Sacramento A’s pitcher Jacob Lopez deals against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the first inning at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Fri May 9, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Tony Harvey:
#1 Tony, talk about the A’s they are getting the pitching and clutch hitting.
#2 The A’s Nick Kurtz is one of those clutch hitters with a two run triple in the top of the fifth and the A’s just got by the Baltimore Orioles with a 4-3 win.
#3 Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish had some success against the A’s line up striking out ten hitters in seven innings. It was the Baltimore defense that let him down in the A’s three run fifth inning.
#4 A’s pitcher Jacob Lopez gave up two run and allowed three hit in 5.1 innings of work. The Orioles are struggling against left handed pitching as they are 0-9 against Southpaws this season thus far.
#5 A’s and O’s meet again Saturday starting pitchers for Sacramento Aaron Civale (3-1 ERA 2.95) for Baltimore RHP Shane Baz (1-3 ERA 4.99) first pitch 1:05pm PDT.
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.
San Francisco Giants Rafael Devers went 2-4 with a home run Friday May 8, 2026 against the Pittsburgh Pirates (photo by Jay Choi SF Bay News)
By Ryan Hannagan
San Francisco — The San Francisco Giants took on the Pittsburgh Pirates in game one of a three game series Friday night at Oracle Park. The 14-23 Giants came into Friday’s contest on a bad cold spell, dropping eight of their last nine, as well as their last three series.
Looking to turn things around, manager Tony Vitello went with the former Cy Young winning, left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray (2-4, 2.95). On the other end, the 21-17 Pirates came in hot, winning four of their prior five. Pirates manager Don Kelly went with the fourth year right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski (2-2, 4.50) in an attempt to keep the success rolling.
After a quick first inning for both teams, the Pirates opened the scoring in the top of the second thanks to a solo shot from veteran Marcel Ozuna. The 1-0 lead was short lived for the Pirates, as in the bottom of the second, Giants first Baseman Rafael Devers hit a response solo shot of his own, tying the score.
The third inning went by with no damage done by either team. In the bottom of the fourth the tie score moved to 2-1 Giants after Heliot Ramos knocked in Casey Schmitt with a two out single to center. This RBI single came right after Willy Adames was robbed of a three run homer by Pirates left fielder and former Giants prospect Bryan Reynolds.
The score stayed at 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh, when the Giants offense broke things open with a three-RBI inning. After Pittsburgh starter Carmen Mlodzinski exited following six innings, San Francisco quickly got to reliever Justin Lawrence, collecting four baserunners on three hits. Willy Adames led off the inning with a single before Heliot Ramos followed with a double, putting both runners in scoring position. Drew Gilbert then delivered an RBI single that brought Adames home for the Giants’ third run of the night. Lawrence was pulled without recording an out.
With Evan Sisk taking over on the mound, the Giants continued to add on. Following a Jung Hoo Lee lineout, Luis Arraez ripped a two-run single that scored Ramos and Gilbert, extending the lead to 5-1. No more runs crossed in the inning, but the four-run advantage put San Francisco in firm control late in the game.
The eighth inning went by with no offense for either side, leaving the Pirates a final chance to tie it up in the top of the ninth.
Tasked with closing out the game cleanly, Caleb Kilian entered in the ninth and quickly recorded the first out on a Marcell Ozuna flyout. The Pirates then threatened after back-to-back walks to Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin put two runners on base. With runners at first and second, Spencer Horwitz lined a single into right field that scored Cruz and cut the deficit to 5-2.
After the RBI hit, Brandon Lowe popped out to Willy Adames in shallow center, leaving the Giants one out away from victory. Looking for a late rally, Pirates manager Don Kelly sent Ryan O’Hearn to pinch hit for Billy Cook, but O’Hearn grounded out to end the game as the Giants secured the 5-2 win.
Robby Ray took home the victory after 6.0 IP, 4 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 4 BB, and 7 strikeouts. The win moves Ray to 4-3 on the year with a 2.76 ERA. The Giants record now sits at 15-23.
