Las Vegas A’s Nick Kurtz (16) rounds the bases after hitting a 471 foot home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Las Vegas Ballpark on Sat Jun 13, 2026 (AP News photo)

Las Vegas A’s game recap:

By Mauricio Segura

The Las Vegas A’s needed that big swing that had carried them through a recent power surge, and for four innings in 100 degrees of Las Vegas heat, the bats mostly made noise without doing much damage. The A’s got fifth inning help with two home runs in the from Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz that helped the A’s to a 6-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Colorado rookie Sean Sullivan, making his Major League debut, gave the Rockies exactly what they needed early. He held the A’s scoreless through three innings, working around Henry Bolte being hit by a pitch and Nick Kurtz’s single in the third. The Athletics had chances, including Jonah Heim’s double in the second, but the scoreboard just displayed zero’s.

Gage Jump matched Sullivan and then some for five innings. The left-hander worked through a pair of first-inning singles by Kyle Karros and TJ Rumfield, stranded Braxton Fulford after a single and stolen base in the second, and then settled into a nasty rhythm. By the fifth, he had struck out the side, getting Sterlin Thompson, Fulford and Chad Stevens in order. For a pitcher making only his fourth Major League start, Jump showed why the A’s have trusted him so quickly. He entered with a 12.1-inning scoreless streak and stretched it into the sixth before Colorado bats finally figured out his timing.

Before that trouble, the Green and Gold got their jolt in the bottom of the fifth. Langeliers lifted a solo homer to center, and Kurtz followed with one of his own to right-center. Just like that, a quiet game turned into another reminder that this Athletics lineup can change the the scenery with two swings. Kurtz, already among the best on-base hitters in baseball this season, kept adding to a stretch that has made him one of the A’s toughest outs. Langeliers, meanwhile, continued to turn extra-base hits into his favorite form of punctuation. They don’t call him Bangaliers for nothing!

Colorado answered in the sixth and briefly stole the mood. Willi Castro and Karros opened with singles, Rumfield drew a free pass, and Jump’s outing ended with the bases full. Justin Sterner took over and got Hunter Goodman swinging, but Troy Johnston’s sacrifice fly put the Rockies on the board. Cole Carrigg then launched a three-run homer to right-center, flipping a 2-0 Athletics lead into a 4-2 Colorado advantage. If the A’s were rattled, it didn’t show. They came back like Spartans set to rescue Helen of Troy.

Jacob Wilson, back from the injured list, drew a free pass to begin the bottom of the sixth, and Zack Gelof followed with a single to keep his hitting streak moving. Max Muncy then drove a two-run double to center, scoring Wilson and Gelof to tie it 4-4. It was a needed swing from Muncy, who had recently returned from a fractured left hand, and it yanked the game back from a Rockies club that had only just grabbed control.

The Athletics took the lead for good in the seventh with a little chaos and a lot of hustle. Lawrence Butler, who entered as a pinch-hitter in the fifth and stayed in right field, doubled to begin the inning. Tyler Soderstrom drew a free pass, but Colorado nearly escaped after Jacob Wilson popped out and Carlos Cortes hit into a force. Then Butler broke for home during a caught-stealing sequence, and catcher Hunter Goodman’s error allowed him to score. It was not pretty baseball, but nitty gritty gets the job done just as well.

Butler was not done. In the eighth, after Muncy singled and Bolte added a base hit, Kurtz struck out after a confirmed challenge. Butler then singled to center, scoring Muncy and giving the A’s the breathing room they needed. For a hitter who entered the game in a rough stretch, Butler supplied a double, a single, a run and an RBI, which is a pretty useful way to remind everyone he still carries some thunder in that bat.

The bullpen handled the rest. Mason Barnett gave the Athletics a scoreless seventh, worked around Rumfield’s double in the eighth with help from Hogan Harris, and Harris finished the ninth by striking out Carrigg and Thompson before Brett Sullivan lined out to Butler in right. The Rockies had their moment. Carrigg had his blast. Sullivan had his promising debut. But the Athletics had the better finish, turning a midgame stumble into a 6-4 win.

Game 2 Saturday brings Joey Estes (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 K) to the mound for the Athletics against Kyle Freeland (1-6, 7.81 ERA, 45 K) for Colorado, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. PDT.

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

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Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

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