A's catcher MacIver gets go-ahead hit, throws out runner to end game in big league debut at age 28
Athletics pitcher Mason Miller points to catcher Willie MacIver after winning a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics pitcher Hogan Harris, left, and catcher Willie MacIver, right, walk to the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics catcher Willie MacIver, left, high-fives pitcher Mason Miller, right, after winning a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics catcher Willie MacIver throws the ball to the pitcher during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics pitcher Mason Miller points to catcher Willie MacIver after winning a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics pitcher Mason Miller points to catcher Willie MacIver after winning a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics pitcher Mason Miller points to catcher Willie MacIver after winning a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics pitcher Hogan Harris, left, and catcher Willie MacIver, right, walk to the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics catcher Willie MacIver, left, high-fives pitcher Mason Miller, right, after winning a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics catcher Willie MacIver throws the ball to the pitcher during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
Athletics pitcher Mason Miller points to catcher Willie MacIver after winning a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Willie MacIver hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning of his major league debut. Minutes later, the 28-year-old catcher threw out a runner trying to steal second for the final out that ended the Athletics' 11-game losing streak.
'I woke up hoping for a Gatorade bath at the end of the game and, man, I've never felt such a good feeling with such cold water,' he said after the A's beat Philadelphia 5-4 on Sunday and stopped the Phillies' nine-game win streak.
Advertisement
MacIver was among five players brought up from the minors on Friday. He started Sunday in place of Shea Langeliers in the day game after a night game.
'This is part of the talk that we had in spring training, it was going to take the whole army that was in the room,' said manager Mark Kotsay, who watched the end from the clubhouse following his first ejection this season.
MacIver, hitting .389 with two homers and 30 RBIs at Triple-A Las Vegas, grounded out in the second and fourth against Jesús Luzardo, then struck out in the sixth.
After Trea Turner homered in the eighth off Hogan Harris for a 4-3 lead, another Friday call-ups sparked the rally.
Advertisement
Logan Davidson walked and scored on Lawrence Butler's triple against Matt Strahm. MacIver fouled off a fastball, then drove a cutter into center field to bring home the go-ahead run.
'I'm always upset about walks,' Strahm said. 'I just feel like I've had too many too close together.'
A day after blowing a ninth-inning lead, Mason Miller allowed a two-out single in the ninth to Alec Bohm. Johan Rojas pinch ran and MacIver, who had been in the minors since 2018, threw to shortstop Jacob Wilson, who tagged the sliding Rojas on an elbow.
'I had family here, friends, teammates, ex-teammates,' MacIver said. 'It's a dream come true. I can't even put it into words.'
Advertisement
Rojas at 29.9 feet per second has the fifth-highest sprint speed in the majors among players with 10 or more opportunities, according to Statcast.
MacIver was selected by Colorado in the ninth round of the 2018 amateur draft from the University of Washington. He played in the 2021 Futures Game with Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodríguez and Spencer Torkelson.
MacIver became a minor league free agent last November and signed a minor league contract with the Athletics a month later.
'I'm so grateful for my family and for my support system,' he said. 'They've been everything to me and I obviously wouldn't be here without them and like I can't thank them enough. ... The fact that they could be here and see my first hit and how that game ended, man, it's awesome.'
Advertisement
Davidson started at first a day after Nick Kurtz left the game because of a left hip issue. He had two hits and two RBIs a day after a forgettable debut.
Davidson entered as a pinch runner for Kurtz in the 10th inning. He was thrown out at the plate, called for obstruction and ended a 9-6 loss by striking out.
'There's a lot of confidence that I have in this kid,' Kotsay said. 'I've invested a lot of time, we've had a lot of conversations through the last two seasons about what it was going to take for him to be a big leaguer and he has not backed down from anything that I've given him and to see the reward come today and just his first start and contributing and having such an impact to the win, was awesome.'
