First base prospect Drew Lugbauer gives Athletics walk-off victory

The Oakland Athletics picked up their first win of the spring schedule with a walk-off victory against the Diamondbacks on Monday afternoon.

First base prospect Drew Lugbauer sealed the deal with a blast into left center, securing a 9-8 victory for the A's.

Lugbauer was a minor league signing this offseason, coming over from the Braves' system. He was never a top prospect there. He struck out nearly 40% of the time between Double and Triple-A in 2023 and the Braves chose to let him walk.

It was the first true offensive effort by the A's this spring as the team scored 9 runs on 10 hits, including home runs by Lugbauer and outfielder Hoy Park.

Park's three-run bomb came in the bottom of the 6th, giving the A's a 8-7 lead. After Diamondbacks' infielder Kevin Newman tied the game on a line drive off A's lefty Easton Lucas in the top of the 9th, Lugbauer came up and ended the game in the bottom half of the inning.

Infielder Nick Allen opened the scoring for the Athletics with a line drive single that scored Aledmys Diaz and Ryan Noda. Outfielder Lawrence Butler notched two hits on the day, both sharply hit line drives.

Rule 5 pick Mitch Spence looked good in his debut. He allowed three hits and one run in two innings pitched, and picked up three strikeouts on the day. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reported that Spence was hitting between 90-95 mph on the radar gun, in line with his numbers from last season.

Righty Zach Jackson looked sharp in his debut as well. He came in and gave up a double to Emmanuel Rivera but got Andres Chapparo on strikes and induced a weak ground ball from D-Backs prospect Kristian Robinson to escape the inning unharmed.

Jackson is expected to be on the opening day roster, working in the middle innings. He's had a strong two seasons in Oakland, pitching to a combined 2.86 ERA in 66 innings between 2022 and 2023. He missed a bunch of time in 2023 with a flexor tendon strain so it's great to see him looking strong early in spring training.

The Athletics return tomorrow for a 12:05pm PST matchup against the Guardians at Goodyear Ballpark. Lefty JP Sears will make his spring debut, while the Guardians will counter with righty Xavion Curry.