Bleday continues big series (2 HRs) against his former club

MIAMI -- The Athletics have seen a homer a day from JJ Bleday thus far in Miami.

Bleday, a former fourth overall pick of the Marlins in 2019, has found fortune in familiar territory. He clubbed his second homer of the series in the Athletics’ 9-6 walk-off loss to Miami Saturday afternoon at loanDepot park, following a third-inning rope Friday night.

Bleday went 2-for-4 with a walk in the series-opening win, scoring three runs, while notching his seventh double of the season. And Saturday, he had two more hits, maintaining his .500 batting average for the series.

“It’s always good [to play well],” Bleday said pregame Saturday, “regardless of being in Miami or not. It’s been a tough start for me this year, just had some bad luck. … It just felt good having some good swings last night. … felt good getting that going.”

He kept it going on Saturday, pouncing on a 91.4 mph slider from Miami starter Max Meyer to put the A’s up 2-0 in the second inning. He nearly had another homer in the fourth, going 388 feet to center on a flyout at the warning track, before he collected another hit with a sixth-inning single.

“Just trying to trust my approach,” he said postgame, “and not do too much, and just be on time and get a good pitch to hit.

“I thought I did a good job of letting them come to me, and taking [Meyer’s] pitches away, and just waiting for that mistake. I’ve faced Max before in the Minors, and in live [at-bats] over there with the Marlins, and so I have an idea what he was trying to do. And then just made the most out of that mistake.”

Meyer couldn’t help but tip his cap to Bleday postgame.

“JJ is one of my really good friends,” Meyer said. “[I’m] obviously pissed I gave one up to him. Just thinking about it, too, he's probably like 15-for-16 on me in the backfields, so he's got my number. But hopefully next time I can try to sneak something by him.”

Bleday and the A’s were all over Meyer’s slider -- which ranked tops across MLB heading into the day -- throughout the game. The offense rocked three homers off his go-to pitch, scoring its first four runs via the long ball.

Brent Rooker went 409 feet to center field in the top of the first for his ninth homer, while Luis Urías cranked his fifth on a two-run blast in the fourth.

Power is the team's most potent weapon offensively, and manager Mark Kotsay knows it.

“Usually, our offense is slug-type, and we score runs with home runs,” Kotsay said following Friday’s battle.

The A’s slew of sluggers includes names like Tyler Soderstrom, who wowed baseball fans with a blistering start (nine homers) that had him at the top of MLB’s home run list in mid-April. Rooker has now caught his teammate, while three more players have five or more jacks on the season.

Bleday leads the A’s in walks (17) and is tied for the top spot in doubles (7). But with a .233 batting average, he’s hoping to find more consistency in his at-bats, and continue making quality contact at the plate.

He credits Kotsay as a significant centerpiece of his continued development.

“He's been great,” Bleday said of his manager. “He's been able to give me some really good advice, whether it's in the outfield, or off-field stuff, on-field stuff. … Regardless of where you're picked in the Draft, it really comes down to trying to be an everyday big leaguer.

“He's always had my back. And when things are going well and when things are going bad, he's been able to be there for me, and I've been able to lean on him. It's easy to play behind him, and I'm sure the other guys can say the same thing.”

Kotsay is seeing gradual improvements from the outfielder as the season moves along.

“Last game in Texas it looked like his rhythm and just his zone discipline got better and better," Kotsay said. "Coming into this series, I think the results are showing. He’s getting good pitches to hit, he’s laying off the bad ones and thus he’s getting results.”

If everyday big league baseball is the goal for Bleday, the Athletics believe he’s taking the right steps to attain it.