Shea Langeliers proved why he was Oakland's top prospect in the A's final road game of the 2022 MLB season.
In the A's 10-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday at T-Mobile Park, the 24-year-old catcher showcased his power against a Mariners pitching staff that had allowed fewer than three runs in their last three games.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"The Mariners are a really good team; they're loaded with arms," Langeliers said after the win. "They put together a good approach as a team offensively and obviously that's why they're in the postseason. They're going to be playing in the postseason.
"So, coming on the road to a place like this, it always feels good to get out of here with a win."
Langeliers went 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, and one walk in the win to snap the A's six-game losing streak. It marked the first multi-homer game of his young career. All three of his hits in the series against Seattle were long balls.
"I've been working every day ... really just nailing down my approach and just starting to feel really comfortable and confident at the plate," Langeliers said. "Just that ability to stick to your approach and have that confidence to not do too much and just be who you are at the plate, it feels good. I feel good on it."
Langeliers' power display Sunday wasn't the first time the catcher showed out against the Mariners; he went 3-for-4 with a single, double, and triple in a 5-3 win at the Oakland Coliseum on Aug. 21.
Oakland Athletics
Following Langeliers' offensive explosion Sunday, A's manager Mark Kotsay had nothing but good things to say about his young backstop.
"Today was a reflection of the work he put in, the adjustments he continues to make," he said to reporters postgame. "Today was obviously a good sign for Shea to have a great day, really drive the baseball, and contribute to this team's win."
It wasn't just Langeliers that did damage against the Mariners. Both Christian Pache and Nick Allen hit two-run home runs -- their third and fourth blasts of the year, respectively -- and Seth Brown notched two singles to plate two more runs.
Pache and Allen's development was something Kotsay noted as being "great" and the fact that this young A's squad fought back after two losses to the same team was "nice to see."
Allen, in particular, had an impressive snag to rob the Mariners' Mitch Haniger of a single.
On the mound, James Kaprielian had arguably one of his best starts of the year, striking out seven Mariners, walking two, and giving up one hit in his six innings of work.
"I'm happy with it," Kaprielian said to reporters regarding his outing. "Put the team in a position to win, which is the most important thing to me and I think today was just a team win.
"For me, to be able to end the season and get the team a win is important to me and gives me something, a good feeling to go into the offseason."
Kotsay echoed Kaprielian's sentiment on his start after a rough few starts.
"For Kap, great day all around, six innings. Really, really had command of everything ... It was a good finish for Kap in terms of his bounce back from some struggles in the middle of the season to ending this month and performing really well," Kotsay concluded.
For the Mariners, former AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray was roughed up for five runs, gave up eight hits, and walked three in his 5 2/3 innings of work.
Offensively, Jesse Winker hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to get Seattle on the board. But that would be it for the Mariners, who clinched a playoff spot on Friday, breaking a 21-year drought.
In all, Langelier's power and ability to call a game like Sunday's show why the A's front office was extremely high on his potential, calling him one of the "premier catchers" in the game.
If he is able to build off what he learned in his short time in the majors this season, Oakland is hopeful they have a potential building block for the future.
RELATED: Sears' 'great' outing obliterated in A's loss to Mariners
The A's conclude their season at the Oakland Coliseum against the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game series. Patrick Sandoval (6-9, 3.03 ERA) will take the mound for the visiting Angels while Adrián Martínez (4-6, 6.08 ERA) will pitch for Oakland.