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The Athletics' Nick Kurtz may be a rookie, but he produced one of the greatest offensive games in Major League Baseball history when he bashed four home runs, a double and a single in his six at-bats Friday night against the Houston Astros. The 22-year-old slugger became the youngest player in the history of baseball to hit four home runs in a game.
As great a day as Kurtz had in the 15-3 triumph, there was a moment of concern among Kurtz's parents as they watched their son put on his show at Daikin Park in Houston. Since the game was out of hand in the ninth inning, the Astros brought in position player Cooper Hummel to pitch the final stanza. Parents Jeff and Marie Kurtz were concerned because Kurtz had only had one at-bat against a non-pitcher in his career.
“We just didn’t want him to look foolish,” Jeff Kurtz told Chandler Rome of The Athletic. “We were actually hoping they’d pinch hit for him. The score was what it was, let someone else hit.”
“Not hoping,” Marie interjected, “but we’d be OK with it. Again, no idea that there was anything big on the table.”
Athletics have some talented hitters in their lineup
Part of the reason for his success may be that opposing pitchers have several other A's hitters they have to worry about. That includes Brent Rooker, who has blasted 21 homers and driven in 56 runs. Tyler Soderstrom has contributed 19 homers and 60 RBI, while catcher Shea Langeliers has 15 home runs and 41 RBI. Right fielder Lawrence Butler has added to the hitting display with 14 home runs and 41 RBI.
Despite all the hitting success and the big offensive numbers, the Athletics are in last place in the American League West with a 44-62 record. They are 17 games behind the first-place Astros and seven games behind the fourth-place Angels.
The big issue for the Athletics has been their poor pitching, and that's what will have to change if manager Mark Kotsay's team is going to turn things around in the foreseeable future.
