Muller shows promise in return to Majors

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

OAKLAND -- In a mostly forgettable A’s loss to the Orioles on Friday night at the Coliseum, manager Mark Kotsay found a positive to take away in Kyle Muller’s performance.

The final line may not look like much on paper. Coming on in relief of Luis Medina to begin the top of the fifth inning, Muller worked 3 1/3 innings of relief and allowed two runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts. But on a night that quickly presented the A’s a need for some length, the left-hander provided just that.

“It took him a little while to get it going, but he did have an inning where he struck out the side,” Kotsay said. “That’s a good sign.”

After giving up back-to-back RBI hits in his first inning pitched, Muller settled down as the game went on. He ended his outing by retiring five of his final six batters.

“He had a little better command,” Kotsay said. “I thought it was a great outing for him out of the bullpen, and we’ll continue to build on that.”

It has been a rough go for Muller in his first season with the A’s. Acquired from the Braves as part of the return in exchange for Sean Murphy in December, Muller headlined the package of players holding the title of Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline at the time of the trade.

Muller, Oakland’s Opening Day starter out of Spring Training, struggled to match the hype that surrounded his high-prospect billing. Through 10 starts, Muller’s ERA ballooned to 8.04, a mark which ranks second highest in franchise history for an A’s pitcher through his first 10 starts of a season. On May 23, the A’s made the difficult decision to option him to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Recalled on Wednesday for what is now his third stint with the A’s this season, Muller returned having worked on a few adjustments in the Minors.

“Getting my delivery in a consistent point,” Muller said after his outing on Friday. “Staying on line. I’ve been working on the changeup a good bit. I threw a couple today that were so-so. I relied more on fastballs and curveballs. But everything is feeling good. I’m just trying to get consistent. Get my best stuff and, hopefully, ride that out for the rest of the season.”

Muller’s fastball velocity was also notable as it maxed out at 97.1 mph on Friday, which is well above his season average of 92.9 mph.

“I was excited,” Muller said. “The energy was good. I’m just happy to be back.”

Having experienced the highest of highs with his first career Opening Day start and the lowest of lows with a demotion about a month and half after that, Muller just has one goal for this final stretch of the season.

“Have as much fun as I possibly can,” Muller said. “I think that gets kind of lost in the mix. We’re obviously having a tough season. Everybody knows it. … I don’t think pressing is going to make it any better. We just need to have a good time out there. I think that’s kind of what we’ve been missing.”