Nick Kurtz News: Pops homer Friday

Kurtz went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Friday's 11-2 win over the Giants.

Kurtz went 0-for-10 with three walks and eight strikeouts in the Athletics' previous three-game series versus the Rays. He was off to another poor start Friday with a groundout and two strikeouts in his first three at-bats before he unleashed a sixth-inning homer to stretch the Athletics' lead to 9-0. The first baseman's up to 13 homers, 34 RBI, 24 runs scored, no stolen bases and a .240/.308/.497 slash line over his first 50 major-league games. While his power is as advertised, his 34.3 percent strikeout rate is troubling, especially when it's trending in the wrong direction as it has over the last week-plus.