Athletics' Matt Olson: Goes deep in Opening Day win
Olson went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-5 extra-inning Opening Day win over the Angels.
The 383-foot shot to right in the fifth inning knotted the game at 4-4 and was the unquestioned highlight of Olson's afternoon, as he went down on strikes in three of his other four at-bats. The whiffs were a recurring theme during the spring (18 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances) and in 2017 (27.8 percent strikeout rate over 216 plate appearances), as well, so it's an inauspicious start for the Athletics' everyday first baseman in that regard. However, prodigious power helps cover a lot of blemishes, and the fact Olson wasted no time in notching his first round tripper could be an early sign he's ready to build handsomely on his torrid 24-homer outburst from last season.