The next game of the series is Sat May 9th at 6:05 PM PST. Starting pitchers for Pittsburgh RHP Braxton Ashcraft (1-2 ERA 3.02) for San Francisco RHP Landen Roupp (5-2 ERA 3.18)
Sacramento A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson makes a throw to first base against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the first inning at Camden Yards in Baltimore Orioles on Fri May 8, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
For four innings Friday night at Camden Yards, the Sacramento Athletics looked stuck in a familiar baseball maze. Kyle Bradish was carving through the lineup, the Orioles had just enough traffic to keep things tense, and Pete Alonso’s fourth-inning solo shot had Baltimore in front. Then the fifth inning arrived, and the Green and Gold found the escape door.
The Athletics beat the Orioles 4-3 in the opener of the series, squeezing out a tough road win that mixed a sudden offensive burst, sharp defense, and one last ninth-inning sweat bath. It was not pretty in the way a blowout is pretty. It was prettier than that. It was a grind, the kind of game that tests whether a first-place team can hold its nerve when the whole thing starts wobbling late.
Jacob Lopez gave the A’s exactly what they needed after a stretch in which the pitching staff had been searching for steadier footing. He worked 5.1 innings, allowed just three hits and two runs, walked two and struck out five. Baltimore’s best early chance came in the first when Gunnar Henderson walked and Adley Rutschman singled him to third with one out, but Lopez escaped by getting Alonso to pop out and Tyler O’Neill to ground out. After that, he settled into a clean rhythm, retiring the side in order in the second and third.
The only real dents against Lopez came from Baltimore’s big bats. Alonso opened the scoring in the fourth with his eighth homer, a line drive to right center that gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Rutschman later made it a one-run game in the sixth with his fifth homer, a fly ball to center that cut the Athletics’ lead to 3-2 and ended Lopez’s night. Still, for a pitcher who entered the evening trying to turn a rough May page, this was a composed and useful start.
The A’s offense finally broke through in the fifth, and it started with Jacob Wilson doing what Jacob Wilson keeps doing. Wilson singled to first, Lawrence Butler lined a single to left, and Zack Gelof slapped a ground-ball single through the left side to score Wilson and tie the game. Jeff McNeil then moved both runners with a groundout, setting up Nick Kurtz for the swing that changed the night.
Kurtz, whose ability to reach base has turned into one of the club’s most reliable daily features, ripped a ground-ball triple to right. Butler and Gelof scored, and suddenly the A’s led 3-1. Kurtz also singled earlier, extending a reaching-base streak that was already the longest in the majors this season entering the game. For a young hitter with patience, power, and a knack for making pitchers work, this was another reminder that his at-bats rarely feel empty.
Wilson added the eventual winning run in the eighth. After Shea Langeliers singled and Tyler Soderstrom reached on a forceout, Brent Rooker lined a sharp single to left. Carlos Cortes flew out, but Wilson followed by grounding a single to right, scoring Soderstrom for a 4-2 lead. That hit mattered even more later, and it also fit Wilson’s larger season. He entered the night with an 11-game hitting streak and a 76-game errorless streak at shortstop, the longest by a shortstop in Athletics history.
The bullpen made the lead hold, but not without some late drama. Justin Sterner finished the sixth cleanly after Rutschman’s homer. Scott Barlow handled the seventh with three ground-ball outs and a strikeout mixed in. Joel Kuhnel breezed through the eighth on a foul popout and two grounders. That was important for a bullpen that had taken its share of punishment recently.
Then came the ninth, because baseball likes to keep us writers from filing our recap early. Jack Perkins walked Rutschman, struck out Alonso, then struck out pinch-hitter Dylan Beavers. Rutschman moved to second on defensive indifference, and Samuel Basallo grounded a single to center to score him, trimming the lead to 4-3. Hogan Harris entered with the tying run aboard, walked Leody Taveras, and then ended the game by striking out Jeremiah Jackson on a foul tip.
