MINNEAPOLIS -- Shea Langeliers has been on a heater, and opposing pitchers continue to pay the price.
Langeliers blasted a two-run homer in the 10th inning on Wednesday, lifting the Athletics to a 4-2 victory over the Twins at Target Field.
It was his third home run in as many games and his 10th long ball in August, more than any other player in the Major Leagues. He now has a team-high 28 homers -- including an MLB-best 16 since the All-Star break -- and is slugging .789 since Aug. 1.
But in the 10th inning, hitting the ball out of the park was the last thing Langeliers was thinking about.
“I was just trying to go the other way, get [automatic runner Nick] Kurtz to third base and have [Brent Rooker] come to the plate,” Langeliers said. “That runner on third, less than two outs, was the main priority there. I just got a pitch on the outer part of the plate and leveraged it the other way.”
The ball easily cleared the 23-foot-high wall in right-center, giving the Athletics a hard-fought victory on a night when both teams had a lot of chances and kept coming up empty.
“I thought tonight was one of the better games we've played all season,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “We obviously took advantage of some big opportunities in the game. I think the bullpen … every guy stepped up tonight, filled the role, executed their innings and kept the game where it needed to be for us to get a big hit from [Langeliers] there in the 10th.”
While it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that the A’s hottest hitter would come through in the clutch, it was Langeliers’ defense that gave them a chance. In the fifth inning, he threw out Brooks Lee trying to advance to third on a pitch that skipped a few feet away from home. And the next inning, Langeliers threw out would-be basestealer Royce Lewis on a bang-bang play at second.
When asked what impresses him the most about his catcher, Kotsay said, “Just the ability to perform at a very high level behind the plate consistently. … He continues to grow as a catcher. He's getting better and better at game calling. It's just a natural progression.”
On a night when Tyler Soderstrom extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a double and a home run, Langeliers came away with the game’s biggest blow. But he was quick to credit his teammates for his success.
“Hitting’s contagious, and the guys are all swinging it well,” Langeliers said. “It's obviously a lot of fun at the plate, and just gives you more confidence and less pressure at the plate that the guy behind you will get it done if you don't.”
The Athletics have won four of their last five and seven of their last 10, and their 17-13 record since the All-Star break is the best in the AL West. Langeliers has been doing plenty of damage over that stretch, so it certainly gave his manager a sense of confidence to send his catcher to the plate in the top of the 10th.
“I was pretty confident he was going to take a good at-bat,” Kotsay said. “He's been swinging the bat really well against lefties, so I thought our matchup really favored us there in the 10th, and obviously it worked out the way it did.
“But yeah, Shea’s at-bats have been great. Even when he makes outs, they're loud. So it's been fun to watch for sure.”