JD Davis blasts two home runs but Athletics fall short in loss

The Oakland Athletics made a game of it last night but ultimately fell short, losing to the Cleveland Guardians by a score of 6-4.

The offense looked better than it did last night, plating four runs on eight hits including two home runs by JD Davis.

Davis' homers were both solo shots, coming in the 4th and 6th innings off Guardians' starter Logan Allen. Both were big shots to center field, traveling just over 400 feet.

It was a glimpse of the power that Davis had shown in previous years. His career high was back in 2019 when he hit 22 bombs with the Mets. He also hit 18 in just 144 games with the Giants last year.

With a full slate of playing time, Davis should crack the 20 mark again. He got the start at first base tonight, showing off some positional versatility that should help keep him fresh and give Mark Kotsay some options to build the lineup each night.

Mitch Spence made his major league debut tonight. He pitched three innings, giving up just one run on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts. He looked sharp in the 6th. He got both Estevan Florial and Brayan Rocchio to strike out swinging and his cutter and slider were playing well off each other.

Spence was using the cut fastball up in the zone and was getting whiffs with it in all three innings. His velocity looked good and he could prove to be a useful piece for the Athletics this year if all goes well.

Darell Hernaiz got his first major league start tonight. He went hitless in two plate appearances but did make an outstanding behind the back catch on a popup in foul territory down the third base line. He'll need to sharpen up on the routine defensive plays and work on getting better in the batters box but he should be good in time.

The Athletics are back at it again tonight in the third of four games against the Guardians. Lefty JP Sears will take the mound for the A's while Tanner Bibee will get his first start of the year for Cleveland. First pitch is scheduled for 1:07 pm PST.