Game 2 Saturday will feature Aaron Civale ( 3-1 / 2.95 ERA / 27 K) on the mound for Sacramento vs Baltimore’s Shane Baz ( 1-3 / 4.99 ERA / 33 K). First pitch set for 1:05pm Pacific.
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.
Sacramento A’s Jacob Wilson (5) celebrates his two run home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter. A’s Carlos Cortes (26) congratulates Wilson at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Thu May 7, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics turned Citizens Bank Park on its side Thursday night, leaving the Phillies completely dumbfounded. After losing the first two games of the series and dropping four of their last five overall, the A’s were trying to avoid a sweep in a city where the franchise carries more history than most road trips. By the end of the first inning, they had already changed the entire mood of the night. By the final out, they had turned it into the 12-1 statement they had been eager to make in the two games before.
Nick Kurtz set the tone immediately by working a walk to open the game, continuing his excellent habit of refusing to disappear from the bases. Then Shea Langeliers, freshly back from the paternity list after the birth of his son Owen, stepped in and delivered the kind of swing that makes a dugout wake up in a hurry.
Langeliers drove his 11th home run of the season to left-center, giving the Athletics a 2-0 lead before Philadelphia starter Andrew Painter had recorded an out. Tyler Soderstrom followed with another walk, and Brent Rooker made Painter pay again, sending his fourth homer of the season to left. Just like that, it was 4-0, and the Phillies were chasing the game before many fans had settled into their seats.
The Green and Gold did not stop there. In the third, Soderstrom walked again, moved up on Rooker’s deep flyout, and scored when Carlos Cortes punched a single into center. Cortes, who has been one of the club’s hottest bats, became part of another rally moments later when Jacob Wilson launched his third home run of the season to left.
Wilson’s two-run shot stretched the lead to 7-0 and kept his strong offensive stretch rolling. For a player already known for steady contact and sharp defense, it was another reminder that his bat can do more than just spray singles around the yard.
While the lineup was busy turning the night into a batting clinic, J.T. Ginn gave the Athletics exactly what they needed on the mound. Making his first career appearance against Philadelphia, Ginn carved through the Phillies with calm efficiency. He struck out Trea Turner to open the bottom of the first, retired Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on lineouts, and kept Philadelphia quiet through the early innings.
When Brandon Marsh singled in the second, Bryson Stott quickly erased the threat by grounding into a double play. Ginn also got another spotless frame in the third, retiring Edmundo Sosa, Justin Crawford and Rafael Marchán in order.
Schwarber finally got Philadelphia on the board in the fourth with a line-drive home run to right, his 12th of the season. But even that swing barely dented the night. Ginn walked Harper afterward, then benefited from another quick defensive answer when Adolis García lined into a double play to Jacob Wilson, who flipped the game right back into the A’s control. The Athletics’ defense, already one of the cleanest units in baseball, played like a team determined not to give Philadelphia any extra oxygen.
The A’s kept adding on in the middle innings. In the fourth, Langeliers singled, Soderstrom singled, and Rooker dropped a soft liner that scored Langeliers for an 8-0 lead. In the fifth, Lawrence Butler walked and Zack Gelof ripped a triple to left, bringing Butler home. Kurtz then lined a single to right to score Gelof, pushing the lead to 10-1. The inning showed the depth of the night’s damage: walks, singles, power, pressure, and the kind of traffic that wears out a pitching staff.
Gelof saved his loudest swing for the seventh. After Butler opened the inning with a sharp double to left, Gelof drove his third homer of the season to left-center, giving the Athletics a 12-1 lead. It was a strong night for Gelof, who finished with a triple, a homer and four total bases that mattered. Butler also reached base twice and scored twice, helping turn the lower part of the order into a second wave instead of a soft landing.
