Sacramento A’s Nick Kurtz (right) celebrates his two run home run with third base coach Bobby Crosby (left) against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Field in Houston Sun Jun 7, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Maurcio Segura

The Sacramento Athletics needed a reset button, a deep breath, and maybe somebody to hide Houston’s bats for a few hours. To the A’s fans relief, Gage Jump handled all three.

After getting dismantled the day before, the Green and Gold turned the final game of the series into a much different kind of afternoon, beating the Astros 5-0 Sunday behind 6 1/3 scoreless innings from their rookie left-hander and a pair of big swings from Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker.

Jump was making only his third major league start, but he did not pitch like a kid borrowing the keys. Houston put two runners on in the first when Yordan Alvarez singled and Christian Walker reached on Zack Gelof’s throwing error, but Gelof helped erase the mistake almost immediately. Isaac Paredes bounced into a 5-4-3 double play, and Jump escaped before the inning could turn crooked.

That early twin killing set the tone. The Astros would get traffic here and there, but never enough to make the Athletics sweat through their lineup. Jump gave up a single to Nick Allen in the third, then watched another double play wipe out the threat. Alvarez later drew a base on balls and moved to second on a wild pitch, but Walker grounded out to end it.

The A’s offense took its first real bite in the third. Alika Williams singled to left, and Kurtz followed by sending a line drive over the wall in right-center. For Kurtz, it continued a special connection with Houston pitching. He entered the day with a career .421 average against the Astros, along with nine home runs and 18 RBI in 15 games, and then added another blast to the pile. Houston probably would not mind if he misplaced his bat whenever these clubs meet.

Shea Langeliers kept the inning going with a single, stole second, and scored when Rooker ripped a double to left. That made it 3-0, and it gave Jump something more comfortable than a one-run cushion.

The Athletics added another run in the fourth without needing a hit after Gelof doubled to left. With two outs, Kurtz reached when Jeremy Peña mishandled a grounder, allowing Gelof to score. Kurtz then stole second, a small detail in the box score but a useful reminder that he is more than a first baseman with power. The A’s did not cash in further, but the lead had grown to four.

Rooker then supplied the final run in the fifth, lifting a solo homer to left-center off Mike Burrows. The blast was Rooker’s second major blow of the game after his RBI double and gave the Athletics a 5-0 lead. Burrows lasted five innings, and the damage against him was direct enough to tell the story: Kurtz with the two-run homer, Rooker with the double, Rooker again with the homer.

Meanwhile, Jump kept working. Cam Smith drew a base on balls in the second, Alvarez did the same in the third, and Smith singled in the seventh. Jake Meyers followed with another base on balls, finally ending Jump’s outing after 6 1/3 innings. Justin Sterner entered and protected the lead, striking out Christian Vázquez before LaMonte Wade Jr. lined out to Lawrence Butler in right.

From there, the bullpen finished the job with little drama. Mark Leiter Jr., who had already been riding the best scoreless run of his career, handled the eighth by striking out Jose Altuve and Peña before retiring Alvarez on a grounder. Hogan Harris took the ninth, and after Smith’s two-out single, Meyers popped up to Williams to end it.

For an Athletics team that had been fighting uneven starting pitching over the last few outings, Jump’s performance mattered beyond the standings. He had earned his first major league win in his previous start by holding the Cubs to one run over seven innings. Against Houston, he backed it up. That is how a young pitcher begins turning an opportunity into a rotation claim.

The defense helped, too. Gelof made the early error, but his glove was also part of both double plays and several steady throws across the diamond. Williams started the third-inning rally and later sealed the final out. Langeliers added a hit, a stolen base, and a run. Butler had two hits and shifted from center to right after Henry Bolte entered the game.

The Athletics did not bury Houston under a mountain of hits, but a win is a win, and that’s wat the A’s needed leaving Houston.

Game 1 of the next series has the A’s playing home games in Las Vegas with a lefty-on-lefty test, as Jeffrey Springs (3-6, 4.37 ERA, 60 K) faces off against Milwaukee’s Kyle Harrison (7-1, 1.57 ERA, 73 K). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Pacific Monday night.

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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