Sacramento A’s Zack Gelof (20) is greeted at home plate by Tyler Soderstrom (21) in the bottom of the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sun May 3, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mauricio Segura

After two frustrating days against the Cleveland Guardians, the Sacramento Athletics finally found the right answer Sunday afternoon at home: hitting balls over the fence, keep the line moving, and let Aaron Civale handle the rest.

The A’s came in having lost the first two games of the series and carrying a rough recent history against the Guardians, a team that had given them more headaches than a failing umpire microphone during an ABS challenge. They also entered the day still clinging to first place in the American League West, making this 7-1 win feel less like just another early May game and more like a badly needed deep breath. With the win the A’s remain 1.5 games up in first place in the AL West.

Civale had to work right away. Cleveland put two runners on in the first when Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo each singled, but Civale escaped by getting José Ramírez to fly out and Daniel Schneemann looking at strike three. In the second, Travis Bazzana singled, stole second, and reached third on a groundout, but again Civale closed the door. Those early innings mattered because Cleveland had chances to change the mood of the afternoon before the A’s even got comfortable.

Instead, Colby Thomas woke up the ballpark in the bottom of the second. With one swing, he drove a fly ball to left-center for his first home run of the season, giving the Athletics a 1-0 lead and giving the afternoon its first real jolt. It was the kind of swing that does not just put a run on the board. It tells the dugout, “All right, boys, we are not spending this Sunday waiting around.”

Cleveland answered in the fifth when DeLauter launched his sixth homer of the year to left field, tying the game at 1-1. That could have been the moment the Guardians started dragging the A’s back into familiar trouble. Civale had already spent much of the day dodging Cleveland traffic, and Ramírez followed the homer with a walk. But Austin Wynns helped flip the inning by throwing out Ramírez trying to steal second, and Civale finished the frame without any more damage.

Then the A’s took the game by the throat in the bottom half. Zack Gelof opened the fifth with his second home run of the season, a fly ball to left that pushed the Athletics back in front. Before Cleveland could even sit with that, Tyler Soderstrom followed with his fourth homer, sending a drive to right-center and stretching the lead to 3-1. The back-to-back blasts changed everything. What had been a tight game suddenly had the snap and swagger of a team tired of being pushed around.

The Athletics were not finished. Darell Hernaiz singled, Jeff McNeil followed with a hit to right, and Jacob Wilson kept the inning alive with a forceout that moved Hernaiz to third. Brent Rooker, continuing to climb out of a cold stretch after returning from the injured list, then beat out a ground-ball single to shortstop that scored Hernaiz and made it 4-1. It was not the prettiest RBI of Rooker’s career, but it counted just the same. Baseball does not ask whether the run wore a tuxedo.

The knockout punch came in the sixth. Gelof walked, Soderstrom singled, and Wynns drew a walk to load the bases. After Hernaiz flew out, McNeil stepped in and delivered the swing that broke Cleveland’s afternoon in half. His sharp double to right cleared the bases, scoring Gelof, Soderstrom, and Wynns to make it 7-1. McNeil entered the day swinging a hot bat, and this was the kind of veteran plate appearance that turns a comfortable lead into a padded chair.

Civale finished with six strong innings, allowing one run while scattering Cleveland’s threats and giving the A’s exactly what they needed after their pitching staff had been roughed up in the first two games of the series. Justin Sterner, Mark Leiter Jr., and Joel Kuhnel handled the final three innings, with Leiter striking out two in a clean eighth and Kuhnel finishing the ninth after a brief injury delay.

By the end, the A’s had ten hits, three home runs, and a game that felt refreshingly orderly after Cleveland had spent the series making life miserable. Thomas supplied the early spark, Gelof and Soderstrom turned the fifth into a fireworks show, McNeil delivered the big swing, and Civale made sure the Guardians never built anything larger than a threat.

The A’s hop on a plane Sunday night for Philadelphia, with a day off Monday so everyone can pose for selfies on the Rocky steps while wiping cheesesteak grease from their fingers. Then Tuesday, Luis Severino (2-2 / 4.46 ERA / 40k) takes the mound at 3:40 p.m. Pacific Time against a Phillies starter yet to be named.

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.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.