Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis is Finally Heating Up
By Mark Sigmon
The much-anticipated rematch between the Oakland Athletics’ Sonny Gray and Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander did not amount to much.
Sonny Gray was having control problems from the start of Wednesday night’s game. He ended up throwing 65 pitches in two innings. The biggest blow was a three run homer off the bat of J.D. Martinez in the bottom of the second. About the only good thing that happened for the A’s was Khris Davis‘ long home run in the top of the fourth.
Unfortunately for the A’s fans, last night Gray was just “off.” These things happen from time to time. A major league pitcher might have one bad day every three starts. A good pitcher might have a dud every four games. Even the best will have an off game from time to time.
Gray will have many very good games this season. A’s fans will just have to let this one slide.
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It is good to see Davis hitting the ball with authority. As many fans noted earlier this season, Davis looked completely befuddled when the season began. He was striking out at a very high rate, and some fans wondered if he even wanted to be playing in Oakland. Davis was just not contributing and he did not seem to care.
But somehow, Davis has figured out what he was doing wrong. He has turned it around, and he’s driving the ball. Bob Melvin seems convinced. He has moved Davis up to the clean up spot.
Justin Verlander had a good night, lasting into the seventh inning. But the A’s are going to have a lot of games where opposing pitchers will not have their best stuff. The heart of the A’s order includes Josh Reddick, Khris Davis, and Stephen Vogt. Most of baseball might not be intimidated by that “Murderer’s Row,” but these are professional hitters who are proven run-producers. Reddick is off to a tremendous start. If Davis can continue to drive the ball with authority, Reddick should get many good pitches to see. A’s fans believe in Stephen Vogt to give Davis a lot of protection as well.
Who knows? Maybe Billy Butler will figure things out and become a threat as well.
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The A’s will go into Thursday’s game with a 5-4 record on the road trip from hell. The A’s will have played ten games against some very good teams on the road. They are coming home to face the ice-cold Houston Astros. Personally, I am trying to keep my expectations low. Somehow, teams cease to struggle when they face the A’s. Suffice to say, Miguel Cabrera was hitting .206 when the A’s came to town. He’ll go into today’s game with a .267 average.
Hopefully, the A’s can escape from Detroit with a split in the series.