Sacramento A’s Lawrence Butler (4) belts a three run home run against the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the fourth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Wed Apr 29, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mauricio Segura

WEST SACRAMENTO–For one inning Wednesday night, it looked like Sutter Health Park might be setting the table for another tense, teeth-grinding Sacramento Athletics game against Kansas City Royals ended with an A’s victory 5-2.

The Royals pushed across a run in the first when Bobby Witt Jr. singled, Carter Jensen followed with another single, and Salvador Perez lined into a forceout that brought Witt home. It was not exactly a thunderclap, but it was enough to put the A’s in an early 1-0 hole and give the night that familiar uneasy feeling.

Then Luis Severino took the wheel and told everybody to sit down.

After that first-inning run, Severino turned into the grown-up in the room. He picked off Lane Thomas to end the second, cruised through a clean third and fourth, worked around a walk in the fifth, and kept Kansas City from turning scattered traffic into anything dangerous.

Entering the night, Severino’s season had included some rough home numbers and early-inning trouble, but this was the kind of start that changes the mood of a ballpark. He gave the Athletics seven strong innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out seven and walking two. For a team trying to protect its early grip on first place in the AL West, that was not just useful. That was oxygen.

The A’s tied it in the second with the kind of precise, simple baseball that does not need a cheerleading squad leading a YMCA chant. Jacob Wilson ripped a leadoff double to center, and Jeff McNeil followed with a double of his own to right, bringing Wilson home and evening the game at 1-1.

McNeil’s two-bagger carried a little extra shine, too, since he entered the night two doubles shy of 200 for his career. The inning could have grown bigger, but a replay challenge overturned a safe call at third and erased McNeil on a caught stealing, cutting the rally short.

The real blow came in the fourth. Wilson opened the inning with a single, McNeil added another, and Zack Gelof moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. That brought up Lawrence Butler, who had entered in struggle mode at the plate. Baseball, being the wonderfully rude little game it is, often ignores recent math when a hitter finds one pitch he likes. Butler got his pitch from Michael Wacha and launched it to right-center for a three-run homer, his third of the season, turning a tied game into a 4-1 Athletics lead.

That swing changed everything. Suddenly, Severino had breathing room, and Kansas City went into chase mode. The A’s dugout had life again after a frustrating opening game of the series the night before. Butler’s shot opened the door, and the Green and Gold held the key.

The A’s kept applying pressure. In the same fourth inning, Nick Kurtz walked, extending the patient streak that had already become an Athletics record. He entered the game having drawn a walk in 17 straight games, tied for the third-longest streak in American League history, and his free pass made sure the line kept moving. Carlos Cortes, who came in riding an eight-game hitting streak and fresh off being named American League Player of the Week, added another single later in the inning. The Royals escaped further damage when Lane Thomas threw Kurtz out at the plate after a replay review, but the inning still belonged to the Green and Gold.

Kurtz made noise again in the sixth. After Darell Hernaiz singled off reliever Luinder Avila, Kurtz drove a fly ball to center for his fourth double of the season, scoring Hernaiz and stretching the lead to 5-1. It was the kind of add-on run that looks small in the box score but feels enormous in the dugout, especially against a Kansas City lineup that still had Witt and Perez lurking.

The Royals made one last push in the ninth. Witt singled, Perez singled, and a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly brought Witt home and trimmed the lead to 5-2, forcing the A’s to make a pitching change. Mark Leiter Jr. came in with two outs, walked Isaac Collins, watched Collins steal second, and then struck out Jac Caglianone to slam the door before the Royals could make the inning truly uncomfortable.

It was not a perfect night. The A’s ran into outs on the bases, left chances dangling, and had to sweat a little in the ninth. But it was a winning night, and those are always prettier when the starting pitcher dominates, the defense turns clean plays, and a cold bat wakes up with one loud swing. The Athletics beat the Royals 5-2 because Severino settled the game, Butler broke it open, and Kurtz and McNeil kept doing the little things that make a lineup annoying in the best possible way.

Game three Thursday will be an afternoon delight, with KC’s LHP Noah Cameron (2-1 ERA 5.13) battling it out against Sacramento’s LHP Jeffrey Springs (3-2 ERA 3.79) at 12:05 p.m.

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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