A's ride free spirits in field, at plate to laugher

OAKLAND -- Entering a daunting homestand against two playoff-caliber opponents earlier this week, Tony Kemp said the biggest key for this young A’s squad was to have fun and play loose. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more jubilant performance than the one Oakland turned in Saturday afternoon.

In a 10-4 hammering of the Mets at the Coliseum, the A’s enjoyed arguably their most fun victory of 2022. The offense tagged two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom for five runs over four innings in what became a 14-hit day, providing enough support for Ken Waldichuk -- Oakland’s No. 3 prospect -- to earn his first Major League win.

At no point was Oakland’s euphoria higher than its stellar defensive work in the top of the sixth inning. Just minutes after Conner Capel smacked his first home run as a member of the A’s, the right fielder showcased his defensive capabilities on a pop fly from Pete Alonso by covering 125 feet at a speed of 28.9 ft/sec before laying out for a brilliant diving catch near the right-field foul line.

Following an 86.2 mph throw from catcher Shea Langeliers to nab the speedy Francisco Lindor at second base for the second out of the sixth, Vimael Machín capped the gem-filled inning by venturing from third base to his right out near the bullpen mound and chasing down a ball hit by Eduardo Escobar for a spectacular sliding catch. Upon securing the out, Kemp raced in from left field and wrapped his entire body around Machín for a giant bear hug, while several players watching from the A’s dugout jumped to the top step in excitement.

“That was a cool inning,” Capel said. “I started laughing running in and watching [Kemp] jump on top of him. It was neat.”

With several other defensive highlights throughout the day, including an impressive leaping snag up the middle by Nick Allen to record the final out of the game, A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who has emphasized the importance of playing clean defense over this final stretch, ranked Saturday’s defensive effort among the best he’s seen all season.

“Defensively, I’d put this game with one of the best games we’ve played all year as a team,” Kotsay said. “A solid game. Even to end the game with Nick Allen. Those are the little things that you look at. The first step. The instinct.”

Equally impressive as Oakland’s defense was its offense. Entering the day, deGrom carried a streak of 40 consecutive games in which he’d allowed three earned runs or fewer, the longest such streak in MLB history. The A’s set the tone by sending nine batters to the plate in a four-run first, and by the time deGrom left after completing four innings, he’d allowed his most runs in a single start since May 17, 2019.

“The plan was to be aggressive,” Kotsay said. “He’s a strike thrower, so come out swinging. Obviously, there’s a balance to that. But we felt the game plan was right and kept swinging. Those are probably the best at-bats we’ve taken throughout a game, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Capel, who was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in early September and called up to Oakland on Tuesday, experienced his finest day as a big leaguer, finishing a double shy of the cycle with a career-high three hits and four RBIs. The rookie is now 7-for-14 with the A’s, having hit safely in each of his first four games.

“He’s been locked in,” Kotsay said. “As a young player, this is his opportunity. I love what I’m watching. I love the intensity. A Hall of Fame player I talked to comped him to a guy who is probably my favorite player in baseball in Kirk Gibson. That’s a high ceiling, but he’s just starting out here.”

On a day that featured so many major contributions, the A’s even made an exception for their traditional postgame celebration rule. Normally, one player of the game is selected to take the postgame free throw shot on a mini basketball hoop hanging inside the clubhouse. After Saturday’s win, four different players took a free throw shot, Waldichuk and Capel included.

For A’s fans seeking out hope for a brighter 2023, the past week has provided optimism. Earlier in the homestand, the A’s picked up back-to-back wins against tough pitchers in Luis Castillo and Robbie Ray, playing spoiler to a postseason-hopeful Mariners squad.

“They had some joy today in that dugout,” Kotsay said. “When you’re playing a playoff team, there’s this extra little added energy. They had that chip today and showed that fight we continue to show. We’ve got 10 more games to do that.”