The Athletics’ starting pitching has been a primary storyline for their recent success.
Much like J.T. Ginn in Friday’s loss, starter Jack Perkins rebounded from a three-run first inning to deliver a solid start the following night.
But Saturday night’s 11-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards was all about the A’s offense, which found hard contact early and often to give Perkins his first MLB win.
Shea Langeliers homered yet again — his AL-leading 11th since the MLB All-Star break — before Brent Rooker smashed his 24th round-tripper of the season. The two sluggers combined to drive in seven of the 11 runs scored by the Green and Gold.
All nine A’s starters scored a run and eight recorded a hit, which pleased manager Mark Kotsay.
“I think offensively, when we get going, there’s some momentum behind it and they feed off one another, which you saw tonight,” Kotsay told reporters postgame. “The at-bats just continue to be put together in a way that was really productive.”
Langeliers started that momentum quickly on Saturday with his first-inning shot, and he capped it off with a fifth-inning ground-rule double. He parroted Kotsay’s words about the Athletics’ ability to feed off each other’s success at the plate.
“We’re just building confidence, and the momentum is going from one guy to the next,” Langeliers said. “It’s a lot of fun when you stack a night like this — one through nine through the lineup and everybody’s producing and building momentum going into tomorrow.”
Amazingly, the A’s catcher now has six games this season — and three this month — in which he has finished just a triple shy of the cycle. That’s two more instances than any other MLB player in 2025, per Stathead.
But Langeliers hasn’t thought about those near misses too much. After all, it’s hard to complain about a three-hit night with a home run.
“When you say it, it’s kind of funny,” Langeliers explained with a smile. “I mean, I’ll take a night like this any time.”
Perhaps Langeliers finally can complete all four legs of the cycle in Sunday’s series finale against the Orioles, as the A’s chase a series win.
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