San Francisco Giants Heliot Ramos (17) hits a two run single off of St Louis Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy (36) in the bottom of the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Sep 22, 2025 (AP News photo)
By Lincoln Juarez
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants couldn’t help starter Justin Verlander with the gloves or the bats as they lost another game he started in game one against the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park. The Cardinals offensive boom in the fifth inning surged them past the Giants in a 6-5 win. The loss drops the Giants to 3.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race.
Monday night the Giants hosted the Cardinals in the first game of a six-game home stand to end the season at Oracle Park. Verlander was on the mound for his 28th start of the season. The veteran right-hander looked to take the momentum from his last four starts, where he’s posted a 0.36 ERA (1er, 25.0ip) with a .149 opponent average, 0.92 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts, into Monday.
Verlander did not allow a run through his first two innings pitched and got some help in the first inning from Heliot Ramos on his 19th home run of the season. 1-0 Giants before the Cardinals offense came alive and scored in three straight innings.
The Redbirds tied it in the third and set down any momentum the Giants offense had by throwing a zero in the bottom half. St. Louis struck again in the fourth to take the lead, but this time the Giants had an answer.
Matt Chapman, Casey Schmitt, and Patrick Bailey all singled to manufacture a run and tie the game 2-2. Later with two outs, Heliot Ramos singled home two more runs to put the Giants ahead 4-2 with his second and third RBI of the night.
In the top of the fifth, the Cardinal offense took off. A four-spot in the fifth inning made it a 6-4 ballgame in favor of the Cardinals. Verlander did not make it out of the inning and ended up with another no-decision through 4.1 IP.
After the fifth, the Giants bullpen shut out the Cardinals the rest of the night and Devers hit his 33rd home run of the season to get the Giants within a run in the home fifth.
The offense could not overcome the one-run deficit and the Cardinals held on behind a great bullpen effort and took game one of the series 6-5.
Tuesday night Logan Webb will get the start for San Francisco in what will be another must-win game scenario if they want to have any sort of shot at the postseason after this week.
Starters: For the Cards RHP Andre Pallante (6-14, 5.23) vs. for the Giants RHP Logan Webb (14-11, 3.27), Tuesday night at Oracle Park. First pitch at 6:45pm.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Trevor MacDonald pitches to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the first inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sun Sep 21, 2025 (AP News photo)
SF Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic:
#1 San Francisco Giants pinch hitter Patrick Bailey hit a RBI double in the top of the eighth inning that led to a three run inning Sunday.
#2 The Gians got to Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen who pitched two thirds of an inning allowing three hits, three earned runs, and two walks. The Giants with the win avoided being swept in the finale of a four game series on Sunday.
#3 Treinen (1-7) had been struggling and allowed the three runs to score in the top of the eighth, he had walked two and gave up three hits and the Giants took advantage in a game that almost got away from them.
#4 Willy Adames walked with the bases loaded that allowed the tie breaker to score and Matt Chapman grounded out to add another RBI as Treinen was relieved and booed by Dodger fans as he headed back to the dugout.
#5 The Giants return back to Oracle Park to open a six game homestand and the first three of those games will be against the St Louis Cardinals on Monday night. Starting for the St Louis Michael McGreevy (7-3 ERA 4.08) for San Francisco Justin Verlander (3-10 ERA 3.75) first pitch at 6:45 pm PT.
Sacramento A’s starter Jeffery Springs will make the start against the Houston Astros on Tue Sep 23, 2025 at Sutter Health Field in West Sacramento (AP file photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Barbara Mason:
#1 The Sacramento A’s on Sunday were trounced in the last leg of their road trip against the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0 at PNC Park. The Pirates Jared Triolo and Joey Bart both hit a home run and got four hits in the slugfest.
#2 For Triolo it was his seventh homer of the season and it landed in the left center field bleachers off A’s pitcher Mitch Spence.
