Tag: Sacramento A’s

Nick Kurtz #16 of the Athletics hits a home run during the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on Friday, May 15, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics were back in action on Friday night at Sutter Health Park to take on the San Francisco Giants at 6:40 p.m. PST.

The A’s were fresh off a series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals where they dropped two of the three games at home.

The Giants were coming off a split of a four-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

On Friday, A’s manager Mark Kotsay was away from the team attending his daughter’s graduation from college. In his absence, Darren Bush, the A’s bench coach, took over the managerial duties for the evening. The A’s defeated the Giants 5-2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 12,348 on Friday.

Aaron Civale got the start for the A’s in what was his ninth start of the year for the green and gold. Civale was pretty sharp overall in his outing as he went five innings of six-hit, two-run baseball. He left in line for the win and struck out two Giants hitters in his appearance that required 76 pitches.

“He did an outstanding job, made pitches all night,” Darren Bush said of Civale after the game. “They hit some balls hard, he didn’t back away from contact. He kept on going and he made the big pitch when he needed to.”

Civale came out of the game prematurely, or so it seemed to me. With just 76 pitches through five innings, it seemed he would return for the sixth. Yet, he did not and after the game spoke of his outing.

“Ideally I’d like to work longer into the game, but sometimes 76 pitches just feels like 100 and sometimes 100 feels like 50,” Civale told me after the game.

Overall, Civale was pretty happy with his outing.

“I thought I was pretty quick and efficient in the first three [innings],” Civale said in the clubhouse to the media. “I ran into some trouble in the fourth and fifth there, but was able to work through with minimal damage. Obviously the two homers are not ideal, but I felt like we were competing before and after that.”

The A’s bullpen pitched really well for the most part in the game.

Joel Kuhnel was first out of the pen for the A’s and pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the A’s while needing 14 pitches to do so. Kuhnel allowed one hit and struck out two batters in his inning of work.

Jose Suarez was next up for the A’s on the hill and tossed a scoreless seventh inning, albeit after getting into some trouble. Suarez gave up two hits, both singles, but managed to get out of it unscathed while throwing 21 pitches in his outing.

In the eighth inning, Darren Bush went with Luis Medina to protect the lead and he delivered with a scoreless inning, giving up just a walk and striking out one batter. Medina threw 19 pitches in the eighth inning.

In the ninth inning, Hogan Harris pitched a scoreless ninth inning to seal the win for the A’s. Harris tossed 14 pitches and gave up just one hit while striking out one in a stress-free inning.

On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s recorded 10 hits and walked once en route to their five runs.

Jeff McNeil got the A’s on the board in the first inning with a ringing RBI double down the right-field line that scored Zack Gelof. However, a nice relay from Jung Hoo Lee and Luis Arraez cut down Darrell Hernaiz at the plate to keep it a one-RBI play.

The A’s next scoring came in the bottom of the fifth inning at the hands of the red-hot first baseman for the A’s, Nick Kurtz. Kurtz, with runners on the corners and one out, sent a 108 MPH line drive over the left-center-field wall to give the A’s the 4-2 lead. It was Kurtz’s third home run in as many games and it traveled 417 feet.

Later in the fifth inning, the A’s would have runners on the corners again, this time with two outs. Henry Bolte lined a ball to left field for a single to score another run and pull the A’s ahead even further and make it a 5-2 game.

That would be all the offense the A’s needed as they defeated the Giants 5-2 thanks to solid pitching and timely hitting.

With the win, the now 23-21 A’s will take on the Giants in game two of their series on Saturday at 6:40 p.m. PST. Luis Severino (2-4, 4.07 ERA) is scheduled to start for the A’s as the Giants will counter with Trevor McDonald (1-0, 2.92 ERA).

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. 

Henry Bolte #33 of the Athletics is congratulated by manager Mark Kotsay #7 after Bolte hit an RBI sacrifice fly scoring Nick Kurtz #16 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park on May 13, 2026 in Sacramento, California. The RBI was the first of Bolte’s career. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics were back in action against the Cardinals for game two of a three-game set on Wednesday night. After losing the first game of the series, the A’s looked for their revenge at 6:40 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park.

The A’s defeated the Cardinals in commanding fashion on Wednesday night, 6-2.

The A’s got another solid performance out of their starter, J.T. Ginn. Ginn, who pitched eight innings in his last start, managed to go six innings against the Cardinals in what was an unstable but effective performance. Ginn gave up nine hits in his six innings of work but walked just one to limit the damage and give up only one unearned run.

“I think there’s a lot of maturity with JT this year, both on and off the field,” Kotsay said after the game. “I see a different young man that now has established I think solid routines, solid processes between starts. We talk a lot about the easiest day should be the day you take the mound. The other four should be really hard and I think he’s taken a grasp of the amount of work he has to put in before each start.”

Kotsay’s sentiment was echoed by Ginn in the clubhouse after the game.

