WEST SACRAMENTO -- There was a point not long ago this season where Lawrence Butler was statistically one of the worst hitters in baseball, a circumstance the Athletics never expected for one of the key members of their young core.
Butler’s struggles reached a point where there was speculation as to whether it might be best to send him down to the Minors for a reset, as the right fielder entered the All-Star break with just five home runs and a sub-.200 batting average.
The A’s opted to allow Butler the opportunity to figure out his scuffles up here, and he’s looked a lot more like the Butler we all expected heading into 2026 as of late, including Wednesday night’s 7-4 A’s victory over the Twins at Sutter Health Park as he slugged a Statcast-projected 425-foot solo shot and reached base twice.
Simply put, this version of Butler over the past month is a completely different version than his early-season form. Since July 28, he’s now hitting .310 (30-for-100) with seven homers, six doubles and 16 RBIs over his last 28 games.
Butler’s homer in the seventh added an insurance run one inning after the A’s flipped the tables on Minnesota with a four-run sixth highlighted by a go-ahead two-run double by Alika Williams.