Tag: Sacramento A’s

Lawrence Butler on Wednesday afternoon in the Angels vs A’s game at Sutter Health Park (Photo: Athletics on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — The A’s continued to reel on Wednesday night at Sutter Health Park, falling to the Los Angeles Angels 10-5.

There were bright spots for the A’s, including two towering home runs from Nick Kurtz, who appears to be breaking out of his slump. But once again, the pitching couldn’t support the offense, and the A’s fell behind late.

Manager Mark Kotsay addressed the growing frustration during the A’s current eight-game losing streak and noted the bullpen’s recent struggles.

“I think each of our leverage guys, if you look back over the last two weeks, has had a rough one,” Kotsay said. “These are stretches you go through as a club. You don’t want it to continue, obviously. We had a couple games where we pitched well and didn’t hit. The last couple nights we’ve had 10–12 hits and scored runs, but we haven’t thrown the ball well. So it’s kind of a perfect storm in this eight-game stretch.”

The bullpen combined for four innings of six-hit, four-run baseball—unable to keep the game close. Tyler Ferguson relieved JP Sears in the sixth and tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one. But things unraveled when Michel Otanez came in. After two solid innings earlier in the series, Otanez couldn’t record an out on Wednesday, giving up two runs on two hits and walking two.

Matt Krook followed and had mixed results, surrendering two runs on three hits over an inning and a third. Anthony Maldonado wrapped things up by striking out both batters he faced.

As for Sears, Kotsay credited the Angels with a solid approach.

“I think the Angels had a great game plan,” Kotsay said. “They waited him out and got the sweeper up in the zone. He lacked a bit of fastball command, and they took advantage of sitting soft and jumping on pitches close to or in the zone. The result was a few home runs.”

Sears gave up four homers over five innings, allowing eight hits and six runs in total. It felt as if it was feast or famine for the Angels, as nearly every swing against Sears seemed to either result in a home run or an out.

Offensively, there were encouraging signs for the A’s—though the team stranded 13 runners, a number that needs to improve.

Lawrence Butler launched a three-run homer in the second inning to give the A’s an early 3-2 lead. But they quickly surrendered the lead and never got it back. Nick Kurtz provided the rest of the offense with solo home runs in the fifth and seventh innings, both pulled to right-center and combining for 866 feet per Statcast.

With the loss, the A’s have dropped eight straight and now sit at 22-28. JP Sears (4-4, 4.00 ERA) took the loss, while Hector Neris (2-1, 12.71 ERA) earned the win.

The A’s will turn to Luis Severino (1-4, 4.22 ERA) on Thursday as they look to halt the skid. Severino will need to overcome his own struggles at home. The Angels will counter with Ty Anderson (2-1, 3.04 ERA). First pitch is set for 12:35 PM PST.

Lawrence Butler on Tuesday in the game against the Angels (Photo: Athletics on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — There was an air of desperation Tuesday night at Sutter Health Park. The A’s entered the game riding a six-game losing streak and were 2-8 over their last 10. The Angels extended that skid to seven with a 7-5 victory.

The A’s continue to struggle, unable to put together consistent pitching and offense in the same game. On Tuesday, starter Gunnar Hogland lasted just 4.2 innings and took the loss. Hogland was sharp through three innings before hitting a snag in the fourth when Logan O’Hoppe launched a solo homer to left to tie the game at one. Though it seemed like a minor setback at the time, trouble returned in the fifth. After a grinding at-bat by Luis Rengifo, Yoan Moncada followed with a three-run shot to right-center, tying the game at four. Hogland gave up a double to the next batter and was pulled. He finished with six hits and five earned runs allowed, along with five strikeouts and two walks.

The bullpen held things down until the ninth, when Anthony Maldonado surrendered two runs on three hits in his lone inning. Between Hogland and Maldonado, Justin Sterner, Hogan Harris, and Grant Holman combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.

The A’s offense came out swinging early but failed to build momentum late. Luis Urías opened the scoring in the second with an RBI single. In the fourth, Shea Langeliers crushed a solo homer to center, followed by a two-run opposite-field shot from Nick Kurtz to give the A’s a brief 4-1 lead. Their only other run came in the ninth, when Seth Brown delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-5. That’s where the rally ended.

Hogland took the loss, while Kyle Hendricks earned the win for the Angels. Closer Kenley Jansen locked down his 10th save of the season.

The series wraps up Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. PST at Sutter Health Park. The A’s will send JP Sears (4-3, 3.31 ERA) to the mound against Jack Kochanowicz (3-5, 4.71 ERA) for the Angels.

Note of the day: A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz snapped an 0-for-21 skid with a single in the second inning — his longest hitless stretch of the season.

J.T. Ginn in his first start coming off the IL with elbow inflammation. (Photo: Athletics on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — The Athletics returned home Monday after a six-game road trip that took them through Los Angeles to face the Dodgers and San Francisco to take on the Giants. Back at Sutter Health Park, the A’s welcomed starter J.T. Ginn, who had been briefly sidelined earlier this month with elbow inflammation. However, the Angels spoiled Ginn’s return with a 4-3 victory.

The A’s bats haven’t had many answers lately, especially with runners in scoring position, and Monday was no exception. They went just 2-for-10 in those situations and managed only three runs against Angels pitching.

The A’s got their runs in the first and fifth innings but struggled to capitalize on their chances. In the first, Brent Rooker grounded into a double play that brought in the A’s first run, followed by a Shea Langeliers RBI single that scored Jacob Wilson. The offense stalled until the fifth inning, when Rooker singled home Tyler Soderstrom to trim the Angels’ lead to 4-3. That would be the final scoring threat, as the Angels’ bullpen shut things down the rest of the way.

Ginn pitched reasonably well in his return, going four innings and allowing six hits and four runs while striking out seven. Two home runs, however, proved costly and were the biggest blemishes in his outing.

The A’s bullpen was sharp on Monday. Mitch Spence delivered 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out three. Matt Krook retired the only batter he faced, and Michel Otanez followed with two dominant innings, striking out three and not allowing a hit.

In the end, the A’s couldn’t come up with the offense needed for a comeback. The loss was charged to Ginn, who fell to 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA. Angels starter Jose Soriano earned the win, improving to 3-4 with a 3.57 ERA.

The A’s and Angels continue their series Tuesday night with Gunnar Hoglund (1-1, 3.78 ERA) taking the mound against Kyle Hendricks (1-5, 5.18 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT.