OAKLAND — Before Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland A’s inducted five franchise icons into the team’s hall of fame.
Jason Giambi, the 2000 AL MVP who hit 241 home runs in eight seasons in Oakland, was among those honored.
The 5-foot-8 Nick Allen would not have been the obvious choice among current A’s players to replicate one of Giambi’s moonshots. But after hitting just one home run in his first 59 games, the shortstop tripled his season total, blasting two over the left field wall before a handful of A’s legends.
“I woke up on the right side of the bed,” Allen said jokingly when asked about what caused his big day at the plate. “But no, I felt like I was seeing the ball well today. ”
Allen’s surprising home runs in the second and fifth innings keyed Oakland’s 8-6 victory over the Giants (61-51) before an announced crowd of 27,381 at the Coliseum, as the two teams finished the Bay Bridge Series at two wins apiece.
“They’re the rival team and obviously it’s a fun and competitive series, and I think the guys feel that as well,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “When these fans come out and give their support, there’s no better fans in baseball to play in front of.”
While the pregame was all about celebrating the A’s past, solid performances from the team’s young players this weekend gave Oakland fans a glimpse into what could be a bright future.
“It’s amazing to see them and try to build those relationships,” Allen said about talking to the hall of famers. “It’s once in a lifetime stuff.”
Rookie second baseman Zack Gelof went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and second-year catcher Shea Langeliers’ two-RBI single in the sixth inning gave the A’s a 7-6 lead.
Oakland Athletics’ Nick Allen (2) is congratulated by Oakland Athletics third base coach Eric Martins (3) after hitting a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The shot in the arm the A’s received from light-hitting Allen, who was 9-for-58 in 21 games since his recall from Triple-A Las Vegas on July 4, was even more surprising given his splits and who he was facing.
Taking advantage of facing San Francisco right-hander Alex Cobb, the 24-year-old who hit just .133 against righties before Sunday belted a two-run homer, only his second of the season, in the second inning.
“Sometimes it just comes in bunches,” said Allen, whose only other multi-homer game as a professional came in 2021 with the Double-A Midland RockHounds in 2021.
Starting for the A’s was rookie Luis Medina, 24, who was making his 12th start of the season, having allowed only seven earned runs in his past four starts and going at least five innings in each of his previous six.
But after posting a 2.92 ERA over his last seven games, Medina more resembled the pitcher who struggled early in the year. He gave up four runs in 3 1/3 innings on five hits and five walks before being pulled for Sam Long.
The A’s also scored in the first inning, when Gelof smacked a double and then came home on Seth Brown’s first triple of the season. Gelof has hit four home runs in his last eight games.
The A’s got back within two on Allen’s second home run in the fifth, and then the A’s cut the lead to one on a bases-loaded Tyler Soderstrom walk with the bases loaded.
“He’s been exposed to the offspeed pitches early, and I think he’s made a decent adjustment as of late,” Kotsay said about Soderstrom’s two-walk day. “Yesterday they exploited that weakness with the changeup, and today he made the adjustment and got on base. That’s growth for sure.”
After Langeliers’ two-run single into left gave the A’s the lead, then Tony Kemp added an insurance run with a sac fly.
NOTES: Ryan Noda, on the injured list since July 20 with a broken jaw, could be nearing a return. A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Noda, who is second on the team with 11 home runs, could join Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday if approved by a doctor.
San Francisco Giants’ J.D. Davis (7) connects for a one-run single in the first inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco Giants’ Thairo Estrada (39) throws to first base after forcing out Oakland Athletics’ Shea Langeliers (23) at second base in the sixth inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Oakland Athletics’ Nick Allen (2) gestures at home plate after hitting a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Oakland Athletics pitcher Luis Medina (46) pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Crawford (35) walks off the field after grounding out to end the game in the ninth inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. The Oakland Athletics defeated the San Francisco Giants 8-6. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Oakland Athletics’ Nick Allen (2) connects for a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Members of the Athletics Hall of Fame pose for a photograph during a ceremony at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. The Oakland Athletics inducted former Oakland A’s players Jason Giambi, Carney Lansford, Gene Tenace, Bob Johnson and public address announcer Roy Steele to the 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony before their Bay Bridge Series game against the San Francisco Giants. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Rollie Fingers sits in the dugout during a 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. The Oakland Athletics inducted former Oakland A’s players Jason Giambi, Carney Lansford, Gene Tenace, Bob Johnson and public address announcer Roy Steele to the 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony before their Bay Bridge Series game against the San Francisco Giants. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Dave Stewart, from left, Tony LaRussa, and Jason Giambi walk on the field after a 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. The Oakland Athletics inducted former Oakland A’s players Jason Giambi, Carney Lansford, Gene Tenace, Bob Johnson and public address announcer Roy Steele to the 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony before their Bay Bridge Series game against the San Francisco Giants. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Jason Giambi waves to the crowd during a 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. The Oakland Athletics inducted former Oakland A’s players Jason Giambi, Carney Lansford, Gene Tenace, Bob Johnson and public address announcer Roy Steele to the 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony before their Bay Bridge Series game against the San Francisco Giants. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Rickey Henderson smiles in the dugout before a 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. The Oakland Athletics inducted former Oakland A’s players Jason Giambi, Carney Lansford, Gene Tenace, Bob Johnson and public address announcer Roy Steele to the 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony before their Bay Bridge Series game against the San Francisco Giants. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Carney Lansford speaks to the audience during a 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. The Oakland Athletics inducted former Oakland A’s players Jason Giambi, Carney Lansford, Gene Tenace, Bob Johnson and public address announcer Roy Steele to the 2023 Class of the Athletics Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony before their Bay Bridge Series game against the San Francisco Giants. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
