WEST SACRAMENTO -- Heading into the Athletics’ 40th game of the season, Shea Langeliers carried a .226 batting average that was far lower than his expected batting average (xBA) of .273.
The gap between those two numbers -- tied for the 28th-largest difference of batting average below expected batting average of any qualified hitter in MLB -- is proof that Langeliers has been one of the unluckier hitters in baseball to this point. Given that context, it’s easy to understand the somewhat jaded mentality he displayed upon smacking an 0-1 fastball from reliever Tyler Matzek at an exit velocity of 108 mph in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 11-7 victory over the Yankees at Sutter Health Park.
“Off the bat,” Langeliers said, "in my head, I was like, ‘Oh, he’s going to catch it or make some miraculous play.’”
Langeliers’ premonition nearly came through, as Trent Grisham appeared to have a good read while tracking the deep drive to center. Grisham leaped, but this time, the ball sailed slightly over his outstretched glove for a two-run double.
"It was almost like a sigh of relief,” Langeliers said. “Sometimes, it just gets frustrating when it feels like you’re doing everything you can and the results don’t show. … To come through for the team today definitely felt good.”
The hits were finally falling for Langeliers on this day. Getting a break from behind the plate as the designated hitter, Langeliers notched four hits and five RBIs -- both career highs -- and even cracked a rare smirk after returning to the dugout following that double, much to the delight of manager Mark Kotsay.
"This kid has been hammering the baseball and hasn’t gotten the results,” Kotsay said. “He’s as steady as anyone when it comes to results. Very rarely will you see him snap. Today, we saw the smile. Before the top of the ninth, I joked with him and said, ‘It’s good to see you smile again.’"
All five of Langeliers’ runs driven in were of the utmost importance. After Justin Sterner -- who entered the day yet to allow an earned run this season -- inherited a 4-1 lead from starter JP Sears to begin the sixth and was tagged by the Yankees for a five-run inning, Langeliers picked up the right-hander with his eighth home run of the season, a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh.
It was a tremendous display of resilience by this young A’s squad, which had taken its lumps during a three-game losing streak that featured back-to-back blown late leads against the Mariners and a 10-2 blowout loss to the Yankees on Friday night.
"Last night, after the game, there was more emotion and anger in the group than I’ve seen all year,” Kotsay said.
"Obviously, it kind of filtered over to today," Kotsay added. "They showed what they’re made of and the grit that they have. The belief that they have in themselves. That’s just a great team win today. Coming off last night, you always want to see a rebound. They showed up ready to play today. That was fun.”
Mason Miller ensured there would be smiles all around the A’s clubhouse with arguably his most impressive save of the year. Entering a tight jam by holding a one-run lead with two on and one out in the eighth, the flamethrowing closer squelched the threat with back-to-back strikeouts of Oswald Peraza and Paul Goldschmidt.
Back out for the ninth with a five-run cushion, Miller worked around a run allowed on a groundout to record his 11th save of the year. The five-out save with four strikeouts marked his first time working more than one inning this season and his first multi-inning save since going two frames against the Mets on Aug. 15, 2024.
"That’s Mason at his best right there,” Kotsay said. “He had four days off. I felt confident in the workload that he was fresh. … I felt like we needed to go to Mason and we needed a strikeout.”
Ending the three-game skid also ensured the A’s would end Saturday in at least a tie with the Astros for second place in the American League West, behind Seattle.
“You’re going to have those games that get away from you over the course of the season,” Langeliers said. “To bounce back the next day, even after they came back and took the lead, for us to come back and get the win is huge.”