Nick Kurtz Debuts, Collects First Hit in A's Win

Gio Urshela followed that up with a double to right, pushing the A's advantage to 4-0. The A's would ultimately win 5-2, thanks to a big first inning from the offense.

After the game, Kurtz said that seeing that ball go through helped him settle in a little bit. "After that, everything else was just playing baseball--a game I've played my entire life."

Following his first big-league hit, in the top of the second inning he roamed to the middle of the infield for a pop fly and tripped over the pitcher's mound before collected the ball and throwing out the lead runner. When asked what it was like to be out on the field for his debut, as a first baseman in the middle of all the action, Kurtz poked fun at himself.

"It was good until I tripped over the mound. I got a hit the inning before, and then I looked stupid after I had a nice inning, so it felt like I had the best of both worlds. Being able to laugh about it is something I'll take pride in doing."

Those butterflies that he'd felt pregame went away around the fourth or fifth inning as he was able to settle into the game and have a couple of at-bats. He finished the game 1-for-4 with an RBI.

As for Tyler Soderstrom, who'd been the A's first baseman until Wednesday, he got the start in left field for Kurtz's debut, which is a position that he'll likely hold fairly often. There were plenty of questions about the preparation he's put in pregame, but in the actual game he had to field exactly one ball, which was a double down the line that stopped under the wall.

The next-closest ball that he had a play on was later in the game when Jacob Wilson ran into the outfield, JJ Bleday ran in from center, and Soderstrom came in from left. Bleday ended up with the catch.

A's manager Mark Kotsay said that Soderstrom actually called for that ball in the eighth, "But I'm glad that JJ came over."

The mood following the win had a little bit of extra celebration to it. Not only did Kurtz make his debut, the A's beat the AL West-leading Rangers. but Jacob Wilson saw his first three ball count of the year. After falling behind 0-1, Wilson took four straight balls and earned his first walk of the season in 88 at-bats. With the bases loaded, he was also credited with an RBI for his trouble.