Takeaways: A’s get lift from newcomer Sean Murphy, veteran Tanner Roark
OAKLAND — A’s manager Bob Melvin summed up Sean Murphy’s first major league game pretty succinctly.
“Hit a homer, catch a shutout,” Melvin said. “Not a bad start.”
Murphy, the top position prospect in the A’s organization, made a memorable debut in Oakland’s 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Angeles on Wednesday night.
“I think he’ll probably tell you he’s as proud of the shutout as he is of the homer,” Melvin said.
Asked what he’ll remember about the night 50 years from now, the 24-year-old catcher said, “Probably the shutout.”
A crowd of just 12,957 watched as Murphy launched a 95 mph fastball by Angels reliever Jake Jewell 409 feet over the right-center field fence in his second at-bat in the fifth inning.
But five of those fans — his parents, sister, brother-in-law and girlfriend — were celebrating wildly.
“It was awesome. It’s just as much their night as it is my night,” he said of his parents, Mike and Marge. “They put a lot of time into my baseball, a lot of effort, a lot of trips, a lot of driving around. I can’t thank them enough for all they’ve done. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Murphy appeared downright calm as he circled the bases, but Melvin wasn’t buying it.
“He just doesn’t show it. He’s calm in his demeanor and stoic and wants to be that captain,” Melvin said. “But I think he was going crazy inside.”
Right-hander Tanner Roark, who pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings, said Murphy’s performance behind the plate got better as the game progressed. The two had a mix-up on a pitch call in the first inning — each took the blame for it.
“He’s got a good feel for what I wanted to do. It shows a lot of maturity,” Roark said. “I never saw an ounce of frustration on his face at all.”
But when Murphy came into the dugout after his home run, Roark asked him, “How fast is your heart going right now?”
“It’s not too bad,” Murphy said, “but my first at-bat it was going pretty good.”
Here are the takeaways:
Roark sharp again
Roark came to the A’s from Cincinnati on July 31, and he’s been consistently efficient. The right-hander allowed just five hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Angels, retiring slugger Mike Trout all three times he faced him. Roark, 9-8 overall and 3-1 since coming to Oakland, has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his six starts here.
He confirmed the 113-pitch effort was his best outing with the A’s.
“We don’t usually do that,” Melvin said of the high pitch count. “But I thought he was effective the entire night. It was tough taking him out right there, but the fourth time facing Trout sometimes can be a little tough.”
Yusmeiro Petit retired Trout, before Joakim Soria and Liam Hendricks pitched 1-2-3 innings to close out the win.
Profar shines in left field
Jurickson Profar, who normally plays second base, got another chance in left field and made two diving catches that got the attention of both Melvin and Roark. He also hit his 19th homer of the season.
“He was great,” Melvin said. “He’s playing some of his best baseball right now. It’s impressive to see him playing the position that well.”