A’s Snap Skid, Beat Tigers 3-0

Rookie power saves the day

The A’s only needed one big hit to beat the league-best Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon, using the powerful swing of first baseman Nick Kurtz to beat the Tigers 3-0 to even up the series and set up the rubber match tomorrow morning. Could the second-worst team in the American League actually take the series from the team with the best record in baseball? Anything can happen in this sport and tomorrow’s series finale should be fun. If you can manage to wake up in time.

Detroit’s starting pitcher tonight was right-hander Jack Flaherty. Only 29-years-old but already a veteran of nine years in the majors, Flaherty has been having a less-than-stellar encore season with the Tigers. After being one of the top starters for Detroit last year before a mid-season trade to the Dodgers, Flaherty rejoined the Tigers this offseason because he got a glimpse of that team’s potential and wanted to be on the ride. He signed on for a 2-year contract, though he probably could have gotten more than that from another team. He just really wanted to be a Tiger this season.

Well he hasn’t lived up to the high expectations he set in the first half of last year in his second go-round with Detroit. He’s been decent enough for the Tigers and definitely an innings-eater but also came into tonight with a bloated 4.83 ERA. Considering who the Athletics just faced last night, going up against Flaherty would seemingly be a much easier task, and he was coming off two starts where he allowed seven and eight runs, respectively. Kick ‘em while they’re down!

After a couple scoreless frames to open this game up, the A’s bats got to work. A pair of walks to Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker brought rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz to the plate with two outs. The team just needed a base knock here to bring in a run but Kurtz delivered much, much more than that. Kurtz laid into the third pitch he saw from Flaherty and blasted it to the deepest part of the yard and over the center field wall for a massive three-run homer to give the A’s the first lead of the day:

Kurtz has been on a power surge since returning from the IL. In 14 games since coming back he has six home runs and 13 RBI’s. The strikeouts are still there and he could work some more walks but what do you expect from a 22-year-old rookie playing his first season in the major leagues? Kurtz finished the day 3-for-3 with the homer and a walk to boot. He was the only Athletic to collect multiple hits today, accounting for a majority of their offense all afternoon.

That would be more than enough for the Athletics’ starting pitcher today. Left-hander Jacob Lopez got the ball today for his sixth start with the A’s. The 27-year-old’s season didn’t start out great, beginning the year in Triple-A before getting recalled in mid-April. With the injuries to the starting rotation, Lopez graduated from his early bullpen role and stepped into the rotation. He initially looked overmatched, allowing 16 runs over his first 3 starts and one ‘bulk’ appearance. It was enough to raise questions about if he’d return to the bullpen or even Triple-A sooner than later.

Well ever since, he’s been on a tear on the mound. Over his previous three starts entering tonight he’d been nearly untouchable, allowing just one run over 16 frames while posting a 23/6 K:BB ratio. He’d done that against some less-than-impressive lineups though so tonight was a big test for the rookie.

You wouldn’t tell he was only in his first full season as a major leaguer with the way Lopez was chucking the ball today. Lopez allowed just three hits and a walk all day, taming the potent Tigers lineup that ranks among the top-10 in most categories. A second-inning single was all the Tigers had for a while against the lefty. Eventually Lopez started tiring out as he approached his career-high in pitches. A walk and double in the sixth were the first signs, and a one-out triple in the seventh got the bullpen going. Lopez just locked in and struck out the next batter before inducing a pop out to end Detroit’s only scoring chance against the rookie today, ending his afternoon on a high note.

• Jacob Lopez: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 103 pitches

Another great outing from the rookie left-hander, and he continues to solidify his spot in the starting rotation. His Athletics tenure didn’t bring a lot of fan fare in the offseason because he was the second piece in the Jeffrey Springs trade, but Lopez was more than a throw-in and we’re seeing why the Athletics’ front office targeted him in trade talks with the Rays this offseason. He’s only allowed 14 hits and one run over his last 23 innings as he continues a strong month of June and now has a new career-high number of pitches. He’s lined up to face his former team the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday of next week. Think he’ll want to continue his hot streak going against the team that jettisoned him this offseason?

Now into the bullpen, the first reliever out of manager Mark Kotsay’s relief corps was righty Michael Kelly. He allowed a two-out double, which he ultimately stranded there, but he also got some help from his left fielder on defense:

Kelly’s scoreless outing set up flamethrowing closer Mason Miller for the chance to secure the win in the bottom of the ninth. He did just that, dominating the Tigers hitters and collecting a pair of strikeouts en route to closing this win out for his team, and also earning his 15th save of the season.

There’s that win we’ve all been hoping for. All the A’s needed was the performance of a lifetime from their rookie starting pitcher and a massive three-run home run from their rookie first baseman. The rest of the team collected just four hits, but they worked Flaherty in every at-bat and worked five walks, The bullpen, which has been a massive disappointment for the A’s this year, was only called on to complete two innings of work and they did that without causing heartburn for fans. All in all a solid win for a squad that was desperate to get back in the win column.

Well the A’s have snapped their losing streak, which means it’s time to start the winning streak! The series wraps up tomorrow with a very early morning contest, a 10:10 a.m. scheduled first pitch. The A’s will hope left-hander Jeffrey Springs can lead them to a series win in what’ll be his 17th appearance (15 starts and two ‘bulk’ outings). He’s sporting a 4.24 ERA on the season but has been much better since that disastrous first month. If you were to take out his entire month of April, Springs would have a 3.06 ERA on the year. You can’t forget about April, but he has been what the A’s hoped for when they got him this offseason.

Detroit on the other hand will go with a pitcher that hasn’t been in the major leagues since 2021. Left-hander Dietrich Enns, who spent the past three years overseas before returning stateside this past offseason, will take the ball for his first major league appearance of the season and first since the ‘21 season with the Rays. He’s made 14 starts so far for the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate and has looked impressive, posting a 2.89 ERA at the minor leagues’ highest level. Now we’ll see how the 34-year-old looks in his return to The Show. I like the A’s chances.