Henry Bolte gave the Athletics a glimpse of the kind of hitter they’ve long believed he could become, and he did it in a way that left no doubt.
The rookie outfielder launched two home runs Wednesday in Arlington, helping power the A’s to a 9-2 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field. It was the first multihomer game of Bolte’s career, and it came during an afternoon when Oakland went deep five times overall.
Bolte got the A’s even in the third inning against Rangers starter Cody Bradford, crushing a Statcast-projected 404-foot, two-run homer to right-center. He was right back at it in the fourth, this time sending another two-run shot the other way to right field.
That second blast may have said even more about the kind of force Bolte can bring. He was late on a 3-2 fastball up in the zone from Bradford and looked almost like he was just trying to spoil the pitch. Instead, the 23-year-old muscled it over the right-field wall, just to the left of the foul pole, for a Statcast-projected 349 feet.
Bolte reached base in five of his six plate appearances, making it an especially loud offensive showing. The power has not always shown up consistently in his first 96 big league games, with just six home runs before Wednesday. But the A’s have seen the raw juice before, from the day they signed him as their 2022 second-round Draft pick and watched him launch balls during batting practice at the Coliseum soon after.
The rest of Bolte’s profile has already been easy to spot. He’s coming off a strong August in which he hit .310 with 19 runs scored and led all Major League rookies with 35 hits.
He’s one of the fastest players in baseball by sprint speed, and he’s been a standout defender in center and right field. With Denzel Clarke back from injury, Bolte figures to get most of his playing time in right over the final month.
The power, though, may be the newest part of the package.
Bolte wasn’t the only young A’s player to make an impact in the series finale. Jacob Lopez handled the pitching side, giving Oakland six solid innings and allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven.
Lopez has been rolling since the All-Star break, and Wednesday only added to that stretch. Over his last nine starts, he has a 2.36 ERA with 60 strikeouts and 18 walks in 49 2/3 innings.
His slider was especially sharp against Texas, even with the leadoff homer he allowed to Ezequiel Duran on the pitch. After that, Lopez collected nine whiffs with the slider and used it to finish off all seven of his strikeouts.
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As Suddenly Have A Bigger Problem Than Another Loss
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Oaklands offense did not help its own cause, finishing just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and leaving 14 on base. Even more concerning for the As was the injury scare involving Tommy White, who hurt himself on a swing in the second inning and exited with low back soreness. In a game already tilted by missed opportunities, losing a first baseman added another layer of discomfort for a club trying to avoid turning one loss into something more costly. [Read more 🡒]