Brandon Moss (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Baseball is extraordinarily weird. Oakland A’s slugger Brandon Moss hit .162 over the last two months of the regular season as he struggled with a hip injury and his club lost its hold of the American League west. Many fans and media were surprised he started as the designated hitter in Tuesday night’s Wild Card game against James Shields and the Kansas City Royals, leaving Adam Dunn on the bench.

But Moss made manager Bob Melvin look like a very smart man on Tuesday. First, Moss slammed a James Shields changeup over the right-field wall at Kauffman Stadium to give the A’s an early 2-0 lead.

After the Royals fought back to go up, 3-2, the A’s put runners on first and second to start the sixth inning. Royals manager Ned Yost called on rookie Yordano Ventura — who’s normally a starter — to replace Shields, and Moss provided a nasty greeting:

Brandon Moss managed only two home runs in 188 plate appearances from July 25 to the end of the 2014 regular season. Then he hit two home runs in his first three at-bats of the postseason. Baseball!