Oller knows exactly why Orioles roughed him up in A's loss

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The Athletics fell victim to the home run ball in their 8-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

A's starting pitcher Adam Oller went five innings but had difficulty keeping the ball in the park. 

The 27-year-old's lack of command on his fastball allowed Orioles batters to hit four of their five home runs off Oller, including two from Baltimore first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. 

"As a starting pitcher, it starts with fastball command," Oller told reporters postgame. "I mean, if I'm not able to establish a fastball at that point, it doesn't really matter how good your stuff is because at the end of the day, I got to go five, six, and seven innings. 

"If I can't throw a fastball for a strike, it's going to be a long day, and that was the biggest thing all through tonight was trying to find the fastball, and unfortunately, it just didn't have it tonight at all."

Oller's struggles to find his fastball resulted in Mountcastle's big game as the 25-year-old hit his two home runs on back-to-back at-bats and drove in four RBI, accounting for half of the Orioles' runs. 

"The first [at-bat against Mountcastle] we were trying to go down and in, and it just leaked right over the plate," Oller added.

"It was down in, but it was close to the middle right there. And the next one, we're trying to go down and away and miss middle with it, and I paid for both of those ..."

Following Oller's last start against the New York Yankees, which saw him go eight innings and only give up one hit, his outing against Baltimore might come as a surprise. 

A's manager Mark Kotsay acknowledged that the version of Oller that took the mound against the Orioles wasn't the one who had gone 14 innings combined in his last two starts with only three earned runs allowed. 

"You know, that just wasn't the same guy from his previous two starts," Kotsay told reporters postgame. "This is part of that process, I think, with these young pitchers, and it's a learning curve for them.

"I think tonight he left a lot of pitches in the middle, got hurt, couldn't command, really, any of his pitches, and was forced to just kind of just try and throw a strike. And at this level, against this type of team with these hitters, you're going to pay the price when that happens."

Oakland will attempt to avoid getting swept by the Orioles on Sunday when they send Adrián Martínez (3-3, 5.28 ERA), who's looking to build off his solid start against the Yankees, to the mound. 

RELATED: Athletics' ballpark project closer to reality after legal challenges rejected

Meanwhile, the Orioles will counter with Spenser Watkins (4-5, 4.26 ERA) to get Baltimore the sweep as they continue their battle for an AL wild-card spot.

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