Sacramento A’s pitcher Justin Sterner pitches to the Texas Rangers line up in releif in the sixth inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sun Apr 26, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s game wrap: Green and Gold Fly Home With a 2-1 One-Run Nerve Test

By Mauricio Segura

The Sacramento A’s did not exactly storm out of Texas on Sunday afternoon. They tiptoed through traffic, ducked a few falling anvils, and still somehow walked away with a 2-1 win over the Rangers. In a game that began with a first-place tie in the American League West, the Green and Gold grabbed two runs in the first inning, then spent the next eight innings protecting them like a man carrying soup across a trampoline to retain sole poscession of the top spot.

The biggest swing came early. After Nick Kurtz struck out and Shea Langeliers grounded out, Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker worked back-to-back walks against Kumar Rocker. That brought up Carlos Cortes, who has been one of the hottest bats on the roster during this road trip. Cortes turned on a line drive to center field, racing all the way to third as Soderstrom and Rooker scored. Just like that, the A’s had a 2-0 lead before Texas could settle into the day.

That triple fit right into Cortes’ recent surge. Entering the game, he had gone 10-for-20 on the road trip with three homers, two doubles and five RBIs, and he kept applying pressure Sunday. He added singles in the fourth and eighth, finishing with three hits and both Athletics RBIs. For a lineup that stranded chances later, Cortes’ first-inning swing became the whole offensive meal, not just the appetizer.

J.T. Ginn did his part before leaving after an injury delay in the fourth. He opened with a ground-ball single to Brandon Nimmo, then immediately erased it with a double play off Joc Pederson’s bat. Texas threatened in the second when Josh Jung doubled, Josh Smith walked, and a balk moved both runners into scoring position. Ginn responded by striking out Danny Jansen to keep the Rangers empty-handed. He worked around another single in the third and left with a 2-0 lead after Evan Carter was hit by a pitch and stole second in the fourth.

From there, the bullpen turned the game into a long, sweaty trust exercise. Joel Kuhnel escaped the fourth. Jacob Lopez worked a clean fifth but ran into trouble in the sixth when Jung doubled and Carter’s sacrifice bunt turned into a throwing error, allowing Jung to score and cutting the lead to 2-1. When Jake Burger walked and Josh Smith reached on a bunt single, Texas had the bases loaded with nobody out and every reason to believe the game was about to flip.

Justin Sterner refused to let it happen. He struck out Jansen, struck out Sam Haggerty, and got Nimmo to line out to center. That was the game’s hinge, the moment when the Rangers had the door open and the Athletics slammed it shut with both hands. It also continued a strong bullpen stretch for the A’s, who entered the day having allowed just four runs over their previous seven games from the relief corps.

The A’s offense had chances to breathe easier but could not cash in. Langeliers doubled in the fifth and singled in the seventh. Nick Kurtz singled in the seventh, and Zack Gelof stole second as a pinch-runner in the eighth. In the ninth, Lawrence Butler singled, Darell Hernaiz moved him over with a sacrifice bunt, Kurtz was intentionally walked, and Soderstrom walked to load the bases. But Brent Rooker struck out, leaving the lead stuck at one run.

That made Jack Perkins’ finish even bigger. After Hogan Harris handled the seventh and Perkins struck out two in the eighth, the right-hander returned for the ninth with no margin for foolishness. Nimmo lined out sharply to left. Andrew McCutchen struck out swinging. Corey Seager then grounded out to Kurtz, who flipped to Perkins covering first, ending a tight win that felt more like a street fight than a clean baseball game.

Side note: Kurtz also made a little franchise history with his ninth-inning intentional walk, extending his walk streak to 16 straight games and breaking the all-time Athletics record he had shared with Topsy Hartsel, Max Bishop and Rickey Henderson.

This win did not come with fanfare, but it came with grit, bullpen nerve, and and a sprinkle of Cortes thunder. Sometimes that is all a club needs. The Green and Gold did not bury Texas. They simply outlasted them on their own turf.

The Kansas City Royals are scheduled to visit the A’s and West Sacramento on Tuesday night at Sutter Health Park starting pitcher for the Royals LHP Kris Bubic (2-1 ERA 4.80) the A’s have not announced a starter for Tuesday night yet first pitch 6:40pm PDT.

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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