Kurtz, A's Stay Hot Against Cleveland Guardians

A day after his manager mentioned some Hall of Famers when speaking about him, Nick Kurtz just continued to mash. Batting cleanup, Kurtz smacked a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to give his team a quick 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Guardians, and that homer would end up being enough for the A's on Friday night.

For Kurtz, that is now five home runs in six games, and while this one didn't come in the ninth inning or later, it did serve as a go-ahead shot, and ultimately was enough for the A's to secure the 5-1 win over the Guardians.

The A's first baseman landed on the IL back on May 27, missing time until his return on June 9, but even before his injury he was also starting to launch homers, with four home runs in a five-game span. He now has five more in a ten game span since his return, giving him nine homers over his last 15 games played. It's important to remember that he made his MLB debut on April 23 and that he's still 22 years old.

While Kurtz certainly headlined the A's win early, lefty Jeffrey Springs held Cleveland scoreless through seven innings, giving up just two hits, but the Guardians would score their run in the eighth with Springs giving up a one-out homer to Angel Martínez. His night would be done after that, with the veteran going 7 1/3 innings, giving up three hits, one earned run, one walk, and striking out six.

With the win, Springs' record improves to 6-5 and his ERA drops to 4.24.

The Guardians received a pretty good performance from their starter, Tanner Bibee, as well, though in a losing effort. The 26-year-old righty went all eight innings for his club, saving the bullpen, while allowing 11 hits, five runs (four earned), didn't allow a walk, and struck out 10. The defense behind him was a little rough, being charged with three errors, including a pair from José Ramírez in the bottom of the second.

Those two charged errors loaded the bases for Lawrence Butler (3-for-4, RBI), who would single home a run and increase the A's lead to 3-0. A throwing error by Steven Kwan in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed Denzel Clarke to score on a Jacob Wilson single, which gave the A's a 4-0 lead.

Mason Miller was already warming up in the bottom of the eighth with the A's holding a three-run lead, so Mark Kotsay decided to turn to his closer, even with the club adding a run in the process. Miller would get Ramírez to ground out, but then walked Kyle Manzardo to give Cleveland some hope.

Clarke made yet another impressive play in center for the second out of the inning, extinguishing that hope. He's quickly become the best defender in all of baseball. That catch may be a season, or even a career highlight for many players. For Clarke, it's a Friday night.