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Oct 02, 2023

Brent Rooker crushes two home runs to cap off strong series

Joe Trezza BALTIMORE -- When the A’s learned early this week that they would be

Joe Trezza

BALTIMORE -- When the A's learned early this week that they would be without Seth Brown for four to six weeks due to a Grade 2 oblique strain, a sizable hole opened in a lineup already thin with established power threats. While small-ball wins like Wednesday's are satisfying, Oakland knows they are unreliable. As much as anything, the club needs thump after a challenging start to the year offensively.

Which is why the A's are encouraged by what they’re seeing from Brent Rooker, who capped an excellent week in Baltimore on both sides of the ball in Thursday afternoon's 8-7 loss to the Orioles at Oriole Park. Oakland fell behind early with spot starter Adam Oller on the mound, then it was the victim of Adley Rutschman's walk-off homer in the ninth to finish 1-6 on its difficult East Coast road trip.

"We haven't won games like we want to yet, but we’ve been a very resilient team and we’ve shown a lot of fight late in games," Rooker said. "I think eventually, the time is going to turn a little bit and we’re going to start winning a lot of games, reel some off because of how we fight and how we refuse to give up."

The A's found themselves competitive in Thursday's matinee largely because of Rooker, who accounted for five runs with his bat and saved at least one more with two highlight-reel catches in left field. Rooker got Oakland on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first, put it ahead briefly with a 424-foot three-run homer in the third and added a game-tying solo shot in the fifth, thriving in the unseasonably warm conditions at hitter-friendly Camden Yards.

Rooker's first career multihomer game gave him three homers in his past two games, and the defensive plays were redemptive for a player long considered bat-first, who committed a costly error in right field Wednesday night. At the plate, though, Rooker did not slump all week in the Charm City. He finished 6-for-12 with three homers, nine RBIs and four runs scored in the final three games of the four-game set.

"Rook is really seeing the ball well right now," manager Mark Kotsay said. "His confidence is there. He's not missing mistakes and he's doing damage."

Said Rooker: "I feel really good … I’ve been able to put in a lot of work in the cage, make some small tweaks with my setup and things, and I feel good. I just want to keep it rolling."

In short: Rooker is raking. He's taking advantage of the kind of extended opportunity that he either didn't have or didn't capitalize on at his three previous stops, after the Twins made him the 35th overall pick in the 2017 Draft. He debuted briefly for Minnesota in '20 but could not replicate his considerable Triple-A production at the big league level over 58 games in '21.

Real big league opportunity never arrived with San Diego after the Twins traded Rooker to the Padres in the Taylor Rogers/Chris Paddack deal in April 2022, nor with Kansas City after he was dealt again in a Trade Deadline deal last August. All the while Rooker continued to put up huge numbers at Triple-A, posting 102 homers and a .909 OPS in five Minor League seasons. The A's claimed him off waivers from the Royals in November.

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"He hit all Spring Training -- he made the team because of that," Kotsay said. "And he has an opportunity here to play against some right-handed pitching and he's taken advantage of it. He really has. He took some great swings this series. We liked his bat in spring and he's continued to hit while he's been here, and that's a good sign."

Brown's injury also creates opportunity for the left-handed-hitting Conner Capel, particularly against right-handed pitching. Capel inherited the first two starts of the series in left field in Brown's place, with Rooker starting in right Tuesday and Wednesday before moving over to left against left-hander Cole Irvin on Thursday. With Brown sidelined, the path to at-bats will be there for Rooker if he stays hot, whether it's in right, left or at DH.

"I’m happy to be here," Rooker said. "I’m loving the chance to get to play, and just hoping to continue to produce and help us win some games."