Sacramento A’s Shea Langeliers swings for the fences with a three run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Fla on Mon Jun 30, 2025 (AP News photo)

Clarke Comes Through as A’s Snap Skid with Late Inning Heroics 6-4

By Mauricio Segura

It was beginning to feel like another repeat performance for the Green and Gold. A red-hot start, a mid-game collapse, and a familiar sinking feeling by the seventh inning. But Monday night in Tampa, the Sacramento Athletics refused to play to script.

With a two-run triple in the top of the ninth off the bat of Lawrence Butler, the A’s broke a 4 -4 tie and held on for a gutsy 6-4 win over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The win snapped a two-game skid and showed some of the resilience this young A’s team has been grasping for all season.

The Athletics wasted no time lighting up the scoreboard. Brent Rooker extended his scorching stretch with a two-out double in the first before Nick Kurtz walked to put two aboard. That set the table for Shea Langeliers, who launched a three-run rocket into left center for his 11th homer of the year, giving Sacramento a quick 3-0 lead.

The next inning saw Tampa starter Drew Rasmussen exit, and from there the game turned into a tug of war. Rooker added an RBI single in the third to make it 4-0 but that lead would not last. The Rays, sparked by a two-run blast from Junior Caminero and a flurry of singles, put up a four-run fourth that chased starter Jacob Lopez and knotted things at four apiece.

Lopez, facing his former team for the first time, was tagged for four earned runs over three and two-thirds innings, a tough outing following his scoreless start in Detroit. The A’s bullpen, frequently a source of anxiety this season, delivered when it mattered most.

J.T. Ginn, Sean Newcomb, Michael Kelly, and ultimately fireballer Mason Miller combined for five and a third innings of shutout relief. Miller closed it out with his 16th save, shutting the door after inducing a game-ending double play.

Despite offensive lulls in the middle innings, the A’s refused to fold. Jacob Wilson doubled in the fifth but was stranded after a bases-loaded jam. Yet it was the ninth that brought the breakthrough. After Max Muncy and Luis Urías opened the frame with singles, pinch-runner Max Schuemann stole second to set the stage. Butler, who had struck out twice earlier, rocketed a triple past José Caballero in left to score both runners and give the Athletics a 6-4 lead they would not relinquish.

The victory was an encouraging sign for a club that has battled inconsistency, injuries, and a bullpen ERA that remains the highest in the majors. It was also a notable debut day for outfielder Colby Thomas, who was called up from Triple-A and made his first Major League appearance in the eighth.

Meanwhile, Rooker continued to look like the heartbeat of the lineup, raising his average to .324 over his last 36 games and cementing himself as the most dependable bat in the order. Wilson added two more hits, lifting his batting average to .338, second best in the majors.

With the win, the Athletics improve to 35 and 52 and, though still on a life raft in last place in the AL West, showed they have the fight to row their way to the mainland. They will try to build on this momentum Tuesday with Jeffrey Springs taking the mound against Shane Baz in Game Two of the series.

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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