Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against Miami Marlins in the bottom of the first inning at LoanDepot Park in Maimi Fri Sep 12, 2025. Skubal was cleared to return Mon Sep 15, 2025 after suffering left side tightness. (AP News photo)
MLB The Show podcast Charlie O:
#1 Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal got some relief after he had to leave Friday’s game against the Miami Marlins. Skubal took an exam and did not suffer any structural damage after feeling tightness in his left side. Skubal was cleared to pitch in his next start on Monday.
#2 The wait is over the Milwaukee Brewers became the first big league club to clinch for the post season. When the New York Mets lost on Friday to the Texas Rangers 3-2 that got a post season spot in the bag for the Brewers. Deservedly the Brewers have the best record in the majors so they get the first invitation to the playoffs.
#3 Anthony Rizzo the former Chicago Cubs first baseman who played with that Cubs team that won the World Series a decade ago and making it the first Cubs team to win a World Series after 108 years announced his retirement at age 36. Rizzo had suffered a broken arm last season and had been contemplating retirement. Rizzo after speaking to his parents and wife says he will hang it up this season.
#4 Big moment for New York Yankee great Aaron Judge who hit his 362nd career home run against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night to over take former Yankee outfielder Joe DiMaggio and move into fourth place on the all time Yankees home run list for home runs as the Yankees win 4-1.
#5 The San Francisco Giants Patrick Bailey’s walk off grand slam home run won it 5-1 Friday night and placed them into third place in the NL Wild Card race with a win over one of the top contenders for the NL Division Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers would be the Giants opponents in a Wild Card if the season were ending today.
Nick Kurtz #16 of the Athletics hits a grand slam during the bottom of the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Sutter Health Park on September 13, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Scott Marshall/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento A’s and some of the Cincinnati Reds celebrated a special day at Sutter Health Park on Saturday night as the A’s inducted their Athletics Hall of Fame 2025 Class. The players inducted were Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson, alongside longtime broadcaster Monte Moore.
It was a special group honored during the sunset hour in West Sacramento, albeit after a 10-minute delay caused by fireworks tripping the stadium’s fire alarm systems. The stadium and all PA capabilities were temporarily disabled, presumably a protocol set up by the fire systems. However, once the teams took the field, it was business as usual as the A’s defeated the Reds 11-5.
Luis Severino didn’t pitch well in his Sutter Health Park return since coming back from injury and making two starts on the road. Severino went five innings for the A’s, giving up five runs on six hits while walking two Reds hitters. As has been the case much of the 2025 season, he was hit around at Sutter Health Park and has only been able to earn six wins so far this season with the Athletics.
Mark Kotsay spoke about the start after the game.
“…The attack into the zone is what we’re looking for and obviously the result wasn’t great, but he gave us five innings and kept us in the game.”
The bullpen
The bullpen, which has turned into a strength for Kotsay and his staff this season, came in and pitched lights out once again. Michael Kelly relieved Severino and tossed a scoreless sixth inning, giving up just a hit and a walk while striking out one.
Brady Basso pitched the seventh for the A’s and tossed a perfect frame, retiring the three hitters he faced without incident. Following Basso, Kotsay gave the ball to Elvis Alvarado to pitch the eighth inning. Alvarado pitched well in a scoreless inning, allowing just one hit.
The ninth inning belonged to Hogan Harris, who pitched a clean frame with the exception of a walk he stranded on the bases.
“I love talking about the success of the bullpen right now,” Kotsay said after the game. “It’s funny, Rollie Fingers was standing next to me before the ceremony started and he said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a story for you. I went into the clubhouse today and was kind of asking around, “Who’s the closer?” And they all went, “We all are!”’ That was great. That’s the mindset down there. There’s a group of guys down there that are thriving on their opportunity, prepared for it, and when they get the ball, they’re going in and having success.”
The bats
The A’s bats chased the Reds starter early after putting up five runs on four hits against flamethrower Hunter Greene.
The A’s got on the board with a Brent Rooker solo homer to left-center in the second inning, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Only three batters later, Friday night’s hero Carlos Cortes stepped up and homered of his own. On the 12th pitch of the at-bat, Cortes sent a ball 398 feet to right field to give the A’s a 3-2 lead.
