Henry Bolte #33 of the Athletics is congratulated by manager Mark Kotsay #7 after Bolte hit an RBI sacrifice fly scoring Nick Kurtz #16 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park on May 13, 2026 in Sacramento, California. The RBI was the first of Bolte’s career. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics were back in action against the Cardinals for game two of a three-game set on Wednesday night. After losing the first game of the series, the A’s looked for their revenge at 6:40 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park.

The A’s defeated the Cardinals in commanding fashion on Wednesday night, 6-2.

The A’s got another solid performance out of their starter, J.T. Ginn. Ginn, who pitched eight innings in his last start, managed to go six innings against the Cardinals in what was an unstable but effective performance. Ginn gave up nine hits in his six innings of work but walked just one to limit the damage and give up only one unearned run.

“I think there’s a lot of maturity with JT this year, both on and off the field,” Kotsay said after the game. “I see a different young man that now has established I think solid routines, solid processes between starts. We talk a lot about the easiest day should be the day you take the mound. The other four should be really hard and I think he’s taken a grasp of the amount of work he has to put in before each start.”

Kotsay’s sentiment was echoed by Ginn in the clubhouse after the game.

“I think it’s [the process] been huge for me and everything how you go about your work every day, but I think it’s a lot of trial and error those first couple years and just figuring out what works for me and then just working off of that.”

For the bullpen, the A’s got another solid performance from the group.

Justin Sterner came in to pitch in the seventh inning and didn’t have his best stuff. He tossed two-thirds of an inning before being lifted after giving up a run on two hits. Hogan Harris came in and cleaned up, getting the final out of the seventh by way of the strikeout.

In the eighth inning, Luis Medina came on and recorded a clean inning, allowing nothing to the Cardinals offense.

In the ninth inning, Jack Perkins came in and tossed a scoreless frame to finish the game, allowing just one hit.

On the offensive side of the ball, Nick Kurtz carried the lion’s share of the load with a grand slam in the fifth inning to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. It was Kurtz’s first opposite-field home run this season and was a welcome sight for the slugger.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Kurtz said after the game. “I’m more happy that it was the first one the other way this year. I think that’s a bigger emphasis for me.”

In the seventh inning, Henry Bolte added another run for the A’s on a sac fly to right field to make it a 5-1 game. It was a nice way to cap off the MLB debut for Bolte as he recorded two hits, an RBI, and a diving catch in center field.

“I think it was great, happy that we got to win as a team,” Henry Bolte said after the game. “That’s kind of the thing, going out there trying to make a difference, little plays, big plays, anything you can do to help the team win. So being able to beat out a couple singles and make a nice play is getting that done. So it was a great debut and happy the boys got the job done, we got to win.”

Zack Gelof added the A’s final run of the night with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, in the eighth inning to give the A’s the 6-2 lead. All in, the A’s offense recorded 13 hits and walked twice in the viceroy on Wednesday night. 

With the win, the A’s improved to 22-20 and will go for the series win against the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon. The A’s will send Jacob Lopez (3-2, 6.11 ERA) to the mound while the Cardinals will counter with Michael McGreevy (3-2, 2.18). First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park.