Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Caps off season with 36th homer
Rotowire
Kurtz went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 9-2 loss against the Royals.
The rookie slugger provided Oakland's only offense of the night with a 423-foot blast off Sam Long in the eighth inning, marking his 36th homer of the season and his seventh since September 10. Over that span, he hit .233 with 13 RBI while continuing to show his game-changing power. Kurtz looks like the clear favorite for AL Rookie of the Year honors, as he'll finish the regular season with an impressive .290/.383/.619 slash line, 26 doubles, 86 RBI and 90 runs scored to go along with his outstanding long-ball total across 488 plate appearances.
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Slogs two homers vs. Astros
Rotowire
Kurtz went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI during the Athletics' 11-5 loss to the Astros.
The Athletics trailed by as many as 10 runs in Thursday's contest, but Kurtz gave the home fans something to cheer for with a solo homer in the sixth inning and a two-run shot in the eighth. It was Kurtz's third multi-homer game of the season, and his 35 long balls lead all rookies and rank 12th in the majors. He has a 1.010 OPS in 477 plate appearances this season, which ranks second in the majors behind Aaron Judge (1.140) among players with at least 450 plate appearances.
Kurtz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-3 win over the Pirates.
The rookie slugger took Mitch Keller deep in the fourth inning to kick off a rally from an early 3-0 deficit. Kurtz is up to 33 homers on the season, tying him with Jose Canseco for the second-most in franchise history by a rookie behind Mark McGwire's legendary 1987 season, when he set a then-MLB record with 49. Like those two former A's stars, Kurtz seems like a lock for the AL Rookie of the Year Award given his .293/.387/.620 slash line through his first 109 games.
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