Schwindel's first HR, Bassitt derail Rangers

OAKLAND -- Frank Schwindel knew it had the distance, he just wasn’t sure it would stay fair. Standing at home plate after scorching a ball 108 mph off the bat, he left his bat pointing up in the air from his follow-through, almost as if that was helping him control its direction.

Ruled a homer as it landed into the Coliseum’s second deck beyond left field, Schwindel rounded the bases and returned to home plate with uncertainty as the umpires went to the monitors for a replay review. Once the call was confirmed, Schwindel, who was anxiously awaiting the decision on the top step of the A’s dugout, threw both of his fists up in the air with a look of relief on his face. After grinding through 832 Minor League games with only a cup of coffee in the Majors with the Royals over the past eight years, Schwindel finally had his first big league home run.

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“Just a rollercoaster of emotions right there,” Schwindel said. “I got a good pitch to hit, put a good swing on it and then had to stand there. I normally don’t watch them, but I stood there to make sure it hit the seats in fair territory and ran around the bases to celebrate with the guys. Once I saw the home run sign, I was feeling pretty good.”

Schwindel turned on a 91.7 mph fastball left over the middle of the plate from Texas left-hander Kolby Allard in a 1-0 count and drilled it a projected 395 feet, per Statcast. The two-run shot capped a three-run second inning for the A’s, which was plenty of support for Chris Bassitt, who turned in another superb outing in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the Rangers.

Celebrating his 29th birthday with his callup to Oakland on Tuesday, Schwindel could not have made a better first impression. Homering in his first game with the A’s, Schwindel became the first player to hit a home run in his first career at-bat with the club since Terry Steinbach, who launched a solo homer against the Indians in his first at-bat on Sept. 12, 1986.

“A little flair for the dramatic there,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “You only see a few balls go into the upper deck. He’s off to a good start. I’ve said often that you really feel like part of the team when you get a big hit early. He’s probably in a pretty good mood right now.”

Bassitt, who tossed seven scoreless innings with just four hits allowed and seven strikeouts to improve to 9-0 over his last 15 starts, wasn’t surprised to see Schwindel’s home run land where it did. Though he couldn’t recall much of any interactions with Schwindel during Spring Training, the right-hander did remember the designated hitter’s crack of the bat having a distinct sound during batting practices.

“The ball sounding off his bat is different than most people,” Bassitt said. “He’s got a lot of power. He obviously displayed that in his first at-bat. He’s a guy that, if you make a mistake, he’s going to make you pay for it.”

Whatever level he’s played at, Schwindel’s power has always been evident. Over eight Minor League seasons, he’s slugged 134 home runs. At the time of his callup on Tuesday, his 16 homers at Triple-A were tied with Angels top prospect Jo Adell and Twins prospect Jose Miranda for most among Minor League hitters.

One game into his A’s career, Schwindel’s 1-for-2 night showed the value he could bring to the club. At a time when the A’s are down a couple of their top right-handed-hitting options in Mark Canha and Stephen Piscotty, both of whom are on the 10-day injured list, Schwindel is expected to get more chances to turn his temporary big league stay into a more permanent one.

“I had a couple of at-bats in 2019 and have been doing everything I can to try and get another chance up here,” Schwindel said. “It was just a sigh of relief. First one in the books and a 3-0 lead at the time, nothing felt better.”

The recipient of the golden trident -- Oakland’s tradition of a player of the game award this season -- and a postgame Gatorade bath, courtesy of Tony Kemp, Schwindel was having the perfect night. His only flaw came inside the A’s clubhouse, where he was brought to the center of the room to take the traditional “player of the game” free throw shot on a miniature hoop above one of the lockers.

“Unfortunately, I missed and got booed,” Schwindel said. “But it was an unbelievable day. I’ll take a missed free throw for a win and a homer any day.”