Athletics' Kyle McCann: Records timely knock Saturday
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-2 with an RBI single in a loss to the Tigers on Saturday.
McCann drew one of his infrequent starts behind the plate and drove home the Athletics' only run with a fifth-inning single that plated Zack Gelof. The rookie had last accounted for an RBI on July 28, and he's sporting a .248 average and .705 OPS over his modest 140 plate appearances this season.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Draws rare start Thursday
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McCann went 1-for-5 in a loss to the Reds on Thursday.
Shea Langeliers got a rare day off Thursday, affording McCann his first start since Aug. 21. The rookie backstop collected his first hit since July 28, but he also struck out three times. McCann has a .254/.338/.390 slash line across 133 plate appearances this season.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Checking into starting nine Sunday
Rotowire
McCann will start at catcher and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.
With top backstop Shea Langeliers getting a breather for the series finale, McCann will step in behind the dish Sunday, catching for starting pitcher JP Sears. McCann has appeared in four games since the All-Star break, going 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Belts pinch-hit homer Saturday
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McCann entered Saturday's win over the Orioles as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and hit a two-run home run in his one plate appearance.
McCann's blast ironically came off namesake and fellow backstop James McCann, who was in as a reliever at that point with the Orioles down 17-6. McCann's homer plated Max Schuemann with the final runs of the night for the Athletics and served as his first time leaving the yard since May 7, a span of 21 games for the occasional fill-in catcher. The rookie has been impressive at the plate overall during his first taste of big-league action this season, with Saturday's production pushing his slash line to a stellar .291/.390/.465 across 100 plate appearances.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: On base three times Wednesday
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McCann went 1-for-2 with two walks in a loss to the Angels on Wednesday.
McCann made one of his relatively infrequent appearances in the starting nine and once again contributed, qualifying as the only Athletics batter to reach safely on three occasions. However, he was part of an unfortunate sequence in the second inning, when he stumbled and failed to touch home plate when attempting to score and was subsequently called out due to Armando Alvarez making contact with him in an attempt to steer McCann back to the plate. That gaffe notwithstanding, the rookie backstop has now reached safely in four consecutive games dating back to June 16, and he sports a .278 average and .804 OPS across 91 plate appearances (30 games) this season.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Timely knock in rare start
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-4 with an RBI single during a loss to the Twins in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday.
The rookie backstop drew a rare start and was able to tack on the final run of the matinee game for the Athletics with his ninth-inning single. McCann boasts an impressive .278/.358/.444 slash line across his first 81 career plate appearances, but Shea Langeliers has been an ironman behind the dish and is garnering the bulk of playing time at McCann's expense.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Delivers as pinch hitter Saturday
Rotowire
McCann entered Saturday's loss to the Royals as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and singled in his only plate appearance.
McCann continues to see occasional starts behind the dish, but he'd gone a combined 1-for-10 with six strikeouts in the most recent three prior to Saturday's pinch-hit appearance. The rookie will continue to spell Shea Langeliers on occasion, and despite the recent skid, he still carries a .333 average and .975 OPS over 47 plate appearances.
McCann went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run during Sunday's 7-6 win over the Orioles.
McCann's second career dinger came off Baltimore closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth and served as the game-winner. The backup catcher has not seen many opportunities this season, accumulating only 16 at-bats thus far, but has collected two hits and a homer in two of his last three starts.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Swats first career home run
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McCann went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Cardinals.
McCann plated the only two runs of the evening for the Athletics. He gave them an early lead with an RBI single in the second and then put them back in front in the fifth with a blast to right against Lance Lynn. McCann has appeared in just five games so far this season as the team's backup catcher and all three of his hits have come in his last six at-bats.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: On base twice in debut
Rotowire
McCann started at catcher in his major-league debut Saturday against the Guardians, going 0-for-2 with a bases-loaded walk, another base on balls and a run in the 12-3 loss.
McCann's patience with the bases loaded in the third inning paid off, as his free pass brought home Zack Gelof to snap a 2-2 tie and give Oakland what would be its final run of the day. The rookie backstop will need to curb his bloated strikeout rate significantly to have long-term success against big-league arms, but he did combine those poor contact rates in the minors with double-digit walk rates in all but his 2023 stint at Triple-A Las Vegas (9.8 percent). McCann is slated to spell Shea Langeliers behind the dish on occasion for the foreseeable future after beating out Carlos Perez for the No. 2 job this spring.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Will make MLB debut Saturday
Rotowire
McCann will start at catcher and bat seventh in Saturday's game against the Guardians.
McCann won the No. 2 catcher job behind Shea Langeliers after the Athletics optioned Tyler Soderstrom to Triple-A Las Vegas. While McCann struggled in spring training, he finished the 2023 season slashing .270/.351/.474 with 17 home runs and 57 RBI over 388 plate appearances in Triple-A. He'll get his first taste of major-league action against Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee.