Willi Castro has never been viewed as having a power bat over his seven big league seasons, but he’s suddenly displaying plenty of strength.
Castro has belted two homers in a game twice in the past five contests, and he’ll look to provide the Minnesota Twins with another boost when they face the Athletics on Wednesday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Castro hit two homers on Tuesday when Minnesota rolled up 10 runs against the Athletics for the second straight night to open the four-game series. He also smacked two home runs last Friday against the Seattle Mariners.
The mini-splurge gives Castro six homers this season. The switch-hitter said he recently made some adjustments at the plate.
“I don’t really look for a pitch,” Castro said. “They say just look for a fastball and react to the other stuff. I’m ready for anything. … I got really good swings, and you have to keep it working.”
Castro’s career best for homers is 12, that total coming last season when he made the American League All-Star team for the first time. He has 51 in his career.
Castro’s two homers against Seattle were from the left side. On Tuesday, his blasts were from the right side — solo shots in the fourth and sixth innings of the 10-3 victory.
“He’s looked really good at the plate from both sides,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Sometimes you need someone to jump start you, and (Tuesday) it was Willi Castro. He was a spark plug.”
Another encouraging sign for the Twins was Royce Lewis broke an 0-for-32 drought with a two-run double. It was Lewis’ first hit since May 19 against the Cleveland Guardians.
“That was a really important swing for us in the game — for the team and also a real important swing for him,” Baldelli said. “… You could see it in his face. He looked pleased, and he should be.”
The Athletics have dropped eight straight games and 19 of their past 20.
The Athletics led 2-1 through five innings Tuesday before the Twins scored four times in both the sixth and seventh innings to pull away. Trevor Larnach also homered for Minnesota.
The Athletics have allowed 94 homers this season.
“We lead the (majors) in giving up homers,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “I think that’s something we really need to focus on and get the baseball down in the bottom third of the zone.”
Lawrence Butler has reached base seven times in the series for the Athletics. He is 4-for-7 with a homer, three doubles, three RBIs and three walks.
Jacob Wilson, who is third in the majors with a .355 batting average, sat out Tuesday’s game after injuring his neck and exiting Monday’s game. He said he will be back in the lineup Wednesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Wilson was named American League Rookie of the Month for May. He batted .368 with four homers and 16 RBIs during the month.
“Obviously, we’re going through a little hump in our season right now,” Wilson said of the team’s tough stretch. “It can turn at any point with this team. I’m very confident that we have a good overall team.”
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs (5-4, 4.72 ERA) is expected to be part of the Athletics’ pitching plan on Wednesday. Springs, 32, is winless over his last three starts and was torched for six runs and six hits over two-plus innings in his last turn, against Toronto on Friday. He walked a season-worst six and struck out two.
Springs is 2-0 with an 0.73 ERA in three appearances (two starts) against the Twins.
Right-hander Zebby Matthews (0-1, 6.43) will make his fourth start of the season for the Twins.
Matthews, 25, received a no-decision against the Seattle Mariners last Friday when he gave up four runs and six hits over a career-long seven innings. He served up two homers.
–Field Level Media
