⏩ Cleaning up: Jed Lowrie, not a typical No. 4 hitter, finding success there for A’s.
CLEVELAND — Jed Lowrie might not be your prototypical cleanup hitter. At 37, the switch-hitter has logged more than 1,200 major-league games and totaled 117 home runs. His .413 slugging percentage this year, nearly identical to his career mark, ranked 48th among qualified AL players through Wednesday. Before this season, he had taken seven major-league at-bats since 2018.
Yet Lowrie of late has been the A’s closest thing to a regular in the cleanup spot. Since the All-Star break, he has batted fourth in all but six of their games. It is not a typical role — already, Lowrie has made more starts hitting cleanup than in any of his previous seasons. It has lent some stability, though, to a spot where the A’s have sought both consistency and production.
Oakland’s .711 OPS from cleanup hitters through Wednesday ranked fifth lowest in the majors. Five A’s have 14 or more starts there. Matt Olson, in 28 starts batting fourth, has 11 home runs and 26 RBIs. All other A’s cleanup hitters have totaled nine homers and 50 RBIs in 87 games.
Olson has batted mainly third, where he will hit in the first inning and more over the course of a season. The A’s have sought someone to back him. Matt Chapman (19 starts, .481 OPS), Mitch Moreland (15, .673) and Ramón Laureano (14, .724) have shuffled through the cleanup spot. Lowrie, with 26 starts, has offered a recent solution.
“It’s really good protection for ‘Oly,’ ” manager Bob Melvin said. “You’re going to get your matchup both left and right. His right-handed at-bats this year (are) probably as good as they’ve been in quite some time. So it’s the perfect protection.
“You don’t necessarily have to be a home run hitter to hit fourth. There are times I’ll split (Olson and Lowrie) up a bit. But I like Jed in the middle of the order where he can drive in runs. He’s also an
“I’ve got a pretty good idea of who I am as a hitter at this point in my career and I’m not trying to change what I’m doing no matter where I am.” Jed Lowrie, A’s infielder
on-base guy ... but based on what he’s been doing with runners in scoring position, we like him a little better farther down where he can knock in some runs.”
Driving in runners is where Lowrie has excelled. His .376 batting average with men in scoring position is the highest among qualified AL hitters this season. Overall, the A’s have struggled to find clutch hits at times. Lowrie delivered key ones in each of their first two wins in their series against Cleveland.
On Tuesday, Lowrie’s opposite-field double with two outs in the 10th inning drove in the go-ahead run in a 4-3 win. On Wednesday, Lowrie faced Trevor Stephan with two runners on in the eighth inning of a tied game. Lowrie got a 2-1 slider over the plate and drove it 392 feet into the right-field seats.
“I don’t think it really changes,” Lowrie said Wednesday night of his approach with runners in scoring position. “I guess it just forces you to really know who you are as a hitter and look for a pitch that you can handle. So maybe just a little bit tighter focus, but I don’t think the approach changes.”
Lowrie struck a similar tone about hitting cleanup, where his .227 batting average and .665 OPS run below his fullseason .256 average and .746 OPS.
“I think maybe early in my career, I tried to change my approach depending where I was hitting in the lineup,” Lowrie said. “But I’ve got a pretty good idea of who I am as a hitter at this point in my career and I’m not trying to change what I’m doing no matter where I am.”
Melvin reiterated Wednesday he finds it “remarkable” how Lowrie has returned from missing most of the previous two seasons with knee issues. Lowrie’s slash line of .256/ .333/.413 mirrors his career marks of .261/.335/.413 and his 61 RBIs rank second on the A’s. He has played in 108 of the team’s 115 games. He did not play Thursday in Cleveland, a scheduled off-day.
The A’s have used Lowrie mainly as a designated hitter this month, with trade-deadline acquisition Josh Harrison drawing starts at second base. Lowrie, who has made 32 starts at DH this season with Oakland mindful of his playing time coming off knee surgery in October, downplayed any effect.
“I don’t know if transition is the right word,” Lowrie said. “I think it’s probably good for my legs at this point, too, to have fewer innings in the field as I kind of work back. And there could be some fatigue at play at this point in the season, so I want to be as fresh as I can and continue to give those quality at-bats.”