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Athletics' Zack Gelof loses hit streak at 24 games after getting spiked on his right hand

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof's 24-game hitting streak came to a quick and painful end Tuesday night.

Gelof flied out to right as the leadoff hitter in the Athletics’ 3-1 loss to San Francisco. In the second inning, the Giants’ Matt Chapman hit a liner off the left-field wall to bring home Willy Adames and give San Francisco a 2-0 lead.

Chapman tried for a double, but the throw from Tyler Soderstrom in left field to Gelof was in time to nail Chapman. But Chapman inadvertently stepped on Gelof’s right hand as the second baseman was applying the tag with his glove hand.

Gelof quickly left the field in obvious pain — ending his night and his streak.

He was unavailable for comment after the game, but manager Mark Kotsay said X-rays were negative and Gelof did not need stitches.

Gelof’s hitting streak matched the longest in the majors in the past two seasons, joining Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas. It’s also the seventh longest in Athletics franchise history and the second longest since the club moved to California in 1968. Jason Giambi had a 25-game hitting streak in 1997.

Gelof also had his on-base streak of 27 games end, along with a streak of scoring in 13 consecutive games.

The Athletics selected Gelof from the University of Virginia in the second round of the 2021 draft. He had a strong rookie season in 2023, batting .267 with 14 homers in 69 games. He struggled the next two seasons, hitting .211 with 188 strikeouts in 2024 and batting .174 last year, when injuries limited him to 30 games.

Gelof is hitting .282 this season. Before Tuesday’s game, Kotsay said one reason for Gelof’s resurgence was a change in his bat-angle approach to the baseball.

“We’re seeing a player that resembles the guy that came up and really excited us about (his) future,” Kotsay said. “The confidence that he has continues to grow and you see it out there on the baseball field.”

Also on Tuesday, Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, ending a 22-game on-base streak.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Robbie Ray limits Athletics to an unearned run and 2 hits in 8 innings as Giants win 3-1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Robbie Ray held the Athletics to an unearned run and two hits in eight innings to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 victory Tuesday night.

Ray (6-6) struck out six and walked four. In his previous outing, the left-hander allowed two hits in 6 1/3 shutout innings in a 7-2 win at Atlanta last Wednesday.

Caleb Kilian worked a scoreless ninth in this one for his fifth save. He struck out Henry Bolte with two runners on to end the game.

Jung Hoo Lee tagged Aaron Civale (5-4) for a solo homer in the second inning for the game’s first run. It was Lee’s fifth HR of the season.

After Willy Adames doubled, Matt Chapman hit a drive off the left-field wall. Adames scored to make it 2-0, but the throw from Tyler Soderstrom to second baseman Zack Gelof nailed Chapman trying for a double.

Chapman accidentally spiked Gelof’s right hand as Gelof was making the tag with his glove hand. That forced Gelof to leave the game with a laceration and contusion, and his hitting streak ended at 24 games.

He had flied to right to open the game in his lone at-bat Tuesday. Gelof also had scored a run in 13 consecutive games.

The A’s got an unearned run off Ray in the third. It remained a 2-1 game until Rafael Devers singled home Bryce Eldridge with one out in the seventh to give the Giants a 3-1 edge.

Casey Schmitt singled in that seventh-inning rally. Schmitt went 2 for 4, making it his seventh straight multi-hit game. That’s the Giants’ longest such streak since Marco Scutaro’s seven-gamer in 2013.

Up next

Athletics rookie LHP Gage Jump (3-1, 2.37 ERA) faces Giants RHP Tyler Mahle (1-7, 6.04) on Wednesday night. Mahle has been on the injured list for nearly a month because of a strained left hamstring.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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