Rewind: Butler doesn't mind playing villain against Indians

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CLEVELAND — Billy Butler had quite an at-bat in the fourth inning Saturday night, starting an argument with Indians catcher Chris Gimenez, blasting a tape-measure home run and incurring the wrath of a stadium full of people.

All within the span of two pitches.

Hey, it added some spice to a 6-3 defeat that otherwise was quite forgettable for the A’s. Butler doesn’t mind taking the heat from a hostile crowd. If he’s agitating the opponents’ fans, at least it means he’s in the game.

Butler has found his name in the A’s lineup quite often lately, and he’s making the most of it. His 440-foot homer Saturday was a highlight as Oakland dropped its second game in a row at Progressive Field to slow its momentum coming out of the second-half gate.

“I’ve been getting opportunities,” Butler said. “The only thing I can really say is the lack of at-bats, or the length of time in between at-bats has been tough all year. Given some consistent at-bats, I’ve shown what I can do.”

[STIGLICH: Instant Replay: Overton roughed up, A's fall to Indians]

Butler and Gimenez, who spent time with the A’s in the spring of 2014, began jawing after a 2-2 pitch to Butler was called a ball in the fourth. It turns out Butler thought Gimenez was taking too many liberties trying to lobby home plate umpire Tripp Gibson about the strike zone.

Butler let Gimenez know about it, and Gibson had to intervene. On the very next pitch from Josh Tomlin, Butler turned on a cutter and launched it deep over the wall in left. He turned and barked something to Gimenez, then flipped his bat high in the air as he headed to first.

Some background for context: Gimenez was behind the plate for Texas during Game 5 of last year’s AL Division Series loss to the Blue Jays, when Jose Bautista homered and then executed one of the most outrageous bat flips the game has ever seen.

“I kind of took offense to the whole situation,” Gimenez told Cleveland reporters of Saturday’s incident. “I felt like there was a little bit of showmanship. I don’t know if you guys noticed, but I was in the playoffs last year and had a little bit of showmanship happen to me. … I was definitely not thrilled that he turned around and screamed in my face. I just let him know that I’d be waiting for him when he got back.”

Gibson made sure he stood between Gimenez and Butler as Butler reached home plate, and there were no further fireworks between the two. But a crowd of 32,850 let Butler hear it over his final two at-bats. They booed when he walked to the plate, they booed during his at-bats and they booed as he trotted back to the dugout after he was forced at second in the seventh. Butler said that didn’t bother him.

He added: “I’ve got no personal problem with Chris. It’s a professional problem. If I saw him right now, we’d have a conversation. It’s one of those things, during the game, I thought he might have just been asking for a little too much. And it is what it is.”

It’ll be worth watching if there’s any carry-over in Sunday’s series finale. But in the bigger picture, the non-waiver trade deadline awaits Monday afternoon. Left-hander Rich Hill, placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a blister on his throwing hand, remains the A’s best trade chip and most likely candidate to be moved. Right fielder Josh Reddick, who had two hits Saturday to lift his average from .298 to .301, has drawn interest from the Dodgers and Cubs, and it’s conceivable he could also get attention from the teams who lose out on Reds outfielder Jay Bruce.

There’s been no known talk of the A’s trying to unload Butler, who is signed to a three-year $30 million contract that runs through next season and will make him tough to trade. Where he fits into the team’s plans for the rest of this year and beyond, if he does at all, remains unclear. But he’s started 21 of Oakland’s last 36 games — the A’s recently faced a string of left-handers, and that was advantageous to getting the right-handed hitting Butler in the lineup — and he’s hitting .327 (34-for-104) over his last 39 games.

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Rookie Dillon Overton gave up three homers and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings Saturday. In his first four big league starts, he’s allowed nine home runs in 18 1/3 innings.

“At this level, you miss your spot, they’re gonna make you pay for it,” Overton said, “whether it’s off the wall, double, home run, it doesn’t really matter. I think that’s the biggest difference between here and Triple A.”

Overton started in place of Daniel Mengden, who was demoted earlier this week. The A’s will start Sonny Gray on Sunday, then Sean Manaea on Tuesday and Kendall Graveman on Wednesday. If Hill is not traded, he could come off the DL and start Thursday or Friday. But figure Jesse Hahn to be in consideration for Overton’s next turn in the rotation, and recently acquired lefty Ross Detwiler could also enter the mix if Hill is dealt.

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