Langeliers' longest career homer can't offset Waldichuk's struggles

ST. PETERSBURG -- Those inside Tropicana Field on Friday night didn’t even have to be watching the action to know Shea Langeliers had just connected on his first home run of 2023. Just the noise made upon contact was plenty.

Turning on a slider from Calvin Faucher in the seventh inning of the A’s 9-5 loss to the Rays, Langeliers cleared the left-field bleachers with a majestic 440-foot blast that left his bat at an exit velocity of 111.6 mph, per Statcast. Faucher didn’t even bother to look back once Langeliers connected, while Randy Arozarena barely moved from his position in left field as he watched the ball crash into the box seats just below the second deck.

“He hit it really good,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “That’s where we need him to be. Locked in. Tonight, he turns on that and drives it out of the ballpark. It’s a good sign from Shea.”

The solo shot was the longest homer and the hardest hit of Langeliers’ young career. Of course, mammoth home runs are nothing new for the catcher. Prior to his arrival to the Majors and graduation from A’s No. 1 prospect status last season, the power Langeliers demonstrated became the stuff of legends down in Triple-A Las Vegas, with his long ball distances reaching as far as 498 feet.

Lauded throughout the Minors for his 60-grade power, Langeliers provided glimpses of his pop as a rookie last season with 17 extra-base hits, including six homers, in 40 games with Oakland. In addition to his excellence behind the plate, the 25-year-old backstop enters his first full big league season expected to provide similar offensive production for an A’s lineup in need of some thump after hitting the fourth-fewest homers (137) in the Majors last year.

After going hitless through his first two games this season, Langeliers is performing like the hitter Oakland expects. Including Friday’s two-hit performance, he’s now 6-for-16 (.375) over his past four games.

“It’s really just about sticking to my approach,” Langeliers said. “Going into the box and trusting that I’m prepared. Feeling confident and ready to go with a plan at the plate, and sticking to it. It’s baseball, so you’re not going to succeed more than you fail. But [if] you put better at-bats together, you’ll get more hits, for sure.”

Despite an encouraging 12-hit performance from the offense on Friday that also included Ryan Noda’s second career homer, the A’s were sunk into an early hole by starter Ken Waldichuk that was too much to overcome.

A theme of command issues that led to a shaky ‘23 debut carried over into Waldichuk’s second start of the season. Oakland’s No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline lasted just three innings, mostly due to a laborious 40-pitch bottom of the second inning in which he issued three walks, including one with the bases loaded, and surrendered a grand slam to Isaac Paredes that increased Tampa Bay’s lead to 6-1.

“He came out the first inning and threw strikes, commanded the baseball and landed the offspeed pitches,” Kotsay said of Waldichuk. “Second inning, he couldn’t land the breaking ball for a strike. He couldn’t command the fastball. Made mistakes when he had to come to the middle of the plate. This team, when you make mistakes in the middle of the plate, they’re going to make you pay for it, and they did.”

Through two starts, Waldichuk has pitched just 8 2/3 innings and allowed 14 runs on 17 hits -- including seven home runs -- and four walks with seven strikeouts.

In the third inning Friday, still feeling out of gas from the stressful prior frame, he gave up two more solo shots.

“Things just kind of snowballed,” Waldichuk said. “I think the outing goes a lot better and I have a lot more energy the inning after if I don’t waste those pitches by putting three guys on base in the second. The biggest thing is command and execution, especially with runners on.”

Paul Blackburn, Oakland’s 2022 All-Star, began a rehab assignment with Single-A Stockton on Friday night. Based on Waldichuk’s performance through two outings, his spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy once Blackburn returns later this month.

The A’s have seen flashes of success from Waldichuk in the past, and it might require a return to the form he showed in parts of ‘22 in order to stick around as a starter.

“Everybody in this clubhouse knows Ken has really good stuff,” Langeliers said. “Eventually, he’s going to start putting good starts together and get on that roll."