Langeliers sets Oakland record with 8 RBIs in twin bill split

OAKLAND -- JP Sears had a feeling Shea Langeliers wasn’t done quite yet.

Following a career-high five-RBI performance in the A’s 9-4 victory over the Rangers at the Coliseum in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader, Sears predicted more to come from his catcher.

“It’s going to be fun to watch him in Game 2,” said Sears, who earned a win in the first game after allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Sears’ premonition came true.

Starting Game 2 as the designated hitter, Langeliers added another three RBIs in a 12-11 loss. Finishing with a total of eight RBIs, he set the Oakland record (since 1968) for most RBIs in a doubleheader, surpassing the previous mark of seven set by Reggie Jackson on Aug. 24, 1969, vs. Baltimore.

“That’s crazy,” Langeliers said upon learning of his record-breaking feat after the second game. “I saw the ball really well today and thought I put good swings on good pitches to hit. One of those days where I came through and got some RBIs on the board for the team. Thinking back, it was just a wild day.”

Langeliers is forever linked to the Rangers. They're the team he grew up rooting for throughout his childhood in Texas and the team he recorded his first career hit and home run against. And so far in his young career, undoubtedly the team he’s enjoyed his most personal success against.

In 22 career games against the Rangers, Langeliers’ nine home runs and 21 RBIs are his most against any team. Last month, nearly a month to the day on April 9, he crushed three homers against Texas at Globe Life Field to become the second player in A’s franchise history to hit three homers as the starting catcher, joining Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane (May 21, 1925, at St. Louis Browns).

“It’s weird how that seems to keep lining up,” Langeliers said. “I was having a laugh with [Rangers first baseman Nathaniel] Lowe that I’m getting all my hits against the Rangers right now.”

The A’s offense was powered by Langeliers in Oakland’s Game 1 win, which snapped a three-game losing streak. He finished a single shy of the cycle, settling for a 3-for-4 effort highlighted by a go-ahead two-run blast off Michael Lorenzen in the second inning.

Langeliers came to the plate with two outs in the seventh with a chance at completing the 18th cycle in A’s history and first since Mark Ellis in 2007. Battling to a 2-2 count against right-hander Cole Winn, Langeliers ultimately swung through a slider for strike three.

“I was just up there trying to battle,” Langeliers said. “Honestly, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. [Winn] made a good pitch with the slider to finish. But I didn’t even realize it until after the fact.”

Sending a mammoth 454-foot two-run blast over the Coliseum suites in center field in the second inning of Game 2 -- the second-longest homer of his career and his ninth of the season -- Langeliers became the first A’s player to hit a home run in both games of a doubleheader since Matt Stairs, who did it on Sept. 23, 1999, against the Orioles.

Langeliers has worked over the past month to simplify his approach after a slow start at the plate. Including his big day on Wednesday, he’s now 8-for-18 (.444) in his past four games after going 5-for-41 (.122) over his previous 12 games.

“Shea was locked in,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “The offensive performance on the day should be recognized. The day he had is him trusting the process for over a month and believing what he was doing with his hitting coaches. We’re seeing the results right now.”

The A’s mounted a late comeback attempt with four runs in the ninth but ultimately fell short in Game 2, finishing a 10-game homestand against the Pirates, Marlins and Rangers at 6-4. Considering they won the first five games of the homestand, the overall record could be viewed as somewhat of a disappointment.

Still, the A’s remain competitive as a third-place club in the American League West with a record of 18-21. Next up is a 10-game road trip that begins Friday in Seattle against the second-place Mariners and continues through Houston and Kansas City.

“That’s the World Series champions over there,” Kotsay said of the Rangers. “We showed up and gave them everything we can give them. I couldn’t be more proud of the team. The way we fought, there’s just no quit in this group.”