Jacob Lopez #57 of the Athletics pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning at Sutter Health Park on August 12, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — The A’s have had a season full of exciting and potentially surprising developments this season. Some A’s experiences this year include Tyler Soderstrom’s red-hot start, Jacob Wilson’s starting All-Star first half, and Nick Kurtz’s four-homer game and breakout month of July.

However, there’s another development brewing that should rival even the aforementioned storylines: Jacob Lopez and his rise into the anchor of the A’s rotation. Lopez was fantastic again on Tuesday, as the A’s defeated the Rays 6-0 on a beautiful Sacramento night.

Jacob Lopez, who now has a 24-inning scoreless streak going after Tuesday’s outing, tossed seven innings of scoreless ball, scattering four hits and striking out nine Tampa Bay hitters.

“I think this is a big example of a young starter maturing and coming into his own, really gaining confidence each start,” Kotsay said of Lopez after the win. “I think for Jacob it’s been a little bit of a process, and to see him having the amount of success he’s having, I think we all felt that there was a chance for him to really do some things on the mound that we hadn’t seen. And I think you’re seeing it firsthand now in the last four outings.”

As mentioned earlier, Lopez has not given up a run in the last 24 innings he’s pitched. His last run surrendered was to the Texas Rangers on July 21 in Texas. Since then? Lights out.

Mark Kotsay praised the adjustments he’s made this year and where things started to go right for Lopez.

“I think the turning point was really his ability to recognize that when he throws strikes and is aggressive, he has that ability to locate the breaking ball and really pitch to the inner third to righties. That opens up the plate for the changeup and the cutter. And I think he’s just really excelled at doing that.”

Lopez reiterated that after the game, saying, “It all starts with the fastball,” to reporters in the clubhouse.

Another highlight on Tuesday was the fact that Lopez also didn’t walk a single Tampa Bay hitter, a sign he’s going well.

“I mean, whenever you don’t give out free bases, it puts you in a good situation,” Lopez, a man of few words, said postgame.

Lopez’s teammates were also impressed with his work recently and how easy he makes it to play behind him.

“I mean, what Lopez has been doing is awesome,” Colby Thomas said postgame to the media scrum in the clubhouse. “I mean, it’s unbelievable. Playing behind him is awesome, and when he gets in there and he’s pounding the strike zone and he’s got confidence in his stuff, we’re  playing right behind him. We’re ready to go…”

The Bullpen

The bullpen would toss the final two innings for the A’s in what was a tale of two pitchers. Justin Sterner pitched the eighth inning with no trouble while striking out one hitter in his inning of relief. However, Tyler Ferguson came in for the ninth and wasn’t sharp. Ferguson walked the second and third hitters he faced to get himself into a bit of a tough spot in the ninth. Yet, even without his best stuff, Ferguson got out of the ninth inning unscathed, not allowing a run to seal the A’s 6-0 win.

The Bats

On the offensive side of things, the A’s made the most of the hits they had at the plate. The A’s managed to score six runs while only tallying eight hits in the game.

“I thought tonight the at-bats were really good,” Mark Kotsay said in the media shed after the game. “They were consistent throughout the lineup. I think everybody had great at-bats and did what they needed to do. We had some situational at-bats that we took that we had success in. We obviously grinded out some at-bats and put pressure on them. I thought overall the offense did a great job.”

The A’s initial scoring came on a Colby Thomas RBI double in the second inning to give the A’s the 1-0 lead early. The A’s would add three runs in the fourth inning on a Colby Thomas sacrifice fly, a Lawrence Butler RBI double, and an E2 off the bat of Luis Urías that scored Law Dog from second base. Lawrence Butler extended the A’s lead to 6-0 in the eighth inning on an RBI single to cap the A’s scoring for the night.

Kurtz on base streak ends

Elevated to the leadoff spot for the A’s on Tuesday, A’s slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz was unable to reach base safely. The A’s rookie had reached base safely in the last 26 games prior to Tuesday’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays. Kurtz finished 0-4 on the night with three strikeouts. 

Up Next

The A’s improved to 54-68 on the season after defeating Tampa Bay 6-0 on Tuesday night.

The A’s and Rays will play in the rubber game on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. J.T. Ginn (2-4, 4.39 ERA) will go for the A’s and go up against Drew Rasmussen (9-5, 2.66 ERA) for the Rays.