Jeff McNeil did not collect a hit in Saturday’s 7-3 win over the Red Sox, but he still found a way to matter. He walked, scored once and stole a base, giving him a small but useful line in a game the Athletics needed to keep moving.
The stolen base was the clearest sign that McNeil’s recent stretch is still alive. Over his last 15 contests, the 34-year-old has hit.348 with one home run, seven RBI and three stolen bases, a run of production that has stood out even as his season line remains ordinary at.250 with four home runs, 35 RBI, 30 runs scored and four stolen bases across 102 games.
That split is why McNeil keeps drawing attention. In a lineup that has not consistently produced, one hot streak can look like a turning point and a rough patch can quickly pull a player back into the crowd. McNeil has heated back up of late, but he is still being measured against the larger reality of an inconsistent bat on an underperforming Athletics club.
What Saturday showed is that the recent uptick is not built only on extra hits. It also has come from pressuring defenses, taking the walk when it is there and turning over a base when the chance opens up. For McNeil, that kind of day does not settle the bigger question, but it does keep his latest surge from looking like a one-game spike.