The offense added on in the third inning when Jacob Wilson hit a two-RBI ground-rule double off the leg of Greene, putting the A’s up 5-2.
The bats weren’t done, continuing to pile on against the Reds bullpen. In the seventh, Wilson hit his second RBI double of the game, scoring Shea Langeliers. One inning later, Lawrence Butler drove in Darell Hernaiz with an RBI single.
Nick Kurtz capped the scoring with a booming eighth-inning grand slam that traveled an eye-popping 493 feet to dead center. Kurtz cleared the batter’s eye with his mammoth shot, sending Sacramento into a frenzy.
“I really can’t speak any more about Nick. I don’t know if there’s words that can describe that at-bat… he continues to just impress,” Kotsay said. “The impact on that baseball was one, like I’ve seen with a couple guys that showed up today and were part of that Hall of Fame ceremony, and I think you guys know who I’m talking about. Canseco and McGwire used to hit walls like that—in a different era. Nick’s not in that era.”
Severino and many of the Athletics joked about the state of their vehicles following the power display from Kurtz.
“Hopefully my car is alright. I mean, my car was parked right behind that, but hopefully it’s good,” Severino said. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t imagine anybody else going deep center field 500 feet. That’s crazy.”
“I think we’re going to have to make up a new word for what he did to that ball,” Lawrence Butler said. “That was insane. He’s done insane stuff all year. I don’t know what else he has to do to top everything he’s done this year. I mean, this is one of the greatest rookie years I’ve ever seen.”
Overall, the A’s offense put up 11 runs on 12 hits while walking seven times against the Reds pitching staff.
Fact of the Game
Lawrence Butler became the first Athletics player to have a 20-homer/20-stolen base season since fellow No. 4, Coco Crisp, did it in 2013.
Theo Derosa asked Butler after the game how it feels to be the first player since Crisp to achieve the milestone.
“Yeah, that feels really good. That’s amazing. He wore number four. I wear number four too, so that’s pretty cool to hear that.”
Up next
The A’s will take on the Reds in the series finale Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park. Luis Morales (3-1, 2.73 ERA) is slated to start for the A’s against Nick Lodolo (8-7, 3.10 ERA) for the Reds.
⚡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 pitcher Logan Webb, center, hands the ball over to manager Bob Melvin, left, as he exits during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)
By Lincoln Juarez
SAN FRANCISCO – The Los Angeles Dodger offense powered LA past the San Francisco Giants 13-7 to play spoiler on a night the Giants could’ve earned a playoff spot. Webb nor Kershaw had their stuff Saturday night as both offenses ruptured.
Saturday evening at Oracle Park in front of another sell-out crowd the Giants took the field, this time with a chance to pass the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Standings and take sole possession of the final spot.
Logan Webb (14-9, 3.12) was set to face Clayton Kershaw (10-2, 3.27) in what was supposed to be another great pitching matchup, instead we saw the opposite.
In the top of the first, Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a groundball single just deep enough into the 5-6 hole for Adames to not even try making a throw after fielding it. Mookie Betts was next and he hit a soft ground ball back to Webb, whose only play was to first base, advancing Ohtani to scoring position.
The Dodgers got on the board the next at-bat when Freddie Freeman singled down the left field line. Ohtani came around to score as Freddie Freeman tested his luck trying to turn his base-hit into a double. Heliot Ramos nailed Freeman at second for the second out of the inning, but only after the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead. Webb got Max Muncy to ground out to Casey Schmitt at second to end the top of the first.
The theme of this Giants run they’ve gone on has been responding in the next half inning after the opposing team scores. Saturday night they put up four runs in the home first after trailing 1-0, two of which came before Clayton Kershaw could record an out. Adames, Chapman, Encarnacion, and Matos picked up rbi’s and all nine Giants in the order got an at-bat in the bottom of the first.
