Khris Davis hits RBI double on first pitch back in A’s uniform
Perhaps it’s appropriate that some Matt-on-Matt crime led to Khris Davis’ first 2021 plate appearance with the A’s.
In the top of the fourth inning on Thursday in Detroit, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman hit back-to-back singles to drive Tigers starter Matt Manning out of the game. The A’s held a 7-0 run lead and Detroit went to southpaw Miguel Del Pozo.
Even though switch-hitting Jed Lowrie hit a three-run dinger earlier in the game, he was lifted in favor of the right-handed hitting Davis.
It looked a bit weird to see Davis wearing No. 11 as he dug his cleats into the box, but he looked at home in those kelly green and bright yellow stirrup stripes with the kelly green jersey. Then he promptly stroked a 106.6 mph rocket down the left-field line, before the ball got lodged in the fence for a ground-rule double.
Khris Davis hits an RBI double to move the Matts on the first pitch he sees back in an A’s uniform 👏 pic.twitter.com/9zzpmqqU4q
— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) September 2, 2021
Chapman is partly responsible for getting Davis back to Oakland, as he called up KD and told him to get off the couch and sign a minor league deal during his near two-month hiatus after the Texas Rangers designated him for assignment on June 8. Davis annihilated the ball for two weeks with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators before his call up on Wednesday, when rosters expanded to 28.
If the ball doesn’t get stuck underneath the fence, Chapman probably scores and they get to share a cool baseball memory. Alas, former A’s outfielder Robbie Grossman threw up his arms and umps ruled the ball was obstructed.
Still, Davis kept motoring around the bases and went all the way home, just in case. That woulda been wild.
As Davis made his way back to second base following the ruling, third base umpire Larry Vanover tossed the ball to a fan down the left field line. Hopefully they track down that ball as a nice memento of KD’s comeback.
Davis also added a single in the top of the ninth.
Khris Davis had himself a multi-hit day off the bench pic.twitter.com/aMTa14wGpV
— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) September 2, 2021
If Davis can come anywhere close to production in 2016-19 with the A’s — to say nothing of the past two weeks in AAA — he would be a massive late-season acquisition. Davis has already helped boost morale in the clubhouse with this presence (lol @ this pic with Tony Kemp) and could add some much-needed depth to the lineup.
Instead of using Sean Murphy or Yan Gomes as a designated hitter, why not Davis?
When projecting Davis’ first start, perhaps it will be in Sunday’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, when southpaw Robbie Ray could take the mound.
Khris Davis finished the day 2-for-3 with a 2B, RBI and a bunch of high fives from the A’s pic.twitter.com/CaGj7KuY3J
— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) September 2, 2021
