A’s begin trip by giving Royals the business
KANSAS CITY, MO. >> Something about playing on the road just gets this A’s offense going.
After cooling off this past homestand from a 10-game road trip that saw the A’s hit 19 home runs and score 60 runs, the A’s wasted no time getting back to their hot-hitting ways away from Oakland in Friday’s 16-0 win over the Royals.
The 16 runs tied their season high, having also scored 16 on April 11 at Dodger Stadium. The A’s lead the majors with 51 home runs on the road this year, as opposed to just 22 in 30 games at the Coliseum. They hit four Friday night, including two monster shots by Matt Olson, who finished 3 for 4 with a walk and a careerhigh five RBIs.
“Every at-bat tonight, against lefties, it didn’t matter. He was on it,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Every sound that left his bat today, even the outs, were clicked. We saw what he could do last year when he got hot and it looks like he’s starting one of those streaks right now.”
Both home runs came against Royals starter Ian Kennedy. The first homer, a solo shot well up the seats in right field, came in second inning. The second, a threerun bomb into the fountain beyond right-center field that traveled an estimated 456 feet, came in the third. It was Olson’s 11th home run of the year and third home run in as many at-bats, having hit one in the eighth inning of Thursday’s victory over the Rays.
Olson upped his batting average to .246 and would like to believe he’s on the verge of beginning a hot streak, but he’s been fooled by that thinking a few times already this season.
“I feel like I’ve said three different times that I’m turning the corner and then I never do,” Olson said. “Maybe I should just leave it at that this time.”
Olson’s homer in the third was part of a season-high seven-run inning, which also saw Dustin Fowler hit his second home run of the season.
Fowler also smacked a three-run homer to center in the ninth as he finished 3 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs, all careerhighs for the rookie center fielder.
Of course the 16-run, 16-hit outbreak may not just be due to the team being back on the road, they also had their slugger back for the second consecutive game.
Having scored seven runs in his return to the lineup Thursday, the A’s (30-28) once again looked like a completely rejuvenated squad with Khris Davis in the lineup. Davis went 1 for 4, with a tworun single that came in the seven-run third.
“That homestand was an anomaly for us,” Olson said. “We don’t think we’re that type of hitting ballclub, scoring one or two runs a night. I think that was just kind of building up a little bit and maybe took a little bit of our frustrations out tonight.”
It was more than enough run support for Frankie Montas, who continued his impressive run since being called back up to the majors.
Following up a 2018 debut in which he took a nohitter into the sixth inning of what was his first major league win as a starter, Montas went even deeper this time around, allowing no runs on seven hits and
no walks with two strikeouts over eight innings. He left Jonathan Lucroy in awe behind the plate.
“Just dominant,” Lucroy said. “He had 97 in his back pocket and it was just running and sinking everywhere. He doesn’t locate perfectly and it works for him. He’s effectively wild in the strike zone. I know as a hitter it’s tough facing guys like that because you don’t know what to expect. We didn’t throw too many off-speed pitches because we didn’t have to. His fastball is just that good for me.”
It was the longest outing of his professional career without allowing a run as he improved to 2-0, lowering his ERA to 0.64 in two starts this season.
A flamethrower the A’s became used to seeing post high strikeout numbers out of the bullpen last season with a fastball that reaches 98 mph, Montas has learned how to use the sink on his fastball to get weak contact. He was able to induce three inning-ending double-play balls on the night, keeping his pitch count at an economical 99 pitches.
“We knew he was talented,” Melvin said. “He came into spring this year and wasn’t great. He knew that if he was gonna get to where we felt he could go, it was gonna be about hard work and dedication. He’s done exactly that. You’re finally seeing the talent level come out.”
Though Montas has been pleased with his first two starts, he knows now is not the time to get complacent.
“I know these starts have gone well but I can’t put my guard down,” Montas said. “I have to keep working. I’m thankful to have a veteran like Lucroy behind the plate to help me out.”
Lucroy hit a personal milestone in the sixth inning. His single to left on a 2-1 slider from Scott Barlow was the 1,000th hit of his career.
“It’s been eight years. A long time,” Lucroy said. “I’m grateful I could be in this game for this long and have the opportunity to get 1,000 hits. I’m very blessed on that side of it. A lot of fun, and even better when you get a win out of it.”