The bullpen handled the rest. Ginn worked through eight sharp innings of one-run baseball, allowing only scattered trouble and keeping the Phillies from building anything serious. Brooks Kriske took the ninth and made his A’s debut with plenty of room to breathe. Philadelphia put two runners aboard on singles by Felix Reyes and García, but Marsh grounded out to Kurtz to end it. It was a fitting final play for a night when the Athletics controlled the field, the scoreboard and the pace.
For the A’s, this was more than a lopsided win. It was a correction. Langeliers returned and immediately changed the first inning. Rooker shook loose with a big early swing. Cortes kept hitting. Wilson added power to his contact-heavy game. Gelof delivered the late thump. Ginn gave the pitching staff length and relief. After two frustrating nights in Philadelphia, the Athletics did not sneak out of town. They acknowledged their limitations and left with the series’ most definitive answer.
The A’s now jump on the team bus for a two-hour drive down I-95 to begin a weekend series against Baltimore tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. Eastern, 4:05 p.m. Pacific. Jacob Lopez gets the start for Sacramento, bringing a 2-2 record, 6.60 ERA, and 23 strikeouts. Baltimore counters with Kyle Bradish, who enters at 1-4 with a 5.03 ERA and 35 strikeouts.
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.
Philadelphia Phillies Edmundo Sosa is out at second base as Sacramento A’s second baseman Jeff McNeil tries to complete the double play in the bottom of the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Wed May 6, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
Sacramento A’s couldn’t hold off the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank in Philadelphia as the Phillies down 3-2 rallied in the eighth inning scoring four runs to come away with a 6-3 win.
For seven innings, the Athletics looked like they would rinse away the sour taste of Tuesday’s 9-1 thumping and remind everyone why they were still sitting on top of the American League West. They entered Wednesday night 18-17, still holding a season-high tying two-game lead in the division despite losing three of their previous four, and they had spent the last ten days alone in first place.
That made this game feel like more than a random early-May interleague stop. It felt like a test of whether the Green and Gold could steady themselves and continue the momentum they ran with in April.
For most of the night, they did. Jeffrey Springs gave the A’s exactly the kind of road start they needed, working around early traffic while keeping Philadelphia’s lineup from landing the big punch. Kyle Schwarber doubled in the first, and the Phillies put two aboard in the second, but Springs kept the scoreboard clean. He got Alec Bohm to fly out and Felix Reyes to bounce into a forceout, then followed with a tidy third inning. For a pitcher who had allowed six home runs over his previous three starts after giving up none in his first four, this was a needed return to control.
The A’s scratched first in the third. Lawrence Butler opened the inning with a walk, moved to second on Nick Kurtz’s groundout, and scored when Jacob Wilson served a fly-ball single to right. Wilson then stole second, continuing to look like one of the steadiest bats in the order. His hit also extended his hitting streak to 10 games, another small but meaningful sign that his early-season wobble has turned into a real rhythm.
Springs kept protecting the 1-0 lead, and he even flashed some craft in the fourth by picking off J.T. Realmuto after Realmuto’s second single of the game. In the fifth, the A’s added another run with two outs. Zack Gelof lined a double to left, and Kurtz followed by ripping a sharp single to right, bringing Gelof home for a 2-0 lead. Kurtz was not done either.
Entering the night with the longest reaching-base streak in the majors this season, he pushed it to 30 games by reaching multiple times. That tied him with Matt Chapman’s 30-game run from 2018, the longest such streak by an Athletic in recent memory.
Philadelphia finally cracked Springs in the fifth. Brandon Marsh opened the inning with a triple to center and scored on Reyes’ groundout, cutting the A’s lead to 2-1. Springs still finished the frame by getting Schwarber called out on strikes after a confirmed ABS challenge, keeping the momentum from fully turning.
Then Tyler Soderstrom gave the A’s a little breathing room in the sixth. He jumped on Zack Wheeler and lifted a solo homer to left, his fifth of the season, pushing the lead to 3-1. At that point, the game had a clean shape for Sacramento. Springs was battling, the offense had produced just enough, and the bullpen had a two-run lead to guard.
But this is when baseball proved that baseball is never really predictable or reliable, and one can never let his guard down or get comfortable they have the game in the bag.
