Seattle Mariners Josh Naylor front is hugged by teammate Julio Rodriguez back after celebrating Naylor’s walk off single against the Sacramento A’s at T Mobile Field on Wed Apr 22, 2026 (AP News photo)

Kurtz Cracks the Door and Seattle Slams It Shut 5-4 at T Mobile

By Mauricio Segura

The Sacramento Athletics came to Seattle riding a six-game road winning streak and sitting alone atop the American League West, and for most of Wednesday afternoon they looked ready to leave town with another gritty win. Instead, they got a reminder that baseball loves to wait until the last possible moment to break your heart dropping the third game against the Seattle Mariners 5-4 at T Mobile Field.

The A’s jumped on Logan Gilbert right away and looked sharp from the first pitch. Nick Kurtz opened the game with a walk, which fit the patient approach that has become part of his early-season identity. Shea Langeliers followed with a single, Carlos Cortes added another, and just like that the bases were crowded with trouble for Seattle.

Tyler Soderstrom lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Kurtz for the game’s first run, and after Jacob Wilson flew out, Jeff McNeil lined a single to center that scored Langeliers. Julio Rodríguez misplayed the ball behind him, which allowed Carlos Cortes to move to third, and the A’s had a quick 2-0 lead before many fans had even settled into their seats.

Seattle answered in the bottom of the first, because this game had no interest in being calm. J.P. Crawford singled, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor followed with base hits, and Randy Arozarena’s sacrifice fly cut the lead to 2-1. Aaron Civale managed to escape a bases-loaded jam by striking out Dominic Canzone, which felt important at the time and still did later.

The A’s stretched the lead again in the third, and Wilson was right in the middle of it. Carlos Cortes singled to start the inning, and Wilson drilled a double to left that brought him home for a 3-1 lead. Wilson has been swinging a hot bat lately, and the hit fit what the Athletics had already been seeing from him.

Wilson also entered Wednesday with a record-breaking 62-game errorless streak at shortstop, the longest ever by an Athletics shortstop, so his name was already all over the game notes before he added another extra-base hit. Nick Kurtz also came in with a walk in 11 straight games, one of the longest such streaks in franchise history, and he extended it right out of the gate. Those are not side notes anymore. They are becoming part of who these young A’s are.

Seattle kept punching back. Cal Raleigh led off the bottom of the third with his fifth home run of the season, sending a ball to right that made it 3-2. Civale then settled back down for a bit, and the A’s bullpen tried to carry the rest. Brady Basso entered in the sixth after Josh Naylor singled and Randy Arozarena popped out, but the Mariners got even when pinch-hitter Mitch Garver doubled and Rob Refsnyder lifted a sacrifice fly to center. That tied the game at 3-3 and erased the edge the Athletics had been protecting since the opening inning.

The seventh inning was where Seattle finally moved in front. Mark Leiter Jr. took over for the A’s, and Crawford singled again to set the table. Raleigh then ripped a double to right, pushing Crawford to third. Julio Rodríguez did not need a hit that time. He rolled a grounder to short, and while Wilson made the play cleanly, Crawford scored to give the Mariners their first lead at 4-3. Raleigh later stole third after a challenge overturned the original call, but Leiter escaped any further damage by striking out Naylor.

That should have been the swing that decided it. Then Kurtz showed up again.

Leading off the ninth against Andrés Muñoz, with the A’s down to their last three outs, Kurtz drove a ball to center field for a game-tying home run. It was his fourth homer of the season and the kind of shot that changes the whole mood of a dugout.

One minute the A’s were staring at a frustrating road loss, and the next they were six outs from maybe stealing another one-run game. That would have fit their season so far. The Athletics had already shown during this stretch that they were comfortable living close to the edge.

But the bottom of the ninth belonged to Seattle. Leo Rivas opened with a single. Crawford then grounded into a double play, which looked enormous. Two outs, bases empty, tie game. Then Raleigh singled. Rodríguez singled. Naylor lined another single to left, and Raleigh scored the winner. Just like that, Seattle had a 5-4 walk-off win, and the A’s were left staring at a game they nearly stole twice and still could not finish.

It was a bruising kind of loss because the Athletics did a lot right. They scored first. Wilson delivered again. Cortes kept hitting. Kurtz worked a walk and blasted the tying homer in the ninth. But this one turned on timing, not talent. The Mariners got the last swing, and the A’s left Seattle with a lesson that every contender learns sooner or later: being tough is not always enough when the other team gets the final word.

The A’s move onto Texas to face the Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Fri Apr 24, 2026. The A’s have Thu Apr 23, 2026 off it’s the A’s first day off in 16 days. Starting pitcher for Sacramento RHP Luis Severino (0-2 ERA 6.20) Texas has not announced a starter yet.

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.