Peterson’s massive bat boosts A’s vibes: ‘It simply felt totally different as we speak’

PITTSBURGH — After Jace Peterson booted what was doubtless an inning-ending double-play ball for an error that gave the Pirates a one-run lead within the first inning on Tuesday evening, the A’s second baseman rapidly sought out beginning pitcher James Kaprielian upon returning to the dugout and vowed to make amends for his mistake.

A recreation that started in frustration for Peterson ended as arguably the perfect evening of his 10-year massive league profession. In an 11-2 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park that snapped the A’s 15-game highway shedding streak, Peterson completed 5-for-5 with a pair of house runs in what was a much-needed outburst.

“He’s a professional,” Kaprielian, who allowed two runs (one earned) throughout six innings, stated of Peterson. “He came up to me and was embarrassed and felt horrible about it. … Jace told me, ‘I’m going to get four hits for you tonight.’ He ended up getting five with two big home runs. Sometimes it takes an error to get five hits, I guess. It was impressive.”

Not solely did Peterson match a career-best 5 hits in what was his first multihomer recreation, but it surely additionally was a historic feat. He turned simply the second second baseman in franchise historical past to go 5-for-5 with two homers, becoming a member of Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie on Aug. 9, 1901.

“Pretty remarkable night for Jace,” supervisor Mark Kotsay stated. “A 5-for-5 night is special in itself. To have two homers included in that 5-for-5, it’s pretty memorable.”

In the midst of his prolific evening on the plate was Peterson’s five hundredth profession hit, which he notched on an RBI single within the sixth earlier than launching consecutive two-run homers within the eighth and ninth.

“To get the 500th career hit, I’m very thankful,” Peterson stated. “It’s kind of crazy how baseball works. Just happy it happened and happy we won.”

Here’s a breakdown of what Peterson completed on the evening:

• Peterson turned the primary A’s participant to go 5-for-5 since Hideki Matsui on July 24, 2011, and the primary Oakland second baseman to do it since Mark Ellis on Aug. 10, 2009.

• Peterson is the primary A’s participant to go 5-for-5 with two house runs since Eric Chavez on June 12, 2005.

After signing a two-year deal this offseason with the expectation of manufacturing as an on a regular basis contributor and offering management inside a younger clubhouse, Peterson has not had a really perfect begin. He entered Tuesday hitting .194, and he was simply 9-for-57 (.158) over his previous 20 video games.

But regardless of the droop, Peterson famous he’d been feeling an enchancment in his at-bats over the previous week or so, and that lastly confirmed on the plate.

“We’ve been texting a little bit back and forth about how it’s coming and [how] it’s going to happen,” Kotsay stated. “It’s a point in the season where you know where you’re at, but when you’re starting to feel good, there’s light at the end of the tunnel — especially for guys with a track record, which he has. Tonight was a result of his prep. … Hopefully, this game can really lead to something special.”

Although the A’s entered Tuesday grinding via the longest highway shedding streak in Oakland historical past, you wouldn’t understand it based mostly on the vibes they displayed.

The good vibrations started about three hours earlier than first pitch, when a heavy dose of ‘90s/early 2000s hip-hop hits emanated from inside the visitors’ clubhouse at PNC Park courtesy of Kaprielian’s gameday playlist. Among the songs in rotation had been “Forgot About Dre” by Dr. Dre, “Represent” by Nas and “Tha Mobb” by Lil Wayne.

Later, the A’s scored a pregame victory when reliever Austin Pruitt outlasted Pirates reliever Jose Hernandez in a nationwide anthem standoff. Pruitt was assisted by fellow bullpen mate Ken Waldichuk, who introduced over a cup of espresso because the battle of wills lasted a number of minutes.

“It just felt different today,” Kaprielian stated. “We know we’ve been struggling. … We want to win. Pruitt [showed it] out there standing for the national anthem. There’s no lack of fight in these guys. If it takes blasting music, I’m going to keep blasting music. The energy was there, and we’re going to continue to feed off that to keep this thing rolling.”