Henry Bolte leading off on Saturday vs. Red Sox

Bolte’s first four-hit game as a major leaguer put him at .279/.362/.407 through 455 plate appearances. His second double tonight left his bat at 115.1 mph, which is a new high for him. He previously topped out at 113.7 mph on a single against the Rays just last week.

Zack Gelof and Butler went back-to-back off Bryce Miller in the first. In the ninth, Gelof singled and then Butler homered off Andrés Muñoz, giving the A’s the win. It’s Butler’s fifth career two-homer game and first of this year. After a dismal first half, he’s hit .274/.354/.505 with 11 homers and 36 RBI in 54 games since the break.

Bolte has been on a tear and is up to four home runs and five stolen bases since September began. Wednesday’s round-tripper followed a monstrous game on Monday in which he homered and swiped three bases. He now has 10 homers and 19 steals, and he’s hit leadoff in every game for the A’s since August 18. Their lineup has been ravaged by season-ending injuries this year, but Bolte is taking advantage of the favorable home park down the stretch. He’ll likely enter 2027 with some sleeper appeal, though it’s fair to wonder if he’ll still fit that description given how hot he’s been to close the year.

The A’s won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a Jeff McNeil infield single off Louis Varland with the bases loaded and two outs. Bolte had drawn his third walk just prior to that hit. His homer was a 341-foot opposite field shot off Dylan Cease. He was actually on base all five times up tonight, since he reached on an Ernie Clement throwing error after his 103-mph grounder in the seventh. Blessed with a great deal of power and speed and cursed with one of the highest groundball rates in the league, Bolte is going to be a fascinating pick in fantasy leagues next spring. First, he might win some leagues for people this month if he keeps running like this. He’s 5-for-5 stealing bases in September and is up to 19 steals in 102 games on the season.

The A’s got solo homers from Zack Gelof and Donovan Walton, but Butler’s 107-mph liner up the middle in the fifth was the biggest blow. Butler has hit in 12 straight games and 21 of 23. He’s batted .345 with five homers and 19 RBI since Aug. 10.

Bolte belted a two-run homer off Cody Bradford in the third, and Zack Gelof made it back-to-back with a round-tripper of his own. Then in the fourth, Bolte connected for another two-run homer that even he thought was foul off the bat, but it stayed just inside the right-field pole. It was his first career multi-homer game, and he picked up his 15th steal of the season. He’s been caught eight times, so the efficiency hasn’t been great, but the roto-friendly skill set was on full display this afternoon. Bolte has hit leadoff in every game for the A’s dating back to August 18.

Clarke has now been off the injured list for two games and has started in center field for both of them. We should note that both of them have been against left-handed pitchers, which means Carlos Cortes was always going to be on the bench for both of these games. It remains to be seen what the Athletics do against a righty, but Zack Gelof has been playing left field, and Henry Bolte has been at designated hitter, which likely means Bolte and Cortes are battling for at-bats against right-handed pitchers.

Clarke is finally back 4 1/2 months after suffering a right foot bone bruise and nearly 3 1/2 months since he strained a hamstring on his initial rehab assignment. He just hit .353 with two homers in 11 games for Triple-A Las Vegas, and he should finish out the season as the Athletics’ primary center fielder. Henry Bolte can slide over to left, giving the A’s maybe the game’s best defensive outfield. Carlos Cortes will likely spend more time at DH, taking at-bats away from Max Muncy.

Clarke was working his way back from a foot injury when he hurt his hamstring in late May. He returned to the field on August 18 and has since gone 6-for-13 with one home run, five RBI, and a 3/4 K/BB ratio. He has not yet attempted a steal, which would be nice to see to verify the health of his hamstring, but there is a chance that Clarke can return to center field for the Athletics by the end of the week, which would push Henry Bolte to a corner outfield spot and may cost Carlos Cortes playing time.

Butler singled in the top half of the first inning but was left stranded there. He then worked a one-out walk in the fifth and scored the A’s first run on an RBI single off the bat of Brian Serven. He also led off the seventh inning with a single but was cut down attempting to steal second base. With his two-hit afternoon, the 26-year-old outfielder is slashing an unimpressive .218/.309/.358 with 11 homers, 36 RBI and nine stolen bases in 392 plate appearances on the season.