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Athletics' All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz was hit by a pitch in the first inning of Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and after staying in initially to run the bases, he did not report to first base to play defense in the second inning. Jeff McNeil ended up playing the rest of the game at first.
The A's announced that he left with a left forearm contusion, and after the game, there wasn't much else that could be said, though the initial diagnosis didn't sound promising.
"We're going to have an MRI done in the morning, so we'll have a better idea of what exactly is going on," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "The X-ray is kind of unclear right now, so we're hoping for the best."
If the X-ray had been clean, then that would have been good news, but the fact that it came back unclear does seem like some bad news is coming on Thursday.
Left-hander Jacob Lopez has had success in the big leagues, and he knows he belongs. Since the break, he's starting to pitch like the version of himself that we saw late last season before a left elbow flexor strain shut him down in August.
In his three starts since the All-Star game, Lopez has posted a 1.84 ERA across 14 ⅔ innings, giving up 10 hits, with eight walks and 18 strikeouts. Eight of those strikeouts came on Wednesday night against the Red Sox, a season high, as he worked into the sixth inning.
But there was one pivotal moment in the game in which you could pinpoint his growth from earlier this season. In the fourth inning, Boston loaded the bases with one out and Lopez was at 66 pitches with Connor Wong stepping to the plate.
Earlier this season, once he would reach 65 pitches, the game would start to get away from him, and all of a sudden a solid outing would be squandered. On Wednesday night, he got Wong to ground to second for a 4-6-3 double play that ended the inning.
"It was a similar feeling as last year," Lopez said after the game. "I just kind of got into another gear of let's keep going, and I could get past that little threshold."
Lopez rediscovering his late-2025 self would be a huge boost to this club down the stretch. Not only was he able to make the big pitches on Wednesday, but his performance is closer to how he was effective last year too.
His strikeout rate is way down, going from 28.3% last season to just 17.5% this year.
On A's Cast on Wednesday, outfielder Lawrence Butler mentioned that the team had a players' only meeting on Tuesday. Though he wouldn't go into details, he did say to watch what happens with every single player on the field. The team went on to win on Tuesday night, but dropped a tightly contested game on Wednesday.
In fact, Butler nearly hit a walk-off home run off Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth. Instead, it was a double off the wall. The A's failed to bring him in from third with one out, and ultimately lost in the 10th inning.
Butler, for his part, is 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run since that team meeting. In 12 games since the break, he's also batting .279 with a .389 OBP and a .906 OPS. When he went off in the second half of 2024, his OPS ended up at .898 across 61 games.
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The A's announced that he left with a left forearm contusion, and after the game, there wasn't much else that could be said, though the initial diagnosis didn't sound promising.
"We're going to have an MRI done in the morning, so we'll have a better idea of what exactly is going on," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "The X-ray is kind of unclear right now, so we're hoping for the best."
If the X-ray had been clean, then that would have been good news, but the fact that it came back unclear does seem like some bad news is coming on Thursday.
Jacob Lopez Turning a Corner
Left-hander Jacob Lopez has had success in the big leagues, and he knows he belongs. Since the break, he's starting to pitch like the version of himself that we saw late last season before a left elbow flexor strain shut him down in August.
In his three starts since the All-Star game, Lopez has posted a 1.84 ERA across 14 ⅔ innings, giving up 10 hits, with eight walks and 18 strikeouts. Eight of those strikeouts came on Wednesday night against the Red Sox, a season high, as he worked into the sixth inning.
But there was one pivotal moment in the game in which you could pinpoint his growth from earlier this season. In the fourth inning, Boston loaded the bases with one out and Lopez was at 66 pitches with Connor Wong stepping to the plate.
Earlier this season, once he would reach 65 pitches, the game would start to get away from him, and all of a sudden a solid outing would be squandered. On Wednesday night, he got Wong to ground to second for a 4-6-3 double play that ended the inning.
"It was a similar feeling as last year," Lopez said after the game. "I just kind of got into another gear of let's keep going, and I could get past that little threshold."
Lopez rediscovering his late-2025 self would be a huge boost to this club down the stretch. Not only was he able to make the big pitches on Wednesday, but his performance is closer to how he was effective last year too.
His strikeout rate is way down, going from 28.3% last season to just 17.5% this year.
Players' Only Meeting
On A's Cast on Wednesday, outfielder Lawrence Butler mentioned that the team had a players' only meeting on Tuesday. Though he wouldn't go into details, he did say to watch what happens with every single player on the field. The team went on to win on Tuesday night, but dropped a tightly contested game on Wednesday.
In fact, Butler nearly hit a walk-off home run off Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth. Instead, it was a double off the wall. The A's failed to bring him in from third with one out, and ultimately lost in the 10th inning.
Butler, for his part, is 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run since that team meeting. In 12 games since the break, he's also batting .279 with a .389 OBP and a .906 OPS. When he went off in the second half of 2024, his OPS ended up at .898 across 61 games.
Continue reading...
