It turns out that tying the Major League record with 19 total bases in a game and then getting on base another three times the next day can take its toll on the body.

This was becoming clear even before the four homer game. His OPS was .982, for crying out loud. He had homered seven times in his previous 16 games. The gasps and whispers had already started.

Just 13 months after the A's rookie finished his collegiate career, his mother and father saw him go 6-for-6 with four homers in Houston.

Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz won his second consecutive AL Player of the Week award, MLB announced Monday, to no one’s surprise.