Is Nick Kurtz the Dark Horse Threatening to Upend the AL Rookie of the Year Race?
With that, Kurtz took off. On May 20, he snapped his hitless skid with a single and a home run against the Angels. Two more homers followed the next day. A strained left hip flexor put Kurtz on the injured list later that week and threatened to derail his newfound momentum, but the brief injury scare was no trouble. It took just one minor-league rehab game — he homered, of course — before Kurtz rejoined the A’s lineup and resumed raking.
‘It’s kind of what you dream about’
As the home runs kept coming, each seismic swing seemed to carry greater weight than the last: A go-ahead blast off Royals closer Carlos Estevez in the top of the ninth in Kansas City. Two walk-off homers against the Astros off elite relievers in Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader. A titanic, three-run shot in Detroit — the only home run ball to reach the shrubbery beyond the center-field wall at Comerica Park this season — that provided the only runs in a 3-0 victory over the Tigers.
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