Oakland slugs its way out of slump
A’s infielder Ryon Healy never had this feeling before. Then again, he never hit two home runs in a game in his pro career. Never banged out four extra-base hits.
“It’s just kind of a blur,” he said.
For a team that has played many sloppy games and found many ways to lose this season, Oakland’s 10-4 victory over the Nationals on Saturday was a refreshing and upbeat experience, and Healy enjoyed the moment. Blur or no blur. He does remember a conversation early in the game with teammate Trevor Plouffe.
Healy: “I never had a twohomer game in pro ball.”
Plouffe: “Well, today’s a pretty good day to do so.”
Healy homered in his first at-bat, one of two homers in the first inning against Joe Ross, who grew up in Oakland and pitched on the Coliseum mound just once previously, when he was at Bishop O’Dowd High School.
Jed Lowrie also homered and added a two-run double in the second. The A’s powered up again in the seventh with homers by Yonder Alonso and Healy, giving the team 10 runs in a game for the first time this season.
In between the homers, Healy doubled twice, his four extrabase hits tying a franchise record.
“You’re kind of focusing on the right things: getting good pitches to hit and, most importantly, not missing them,” Healy said. “It’s really tough to hit at this level when you’re missing good pitches. I did that yesterday against (Stephen) Strasburg. Against good arms, you can’t miss good pitches to hit. Today, there weren’t a lot of misses for us.”
Healy, who debuted in the second half of last season as the third baseman, said he’s still adjusting to his role of playing both corners and serving as the designated hitter. In fact, he has just as many starts at DH (26) as on the field (14 at first, 12 at third).
It’s no surprise he wants to eventually settle at one position.
“I think time will tell,” he said. “I’m happy where I’m at right now, being in the big leagues. I’m going to continue working as hard as I can to potentially earn a role like that one day.”
For now, Plouffe is the primary third baseman, Alonso the main man at first.
“When you swing the bat like that,” manager Bob Melvin said of Healy, “you find your way in the lineup somehow.”
Starter Daniel Mengden failed to last five innings to earn his first Coliseum win, but he held the lead through 42 ⁄3 innings and stepped aside for four relievers — Liam Hendriks, Daniel Coulombe, Ryan Madson and John Axford — who pitched 41⁄3 scoreless innings.
Mengden got the hook after giving up a single to Daniel Murphy on a 2-0 pitch and walking Ryan Zimmerman on four pitches. The next batter was Adam Lind, who hit a three-run homer his previous at-bat.
“I just couldn’t take that chance,” Melvin said. “I would’ve loved to have gotten him five innings and gotten him a win, but you have to put the team first. With Lind coming up, I thought that might be a dicey one.”
Hendriks walked Lind to load the bases but struck out Michael Taylor to end the threat. Two innings later, Healy put his stamp on the afternoon when he collected his second homer and fourth extra-base hit, something he had never done in the pros.
“Glad it happened here, though,” he said.