Rooker adds to storybook season with first walk-off homer
OAKLAND — The legend of Brent Rooker continues to develop as every day passes, with Friday’s dramatic second being the newest installment in an surprising breakout marketing campaign.
With the A’s trailing the Rangers by two runs heading to the underside of the tenth inning, back-to-back singles by Esteury Ruiz and JJ Bleday introduced the suitable man as much as the plate in Rooker, who entered the night time performing as certainly one of MLB’s high hitters via the primary six weeks of the season.
Facing Texas reliever Brock Burke, Rooker fouled off 5 pitches in a battle that noticed him fall behind in an early 1-2 rely. On the tenth pitch of the at-bat, Rooker bought a fastball out over the center of the plate and totally related, sending a rocket over the excessive wall in left-center for a three-run homer that gave the A’s a 9-7 walk-off win on the Coliseum.
It was the primary walk-off hit of the 28-year-old Rooker’s huge league profession and falls proper in step with what has been a storybook-like run. Reaching base safely for a tenth straight recreation following a two-hit night time on Friday that additionally included a double and a stroll, Rooker leads the Majors in OPS (1.101) and slugging (.673), whereas his 11 dwelling runs are tied with Rafael Devers for many within the American League.
“What a moment for Rook,” A’s supervisor Mark Kotsay mentioned. “He just continues to impress. The at-bats continue to be good. We’re fortunate to have him in this lineup and playing every day right now.”
After swinging via a changeup from Burke for strike two, Rooker took word of the regular eating regimen of fastballs that adopted from the left-hander, which he was capable of foul off. Later within the at-bat, Rooker bought one other changeup and fouled that off, as nicely, a sign that he was on each of these pitches.
“I felt pretty comfortable that I was at least going to be able to hit something hard,” Rooker mentioned. “I know he’s majority fastball-changeup. Once I took his two best versions of each pitch and fouled them off, I knew I was going to be able to be on a fastball and still get to that changeup. At that point, I felt like I was at least going to be able to put a barrel on it and hit something hard somewhere.”
Rooker had doubts about his ball leaving the yard given the low 18-degree launch angle on his swing. Doing so requires a blistering quantity of pressure, which was supplied by the 110.7 mph exit velocity that was generated off the bat.
One fast have a look at Rooker’s BaseballSavant.com web page, nonetheless, will present that well-struck balls have been a relentless for him. He ranks within the 97th percentile of Major League hitters in barrel charge, 89th percentile in common exit velocity and 94th percentile in hard-hit charge.
“That one came off good,” Rooker mentioned. “It’s probably as close to as good and clean as I can hit a ball. That one felt good.”
For a struggling A’s membership that picked up simply its ninth win of 2023, Friday introduced a feel-good victory that supplied additional satisfaction in that it featured so many alternative contributions, together with right-hander Shintaro Fujinami incomes his first Major League win.
Ruiz performed the most important supporting function by producing a three-hit night time that included his first Major League dwelling run as he led off the primary with a solo shot off Martín Pérez. Ruiz additionally tied the sport within the eighth with an RBI single and later reduce the deficit to at least one run within the tenth with one other RBI single previous to Rooker’s homer.
“It says rather a lot about our group,” Kotsay mentioned. “It indicates their character in there. They don’t lay down. They continue to take their at-bats and pull for one another. It feels like these wins that we’ve had, albeit nine of them, it’s a team effort every time.”
Still, Rooker got here away because the unquestionable hero. A postgame Gatorade tub on the sector after crossing dwelling plate was adopted by a celebratory beer bathe contained in the A’s clubhouse.
“First walk-off homer in the big leagues is a special one,” Rooker mentioned. “That was really cool. It’s something you dream of as a kid growing up. It’s something I’ll always remember.”
