WEST SACRAMENTO -- They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but the Athletics have brought their newfound offensive momentum home with them. First baseman Nick Kurtz and the A’s made that clear in an 11-2 win over the Pirates on Monday at Sutter Health Park.
Kurtz headlined the big offensive night for the A’s, slugging two opposite-field home runs to take over the MLB lead in dingers this June with eight. After a two-run shot off Pirates starter Jared Jones in the second inning, Kurtz launched a three-run homer in the seventh to put the A’s into double digits.
The club’s offensive outburst was an important step toward proving last week’s hot hitting at Las Vegas Ballpark -- namely, 20 home runs and 47 runs in just six games -- wasn’t simply a product of the high-scoring environment out in Sin City.
“We didn’t just get those hits because it is Vegas,” Kurtz said. “We’re actually a really good ballclub and a really good lineup, and we can hit the ball anywhere.”
“Anywhere” includes West Sacramento, where the A’s entered Monday with an 11-17 record. Their overall home record of 15-19 (.441) -- factoring in their 4-2 stretch in Las Vegas, in which the A’s were the home team -- was the second worst in the American League.
But from the start of Monday’s series opener against the Pirates, it was hard to picture this talented A’s lineup ever struggling.
Eight of the club’s nine starters had a hit, including three apiece for Kurtz and second baseman Jeff McNeil. The veteran entered the night mired in an 0-for-20 stretch dating back to June 3, but he sliced an opposite-field single in his first at-bat to drive in the game’s first run.
McNeil launched a two-run homer in the fourth, then added another RBI single in the seventh for a season-high four-RBI night.
The veteran said he found a spark during a pregame session in the batting cage, a welcome development after a slump that dropped his average to .228 and his OPS to .604.
“I just wasn’t getting hits,” McNeil said. “It’s as easy as that. I felt like I had some good chances and wasn’t able to come through.”
Both of his run-scoring singles in Monday’s win were a bit overshadowed, though: Kurtz followed each one with an impressive homer to the opposite field. His first dinger came off the bat at 112 mph, while the second had a 106 mph exit velocity.
Despite a monster year -- his fifth career multihomer game pushed both his season and career OPS over 1.000 -- Kurtz ranked fourth among AL first basemen in Monday’s initial All-Star balloting, behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ben Rice and Munetaka Murakami.
Manager Mark Kotsay said before the game that Kurtz’s fourth-place status was “a little surprising,” and the A’s skipper kept making the case for Kurtz after the first baseman’s latest big night.
“He continues to do things that are opening people’s eyes,” Kotsay said. “I think that people should really pay attention to the year he’s having and where it ranks amongst those guys that are ahead of him.”
Batting first and ninth, respectively, Kurtz and McNeil drove in nine A’s runs on Monday, but they had plenty of opportunities thanks to a productive day across the board. All three starting outfielders -- Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler and Henry Bolte -- had two hits, including doubles for Butler and Bolte.
Butler has recorded multiple hits in three of his last four games, beginning to turn around what had been a dismal season at the plate.
“The hits are now going where people aren’t, and that’s a good thing for confidence,” Kotsay said.
Confidence is something the A’s seem to have in spades. They won four in a row before suffering a 23-9 drubbing at the hands of the Rockies on Sunday, but they showed no ill effects. They came out swinging with consecutive singles from Kurtz, catcher Shea Langeliers and Soderstrom to begin the game before Pirates starter Jared Jones bore down, striking out the next three batters to end the threat.
But the A’s punched right back with three runs in the second inning, taking the lead for good and adding on during another big night at the plate.
“I think we continued offensively with what we’ve done over the last week,” Kotsay said. “We swung the bats really well, and tonight was an example of that -- a continuation of really good at-bats up and down the lineup.”