LOS ANGELES — Jacob Wilson is slight of build, making him agile enough to run with the big dogs.
The Athletics’ rookie shortstop from Thousand Oaks had yet another game to savor in his early major league career with four hits and two home runs to power an 11-1 victory over the Dodgers on Tuesday night in the opening game of a three-game series.
Not only did Wilson make the home of the reigning World Series champions his own Tuesday, he raised his batting average to .363. The mark is the second-best in the American League behind a giant of the game in the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge (.413).
And it came on a night when Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were held to a combined 0 for 9 for the Dodgers with two walks and one RBI.
“Yeah, it was awesome, especially for me,” said Wilson, who had an estimated 25 family members in the stands, with texts arriving postgame from local friends who were in attendance.
“I don’t hit too many homers, so to be able to get the multi-one out of the way was pretty awesome for me. It was back in the hometown, had a bunch of family in the stands, and overall, a great team win.”
Wilson’s exploits are becoming commonplace now. Tuesday’s game was his second four-hit contest in his past five games. He has at least three hits six times already this season as he grows into a massive attraction for a team playing in a tiny minor league ballpark this season in Sacramento.
“You come home to play in Dodger Stadium for the first time and for Jacob, what a night, right?” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “It’s one he will remember for the rest of his life. And this kid, again, we talked about his ability to put the barrel to the baseball, and you saw every bit of what he is capable of doing.”
Wilson is the son of former major leaguer Jack Wilson, who had his own exploits as an All-Star and a Silver Slugger winner in 2004 when he had 201 hits with 12 triples for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dad coached his son at both Thousand Oaks High School and Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
Both of Jacob Wilson’s home runs came against Dodgers starting pitcher Landon Knack (2-1), who struggled through 4⅔ innings when he allowed five runs on seven hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Wilson did help the Dodgers create a run in the third inning with a fielding error on a Betts ground ball. But he still owned the frame with his first two-run homer of the night in the top of the third. He added a second two-run home run off of Knack in the fifth.
Otherwise, the Dodgers’ offense was tamed by A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs (5-3), who gave up one run on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Michael Conforto did deliver three doubles, while Will Smith added his own three hits.
“I thought this was, as far as collectively, as forgettable a compilation of team offense as we’ve seen in quite some time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Outside of Will and Michael, there wasn’t much else. We’ll respond (Wednesday). We’ve got (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto going. We’ve got all the guys in the bullpen ready to go. So today is one I just want to turn the page on.”
After going 6-4 on a 10-game, three-city road trip through Atlanta, Miami and Arizona, the Dodgers looked unsettled in their return. Not helping the mood was the decision before the game to place right-hander Roki Sasaki on the injured list with a shoulder impingement.
Sasaki joins Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on the shelf with an even bigger rotation scramble set for the days ahead. None of the three have a definitive timetable for a return.
“There was certainly some compensation from him, and his delivery was probably compromised, and all that is because he wanted to compete and help us out,” Roberts said of Sasaki. “Although we appreciate him trying to fight through it, which is great, we wanted to get some scans to know what we’re dealing with.”
After a road trip when he went 19 for 40 with four home runs and 16 RBIs, Freeman was unable to deliver a hit for just the second time in his past 17 games.
Instead, it was the A’s who looked right at home in the unfamiliar setting. They improved to 14-7 in road games, while they have gone 8-13 in their spartan conditions near the state capital.
The Dodgers lost at home for just the fourth time this season, but looked outclassed, for one night anyway, by the vagabond A’s, who are destined for Las Vegas in the coming years.
“I’ve been here many times,” Jacob Wilson said. “You know, you’re growing up 45 (minutes), an hour away, we’ve been here a lot, especially with my dad playing, then coming back here right after his career and seeing a couple of teammates and coaches. And being able to come out here and get that first win (of the series) is pretty awesome.”