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nets' Cam Thomas wants to be back in Brooklyn amid NBA free-agency
The Brooklyn Nets have an important decision ahead of them as they have to decide if they will be re-signing guard Cam Thomas during this offseason. Thomas is a restricted free-agent this summer so Brooklyn has more leverage when it comes to re-signing Thomas, but it seems like he is maintaining that he wants to come back to the Nets. "I definitely want to be back in Brooklyn. It's definitely home for me being drafted there," Thomas said during an interview with WTKR, a local news station in Chesapeake, Virginia, where Thomas grew up. Thomas will be hosting a community day at River Crest Community Center on Saturday, but before that, he made sure to spoke about how he feels about the next step in his career. Advertisement "You definitely build a bond with a lot of people there so I love being there, but at the same time, you still got to do what's best for you," Thomas continued. After what Thomas has done in his career, especially after the past two seasons, he is definitely looking at a big payday, whether he comes to the Nets or signs with another team in free-agency if Brooklyn doesn't match his initial offer sheet. Thomas, 23, is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 34.9% from three-point land. Thomas had the best season of his four-year career since being the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, but he also did so in just 25 games as he dealt with persistent left hamstring strains. Since Thomas was ruled out in March for the rest of the season, he has reiterated that his intention is to continue playing with the Nets, with the implication being that his coming back has to make sense for him as well. With Brooklyn having by far the most cap space in the league this summer, money shouldn't be an issue so time will tell how much it will cost for Thomas to re-sign. This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Cam Thomas wants to be back in Brooklyn amid NBA free-agency
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Congratulations Are Pouring In For Steve Kerr's Family
Congratulations Are Pouring In For Steve Kerr's Family originally appeared on The Spun. Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors didn't wait long to make changes to their coaching staff. Obviously, the Warriors won't be moving on from Kerr. He's coming off yet another season where he led the franchise to the playoffs. Unfortunately for Golden State, its chances of winning an NBA title were destroyed the moment Steph Curry suffered an injury in the Western Conference semifinals. Advertisement So what changes will be made to Golden State's coaching staff? On Thursday afternoon, the Warriors announced that Kerr is adding a familiar face to bench for the 2025-26 season. Kerr's son, Nicholas, has been promoted to the Warriors after spending the past two seasons coaching their G League team in Santa Cruz. Immediately after this news was confirmed by the Warriors, fans congratulated the Kerr family on this awesome father-son accomplishment. "Congratulations to Steve Kerr's son," one fan commented. "Warriors have the best farm system in the NBA by far when it comes to their coaching staff and trainers," a second fan wrote. Advertisement "Congratulations to my guy, Nicholas Kerr," a third fan added. "Kerr's son might be next head coach in the future," another fan said. SACRAMENTO, CA - NOVEMBER 28: Head Coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings during the In-Season Tournament on November 28, 2023 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)Nicholas Kerr, 32, went 20-14 in the G League each of the past two seasons. Prior to becoming the head coach of Santa Cruz, he was part of the development department for the Warriors. He was also a video coordinator for three seasons. As for Steve Kerr, he's been the head coach of the Warriors since the 2014-15 season. We'll see if this father-son duo can lead the Warriors back to the NBA Finals. Related: Sports Fans React To Stephen A. Smith's Daughter's ESPN Debut Congratulations Are Pouring In For Steve Kerr's Family first appeared on The Spun on Jun 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Associated Press
21 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Rafaela hits a tiebreaking homer and Red Sox keep Devers hitless in a 7-5 win over the Giants
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela had a tiebreaking homer among his three hits, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 7-5 victory Friday night over their former star slugger Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants. Rafaela connected with a one-out drive over the wall in center against Sean Hjelle (1-1) to give Boston a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning. Rafaela also doubled and scored in the third and hit an RBI single in the fourth to help Boston win for the eighth time in nine games. Devers faced his former team five days after the shocking trade that sent him to San Francisco, going 0 for 5. He got a standing ovation before grounding out in his first at-bat in the first inning and hit a drive to the wall in left-center that Rafaela caught against the wall. Brennan Bernardino (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning for the win and Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances. Wilyer Abreu hit an RBI single in the seventh for an insurance run in his first game off the injured list. The Giants scored four runs in the first four innings on a pair of run-scoring double plays hit into by Christian Koss, an error by second baseman David Hamilton and an RBI single by Mike Yastrzemski on a comebacker off Hunter Dobbins. But the Red Sox took a 5-4 lead thanks to a two-run homer by Hamilton, RBI singles by Rafaela and Roman Anthony and an error by Koss at second base. Wilmer Flores tied the game at 5 with an RBI single in the fifth. Key moment The Giants loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Garrett Whitlock struck out Yastrzemski to preserve the 7-5 lead. Key statRed Sox relievers combined for five scoreless innings and have allowed no runs in 17 2-3 innings over the last five games. Up next RHP Brayan Bello (3-1, 3.49 ERA) will start for Boston against RHP Landon Roupp (4-5, 3.99). ___ AP MLB:
