HOUSTON (AP) — With his parents and godparents watching, Nick Kurtz already had three home runs and five hits as he entered his last chance at the plate, poised to make history. However, for the Athletics’ remarkable rookie slugger, none of this seemed to occupy his thoughts.
With a position player pitching for the Houston Astros, Kurtz just didn’t want to embarrass himself.
The 22-year-old excelled, sending a 77 mph, 2-0 pitch from outfielder Cooper Hummel soaring into the left-field stands on Friday night. This marked his fourth home run in a game that ranks among the most outstanding performances by a Major League Baseball player.
“Position player on the mound, I’m just trying to move the ball forward,” Kurtz said. “You don’t want to be the guy who strikes out.”
Kurtz avoided making an out all evening, becoming the first rookie ever to hit four homers in a single game. He also equaled the MLB record for total bases in one game with 19.
“It’s arguably the best game I’ve ever watched from a single player,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “This kid continues to have jaw-dropping moments.”
Kurtz went deep in the second, sixth, eighth and ninth innings. He also doubled and singled on his 6-for-6 night to equal Shawn Green, who had four homers, six hits and 19 total bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002 at Milwaukee.
Kurtz’s double in the fourth inning hit just below the yellow line over the visitor’s bullpen, narrowly missing what would have been a fifth homer.
“Everybody was just like, laughing,” A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson said. “How is he doing it? This is not normal. He’s playing a different sport than us right now. It’s not baseball, it’s just tee ball what he’s doing right now.”
It was the 20th four-homer game in major league history and second this season. Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez did it on April 26 against Atlanta. Kurtz and Green are the only players with six hits in a four-homer game.
Kurtz finished with eight RBIs and six runs scored as the Athletics beat the Astros 15-3.
“This is the first time my godparents have been here, so they probably have to come in the rest of the year,” Kurtz said. “My parents flew in today. They’ve been here a bunch, but it was cool to have some family here for that.”
The 6-foot-5 slugger has 23 homers in 66 games this season. The fourth overall pick in last year’s amateur draft out of Wake Forest, he made his major league debut on April 23 and hit his first homer on May 13.
He is the youngest player with a four-homer game. Pat Seerey of the Chicago White Sox was 25 when he hit four longballs on July 18, 1948.
Kurtz homered off each of the Astros’ four pitchers: Ryan Gusto, Nick Hernandez, Kaleb Ort and Hummel, who worked the ninth with the game out of hand. His longest drive was his third, a 414-foot solo shot off Ort in the eighth. His fourth homer landed in the Crawford Boxes in left field at Daikin Park.
“It’s hard to think about this day being kind of real, it still feels like a dream,” Kurtz said in a postgame television interview. “So it’s pretty remarkable. I’m kind of speechless. Don’t really know what to say.”
Kurtz has been the best hitter in the majors in July, ranking first in batting average (.425), on-base percentage (.494), slugging percentage (1.082), runs (22), doubles (13), homers (11) and RBIs (27).
With the baseballs from his last two homers inside a plastic bag at his locker, Kurtz signed scorecards from all four A’s broadcasters and a lineup card. One of the scorecards and a bat were bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
