The early-season struggles for the Oakland Athletics have been tough enough to watch, so imagine being an integral part of what’s been a train wreck of a season thus far.
It must be rough. Thankfully for the club, power-hitting fist baseman Matt Olson returned from a minor injury on Friday night and belted this 3-run home run, which led to a 6-2 A’s victory.
Here’s the blast, courtesy of the A’s official Twitter account.
After the game, Olson uttered some words that have been rare and probably non-existent in this season’s early going: emotion and adrenaline.
“Hopefully it sparks us a little bit,” Olson said. “It was good to feel a little emotion and adrenaline in the dugout and everything after obviously such a tough start. But hopefully we can ride this into tomorrow and turn this around.”
San Francisco Chronicle
If any player is to spark the A’s to a string of victories, it’s Olson. The talented power-hitter can defend as well, and he gives the opposing pitcher something to worry about, as does Olson’s fellow Matt, third baseman Matt Chapman.
The Oakland Athletics (2-7) face the Astros again on Saturday before an off-day, followed by a two-game series against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. They have little choice but to turn their season around. Otherwise, it will be a cellar-dwelling year for the dugout to live with.
(Photo credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
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