The Sacramento A’s Austin Wynns (29) hits a sacrifice fly in the top of the tenth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Bay on Tue Jul 1, 2025 (AP News photo)

Rays Can’t Hold the Line as A’s Langeliers and Miller Hammer It Home for 4-3 win

By Mauricio Segura

It took a few home runs, a few heart-pounding moments, and one dramatic finish for the Sacramento Athletics to fight their way to a 4-3 win in extra innings Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. Fueled by a pair of long balls from Shea Langeliers and a late-game lockdown from flamethrower Mason Miller, the Green and Gold secured their second straight road victory and once again showed why they can’t be counted out after nine innings.

The action began early but quietly for the A’s. Lawrence Butler led off with a single, stole third, and watched helplessly as the middle of the lineup went down on strikes. Tampa Bay struck first in the bottom of the second when Christopher Morel blasted a solo shot to center field off starter Jeffrey Springs, who was facing his former club for the first time as a starter. Brandon Lowe added to the Rays’ tally with another solo homer in the third, giving the home team a 2-0 cushion.

But the Athletics responded in the fourth with a burst of power. After a leadoff strikeout, Langeliers lashed a double to center, setting the stage for Max Muncy, who launched his sixth homer of the season to tie the game. Rookie Luis Urías followed with a single, and Colby Thomas, making just his second big league appearance, doubled sharply down the line and nearly brought Urías around before the rally fizzled.

Langeliers wasn’t done. Leading off the sixth, he launched his second extra-base hit of the night, this one a go-ahead solo homer to left that gave the A’s a 3-2 lead. The catcher’s bat has been heating up since returning from the injured list, and his work behind the plate would later prove just as vital.

Springs, who had been inconsistent early in games this season, held firm after the second inning and worked into the sixth, scattering five hits and two earned runs. The bullpen took over from there, with Justin Sterner and Sean Newcomb holding the Rays in check until the bottom of the seventh when Danny Jansen tied the game with a solo blast to left off Newcomb.

As the game pushed deeper into the night, the bullpens took center stage. Garrett Cleavinger and Pete Fairbanks each pitched scoreless frames for the Rays, while Michael Kelly escaped a jam in the ninth for the A’s thanks in part to a clutch caught stealing by Langeliers.

With the score still knotted at 3-3 in the tenth, Colby Thomas was placed at second to start the inning. After a sacrifice bunt and a walk, the Athletics turned to pinch-hitter Austin Wynns.

What happened next was chaos. Wynns lifted a fly ball to left, deep enough to score Thomas. But a perfect throw to the plate by José Caballero forced a wild sequence. First baseman Jonathan Aranda mishandled the relay, leading to a throwing error.

Then Chandler Simpson threw home to catch Max Schuemann trying to score behind Thomas. After a pair of challenges, one for a home plate collision and the other on a tag play, both calls stood. Wynns was out. Schuemann was out. But the run stood. Athletics 4, Rays 3.

In the bottom of the tenth, it was Miller time. Mason Miller came in throwing absolute gas. With Taylor Walls on second as the free runner, the righty struck out Brandon Lowe, induced a flyout to left from Caminero, and after an intentional walk and a rare balk that advanced both runners, he finished it off by striking out Josh Lowe with a 101 mph fastball to end the game.

It wasn’t the cleanest win of the year for the Sacramento A’s, but it was one of the grittiest. With Langeliers’ power surge, Miller’s muscle, and just enough help from the rest of the lineup, the A’s keep showing glimpses of the kind of fight that stats and standings can’t quite measure. They have now won four of their last seven and are slowly climbing back into relevance, one wild win at a time.

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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