Jeff McNeil goes 2-for-4, doubles in run

Since coming back from surgery to repair a torn meniscus, Langeliers has played three of the five games for the Athletics. With the team not in playoff contention, it makes sense that they don’t want to push the 28-year-old’s knee any more than they need to. The Athletics are at home all week next week, but we would expect Langeliers to sit two of those games. Jeff McNeil is at DH and hitting second on Thursday, while Donovan Walton is at second base and batting fifth.

McNeil opened the year as a platoon guy hitting low in the A’s order against righties, but since he’s nearly an everyday guy now and hitting in the top third versus righties, he should be rostered in mixed leagues. He’s batting .346 with four homers, 23 RBI and six steals in 37 games during the second half.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 34-year-old infielder. Donovan Walton will start in his place at second base and will bat seventh for the Athletics against Astros’ right-hander Cristian Javier.

McNeil posted one of the three hits the Athletics managed on the night, as the offense was shut down by a solid pitching effort from Hayden Wesneski and the Astros’ bullpen. McNeil has hit safely in four of his last five games while driving in four runs, but there’s not much to get excited about here with the A’s down so many key players.

It’s McNeil’s fourth career game with three extra-base hits; he last did it by collecting two homers and a double in Coors Field in June 2025. McNeil is now sitting at .409/.437/.561 in 21 games in the second half. He even has five steals during the span, which is four more than he had in the first half and two more than he had in 122 games for the Mets last season. As the Athletics’ current leadoff man against righties, he’s worth playing in mixed leagues when the team is at home in West Sacramento.

This didn’t look good at all. Kurtz was in a great deal of pain after taking a pitch off the left arm from Red Sox starter Patrick Sandoval in the opening frame. It appeared to hit him somewhere in the forearm just above his wrist. He managed to stay in the game initially before being replaced by Jeff McNeil at first base in the second inning. The 23-year-old offensive force will head for further evaluation, including X-rays, to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update his status following the contest.

Kurtz has gone 1-for-8 with a three-run homer in a pair of games since coming back from the injured list over the weekend. The 23-year-old offensive force will get a breather with hard-throwing lefty Peyton Tolle toeing the rubber for Boston in this one. It’ll be Jeff McNeil taking over at first base.

Gelof appears to have avoided serious injury when his right hand was stepped on by Matt Chapman during Tuesday’s series opener, which subsequently ended his 24-game hitting streak. Athletics manager told reporters afterwards that Gelof is day-to-day after X-rays didn’t reveal any fractures and he didn’t require stitches. The 26-year-old has been phenomenal since the start of June, hitting .329 (23-for-70) with five homers, 10 RBI and two steals during that span. It’ll be veteran Jeff McNeil taking over at the keystone on Wednesday evening.

McNeil’s homer was a 359-footer to right that would have stayed in play in 18 ballparks, but that’s pretty much the typical McNeil homer. There’s the chance he could lose additional playing time with Max Muncy back and Zack Gelof still putting up solid numbers, but nights like this will help keep him in the lineup against righties. He’s hitting .238/.311/.324 in 236 plate appearances for the season.

McNeil, who is 1-for-19 with thres GIDPs in his last six games, played against Carlos Rodón last night, but he’s sitting against fellow lefty Ryan Weathers tonight. Alika Williams is playing second base in his place.