OAKLAND -- JJ Bleday was part of an A’s offense that was completely flustered by Chris Bassitt, whose only run allowed through eight dominant innings on Friday night came on a wild pitch. So to celebrate the departure of the Blue Jays starter on Fireworks Night at the Coliseum, Bleday supplied a fitting early explosion.
Leading off the bottom of the ninth with the game tied, Bleday wasted no time against Toronto reliever Chad Green, pouncing on a first-pitch hanging slider and sending it over the right-field wall. The 369-foot blast was Bleday’s ninth home run of the year and secured Oakland a 2-1 series-opening walk-off victory.
“I was just trying to be aggressive that last at-bat,” Bleday said. “I was just trying to get something in my zone and he hung a slider. I was ready for it, and I was able to kind of squeak that one out of there.”
It was the fourth walk-off of the season for Oakland, with Friday’s marking the first by way of a home run. The ninth-inning heroics added to what is shaping up to be a breakout 2024 campaign for the 26-year-old outfielder, who entered the night with the fourth-most doubles in the Majors.
Acquired from the Marlins in a one-for-one swap for left-hander A.J. Puk in February 2023, Bleday flashed some of the tools last season that made him the fourth overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft but was inconsistent, as he finished batting .195 with 10 homers in 82 games. He’s now one long ball away from matching that total from a year ago, while also emerging as a reliable center fielder who has proven durable as the only A’s player to play in all 65 games this season.
“The work that he put in this offseason in the weight room has shown up,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Bleday. “We really stressed to JJ that he could push himself harder this offseason than he had in the past. … He’s playing every day. The progress he’s made from last year to this year, we continue to see him moving in the right direction.”
Bleday’s homer rewarded the string of strong pitching by A’s starting pitchers over the past couple of weeks, which continued on Friday with Hogan Harris. The left-hander shut down the Blue Jays across six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
The first scoreless start of Harris’ career followed up his strong outing in St. Petersburg last week, when he was called up to make his first start of the season and limited the Rays to one run in 5 2/3 innings.
Harris has had the unenviable role of being the “yo-yo” guy who bounces around from the Minors to the Majors depending on when a need is available. Recalled for his third stint in the big leagues this season on May 30, Harris has a shot at making this stay longer than the first two with so many injuries to Oakland’s starting rotation. How long that stay might be also depends on performance, and so far Harris has stepped up.
“Ultimately, he’s throwing strikes,” Kotsay said. “He’s challenging hitters and throwing his fastball both sides of the plate. Both outings, he’s had a couple of walks but minimized damage. He got the ball on the ground when he needed it, and he’s not giving away the free bases.”
Throughout his 2023 rookie season, Harris struggled at times having confidence in his fastball, which led to high walk totals. On Friday, he threw four-seam fastballs for 59 of his 91 pitches, establishing it early with a strikeout of Davis Schneider on a 93.8 mph heater to begin the game.
“My fastball has been playing pretty well,” Harris said. “I just realized, if I get behind in the count, just attack them with the heater and see what happens. Instead of just trying to dot everything, sometimes you just have to go after them. Even the hard-hit balls, it’s still hard to get a hit because there’s eight [defenders] out there.”
Harris’s gem made it six times in which A’s starting pitchers have allowed one run or fewer in the last 12 games. Over that stretch, the rotation, which consists of JP Sears and four fill-ins in Harris, Luis Medina, Mitch Spence and Joey Estes, has combined for a 2.66 ERA.
“When everyone is throwing well, you do your best to just keep the ball rolling,” Harris said. “We’re just going to do our best to keep it going.”