Mark Kotsay praises Gage Jump's ‘great night' in Athletics' win vs. Twins
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay speaks to reporters after his team's 4-2 win against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday at Sutter Health Park.
Mark Kotsay praises Gage Jump's 'great night' in Athletics' win vs. Twins originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
Coming off, not so great outings last time out to bounce back tonight.
What'd you think of his outing overall?
Yeah, tonight, I mean, from, it seemed like from pitch one, everything was in sync.
His mechanics looked great.
You know, I think he, he, made a conscious effort to stay online and, and pound the zone.
Probably I would say, I don't want to say it was his best outing, but it was definitely one of the top, you know, for him to get into the seventh inning, only give up a, an infield single really, to that point.
So, you know, 90, 94, 95 pitches into the seventh, I thought i- it was a great night for him.
We've talked about the bullpen a lot.
What'd you think tonight just of the way kind of things worked out there with Harris, then going to Medina and Alvarado and the job that they did?
Yeah, you know, those three, like we talked about pregame, they're the guys that are gonna pitch in those up games.
And, you know, I think there's obviously, tonight using Hogan in the seventh, it was m- more or less game on the line in my opinion to shut that inning down, and it was a safe situation really.
So, you know, I think him and Alvarado, and, and Medina all threw the ball really well tonight and, gave us a, you know, gave us a win.
Yes, you always talk about the importance about, getting runs with two outs and also on adding on.
Both of those situation happened today because the, the four runs were all with two outs.
Yeah.
And, by the way, Cortes, one and two.
And then, adding on because those two runs you add on, could you talk about all of that sc- scenario of the offense?
Yeah, I thought, you know, obviously the Cortes homer was big to give us a lead.
We talk a lot about wanting to play with the lead and, and then, you know, giving some margin for error with the add-on runs.
I think that at-bat by Butler, I believe it was a two-strike pitch and, that was called a ball, to give him a chance to, to get on base and, and then put a couple of ba- bats behind him, like you're talking about.
So offensively we did a d- a nice job tonight.
There was maybe one play defensively, you know, in that seventh inning, obviously Gage gets a ground ball.
On Clemens, he beats it out by, you know, a, to replay a half step maybe.
If that double play is turned, there's a good chance that Gage finishes the seventh.
And then Hogan's, you know, first batter, the pop-up down the right field line.
So there were some things that went against us.
Bolty's ball, the triple, the ball rolled on top of the padding.
If it lodges behind the padding and the netting, it's, it's another run.
So, you know, we talk sometimes about luck, and I didn't feel like we had luck tonight, but we won the game.
Yeah.
Could you please talk about that play where they had about five infielders looking for the little fly ball and the ball call, and that's the first hit of the game right away.
Oh, you're counting the pitcher in the five?
Yeah.
Pitcher, pitcher doesn't need to be involved- Yes, of course.
Of course in that play.
But yes.
But he was the first one looking.
Zach called it, Tommy called him off.
So obviously there's a lack of communication there.
Tommy, if he's gonna make that call, needs to get to the baseball.
You know, he was pretty upset by, his decision, as he should be.
But, that'll be cleaned up.
You talked a little bit pregame about Tommy White and, like, hi- him coming into his own and that the power will come eventually, but that RBI double there for him and it also added on as well.
But can you just talk about that for him as a young player and how important that is for his growth?
Yeah, I mean, big, big at-bat for Tommy there.
You know, drive the baseball.
He's, he's hit that right center field wall a few times.
He's got one over it, which is a good sign because as young hitters, when you can control that offside gap, the pull power will start and it'll happen.
And, I think that's the right progression for Tommy.
What was the argument there with, McNeil?
Was it that he didn't swing, or was there some other technicality you guys were looking at?
Well, I was looking at if I challenged the play, and challenged that it didn't hit him, they would had to rule that the, the ball hit the bat and that it went foul, and then they could rule it was a foul ball.
So, it was my impression that, you know, once the, the play happened, he swung, there wasn't enough to overturn it to where it hit the bat, sh- you know, just the bat and, I didn't want to use the challenge there.
Cotts, talk about impression.
What's b- what's your impression of, Carlos Cortes playing this season?
You know, it's, it's been kind of a, a tale of two seasons for Carlos.
You know, he obviously got off to a great start.
You know, Carlos has been playing, quite a bit this season, which, you know, for him, the role that we were, had him in last year, it wasn't an everyday role, it wasn't a consistent role, but he did a phenomenal job.
So overall, I think Carlos has done a nice job.
He's, he's a, he's a solid player.
Someone we can, you know, you know, utilize in different ways, especially with the core, when the core's back as a, you know, a guy that, that can play as a fourth, fifth outfielder, give great at-bat off the bench.
You know, these last two weeks or so, you can see that his, his at-bats have gotten better.
There's still some things that he can work on to, to be a better pure hitter, all around, but overall, he's still a good piece for us.
