Jacob Lopez #57 of the Athletics pitches against the New York Yankees in the top of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on Sun May 31, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics and Yankees played the rubber game of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. The Yankees took the series from the A’s with a historic 13-8 victory on Sunday to cap the A’s homestand.

Jacob Lopez got the ball for the A’s to start the game as Mark Kotsay looked to fill his rotation after the injury to Luis Severino. Lopez really struggled on Sunday after getting off to a solid start, retiring the first six batters he faced. In the third inning, it unraveled as Lopez gave up seven runs on five hits while walking two, as he was unable to record an out in the inning.

“Jacob going out in that inning… the two walks became an issue right away,” Kotsay said after the game. “He gets himself in a jam, doesn’t cover first base, it’s a mental lapse there and it cost him, it cost him severely.”

Kotsay went on to describe how the abbreviated start from Lopez left the team in a bad spot, and he didn’t mince words.

“We needed a start from him today after dealing with Friday and an injury where we ran the pen hard,” Kotsay said postgame. “We ran the pen again last night to get a win. We needed five, six innings from Jacob today and we unfortunately weren’t able to get that.”

Kotsay’s frustrations weren’t just words. Jacob Lopez met with the media at his locker after the game and informed reporters that he had been sent down to Triple-A.

“I mean, it’s kind of been a common thing all year,” Lopez said in the clubhouse. “So, I’m going to go to Triple-A and figure it out.”

Aside from his demotion, I asked Lopez if he had ever been part of such a wild inning at any level of his baseball career.

“No, I’ve never been a part of a 13-run inning.”

Having to go to the bullpen early yet again, Mark Kotsay went with Michael Kelly to try and clean up the mess in the third inning. Kelly struggled mightily, and the bleeding continued for the A’s and their pitching staff as he was only able to get two outs in the inning.

Kelly threw 42 pitches to get those two outs while giving up six runs on six hits and walking two Yankees hitters. Lopez, combined with Kelly out of the bullpen, was part of one of the worst innings in MLB history. The Yankees scored 10 runs in the inning before Kelly was able to get the first out, tying the 2003 Boston Red Sox, who did the same thing.

Kotsay had to turn to Jack Perkins, his third pitcher of the third inning, to close out the frame. He got Trent Grisham to fly out and closed the book on the disastrous inning for the A’s pitching staff. All told, Jacob Lopez and Michael Kelly gave up 13 runs, 11 hits, and four walks in the disastrous third inning.

Perkins went on to pitch another two innings for the A’s, trying to provide some length out of the bullpen. Perkins pitched the fourth and fifth innings, going three up, three down in both frames and needing only 30 pitches across his two and one-third innings of work.

Mark Leiter Jr. was the next man up for the A’s as he pitched a scoreless sixth inning while allowing just one walk.

Luis Medina pitched the seventh and eighth innings for the A’s and was on fire, allowing no hits or walks while striking out four Yankees hitters.

Jose Suarez capped the pitching effort for the A’s as he tossed a scoreless ninth inning while striking out one.

On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s battled but ultimately couldn’t overcome the historically bad third inning.

Believe it or not, the A’s actually had a three-run lead in the game as they scored the first three runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Jonah Heim got the A’s on the board first when he reached on a fielding error in center field that allowed two A’s runners to score and gave the A’s a quick 2-0 lead.

One batter later, Lawrence Butler got the A’s their third run of the inning as he lined an RBI single to left field that scored Heim from second base and gave the A’s a 3-0 lead.

The A’s wouldn’t score again until the seventh inning when Brent Rooker homered to left-center field to give the A’s their fourth run of the game, albeit in a 13-4 contest. Rooker’s homer was his eighth of the year and his 26th RBI. The shot left his bat at 109 mph and traveled 404 feet over the wall in left field.

Later in the seventh inning, the A’s got three more runs on a three-run shot from Jonah Heim to right field that brought them back within six runs and made it a 13-7 ballgame. It was Heim’s second home run of the year and increased his RBI total to 11. The home run left the bat at 106 mph and traveled 409 feet.

Nick Kurtz, who reached base four times on Sunday, got the A’s their final run of the game with a booming RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning that left his bat at 107 mph. It was Kurtz’s 12th double of the year and his 41st RBI of the campaign.

The A’s offense tallied eight runs on 12 hits while drawing five walks.

With the loss, the A’s fell to 28-31 on the year while the Yankees improved to 36-23 and took the series, 2-1.

The A’s will travel to Chicago on Sunday night and spend an off day in the Windy City before a three-game series with the Cubs that begins Tuesday at 5:05 p.m. PST. The A’s will send Gage Jump (0-1, 7.20 ERA) to the mound to make his second major league start, while the Cubs are scheduled to counter with Jameson Taillon (2-4, 5.37 ERA) in the series opener.

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.