UPDATE (1:37 pm PDT on Tuesday): The A's recalled infielder/outfielder Arismendy Alcantara from Single-A Stockton, the team announced.
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OAKLAND - Never mind that it's September, with the major league season in the home stretch.
Sean Doolittle is all about fresh starts right now.
His first big league appearance since June was a highlight from the A's 10-7 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. Doolittle struck out two and showed encouraging zip on his fastball in a scoreless seventh, on a day when pitching generally took a back seat as the teams combined for 25 hits.
Doolittle mixed in three split-changeups among his 21 pitches, a little variety in a repertoire that's typically fastball-dominant. But for the holiday crowd gathered at the Coliseum, the most noticeable difference came before Doolittle even threw his first pitch.
Oakland Athletics
He changed his entrance song from "For Whom The Bell Tolls" - a Coliseum staple in recent years - to another Metallica track, "Disposable Heroes."
"I kept the same band from the same era," said Doolittle, who wasn't sure how fans would react to the switch. "But it was a song I was listening to a lot on the rehab assignment. I like it, so I switched it. Kind of a new chapter, I guess."
He'd like nothing better than to turn the page from two seasons that have been marred by shoulder problems that have limited him to 48 appearances since the start of 2015. Doolittle spent more than two months working his way back from a shoulder strain - this one in a different area than last year's injury - and he received an emotional boost from the loud reception he got from the home fans upon entering Monday's game.
"It was definitely an adrenaline rush," Doolittle said. "I really appreciated the ovation from the crowd. That gave me goose bumps for sure."
It's easy to understand where A's fans are coming from. In a season that's seen Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp traded - not to mention a popular first-year Athletic in Rich Hill - Doolittle represents a rarity: The fan favorite who still wears green and gold, providing a link to the postseason years of 2012-14.
A's manager Bob Melvin is glad to be able to call on the lefty again. So much of Oakland's bullpen plan revolves around a healthy Doolittle being a part of it. And the final 25 games will help flesh out just where the veteran reliever stands looking ahead to the 2017 relief corps.
Doolittle struck out his first batter, Gregorio Petit, looking on a 94 mile-per-hour fastball. He consistently was in the 93-94 range and hit 95 on his inning-ending strikeout of Kole Calhoun.
"It's amazing what adrenaline can do," Melvin said. "We were getting reports of 92, maybe he hit 93 once. And then you look up, and toward the end of his outing it was 95-plus. He used his secondary pitches too, and that's something he was working on, so that will help him as well."
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A's starter Raul Alcantara had a rocky three innings in his major league debut Monday, hitting three batters, committing a balk and allowing five runs. But Melvin indicated the righty would get another start, with the hope that much of his command woes were due to first-game jitters. The 23-year-old Alcantara walked just three in 45 2/3 innings with Triple-A Nashville.
"We saw the stuff, especially in the third," Melvin said. "The fastball was mid-90's at times. He's got a good changeup, a little better breaking ball. It just didn't work for him today, but I expect next time, with his nerves a little more under control after the first, that he'll be a lot better."
Alcantara's abbreviated outing prompted Melvin to call upon Ross Detwiler, originally slated to start Tuesday, for three innings of relief. Zach Neal will now take the ball Tuesday with Jharel Cotton still slated to go Wednesday in his big league debut.
[INSTANT REPLAY: A's fall to Angels in Alcantara's rough debut]
Alcantara, speaking through interpreter Alex Arpiza, downplayed the impact that nerves had in his struggles, but did offer:
"I think it wasn't me. I'm not used to pitching that way."
Still, his presence on the Coliseum mound capped a nice comeback story from his 2014 Tommy John surgery. The Dominican Republic native re-established himself as one of the A's prime pitching prospects. On Monday, he had his wife and two-month-old son on hand to watch his debut.
"I didn't expect to get here so fast," Alcantara said. "I didn't have the greatest year in Double-A (before being promoted to Triple-A). Thank God I'm here."
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Arismendy Alcantara, no relation to Raul, is likely to rejoin the A's on Tuesday. He's been with Single-A Stockton in recent days, and with the Ports' season ending Monday, Arismendy will be eligible to return to Oakland. Melvin even mentioned the speedy switch hitter could get a look in the leadoff spot.