#3 To add insult upon injury the Pirates Joey Bart slugged a three run home run off A’s reliever Osvaldo Bido to make it 10-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
#4 For the A’s Spence went 3.1 innings allowing seven runs, nine hits and reliever Bido allowed three runs, four hits in 2.2 innings of work.
#5 The A’s return back to Sacramento and this will be their final homestand for the 2025 season. The A’s will be hosting the Houston Astros starting Tuesday night. Starting pitchers for the Astros RHP Cristian Javier (2-3 ERA 4.45) for the A’s LHP Jefferey Springs (10-11 ERA 4.17) first pitch 7:05pm PT
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.
A fan Alberto (left) at Coors Field caught Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout’s (right) 400th home run against the Colorado Rockies. The two played catch after the game on the field as one of Alberto’s wishes. Trout also handed Alberto three autograph bats. (photo from Instagram)
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
When fans attend a major league baseball game, they often dream of catching a home run ball, but sometimes much more happens, and it does not always involve a money request between the fan and the player.. The fan who caught and returned Mike Trout’s 400th home run ball (485 foot blast) had one small request from the 3-time MVP. He wanted to play catch with him.
Alberto was the name of the fan at Coors Field on Saturday, who was attending the game with his wife and two children. According to Alberto, he told his young sons minutes before Trout’s home run, “he has a lot of power.” Alberto just happened to be in the right seat at the right time, and although this did not happen at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, within walking distance of Disneyland, where Dreams Come True, it happened at Coors Field in Denver, and this fan’s dream came true.
After the game, Alberto and Trout played catch in front of the third base dugout for a few minutes as his wife captured the whole thing on her phone. Trout’s prodigious shot helped the Angels beat the Rockies 3-0. Alberto brought his glove, but he did not need it to catch the ball; however, it came in handy when Trout said he would accept the offer of playing catch with him in return, Albert gave Mike Trout the ball, and Trout also gave Alberto three of his bats personally autographed.
I covered Mike Trout since the first time he arrived from the Angels’ Salt Lake City AAA affiliate in July 2011. This Saturday, his 400th homerun made him the 59th player in history to achieve that milestone. A first-ballot ‘sure thing ‘ for the Hall of Fame, Mike Trout is as good a player as I have seen in uniform. He is well-liked by fans, the media, and his teammates, both with the Angels and other teams.
Every player who played with him or against him has nothing but good stuff to say about Trout. José Mota (now with the Dodgers) and yours truly interviewed Mike Trout on many occasions, and he was always a class act.
A veteran baseball writer in Anaheim told me about Mike Trout, “he reminds me of Cal Ripken Jr”, for his professionalism and excellence all around.. The Angels’ last playoff appearance was in 2014, as they currently hold the longest active playoff drought in Major League Baseball, which is now 11 seasons long as of the end of the 2025 season. In his 15 years with the Los Angeles Angels in the major leagues, Mike Trout has only played in three (3) postseason games.
Mike Trout is not retiring after the current season; he is in the middle of a contract that runs through 2030 and has stated he plans to retire with the Los Angeles Angels. Despite ongoing injury issues, especially with his left knee, his financial commitment and team situation make it highly unlikely he would retire early.
I am sure we will hear from Trout on his plans. He is a great ‘old-fashioned ‘, very unassuming 34-year player, who comes day and night, to play a game he has always played since childhood in Vineland, New Jersey.
Mike Trout has only played in three postseason games so far. These luminaries never played in the Postseason: Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, Billy Williams, Luke Appling, and Ted Lyons of the Chicago White Sox, Harry Heilman of the Detroit Tigers, and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners.
