Kaprielian impresses, but A's bats go cold at Coors in loss

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James Kaprielian went five innings at Coors Field on Sunday, allowing just two earned runs and striking out six Colorado Rockies. However, arguably MLB's most hitter-friendly ballpark wasn't kind to Oakland as the Athletics mustered just one run and missed out on a sweep in a 3-1 loss.

"He only gave up two runs, it's a little different pitching here," A's manager Bob Melvin told reporters after the game. "You give up two runs when you score five, you look like you pitched a really good game. You give up two runs when you only score one, and you take a loss. But in this place, I'd take it."

Kaprielian took his first loss of the season as the A's offense managed to score just a single run on Sean Murphy's RBI double in the sixth inning. Never one to make excuses, Kaprielian placed the blame squarely on himself as he fell to 2-1 after being called up earlier this season.

"I didn't feel like I had my best stuff again, but just doing everything I can to keep the team in the game," Kaprielian said. "Just wanted to do my best to keep these guys in the game and minimize and make pitches when I could."

The former UCLA Bruin continues to deliver solid outings in 2021 and has a 3.08 ERA after his first five starts of the season.

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Oakland managed 15 runs over the first two games of the series in the high altitude at Coors Field, but German Marquez shut the lineup down through six innings, and the Rockies' bullpen tossed three scoreless innings to escape with a 3-1 win.

The A's now will return to Oakland and continue interleague play with a quick two-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The series begins a nine-game homestand in which the A's will have to hope their bats come back to life after a brief surge over the last week.

Kaprielian continues to impress overall, but he's understandably frustrated after his team came away with the loss in each of his last two starts.

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