Sacramento A’s Nick Kurtz slugs a home run for the go ahead run against the Kansas City Royals at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City on Sun Jun 15, 2025 (AP News photo)

Kurtz Crush Caps Comeback as A’s Edge Royals 3-2 in Thriller

by Mauricio Segura

A rough couple of months got a rare highlight Sunday afternoon, as the Athletics rallied late and held on for a thrilling 3–2 win over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium to take the 3-game series. Nick Kurtz, the A’s 22-year-old rookie first baseman, played hero with a go-ahead solo homer in the top of the ninth, his sixth of the year, and Mason Miller slammed the door in the bottom half to lock up the series win.

The A’s, owners of the third-worst winning percentage in baseball coming in, showed signs of grit that have often been absent this season. They trailed 2-0 after three innings, thanks to an RBI double by Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. and a line-drive single from Vinnie Pasquantino. But from there, starter Jeffrey Springs and a carousel of relievers kept Kansas City off the scoreboard, retiring 18 of the final 23 batters.

Offensively, the green and gold waited until the sixth inning to strike. Rookie Jacob Wilson, who leads all of baseball’s freshmen in just about every offensive category, singled to set the table. Austin Wynns then drilled a two-run homer to center field, knotting the game at two apiece. It was Wynns’ fifth long ball of the season and just the A’s 89th as a team, still top 10 in the majors despite their struggles.

In the ninth, Kurtz launched Carlos Estévez’s first offering deep to right-center to give the A’s a 3-2 lead. The Royals got the tying run aboard in their half, but Miller fanned two, including Tyler Tolbert to end it, recording his 14th save and flashing the triple-digit heat that’s made him a rare bright spot in a beleaguered bullpen.

The victory gave the Athletics their first road series win since early May, and snapped a 1-4 road trip. Springs, who began the season in the rotation but has recently shifted into a swingman role, allowed two earned runs across five innings. He didn’t factor into the decision, but his ability to avoid a blowup, a common theme for A’s starters this season, kept the game within reach.

The A’s now head back to Sutter Health Park for a four-game set against the division-leading Astros. With back-to-back wins under their belts and youngsters like Wilson and Kurtz heating up, the green and gold may finally be finding a little traction in a season filled with potholes.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

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