Shea Langeliers’ record-breaking blast ignited a 12-inning slugfest as the A's and Brewers traded 29 runs in a marathon decided by late-inning defensive blunders and relentless power hitting.
The first regular season pitch that the A's saw in Las Vegas, Shea Langeliers belted over the fence in left-center field. It traveled 483 feet according to broadcast — which would make it the longest home run hit by any player this season.
The top distance across MLB heading into this game? Langeliers in Sacramento on April 15, launching one 467 feet.
There were moments of glee for a sold-out crowd, but ultimately Las Vegas Ballpark was the winner in the A's-Brewers extra-inning marathon. Each team scored four runs in the 10th inning, pushing the score to 14-14. Milwaukee scratched across a run in the 12th, and the A's weren't able to push across one final run in the bottom of the inning.
The Brewers came out ahead in this one, 15-14.
The A's led 8-4 after three innings, but both bullpens slowed down the scoring. The Brewers were threatening in the top of the eighth, however. With a run already in and runners on first and third, Hogan Harris relieved Mark Leiter Jr., inducing a key inning-ending double play.
Harris was then tasked with closing things out in the ninth, protecting a two-run lead. William Contreras led off the ninth with a sharp single over a leaping Max Muncy at third, then walked Jake Bauers.
With a 2-1 count to lefty masher Andrew Vaughn, Brewers manager Pat Murphy made a change on the bases, putting in Blake Perkins to run for Bauers at first. On the very next pitch, Vaughn doubled to left, tying the game at 10-10. If Murphy had waited one more pitch, perhaps the A's sneak out with a win in regulation.
In the top of the 10th inning, Lawrence Butler caught a ball that looked to be in foul territory with no shot at throwing the runner from third out at home. Taking the out is acceptable in that scenario. But then he threw it to first base, allowing the runner from first to advance to second. That led to the A's walking the next batter, and with runners on first and second, William Contreras drilled a three-run shot. When the A's tied things up at 14 in the bottom of the inning, that extra run loomed large.
The A's bats added a full run to Milwaukee starter Kyle Harrison's ERA, taking it from 1.57 to 2.72. Tyler Soderstrom, Zack Gelof, Nick Kurtz and Jonah Heim would add homers of their own as the A's offense began to wake up, hanging 14 runs on the Milwaukee Brewers.
Soderstrom notched two home runs and a ninth-inning single, all against left-handers. Kurtz also notched a pair of home runs, including the dramatic two-run shot in the 10th that brought the A's within a run. Jonah Heim came in as a pinch-hitter in the 10th, and tied the game with a homer of his own.
While the slugging was the story of the game, with the two clubs combining for 29 runs and 34 hits, the defensive duo of Zack Gelof at second and Alika Williams at shortstop put together a clinic all night long, keeping the A's in front with some sharp glove work and a pair of key double plays.
That was put into clearer focus in the 12th inning with Jeff McNeil at second after a late defensive shuffle. With the runner charging home from third, an errant throw from McNeil allowed Milwaukee to re-take the lead, 15-14. It was a tough play, but one that it appeared as though Gelof could have made given how he was flashing the leather on Monday.
A's starter Jeffrey Springs continued to struggle with the long ball, as Milwaukee touched him up for two homers and five earned runs in five innings. That type of performance is completely understandable with the dry heat and added elevation at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Springs has given up nine home runs in his past five starts, and on Monday night he was regularly missing above the zone.
Former A's reliever Joel Kuhnel made his debut with his new club after being traded to the Brewers for cash over the weekend, and he came out pumping fastballs that regularly touched 99 miles per hour.
Kurtz took Kuhnel's hardest pitch, a 100.5 mph fastball, over the fence in left. He averaged 98.9 mph against his former team, while his season average had been 94.3. The jump likely reflects some combination of adrenaline, a potentially hot radar gun, and the Brewers already working their pitching development magic — something they've done repeatedly with former A's arms.
In the first of six games in Las Vegas, the A's drew 8,519 fans in a ballpark with a listed capacity of 8,196. Not a bad start. They'll have to work on the finish.