The Dodgers opened up the top of the second with three straight singles loading the bases for Miguel Rojas. Tensions rose in the ballpark as Rojas stepped in. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat Webb got Rojas to pop one up to Casey Schmitt for the first out. The bases remained loaded for Dodger catcher Ben Rortvedt who grounded into an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play. Logan Webb pumped his fist after finishing the play at first base and keeping the momentum on their side.
After that there wasn’t much that went the Giants’ way. The Dodgers scored two runs off of Webb on Ohtani’s 49th home run of the season and a Teoscar Hernandez rbi-double which made it 4-3 Giants.
San Francisco bumped Clayton Kershaw out of the game after three innings. He threw 67 pitches while allowing four earned runs on five hits. Edgardo Henriquez relieved Kershaw of his duties and struck out the Giants in order in the fourth.
Mookie Betts led off the fifth inning with a walk and Freddie Freeman followed with a single. Webb walked Max Muncy who was the last hitter he faced.
Webb totaled 4ip, 10h, 6er, 2bb, and 5k and dropped his record to 14-10.
Jose Butto entered with the bases loaded and nobody out. Teoscar Hernandez doubled on the fourth pitch Butto threw, scoring two to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. The next batter, Michael Conforto hit a sac-fly to right field, scoring Max Muncy and the Dodgers had a 6-4 lead. Later in the inning Ben Rortvedt doubled home two more and Mookie Betts singled him home to finish off a six-run fifth inning for LA.
San Francisco scored three in the home half of the fifth but it wouldn’t be enough as the Dodgers went right back into attack mode getting those three runs back in the top of the sixth.
Shohei Ohtani came around to score in the ninth making it 13-7 Dodgers. It was his 134th run scored of the season, matching the Dodger record he set just last season.
13-7 was the final score Saturday night in a game where the Giants could’ve made their way into the final NL Wild Card spot. Should the Mets lose again on Sunday, the Giants could have another chance to pass them in the Wild Card standings.
RHP Tyler Glasnow (2-3, 3.21) will face LHP Robbie Ray (11-6, 3.32) in the rubber match of this three game series at Oracle Park Sunday afternoon.
AI generated photo of A’s ballpark at 12th Street and Broadway in downtown Oakland a simulated dream of what could have been (AI generated photo)
Sacramento A’s Relocation Daniel Dullum podcast:
#1 Daniel, One other location the A’s would’ve could’ve should’ve had considered was 12th and Broadway in downtown Oakland across the street from the Broadway Street Marriott Hotel what a dream location it would have been the BART subway underneath Broadway and there is very little doubt that a park in that location would have drawn sell outs every night and owner John Fisher wouldn’t have to worry about any ballpark village that park location alone would have been a cash cow.
#2 It’s always about the location and if Howard Terminal didn’t work for the City of Oakland and MLB at the time 12th Street would have been a hub and baseball’s teams should consider locations like this with lots of potential.
#3 Friday Sep 6th a State of Nevada District Judge ruled that an attempt to stop some of the $380 million coming from the Nevada State Legislature will be allowed to be allocated. The Nevada State Education Association and Schools over Stadiums union pointed out that the bill violated the state constitution.
#4 After Friday’s ruling the A’s are rolling ahead with the construction of the park and are working on pouring cement that’s going vertical.
#5 None of the $380 million has not been spent yet and approvals to spend the money have not been met. The State of Nevada is waiting for A’s owner John Fisher to come up with his share of the construction cost. The reason why Schools over Stadiums constitution challenge was not consider was because the public money will not be made available until the A’s pay their share of the construction cost.
⚡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’ Patrick Bailey, right, hits a game-winning grand slam during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)
By Lincoln Juarez
SAN FRANCISCO – Patrick Bailey’s walk-off grand slam electrified the Oracle Park crowd Friday night as the Giants topped the Dodgers in 10 innings, 5-1 behind Justin Verlander’s masterful seven inning performance.
Just prior to the start of game one between the Dodgers and Giants, the New York Mets lost their seventh game in a row, putting the Giants just a single game out of the final National League Wild Card spot and adding to the intensity inside Oracle Park Friday night.
40,509 packed the ballpark on 3rd and King to witness the first great pitchers-duel of the weekend between RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8, 2.72) and RHP Justin Verlander (3–10, 4.09).
