Zack Gelof entered the game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday with a record waiting to be broken. He was just one game away from tying the Oakland Athletics’ legend, Jason Giambi’s 25-game hitting streak recorded back in 1997. Gelof already dwarfed Lawrence Butler’s 20-game hitting streak, and he entered Tuesday with a 24-game hitting streak. However, the baseball god had some gruesome plan for him.

A scary injury in the second inning when Gelof’s right hand went under Matt Chapman’s spikes forced the former to leave the game, snapping his hitting streak.

“Zack Gelof left the game after being cleated by Matt Chapman. Gelof’s exit snaps his 24-game hit streak,” Talkin’ Baseball shared via X.

The unfortunate incident happened in the second inning when Gelof was guarding second base, and Chapman sprinted from the first. Gelof tagged him out, but his right hand was on the bag, which got stepped over by Chapman’s cleat. The spikes were painful enough as Gelof fell to the ground with blood coming out of his hand. He immediately went back to the dugout and was replaced by Jeff McNeil. As per the latest report, Gelof will have a diagnosis of his right-hand laceration and contusion.

The only positive was that a serious injury might have been averted. X-rays revealed no fracture or stitches required. “There is a laceration to the hand,” A’s manager, Mark Kotsay, said. “No stitches required. Pretty much got him just on the top between the thumb and the index. There is some swelling. No fracture. The X-ray was negative. Best positive outcome for that situation.”

According to the A’s manager, Mark Kotsay, the 26-year-old will be on a day-to-day basis. “Pretty much got him just on the top, kind of in between the thumb and the index,” Kotsay said. “There’s some swelling. … Best positive outcome for that situation. It’s just unfortunate for him with the hitting streak that circumstances took him out of the game, and the hitting streak comes to an end.”

Still, concern is there. Gelof suffered a minor head scare after being hit by a pitch in the helmet, but quickly returned to the A’s lineup. Gelof may have missed his hitting streak record, but the A’s will not like to miss his service at the plate. Over the past month, Gelof has emerged as the A’s one of the most valuable names. In June, he’s hitting .351 with 5 HRs, including the 24-game hitting streak.

Gelof hitting the IL means the A’s 38-41 record takes another hit, perhaps their worst. However, 2026 is proving that the A’s offense is more than a one-man army.

The A’s offense is more than Zack Gelof in 2026

The A’s offense is currently ranked 12th in terms of total runs scored (365) and 5th in terms of hitting home runs (105). The major credit goes to Nick Kurtz. He is emerging as an absolute powerhouse for the club, recently leading the league in June home runs and proving to be a highly productive run producer. Then there’s Shea Langeliers, who is serving as a fixture in the middle of the order. He consistently sits near the top of the league in home runs (19).

However, the defense is not looking as fair as their offense. Currently, the A’s are ranked 29th in terms of ERA (4.98), and JT Ginn is currently leading the pitching stats with 73 SOs. In comparison, Jacob Misiorowski is leading the league with 138 SOs. Offseason signings like Scott Barlow and Mark Leiter Jr. (4.85 ERA) failed to provide stability, with Barlow already being designated for assignment.

The A’s are ranked second in the AL West and 3 games behind the division-topper Seattle Mariners. A few trade deadline additions to their pitching staff would thus be beneficial to bet on a playoff spot. For now, though, the A’s fans would expect to get back Gelof at the earliest.