SAN JOSE — The crowd started to rise when Jackson Flora got two strikes on Edgar Montero in the second inning Thursday night, but not because he was on the verge of getting out of the inning. Montero, a shortstop for the A’s Low-A affiliate, was the designated “beer batter” at Excite Ballpark, meaning a strikeout would lead to heavily discounted drinks for the San Jose Giants fans in attendance. A low chant started to rumble through the seats: “Beer! Beer! Beer!”
Flora reached back and delivered his hardest pitch of the night, a 100 mph fastball. It missed the outside corner.
“When I got two strikes on him, I figured I would let one eat,” he said later.
Two pitches later, Flora got the strikeout — his third of the inning and fourth overall — with a well-placed breaking ball. As fans rushed from their seats and headed for the concourse, he walked off the field and tipped his cap. He knew what had been at stake, and he had gotten the job done.
“I felt like I settled into a groove a little bit, getting those first two strikeouts in that inning,” he...