Verlander, who reached 20 years of Major League service time Friday night, shut the Dodger offense down, surrendering only one run on four hits while striking out four. The lone run came on a Michael Conforto home run in the seventh inning that tied the game at one. A 92mph fastball left middle-middle was the only mistake Verlander made all night.
The Giants scored early, as they’ve done in this winning stretch, getting to Yamamoto in the first. Rafael Devers walked with one out and eventually scored from first base on a ball hit to the left-center field gap by Willy Adames. Center fielder Andy Pages had trouble fielding the ball allowing Devers to score and put the Giants in the lead 1-0. That was the only hit Yamamoto allowed in his seven strong. He held the Giants to a hit and a run while striking out 10.
The pitching got some help keeping the score tight throughout the game. In the top of the fourth inning, with the Dodgers trailing by a run and two runners in scoring position, Matt Chapman dove right into the 5-6 hole to keep a groundball from getting to the outfield, returned to his feet and fired a lazor to first base. While stretching for the ball in order to get the inning-ending out, 1B Dom Smith strained his hamstring and was removed from the game.
“We’ll see how he is tomorrow. He’s gonna get some imaging tomorrow” is what Bob Melvin said about Dom Smith’s high hamstring strain which shouldn’t be as bad as it sounds.
With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth and one out, the Giants finally had a great opportunity to score with pinch-runner Grant McCray tagging up from third base on a very shallow fly ball hit by Wilmer Flores. Dodger center fielder Andy Pages threw a perfect strike to home plate to catch McCray and end the inning on the double play.
In the top of the 10th, McCray was ready for his revenge and got an opportunity on a short pop-up off the bat of Mookie Betts. McCray caught it and threw a 101.7mph seed to catch the ghost-runner in the 10th inning and just like that the Giants had every ounce of the momentum gained. McCray’s throw was the hardest thrown outfield assist by a Giant in the statcast era. While praising McCray for coming off the bench and being ready to make a play as he did, Bob Melvin said, “There’s plenty of things you could say about the plays of the game, I don’t know that there was a bigger play in the game than that.”
The Giants took their energy to the bottom of the tenth where the bases got loaded with two walks and the already-existing runner on base to start, setting the table for Patrick Bailey, who had already provided fans a walk-off moment for the ages on his walk-off inside-the-park home run against the Phillies on July 8. Bailey sat on a high fastball in a 1-0 count and barrelled it to left field. The roar of the crowd was immediate because everyone knew Patrick Bailey had just walked off the Dodgers in grand fashion. Grant McCray, still juiced up from the throw he made in the top half of the inning, joined who else but Drew Gilbert as two of the first to storm the field toward home plate. The electrified fans cheered Bailey all the way around the bases until he officially scored, putting an end to the game and putting the Giants a half game back of the Mets for the last NL Wild Card spot.
A game for the ages was just the start of an incredible weekend of baseball on the shores of McCovey Cove. Another great pitching matchup takes place Saturday night with LHP Clayton Kershaw (10-2, 3.27) vs. RHP Logan Webb (14-9, 3.12).
Carlos Cortes #26 of the Athletics is congratulated by third base coach Eric Martins #3 after he hit his second solo home run of the game against the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park on September 12, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO — Fresh off an off day on Thursday, the Athletics welcomed the Cincinnati Reds to Sacramento on Friday night. The A’s controlled the game from the start and took game one of the three-game series 3-0.
J.T. Ginn, who has had a very up-and-down season recently for the A’s, was playing with his food all night in Sacramento. However, Ginn managed to escape without allowing any damage and tossed four and a third innings before being removed with an injury. The word from the A’s clubhouse was Ginn left with a “right calf cramp.” Ginn, who walked four and didn’t appear to have his best command, only surrendered two hits in his scoreless outing.
Kotsay was impressed with Ginn’s ability to work out of trouble, but eight three-ball counts and four walks remain an issue for him.
“I think there’s still a lot of room for growth for J.T.,” Kotsay said postgame. “We talk about it a lot, getting ’em out there, getting these starts to get more experience on what it takes.”
