Robbie Grossman's small plate adjustment changed his 2020 MLB season

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Robbie Grossman hit a line drive to right-center field to score Tony Kemp, who was on second base due to the newly implemented extra-inning rule, to propel the A’s to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night. 

It was the game-winner that helped break the A’s three-game losing streak with what continues to be a successful season at the plate for Grossman.

“I made some adjustments to my swing starting at spring training,” Grossman told reporters during the postgame interview. “When I went home for the quarantine, I continued to do what I was doing and continued to stick with my routine and continued to get a little bit better every day.” 

In 22 total plate appearances, Grossman is slashing .350/.409/.450 with seven hits -- good for a 1.256 wOBA. Sure, it’s only seven games, but his walk rate has dropped drastically which is interesting because of one specific characteristic which could have been why the A’s acquired him in 2019.  

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Grossman was classified as someone who exudes the “Moneyball” mentality -- an on-base machine. He’s still doing that, but it’s not necessarily because of walks. He only possesses a 4.5 percent walk rate. 

The way he explained his adjustments sounds like it was rather simple. 

That extra-inning hit from Grossman wouldn’t have been possible without the heroics of Chad Pinder who hit a two-run shot in the top of the seventh to tie it up. A game-changer in many ways. 

[RELATED: Jesús Luzardo to make starting debut next week]

A’s manager Bob Melvin was very happy about Pinder's blast.

“You mean like on a 1-10 scale?” Melvin asked reporters. “Like a 12.”

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