The Phils Adolis García trimmed the A’s lead to 3-2 with a solo homer to center in the bottom of the sixth, and Springs exited after Edmundo Sosa followed with a single. Justin Sterner escaped the inning, and Jack Perkins delivered a spotless seventh with two strikeouts, including Bryson Stott on an overturned ABS challenge. The A’s still led by one heading into the eighth.
Then the whole thing unraveled.
Schwarber walked to open the eighth, and Bryce Harper reached on a fielder’s choice that became more dangerous when Jeff McNeil’s throwing error allowed Schwarber to move up. García singled to load the bases with nobody out, and Sosa punished the mistake with a ground-ball single to center that scored Schwarber and Harper, flipping the game to 4-3 Phillies.
Realmuto lined out, but Marsh followed with another single to center to score García. Stott singled to reload the bases, and Justin Crawford’s groundout brought home Sosa. In one messy, grinding inning, Philadelphia turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead.
The A’s made one last push in the ninth against Brad Keller. McNeil singled, Butler walked, and Kurtz drew another walk to load the bases with two outs. Darell Hernaiz pinch-ran for Kurtz, bringing Wilson to the plate as the tying run. But Wilson grounded softly back to Keller, ending the game and leaving the A’s with a 6-3 loss that felt more frustrating than lopsided.
This was not a lifeless defeat. Springs competed. Soderstrom homered. Wilson and Kurtz kept important streaks alive. But the bullpen’s recent danger signs showed up again, and one ugly eighth inning swallowed seven innings of mostly pristine baseball. For a first-place team trying to prove May will not become a repeat of old collapses, this was the kind of loss that does not need drama attached to it. It already came with enough sting.
Starting pitchers for Thursday’s night: For Sacramento RHP JT Ginn (0-1 ERA 4.30) for Philadelphia RHP Andrew Painter (1-3 ERA 5.28) first pitch 3:40pm 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.
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.
Sacramento A’s starter Luis Severino pitching to the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Tue May 5, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics arrived in Philadelphia riding atop the American League West, hoping to make a statement. And they did, but not the one they intended.The problem Tuesday night was simple and brutal: Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez never let the Green and Gold get comfortable, and Bryce Harper treated the middle innings like his personal stage as the Phillies knocked out the A’s 9-1 at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark.
For the first two innings, Luis Severino hopped over lava pools but did not fall. Harper singled in the first, Adolis García walked, and Brandon Marsh followed with a single to load the bases with two outs. Severino escaped when J.T. Realmuto flew out to right. In the second, Bryson Stott doubled and Alec Bohm walked, putting two more Phillies in scoring position. Again, Severino found his footing, striking out Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber to keep the game scoreless. It was not pretty, but it was gritty, the kind of early survival act that can swing a game if the offense answers.
The A’s offense, however, stayed mostly silent. Sánchez retired the side in order in the first, second, fourth, and fifth innings, mixing weak contact with strikeouts and never letting the Athletics stack pressure. Their first real chance came in the third when Brett Harris was hit by a pitch and Jacob Wilson singled him to third with two outs, but Brent Rooker lined sharply to center to end the inning. That ball had life, but Justin Crawford had a glove that he uses quite well to put it lightly, and the Phillies kept the door shut.
Harper cracked it open in the bottom of the third. Severino had battled around traffic through two innings, but Harper turned on a pitch and sent it over the wall in right center for his eighth homer of the season, giving Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. Severino settled down after that, working through the fourth and fifth without further damage. He allowed baserunners, including singles by Bohm, Crawford, and Marsh, but the Phillies kept stranding them. For a while, the game still felt close enough for one A’s swing to rewrite it.
