In return from IL, Rooker doesn't miss a beat as pinch-hitter

CLEVELAND -- Going on nearly two weeks without facing Major League pitching, it didn’t take long for Brent Rooker to re-acclimate himself.

Reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to the A's 10-2 loss on Friday to the Guardians at Progressive Field, Rooker did not miss a beat in his first game back. The slugger came off the bench and blasted a ninth-inning solo shot off right-hander Scott Barlow for his third homer of the season.

“It was nice to see him jump on a pitch that he can drive,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “We know the power he has. We look forward to having him back.”

The A’s remain within striking distance of their goal of at least a .500 record at 8-12 largely due to solid pitching and defense over the first few weeks of 2024. An offense that has been slumping for the majority of the season -- Oakland’s 58 runs scored are the second-fewest in the Majors -- took an even deeper blow when Rooker departed a three-game series finale in Detroit on April 7 due to a rib issue that ultimately landed him on the IL the following day.

The injury came at an inopportune time for Rooker, who appeared to be turning the corner from his own early-season slump. Through the first two games of that Detroit series, Rooker had gone 4-for-8 and bashed his first two homers, breaking out of a season-opening 2-for-20 skid that saw him strike out 12 times with only one walk.

“I was swinging it well before I went down,” Rooker said. “I was feeling good. It’s frustrating to have to miss some time when you’re in a spot where you’re feeling good.”

The importance of having Rooker in the A’s lineup can’t be understated. Last season, he emerged as their everyday cleanup hitter by putting together an unexpected All-Star campaign in which he led the club with 30 home runs and 69 RBIs.

Kotsay tempered expectations for Rooker to come back and produce from the jump, stating before Friday’s contest that it may “take a minute” for him to find his timing at the plate again after going 11 days without facing live pitching.

But while Rooker did not take any at-bats, he stayed ready during his IL stint through other avenues.

“I got in against the velo machine and stood in on bullpens throughout the week,” Rooker said. “Just to make sure the timing was still there. I was tracking pitches. Between those two things, I felt like I was able to stay ready and where I needed to be.”

His home run swing certainly did not show any signs of rust. Facing Barlow, who had yet to allow a homer through his first nine appearances for Cleveland this season, Rooker took the first two pitches he saw before scorching a 1-1 curveball down and in at an exit velocity of 109.7 and sending it onto Progressive Field’s left-field concourse for a Statcast-projected 421 feet.

“It was nice to come back and pick up where I left off,” Rooker said.

Rooker’s presence in the middle of Oakland’s lineup is a welcomed sight. But he alone will not save a struggling A’s offense, which aside from Abraham Toro’s solo homer to lead off the game was shut down for most of Friday and has now been held to two runs or fewer in 10 of its first 20 games.

Changing that course will require a collaborative improvement, primarily from the hitters expected to provide most of the production such as Zack Gelof, Shea Langeliers, Lawrence Butler and Ryan Noda, all of whom are batting under .200 for the season.

“We’ve got guys up and down the lineup who can contribute and be really, really good,” Rooker said. “We all go through spurts where we’re not swinging like we want to, but every hitter in this room has confidence in each other and faith that each of us is capable of getting the job done. We’re going to keep working and keep grinding. Things will click, and then we’re going to go.”