MINNEAPOLIS -- Jacob Lopez pitched six strong innings with eight strikeouts to win his fourth straight start, while Tyler Soderstrom extended his hitting streak to 17 games on Tuesday as the Athletics kicked off a three-game series against the Twins with a 6-3 victory at Target Field.
The win gave the A’s a record of 16-13 since the All-Star break, just a game behind Seattle for the best record in the AL West over that span. Obviously it’s hard to overlook the 1-20 stretch the Athletics endured in May and early June. But manager Mark Kotsay likes how resilient his team has been ever since.
“That 21-game stretch really took a lot out of us in terms of the confidence and our ability to impact and play meaningful games in September,” Kotsay said. “But these games in front of us are still meaningful. … We want to win every game and we want to have an impact on the division. We've got some games coming up in-division that we can do some damage with and I think that's the mindset for these guys.”
Lopez (7-6) has been a big part of that resurgence. He entered the game with a 24-inning scoreless streak, which came to a halt on Matt Wallner’s RBI double with two out in the second inning. That was an unearned run, so if you want to limit the streak solely to earned runs, Lopez added five more outs to it before Brooks Lee hit an opposite-field homer.
But Lopez baffled the Minnesota hitters for much of the night. At one point, he fanned five out of six batters, with Lee’s long ball the only hiccup in that stretch. Ryan Jeffers took him deep in the fifth, but Lopez finished strong, retiring the final four batters he faced.
“I'm pretty consistent with my approach every outing right now, just mixing all three hard fastballs, forcing sinker-cutter, and the slider's been really good too,” Lopez said.
In four August starts, Lopez is 4-0 with a 0.70 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t exactly blowing people away in Spring Training.
“When we had him in spring, there was a lack of command, a lack of ability to end at-bats early, a lot of three-ball counts,” Kotsay said. “He went through his growing pains. But he's come out on the other side. … He's put himself on the map for sure. He’s the type of starter that we've been looking for, and that we need.”
Soderstrom extended his career-best streak -- the team’s longest of the season and MLB’s longest active streak -- with an infield single in the fourth inning. But his most impressive moment came when he was running the bases after that hit.
The A’s had the bases loaded with one out when Brett Harris muscled a fly ball just beyond the infield dirt. Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall ran back and made an over-the-shoulder catch, but his momentum was carrying him away from the plate. Soderstrom took advantage, breaking from third and scoring easily on a sacrifice fly that traveled just 185 feet.
“We talk all the time about detail, we talk all the time about effort level. That's such a heads-up baseball play to be aware that the second baseman's going back, he's going to have to stop, pivot and throw,” Kotsay said. “It was a huge play in the game and a big momentum shift.”
Catcher Shea Langeliers continued his torrid second half with a two-run homer in the third to put the Athletics on top for good. It was his third homer in his last four games and 15th in 29 games since the All-Star break. He’s hitting .355 and slugging .802 in that span, and his team-high 27 homers trails only Seattle’s Cal Raleigh (47) among all catchers.
“He’s been awesome,” Lopez said. “To be able to get back there all the time behind the plate and be our anchor, he's been a huge part of the team.”
And with the offense averaging 5.6 runs per game in August, Lopez appreciates how much easier the hitters make his job.
“It definitely helps you sit back and realize, all right, you know the offense is there today,” he said. “Let's throw strikes and get these guys out quickly.”