Kyle Muller: "It Was the Best Day I've Ever Had on a Baseball Field"

Kyle Muller goes toe-to-toe with Shohei Ohtani, and the A's come away with the win on Opening Day

Kyle Muller got the Opening Day nod, which was a surprise to some. Aledmys Díaz said that once he saw Muller's reaction to the news that he'd start, Díaz knew he was ready. "He was huge. He kept us in the game, and gave us a chance to win."

Muller went five innings in the A's 2-1 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels, giving up four hits, one earned, walked one, and struck out three. His night was done after 72 pitches, since manager Mark Kotsay was able to empty the bullpen in this one with the off day on Friday. 

The lone Angel run came in the top of the fifth. Gio Urshela singled with one out, and advanced to second on an errant throw from second baseman Tony Kemp, then went to third on a wild pitch by Muller. Logan O'Hoppe singled him home.

Shea Langeliers said before the game that the key for Muller to have success would be how he commanded his fastball. After the game, the A's catcher said he thought Muller looked really good. "He commanded his pitches well, kept them off-balance. He just attacked guys. That's kind of his identity. He's going to go out there every night he's on the mound, he's going to give you everything he's got. He's a lot of fun to catch."

Muller was exuding joy when he talked to reporters. "It was the best day I've ever had on a baseball field. It was awesome." 

15% catch probability per Statcast?

Esteury likes those odds. pic.twitter.com/xHzTNt3T5r

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) March 31, 2023

When asked about Esteury Ruiz's diving catch in the top of the first that robbed Trout of extra bases, Muller couldn't hide his excitement. "Oh, that was great! I thought I had punched him out a pitch or two before that, and then he hit it pretty hard. I thought it was in the gap. But [Ruiz] has made a couple of plays like that for me. He's great out there."

Going toe-to-toe with Shohei Ohtani on the mound is no easy task, yet the A's have pulled out late-inning victories in their last two regular season games with Ohtani on the bump. The Angel starter has combined for 11 innings, given up just five hits, one run, walked four, and struck out 16 in those two starts. 

Muller said it was "awesome" to have this start against one of the best in baseball. "That's what you dream about. You get to face the number one and number two players in the world, back-to-back in the first inning. You can't write it up any better than that. I have a huge amount of respect for everything they've done. To be on the same field and competing against them is where I want to be. It's super cool that happened day one of the season."

Muller struck out Ohtani in the first inning, and postgame said he's never yelled after the first inning in a baseball game. "I was hyped."

The A's starter also gave credit to his housemate and batterymate, Shea Langeliers, who caught him on Thursday night. "That was huge. We went over the lineup last night and got on the same page. It's just super cool, we're both in the same spot in our career. We have kind of a similar amount of days in the Major Leagues, and so being able to share that experience with him--it's his first time doing it as well. During the anthem we were just talking like, 'We're the Opening Day battery, man. This is sick!' We had fun with it. I think we probably had the most fun out of anybody on the field tonight."

The A's put together some solid at-bats in the eighth inning, which was started with a single the other way off the bat of Ruiz. Kemp, facing left-hander Aaron Loup, doubled on a ball that bounced off the wall, which scored Ruiz and tied the game at one. 

TIE GAME TK pic.twitter.com/7KGB6vMx4j

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) March 31, 2023

After pinch-hitter Brent Rooker struck out, newcomer Aledmys Díaz singled to left, scoring Kemp from second, and giving the A's a 2-1 lead. Dany Jiménez came on in the ninth to close out the A's first win of 2023. 

The expectations for the A's aren't high this season, but they showed on Thursday night that they can compete at a high level, and even though there aren't many household names on the roster, there are guys on this team fighting to prove themselves at the big league level.