“I think it’s [the process] been huge for me and everything how you go about your work every day, but I think it’s a lot of trial and error those first couple years and just figuring out what works for me and then just working off of that.”

For the bullpen, the A’s got another solid performance from the group.

Justin Sterner came in to pitch in the seventh inning and didn’t have his best stuff. He tossed two-thirds of an inning before being lifted after giving up a run on two hits. Hogan Harris came in and cleaned up, getting the final out of the seventh by way of the strikeout.

In the eighth inning, Luis Medina came on and recorded a clean inning, allowing nothing to the Cardinals offense.

In the ninth inning, Jack Perkins came in and tossed a scoreless frame to finish the game, allowing just one hit.

On the offensive side of the ball, Nick Kurtz carried the lion’s share of the load with a grand slam in the fifth inning to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. It was Kurtz’s first opposite-field home run this season and was a welcome sight for the slugger.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Kurtz said after the game. “I’m more happy that it was the first one the other way this year. I think that’s a bigger emphasis for me.”

In the seventh inning, Henry Bolte added another run for the A’s on a sac fly to right field to make it a 5-1 game. It was a nice way to cap off the MLB debut for Bolte as he recorded two hits, an RBI, and a diving catch in center field.

“I think it was great, happy that we got to win as a team,” Henry Bolte said after the game. “That’s kind of the thing, going out there trying to make a difference, little plays, big plays, anything you can do to help the team win. So being able to beat out a couple singles and make a nice play is getting that done. So it was a great debut and happy the boys got the job done, we got to win.”

Zack Gelof added the A’s final run of the night with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, in the eighth inning to give the A’s the 6-2 lead. All in, the A’s offense recorded 13 hits and walked twice in the viceroy on Wednesday night. 

With the win, the A’s improved to 22-20 and will go for the series win against the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon. The A’s will send Jacob Lopez (3-2, 6.11 ERA) to the mound while the Cardinals will counter with Michael McGreevy (3-2, 2.18). First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park.

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. 

Shea Langeliers #23 of the Athletics rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park on May 12, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics were back home at Sutter Health Park on Tuesday night to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in game one of a three-game series. The A’s were coming off a solid road trip where they made stops in Philadelphia and Baltimore while going 3-3 in the six road games.

On Tuesday, the Cardinals handled business and defeated the A’s 6-4.

Jeffrey Springs got the ball for the A’s in their return home, and he had a very familiar outing that we have become accustomed to during his time in Sacramento.

Springs, who had pitched fairly well the last couple of years, has found himself in early-game trouble many times during that span. Tuesday was no different for the left-hander.

Springs was roughed up early in the first inning as the Cardinals posted four runs on four hits and a walk to set the tone early and get the A’s on their heels. Springs managed to settle in, but his final line wasn’t pretty. All in, he managed to toss five innings of four-run, seven-hit ball while walking three and striking out five Cardinals hitters.

“The first inning just didn’t look comfortable,” Kotsay said after the game. “And once he got through that first, obviously he dialed in and pitched a great game. So overall … he’s had a good season so far at this point. I think it was one of those things that just he couldn’t get the out when he needed.”

The bullpen pitched well enough for the A’s to get the win, but the A’s weren’t able to capitalize.

Joel Kuhnel came in for the sixth inning and ran into some trouble of his own. Kuhnel pitched two-thirds of an inning and gave up two runs on two hits.

Brooks Kriske came in as the second man out of the pen for the A’s and pitched one and two thirds innings of no-run, one-walk baseball while striking out one. Unfortunately, Kriske was removed in the seventh inning with what Mark Kotsay described as “right shoulder soreness” after the game. Kotsay said he would be reevaluated tomorrow.

Scott Barlow came in to finish off the eighth inning and allowed one hit and nothing else while striking out one in two-thirds of an inning of work.

Mark Leiter Jr. was the final man out of the pen for the A’s. Leiter Jr. tossed a scoreless ninth inning while striking out one hitter in one inning of relief.

On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s put up a fight but weren’t able to complete a comeback.

The scoring for the A’s mostly happened in the second inning, as Nick Kurtz hit an RBI single to get the A’s on the board and bring the score to 4-1. One batter later, Shea Langeliers hit a two-RBI double to bring the A’s to within one as the A’s rallied in support of Jeffrey Springs.

The A’s final scoring came in the eighth when Shea Langeliers blasted the 100th home run of his career. The blast traveled 448 feet and left the bat at 108 mph as it sailed on top of the A’s clubhouse in left field.

“It’s a big milestone, a hundred home runs at this point in his career,” Mark Kotsay said. “You can say that he’s done just a tremendous job to this point of continuing to get better and be an impact-type player.”

The A’s fell to 21-20 on the season as they started the homestand off with the loss to the Cardinals.

The A’s will send J.T. Ginn (1-1, 3.62) to the mound on Wednesday as the Cardinals will counter with Matthew Liberatore (2-1, 4.07) at 6:40 p.m. PT.