The Athletics' bats came alive against Jacob deGrom, roughing up the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner in a 10-4 win against the New York Mets on Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum.
Not only did the A's lineup get half of their runs against one of the better pitchers in MLB, but they also got most of their run production from an unlikely player, outfielder Conner Capel.
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Oakland claimed Capel on Sept. 9 from the St. Louis Cardinals; then, after a short stint with Triple-A Las Vegas, the 25-year-old was called up by the A's on Tuesday.
These next few games are for Capel to make a good impression, and if Saturday's game against the Mets is any indication, where he went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, the outfielder likely opened some eyes.
"I mean just be ready to hit and look for something out of the plate and something you can drive and try and put the bat on the ball," Capel told NBC Sports California's Brodie Brazil and Dave Stewart on "A's Postgame Live" about his approach since his call up.
The home run that Capel hit wasn't off any ordinary pitcher, it was off deGrom, who didn't have his best stuff on Saturday. The A's took advantage of the veteran pitcher's inability to be his dominant self and eventually chased him from the game after just four innings.
"I was just terrible," deGrom told reporters (h/t SNY). "You know, we had our guys go out and put up three runs, and I go give up four right away, lose the lead, you know, and just, you know, that's on me. I was really bad."
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The Mets' ace didn't mention Capel by name but highlighted what went wrong in his start and how the outfielder and the rest of the A's lineup were able to crush his pitches.
"I tried to figure it out, but it just ... a lot of uncompetitive pitches and then misses in the middle," deGrom added. "That's what happens. Slider kept yanking it and then was leaving it. It was either yanked or in the middle.
"So they didn't really have to look for anything. It wasn't able to locate down. They didn't have to look for anything down. So you eliminate the lower half of the zone, look for something up, and they beat me."
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Oakland will attempt to take the series against the Mets when they send out rookie JP Sears (6-2, 3.58 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. Meanwhile, New York will give the ball to three-year Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.15 ERA).