OAKLAND -- Khris Davis, he without a homer for the length of the spring schedule, gave the A's two in their season opener Monday night, accounting for half of their run total in a 4-2 victory over the Angels.
"Takes me some time to get going," said Davis, whose spring struggles alledgedly extended to batting practice.
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"I throw BP to him almost every day, and I don't know if he hit a ball out in BP this year in Spring Training, let alone a game," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "And then he hits two balls on a cold night that are no-doubters."
Davis' back-to-back blasts to left-center field in the sixth and eighth innings made the outfielder just the second Athletic to record a multi-homer game on Opening Day, alongside Jason Giambi (2000). His first homer traveled a projected 408 feet, his second 391 feet, per Statcast™.
"He's fun to watch," said starter Kendall Graveman, who turned in six strong innings as part of a well-rounded effort by the A's in front of a sold-out crowd.
Last year, Davis didn't hit his first home run until his 14th game, yet he still managed to exit the season with 42 in his pocket -- good for third most in the American League.
That's reason enough to ponder just how many more he can tally this go around.
Catcher Stephen Vogt joked that Davis could hit "324, right? Isn't that what it is? He's on pace. I don't think there is a ceiling for a guy like that with his kind of power. He's a smart hitter, too. He knows his swing really well and knows his approach and doesn't leave it very often. I hope it continues, because it's fun to watch him. I'm glad he's wearing one of our uniforms."
"I'm not going to put numbers on him, where I think he should be" Melvin added, "but I think if you were to ask him, he things he has a chance to have a better year than he had last year."