Ginn spoke after the game about how he thought he was pitching before the injury and shared a similar assessment to Kotsay’s.
“I thought I could’ve done better filling up the zone early, but I think I pitched out of some big situations and made pitches when I had to, so I thought it was good.”
Ginn continued on the severity of the injury that caused him to leave the game and whether he felt it would be an issue moving forward.
“The first pitch of that last at-bat there I felt it and it kind of just stuck around… I think it was just a cramp, so I think I’ll be ready to go.”
The A’s bullpen did what it has been doing for much of the last month. The bullpen came in and slammed the door on the Reds.
Tyler Ferguson relieved J.T. Ginn after the injury and recorded the last two outs of the fifth inning without incident. Ferguson then went on to toss a scoreless sixth inning for the A’s, allowing one hit and one walk across his inning and a third of relief.
Hogan Harris came on to pitch the seventh inning and allowed no runs and only one hit.
Justin Sterner wasn’t as sharp as he might normally be as he gave up two hits to the Reds but ultimately escaped unscathed in a scoreless eighth inning.
Finally, Mark Kotsay went to Sean Newcomb in the ninth inning. Newcomb, who has become accustomed to high-leverage roles after having success this season with the A’s, struck out the side in a scoreless top of the ninth inning.
On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s kept steady pressure on the Reds all night thanks to a trio of long balls.
Lawrence Butler led off the game with a laser solo shot to center field to immediately get the A’s on the board. It was Butler’s fourth leadoff homer this season and the seventh of his career.
However, the real hero of the night was Carlos Cortes. Cortes, who has had a spot-start and inconsistent role so far this year for the A’s, came up big with two solo home runs. The first came in the third inning when he launched a ball 408 feet into the Sacramento night. His second was an equally majestic 413-foot shot that put the A’s up 3-0 and sealed the victory.
Mark Kotsay spoke highly of Cortes and the preparation he brings no matter the situation.
“Yeah, great night for Carlos,” Kotsay said after the game. “It’s one of those times where it seems like baseball always rewards a guy that gets into the lineup late, and tonight was that night for Carlos with some great at-bats. He comes prepared every day. He doesn’t get a ton of opportunities. You give him some pinch-hit at-bats, he’s had a few starts, but his at-bats have always been consistent with them being good professional ab’s.”
Up Next
The A’s will take on the Reds in game two of the three-game series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park. Luis Severino (6-11, 4.67 ERA) is set to go for the A’s, while Hunter Greene (6-4, 2.59 ERA) will start for the Reds.
San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman’s one day suspension was reduced to a fine for shoving Colorado Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeman. Rafael Devers who stood at the plate and admired his home run incensed Freeman as he and Devers got into a jawing match as both benches emptied. Devers was fined as well. (AP photo from Sep 2, 2025)
San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez:
#1 The Giants are coming off a day off on Thursday and opens up a three game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.
#2 The Giants have won eight of their last ten games and 13 of it’s last 17 games. The Giants did lose the last game of their series finale on Wednesday 5-3.
#3 The Giants are only 1.5 games back for the final Wild Card spot as the New York Mets lost to Philadelphia and are closing in on the Mets who have now lost six in a row after dominating the Wild Card race.
#4 The Giants have got success from Willy Adames and Rafael Devers who each have hit 12 home runs since August 1 and both are tied for sixth most in the MLB and both are third for the most home runs in the NL trailing the Mets Juan Soto (14) and the Phillies Kyle Schwarber (13).
#5 Taking a look at Friday’s starting pitchers for the Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8 ERA 2.72) RHP Justin Verlander (3-10 ERA 4.09) for a 7:15pm first pitch.
Giant notes: San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman who was in the middle of a on field scuffle with the Colorado Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeman and made contact with Freeman on Sep 2 at Coors Field after Freeman and Devers got into a jawing match over Devers’ admiring his home run that he hit off Freeman.
With the benches emptying Chapman reached out and made contact with Freeman who was issued a one day suspension by MLB which Chapman appealed and won. Chapman rather than serve the one day suspension will be fined for the incident along with Devers who also was fined.
