If Mitch Moreland’s stung line drive is hit a few inches to the right, the A’s could have turned Friday’s homecoming into, at least, an extra inning affair. Instead, the Oakland A’s lost 3-2 to the Baltimore Orioles at the Coliseum.

Opportunities weren’t just limited to Moreland’s drive. Seth Brown and Elvis Andrus back-to-back fly outs off closer Cesar Valdez shut the valve in the ninth. Mark Canha’s strikeout with one out and the tying run, Tony Kemp, on third in the eighth inning was a missed opportunity, too. Struggling against Orioles starter John Means for a second time in two weeks, those opportunities were few and far between.

“You go up against a good pitcher, it’s tough to score runs. It’s about getting a big hit or two in a game,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Typically at home we end up doing that. We just didn’t today. Moreland’s ball smoked. Few feet to the right or left, it’s a whole different story.”

Until the Orioles bullpen provided those opportunities, Means shut it down. He allowed three hits and two runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts. The two runs came on Sean Murphys third home run in five games. Mitch Moreland’s solo home run was the second.

Mike Fiers’ debut: In his 2021 debut, Mike Fiers kept an elusive lead in reach. Fiers’ command was strong in the first and second innings. He painted the black with his cutter with a nice changeup and curveball. But Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays tagged Fiers for back-to-back home runs in the third. Mullins’ groundout RBI scored another run in the fifth.

“Hat off to Mullins,” Fiers said. “It was a cutter way inside, about three balls off the plate. To get enough to get it out and also to keep it fair it was insane. Then the one to Hays, it just has to be below the zone.”

Fiers ate six innings, collecting three strikeouts with two walks. He kept the A’s in the game, which has been his calling card during his Oakland tenure. Though Fiers missed all of spring training and the season up until last Monday dealing with a lumbar strain, his initial placement in the bullpen didn’t fit who the team thinks he is. The A’s singed him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal to start games.

“Starting is what I do. I was ready to do whatever this team needs, but starting is what I feel most comfortable doing. Having a routine before the game, loosening up, long tossing and bullpen before going out there. Very routine oriented. I’m happy to come out in the first inning instead of later in the game, because it’s what I’ve done for a long time.”

The A’s brought him on because of his history as a durable option out of the rotation. Though the bullpen is running on steam with seven options on Friday, the A’s also benefit from injecting a fresh arm into the fold amid a 17-game stretch.

“It’s what he’s done,” Melvin said. “You look at his track record with us and he’s done it pretty well. We don’t want to take Cole Irvin out of the rotation because he’s done well. We don’t want to take the other guys out. So at some point you look at your bullpen and how well rested guys are. We’re in a good spot today, and try to put him in a position where he can do his thing. Originally we looked at it that way. The day we put him in there, there was a need, potentially. At this point in time we feel good about where we are. Mike’s track record starting for us has been really good.”

So, for now, the A’s will go with this six-man rotation. The other five will get an extra day off.

Up next: Jesús Luzardo will go head-to-head with veteran Matt Harvey in Game 2 of the series.