By Morris Phillips

The A’s returned to the Coliseum on Monday, losers of seven of eight, and saddled with a story of a clubhouse fracas that put the team in a more negative light than their desultory play.

So unlike Ryan Lochte, the team fessed up, and demanded that the focus return to their play on the field, which they insisted would not be impacted negatively.

And the result? Carlos Carrasco, as good a starting pitcher away from his home park as there is in big league baseball in 2016, pitched so well it mattered little what the A’s said before the game, or what they did during it as the first place Indians took down the A’s, 1-0, while surrendering just four hits.

While Carrasco was great, the A’s Andrew Triggs was slightly less than that, throwing six shutout innings allowing three hits and a walk. Triggs was a footnote, but manager Bob Melvin was quick to give his starter credit for his efforts in trying to put the team in a better light.

“You feel for him because he’s such a good solider about going up and down (to the minors) and appreciates the opportunity he gets,” Melvin said. “You can’t help but pull for a guy who’s a great team guy and he performed.”

Triggs’ night could have had a different outcome had Coco Crisp hadn’t been thrown out at third trying to stretch a double in the sixth. Called out by third base umpire Clint Fagan, Crisp saw the call upheld by a replay demanded by the A’s. Was Crisp thrown out? Melvin diplomatically said no, as did the team’s announcers upon seeing the same replays, but the call stood, and the game stayed scoreless after six innings and Triggs’ departure.

The A’s would go the entire game with just one player reaching second base, and one at-bat with that runner in scoring position. The Indians would fare better on one swing of Carlos Santana’s bat, in which reliever Ryan Dull allowed the slugger to pull his offering down the right field line with such force and placement that it decided the game.

Santana’s big shot would stand up when Carrasco pitched a scoreless eighth, followed by closer Andrew Miller’s dominant 1-2-3 ninth.

Carrasco improved to 6-3 in his 10 road starts, lowering his already miniscule 1.97 ERA on the road. The 29-year old veteran struck out nine, the fourth straight start he’s struck out at least eight batters.

The A’s played without shortstop Marcus Semien who was on hand for the birth of his first child, and also without designated hitter Billy Butler, who was placed on the 7-day concussion protocol list. Butler’s circumstances were all anyone wanted to discuss before the game as it’s rumored that he suffered his injuries in the scuffle with teammate Danny Valencia over the weekend in Chicago that was confirmed by team officials.

The team announced before the game that both players had been fined for their actions, and Valencia pinch hit in Monday’s game, striking out against Miller in the ninth.

The A’s fell to a season-worst 19 games under .500 after losing for the 17^th time in 23 games, marking their worst 125-game record since 1997 (53-72).

On Tuesday, the A’s look to bounce back with Sean Manaea on the mound in a matchup with Cleveland’s Danny Salazar.