Athletics Designated Hitter Brent Rooker had a fine showing in his first Home Run Derby on Monday evening, bashing 17 home runs in the first round but ultimately losing a tie breaker and getting eliminated after just one trip to the plate.
Rook was the second batter up tonight, going after Nationals outfielder James Wood, who had just hit 16 home runs a few moments earlier. Rooker came out on absolute fire, hitting three straight home runs and eight big flies on his first nine swings. He slowed down hard after that but he still managed to hit enough home runs to temporarily take the lead.