Minnesota Twins Kody Clemens (18) slid into the tag out by Sacramento A’s catcher Willie MacIver (left) in the bottom of the fourth inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thu Aug 21, 2025 (AP News photo)

Rookies and Redemption Fuel Sacramento in 8-3 Rout Over Minnesota

By Mauricio Segura

In a ballpark where the Twins typically dance to their own beat, it was the Sacramento Athletics who brought the bass drum and snare roll to Target Field Wednesday afternoon, hammering Minnesota 8–3 in a statement win defined by clutch hitting, patient at-bats, and a power display from a blossoming rookie.

Sacramento’s explosive second inning looked like something out of a hitting clinic, complete with base-to-base fundamentals and just enough chaos to unsettle starter José Ureña. After a one-out hit-by-pitch and a couple of timely singles, the Athletics loaded the bases and broke the game open.

Nick Kurtz, the young first baseman showing flashes of future All-Star credentials, drew a composed walk to push runners around. Then Lawrence Butler doubled home three, Brent Rooker doubled home another, and by the time the dust settled, it was 6–0 Green and Gold with the home crowd stunned into silence.

Ureña never found his footing again. His second inning unraveling included a wild pitch, two more walks, and a barrage of hard contact that left Minnesota scrambling for answers. He lasted only five innings, tagged for six earned runs.

His opposition, Jack Perkins, pitched four and two-thirds innings of gritty baseball. While he flirted with danger in the fourth when the Twins loaded the bases with no outs, a bizarre force-out at home and alert defense limited the damage to just two runs.

Despite a late rally attempt, Minnesota never closed the gap to within striking distance. Sacramento’s bats kept breathing in the middle innings. Kurtz, making good on his second-inning RBI walk, delivered a solo shot to dead center in the sixth off reliever Michael Tonkin.

It was Kurtz’s 26th homer of the season and a no-doubt blast that seemed to symbolize the Athletics’ intent: a team in rebuild mode that’s no longer waiting around to be competitive.

Tyler Soderstrom, who manned left field, also had himself a day at the plate, collecting three hits including a double and two sharply-hit singles. He reached base four times, consistently applying pressure and pushing the pace offensively. It’s becoming more apparent that Soderstrom, still only 23, is growing into the kind of versatile player Sacramento can lean on both now and in the years ahead.

Ben Bowden, Osvaldo Bido, and the rest of Sacramento’s bullpen picked up where Perkins left off. After allowing a run in the fourth, they shut the door across the next five frames, giving up just three hits combined. Minnesota managed a final gasp in the ninth when Royce Lewis doubled in Kody Clemens, but it was far too little too late.

While Butler’s bases-clearing double was the highlight reel moment, Sacramento’s offense functioned like a well-tuned orchestra. Nine hits scattered across the lineup. Seven different players reached base. And the A’s demonstrated not just power but a patient eye, drawing five walks to Minnesota’s four.

Max Schuemann added an RBI single in the seventh to make it 8–2, while catcher Willie MacIver, despite finishing hitless, contributed behind the plate with steady game-calling and a throw that cut down a runner at home in the fourth.

Minnesota’s promising young trio of Buxton, Larnach, and Lee were mostly neutralized. Buxton went 0-for-4, lining out twice to center fielder Lawrence Butler who covered a lot of ground and made multiple strong reads. Larnach did double in the fourth and score, but it wasn’t enough to change the momentum. Meanwhile, James Outman struck out three times in the loss and left runners stranded in key moments.

Managerial decisions, particularly the timing of Minnesota’s pitching changes, could be questioned in hindsight. Ureña was allowed to face one batter too many during Sacramento’s second-inning barrage, and by the time Tonkin entered in the sixth, the game was largely out of reach.

It was a win that reminded fans and pundits alike that the Athletics, though relocated and retooled, aren’t merely a placeholder franchise. They’re young, they’re scrappy, and as they proved Wednesday, they’re capable of outplaying anyone when things click. With a new identity in Sacramento and a clubhouse built on grit, the Green and Gold might just be laying the groundwork for something special.

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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⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

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Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

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