Washington Nationals CJ Abrams celebrates after his walk off single that scored teammate Russell Hassell to defeat the Sacramento A’s at Nationals Park in DC on Wed Aug 6, 2025 (AP News photo)

Soderstrom Shines But Sacramento Falls Short in a Game of Inches

By Mauricio Segura

For much of the night, it looked like the Athletics had figured out the formula for quieting the Washington Nationals’ bats. Strong defense, timely outs, and a solo shot from Tyler Soderstrom had Sacramento poised to escape the nation’s capital with a gritty win. But as is often the case in baseball, all it took was one crack of the bat for it all to unravel.

The game moved at the pace of a chess match and delivered the thrill of a sudden checkmate, the A’s suffered a heartbreaker in walk-off fashion, falling 2–1 to the Nationals at Nationals Park on Wednesday night.

Both teams were failing to advance offensively through the first five innings. Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs and Washington’s Cade Cavalli carved through lineups like chefs with sharp knives. At one point, eight straight Sacramento batters were retired on strikeouts or soft contact, and every time the Nats threatened, the Green and Gold defense shut them down.

Sacramento’s first real chance came in the third, when Max Schuemann reached on a two-out error and was followed by a single from Shea Langeliers. But Nick Kurtz, who struggled all evening at the plate, whiffed to end the inning and left the potential go-ahead run stranded 90 feet away.

The top of the sixth is where the silence was finally broken, and it was broken loud. Soderstrom, who had already made three clean plays in left field, turned on a fastball and deposited it into the right-center seats for his 20th homer of the year. The solo blast gave Sacramento a 1–0 lead and put a jolt into the dugout, which had up to that point spent most of the game watching strikeouts mount like overdue bills.

But the Nationals answered quickly in the bottom half. Riley Adams, not known for his power, delivered a solo shot of his own to left field to tie the game. It was the only mistake Springs made all night, but it proved costly. Adams’ homer was also Washington’s first hit of the game, a stinging reminder that no lead is safe in a ballpark that can punish even the slightest miscue.

From there, both bullpens took over. Sacramento’s Sean Newcomb came in with the game tied in the seventh and managed to erase a leadoff single from James Wood by inducing a textbook 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Paul DeJong. It was clean, precise baseball, the kind that wins tight games, until it doesn’t.

The A’s had a final chance in the top of the ninth but came up empty. Pinch-hitter Colby Thomas struck out in his lone plate appearance. Gio Urshela grounded out. Max Schuemann, who had reached base twice earlier in the game, flied out to right. That set the stage for the bottom of the ninth, and the Nationals wasted no time.

Robert Hassell III opened the inning with a double off Michael Kelly, who had just entered in relief. Jacob Young tried to bunt him over but failed, fouling off strike three. For a moment, it felt like the A’s might escape. But CJ Abrams, cool and composed, laced a single to left that brought Hassell sprinting home for the walk-off win.

It was a game of small margins. Two errors by the Nationals kept Sacramento in the game longer than they might’ve deserved. But two missed opportunities with runners in scoring position, and just three hits total, meant the A’s were walking a tightrope from the first pitch to the final swing. And eventually, they slipped.

Tyler Soderstrom stood out with the bat and the glove, but the rest of the offense was mostly invisible. The top third of the order, Langeliers, Kurtz, and Rooker, combined to go 0-for-10 with six strikeouts. No amount of clean fielding can overcome that kind of quiet at the plate.

Starting pitchers for Thursday for Sacramento LHP Jacob Lopez (4-6 ERA 3.99) for Washington LHP Mitchell Parker (7-11 ERA 5.35) 9:05AM 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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