Sacramento A’s reliever Michael Kelly (49) shuts the door on the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sun Sep 14, 2025 (Athletics X photo)

Sacramento Bats Blast Reds in Series Closer

By Mauricio Segura

WEST SACRAMENTO–For three innings on Sunday afternoon, it looked like the Sacramento Athletics were about to limp into another quiet loss. The Cincinnati Reds came out swinging, tagging rookie starter Luis Morales for an early barrage and silencing the home crowd with a pair of long balls.

But if the 2025 Athletics have proven anything, it’s that they can take a punch, reset, and then slug their way right back into a fight. By the time the dust settled, the Green and Gold had out-homered Cincinnati, flexed the depth of their power, and stormed to a 7-4 win that completed a series sweep and gave fans another taste of why this late-season stretch has been worth watching.

Cincinnati wasted no time getting on the board. Noelvi Marte ripped a solo homer in the first, his 13th of the season, and two innings later, Will Benson’s two-run shot off Morales had the Reds sitting pretty with a 3-0 lead. Morales, making just his seventh career start, looked rattled early. His command wavered, and although he settled down to induce some ground ball outs, the Reds appeared in control, capitalizing on every mistake he left over the plate.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jacob Wilson, who continues to flirt with a batting title in his rookie campaign, stepped up and launched a solo homer into the left-field seats, sparking life in the dugout. Moments later, Colby Thomas followed suit with his sixth homer, this one a laser to left-center that brought Sacramento within a run. Suddenly, Lodolo’s early strut turned into a careful grind.

The fifth inning delivered the decisive moment. After Wilson was hit by a pitch, Nick Kurtz stepped in, and as he’s done so many times this year, turned the game on its head with one violent swing. His two-run shot, a towering drive to left, gave Sacramento its first lead of the day at 4-3. For Kurtz, it was his 32nd of the season, putting him further ahead of the rookie leaderboard and reaffirming what scouts have been saying since spring: this is a cornerstone bat in the making.

With momentum firmly in their favor, the A’s added insurance in the sixth when Thomas singled and Brett Harris laced a double down the line to make it 5-3. Brent Rooker then joined the power parade in the seventh, belting his 29th of the year to dead center. By then, Cincinnati’s bullpen looked shell-shocked, and Sacramento’s confidence was on full display. Thomas capped his afternoon with another hit in the seventh, part of a three-hit day that showcased his knack for producing in the middle of rallies.

The Reds tried to claw back in the eighth, with Sal Stewart cutting the deficit to 7-4 on a solo homer, but the A’s bullpen had enough answers. Brady Basso, Tyler Ferguson, Sean Newcomb, and Justin Sterner combined to bridge the gap before Michael Kelly closed things out in the ninth.

Morales, despite his shaky start, was backed up perfectly by a relief corps that has quietly transformed itself since the All-Star break. Once one of the shakiest units in baseball, Sacramento’s bullpen has carried a 3.01 ERA since late June, among the best in the majors.

The win carried significance beyond the box score. By sweeping Cincinnati, the Athletics improved to 69-80 on the season, officially eliminating them from AL West contention but keeping a flicker of Wild Card math alive, at least for another day.

More importantly, the team continued to prove it can hang with opponents by out-homering them, a formula that has worked like clockwork. Sacramento is now 44-9 when it clears the fences more often than its opponent, a staggering .830 winning percentage that underscores just how central power has become to its identity.

That reliance on the long ball might not always be sustainable, but this September surge is giving fans glimpses of the future. Kurtz, Wilson, and Thomas are all rookies. Together, they combined for four hits, three runs, and three home runs in Sunday’s victory.

It’s the kind of production that hints at a foundation being built, not just a streak of hot bats. Wilson, hitting .318, continues to press Aaron Judge for the AL batting crown, something an Athletic hasn’t won since Ferris Fain in 1952. Kurtz, meanwhile, already has more home runs than any A’s rookie since Yoenis Céspedes, and Thomas is quickly proving he can be more than just a depth piece.

Rooker, the veteran presence among the mashers, keeps doing his part too. His seventh-inning homer not only gave Sacramento breathing room, it also put him among the league leaders in doubles and extra-base hits. If the rookies are the promise of tomorrow, Rooker is the reminder that established power can still set the tone today.

It wasn’t a perfect afternoon. Morales lasted just 4.2 innings and was tagged for three early runs, raising questions about how many more innings his arm can handle this year. But even that storyline had a silver lining. Morales is just weeks removed from pitching in Double-A, and for all the lumps he’s taken, the A’s are 4-2 in his starts. That kind of trial by fire is how young rotations are forged.

By the time Kelly induced TJ Friedl’s final out in the ninth, the 8,778 fans in attendance were on their feet, savoring a series sweep that carried the weight of both momentum and meaning. It’s been a long, uneven season for Sacramento, one defined by brutal losing streaks and flashes of promise. Sunday’s win leaned hard into the latter, a young team showing fight, flashing power, and sending a message that the future might not be as far away as it sometimes feels.

As the A’s now pack their bags for Boston, they do so with a swagger that only comes from beating a team at its own game. Cincinnati brought the early thunder, but Sacramento answered with a storm of its own. And if this weekend was any indication, the Athletics’ blueprint is clear: keep swinging, keep slugging, and let the long ball carry them wherever it can.

Sacramento heads to Boston to open up a three game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Starting pitcher for the A’s LHP Jefferey Springs (10-11 ERA 4.28) the Sox have not announced a starter for Tuesday night’s game 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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