Homers, Bailey produce laugher
It’s July. So, once again, it’s bat flippin’ season.
Mark Canha blasted two homers Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum, leading the A’s to a 102 victory over Seattle and toggling memories of what became sort of a rallying cry for the franchise last season.
Canha even created Tshirts emblazoned with the “Bat Flippin’ Season” after he tossed his bat in celebration of a goahead homer against the Giants last July and sparked the A’s secondhalf romp into the playoffs.
“It’s what we do,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of the team tying its season high with six homers. “When we’re playing well, we hit homers and put pressure on you. We’re able to hit the ball out of the ballpark one through nine. When we’re hitting on all cylinders, it doesn’t really matter where we are in the lineup. We feel like we have a good chance to score, and a lot of times, it’s a homer.”
That’s exactly how it worked Wednesday, when Canha was joined by a lineup full of bat flippin’ and homer smackin’ as the A’s used an immaculate weather day as a backdrop to
their 17th straight game with at least one home run.
They have 37 homers during the stretch, including two apiece by Canha and Jurickson Profar and one each by Chad Pinder and Ramon Laureano on Wednesday. With Canha up to 15 homers this season, the A’s are one of six teams with five players to smack at least 15 homers (Matt Chapman 22, Matt Olson 20, Laureano 19 and Khris Davis 16).
“It’s kind of contagious, I think,” said Canha after the A’s won their sixth in a row and moved the majors’ best record since June 17 to 195 (.792). “We’re feeding off each other really well right now.”
The potent lineup got plenty of help on the mound against the Mariners, too. Homer Bailey, in his first start after being acquired from Kansas City on Sunday, picked up the win with six strong innings.
Bailey, who hadn’t pitched since July 4, gave up two runs and five hits in the first two innings. But he allowed just two baserunners over the next four innings and made it through an outing without issuing a walk for the first time since April 28.
“The way that this team fights for nine innings is outstanding,” Bailey said. “It definitely gives you energy. I know if I can keep it close, they’re going to score runs and play great defense.”
And, get good relief efforts, too. Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria and Blake Treinen each pitched a scoreless inning.
Seattle took a 20 edge in the second inning, when Nos. 89 hitters Dylan Moore and Dee Gordon slashed backtoback runscoring hits. The A’s tied it in the bottom half on Profar’s twostrike, tworun homer to rightcenter field.
They took their first lead in the fourth inning, when Canha blasted a leadoff shot into the leftcenterfield seats. The right fielder drove one over the centerfield fence in the sixth inning for his first multihomer game.
After Laureano doubled and Profar walked, Pinder capped the fourrun sixth with a threerun, oppositefield homer.
Moments after robbing Seattle first baseman Tim Beckham of an eighthinning homer, Laureano crushed a homer to leftcenter. Two batters later, Profar hit his second of the day and his 13th for the season.
On Wednesday night, Houston ripped the Angels 112, so the A’s remain 4½ games behind the AL Westleading Astros.