Andrus' awakening: veteran swinging hot bat

In the words of Mitch Moreland, it was only a matter of time before Elvis Andrus went back to playing like Elvis Andrus.

Following his uncharacteristically freezing-cold start to the season, Andrus has been one of the A’s more consistent hitters over the last month. Since May 7, Andrus is slashing .314/.360/.414 with a wRC+ of 124, looking the part of someone who’s been a two-time All-Star.

Andrus’ awakening at the plate can best be summarized with his plate appearance in the third inning of Oakland’s 6-0 win over the Mariners on Wednesday, arguably his best of the season. With two outs and no one on, Andrus grinded out a 13-pitch at-bat against Seattle's Chris Flexen, one that ended with the veteran infielder smacking a double to set the stage for a five-run inning. Given how well Sean Manaea pitched that night, Andrus’ double was, in a way, the play that flipped the game.

“I possibly could’ve been the least-worried about Elvis from the beginning,” Moreland said. “I’ve just seen him for so long. He just finds ways to impact the game.”

So, what’s fueled the shortstop's recent hot streak? It’s actually quite simple: Andrus is swinging at better pitches and making better contact.

Andrus has been pickier at the plate over the last several weeks. He’s not just swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone, but fewer pitches in general. With that more selective approach, Andrus has been swinging at pitches he can drive, not just leading to more contact, but better contact.

The numbers below illustrate how different Andrus has been in recent weeks:

Andrus’ awakening has coincided with the A’s, as a whole, heating up as spring turns to summer. Since the beginning of May, Oakland has the fourth-best wRC+ (115) in the league. That’s not all entirely due to Andrus, of course -- Matt Olson and Mark Canha may very well be hitting their way to the All-Star Game in July -- but the shortstop has provided more juice to an already menacing lineup.

“That’s the one thing about Elvis; he’s never going to change. He’s going to have a smile on his face. He’s going to be joking. He’s going to be keeping everything loose. That’s just who he is," said Moreland, who had been Andrus' teammate for seven years in Texas before joining forces again this season in Oakland.

"The game part of it, he’s played long enough and he knows that part’s going to come, he’s going to get on a roll and I think we’re seeing both sides of it now," Moreland continued. "He’s still having fun every day in the clubhouse and with the guys, but he’s getting back to his game on the field.”

Worth noting
Third baseman Matt Chapman took positive steps forward in the final two games of Oakland’s three-game set against Seattle. On Wednesday, Chapman reached base three times for the first time since May 16, notching two hits and a walk. Chapman didn't have a hit on Tuesday, but struck two balls at 109.1 mph and 108.6 mph, the hardest and third-hardest hit balls he’s struck all season.

Olson comes into Friday having reached base multiple times in each of his last four games.

Worth quoting
“I do. I mean, if I ran him (innings) seven through nine, or something like that, I wouldn’t hesitate in a second. We do have guys that we target for that a little bit more, but if somebody was not available and his pitch count was under control and he pitched a couple innings before that, I wouldn’t hesitate at all.” -- Manager Bob Melvin on potentially using Jesús Luzardo as a closer.