From the Silver Linings department in regards to the Oakland Athletics’ 10-2 loss to Seattle on Friday night: the defensive play of rookie first baseman David MacKinnon.
He displayed excellent range and quickness in his six innings on the field. If MacKinnon looked like someone who had played on the pitch, that’s not by accident. He spent four years as a soccer goalie at the University of Hartford while also playing for the Hawks’ baseball team.
MacKinnon, whom the A’s claimed off waivers from the Angels on Aug. 5, is mainly a first baseman but has played a few games at third.
“Pretty much, the (corner infield spots) are like, one, two explosive steps and you dive and the ball’s either by you or not,” MacKinnon said in the A’s clubhouse Saturday afternoon. “So, it’s pretty similar to goalie.”
Playing goalie “definitely helped me,” MacKinnon said. “It made my range and hand-eye coordination a lot better.”
The past two months have been quite eventful for MacKinnon, a 32nd-round pick of the Angels in 2017. He made his big-league debut with LA on June 18 and went 7-for-37 (.189) with the big club before returning to Triple-A Salt Lake on July 22.
The Angels designated him for assignment Aug. 2. The A’s claimed him three days later and he went 12-for-32 (.375) in eight games with their Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas before joining Oakland on Tuesday in Texas.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, obviously,” said MacKinnon, 27. “It’s definitely a big change for anyone. You get pulled from your comfort zone and you get put into a group of guys that you don’t really know. You’ve got to make some friends. You’ve got to get comfortable.
“The awesome part has been that these guys are awesome. The vibes are great. … I’ve had a blast.”’
MacKinnon has gone hitless in seven at-bats with the A’s. Although he went 0-for-2 Friday, he was somewhat encouraged.
“My swing feels back to normal. There were a lot of emotions,” MacKinnon said in the past few weeks. “There are a lot of jitters. I finally felt like yesterday I didn’t really feel like I had those jitters anymore, which was nice. That was a step in the right direction.”
MacKinnon hit 13 homers in 365 at-bats last season with Double-A Rocket City. He has 15 homers in 257 at-bats this season in Triple-A combined in his time with the Angels’ and A’s affiliates.
MacKinnon said baseball is his first love.
“Soccer was better than an accounting job for me, but baseball worked out, so we’re good,” he said.
Briefly: The A’s claimed right-handed pitcher Joel Payamps, 28, off waivers from the Royals. Payamps went 2-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 29 relief appearances for Kansas City this season. He also appeared in the big leagues with Arizona (2019-20) and Toronto (2021). The A’s did not announce whether Payamps will join the big-league club or go to the minors. To make room for Payamps on the 40-man roster, the A’s transferred pitcher Paul Blackburn (finger) to the 60-day injured list. … Former Oakland left-hander Jesús Luzardo is scheduled to start for Miami against the A’s at the Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon.
Steve Kroner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @SteveKronerSF