Quote Shoeless Joe Jackson: When Ted Williams famously concluded his .400 season, manager Connie Mack said, “I wish I had a Williams. I had one once, and I lost him”. This quote refers to the ineligible Shoeless Joe Jackson, whose ban from baseball prevented him from ever making it to Cooperstown. Here is the link to The Baseball Hall of Fame, at Cooperstown, New York, one of my favorite places on earth. https://baseballhall.org/planyourvisit
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com
Pittsburgh Pirates Joey Bart circles the bases after hitting a three run bottom of the fifth inning home run against the Sacramento A’s at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Sun Sep 21, 2025 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s Silenced in Pittsburgh as Pirates Dominate 11-0
By Mauricio Segura
The A’s had a dismal Saturday afternoon running headfirst into a Pittsburgh Pirates buzzsaw that chewed them up and spit them out in an 11-0 loss. From the very first inning, it was clear this one was not going to go the Green and Gold’s way.
Mitch Spence got the start for Sacramento and had trouble from the jump. After quickly collecting two outs in the bottom of the first, he gave up a single to Bryan Reynolds, walked Spencer Horwitz, and then watched Andrew McCutchen slap an RBI single to right.
Nick Gonzales followed with a double, and suddenly the A’s were in a 2-0 hole. Still manageable, but a negative vibe could be detected at this point as it lowered like a mist over the visiting dugout.
The A’s bats made contact but had nothing to show for it. Lawrence Butler flied out to start the game, but Brent Rooker and Nick Kurtz responded with back-to-back singles, hinting at a rally. Tyler Soderstrom’s strikeout and Jacob Wilson’s routine flyout ended that early threat. That sequence would pretty much sum up the day, squandered chances and little to no pressure on the Pirates’ pitching staff.
Pittsburgh kept adding on. In the second inning, Jared Triolo launched a two-run homer after Nick Yorke reached on a fielder’s choice. That made it 4-0, and the A’s offense continued to look like it had left its bats back in Sacramento.
By the time the fourth inning rolled around, the Pirates put the game on ice. Joey Bart singled, Yorke doubled, and Oneil Cruz ripped a two-run single to right. Another RBI hit from Triolo pushed the score to 7-0, and Spence’s day was done. He was lifted after just 3.2 innings, tagged for seven runs on 10 hits.
Osvaldo Bido tried to steady the ship out of the bullpen, but the Pirates were not slowing down. In the fifth, McCutchen drew a walk, Jack Suwinski doubled, and then Bart struck again, this time with a three-run homer that stretched the lead to 10-0. Bart, who entered the game with just three home runs on the season, looked like an All-Star against Sacramento pitching, finishing with a homer, a double, and three runs scored.
The A’s, on the other hand, went down meekly inning after inning. They scattered a handful of singles, Rooker had two, MacIver chipped in one late, and Schuemann reached in the seventh, but never advanced a runner past second base.
By the eighth, the Pirates tacked on one more for good measure when Jared Triolo doubled and later scored on a groundout. It was insult on top of injury for Sacramento, like waiting in line for a nice five-star restaurant, but having the maître d not let you in because he doesn’t like your new tie.
In total, the Athletics managed seven hits, all singles except for Brett Harris’s eighth-inning double, but not a single one came through in the clutch. They struck out 11 times and left eight runners stranded. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff, led by starter Mike Burrows and relievers Carmen Mlodzinski, Yohan Ramírez, and Dauri Moreta, completely shut down the lineup.
It’s back to Sacramento now for a three-game stint against the Astros beginning Tuesday, then the final three-game weekend series with the Royals. It’s been a fun season for sure.
Starting pitchers for the Astros RHP Cristian Javier (2-3 ERA 4.45) for the A’s LHP Jefferey Springs (10-11 ERA 4.17) first pitch 7:05pm PT
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.
Rafael Devers designated hitter belts a single against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the top of the first inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sun Sep 21, 2025 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
Sunday’s game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Los Angeles Dodgers (88-67) scored taking a 1-0 lead. San Francisco (76-79) rallied in the eighth inning scoring three runs taking a 3-1 lead and the eventual win.
Giants starter Trevor McDonald was spotless in his first start and the Giants defense was great. Relief pitching was equally amazing and this was a nice win for San Francisco.
This game was one of those good old-fashioned pitching duels with McDoanld pitching his young heart out. Through six innings he had allowed six hits but no runs and three strikeouts. After six innings this was a scoreless game. The Dodgers Emmet Sheehan gave up one hit and ten strikeouts through seven innings. This had been a great game for both pitchers.