That swing never came. In the sixth, Harris walked and Wilson moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt, but Rooker flew out and Nick Kurtz struck out on a foul tip. In the seventh, Colby Thomas and Zack Gelof opened the inning with back-to-back singles, finally giving the Athletics a serious threat. Sánchez responded like a pitcher who smelled the finish line. Tyler Soderstrom struck out, Austin Wynns moved both runners up with a groundout, and Darell Hernaiz struck out swinging to leave two more aboard. That was the moment the night began to tilt hard toward Philadelphia.
The bottom of the seventh turned a close game into a long one. Turner doubled against Mark Leiter Jr., moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on García’s sacrifice fly. Harper walked, Marsh singled, and Realmuto doubled to left, bringing home two more. Tyler Ferguson entered, but Stott greeted him with a two-run homer to right center, and suddenly a 1-0 game had become 6-0. It was the kind of inning that makes every missed chance from earlier feel twice as heavy.
Philadelphia added more in the eighth. Crawford doubled, Turner singled him home, and Harper struck again, launching his second homer of the night, this one to center, scoring Turner and pushing the lead to 9-0. Harper finished as the loudest bat in the ballpark, with two home runs, three runs scored, and three RBI, while Turner, Marsh, Realmuto, and Stott helped turn the Phillies lineup into a steady parade.
The Athletics avoided the shutout in the ninth against Jhoan Duran. Kurtz singled, Gelof walked, Soderstrom walked after a confirmed challenge, and Hernaiz drew a bases-loaded walk to score Thomas. But Wynns and Harris both struck out, leaving the final at 9-1. For the A’s, it was a night of missed chances, quiet bats, and one bullpen inning that got away fast. For Philadelphia, it was Sánchez setting the tone and Harper making sure everyone remembered the melody.
A’s will try it again Tuesday night at Citizens Bank a 3:40pm PDT first pitch: Starting pitchers for Sacramento LHP Jefferey Springs (3-2 ERA 3.96) for Philadelphia RHP Zack Wheeler (1-0 ERA 2.45)
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.
Sacramento A’s pitcher Aaron Civale delivers a pitch agaianst the Cleveland Guardians line up at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sun May 3, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Barbara Mason:
#1 The first two games of the Sacramento A’s series with the Cleveland Guardians was really disappointing as the teams fights to hand to stay in first place. Game three was a critical one to avoid getting swept.
2. Unlike game Saturday’s game the A’s got hits but did not leave runners stranded instead cashed in on them for the 7-1 win.
3. The A’s really spread out their hits with eight different players making contact which included three home runs.
4. Jeff McNeil proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back with a critical hit in the sixth. That combined with some great work on the mound from Aaron Civale equaled a great win for the Athletics.
5.The A’s head out on the road for six games, they have Monday off and open a three game series with the Philadelphia Phillies which gets underway on Tuesday evening.
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.
Cleveland Guardians Travis Bazzana slides safely into second base and Sacramento A’s shortstop applies the tag too late at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sun May 3, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Daniel Dullum:
#1 Colby Thomas, Zack Gelof, Tyler Soderstrom homered to help the Sacramento A’s defeat the Cleveland Guardians 7-1 at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento and avoid getting swept.
#2 For Thomas a great way to start his home run count for 2026 hitting his first big fly of the season off Cleveland rookie pitcher Parker Messick to help the A’s take a 1-0 lead.
#3 For Messick he faced nine A’s hitters in a row and retiring each one until Gelof and Soderstrom came up and hit back to back home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
#4 The A’s got singles from Darell Hernaiz, Jeff McNeil, and Brent Rooker and picked up another run to make it 4-1. The A’s success this year has been their hitting if their on they win ball games.
#5 The A’s open a three game series in Philadelphia on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Ballpark against the Philadelphia Phillies. The A’s will start right hand pitcher Luis Severino (2-2 ERA 4.46) the Phllies have not announced a starter yet.
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.
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.
San Francisco Giants Rafael Devers (right) flexes after hitting a double against the Tampa Bay Rays and second baseman Ben Williamson (left) at the Tropcana in Tampa Bay on Sun May 3, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
Despite leading 1-0 going into the ninth inning, the San Francisco Giants (13-21) were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays (21-12) 2-1. This marked their sixth loss in a row and their second sweep in a row for the Giants.
