A’s break out the long ball to romp Twins as they snap a long losing streak
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A’s halted a nine-game skid with four home runs in a dominant 14-3 win.
- Tyler Soderstrom drove in six runs, including a grand slam.
- Starter Mitch Spence allowed one run over five innings in first 2024 start.
When Minnesota Twins superstar Byron Buxton hit a routine ground ball to A’s third baseman Max Muncy to lead off Thursday afternoon’s series-ending matchup at Sutter Health Park, it felt a little too easy for the home team. It was.
First baseman Tyler Soderstrom couldn’t snag a throw in the dirt and the speedy Buxton reached base.
That was exactly the kind of start one would expect from the sliding A’s who had lost 20 of their last 21 contests including nine straight — a losing stretch only eclipsed in franchise history by the 1943 team who lost 24 of 25.
But in Thursday’s matinee, the A’s (24-40) were full of surprises en route to a dominant 14-3 win — the team’s first victory since May 25.
Starting pitcher Mitch Spence forced the next Twins batter, Trevor Larnach, into a 4-6-3 double play and left the opening frame scoreless.
Both Lawrence Butler and Jacob Wilson reached base to start the bottom half of the frame, bringing up Brent Rooker who plated the first run of the game on a line-drive single to left.
But then it appeared the A’s of the last 21 games, who struggled to a .177 batting average with runners in scoring position, were back. Tyler Soderstrom was fooled by a curveball, then Shea Langeliers took a pitch that never wavered from the zone for strike three, leaving two runners on with two outs.
Muncy, in his second game back with the A’s after being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday, was looking for redemption — both from his first-inning error and three strikeout performance in Wednesday’s 6-1 loss.
If a pimped, 410-foot bomb doesn’t do that, nothing will.
“Anytime you can put runs up in the first inning, the momentum of the game swings. I’d say 90% of the games are controlled by momentum and when you have it, you can keep it,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Muncy deserved this opportunity to come in here and play third base and today was a good showing of why.”
Top of the order set the tone
The A’s have had a tough relationship with the long ball this season, especially recently.
The pitching staff has surrendered the most home runs of any MLB team this season with 97, including 57 in the 25 games leading up to Thursday. The A’s are on pace to break the record for most home runs given up in a season in franchise history.
However, on Thursday, the A’s flipped the script.
Four home runs, including two off the bat of Soderstrom, plated 10 of the A’s 13 runs. Soderstrom alone tallied six RBIs on his two shots.
“He’s not letting the at-bats roll into his defense, he’s not letting the at-bats roll into the next game. He’s done a great job of separating that easily,” Kotsay said of the 23-year-old Soderstrom. “After a strikeout in his first at-bat, if he takes that into the next at-bat, it can carry through the day. It’s a good sign of maturation for a young player, who is arguably adding his best professional season to this point right now.”
It was a strong effort from the top of the order that allowed for three of the bombs to plate multiple runners, including Soderstrom’s fourth-inning grand slam — the first of Soderstrom’s career and the second for the A’s this season.
“It was a special moment,” Soderstrom said.
The A’s first four hitters — Butler, Wilson, Rooker and Soderstrom — went a combined 8-for-12 with four walks and three home runs in the first four times through the order, which only took five innings thanks to the team’s offensive explosion.
Wilson continued to show why he is the odds favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year after reaching base in his first four at-bats Thursday, including a solo shot in the third inning.
The rookie shortstop has the third-highest batting average in the majors at .363 and leads rookies in nearly every offensive statistic including a .904 OPS, 34 RBIs and eight home runs. Wilson leads the A’s in wins above replacement (WAR) by nearly a full point at 2.4.
“When they set the tone up-top, it carries down to the bottom,” Kotsay said. “They did that today.”
Every A’s starter contributed at least one hit to the scoring onslaught. Both of the team’s catchers, Shea Langeliers and Willie MacIver, added doubles.
Langeliers, the typical starter, slotted in at designated hitter on Thursday and later left the game midway through a sixth-inning at-bat with left flank soreness. Kotsay said Langeliers will get a test to judge the severity of the injury and should have an update by Friday.
MacIver, who was called up from Las Vegas on May 23, is now 4-for-13 in four games with the A’s this season and may assume a larger role if Langeliers is out. MacIver hit .389 with 10 doubles in his 35-game stint in Vegas to start the season.
Spence ‘stepped up’ back in rotation
Spence threw five innings of one-run, three-hit baseball while fanning four in his first start of the season. Outside of a solo shot off the bat of Matt Wallner, the righty looked completely in control.
”This young man did a lot for us last season. His role out of spring training was a little bit different, but he never lost his focus. He never lost his determination to get back in the rotation,” Kotsay said. “It worked out to where we could set him up for today and give him the ball. And he stepped up in a big way.”
Spence had a 4.38 ERA in 22 appearances out of the bullpen before he got the call to start. Last season, he began as a reliever, then ended up starting 24 games for the A’s, finishing with a 4.58 ERA.
The righty said he focused on getting quick outs and forcing “weird” contact, allowing him to go later in the game. Spence said his sinker, which he emphasized on Thursday, worked especially well.
“Going into this game because I was just trying to give some length to the team, to try and give us an opportunity to win,” Spence said. “If I did a good job and get in the rotation, that’s great. If not, I’m willing to do whatever it is that I can do to help this team win.”
Next up for the A’s is a three-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles (25-36) that will end on Sunday. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Sutter Health Park.
