Davis’ return comes with a wallop
OAKLAND » Khris Davis was back, and so were the A’s.
After stumbling through nine games of the homestand with Davis on the disabled list, the A’s designated hitter doubled on the second pitch he saw to ignite a three-run rally in the second inning.
Davis’ teammates on offense and May sensation Daniel Mengden did the rest in a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays before a crowd of 12,070 at the Coliseum.
“I don’t think that’s a coincidence at all,” A’s shortstop Chad Pinder said. “He’s got that much influence in the lineup. It changes how other teams go about pitching us. The guy’s proven to be our best run producer and having him in the lineup gives people a sign of relief.”
Davis narrowly missed a home run leading off the second inning, driving a 1- 0 pitch from starter Ryne Stanek off the top of the wall in right center. By the time the inning was over, Stephen Piscotty had doubled home two runs and Mark Canha singled in another.
By the time the game was over, all three Matts in the A’s starting lineup — Olson in the seventh, Chapman in the seventh and Joyce in the eighth — had homered to give the A’s a 7- 0 lead.
All that was left was to see if Mengden (6- 4) could pitch his second consecutive shutout. It wasn’t to be. The Rays opened the ninth with three straight hits and ended up scoring three times — all charged to Mengden.
That didn’t dilute the feeling in the A’s clubhouse as they finished a 4-6 homestand and embarked on a five-game road trip to Kansas City and Texas with a 29-28 record and the knowledge that their most intimidating power hitter was back.
Since the start of the 2016 season, Davis’ has 98 home runs, the most in the majors and one ahead of the Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton.
“There’s certain guys that are more impactful than others,”A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “They lengthen the lineup for you. He had a big effect on the game today and certainly to get a hit your first time upmakes you feel good. After 10 days off you can feel a little rusty, but that wasn’t the case.”
Davis, who strained a hamstring on a swing against Toronto onMay 20, admitted to some rust af- ter watching the A’s hit just .155 in his absence over nine games.
“The speed of the game is not there yet,” Davis said. “I need some time to get in shape, but I feel pretty good.”
Davis said he was more concerned about swinging the bat than running since he’d been injured on a swing, and that watching the last nine games has been difficult.
“It was frustrating because I don’t want to be on the D.L. and want to contribute,” Davis said. “It was a tough stretch. Ten days doesn’t seem like a long time, but it went by kind of slow.”
Mengden said he could feel the difference the moment Davis’ connected for his double.
“If you look at our offense, it’s totally different when we have K.D. in the lineup,” Mengden said. “He’s amonster in there and you know guys fear him. ”
Mengden was to the Athletics inMay what SeanManaea was to the starting rotation in April.
The right-hander with the handlebar mustache and old-fashioned crank windup was coming off a two-hit shutout of the Arizona Diamondbacks and had 25 scoreless innings until the Rays broke through in the ninth. It was the longest scoreless streak by an A’s pitcher since reliever Sean Doolittle had a 26 1/3 inning streak in 2014 and the longest for a starter since Cory Lidle had 32 consecutive scoreless innings in 2002.
In May, Mengden was 4-1 with a 1.67 earned run average — the first time in his career he’s won four straight starts. He credited the work of catchers BruceMaxwell, who caught Thursday, and Jonathan Lucroy.
“(We’ve) been working on establishing all four pitches, mixing it up and down, making sure we’re not being predictable,” Mengden said. “And the defense has been incredible behind me in the last couple of starts.”
Melvin said Mengden’s command and mixing of a fastball, slider, curveball and change-up make it difficult for hitters to guess correctly.
“When you have four pitches it’s tough for hitters to think along with you,” Melvin said. “And he uses all those four pitches.”
The A’s played errorless ball after making four errors Wednesday night.
Blake Treinen, who came in for Josh Lucas with two in the ninth, got his 13th save on a single pitch — a sky pop to short center that shortstop Chad Pinder bobbled and then caught barehanded with his back to the plate for the final out.
• Reliever Carlos Ramirez, who had two scoreless innings Wednesday night, was optioned to Triple-A Nashville to bring Davis off the disabled list.