Game recap: The Giants offense continues to sputter and despite some pretty good pitching and defense Sunday San Francisco has a huge offensive hurdle to get over as they head home for their next series Monday night. They did hit four doubles in Sunday’s game but they cannot string hits together as the Giants saw throughout this entire road trip.
The Giants got after it early scoring a run in the first inning. Rafael Devers doubled followed by a Casey Schmitt single that drove Devers home for the first run of the game and a 1-0 lead. This is the first time San Francisco has led in this series and they will be looking for some insurance runs. Unfortunately as this game progressed those insurance runs were nowhere to be found.
San Francisco was having some improved offensive with the two runners on base in the first inning, two runners on base in the third inning but that would be it for the Giants. They would either go three and out or a single here or a double there but they were not stringing hits together. Both teams were actually struggling offensively. Through seven innings five hits for the Giants and five for the Rays.
The 1-0 San Francisco lead held through eight innings. The Giant’s starting pitcher Tyler Mahle went 5.1 innings allowing four hits, no runs, one walk and five strikeouts. He was relieved in the sixth inning by Matt Gage who closed out the sixth.
Gage was relieved by Keaton Winn in the seventh inning. Ryan Walker took the mound in the eighth inning. So far the Giants had kept the Rays off the scoreboard but the 1-0 lead was far too close for comfort.
Walker got into a bit of a jam in the eighth inning. He walked Junior Caminaro followed by a Jonathan Aranda single and the Rays had runners at first and third. Ryan Vilade bunted, Caminaro scored and this game was tied going into the ninth inning. San Francisco was going to need some more offense.
Luis Arraez, Chapman and Adames would lead off the ninth inning. It did not go well with Arraez grounding out, Chapman fouling out and Adames striking out. The San Francisco defensive needed to step up and avoid a Tampa Bay walk-off.
There had been no home runs in this game so Tampa Bay was a hit away from winning the series. The Giant’s Caleb Kilian took the mound looking to extend this game into the tenth inning. Kilian got through the inning sending this game into extra innings and San Francisco had another chance to salvage this game.
The Giants went three and out in the top of the tenth going on to face some of the big Tampa Bay hitters. Kilian remained in the game facing Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda and Ryan Vilade. Caminero was intentionally walked and then disaster hit. Aranda singled Simpson home for the 2-1 walk-off win. San Francisco had lost six games in a row and suffered their second sweep in a row.
Game notes: It has been a forgettable road trip for the Giants getting swept by the Phillies followed by getting swept by the Rays. Sunday they finish up the series and just couldn’t avoid a second sweep in a row. This road trip has been plagued by poor offense pure and simple.
It has not been a happy time for the Giants. Seeing Matt Chapman going 2 for 21 from the plate is just crazy. Willy Adames former leadoff batter now batting sixth. There have been numerous roster changes trying to shake things up to no avail so far.
All of that aside, the Giants just wanted to get back in the win column Sunday but couldn’t hold in the bottom of the ninth inning to avoid the sweep and move on to their next series at home with the San Diego Padres on Monday. San Francisco starter Tyler Mahle went 5.1 innings allowed four hits, one walk and five strike outs. For Tampa Bay starter Steven Matz six innings, four hits, one earned run, two walks, and a strike out.
It had been a torturous road trip for the Giants and more then anything the Giants just want to turn their circumstances around. On this road trip they had an average 1.5 runs per game, no home ruins, they were shut out twice and they did get runners on base but continually left them stranded.
On top of that they put immense pressure on their pitchers. A lot to repair and it all comes down to the offense. It will be a quiet flight home for the Giants as they start another series Monday night at Oracle Park with the San Diego Padres.
The Giants starter RHP Trevor McDonald (0-0 ERA 0.00) will take the mound Monday night. The Padres will start Randy Vasquez who has a 3-0 win/loss record and a 2.94 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 6:45 PM.
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