Homer happy
Oakland gets 18 hits and extends win streak to 3 in Texas swelter
ARLINGTON, Texas — With all the homers the A’s hit, one regular yet to really join in the power is Jonathan Lucroy, which has left him a little grumpy.
On Monday, Lucroy kickstarted Oakland’s 15-3 romp over the Rangers with a grand slam in the second inning off his old batterymate, Cole Hamels, one of four homers for Oakland in the game but just the second for Lucroy this season.
“The past two years, I’ve been terrible offensively,” said Lucroy, who hit 24 homers just two seasons ago. “I really want to get going. It would really help out this team if I can get going the way I have in the past.”
If Lucroy starts showing more power, the A’s will have an embarrassment of riches. The team has a major-leagueleading 89 homers on the road after Stephen Piscotty banged a two-run shot in the fifth against Hamels, Matt Chap-
Catcher Jonathan Lucroy hasn’t hit many homers this year, but his second-inning shot was a grand slam and it earned a high-10 from Matt Chapman. Lucroy’s second home run of the year made it 4-0, Oakland.
man a three-run blast in the seventh, and Khris Davis a solo shot in the eighth. By the end of the night, the Rangers went to outfielder Carlos Tocci to pitch, then outfielder Ryan Rua.
The A’s moved a seasonhigh 15 games over .500, their best record since Sept. 23, 2014. They’ve won 24 of their past 31 games, the best mark in the majors in that span, and they’re 2½ games behind Seattle for the AL’s second wild-card spot.
The weather approximated Oakland’s hot play; it was 99 at game time after reaching 100 earlier in the day. On Friday, it was 107 at first pitch, a record for Globe Life Park, and the next night, there was another record, 108 degrees. The A’s took batting practice in shorts. They’ll hit on the field only twice during the four-game series to minimize some of the time spent in the heat. “It wasn’t my most ideal climate to pitch in,” Oakland starter Brett Anderson said. “Better today than yesterday, I suppose.”
On Monday, Oakland recorded 18 hits, including three each from Davis and Chapman. Chapman’s homer, his first since going on the DL last month with a thumb injury, was especially impressive: He crushed a 2-2 changeup from Matt Moore to left with an exit velocity of 115.2 mph, the hardest hit ball by an A’s player since Statcast began tracking such numbers in 2015.
Chapman’s sensational defense was on display, too; he dived to his right behind the third-base bag for a sharp bouncer by Adrian Beltre in the third and fired to first for the final out of the inning. “It’s not really surprising anymore,” Anderson said. ‘Those plays you don’t expect to be made, and you turn around and you’re just kind of in awe of the arm strength and the athleticism. Our offense, our defense, you couldn’t ask for much more.”
Such plays are routine for Chapman, who is becoming known as the top fielder in the game. SABR released its midseason defensive-index ratings Monday, and Chapman was on top by a mile, with a 17.2 ranking. Next on the list was St. Louis second baseman Kolten Wong, at 10.7. Other A’s in the rankings, which provide 25 percent of the Gold Glove selection process: Marcus Semien is at 7.4; fifth best; Chad Pinder 5.2, 14th best; and first baseman Matt Olson was 16th, at 5.0.
Anderson (2-2) entered the night with a 6.08 ERA, but the only damage off him in six innings was Elvis Andrus’ two-out, two-run homer in the third. Anderson allowed six hits and a walk and struck out six.
Davis’ eighth-inning homer was his 12th in 92 career at-bats at Texas. He has 22 homers and 49 RBIs lifetime against the Rangers, his most against any team.
Hamels allowed nine hits, two walks and seven runs in five innings, with several scouts from contending teams on hand to watch him. The A’s have won nine of their past 11 games started by an opposing left-hander and they’ll see lefties in each of the next two games. They started the season 7-15 in games started by opposing lefties.
Piscotty has hit six homers in the past 13 games.