McDonald was relieved in the seventh inning by Spencer Bivens who was spotless with no hits, no runs, and no walks. He was relieved in the eighth inning by Joey Lucchesi.
The Dodgers got busy in the seventh inning with two runners on base, Max Muncy and Andy Pages, with no outs. Los Angeles broke the tie with a run when Michael Conforto singled Muncy home and the Dodgers had taken a 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers were looking for more with two on base and still no outs. San Francisco got out of the inning giving up only the one run and it was on to the eighth inning. This game was moving along at light-speed going through seven innings in under two hours.
In the top of the eighth inning the Giants mounted a rally of their own. Patrick Bailey hit a ground rule double and Christian Koss scored to tie up this game. San Francisco would load the bases with one out and Willy Adames at the plate.
Adames walked and Drew Gilbert scored giving San Francisco a 2-1 lead. The bases remained loaded with one out and Matt Chapman grounded out to shortstop and Bailey scored for a 3-1 San Francisco lead.
The Giants took the 3-1 lead into the ninth inning three outs away from the win. San Francisco did not score in the top of the ninth inning and it would be up to Lucchesi to get the bottom of the ninth inning going in the right direction.
Lucchesi got Max Muncy to struck out and then he was relieved by Ryan Walker who came in to close out this game with the one out. Walker got the big second out and Michael Conforto came to the plate the Dodgers last chance with the two outs. Walker got him to strike out and that was the ball game with the Giants taking game four 3-1 and avoiding the sweep.
Game notes: Sunday afternoon the Giants wrapped up their four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers under sunny skies. It has hardly been sunny skies for the Giants dropping the first three games of the series and but avoided getting swept in game four.
With six games left in the season and the Giants three games back in the Wild Card the Giants most likely will not be a part of the post-season. The promise they showed a few weeks ago took a nose-dive with some very disappointing games. Its not the way they wanted to end their season.
The Giants will now head home to finish up the season starting with a series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Justin Verlander is the probable pitcher for the Giants. He has a 3-10 win/loss record and a 3.75 ERA. The Cardinals will probably start Michael McGreevy. McGreevy has a 7-3 win/loss record and a 4.08 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 6:45 PM.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodgers Stadium on Sat Sep 20, 2025 (AP News photo)
MLB The Show podcast Charlie O:
#1 Charlie the Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is swinging the bats he cracked his 53rd home run on Friday night against the San Francisco Giants. The home run was a 403 foot shot that he parked into the Dodgers grand stands in left field. Ohtani also scored his 140th run of the season a career high.
#2 Cal Raleigh slugged his 57th home run of the season that moved him past former Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey the most home runs by a Mariner in a season. Griffey in 1997 hit 56 home run that achievement got Griffey got him near unanimous induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
#3 Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout hit his 400th career home run on Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies. Trout who is an 11 time All Star hit the 485 shot in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies that was deposited into the left center field stands. The Angels got the win 3-0 which snapped a eight game skid for the Halos.
#4 New York Yankee Giancarlo Stanton says his 450th home run is a nice round number that he hit on Saturday night against the Baltimore Orioles on the way to a 6-1 win. Stanton now now has played in 1719 games joining Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez and Harmon Killebrew who got to 450 faster than Stanton.
#5 The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-0 for their tenth win in a row on Saturday and swept a doubleheader shutting out the Twins twice in front game and in the night cap. The Guardians have now won 15 of their last 16 games and are closing in on first place Detroit in the AL Central. How much of that speaks to the great job that Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt has done someone you spoke with often when he used to play in Oakland?
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani slugs a home run off of San Francisco reliever Joel Peguero as catcher Patrick Bailey watches in the bottom of the sixth inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Sat Sep 20, 2025 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
Despite a great start for the San Francisco Giants (76-79) taking a 4-0 lead in the first inning, they dropped game three to the Los Angeles Dodgers (88-67) 7-5. The Dodgers gobbled up that lead and by the fourth inning had tied up the game.
They took the lead in the fifth inning and never looked back. The Giants only had a single home run, the Dodgers had four home runs in this game. Shohei Ohtani hit his 53 home run of the season.
Game recap: The Giants got a great start in the first inning scoring four runs. Bryce Eldridge doubled to left driving in three runners, clearing the bases. Matt Chapman, Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames all scored on the double for a 3-0 lead.
Eldridge would score when Drew Gilbert walked for the fourth run and the Giants had a 4-0 lead. While it was a nice lead it was still very early in the game and we have seen San Francisco go silent after great early innings.
The Dodgers scored a couple of runs in the first inning. Max Muncy homered to right center with Freddie Freeman on base for the two runs. It did not stop there. In the fourth inning Michael Conforto hit a solo home run and the Dodgers trailed the Giants by a single run 4-3. Los Angeles would tie up this game when Freddie Freeman singled Shohei Ohtani home.
The Dodgers hit solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings taking a 6-4 lead. Tommy Edman hit the first one in the fifth and Ohtani hit his 53rd home run of the season in the sixth. Once again the Giants had let a great start slip right through their fingers. After scoring the four run in the first inning they had not scored through the next five innings negating the nice start.
Los Angeles continued to extend their lead scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth taking a 7-4 lead. Teoscar Hernandez singled Mookie Betts home and the Dodgers were rolling.
San Francisco was running out of innings going into the seventh inning. Rafael Devers hit a solo home run in the seventh inning but the Giants needed a whole lot more with only two innings left in the game. They still trailed 7-5. So far both teams had eight hits through seven innings.
The Dodgers took the 7-5 lead into the top of the ninth inning. With the exception of the Devers home run in the seveth inning the Giants offense had gone silent. Devers led off the inning and grounded out.
He was followed by Adames who struck out. Chapman came to the plate, the Giants last hope and lined out. The Dodgers had won the third game of the series 7-5. Los Angeles would be going for a sweep in Sunday’s game four.
Game notes: Saturday night the age-old rivals the Giants and the Dodgers played the third game of their four game series and this one stung as the Giants couldn’t maintain the lead and have now have lost three straight to the Dodgers with game four of the series Sunday.
The Dodgers won the first three games of the series Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Friday was an emotional night for the Dodgers as the incomparable Clayton Kershaw pitched his final regular season game. He left the mound after 5 1/3 innings as the entire stadium recognized his amazing career. The game continued after the ovation and Los Angeles really piled it on in the bottom of the fifth inning taking a 5-2 lead and eventually winning game two 6-3.
Giants starter for Saturday Kai Wei Teng pitched for three innings allowed one hit and two runs with two walks and six strike outs. But it was Joel Peguero the Giants fourth reliever who got touched up pitching 1.2 innings allowing five hits and three runs.
This series will wrap up Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 PM. Trevor McDonald will take the mound for the Giants. He has a 9.00 ERA. The Dodgers plan on starting Emmet Sheehan. He has a 6-3 win/loss record and a 3.17 ERA.
Sacramento A’s starter Luis Morales pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the first inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Sat Sep 20, 2025 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s go quiet in Pittsburgh as bats freeze against Pirates pitching
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics rolled into Pittsburgh’s PNC Park Saturday night with the swagger expected of a club that had taken seven of its last eight. But baseball has a way of humbling even the hottest teams, and Saturday night, the bats of the Green and Gold fell silent in a 2-0 loss to the Pirates.
From the first pitch at 6:42 p.m., it was clear the A’s weren’t going to find many friendly bounces. Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh’s rookie right-hander, entered the night with a 5.66 ERA but looked like he was back on the Florida showcase circuit, mowing down the A’s lineup with a calm efficiency that belied his numbers.
Chandler punched out six Sacramento hitters through five innings, including a first-inning one-two-three of Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, and Nick Kurtz, all swinging or fouling into outs. That set the tone for the kind of night it would be.
