Shea Langeliers hit two home runs, including a huge solo shot that went over the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field, leading the Oakland Athletics to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
This was Langeliers’ third game of the season with multiple home runs and the fifth of his career, bringing his season total to 28, which is a personal best.
“The homers kind of come in bunches,” Langeliers said, finishing the game with three RBIs. “It’s not just a linear thing. You go through those stretches where you see the ball really well, you’re on everything, and sometimes it seems like you don’t even see the ball.”
Lawrence Butler also hit a home run for Oakland, helping the team end a three-game losing streak that included back-to-back losses to the MLB’s worst team, the White Sox.
Ian Happ hit two solo home runs for the Cubs (77-74), who are now six games behind the New York Mets for the last NL wild card with 11 games remaining.
Happ’s 25th home run, a one-out shot to left field off All-Star closer Mason Miller, brought Chicago within one run in the ninth inning. However, Miller got Dansby Swanson to ground out to first and then struck out Seiya Suzuki to earn his 26th save.
“It almost kind of forces you to rise to the occasion,” Miller said. “You obviously want to quiet an away crowd, but the ninth inning usually is the most exciting part of the game.”
The Cubs noted that Happ’s homer in the ninth was the fastest pitch hit for a home run since Statcast began tracking data in 2015.
“I was trying to go up and missed down,” Miller said. “So I could kind of look at it that way, that I missed my spot, but going opposite field, you tip your hat.”
Happ mentioned that he was just focused on making contact and not swinging late.
“You’re trying so hard to be on time for that fastball; it makes the other stuff play up,” Happ said. “That’s the difference. He’s throwing an 88-mile-an-hour slider, and that’s a 15-mile-an-hour difference. That’s crazy.”
