Langeliers the first catcher to do this since HOFer Hartnett 101 years ago

ATLANTA -- The A’s may be off to a 1-5 start after dropping two of three to the Braves in an early-week series, but Shea Langeliers continues to establish himself among MLB’s top sluggers.

Langeliers hit his fifth home run during the fourth inning of Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Braves at Truist Park, putting the 28-year-old atop MLB’s home run leaderboard six games into the 2026 season. He is on pace to hit 135 home runs this season.

“I’m feeling pretty good at the plate and feeling confident,” Langeliers said. “I’m just trying to keep things simple, stick to my approach [and] swing at the right pitches.”

Langeliers is in elite company through six games. His five home runs tie Mark McGwire (1992) for the most by an A’s player in the team’s first six games of a season. They also tie Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett (1925) for the most by a primary catcher in his team’s first six games of a season.

“Any time your name is mentioned with names like Mark McGwire, that’s pretty cool,” Langeliers said.

Langeliers is coming off a career season in which he tallied highs in home runs (31), hits (133), OPS (.861), slugging percentage (.536), on-base percentage (.325) and average (.277).

“It’s weird, because when I’m not trying to hit home runs, that’s usually when they come,” Langeliers said. “It goes back to trusting my swing and focusing on my approach.”

Langeliers is slashing .375/.400/1.000 in 25 plate appearances this season.

“Shea had a great road trip,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay. “It doesn’t surprise us, because, obviously, the second half of last season he became the hitter that he’s showing he is right now. He had a great Spring Training. He’s swinging the bat well. We didn’t get any production from the other guys on this road trip that are going to give us production, but that’s the story of the road trip.”

Langeliers’ fifth home run was a solo shot off 2024 National League Cy Young and Triple Crown winner Chris Sale. The home run broke Sale’s streak of 11 batters retired to start the contest and was the sole hit allowed by Sale in his six-inning outing.

“Obviously, Chris Sale is Chris Sale, and he’s one of the best in baseball,” Langeliers said. “He had good stuff and fills up the zone.”

Langeliers’ solo shot may have been in back-to-back fashion if not for Mike Yastrzemski’s strong defense in left field, as he took a potential home run away from Andy Ibáñez in the at-bat prior.

“[It was] obviously a great catch for [Yastrzemski],” Kotsay said. “I don’t think he expected the wall to come up on him as quickly as he did. I think Andy probably would have had a home run there, so it might have changed the momentum and the score.”

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Langeliers, who was drafted ninth overall by the Braves in 2019 before being traded to the A's in '22, hit two home runs in the road series against his former club.

“There’s no bad blood or anything,” Langeliers said. “I love everybody that’s over there [with the Braves]. There’s really good people. It’s also just a really cool place to play. “

Langeliers entered Wednesday’s game tied with Cleveland rookie Chase DeLauter with a league-high four home runs.

“From what I’ve seen, [DeLauter] has been really impressive,” Langeliers said. “He’s taking good at-bats and swinging at good pitches.”

It’s been an offensive struggle for an A’s lineup that has 74 strikeouts and a .177 team batting average, both of which are among the league’s worst. The A’s return to West Sacramento for their home opener against the Astros on Friday, and Langeliers hopes his offensive production will be contagious as the club begins its home slate.

“I don’t think anybody is worried,” Langeliers said. “We’re six games into the season. We have 156 games left. This is a really talented group and a really good offensive group. We’re going to put it together at some point, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

“Leaving Spring Training, it feels like it was a month ago,” Kotsay said. “We’ve been on the road, and we get home and we’re gonna unpack and pack. We’ve got a big series. We have a good feeling about our home opener.”