Harris reigns among MLB's Ragin' Cajuns

OAKLAND -- A’s left-hander Hogan Harris and Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti were never teammates in college, though the two share a connection. They are the lone active MLB players drafted out of University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

On Monday night, the two former Ragin’ Cajuns faced off as opposing starting pitchers, marking the first time two starters from UL-Lafayette have matched up against each other in a Major League game.

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Harris got the best of his fellow alum, racking up seven strikeouts across 6 2/3 scoreless innings in Oakland’s 4-0 victory at the Coliseum. Arrighetti, meanwhile, allowed all four runs scored by the A’s on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

The only other previous instance of two Ragin’ Cajuns pitching in the same game was Aug. 25, 2006, when Blue Jays left-hander B.J. Ryan and Royals right-hander Scott Dohmann both pitched in relief for their respective clubs.

Harris found out he and Arrighetti were about to make history on Monday morning, when both pitchers were tagged in a post sent out by the university’s baseball team account on social media.

“I saw it earlier in the day and put it on my story,” Harris said. “That’s crazy. I didn’t know that. That’s cool.”

While Harris was drafted in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the A’s, he continued working out at UL-Lafayette in the ensuing offseasons. That’s how he crossed paths with Arrighetti, who pitched for the Cajuns in 2021 before becoming Houston’s sixth-round Draft pick later that summer. The two have also seen each other pitch in the Minor Leagues over the past couple of seasons.

“I knew him a little bit from there,” Harris said. “Not like super close, but he ran up the [Minor League] ranks so fast. So I saw him quite a bit in Triple-A last year and this year. It was cool. We gave each other a little head nod today when we were warming up.”

Feeling a sense of school pride, Arrighetti was complimentary of his counterpart in defeat.

“I said hi to him before the game,” Arrighetti said. “I’m sure I’ll see him again some time this week and we’ll talk a little bit. He’s a great guy, and he threw the ball well tonight.”

Harris pitched with traffic on the bases in every inning except the fifth, yet he managed to keep the Astros off the scoreboard on the strength of three double-play balls, including a crucial one in the sixth.

After Harris loaded the bases with one out, A’s pitching coach Scott Emerson came out for a mound visit, along with catcher Shea Langeliers. Two pitches later, Harris was out of the jam as he induced an inning-ending double play of Jake Meyers.

“I’ll be honest,” Harris said. “Emo was like, ‘What do you want to throw?’ Shea goes, ‘Let’s go curveball, then fastball.’ I threw a curveball and then a fastball, and it worked. So I’ll thank Shea for that one.”

The A’s have some potential rotation decisions on the horizon, with veteran starters Ross Stripling and Paul Blackburn close to returning from the injured list. Harris, who moved into the rotation on May 30, is doing all he can to maintain his spot. Over that stretch, he has posted a 2.76 ERA in nine starts and has allowed three runs or fewer in all nine outings.

“Hogan took a step in the right direction tonight,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay, noting Harris’ previous outing in which he issued a career-high six walks. “It was a great night. He got the double plays when he needed and made pitches when he needed. … When he got in trouble tonight, he didn’t panic or try to make a better pitch. He just made pitches.”

Harris’ run support came mostly in the third when back-to-back doubles by Miguel Andujar and JJ Bleday plated three runs. Max Schuemann added on in the fourth with an RBI single.

The A’s improved to 10-6 in July. Should the A’s finish the month above .500, it would mark their first winning month since they were 14-12 in July 2022, which remains their only winning month since Kotsay took over as manager before the start of the ’22 season.

“We want to get a winning month for [Kotsay],” said A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler, who recorded his fifth consecutive multihit game. “We just want to go out there and play for him.”