Tag: Chicago White Sox

Sacramento A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) sprints for first base for his first Major League hit in the bottom of the first inning against the Texas Rangers on Wed Apr 23, 2025. The A’s took two out of three games from the Ranger’s on Thu Apr 25, 2025. (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 Sacramento A’s Luis Urias scored on a game winning run on Jacob Wilson’s single in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs as the A’s scored twice to walk off on the Texas Rangers 4-3 at Sutter Health Park on Thursday night.

#2 The A’s were down 3-2 in the ninth the A’s Max Schuemann walked with one out, Urias got a base hit to right center that Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras couldn’t handle for an error and it allowed Schuemann to score the tying run.

#3 The A’s Lawrence butler flew out and Wilson hit a 3-1 pitch for the base hit off Ranger closer Luke Jackson who drops his record 0-2 and Urias scores the game winner.

#4 The A’s have won some key games on the road come home and were 2-7 to open this series against the Rangers and end up taking two out of three against a solid first place club whose been predicted to be the American League representative for this year’s Fall Classic. The A’s made some noise in this last series.

#5 The A’s host the Chicago White Sox tonight at Sutter Health. The last time the A’s met the Sox it was in Chicago where the A’s swept the Sox in three games. The Sox are a struggling bunch at 6-19, their away record is 2-11 and have lost eight of their last ten games. The A’s are last in the Western Division at 12-13, 4-8 at home, and won six of their last ten games. Starting pitcher for Sox Friday night Sean Burke (1-3 ERA 6.23) for the A’s Luis Severino (1-3 ERA 3.31) fist pitch 7:05pm PDT.

Join Jeremiah for the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento A’s Gio Urshela swings for a two RBI triple in the top of the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago on Wed Apr 16, 2025 (AP News photo)

Gio’s Triple the Difference as the Green and Gold Stay Hot in Chicago

By Mauricio Segura

It took one jolt from the Sacramento A’s Gio Urshela to tilt the scales, and that was all the A’s needed.

On a chilly Wednesday night at Rate Field, the green and gold edged past the Chicago White Sox 3-1 in a tight and scrappy contest, fueled by timely hitting, gutsy pitching, and a bullpen that continues to lock things down late. Urshela’s two-run triple in the sixth was the game-winner, erasing an early 1-0 deficit and sealing the A’s second straight win to open the three-game series.

The early part of the night belonged to the pitchers. Osvaldo Bido, making his fourth start of the season, gave the A’s five innings of one-run ball. His only blemish came in the third inning, when Brooks Baldwin jumped on a pitch and sent it over the right field wall for a solo shot. But Bido, who entered the game with a 3.00 ERA and had yet to allow a home run in 2025, kept things from unraveling. He stranded two runners later that inning and finished with a solid line: five innings, six hits, one earned run, and no walks.

That composure on the mound bought the offense just enough time.

After going quiet through the first five frames against White Sox rookie Jonathan Cannon, the A’s came alive in the sixth. Tyler Soderstrom, who leads the majors in home runs, kicked things off with a single. JJ Bleday followed with a game-tying RBI single, then came Urshela’s moment, a sharp liner into the right field corner that brought home two and gave the A’s a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish.

Urshela, who had struggled early in the season, now has hits in five of his last six games and is showing signs of the veteran presence the A’s hoped for when they brought him aboard this offseason.

Lawrence Butler added to his steady stretch with two hits and two stolen bases, bringing his season total to four. He’s now reached base safely in 13 of the A’s 14 games he’s started, and his late-inning speed proved critical in applying pressure on the Sox bullpen.

And once again, the A’s bullpen did not blink.

T.J. McFarland, José Leclerc, and Tyler Ferguson tag-teamed to cover innings six through eight. Ferguson, in particular, impressed with a high-pressure groundout to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. That handed the ball to fireballer Mason Miller for the ninth, and Miller slammed the door with authority.

The hard-throwing righty struck out the side, flashing triple-digit heat that has become his signature. Miller now has four saves on the season and remains unscored upon through six appearances. He’s also struck out 12 of the 21 batters he’s faced. According to team stats, Miller owns nine of the 17 fastest pitches in the majors so far this year.

For the Athletics, this win marks their sixth on the road this season, and with a 6-3 away record, they now rank among the best traveling teams in the majors. This is no small feat for a club still working to find its footing in a new market while carrying the weight of relocation rumors and a turbulent fanbase transition.

It also doesn’t hurt that this team, despite being under .500 at 8-10, is hitting .290 with runners in scoring position, second best in all of baseball, and doing it with contributions up and down the lineup.

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 slugger Tyler Soderstrom (21) slugs his fifth home run of the season in the top of the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guarantee Rate Field in Chicago on Tue Apr 15, 2025 (AP News photo)

Soderstrom Sparks the Green and Gold in Statement Win

By Mauricio Segura

On a chilly Tuesday evening at Rate Field, the Sacramento A’s bats brought the heat and then some. Tyler Soderstrom launched not one but two three-run homers as part of a 12-3 demolition of the Chicago White Sox, a win that gave the green and gold some much needed momentum to kick off their road trip. For Soderstrom it was home runs five and six of the season.

For a club that had been sluggish at the plate recently, with just one home run over their last four games, the power surge was both timely and emphatic. Soderstrom, now tied for the Major League lead with eight homers, continued his breakout campaign and showed why he’s become a fixture in the heart of the Athletics lineup.

The night began with a bang. Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker set the table with back to back singles, and Soderstrom cleared them with a laser into right center. Just like that, it was three to zero.

But Chicago answered quickly. In the bottom of the first, Andrew Vaughn returned fire with a three-run homer of his own, tying the game and reminding everyone why no early lead is ever safe.

It didn’t stay tied for long. In the second, Gio Urshela delivered an RBI double, and in the third, Shea Langeliers added a solo homer, his fourth of the season, reclaiming a two-run cushion. Langeliers later doubled in another run in the ninth, finishing the game with three hits and two runs batted in.

Jeffrey Springs, who entered the game with a 4.20 ERA, held strong after the rocky first. He escaped a bases loaded jam in the third and worked through five innings without allowing another run. For a staff that had surrendered the fourth highest ERA in the majors coming into the night, Springs’ rebound effort was a stabilizing force.

The sixth inning is where things unraveled for Chicago. Max Muncy doubled, Butler knocked him in with a single, and Rooker followed with another base hit. That set the stage for Soderstrom’s second three-run blast, a majestic shot to right that silenced the home crowd and put the game out of reach at nine to three.

Offensively, nearly everyone chipped in. Butler reached base four times and drove in a run, and Rooker added two hits. Even Miguel Andujar, who entered the night hitless in his last four at bats, capped things off with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. The A’s collected 14 hits in total, their highest mark since April 8.

From a statistical perspective, this performance defied recent trends. The A’s came in with the second worst run differential in the majors and had grounded into the most double plays. But Tuesday night, the swings were clean, the timing was sharp, and the results were undeniable.

The bullpen held steady, with Justin Sterner and Mitch Spence combining for four shutout innings. Spence, who had allowed three runs or more in each of his last four outings, was effective in closing down the seventh and eighth.

Tuesday, right hander Osvaldo Bido takes the mound as the A’s look to build on what might be a turning point in this young season. But for now, on a cool Chicago night, the green and gold found some warmth in the swing of Soderstrom’s bat and a comfortable win.

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.