Vogt delivers ‘big hit' after emotional retirement announcement

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On the day he announced his plans for retirement after the 2022 season, Athletics veteran Stephen Vogt was overcome with emotions when speaking to reporters Thursday before the A's-Mariners game about his plans moving forward.  

That said, Vogt showed he still had something left in the tank. In a back and forth game, Vogt provided a bulk of the A's offense in Oakland's 9-5 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum.

In all, Vogt went 1-for-4 with three RBI, including a bases-clearing triple in the third inning that plated Vimael Machin, Sean Murphy, and Seth Brown, which tied the game at three a piece. 

A's manager Mark Kotsay said he was impressed with Vogt's triple in spite of the very emotional afternoon. 

"That was a big hit for us," Kotsay said of Oakland plating five runs in that third inning to take a 5-3 lead. "It was a big inning offensively and an inning that saw us take the lead and unfortunately we weren't able to hold that lead."

A's rookie Shea Langeliers shared Kotsay's sentiment regarding Vogt's triple. 

"It's awesome, the legend of Stephen Vogt. I believe in Stephen Vogt," Langeliers said. "He comes up with the bases loaded and hits a triple. It's pretty awesome."

A's starter Adrián Martínez didn't have his best stuff out of the gate, giving up three runs in the first inning, including walking in a run. After a rocky first, Martínez was able to settle in a bit, giving up a total six hits and five runs, while walking two and striking out seven in his five innings of work. 

"Overall, Martínez, that first inning left a lot of pitches middle and made some mistakes they capitalized on," Kotsay said. "He got through it, grinded through it, and from there, he had some pretty good innings. 

"There in that sixth inning, a bit of bad luck on the first hitter in the ball down the line, it kind of came all the way back on [Conner] Capel and you know, that play's made, maybe it's a different inning for us."

Martínez wasn't the only starter to struggle -- the Mariners' George Kirby gave up seven hits, five runs and three walks in his 2 1/3 innings of work. 

However, the Mariners' offense kicked into gear. After being held to a combined five hits the previous two games, Seattle put up 11 hits with five crucial runs coming in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.

Adam Frazier went 2-for-4 with three RBI while Jarred Kelenic added two more runs in his 2-for-3 day. 

Meanwhile, A's relievers Kirby Snead, Norge Ruiz, and Austin Pruitt were touched up for a combined four runs in their two innings of work.

In all, Vogt explained why he felt his retirement announcement came at "the right time."

"There's nowhere else I want to be there's nothing more I need to accomplish as a player other than helping these guys the rest of this year and going out every day to work ... I feel so fortunate that I've earned the opportunity to walk away on my terms," Vogt concluded.

RELATED: A's pitchers keep Mariners off balance in impressive one-hitter

The A's will face ex-teammates Chris Bassitt, Mark Canha, and the New York Mets on Friday at 6:40 p.m. PT. Bassitt (14-8, 3.32 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets with Cole Irvin (9-11, 3.79 ERA) going for the A's. 

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