Hero Heim! A's storm back with 2-out 9th-inning rally to snap 4-game skid

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jonah Heim did it again.

With the Athletics down to their final out in what was shaping to be another frustrating defeat in which they lost an early lead, who else but Heim came to the rescue with a game-tying RBI single.

Heim’s heroics set the table for a four-run rally in the top of the ninth to lift the A’s to a dramatic come-from-behind 9-6 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park to snap a four-game losing skid.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Heim since the A’s reacquired him in a trade with the Braves last month, it’s that the clutch gene runs strong in him. Before Thursday, the A’s previous win last week was also the product of Heim slugging a game-tying two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to send it to extras. Earlier this month, Heim also crushed a game-tying two-run homer with two outs in a wild extra-inning loss to the Brewers at Las Vegas Ballpark.

“All he does is get big hits,” said A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler, who followed Heim’s big knock with a go-ahead RBI single of his own. “If it’s the ninth inning and we need the winning run or tying run, I’m picking Jonah right now. That’s all he does is come through for us. He’s been big all year.”

Whether “clutch hitting” is a real thing has long been a debate amongst baseball analysts. Whatever side you lean on, there is something to be said about being able to come through in critical situations, something Heim often did with the Rangers during their run to a 2023 World Series championship and has done so a few times now back with the A’s.

“This is a guy that has been in those big moments and played in the World Series,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “That factors into taking an at-bat in that moment and understanding the way to slow the game down. It’s been big for us to have him here. Not just from that standpoint, but what he’s done with [catcher Shea Langeliers] and the relationship they’ve built.”

After a slow start to his second stint with the A’s, Heim has been heating up over the past few weeks. The backup catcher is now hitting .311 (14-for-45) with five home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs over his last 16 games after going 4-for-27 (.148) in his first nine games with the club after coming over from Atlanta in May.

As for the clutch hitting, Heim said it does require a different mindset, but nothing unlike any other hitter might adjust to in late-inning situations with the game on the line.

“It’s just a mindset of not giving in and total focus to try to win the at-bat,” Heim said. “Just get a base hit. That’s all we really needed to keep the game going. The guys came up behind me with really big hits. Butler with the biggest hit of the day, and then [Max] Muncy extending the lead there to give us some breathing room.”

Mounting late comebacks is nothing new for this A’s club. Resilience is a signature characteristic of this team, as Thursday marked their 22nd comeback win, which leads the American League and ranks fourth in MLB.

This comeback victory, however, in a game that saw a 2-1 A’s lead flip to a 6-2 deficit in the bottom of the sixth, felt bigger than the others. Had the A’s lost, they would have dropped five in a row and seven of their last nine to fall to a season-low five games under .500. Instead, they’re now 39-42 and keep steady in the AL West at 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Mariners.

“It’s huge,” Heim said. “I feel like it’s a confidence boost for a lot of these guys in this clubhouse. We’re a young team, so being able to rally back like that is big for this team.”