Pitcher Jacob Lopez throws six strong innings in Athletics' 5-2 win over Rangers
The "A's Cast" crew highlight the play of pitcher Jacob Lopez following the Athletics' 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday at Sutter Health Park.
Pitcher Jacob Lopez throws six strong innings in Athletics' 5-2 win over Rangers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
All right, Simply the Best, and it is brought to you by Northwest Exteriors.
This is the story of the game.
This is one of the best stories going right now.
It's been a rough season.
Wow.
But by the way, some guy has turned it around.
Last seven starts, a 2.36 earned run average.
As we're talking about looking for pitching in 2027, and you know Gage Jump is talented, you know JT Ginn is really emerging as the guy.
Well, this lefty, Bob, has pitched as well as anybody in baseball the last six, seven starts.
If you can build your staff around homegrown starters, and then you go out and maybe spend some money on a bullpen, that's the way to do it.
And, you know, two months ago, or a month ago, we're not looking at that.
Now all of a sudden you have three guys you really feel like- Yeah you know, in the future that you, you can build on, and then go spend some money somewhere else.
Now, we saw this last year with him, Steve.
Yeah.
The key is, how does he keep this?
How, how do you keep this edge?
How do you keep this going into the off-season, into next season?
'Cause we saw him get on a heater last year.
Right.
We, we need to keep him here.
Right.
Yeah, he's got, I think, a lot of success in whether it's a hitting or pitching is a feeling.
You gotta keep that feeling, learning how to repeat those mechanics time after time.
Remember, he's a big guy that's a sidewinder, throws across his body, so for him it's probably a little bit harder to keep repeating those.
But he's finding it, and he's feeling it, and if he just keeps in this mode right here, man, he's g- he's gonna win a lot of games in, in the big leagues.
Yeah, as a manager, you wanna have this guy in this mindset.
We can get it all over release point pitches and all that, but for him, the big change has been the mindset.
How do you keep him here?
Well, you, you have to condition your mind that that's who you are.
And, and that's a hard thing to do sometimes in baseball, because, you know, it, it's a tough game.
It'll humble you in a hurry.
But e- every time you have success, and every time you have a negative thought, you have to replace it with a positive thought.
Yes, absolutely.
So you have to condition yourself and talk yourself down.
This is who I am, and when you con- continue to go out and have outings like that, you're gonna be that guy
