fans upon exiting the game. “That was pretty special,” said Cotton. “I saw everyone come in to congratulate me and that was a fun feeling.”
• Cotton makes strong impression in MLB debut
Cotton’s performance was a welcome sign for an A’s lineup that entered Wednesday’s rubber game struggling with consistency. But the group found its rhythm at the plate and scored two runs as part of a three-hit fourth inning. Yonder Alonso added one more after singling with the bases loaded in the fifth before Ryon Healy highlighted the performance with a solo home run in the seventh, helping Oakland win a series over an American League West foe for the first time since late July.
Angels starter Alex Meyer allowed just one run and one hit, but struggled with his command throughout his outing. He surrendered five walks in 3 1/ 3 innings before …
