BALTIMORE — Khris Davis reached another career milestone as he continues to mark his territory as baseball’s most prolific power hitter over the past few seasons.
The A’s hit five home runs in Wednesday’s 10-3 win over the Orioles and of course, Davis got in on the action. The slugger had two of the five homers, the second being the 200th of his career and his seventh of the young season.
Since the start of the 2016 season, Davis’ 140 home runs are the most in Major League Baseball. As has been the case with most of those, Davis’ two home runs were driven the opposite field to deep right.
Davis’ second home run was a solo shot in the seventh which came immediately after a two-run home run by Matt Chapman. It was the first time the two have gone back-to-back in their careers.
Jurickson Profar and Chad Pinder were the other players to complete the five-homer feat. The A’s (8-8) hit five home runs twice in 2018, first on April 6 in Anaheim and again June 20 at San Diego.
The offensive firepower was plenty of support for Frankie Montas, who looked sharp through six innings of work. The right-hander did not allow a hit until the fifth when Baltimore (5-7) broke through with home runs by Trey Mancini and Rio Ruiz. Montas finished his day allowing three runs on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts before turning it over to the bullpen.
The A’s collected at least 11 hits for a fourth consecutive game with a total of 13 in Wednesday night’s victory.
Here are some takeaways:
1. Frankie Montas is establishing himself
With a high-powered offense and one of the top ten bullpens in baseball, all the A’s need from their starting pitchers is consistency. Montas has been the model for that.
Consistency was a trait Montas struggled with in the past. But since he integrated a splitter into his repertoire of pitches this spring, Montas has been able to keep his pitch count low as he no longer depends on strikeouts. He’s still blowing his 97 mph fastball by hitters, only now he’s doing that more to just get ahead in the counts early before pitching to contact for quick outs.
“We knew he had it in him,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s just coming up with the third pitch and having some success behind it. Now we’re seeing the guy we expected to see. When he’s pitching with a lot of confidence, he’s got the stuff to be an elite starter.”
Montas has thrown at least five innings in each of his first three starts of 2019, now 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA.
“We all know what Frankie has been capable of,” Chapman said. “He’s come out the gates throwing really well and giving us a chance to win. I feel confident playing defense behind him. Even on days where he doesn’t have his best stuff, he’s able to keep us in ballgames.”
2. Time to find more playing time for Chad Pinder
In a strange way, Pinder has been a victim of his ability to play so many positions. The utility man is almost too versatile and has already played five different positions in 2019, getting the start Wednesday in right field. There is no set position for him, but Pinder continues his way into the lineup.
After going 2 for 5 with the homer in Wednesday’s victory, Pinder is now batting .407 with three home runs and seven RBIs over his last 10 games.
“He’s been as consistent as anybody we’ve had this year,” Melvin said. “It’s just been trying to get a spot for him in the lineup. He’s swinging the bat well right now and these are the times we look to get him in there.”
The A’s organization prides itself on analytics. Whether it’s looking at matchups or launch angles, they’ve always been on the cutting edge. But maybe that’s not always the only thing to be taken into account.
The numbers will usually tell you right-handed hitters don’t hit as well against right-handed pitchers. Pinder, a right-handed batter, showed the ability to hit right-handers in the minor leagues, hitting .302 off them in 2015. Since reaching the majors, the majority of his playing time has come against lefties, but Melvin said an opportunity to play against both will eventually show what he truly can do at the big league level.
“We look at a lot of analytics here but until you actually have a chance, it’s tough to prove yourself,” Melvin said. “Last year was the first time he had a chance to face right-handers and if you want to look at exit velocities, he was off the charts. I think it’s just getting the opportunities.”
Khris Davis is heating up again
When Khris Davis goes on a hot streak, they come in bunches. We saw it to begin the season when he homered in five of the first seven games.
“When KD gets going out to right-center field, that’s kind of his sweet spot,” Melvin said. “That’s good to see.”
Davis is never one to make a big deal out of any home runs that he hits and No. 200 was no exception.
“It’s just a number,” Davis said when asked if the milestone had any extra meaning. “You keep score, I’ll keep playing.”
Davis did not even know he had hit his 200th homer until getting word from Chapman in the A’s dugout.
“The bat boy told me so I wasn’t aware either. I knew he was closing in on it soon,” Chapman said. “The big 200. We’ll probably make him a cake soon. I’ll take him shopping. He needs help with that.”
Melvin ran out of ways to describe Davis’ ability to mash home runs a long time ago. He’s no longer surprised by what the slugger does, but he still admires it, especially when a milestone is reached.
“That’s a lot of homers. I certainly can’t relate to that,” Melvin joked. “His last five years have just been unbelievable. Once he established himself and got here, he’s been one of the elite power hitters in the game.”
Davis said he made an adjustment before the game but chose not to elaborate on the details.
“Just trying to work on something different,” Davis said. “It showed up.”
Homering for the first time since April 1, Davis appears ready for another home run tear. It’ll be on his teammates in front of him to get on base.
“I’m just trying to set the table for the big man,” said Chapman, who batted third instead of his usual two-spot Wednesday. “I love hitting in front of him. It makes it easy for me, just get on base and set the table for Khris.”
