Sacramento A’s Shea Langeliers (23) is greeted at home by teammate Lawrence Butler (right) after hitting a top of the first inning home run at Nationals Park in DC on Tue Aug 5, 2025 (AP News photo)

Langeliers Launches Three Homers as Sacramento Athletics Crush Nationals in 16-7 Slugfest

By Mauricio Segura

The Sacramento Athletics turned Nationals Park into their personal home run derby on Tuesday night, jumping all over Washington’s pitching in a 16-7 offensive showcase. Catcher Shea Langeliers led the offensive charge with three home runs, powering a relentless attack that reminded everyone just how dangerous the Green and Gold can be when the bats are hot.

From the very first pitch, Sacramento looked like a team that had no intention of easing into the evening. Langeliers opened the game with a towering drive to center field for his 20th homer of the season, and that was only the beginning.

Nick Kurtz followed with a single, Brent Rooker laced a double, and JJ Bleday drove them both in with a line-drive single to make it 3-0 before a single out had been recorded.

Colby Thomas finally gave the Nationals their first breath of relief with a flyout, but Darell Hernaiz immediately snatched it away with a two-run blast to dead center. By the time the first inning mercifully ended, the A’s led 5-0 and had already knocked the wind out of the home crowd.

Luis Severino, meanwhile, was in complete command on the mound for Sacramento, mowing through Washington’s lineup with little resistance. He retired the first six hitters he faced, needing minimal effort to preserve the early cushion.

Severino’s efficiency allowed the offense to keep piling on, and in the third inning, the onslaught continued. Thomas walked and stole second, setting up RBI opportunities for the bottom of the order. Tyler Soderstrom cashed in with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 6-0, and by the end of three innings, the game felt like a mismatch from another era.

Langeliers, though, was far from done. In the top of the fourth, after Nick Kurtz doubled and Rooker singled him home, JJ Bleday crushed a two-run homer to center that made it 9-0. Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore had already been chased, and the Sacramento dugout was grinning ear to ear as their bats turned the contest into a highlight reel. Langeliers punctuated the next inning with his second homer of the night, a solo shot to left that reached the upper deck in a hurry.

The Nationals finally broke through in the fourth with a run on Brady House’s RBI single, but it felt like trying to stop a tidal wave with a paper cup. By the sixth, Washington had trimmed the deficit to 10-3, but Langeliers crushed his third home run in the seventh.

Sacramento wasn’t content with just tape-measure homers. In the eighth, the Green and Gold put the game completely out of reach with a barrage of hits. Rooker and Bleday each ripped two-run doubles, and by the time the inning ended, the Athletics had built a 16-3 lead.

Rooker finished the night with four hits, two doubles, and four RBIs, while Bleday added four hits of his own, including a homer and double, driving in five. Kurtz reached base four times and scored four runs, and Hernaiz chipped in with a homer, a sacrifice fly, and three RBIs.

The bullpen made things a little more interesting than manager Mark Kotsay would have liked. Eduarniel Núñez and the relief corps stumbled in the ninth, allowing Washington to scratch across four runs and briefly raise the volume in Nationals Park.

Robert Hassell III doubled home a run, Luis García Jr. plated two more with a sharp single, and Brady House walked with the bases loaded to bring the Nationals within 16-7. Osvaldo Bido finally slammed the door with a strikeout to end a marathon final frame.

By the numbers, this was Sacramento’s most explosive performance of the season. They racked up 24 hits, six of them for extra bases, and went 10-for-20 with runners in scoring position. The top half of the lineup was virtually unstoppable.

Langeliers’ three-homer night not only stole the spotlight but also gave the A’s catcher 22 bombs on the year, a career-best pace that underscores his emergence as one of the premier power threats at his position.

For the Athletics, this wasn’t just a win; it was a statement. After a stretch of uneven offensive showings, the Green and Gold reminded the league that they can light up the scoreboard in a hurry. With Langeliers locked in, Rooker heating up, and a deep supporting cast, Sacramento’s lineup looks ready to make every series a test of endurance for opposing pitchers.

Starting pitchers on Wednesday for Sacramento RHP Jefferey Springs (10-7 ERA 4.00) for Washington RHP Cade Cavalli (0-0 ERA 0.00) first pitch 3:45pm PT.

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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