A College of the Canyons product quietly put together one of the more impressive outings of his young MLB career this week — and the scoreboard backed him up.
Jacob Lopez, Athletics vs. Texas Rangers | Sept. 2
Jacob Lopez gave the Oakland Athletics exactly what they needed on Wednesday: length, efficiency, and swing-and-miss stuff. The right-hander went six innings against the Texas Rangers, striking out seven and allowing just two earned runs in a commanding 9-2 Athletics victory.
The outing pushes Lopez's ERA to 4.71, but the surface number undersells how locked in he looked against a Rangers lineup that has been no pushover. Seven strikeouts in six innings is a strong ratio for any starter, and Lopez's ability to eat innings and keep Oakland's bullpen fresh added real value beyond the box score.
The Athletics had plenty of offensive support to work with — Henry Bolte bashed two home runs to pace the attack — but Lopez made sure the game never felt competitive. Keeping a major-league lineup to two runs over six frames is the job, and the College of the Canyons alumnus did it cleanly.
It's a notable moment for a program out of Santa Clarita that doesn't always make headlines at the MLB level. Lopez is proof that the pipeline from junior college baseball to the big leagues is alive and well, and performances like Wednesday's are exactly how roster spots get secured heading into the final stretch of the season.
For COC fans tracking their guy in the majors, this is the kind of start worth saving the highlight reel on.
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