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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.¡±