This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

OAKLAND -- A lot has been made about Esteury Ruizs blazing speed. On Friday night, the A’s rookie center fielder reminded everyone that he has another impressive tool in his bag.

Leading off against 2022 All-Star Martín Pérez in the bottom of the first inning of a 9-7 victory over the Rangers on Brent Rooker’s walk-off home run, Ruiz got the scoring started for the A’s with a solo shot on the first pitch he saw from the left-hander. The homer was Ruiz’s first of his Major League career, and it was no cheapie, smacked 101.6 mph off the bat and sailed an estimated 412 feet into the Coliseum’s left-field bleachers, according to Statcast.

In addition to leading the Minors with 85 stolen bases last season, Ruiz also clubbed 16 homers in 114 Minor League games.

“Those [home runs] are in there for sure,” said Rooker, who was a teammate of Ruiz’s last season in the Padres’ system. “As he continues to get more comfortable and grow into himself as a hitter, there’s going to be more of those. It’ll add to the dynamic speed that he has and make for a really special player for a long time.”

Ruiz, who continues to lead the Majors with 17 stolen bases, was a spark plug throughout the night. Going 3-for-5 with four RBIs, he also continued showing off another intangible trait known as the clutch gene. For the season, Ruiz is now 17-for-38 (.447) with runners in scoring position.

“He seems to have a knack for the big moment,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Ruiz. “Runners in scoring position, those big moments generally impact young players. He’s had success in those moments, and that says a lot about that young man.”