Sacramento A’s Lawrence Butler (4) and teammates jump for joy after Butler’s game winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento to beat the Boston Red Sox on Wed Sep 10, 2025 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson:
#1 Nick Kurtz is one of three A’s now to have hit 30 home runs joining former A’s Bash Brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Quite an accomplishment for someone who just joined the A’s two months after the season had started.
#2 The A’s were coming off two tough loses against the Boston Red Sox losing by shutout scores of 7-0 and 6-0 Monday and Tuesday back with a 5-4 win on Wednesday.
#3 Jeremiah talk about Lawrence Butler and his walk off home run that won it for the A’s and ended Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman’s seven week hitless streak?
#4 Kurtz is on a roll he now becomes the 32nd rookie to hit 30 home runs as a rookie. Canseco did it in 1986 with 33 home runs and McGwire did it with 49 in 1987.
#5 Lets see if that win can inspire the A’s as they open a series against the Cincinnati Reds at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento Friday night. Starting pitcher for the Reds RHP Brady Singer (13-9 ERA 3.98) starting pitcher for the A’s has not been announced yet by manager Mark Kotsay.
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 Willy Adames (middle left) is caught in a run down before being tagged out by the Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (14) in the bottom of the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Sep 10, 2025 (AP News photo)
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025
Oracle Park
San Francisco, California
Arizona Diamondbacks 5 (73-74)
San Francisco Giants 3 (74-72)
Win: Eduardo Rodriguez (9-8)
Loss: Carson Seymour (1-3)
Time: 2:48
Attendance: 33,810
By Stephen Ruderman
SAN FRANCISCO–Carson Seymour didn’t make it out of the second inning, as the Diamondbacks tagged him for four runs, and though the Giants made a game of it late, Arizona held on for a 5-3 win to salvage a game in this series on Wednesday.
The Giants have won 13 of their last 16 games. After another big win Tuesday night, which put the Giants just two games back of the Mets for the third wild card in the National League, the Giants had a chance at a sweep of the Diamondbacks on a peaceful, mostly-cloudy afternoon under the monsoonal skies at Oracle Park.
Carson Seymour would be tasked with the start on Wednesday. Seymour was coming off his first major league win in St. Louis last Friday, in which he allowed just a run and two hits over five innings. Unfortunately, Seymour’s outing would be much different, and last nowhere near as long.
Geraldo Perdomo led off the game with a home run to right field to give the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead. While that would be the only run Arizona would get in the top of the first inning, things got rapidly worse for Seymour in the top of the second.
Blaze Alexander and Alek Thomas each got base-hits to start the inning. The Diamondbacks had runners at the corners with nobody out for Tim Tawa, who lined a base-hit to left to make it 2-0. Jake McCarthy sacrificed the runners over to second and third base, and after Perdomo knocked in a run with a base-hit to right, Seymour was done.
Spencer Bivens was brought in to steady the tide, just as he has many times this season. Katel Marte knocked in Tawa with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0, and walks to Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno loaded the bases. The Diamondbacks were about to make it a laugher early, Bivens got Adrian Del Castillo to ground out to second, and the score stayed 4-0.
The good news was that there was plenty of time for the Giants to come back, and they were down 3-0 in the second inning on Monday. However, the bad news was that Diamondbacks’ starter Eduardo Rodriguez was dealing.
Rodriguez took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Matt Chapman finally broke it up with a doink single to left with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but the Giants were unable to make anything of it.
Bivens got the Giants through the top of the fifth, but the Diamondbacks touched Keaton Winn for a run in the top of the sixth to make it 5-0.
The Giants finally got something going in the bottom of the seventh. Willy Adames walked to lead off the inning, and Matt Chapman singled him over to third. After Wilmer Flores popped out, Rodgriguez was lifted for Jake Woodford.
Unfortunately, Casey Schmitt struck out swinging. To make things worse, when Chapman took off for second on the pitch, Willy Adames was caught in a rundown between third and home plate, and was tagged out to end the inning. The Giants came up empty, and it seemed like it was not going to be their day.
