Scorching Butler just misses cycle, but adds an outfield assist

OAKLAND -- Lawrence Butler did his best to abate the excitement that was buzzing throughout the Coliseum as he made his way from the A’s on-deck circle to the batter’s box in the eighth inning Tuesday night.

“I was actually nervous walking up to the plate,” Butler said after the A’s 8-2 victory over the Astros. “I was trying my hardest not to smile. The crowd got loud.”

Butler had a date with destiny. After roping a triple in the first inning, launching a 411-foot solo home run in the third and doubling in the sixth, the A’s right fielder needed a single to complete the 18th cycle in franchise history and first since Mark Ellis in 2007.

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Standing in against Astros reliever Rafael Montero, Butler watched two pitches go by for balls before fouling off a high fastball in the zone. That 2-1 heater was his best chance, as Montero followed with two more fastballs that were too far inside for a five-pitch walk.

“He gave me a pitch to hit,” Butler said. “I just missed it, so I can’t be too mad. A walk is a walk. I got on base for the team, so I’m satisfied.”

Denied a chance to make history, Butler instead settled for a 3-for-4 night. It was his sixth consecutive multihit contest, matching the longest such streak by an A’s right fielder (while playing right field all six games) since Jose Canseco in 1988.

Butler continued what is a scorching July. He is now hitting .417 (25-for-60) this month, with eight home runs, four doubles, two triples and a Major League-leading 24 RBIs in his 17 games. The red-hot stretch has boosted Butler’s overall batting average from the lowly .179 it sat at on July 1 up to .253, while his OPS has jumped from .529 to .803 over that period.

“I think it’s probably one of the best stretches in baseball right now,” said manager Mark Kotsay, noting that Butler was named American League Player of the Week heading into the All-Star break. “He’s maybe on his way to having a type of July that can be recognized, as well. … This kid just has the momentum right now. This is the type of baseball I thought he was capable of playing. Now, we’re starting to see it every day.”

Butler’s success can be directly linked to an adjustment he made on the recommendation of A’s director of hitting Darren Bush prior to a game in Arizona against the D-backs on June 30. The fix involved a few mechanical tweaks, the main one being to keep his head movement under control at the plate, which helped him see the ball longer and recognize pitches better.

A few weeks later, the 24-year-old is enjoying by far his most successful run as a big leaguer as one of MLB’s most productive hitters in July. This is the supremely talented player who ascended through the A’s Minor League system and ranked as high as their No. 4 prospect before graduating off the club’s Top 30 Prospects list last season.

Butler’s special tools go beyond hitting. Though he flirted with a cycle on Tuesday, his defense may have been the most impressive aspect of his game.

With Houston threatening to take an early lead in the first with two runners on and one out, Butler reeled in a flyout by Yainer Diaz for the second out. Challenged by Alex Bregman, who was tagging up at third base, Butler proceeded to fire a 90 mph seed to catcher Shea Langeliers to nab Bregman for an inning-ending double play to keep the game scoreless.

“JJ [Bleday] was in my ear telling me, ‘Hose him, hose him, hose him,’” Butler said. “I let it go and I got him out, so it was pretty cool. That kind of set the tone for the rest of the game. If I don’t make that play, who knows how the rest of the game goes?”

Butler is only one piece of a surging A’s offense that leads the Majors this month in OPS (.883), slugging (.529) and runs (122). That hot hitting has led to an 11-6 record for July, putting Oakland in strong position for its first winning month since July 2022.

“It shows everybody in this room what we’re capable of,” said designated hitter Brent Rooker, who slugged his 23rd homer as one of five long balls by the A’s on Tuesday. “It’s exciting to know that the group we currently have in here is capable of this kind of production. …

“We’re doing this against teams who are going to be playing postseason baseball. We’re proving to ourselves that we can go out and beat those teams.”