A’s Kotsay happy to see Shea enjoying a monster performance originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Shea Langeliers had himself a day against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
Langeliers, the Athletics’ top prospect, went 3-for-4 with a single, double, and triple in a 5-3 win over the Mariners at the Oakland Coliseum.
“I wasn’t,” Langeliers said postgame when he was asked if he knew that it had been 81 games since the A’s last hit a triple. “I got lucky though; it kicked really far off the wall so I just got to keep running.”
That 81-game triple-less streak was the longest in MLB history.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay says it’s good to see Langeliers enjoying himself at the highest level.
“Great to see the kid having fun,” Kotsay told reporters postgame. “He’s really come here and … handled it pretty darn well.
“Today, he obviously had a great game and contributed to this team’s win, which we always talk about.”
Despite having played only five games, Langeliers has been an extra-base hit machine. Of Langeliers’ six MLB hits, he has three doubles, a triple, a home run, and a single, with each of them being solidly hit.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple,” Langeliers said of his approach at the plate. “The calmer you can keep your mind, it just puts you in a better position to succeed at the plate.
“I’m just trying to start my load early and give myself a chance to recognize and put a good swing on a pitch.”
In all, the A’s outhit the Mariners 12-9. Langeliers, Cal Stevenson, Nick Allen, Stephen Vogt, and Sean Murphy all had an RBI in the win.
Of note, Stevenson’s RBI sac fly in the bottom of the second was his first in MLB.
On the mound, Oakland’s starter JP Sears had another solid outing. In his five innings of work, Sears gave up six hits, one run, walked one batter, and struck out three Mariners.
His one blemish was allowing a solo home run to Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger in the top of the third inning.
“Moved the ball on both sides of the plate well,” Sears said of his outing. “… I just tried to keep the boys in the game, just trying to fill up the zone and mix it up, down and up. Overall, a good win.”
Kotsay said he liked what he’s seen so far from Sears, especially his pitch command.
“For him to be successful, he commands the fastball, mixes the change and the slider in, which we saw today, and he gave us five great innings,” Kotsay said.
Seattle’s starter Luis Castillo did not look as sharp as he usually does. He gave up eight hits, four runs, walked one, and struck out five in his five innings of work. Offensively, Seattle had nine hits but only three runs, thanks to Haniger, Julio Rodríguez, and Cal Raleigh.
With a runner in scoring position in the ninth, the Mariners were hoping to tie the game or take the lead. However, Austin Pruitt came in and closed the door on a potential Seattle comeback.
After beating a team with playoff aspirations, Langeliers said it was fun to be producing with a team essentially full of rookies.
“Baseball’s a lot of fun when you’re playing good baseball,” Langeliers concluded.
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Langeliers and the A’s hope to keep the fun going as Oakland’s 10-game homestand continues Monday night.
Pablo Lopez will be on the mound for the Miami Marlins while lefty Adam Oller will be on the bump for the A’s.