However, the Giants still didn’t give up. JT Brubaker threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the eighth, and while Woodford retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the eighth, the Giants had some two-out feistiness in them. Patrick Bailey and Heltiot Ramos each got base-hits, and Torey Lovullo brought in the left-hander, Andrew Saalfrank, to face Rafael Devers.
Devers drove one deep to right-center field that hit off the 24-foot-high brick wall above Triple’s Alley. In almost every other ballpark in baseball, it would have been a three-run home run, but here at Oracle Park, it would only be a two-run double. That would prove to be costly, as the score would remain 5-2 going to the ninth.
Jose Butto pitched through a jam for a scoreless top of the ninth, but the Giants still fought until the very end. Chapman walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and Schmitt doubled him to third with one out.
The tying run in Jung Hoo Lee now came to the plate, but he grounded out to second for the second out. While Chapman came in to score to make it 5-3, Luis Matos grounded out to short to end, and the Diamondbacks held on to win it.
Eduargo Rodriguez got the win, and Carson Seymour took the loss.
The Giants fall to 74-72, and now all eyes will turn to Philadelphia, where the Phillies take on the Mets for the third game of a four-game series. As of this very second, the Giants are two and a half games behind the Mets for the third wild card spot in the National League.
The Giants will have a day off Thursday, and then their hated rivals from down south, the Los Angeles Dodgers, will come in for a massive three-game series starting Friday night.
RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8 ERA 2.72) will start for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Justin Verlander (3-10, 4.10 ERA) will start the opener for the Giants Friday night.
Mason Barnett #63 of the Athletics pitches against the Boston Red Sox in the top of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on September 10, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO — The A’s avoided being swept at the hands of the Red Sox during a matinee affair on Wednesday, defeating the Red Sox 5-4 in walk-off fashion.
The A’s bats did just enough of everything during the getaway day game to emerge victorious.
Shea Langeliers, who had the day off behind the plate but was in the lineup as the DH, got the A’s going in the first inning with a solo home run to put the A’s up 1-0.
The Red Sox scored in the second inning, but the A’s answered right back thanks to a Nick Kurtz solo home run to left field to reclaim the lead 2-1.
The Red Sox came back with solo runs in both the third and fourth innings to take a 3-2 lead over the A’s.
In the fifth inning, the A’s were able to answer back once more and take the lead again from Boston. This time, it was Tyler Soderstrom who came through, driving an opposite-field two-RBI double to left field to give the A’s the 4-3 lead.
Mason Barnett, making his third major league start on Wednesday, labored but still managed to give the A’s three and two-thirds innings of three-run, seven-hit baseball. Barnett walked just one and struck out four but was hit around whenever he left pitches in the zone.
The A’s bullpen, which has been stellar as of late, continued to pitch well until late in the game when they finally surrendered the lead.
Sean Newcomb was the first arm out of the pen for the A’s as he got the last batter of the fourth inning and then pitched spotless fifth and sixth innings.
Justin Sterner followed and pitched two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth to keep the A’s in front.
After the game, manager Mark Kotsay spoke about the dominance of the bullpen in the second half.
“These two relievers you’re talking about, Newcomb and Sterner, in the second half have been a large portion of the success and rhythm that has taken place down in the bullpen.”
Trouble came in the ninth inning when Elvis Alvarado gave up a run on two hits, recording only one out. Hogan Harris, who had been warming in the bullpen all inning just in case, came in and recorded the final two outs of the ninth, giving up a walk but nothing else.
The A’s came into the bottom of the ninth tied 4-4, needing a run to win. The Red Sox brought in Aroldis Chapman, who hadn’t allowed a hit since July 23, to try to keep the game tied. Shea Langeliers led off the ninth with a double to snap that streak for Chapman and was then moved over to third by a Brent Rooker fly ball to right field.
That set the stage for Lawrence Butler, who stepped up and drove an RBI single the other way to give the A’s the dramatic 5-4 win in nine innings.
Up Next
The A’s will have an off day on Thursday in Sacramento prior to welcoming the Cincinnati Reds to town. Neither team has announced a starter for Friday’s game, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Sutter Health Park.
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