Sacramento A’s Cody Thomas rounds the bases after slugging a three run home run in the bottom eighth against the Los Angeles Angels at the Big A in Anaheim on Sat Sep 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Athletics Hammer Angels with Relentless Barrage 17-4

By Mauricio Segura

The Sacramento Athletics wasted no time lighting up the scoreboard at Angel Stadium, jumping all over Los Angeles pitching in a 17-4 massacre that was never in doubt after the opening attack.

The Green and Gold came out swinging in the first, setting the tone with a two-out rally. Nick Kurtz and Colby Thomas each drew walks before Jacob Wilson lined a single to load the bases. Tyler Soderstrom then cleared them with a bases-clearing double, giving the Athletics a quick 3-0 cushion.

Sacramento kept the pedal down in the second inning. After Brent Rooker’s RBI double extended the lead, Thomas followed with a towering three-run homer to left center, putting the A’s up 7-0 before the Angels had even recorded their sixth out. By the time Kurtz launched his 29th homer of the year in the fourth, the Angels were reeling, down 8-1 and looking for answers.

Sacramento’s offense wasn’t finished. In the sixth, Wilson singled and came around to score on a groundout to push the lead to 9-1. Then came the knockout punch in the eighth, when pinch-hitter Carlos Cortes drilled a three-run shot for his first big league homer. The onslaught continued with six consecutive hits, capped by Shea Langeliers’ two-run single that ballooned the score to 14-1.

Even after Los Angeles answered with back-to-back homers in the bottom of the eighth from Matthew Lugo and Jo Adell, the A’s refused to let the night end quietly. In the ninth, JJ Bleday crushed a three-run homer to right, giving Sacramento its final total of 17 runs on 20 hits.

Every part of the lineup contributed: Wilson collected three hits, Langeliers added four with three runs batted in, and Thomas homered and singled in a strong performance. Cortes’ storybook blast highlighted a bench that kept pouring it on.

On the mound, Sacramento’s pitching was just as sharp. The Angels managed only scattered singles until Yoán Moncada tripled in the third for their first run. Starter J.T. Ginn and relievers Hogan Harris and Scott McGough combined to hold Los Angeles largely in check, striking out eight and stranding runners in nearly every frame.

By the end, the Angels were left searching for positives in a lopsided loss, while the Athletics cemented another statement victory powered by patience at the plate, timely hitting, and a relentless offensive attack. For Sacramento, the message was clear: when the bats wake up this early, the game can be decided before the sun even sets.

Starting pitchers for Sunday’s game at the Big A for Sacramento RHP Luis Severino (6-11 ERA 4.65) for Los Angeles LHP Mitch Ferris (1-0 ERA 1.80) first pitch 1:07pm 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.