Nick Kurtz Is Hitting .235 and Leading All of Baseball in Walks, and Nobody's Talking About It

The Athletics' reigning American League Rookie of the Year is threading a strange needle right now. Nick Kurtz came into this season after crushing it as a freshman: .290 average, 36 homers, 86 RBIs, and 64 extra-base hits total. Now he's sitting at .235 through 21 games, his power stroke feeling more inconsistent than a Seattle spring. But here's the thing that's actually wild: he's got 23 walks, leading the entire majors.

Saturday night against the White Sox, Kurtz showed exactly what he can still do. His two-run shot off reliever Jordan Leasure in the seventh inning tied the game at 6 and kept Oakland alive. The A's erased an early 5-0 hole and eventually won it 7-6 in 11 innings on Max Muncy's sacrifice fly. That blast was Kurtz's second of the season, and it mattered in a game that came down to one swing.

The Patience Is Real, Even When the Power Isn't

Kurtz has 19 hits on the year, but he's working counts like a veteran. He knows what he is: a streaky power hitter. "It's baseball. It's not always going to happen," he told reporters after Saturday's win. "Especially for me. I feel like I'm a streaky power hitter, so when the times come where you put them all together, they'll come together."

The A's and White Sox split the first two games of their series in West Sacramento, with both teams leaning hard on their bats. Chicago homered four times in those first two contests, Oakland twice. On Friday, the White Sox roughed up the A's 9-2, with Munetaka Murakami breaking it open with a grand slam in the seventh. But Saturday's 11-inning thriller showed this series still has teeth.

The Bullpen Bloodbath Sets Up a Big Sunday

Both teams' relief corps got absolutely worked. On Friday, Oakland's bullpen threw 4 1/3 innings after starter Luis Severino exited in the sixth. Saturday got worse, with Chicago using six relievers after Erick Fedde departed in the fifth. That means fresh arms are thin heading into the series finale.

Oakland goes with left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-0, 1.46 ERA) as the starter. Springs is in his fourth team in nine seasons and is 1-1 with a 5.54 ERA in four career starts against Chicago. The White Sox counter with rookie left-hander Noah Schultz (0-1, 6.23 ERA), who makes his second career start. Schultz took the loss in his debut against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings of an 8-5 game. He acknowledged "definitely nerves in the first inning" but bounced back strong. "A lot of stuff to build off of," he said. "A lot of things I was proud of, a lot of things I need to work on this week."

Chicago's hunting their first series win since sweeping Toronto back on April 3-5. Oakland wants to keep climbing. Sunday at Sutter Health Park should tell you everything about where both teams are headed.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.