Luis Morales, the A’s own rookie arm, took the mound with a 4-1 record and a crisp 3.08 ERA. He didn’t implode, but he also didn’t have much room for error. Morales surrendered just four hits in his outing, but two left the yard.
Nick Yorke struck first in the second inning with a solo shot to left, his first in the big leagues, giving the home crowd something to cheer about and putting the A’s in an early hole. An inning later, Bryan Reynolds added his 16th homer of the season, this one a blast to right-center that doubled the Pirates’ lead.
And that was all Pittsburgh needed. The rest of the night belonged to their bullpen, which combined with Chandler to scatter just three Sacramento hits, Wilson’s double in the second, Harris being plunked in the third, and nothing else that resembled a threat. From the fourth inning on, the A’s never put a runner past first base.
Shea Langeliers, who has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since the All-Star break with 18 home runs and 34 extra-base hits in that stretch, couldn’t find the spark. He struck out three times, leaving his bat mostly ornamental.
Rooker, fresh off reaching the 30-homer plateau for the third straight season, also wore the collar, fanning in all four trips. Even Kurtz, the rookie phenom whose 33 long balls have him leading all Major League first-year players, looked mortal as he went down swinging twice and grounded out weakly once.
The A’s had some defense to hang their hats on. Jacob Wilson, Sacramento’s other Rookie of the Year candidate, doubled in the second and made several sharp plays at shortstop, including a heads-up throw to catch Yorke trying to stretch his luck on the bases in the fourth.
Morales himself settled after the Reynolds blast, retiring seven of the final eight he faced. But when your offense can’t get out of neutral, tidy defense and solid pitching performances turn into footnotes instead of headlines.
By the seventh, the game had the feel of inevitability. Pirates reliever Braxton Ashcraft entered and didn’t blink, striking out five of the nine hitters he faced. Dennis Santana came on in the ninth to finish it, needing just a groundout, a flyout, and one more strikeout of Rooker to slam the door shut.
The 2-0 defeat was the A’s 82nd of the season, officially guaranteeing a fourth straight losing campaign, something the franchise hasn’t endured since the dark days of 1993 through 1998. Yet, perspective matters. This team had already secured more wins than any A’s club in the past four years, and the Green and Gold still boast a pair of rookies in Kurtz and Wilson who look like franchise cornerstones.
Baseball fans in Sacramento won’t take much solace in moral victories, but they can at least see the outlines of a competitive future. For now, though, the reality is simple: when the A’s don’t homer, they don’t win. They are 46-9 this season when out-homering opponents, but just 10-46 when the other side takes them deep more often. Saturday fell squarely in that latter column.
The series wraps up Sunday with a day game before the A’s return home to close out 2025 against Houston and Kansas City. The Pirates, long out of the playoff picture, were just playing spoiler. And on this night, spoil they did.
Starting pitchers for Sunday: For Sacramento RHP Mitch Spence (3-5 ERA 4.48) for Pittsburgh RHP Mike Burrows (2-4 ERA 4.10) first pitch 10:35 am PT.
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 second baseman Zack Gelof is laid out with a dislocated left shoulder while surrounded by A’s manager Mark Kotsay, the trainer and teammates in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Fri Sep 19, 2025 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Lincoln Juarez:
#1 Lawrence Butler’s three-run homer in the fifth inning powered the A’s past the Pirates Friday night. It was his 21st home run of the year.
#2 Luis Severino picked up his seventh win of the season Friday night throwing five innings allowing one earned run.
#3 Nick Kurtz tied Jose Canseco for the most home runs by an A’s rookie with his 33rd of the season Friday night.
#4 The A’s have won seven of their last eight games after taking game one against the Pirates.
#5 Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend Luis Morales will start for the A’s and the Pirates have yet to announce a starter for Saturday.
#6 Zack Gelof dislocated his shoulder in the bottom of the fifth inning and will miss the rest of the season.
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.
Sports Radio Service 