Following the San Francisco Giants’ 5-2 loss to the Athletics on Friday night, starter Tyler Mahle pointed to one difficult inning as the turning point in an otherwise manageable outing.

Mahle cruised through the early portion of the game before the Athletics broke through in the fifth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Nick Kurtz that shifted the momentum permanently in the A's favor.

While the stat line ultimately reflected five earned runs across five innings, Mahle believed much of the damage outside of Kurtz’s swing came from softly hit balls finding open space.

“I thought things were going pretty well early,” Mahle said postgame. “Then Kurtz got me with the big hit, and after that it was kind of a hodgepodge inning with balls finding holes.”

The right-hander explained that, aside from the Kurtz homer and a hard-hit double from Tyler Soderstrom, the Athletics generated a large amount of weak contact throughout the inning. Still, Mahle acknowledged the need to execute better in critical moments, especially when traffic begins to build on the bases.

“You’ve got to be better in big situations,” Mahle said. “They had one big at-bat there, and he beat me.”

Mahle also discussed his continued comfort level working with catcher Daniel Susac, who recently returned from the Injured List and has begun receiving more opportunities behind the plate.

With Patrick Bailey being traded, Susac’s role has grown significantly. Mahle had nothing but praise for the young catcher’s performance and communication skills.

“It’s huge having him back there,” Mahle said. “His bat’s good for the lineup, and obviously he threw a guy out by a mile tonight.”

Susac cut down a baserunner attempting to steal during the game, continuing to showcase both his arm strength and defensive ability behind the plate.

Mahle emphasized that his relationship with Susac has been smooth both during games and in between innings, particularly when it comes to discussing pitch selection and approach.

“We communicate really well together,” Mahle explained. “Nothing but good things to say about him.”

Despite questions about adjusting to different catchers throughout the season, Mahle noted that he has generally adapted well to whoever is behind the plate during his career.

For him, the bigger focus remains on execution rather than developing preferences for a specific catcher.

“I usually know what I want to do to hitters,” Mahle said. “It’s really just about executing pitches.”

Mahle also briefly addressed pitching at the Athletics’ temporary home ballpark, Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, Calif., stating that nothing about the environment felt particularly unusual outside of the clubhouse setup in center field.

While the Giants ultimately dropped the series opener, Mahle’s comments reflected a pitcher who felt one rough inning and one costly swing overshadowed portions of an otherwise competitive outing.

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