Davis’ 42nd HR propels A’s.
Slugger breaks tie with 42nd HR; A’s magic number is 7
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. >> Khris Davis leads the majors in home runs, but he isn’t just your average masher who pads the stats with long bombs when game is out of hand. When he hits them, they usually impact the outcome.
The A’s (90-58) were stymied by Rays pitchers for five innings and had failed to record a hit past the fourth, but one mighty swing from Davis caused an eruption in the visiting dugout as they took the lead during Friday’s 2-1 victory over the Rays in 10 innings to remain 11/2 games back of the New York Yankees for the top AL wild-card spot with 14 remaining.
The victory lowered the A’s magic number to 7.
“He’s one swing away from winning the game for you and he’s developed a knack for hitting good pitching and dramatic homers late in games,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We didn’t do a whole lot offensively, but with our lineup, you always know in a close game you’re just one swing away.”
Davis’ 42nd homer came against reliever Jaime Schultz and broke a 1-1 tie to lead off the 10th, a common type of scenario for Davis. It was his 18th go-ahead home run this season, tying Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Paul Goldschmidt for most in the category.
Davis carries a quiet stoicism. Never too high or too low. His even-keeled nature helps him consistently come through in clutch situations, Melvin said.
“He’s a calm guy. He doesn’t get really rattled. And when you have that type of power, there’s no reason to get rattled,” Melvin said. “He’s done it so many times for us now that you have the confidence in those situations to try to get one good pitch and put a good swing on
it.”
Whether the A’s are up, down, or tied, Davis’ mind set never changes. He said the number of go-ahead homers is more just a product a good timing.
Then again, Davis could not care less about his home run totals. He’d gladly trade every single one of them for a chance to reach the postseason for the first time in his six-year big league career, which is becoming more and more a reality with each game.
“It means a lot,” Davis said of reaching 90 wins as a team. “Just showing up and getting the opportunity to help this club means a lot to me. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
A’s starter Edwin Jackson got out of a couple of jams to turn in a solid out- ing.
After surrendering a game-tying RBI single to former Athletic Joey Wendle in the fourth, Jackson picked him off first shortly after. He got help from Jonathan Lucroy in the fifth when the catcher threw out Kevin Kiermaier trying to steal second. It was Lucroy’s second runner thrown out of the game and majorsleading 25th of the season.
Jackson ended up allowing just a run over five innings, which represents mission accomplished for Melvin with a deep bullpen at his disposal.
After a poor start his previous time out against the Texas Rangers in which he lasted just 3 1/3 innings, Jackson knew the importance of putting that in the rear-view mirror and delivering a solid start against Tampa.
“That’s the mind frame you have to have,” Jackson said. “You have to keep having confidence and believe that you can bounce back. And I know how important it was, especially after the team had a long flight last night, just to come out and try to eat up innings and allow us to be in this ball game.”
Shawn Kelley got out of a self-created bases-loaded jam in the sixth and was the first of four relievers who followed Jackson to keep the Rays scoreless the rest of the way. Closer Blake Treinen pitched the ninth and 10th to earn his seventh win of the season.
• Trevor Cahill received a trigger point injection in his rhomboid muscle near his right shoulder blade to alleviate soreness after getting sent back to Oakland Thursday for an MRI. The right-hander will likely remain in the Bay Area until the A’s return home Sunday, and Melvin said the club will wait to see how he responds to the injection before deciding when he gets slotted back into the starting rotation.
• When the teams meet today, the A’s and Rays are expected to use a reliever to “open” the game. It would be the first matchup of the season between to clubs utilizing the method, but Melvin believes it’s going to happen a lot more come next season.
“I do think it will spread. Any time you have success in doing something, teams will look at it and if it makes sense, they’re gonna do it,” Melvin said.